1. Strategic Reading in Action
Year 3: Implementing Effective Reading Practice in Middle School

2. Where we’ve been….
In – we looked at how to implement a reading workshop in our reading time.
In – we focused on how to strategically teach a reading skill using Tanny McGregor’s launching sequence and where to embed that at each grade level

3. Where we’re headed….
In we want to deepen our ability to effectively teach strategic reading by working this morning on three teaching strategies:
Interactive Read-Aloud
Guided Reading
Literature Circles
Silent Sustained Reading (Independent Reading)

4. Objective 1: What does this look like… how do I develop one?
Objective 2: Same as above.
Objective 4:
Objective 3:

5. Walk-Through Results from 09-10

6. Interactive Read-Aloud
“The single most important acttivity for building knowledge required for evetual success in reading is reading aloud to children.”
Commission on Reading (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott & Wilkinson)

7. Interactive Read-Aloud
The problem…
Although most reading and language arts teachers agree with this, the specifics on how to use a “read-aloud” in the classroom are rarely taught in a college class on reading or in most district pre- services, nor are they taught in teacher’s texts.

8. Interactive Read-Aloud
In examining data from their use and then in study teacher effectiveness, a skillset has been developed in the essential components of an effective interactive read-aloud.

9. Essential Components of an Interactive Read Aloud
Books and reading materials are chosen to match a students’ development, emotional and social levels.
Selections had been previewed and practiced by the teacher.
A clear purpose for the read aloud was established with the students before implementation.

10. Essential Components of an Interactive Read Aloud
Teachers modeled fluent oral reading when they read the text.
Teachers were animated and used expression.
Teachers stopped periodically and thoughtfully questioned the students to focus them on specifics of the text.
Connections are made to independent reading.

11. Text Selection
Teachers were consistently observed selecting high-quality childrne’s leterature for their read-alouds. Often these were award-winning books such as Newberry or Caldecott winners or books that had received notice in some way.

12. Common Read Alouds Books by Grade Level
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle
Petey by Ben Mickaelsen

13. Common Read Alouds Books by Grade Level
Holes by Louis Sachar
Faithful Elephants by Yukio Tsuchiya
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
Tru Confessions by Janet Tashjian

14. Common Read Alouds Books by Grade Level
Who Will Tell My Brother by Marlene Carvell
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Tureman
Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida by Victor Martinez
The House That Crack Built by Clark Taylor

15. Previewed and Practiced
Teacher practice allowed them to pause effectively during the read-aloud to model fluency and offer opportunities for questioning. (RATATA)
“The teacher has anumber of sticky notes on the pages wit hher questions and prompts written on them.”

16. A Clear Purpose
Expert teachers consistently demonstrated a clear pupose throughout the read-aloud.
They remind the students of skills they are focusing on (ex. Inferring or Asking questions)
There are posters on the wall about the skill that the teacher refers to througout the read-aloud.

17. Fluent Reading and Animation
The teacher has practiced the book and is familiar with the sequence of the text.
Pronunication errors are rare.
They change voices to denote different character’s emotions and various moods.
They used movement, hand gestures, facial expressions to fully engage the students.
Children loved to listen to their teachers read.

18. Discussing the text
Teachers use strategic discussions of the text before, during and after the read- aloud.
They want the students to engage with the text and connect with their own background.
Student are asked to connect, make predictions, ask questions, etc.
Then they talk with others (Turn and talk).

19. Connect to independent reading
Final component was the expert teacher’s ability to connect their read-aloud to independent reading or writing that was to occur during the day or next days.
Some teachers used a journal, a writing prompt, or the guided or independent reading to connect with the read-aloud.

20. Why use an Interactive Read-Aloud?
“ When teachers introduced the target book or article by sharing an overview and a focus, students seemed to better understand the purpose. These expert teachers used these as an anticipatory set. This increased student enageent with the text and ensured that he book discussions were focused and lively. Their thinkin and talking were enhanced as listened to and talked about books with their teacher and peers. During the conversations many of the expert teachers created word walls and charts of selected bocabulary and student responses. Charting of and later use of “story time talk” is of major significance in improving literacy instruciton.”
Roser, Hoffman, Labbo, and Forest, 1992

21. Let’s see one in action…
What did you see?

22. Let’s do one….
Each team has been given a short but challenging text to use as the focus for a interactive read-aloud.
Take 30 minutes and develop this piece into an interactive read aloud with your team.
Read it first. Determine skill to focus on. Determine schema to connect with in setting purpose. Develop pausing moments and questions focused at the skill determined as well as any discussion tools to use (turn and talk, pair share, etc.)
Be ready to model lesson for group.

23. Objective 2: Guided Reading
Guided reading is “reading by the students.” The students are responsible for the reading of the text.
Reading materials are again chosen at the appropriate level for each group. If students are not reading on the same level, different materials should be used. Groups should be homogeneous.
Can be used small group or large group, but small group aids in differentiation. Groups are determined by assessments and students’ changing needs.

24. Components of Guided Reading
Teacher plans the lesson.
Identifies core content.
Plans for a minute lesson.
Defines purpose of the lesson.
Selects appropriate reading strategies.
Gathers materials needed for lesson.
Previews text prior to instruction.

25. Components of Guided Reading
Teacher sets the scene.
States the expectations for the students.
Identified the reading strategy on which lesson is focused.
Introductions the material, author, illustrations, theme,genre.
Asks students for predictions
Discusses student’s schema
Uses visual aids to elicit student response

26. Components of Guided Reading
Students read independently.
Use meaning, structure and knowledge of letter-sound relationships.
Make a meaningful guess an dhcke to see if it makes sense (sounds right, look rightL
Read on to the end of the sentence or reread
Ask for hel if an unknown work is essential to meaning.
Note any problem words for later discussion.

27. Components of Guided Reading
Teacher provides individual feedback
As students read, teacher moves from student to student and closely observes and monitors the ways in which individual students process print.
Teacher checks on reading strategies that are being used, praises appropriate strategies and suggests new ones (fix-up strategies).

28. Components of Guided Reading
Students confer for Deeper Meaning
This is stage where they extend meaning of the text.
Focus on students’ responses to text.
Focus on literary merits of the text.
Follows a conversational pattern.
Encourages students to interact concerning the text.

29. Components of Guided Reading
Students respond to the text…
Writing
Oral responses
Group presentations
Connecting to other literature
Students share their responses with their peers.

30. Let’s see one in action…
What did you see?

31. Let’s Analyze a Teacher’s Lesson
Each grade level has been given a model of a guided reading lesson, both the plan and the text.
With your team, analyze the lesson, and determine how you could incorporate this in your teaching of reading.
Be ready to share out in 15 minutes.
Feedback

32. Literature Circles How do you use a literature circle?
There is no one way to do literature circles.  Literature circles look different in every classroom; they change from teacher to teacher, grade to grade, student to student.  Literature circles have no recipe, they are not a specific "program", and they never look the same from year to year -- or even from day to day. 

33. So where do we begin?
Perhaps the easiest way to understand what literature circles are is to examine what they are not.
Literature Circles are . . .
Literature Circles are not . .
Reader response centered
Teacher and text centered
Part of a balanced literacy program
The entire reading curriculum
Groups formed by book choice
Teacher-assigned groups formed solely by ability
Structured for student independence, responsibility, and ownership
Unstructured, uncontrolled "talk time" without accountability
Guided primarily by student insights and questions
Guided primarily by teacher- or curriculum-based questions
Intended as a context in which to applyreading and writing skills
Intended as a place to do skills work
Flexible and fluid; never look the same twice
Tied to a prescriptive "recipe"From
From Getting Started with Literature Circles by Katherine L. Schlick Noe & Nancy J. Johnson

34. Literature circles fit into a comprehensive literacy program as one way for students to apply what they are learning about reading and writing:

35. Literature Circles What are Literature Circles?
"In literature circles, small groups of students gather together to discuss a piece of literature in depth. The discussion is guided by students' response to what they have read. You may hear talk about events and characters in the book, the author's craft, or personal experiences related to the story."

36. Literature Circles What is its purpose?
"Literature circles provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response."

37. Literature Circles How do I do it?
Select members for the Literature Circles (discussion groups).
Assign roles for the members of each circle.
Assign reading to be completed by the circles inside or outside of class.
Select circle meeting dates.
Help students prepare for their roles in their circle.
Act as a facilitator for the circles.

38. Roles for Literature Circles
Some roles may be as follows:
discussion director - develops questions for the group to discuss
passage picker or literary luminary - chooses a selection that the group rereads and discusses because it is interesting, informative, the climax, well written....
vocabulary enricher - chooses words that are difficult or used in an unfamiliar way
connector - finds a connection between the story and another book, event in their personal llife or the outside world
illustrator - draws a picture related to the reading
summarizer - prepares a brief summary of the passage read that day
travel tracer - tracks the movement when the characters move a lot
investigator - looks up background information related to the book

39. Literature Circles Skills to Introduce Prior to Literature Circles
Prior to implementing Literature Circles, you will want to introduce the skills that students will be expected to use in completing the Literature Packet. Use your basal reader, a class novel, or a read-aloud novel to introduce the following skills:
Summarizing a chapter or section of a book
Writing good discussion questions (Use the Reading Response Questions to work on this skill.)
Answering questions in complete sentences
Completing graphic organizers (Venn Diagram, Story Plot Flow Map, Character Map, etc.)
Illustrating a favorite part of a story and writing a caption for it
Choosing vocabulary words and making guesses about their meaning (based on context clues)
Looking up words in a dictionary and choosing the definition that fits the context clues

40. Different Types of Literature Circles
Basic Literature Circle
Structured Literature Circle
Modified Literature Circle
Mini Literature Circle
Talking Sticks
Literary Roles
Non-Fiction

41. Let’s see one in action…
What did you see?

42. Literature Circles
Take the handout on different types of literature circles.
As a team jigsaw the different types and teach each member of the team each type.
Decide as a team one of the styles that would best work in your reading class and be willing to share with the group how your team would see that one implemented within your reading classes.

43. Silent, Sustained Reading vs. Independent Reading
SSR defined…
Students read whatever they like.
Short time-span,15 to 20 minutes,
Every day during school
Independent Reading consists of a large block of time minutes. This time is planned out carefully and is a daily routine. In a classroom where reading workshop is a main structure of the reading program independent reading is considered to be one of the most important times of the day.

44. Book Selection
During S.S.R. students can choose whatever book they like. These books may consist of library books, books brought from home, or books from the classroom library. These books may or may not be on the students reading level.
During Independent Reading students are taught how to choose a "just right book" which consist of books on their reading level. They choose books from an extensive classroom library based on level and interest. However, a teacher may guide the student's selection of books.

45. Student’s Role
When a Reader's Workshop is in place, students engage in applying and practicing reading strategies that have been modeled by the teacher. The student responds to the literature through writing and keeps a reading record of books read.

46. Teacher’s Role
During Independent Reading teachers are much more accountable for their actions as well. During this time, teachers meet in one on one conferences or small guided reading groups with students. The teacher is responsible for monitoring students comprehension and decoding skills through informal reading assessments. Also, the teacher helps the student set reading goals and continues to monitor progress of those goals.

47. Monitoring Independent Reading
Teachers must monitor and assess independent reading (it is not free reading, DEAR or SSR.
Ways to assess:
Reading logs
Post-it note questions
Students answered one generic questions after each session
Teacher-Student mini conferences, teacher records in log
Rubric on attitudes, reading behaviors, etc. for sharing with parents and students- should be done quarterly.
Teacher is very active during independent reading.

48. What’s your style?
Discuss now as a team, how each of you will monitor independent reading.
Share strategies and be ready to share these strategies with whole group.

49. Summary….
A total reading program and fully implemented reading workshop …

50. Remember where we have been…
First step in implementing reading workshop are the procedures… kids must know and practice them for it to work smoothly.
You will want to use all components as you implement your reading instruction.
The key is how do you want it to look in your classroom and how will it best work for you. Think about these as we come back tomorrow to work on our curriculum maps and assessments for reading.

51. Questions and Evaluation Time
Please complete the evaluation before you leave.
Remember I am here as a resource to support you in your implementation of these strategies in your instruction.
See you tomorrow!!!