Open Court Reading Tools for Schools June 9, 2008

Sharing the why: our purpose Clarify district expectations Provide practical tools for guiding staffs toward coherent instruction in ELA Provide guided practice in the use of common tools Establish a vision for next school year

Glancing back and gazing forward: Open Court in perspective ELA Content Standards Balanced Literacy OCR Adoption Training and Support Assessment Notebooks Alignment of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Essential questions and common denominators How do the Big Ideas of Reading, Balanced Literacy and Open Court fit together? What does fidelity mean? What are the “Must do’s” and “May do’s” of reading instruction? How can I help the staff improve their practice as reading teachers?

How do the Big Ideas of Reading, Balanced Literacy and Open Court fit together? Tool #1: Pliers Reading Instruction Matrix Big Ideas of Reading Balanced LiteracyOpen Court

What does fidelity mean? Implementation of a Scientifically-Based Reading Research (SBRR) program  Carefully  Faithfully  Systematically Instructional content based on “Big 5” Assessment data regularly used to meet student needs  Differentiating instruction  Monitoring progress

What is fidelity of program implementation? Content - Accurately teaching the the reading program the way it was designed Delivery - Using effective teaching techniques and strategies to maximize student learning

What is fidelity of program implementation? Coherent Instructional design  Explicit instructional strategies  Systematic instructional sequences  Ample practice opportunities  Aligned student materials Ongoing use of assessments that inform instructional decisions

What is fidelity of program implementation? Systematic delivery of explicit instruction  Scaffolding  Differentiation Intervention (in addition to initial instruction)  Students NOT making adequate progress  Students EXCEEDING grade level standards

How do you maintain fidelity and differentiate instruction? Follow program’s scope and sequence Select activities to meet identified student needs Use instructional daily routines Focus on grade-level power standards  Within the BIG 5

What are the “Must do’s” and “May do’s of reading instruction? Tool #2: The Socket Wrench Literacy Instruction Commitments Must do’sMay do’s

How can I help the staff improve their practice as reading teachers? Tool #3: The Swiss Army Knife O.C.R. Observation Checklists Levels K-5 Part 1: Preparing to Read Part 2: Reading and Responding Part 3: Language Arts Workshop

Three ways to use the checklists: To document fidelity of program content and delivery (evidence-based) To facilitate meaningful, professional conversation about teacher practice (explicit) To structure ongoing walk-throughs and teacher support (systematic)

Guided Practice OCR Video Clip #1 Phonics and Fluency Grades 2 & 3 Sound by sound blending/ Whole word blending Use 2nd grade checklist Time: 2 minutes 39 seconds Focus Questions: How is this blending activity important for all students? How have you seen this routine used in the classroom?

Guided Practice OCR Video Clip #2 Comprehension Grade 1 1st Read of Shared Reading Use 1st grade checklist Time: 2 minutes Focus Questions:  What questions would you have for this teacher in a follow-up conversation?  Describe observations you have made during shared reading.

Guided Practice OCR Video Clip #3 Workshop/ Intervention Grades 4-6 Introduction to concepts of workshop and intervention Use 4th grade checklist Time: 1 minute 8 seconds Focus Questions: What are some difficulties attached to implementing workshop? How have you or your teachers overcome them?

Sharing the how: your plan Describe your vision for utilizing…  The Pliers (Reading Instruction Matrix)  The Socket Wrench (Must do’s and May do’s)  The Swiss Army Knife (Observation checklists)

Paper Airplane A Lesson for Flying Outside the Box