1. Welcome Elementary Staff
January 20, 2014
What is our objective today ?
What do we know?
What are our next steps ?

2. Analysis of BL and WW Training
FRANKL
HOOVER
JEFFERSON
LINCOLN
WASHINGTON
*BL
*WW
PRE -K
n/a 1
KINDERGARTEN
1.5
0.5
GRADE 1
GRADE 2 2
GRADE 3
GRADE 4
5.5
4.5 5
GRADE 5
READING SPECIALS
PLC
SPECIAL EDUCATION & BI
*Balanced Literacy
*Writers Workshop
*Numbers indicate days

3. Requests
Focused training in Guided Reading – Use of Star for groups of levels or running records?
Specific reading strategies and skills
Shared reading and how novel fits in
Mini lessons in reading workshop
Mini lesson focusing on word work and grammar
What is RAZ?
Time – How do I fit Accelerated Reader into block?
Request for resources and training in Readers Workshop for Kindergarten
Conferencing with students- what does this look like?
What does a typical day of reading look like?
Samples of writing notebooks and exemplar writing
Assessments for novels- required novels?
Clarify Kindergarten writing rubrics
Implementation of grammar into Writers Workshop
Request for resources in Writing
How often do you change you Guided Reading groups?
How can Balanced Literacy framework be successful in a Special Education classroom? How can it be used when teaching one student?

4. Bergenfield Public Schools Balanced Literacy Instruction Grades K-5
Presented by
Laura Haines
Danielle Karabin
Kerri Klein
Nicki McGrane
Joanne Mickolajczyk
January 2014

6. Essential Elements Elementary Literacy Program
Goals –
Establish a common language for literacy across the district by building a shared understanding of balanced literacy and its role in effective literacy instruction
• Identify best practices in literacy which
focus on strategy acquisition

7. Finding Our Way with the Common Core
We had to rethink…
how our reading curriculum and instruction support how children learn to read and be literate
our roles as reading teachers in their development of lifelong literacy

8. A View of Literacy Instruction
Basal Readers Phonics Instruction Whole Language Decoding vs. Comprehension Writing Process Authentic Literature & Reading Strategy Instruction Balanced Literacy

9. The Reading Research…
Focus: What are the optimal approaches to reading instruction and literacy development for the children of Australia?
Focus: What do we know, and what should the future research focus be, regarding reading comprehension?
Focus: What instructional methods are most effective in teaching children to read?
Focus: How does reading develop, and how can that development be promoted?
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, 1998
Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000
Teaching Reading: Report and Recommendations, National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy, 2005
Reading for Understanding: Toward an R & D Program in Reading Comprehension, 2000

10. Key Findings of the Research
The five major components of reading that need to be taught through explicit instruction are:
Phonemic Awareness
Phonics
Fluency
Vocabulary
Reading Comprehension

11. Balanced Literacy
“Balanced Literacy combines all aspects of various literacy philosophies, programs, and tools throughout both history and research in education.” -Dorothy Strickland

12. Balanced Literacy Defined:
A comprehensive approach to language arts instruction using authentic reading and writing experiences that are consistently STUDENT-CENTERED.
It contains all the components necessary for students to master written and oral communication.
Reading and Writing are inseparable.
It supports the implementation of the Common Core State Standards.
Provides explicit instruction, guided practice, and independent application.
It is assessment driven.

13. A Balanced Literacy Program
Includes: • Knowing students individually • Balancing both direct and indirect instruction • Balancing instructional activities including skills emphasis and meaning emphasis

14. What is the Balanced Literacy Framework?
Common Core State Standards is Back Mapped from Graduation… The Framework of Instruction is designed on scaffolding and on how we use our time everyday.

15. Balanced Literacy is all about…
Helping our students understand the value of what they are learning
Helping them discover how to take that learning to other concepts…other texts…other experiences

16. Components of Balanced Literacy
READING
Read aloud – Modeled reading
Shared reading
Interactive reading
Small group instruction
Guided reading/Literature circle
Independent reading
WRITING
• Write aloud – Modeled writing
• Shared writing
• Interactive writing
• Guided writing-Literature response
• Independent writing-
Writer’s Workshop

18. Balanced Literacy…All Connected

19. The Gradual Release of Responsibility
a research-based instructional model developed by Pearson and Gallagher (1993)
the responsibility for task completion shifts gradually over time from the teacher to the student
instructional model that requires that the teacher, by design, transition from assuming “all the responsibility for performing a task to a situation in which the students assume all of the responsibility” (Duke & Pearson, 2002, p. 211).
may occur over a day, a week, or longer.
“emphasizes instruction that mentors students into becoming capable thinkers and learners when handling the tasks with which they have not yet developed expertise” (Buehl, 2005).
has been documented as an effective approach for improving writing achievement (Fisher & Frey, 2003), reading comprehension (Lloyd, 2004), and literacy outcomes for English language learners (Kong & Pearson, 2003).

20. Why The Gradual Release of Responsibility is Important…
The gradual release of responsibility model is the intersection of several theories, including the following:
Piaget’s (1952) work on cognitive structures and schema
Vygotsky’s (1962, 1978) work on zones of proximal development
Bandura’s (1965) work on attention, retention, reproduction, and motivation
Wood, Bruner, and Ross’s (1976) work on scaffolded instruction

21. The Gradual Release of Responsibility

22. “I DO”, “WE DO”, “YOU DO”
Lev Vygotsky… “What a child can do today with assistance, she will be able to do by herself tomorrow.”

23. Balanced Literacy Always Includes:
READING …whole group, small group, independent “I DO” “WE DO” “YOU DO” WRITING …whole group with guided, shared, interactive experiences, small group, paired, independent

24. A Balanced Literacy Classroom
A Strong Literacy Environment
Classroom libraries
Anchor charts
Book boxes
Literacy rich walls/areas
Social Structures
Buddy and Paired Collaborations
Independent and Group Work
Literacy workstations
Literacy materials
Reading response/Writing Notebooks/Journals

25. The Role of the Teacher
Facilitator…designs, organizes, promotes, and reflects upon best practices;
Models the good habits of readers and writers;
Provides opportunities for the student to respond to the reading and writing. Responding is the essence of literacy; it is the construction of personal meanings (Rosenblatt, 1938, 1976, 1978);
Supports students with scaffolded instruction through the Gradual Release of Responsibility (Pearson, 1985);
Realizes that the key to differentiation is based on the individual needs of the students.

26. International Reading Association
Teachers who know
students individually
provide many kinds
of support, enabling
students to move to
higher levels of
reading and literacy
development.
reading.org

27. A Final Thought About Balance
“There is no single method , or single combination of methods that can successfully teach all children to read. Therefore, teachers must have a strong knowledge of multiple methods for teaching reading and a strong knowledge of the children in their care so they can create the appropriate balance of methods needed for the children they teach."
(International Reading Association, 1999).

28. Future Bergenfield PD Workshop
Skill vs. Strategy

29. Thank you!

30. What Is The Workshop Model?

31. No Need to Break-Down… We’ll Do It for You!!
Mini-Lesson
no more than 20 minutes
A lesson on a specific skill or strategy (comprehension, decoding, fluency, spelling, grammar, etc.)
Follows the structure: Connect, Teach, Engage, Link
Independent Practice
minutes
Students independently practice the skill/strategy taught during the mini-lesson
Students read/write independently or work in literacy stations
Teacher may meet with small groups (guided reading/writing groups or strategy groups) or hold individual conferences
Teacher may complete Running Record Assessments or I&RS Interventions
End-Share
5 minutes
Class regroups to discuss how they applied the skill/strategy taught in the mini-lesson
3-4 students share
Teacher and students provide feedback
Teacher may use this time to reiterate a teaching point

32. Individual Conferences
Decisions, Decisions…..
Choose from any of these options during the Independent Practice portion of your Workshop time
**Remember to keep notes on your student interactions**
Guided Reading Groups
RW minutes
Small, flexible groups
Students are working at similar levels
May be used for assessment or on-the-spot troubleshooting
Strategy Groups
RW, WW minutes
Students share a specific need
Used to teach a specific strategy or skill in reading or writing
Individual Conferences
RW, WW-5-7 minutes
One-on-one
Used to provide feedback, collect data, or reinforce a teaching point

33. A Snapshot of Reading Workshop in the Elementary School

34. What it is… What it is not…
Reading Workshop
What it is… What it is not…
Reading Workshop
Driven by standards
Focused on strategies
Differentiates instruction (level or need)
Driven by student assessment (running records, STAR data, conferences)
Students reading books independently (independent level) or with teacher (instructional level)
Choosing quality children’s literature that is selected because it meets the standards first and foremost
Builds classroom spirit and sense of community, teaches independence and accountability
Following a Program
Driven by what the book’s curriculum says
Focused on stories
Differentiation based on the story of the week or novel
Driven by the teacher’s manual
All students reading the same story at the same time from the basal reader
Choosing a book based on basal/anthology, theme, etc.
Teacher “teaches” and makes all decisions
Teaches the story/skill
Teaches the student "reader"

35. TEACH THE READER
NOT THE STORY

36. TEACH THE READER USING THE STORY
Balance

37. The Recipe for Reading Workshop
Focused mini-lessons with the whole class about the reading process, i.e., phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension skills and strategies. (National Reading Panel, 2000)
Students independently reading and the teacher conferencing with individuals
Teacher instructing small groups (guided reading or strategy groups)

38. The Recipe for Reading Workshop
Students reflecting upon and responding to their reading orally and in writing
Students working on assignments relative to the mini-lesson
Whole group sharing time

39. Reading Workshop an uninterrupted block of time during which children participate in:
CHOOSE ONE
Mini-lesson
Modeled reading – read aloud
Shared reading - shared material such as novel, highlighted excerpt of text, short story, article, etc.
2. Independent Practice
Guided Reading
Literature circles/Book clubs
Independent reading and Reading conferences
Strategy Groups
3. End-Share
End-Share 5
minutes
Mini-lesson
No more than 20
minutes
Independent Practice
minutes
Guided reading,
Literature circles
Independent reading &
conferences
Strategy groups
Gradual release of responsibility

40. Mini-lesson Direct instruction (mini-lesson)
A time when the teacher and whole class sit together while the teacher teaches explicitly through:
Direct instruction (mini-lesson)
Address Common Core Standards
Comprehension strategies
Decoding strategies and other
reading strategies.
Modeled reading – reading/thinking aloud
Shared reading – examine excerpts of literature

41. Structure of a Mini-lesson
Connect – Link to past learning & set purpose for new learning
Teach – Model and explain using shared literature
Engage – Immediate application using shared literature
Link – Restate strategy and purpose…”Today and everyday…,” Set immediate goal for application during independent practice.

42. Modeled Reading Teacher reads portion of the text aloud
Students do not have a copy of the text
Teacher models oral reading fluency
Teacher models application of a reading strategy
Engages students in quality literature
Exposes students to a wide variety of texts

43. Shared Reading Interactive reading experience
Students join in or “share” reading of a big book or other enlarged text.
Students may also have a copy of the text (i.e.,3-5 novel study)
Students apply reading strategies with scaffolded support from the teacher
Provides students with common reading experiences to use with strategies. (i.e., building prior knowledge, making connections, and making inferences)
Engages students in quality literature
Exposes students to a wide variety of texts

44. Independent Practice
A process in which readers work collaboratively or independently to apply what has been taught in the mini-lesson.
Students work independently, in pairs/trios, in small heterogeneous groups (literature circles/book clubs) or small homogeneous groups (guided reading/strategy groups).
Teachers confer with individuals to support and assess application of strategies/skills taught during mini-lesson.

45. During Independent Practice…
The Teacher:
Strategy Groups
Guided Reading Groups
Reading Conferences
The Students:
Independent Reading
Literacy Stations
Book Clubs/Literature Circles

46. Independent Reading
Students read a text at their independent level. (determined by running records)
Students practice applying reading strategies taught in mini-lesson
Respond to text in reading journals, notebooks or using post-it notes.
Students can use time to take an Accelerated Reader Quiz
Benefits:
Builds fluency
Strengthens comprehension
Increases vocabulary
Builds background

47. Conferring
A time when the teacher meets individually with a student to converse with him or her about his/her reading.
Teachers praise, question, suggest and extend what has been taught in the mini-lesson in order to ensure students apply what has been taught utilizing a book at his/her independent level.
During a conference, teachers may invite students to share during the End Share or suggest that he/she attend Strategy Group.

48. What the Research Says…
In one of the most extensive studies of independent reading yet conducted, Anderson, Wilson, and Fielding (1988) investigated a broad array of activities and their relationship to reading achievement and growth in reading.
They found that the amount of time students spent in independent reading was the best predictor of reading achievement and also the best predictor of the amount of gain in reading achievement made by students between second and fifth grade.

49. Guided Reading A teacher works with a small group of
children who have similar reading levels
(running records) or ZPD levels (STAR data).
The teacher uses multiple copies of literature of various genres to focus on the implementation of reading strategies.
Students read texts on their
instructional level.
The teacher takes anecdotal notes while observing and assessing the students’ independent application of strategies
taught during the mini-lesson.

50. Strategy Group A teacher pulls together a small group
of students who need similar coaching or
support.(i.e., decoding strategies, making inferences, finding main idea)
Students are grouped according to the reading strategies they need help with, not by reading level.
Students practice the strategy using their own leveled text.
Groups change depending on the individual needs and goals for every student.

51. Video Examination
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53. The Structure of a Writing Workshop Lesson
Introducing
The Structure of a Writing Workshop Lesson

54. What is Writer’s Workshop
What is Writer’s Workshop? It is a framework for writing instruction and practice in the classroom.
Follows a predictable pattern of:
Mini-Lesson (5-10 minutes)
Independent Writing/Conferring (20-30 minutes)
Sharing (5-10 minutes)

55. Components of a Writing Mini-Lesson
Connect
Writers access prior knowledge and hear the teaching point
Examples of teacher talk:
Yesterday we …
Today I’m going to …

56. Components of a Writing Mini-Lesson
Teach
Lead by the teacher
Fewer student voices contributing
Focus on one skill, strategy, method, etc.
Examples of teacher talk:
I want to show you …
Watch and notice how I …

57. Components of a Writing Mini-Lesson
Engage
Writers get a quick opportunity to try out new skill or strategy
All writers are involved
Ways to actively engage all writers:
Together on a shared piece of chart paper
In writer’s notebook, folder, or draft
Turn and talk with a partner

58. Components of a Writing Mini-Lesson
Link
To bring closure to mini-lesson
Link to what class has previously learned and what they will do moving forward
Examples of teacher talk:
So today and everyday …
Now you know that writers …
As you continue your writing you may want to …

59. Independent Writing Time
Time for all writers to write daily
Writers determine what they will write about within the given genre
Writers use their writer’s notebook or folder to organize writing

60. Conferring Occurs during independent writing
Writers seek out partners to confer with for opinions, suggestions, etc.
Teachers confer with individual writers or small groups during this time

61. Suggested Questions for Conferring
At start of conference:
How’s your writing project going?
Tell me what you are writing about?
What can I help you with?
During conference:
Why are you writing this?
What are you planning to happen next?
What can you do to help the reader see/hear/feel, etc.?

62. Sharing Writers given opportunity to share their writing
Allows writers to learn from each other and see/hear good examples of writing
Writers get to practice oral presentation skills
Important part to workshop
Develops sense of community

63. Consistency of Procedures and Routines
Procedures and routines make classroom run smoothly
Writers know what to expect from day to day
Writers understand how to carry out procedures and routines and can do so independently
Set up a writing environment that aids writers in understanding procedures and routines

64. Video