1. Project ALL (Advancing Literacy for Learning)
Motivating and Scaffolding Middle School English Language Learners: Focus on Content and Collaboration
Project ALL (Advancing Literacy for Learning)
Donna Ogle & Project ALL Team
IRA, Toronto, May 14, 2007

2. Research-based practices
The amount of reading students do is critical
“A positive dimension of our research is that all our studies have demonstrated that reading yields significant dividends for everyone – not just for the “smart kids” or the more able readers. Even the child with limited reading and comprehension skills will build vocabulary and cognitive structures through reading.”
A. Cunningham & K. Stanovich (1998)

3. Enhancing vocabulary through reading and study of academic terms
According to Anderson, Wilson and Fielding (1986) students at the 90th percentile in terms of volume of reading encounter 200 times more words than students at the 10th percentile.
Marzano’s review of vocabulary research indicates that students’ comprehension can be improved by 33 percent when key academic vocabulary is taught (p.69)

4. SOCIAL CONTEXTS Involve students actively and personally
Connecting to their lives
Connecting with each other
Create opportunities for active thinking and student input
Develop a metacognitive orientation and engage students in assessment
Embed reading instruction in extended, rich instructional contexts – more critical thinking

5. Project ALL Advancing Literacy for Learning by:
Providing curricular support for teachers with struggling readers and English Language Learners (ELL)
Using the Sheltered Immersion Observation Protocol (SIOP)
Developing as a research and exploratory model: case studies, classroom pilots of content units with informal assessments, differentiated texts and Partner Reading, and observations to create a collection of effective strategies teachers are using
Encouraging more academic & personal reading and integrating strategies into partner and personal reading

6. Content reading in social studies and science
Developing lessons using the SIOP framework –Content and Language Objectives specified
Providing a collection of small books on a content them at varied reading levels are used
Teacher introduces the content of the unit
Fluency snapshots help determine partners
Students read for 20 minutes with partners
Students keep notes on their questions and vocabulary they want to learn

7. Informational text sets
Developing Grades 4 - 8
Range of reading difficulty
Range of conceptual difficulty & focus
Illustrative sets; models for teaching
Partner Reading with content materials with an emphasis on:
Questioning and Discussion & Vocabulary

8. Text Sets For Grades 3, 5, & 8 Science Social Studies
5+ titles *Some with 3 copies
15 + books per set
Social Studies & Science Sets
2 sets per classroom
Grades 3, 5, & 8
Teaching Guide for each set

9. 5th Grade Science Texts Title/Reading Level Author Publisher
Simple Machines(6pk.)
(2nd)
G. Thompson
National Geographic
Machines Make it Move (6pk.)
(6th)
S. M. Tomecek
Useful Machines: Wheels
Chris Oxlade
Heinemann
From Axes to Zippers: Simple Machines
(3rd)
K. French
Benchmark Education

10. Teacher’s Guides Theme ideas
Guide to text levels, features and structure
Partner reading guide
Rich instructional model
Before reading (KWL, Text Preview)
During reading (Graphic Organizer)
After reading (KWL, Extended response)
Links to Standards
Vocabulary
Additional teaching ideas

11. Anticipate students’ levels of interest in informational texts
Visual preview of text covers
Interest inventories
One Minute Fluency

12. Establishing Partner Reading
Provide an encouraging, positive social context for
students to read together – on the carpet, at tables, etc.
Assess students’ reading levels with fluency checks
and match partners with appropriate levels of materials
Guide students’ use of their active reading
strategies with repeated practice with their partner; apply what is known about comprehension and vocabulary

13. Supporting all readers with PRC2 (Partner Reading & Content Too)
Read materials at instructional levels
Multiple readings of the same text
Rehearsed oral reading
Enjoyable social interactions
Choice in texts
Able to read multiple texts and challenging ones after introduction to topic and vocabulary
Using the academic vocabulary orally
increases familiarity with terms and uses

14. PARTNER READING Book Preview
A. What is it about?
B. How is it organized?
C. Look through the book (chapter-by-chapter walk-through) and notice:
1. Organization
2. Headings and Sub-headings
3. Pictures and Captions
4. Illustrations
5. Diagrams
6. Boxed Information
7. Highlighted vocabulary
Boldface
Italics
Boxed Definitions
8. Resources in the book – glossary, index, suggested web sites and other books
D. Partners preview cover of book and Table of Contents together

15. PRC2- Partner Reading Routine
Partners share one text on independent or instructional level & take turns reading sections orally
Both partners first read the 2 pages silently, to get a sense of the text
Partners rereads their page to prepare for their “performance read’ and select or write a question using the guide or their QAR knowledge
Each partner reads a page/section orally and asks a question of the listener-partner: partners talk about text
Partners switch roles of reader and listener as they read section by section
Each partner adds words to personal academic vocabulary notebook at end of PRC2

16. Simple Machines Gare Thompson (2000)
Work
What does work mean to a scientist? Scientists say that work is done when a force is used to move an object over a distance. To do work, you must move something.
Suppose you use force to push on a wall. Are you doing work? NO, the wall does not move. What if you push a door and it opens. Now, you are doing work. The door moved. Your push was the force that made the door move.
P.1
Machines and Work
We do work every day. But we can make work easier. How? We can use machines. A machine is anything that helps us do work. Machines make work easier. They help us cut things, mix things, and move heavy things. Some machines are called simple machines. A simple machine is a machine that has few or no moving parts. A simple machine does one of the following:
increases the speed of something
Increases the force that you use
Changes the direction of the force that you use
P.2

17. Question Guide What was most important in this section?
What was most interesting?
What connections can you make to these ideas?
What could the author have done to make this easier to understand?

18. Learning to discuss text ideas: New scaffolds on bookmarks
Receive your partner’s ideas
Thank you. Those are good ideas…
That was interesting. You helped me.
Elaborate and extend ideas
Can you tell me more?
Can you think of another example?
Clarify
Make connections
Add a different perspective

19. Teacher’s Role in PRC2 Collect appropriate materials
Introduce unit and help identify purposes
Observe and listen to students as they read & discuss & make notes on what you learn
Guide vocabulary development
Orchestrate group sharing
Provide positive feedback to students

20. Pieces of the Puzzle:
How to reach and engage all students, especially those struggling to meet grade level demands
How to use the language strengths of children to access English texts
How to provide a wider range of reading materials for students – more literary non-fiction and general informational texts
How to increase the amount of instruction in reading to learn

21. Developing Formative Assessment
Amy Correa
Project ALL, Co-director

22. What is academic literacy?
Double the Work defines the term in the following way:
Includes reading, writing, and oral discourse for school
Varies from subject to subject
Requires knowledge of multiple genres of text, purposes for text use, and text media
Is influenced by students’ literacy in contexts outside of school
Is influence by students’ personal, social, and cultural experiences
Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English Language Learners – A report to the Carnegie Corporation of New York a panel of researchers, policymakers, practitioners brought together by Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL)

23. Assessments reflect content-specific reading
ISAT – equal fiction and non-fiction passages, linked procedural texts
NAEP – mix of reading materials and tasks to reflect reading different genre and reading multiple texts
International assessments (PIRLS & PISA) indicate that US students need to become more flexible in the kinds of reading they do: more informational and more critical responses

24. Developing Formative Assessments
Where are the students?
How do we assess what they bring with them?
How do we look at multiple measures to get a complete picture of students’ language skills and content knowledge?
How does literacy assessment “fit” in the content area?

25. Project ALL (Advancing Literacy for Learning) working with content reading
Observing and listening to students interpret text as they “think aloud”

26. Assessments within Project ALL
Fluency Snapshots
Visual Interest
Idea Concept
Morphology (5th graders had tremendous difficulty; so more focus this year)
Table of Contents
Observational Notes

27. Fluency Snapshots
Where are my students in relationship to the classroom materials I have them reading?
Quick initial screening
Instructional uses
Informs oral fluency
Quick initial screening
Identify if students can read the text independently
Instructional Uses
Pairing for Partner Reading & Content Too (PRC2)
Match students to leveled materials
Independent reading 98% accuracy
Instructional reading 95% accuracy
Informs oral fluency:
Rate
Expression
Accuracy

28. Visual Interest
What type of genre do my students prefer? Any informational texts?
Students explain reasoning of choosing one over the other
Helps teacher assess prior knowledge and interest of students on specific topic
Helps teacher assess genre in classroom library

30. Idea Concept Web
What background knowledge are my students coming with?
Students categorize words under specific labels
Frontloads vocabulary of content area
Helps teacher assess prior knowledge of both concepts and words

31. Sort the following words into the categories you think they best fit
Sort the following words into the categories you think they best fit. Since we
are just beginning the unit there should be many words that are new to you. Note
them as you find them in your reading. Terms: asteroid, astronomer, comet,
Crew, Earth, meteor, mission specialist, Venus, Yuri Gagarin, Saturn, shuttle,
Booster rocket, telescope, Neptune, satellite, astronaut, helmet, moon
________
Orbiting
Objects
The Solar
System
People
Planets
________
________
________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________
Spacecraft
&Equipment
________ ________ ________ ________ ________ ________

32. Morphology
Do my students have a good idea of word meanings? Are they able to expand their knowledge of words by understanding unit parts?
Students demonstrate their understanding of the structure and meanings of words
Helps ELLs think about the Latin and Greek roots within their own language (relationship to cognates)

34. Table of Content
What understanding of informational texts are students coming with?
Students fill in appropriate “chapters” from two different types of genre
Helps teacher assess understanding of student exposure to non-fiction or expository text
Helps teacher determine student understanding of main concepts

36. Observational Notes
How is the teacher systemically providing time to collect anecdotal notes on the literacy development of all students in the content area several times a month?
Structured time in which teacher can observe students’:
oral reading skills, questions and discussion ability, knowledge of vocabulary, social behaviors, communication, pacing, motivation, level, lack of understanding of content (comprehension), instructional needs, follow-up plans, etc.

37. Observational Notes for PRC2
Partner 1_________________ Title of Book
Partner Date Number of sessions with book
Partner 1
Partner 2
Oral reading notes
Questioning (asking or answering)
Attention to knowledge of vocabulary
Teacher Reflections:
(Partners social behaviors, communication, pacing, motivation, level, lack of understanding of content (comprehension), instructional needs, follow-up plans, etc.)
(Ogle & Correa, 2004)

40. Break Out Sessions
Presenters: Javier Arriola, , Debra Gurvitz, Peggy Gyftakos, Jeanette Hamman, Renee Mackin , Margaret McGregor Carol Schmitz, Christine Seidman
There will be 2 sessions of break-outs;
choose two you will attend – one from each set of four

41. Fluency Snapshot: Matching Texts Session 1 - A
Content Objective
Assessment to identify instructional text level
Language Objective
Explain the purpose and limitations of the fluency snapshot
Activities
Try a fluency snapshot and graph result
Review student data
Select text in alignment to student score of correct words read

42. Partner Reading & Content Too (PRC2) Session 1 - B
Content Objectives
Learn the steps in PRC2
Use the student guide sheet
Use leveled books to match students with partners and texts
Language Objectives
Use academic vocabulary to describe the components of the texts (Table of Contents, headings, visual displays) and how to engage (preview, question, discuss)
Activities
Preview components
Engage in PRC2 reading with partner

43. Vocabulary Using Technology Session 1 - C
Content Objective
Provide electronic/computerized experience to assist in the internalization of content and related vocabulary
Build and connect to student’s home language
Cognates
Language Objectives
Discuss ways to incorporate more use of new vocabulary in the classroom and integrate reading and speaking
Activities
Electronic Jeopardy
Semantic Gradient

44. Text Structure Session 1 D
Content Objective
Provide strategies to understand elements of informational text
Table of contents, index, glossary
Text boxes, captions, bold text (fonts), headings, sub headings
Graphs/charts
Illustrations/photographs
Language Objectives
Examine the importance of teaching text structure; Practice describing text structure features to students as part of introduction of a lesson
Activities
Preview text
Predicting
Guess the Heading
Think, pair, share
Questioning

45. Organizing and Observing PRC2 Session 2 - A
Content Objective
Provide ways to manage and organize PRC2
Language Objectives
Learn the vocabulary of PRC2;
Develop ways to describe & analyze student talk
Activities
Set up management folders
Role of the teacher – observational notes
Audio tapes using observation form

46. Vocabulary Games Session 2 - B
Content Objective
Provide multi-sensory learning experiences to enhance content vocabulary
Build on word knowledge
Roots, base words, affixes
Language Objectives
Incorporate a variety of vocabulary development activities to deepen students’ retention and learning of key vocabulary
Activities
Pyramid game ( concept sorts)
Vocabulary beans (morphology)
Jeopardy (roots, base words, affixes)

47. Questioning and Discussion Session 2 - C
Content Objective
Provide opportunities to construct meaning
Connections, syntheses, engagement, clarification
Language Objectives
Learn and use the vocabulary of PRC2
Activities
Four square questioning probes
Conversation starters
Responding to the text

48. Word and Concept Sorts Session 2 - D
Content Objective
Provide kinesthetic activities for students to organize content and related vocabulary words and concepts
Language Objectives
Develop students’ ability to describe and explain their reasons for grouping words
Activities
Pre and post assessment sorts
Open, closed and layered sorts
Student generated sorts

49. University Collaboration Within and Across Schools
Carol Schmitz
Debra Gurvitz
Javier Arriola

50. Across Schools Visit to Carson and Bateman Schools Saturday Seminars
Articulation across schools in the project
Year Two met at Project Schools
Friday Seminars at National-Louis University
Articulation of the units
Data collection to inform instruction

51. Professional Development Opportunities
University Classes
Masters in Education, Reading
Endorsement in Reading or Type 10 Reading Specialist
SIOP Training
Saturday Seminars
Professional Presentations
Area 4 Staff Development Spring 2006
International Reading Association 2007

52. Leadership in Schools and Area
School Leadership
Professional Development Days
Grade Level Meetings
Data collection to inform instruction
Model partner reading
Chicago School District Area 4
Staff Development for Area 4 Spring 2006

53. Fluency Snapshot and Matching Text
Debra Gurvitz
Christine Seidman

54. Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) Classroom Fluency Snapshot
Collection of 1 minute reading samples
All students read the same grade level passage

55. Why Use Quick initial screening Hear every student read orally
Instructional Uses
Instructional Groups for Guided Reading
Pairing for Partner Reading
Match students to leveled materials
Independent Reading 98% accuracy
Instructional reading 95% accuracy
Informs oral fluency-- RACE
Rate
Accuracy
Comprehension (limited)
Expression

56. Administer Copy of text to be read Number on recording sheet
Student reads original text
Stop watch or clock with second hand
One minute
Ask question or 2 after (optional)

57. Administer--Record Errors
Anything different from the text that is not corrected – put line through the word missed
Mispronunciation (if accent or dialect not as error)
Substitutions (even if they mean the same)
Omission
Words you supply after 2/3 seconds
Repeated miscues—count each time
Incorrect proper names
Multiple counted only one time

58. Not Counted as Errors Don’t count—but note self-corrections
hesitations
repetitions
insertions
punctuation

59. Scoring Words Per Minute
Count words read per minute
Subtract miscues
Total = amount of correct words read per minute

60. Look at Rate Best is the Hasbrouck &Tindal National Norms Local Norms
Best norms for Fall, Winter, Spring
National Norms
Local Norms
Classroom Norms
Grade Level
WPM
1.8
30-54
2.8
66-104
3.8
86-124
4.8
95-130
5.8
6.8
7.8
8.8

61. Look at Accuracy
Key: Were they accurate but slow or were they fast and not accurate
Understand what is happening
Very accurate and slow
For instructional level reading with support of teacher, group or tutor at least 95%(as close as you can get)

62. Things to Remember All students read same text
Reading is timed ( 1 minute)
Accuracy is recorded
Correct WCMP ( words per minute) are charted

63. References
Allington, R. L.(2006). What really matters for struggling readers: Designing research-based programs. (2ND Edition). New York: Allyn& Bacon.
Blachowicz, C., Sullivan, D., Ciepley, C. (2001). Fluency Snapshots: A quick screening tool for your classroom. Reading Psychology, 22,
Johns, J. L. (2005). Basic reading inventory. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
Moskal, M., Blachowicz, C.(2006). Partnership for fluency. NY: Guilford
Rasinski, T., Blachowicz, C., Lems, K (Eds). Fluency instruction: Research-based best practices. NY: Guildford.
Rasinski, T. (2004). Creating fluent readers,. Educational Leadership, 61, 1-9.
Short, D. & Fitzsimmons, S. (2007). Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring language and academic literacy for adolescent English Language Learners – A report to the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

64. Contact Information
Donna Ogle, National-Louis University
Amy Correa, NLU/CPS