RtI: Ensuring Students are Responding to Effective Core Instruction

RtI: Ensuring Students are Responding to Effective Core Instruction
Let’s talk about maximizing classroom instruction while improving the skill of the low performer without losing the rest. Good teaching is good teaching is good teaching and all kids will rise as a result of good teaching. Ingham County Coaches’ Training December 10, 2009 Kim St. Martin

Agenda Maximizing Classroom Instruction Core Program Analysis
Importance of Belief Characteristics of Diverse Learners Explicit and Systematic Instruction Core Program Analysis Importance of a research-based core program Steps to complete a targeted skill review of the core program Instructional modifications: Fidelity Plus

Foundations of Classroom Instruction
Belief Characteristics of Diverse Learners Teacher Factors Time Systematic and Explicit Instruction So let’s talk about the major themes. First of all we are going to talk about belief-the importance of belief. That is the starting point. We are going to talk about diverse learners. The kids where we may say, “Yes…but… what about these kids.” Then the factors that research suggests that if teachers are doing these things there is a higher likelihood that kids are going to learn well. We are going to talk about the aspect of time because we are never going to have enough time to do what we are being asked to do. Then finally, you are going to hear the words systematic and explicit at nauseam at the same time you are going to need to know what that really looks like. We are going to go through some examples of adjusting a core basal based on making it more explicit and more systematic. (Click to next slide)

The Importance of BELIEF
There is a documented difference in student learning between schools where administration and staff actually believed and expected that all kids would learn at high levels and where the adults believed that much student learning was outside of the school’s control. Let’s talk about belief. I will just let you read that. I don’t think anyone hear will disagree with this statement. We have heard stories. We know schools and we know of our own experiences. That self-fulfilling prophecy. (Click to next slide)

Activity Read the document entitled, “All Kids Can Learn…”
Identify the phrase that best describes what you perceive your school ascribes to and has put into practice. It is time for you to do a little assessment of your own school. You have a handout entitled, “All Kids Can Learn.” This comes from the Professional Learning Community. How many of you have that or have been exposed to DuFour and Eaker’s work? Great. Then you understand that the thing you need to know is that your MiBLSi team is actually a PLC. It is a group of people committed around a common cause of student learning using data to make decisions and adjusting your instructional practices. Using scientific inquiry and action research in other words, you are trying it out and you are looking at your data and asking, “Did it work?” Then you are adjusting as you go along. We are professional learning communities focused on student learning in behavior and in reading. So, this comes from that and one of the critical things is the idea that we believe that we can get all kids to learn at high levels. I would like you now to individually read the four characteristics when people say, “Yes- we believe all kids can learn.” and those descriptors. I would like you to put down where your school exists on the continuum of one to four. Go ahead. Trainer: you may not want to have people share. It depends on your audience. You will have principals in the audience and this could be very uncomfortable for people. You may want to invite them to share their information with those at their table but just be cautious.

But what about those kids who…?
Understanding At-risk Learners But I am sure you can at least imagine of at least one person in your building is going to say, “yes but what about those kids who…the special ed. students or the ones that do not have any home support or we have attendance policies. They will come up with all of those. full

Characteristics of At-Risk Learners
Effective instructional strategies for diverse (at-risk) learners must be constructed with relevant learner characteristics in mind. Retaining information Strategy knowledge and use Vocabulary knowledge Language coding Well, there is an excellent book created by (cite the reference at the bottom of the slide). When we say diverse learners we are really talking about our at-risk population. They found through the research there are four relevant characteristics of kids who are at-risk in terms of truly capabilities of learning. One is retaining information. They just don’t retain information as well. Second one is that they just don’t use the strategies as well as the other kids. They lack in vocab. knowledge which was mentioned in the morning. They come in already behind and the gap only continues to grow. And the idea that phonological awareness that language coding understanding that words are made of indivdiual sounds and those sounds are made up of individual letters. full Effective Teaching Strategies that Accommodate Diverse Learners – Third Edition” Kame’enui, Carnine, Dixon, Simmons, & Coyne, 2007

A central problem in reading instruction arises, not from the absolute level of children’s preparation for learning to read, but from the diversity in their levels of preparation (Olson, 1998) I will give you just a second to read this quote. We know we have a wide variety of skills and abilities. So when we talk about all kids can learn we are really talking about trying to accommodate a huge spectrum. In terms of any classroom you could have three or four grade levels represented in terms of any given skill. (Click to next slide) this quote will resonate with you. It is not that students are low performing it is the diversity or range of needs in the classroom that presents the challenge. The estimated range of instructional levels in many classrooms is as high as five different grade levels in some schools (Jenkins, Jewell, Leceister, Jenkins, & Troutner, cited in Fuchs & Fuchs, 1994). Because of this diversity we need to think carefully about how the 90 minute instructional block is scheduled to ensure that it is meaningful for all students.

All Kids Can Learn… “In today’s Information Age society, however, … it is the purpose of schools to bring all students to their full potential and to a level of education that was once reserved for the very few… Only the fourth school … offers a viable, modern-day response to students who are not learning.” Richard DuFour and Robert Eaker (1998) “Professional Learning Communities at Work”, p. 61 I will just let you read this final quote of this section. So what it takes is a real comittment because unless you are believing that you can get your kids there we are already behind. So the bottom line is that research indicates that it can happen but you need to be really systematic and explicit for those kids or learning is not obvious. (Click to next slide) Research indicates that all kids can learn at high levels … but only if we are using systematic and explicit instructional techniques.

Teachers Make a Difference
“The impact of decisions made by individual teachers is far greater than the impact of decisions made at the school level.” “More can be done to improve education by improving the effectiveness of teachers than by any other single factor.” Robert Marzano So the place where that happens is with teachers. Individual teachers in their classroom. Here are a couple of quotes from Robert Marzano’s “Classroom Instruction that Works.” One is that for all we do at a systems level and systems are very important because you need to support teachers but for all we do the decisions made by individual teachers is far greater.

The Impact of Teacher Effectiveness
Percentile Ranking after two years of instruction Percentile Ranking Average School/Average Teacher 50th Highly Ineffective School/ Highly Ineffective Teacher 3rd Highly Effective School/Highly Ineffective Teacher 37th Highly Ineffective School/ Highly Effective Teacher 63rd Highly Effective School/Highly Effective Teacher 96th Highly Effective School/Average Teacher 78th This is research cited by Marzano out of the Classroom Instruction that Works. What they did was estimate growth of students based on whether or not a child was in an average school with an average teacher or in a highly effective school with a highly effective teacher or maybe in a highly effective school with an effective teacher and they said that if you have a child who is in the middle of the pack, at the 50th percentile and they were exposed to that kind of setting for two years. Where would they be at the end of those two years? Well, what they found was that by definition a student who was in an average school with an average teacher after two years in that setting would remain at the 50th percentile. But lets look at some differences. If you have a highly effective school and an ineffective teacher, the kid looses ground. But at the same point, if you have an ineffective school but a very effective teacher, they can still have the students gaining ground relative to other students. What we would like to look at is if we have a highly effective school with even just our average teacher, the student still makes significant gains. So, from a systems stand point we really want to establish highly effective school systems but we also want to make sure we are improving the skill of our teachers so that we can make sure. (Click to next slide) Trainer Note: Marzano does not explicitly define what consitutes a highly effective school. Keep in mind, Marzano did an extrapolation of the data not a research study. But what it boils down to is that highly effective schools were schools where there is a guaranteed and viable curriculum, clear focus on goals, data is used, teachers have collaboration and communication with one another. Two sources are used for this information (Classroom Instruction that Works and What Works in Schools) Robert Marzano, Classroom Instruction that Works

Teaching: An art or a science?
“…but education, despite efforts to make it so, is not essentially mysterious.” Is teaching an art or a science? We like to think that it is a combination but when we begin to use the word “art”, then we also begin to limit the ability of those to be able to accomplish what needs to happen. William Bennett

Teaching: An art or a science?
The most effective teachers use their time very well and monitor the engagement and progress of each of their students. BIG IDEA!! – The entire purpose of time management and student engagement is to increase their opportunities to respond and to receive instructional feedback. So let’s define it so we can demystify that term “art.” The most effective teachers use there time very well and monitor the engagement and progress of their students on a regular basis. Here is the big idea: the purpose of time management , the purpose we go through PBS, the purpose we do CHAMPS, the purpose we look at effective instructional strategies is to increase the opportunities for students to respond and to receive feedback. Think about it in terms of classroom management. If you have a classroom where there is chaos, the amount of opportunities where students have to respond and receive feedback are diminished significantly. So when we are looking at that our whole goal is to get kids to learn. That is why we are in education. So, how do we get there? We increase those opportunities to learn and to provide feedback. (Click to next slide)

2nd Grade Vocabulary Instruction Active Engagement
Trainer: this is a partner activity. Read below for the protocol. Have participants watch the clip. One’s tally the number of times the students had an opportunity to respond. Two’s watch for the different techniques that Anita Archer used. After partners share data then pull group back together and say, “I ask you, Did Anita Archer do anything that most teachers could not do? Yes or no everyone.” “No” It is demystifying that fact that some say, “Well they are just good teachers.” “ They were born to be teachers.” They are learnable skills. (Click to next slide)

Putting 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound sack.
The Importance of Time Putting 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5 pound sack. So let’s talk a little bit about time. Time is huge. It is like you are putting 10 pounds of potatoes in a five pound sack. One of the things Marzano looked at if we were to teach all the standards that exist between kindergarten through 12th grade, and we were to teach the majority of kids to mastery, it would take over 15, 000 hours to do. Here is the rub. Teachers only have 13, 000 hours that the students are in school. Then if you take into account where not all time is used for instruction, about 50% on average, then you are looking at over 15, 000 hours of time needed and only doing it in 6, 500 hours. Can’t be done. So, here is the thing. We don’t have the time necessary to teach over 15, 000 hours of standards and objectives that are out there. We need to be very clear about what it is important to teach. So one of the nice things in being a part of this in literacy is that we defined the big ideas. We have defined the important aspects about what really needs to get hit but then we need to use our time very wisely. (Click to next slide) Exact numbers for Marzano’s story on time: Time to instruct the standards and benchmarks for student K through 12 = 15,465 hours. Time students are in school K through 12 = 13,104 Average percent of time teachers spend instructing = 21 to 69% (assume generously 50%) Amount of instruction time = about 6500 hours to cover over 15,000 hours of need.

Importance of Time Although there are many things that are out of teachers’ realm of control regarding time (fire drills, lice checks, assemblies), teachers have the most control over the time in which students are ENGAGED in the instruction

Use of Time An Example from the World of Literacy
Research Finding: Maximizing students’ “reading engaged time” is the biggest single indicator of reading achievement. “Miles on the Page” Here are some research findings to go along with that. If we really want kids to learn how to read then we have to maximize the amount of time they are instructed and have opportunities to read and get feedback on their progress as they go through. (Click to next slide)

Observations from 1,500 classrooms
Classrooms in which there was evidence of clear learning objectives: 4% high-yield strategies were being used: 0.2% there was evidence of higher-order thinking: 3% students were either writing or using rubrics: 0% fewer than half of students were paying attention: 85% students were using worksheets (a bad sign): 52% noninstructional activities were occurring: 35% Mike Schmoker has a book entitled, “Results Now.” In that book he cites the Learning 24/7 Study and what they did is they went in and observed in 1,500 classrooms and just looked for what was going on in those classrooms and did observations and here is what they found. I will just let you look at that. Mike Schmoker, Results Now (Learning 24/7, 2005) Learning 24/7 Classroom Observation Study (2005)

The Challenge Here is the challenge folks: If indeed the thing that is going to impact student learning the most is opportunities to respond and receive feedback and this is the current state of affairs in some places, how do we do that? (Click to next slide)

Systematic and Explicit Instruction

What do we mean by “systematic and “explicit”?

Defining “Systematic”
Guided by a scope and sequence that is comprehensive Scope and sequences teaches all the appropriate knowledge and skills in a “programmatically scaffolded” manner.

Defining “Explicit” Teacher models and explains
Teacher provides Guided Practice Students practice what the teacher modeled and the teacher provides prompts and feedback Teacher provides Supported Application Students apply the skill that the skill as the teacher scaffolds instruction

1st Grade Decoding Explicit Instruction
So here is another example of a master teacher but again, one who we identified whose skills were not any different than what any teacher could do. I would like you to watch Anita again, one more time. This time I want you to look for these things. Look for the number of times she models what she wants from them. As you watch, watch for the modeling, examples, the explanations she gives. You will want to make some tick marks on your paper every time you see it. How much practice does she provide her kids and to what level of mastery is she looking when trying to get them there? Trainer: Allow partners to discuss what they saw. (Click to next slide)

How We Teach: Instructional Modifications to Enhance Program Effectiveness
A curriculum review indicates that many programs (even those that are research-based) need the following instructional enhancements: Demonstrate explicit steps and strategies Model multiple examples Provide multiple opportunities to practice Structure ample review and opportunities for learning We are going to give you some examples and give you some practice on this in term of explicitly instructing within the program that you already have. We understand that the curriculum you have in front of you-some are better than others but all, even the best researched based programs need enhancements in some skills. So we need to be critically looking at is there enough modeling, practice, and guidance throughout that instruction so that all of our kids are learning to mastery? Does it demonstrate? Are there multiple examples and so on. (Click to next slide) Harn, Simmons, & Kame'enui © 2003 25

Remember… A core program is written with your “average” student in mind If there is more than 20% of the grade level falling below grade level in a particular skill then there needs to be something more added to the core in order to meet the needs

Defining: “adding something more….”

Demonstrate Explicit Steps & Strategies
Model all steps or strategies necessary to complete the task successfully. Factors that affect student learning: Teacher wording (need to be concise) Showing before asking Providing feedback So when we talk about modeling we need to think about teacher wording so that it isn’t confusing. We want to be showing before we are asking. One thing we saw in several programs is kids tell me what you figured out on this before even showing them first. For your kids who already get it, they are the ones with their hands raised they are the ones that can tell you exactly what is going on. But for your at-risk kids, they have already figured out, they have already learned: “Oh-I don’t know this stuff;” rather than you being explicit up front modeling this is what it looks like to be successful. This is what it is. Then your at-risk kids can be engaged and involved that much sooner. Then providing them feedback on their learning. (Click to next slide) Harn, Simmons, & Kame'enui © 2003 28

Provide Multiple Opportunities to Practice
Opportunities to practice a skill is a powerful predictor of student learning (Howell & Nolet, 2001). Provides timely feedback of student understanding so corrective feedback can be provided, if necessary. Methods to increase opportunities to practice include: choral responding, small group instruction, providing individual turns. Opportunities to practice both initially and then over time. It is real important. Then to review those over time and sometimes the review can be really brief but you have to keep it in your mind we need to keep these skills current. It is like you and me learning a new computer program and then not using it for six months. The chances of us remembering what key strokes to make you will always have to call the resident technology expert for help. (Click to next slide) Harn, Simmons, & Kame'enui © 2003 29

Structure Ample Review and Opportunities for Learning
Provide students opportunities to review previously learned skills. The practice needs to be sufficient, distributed across time, and cumulative. Review skills most recently taught most often Review activities can be very brief (2 minutes) and done a couple of times throughout a lesson using the same approach used in initial instruction. Harn, Simmons, & Kame'enui © 2003 30

Making our lessons more explicit (as written)
Harcourt 2nd Grade Decoding Example “Vowel Variants aw – au(gh)” Let’s model this. We are going to model a process. We are going to do it as written in the basal. We used Harcourt. We chose this program just because it was something we could get our hands on from one of the districts we work with. It is not to say that it is better or worse than any of the others at this point. Trainer: Use document camera to show lesson as it exists in the basal. Refer to Handout for Decoding example 1Trainer teaches lesson as written. Participants act as students.

Activity Assess the lesson on the “Explicit Instruction Checklist”
provided. Trainer: participants rate the lesson on the bottom of the lesson example using the “Explicit Instruction Checklist.”

Core Programs: Addressing the Needs of All Learners
Let’s talk a bit about core programs. It is really about addressing the needs of all learners. (Click to Next Slide)

Purpose (con’t) Today is about:
Understanding the importance of a core program Modeling a process whereby You are looking at your data to determine areas of instructional need and focus You are teaching the elements of your core explicitly and providing sufficient practice for the vast majority of your students to have mastery Today is about understanding the importance of a core program. We will help define what “core program” means. We are going to model a process where all of you can go back to your buildings and review assessment data to identify a particular area that needs focus/attention. You are looking at the teaching elements of your core to see if they are explicit taught and provide sufficient practice for the vast majority of your students so there is mastery. (Click to Next Slide)

Core Program A Core Instructional Program of Validated Efficacy Adopted and Implemented Schoolwide
A core program is the “base” reading program designed to provide instruction on the essential areas of reading for the majority of students schoolwide. In general, the core program should enable 80% or more of students to attain schoolwide reading goals. You have seen this triangle a lot, your core program is for all students. It is universal. So, we need to make sure that we have elements within our core that meet the needs of all students. Your core program, if it is effective, should meet the needs of at least 80% of your students. We were working with a school yesterday and they had 50% of their second graders established in alphabetic principal at the beginning of the school year. That is the last time that critical skill is even assessed. That is an issue with the core. So, I had the team pull first grade data and 40% of their first graders were established in alphabetic principal this winter. We have enough data to show that if we have students pronouncing 50 correct sounds per minute, they go onto meeting the end of first grade reading goal and the liklehood of those students continuing to be sucessful readers is very high as well. (Click to Next Slide)

Why Focus on a Reading Program?
The research literature on critical skills children need to be successful readers is compelling. Much classroom practice is shaped by reading programs Publishers have responded to the research and redesigned programs. A program provides continuity across classrooms and grades in approach. Many state standards are using research to guide expectations. So let’s talk about why we are focusing on a reading program. The research regarding critical skills children need to be successful is compelling and each year, publishers are getting better They have responded to the research by putting more emphasis for example on phonemic awareness in kindergarten, alphabetic principal as a real emphasis the second half of kindergarten into first grade. We know that having a reading program helps us provide continuity horizontally, across classrooms within a grade level as well as vertical continuity from grade level to grade level. Many publishers of reading programs have aligned their program to the state standards. Please know though that your core reading program isn’t just necessarily the books you brought to today’s training. The core is what you provide all students in regards to reading. You may just use the materials provided to you within the basal program but some districts do not. They have supplemental phonics programs. Whatever you give to all students, that is your core program. For those schools who do not have a core basal, it should be pointed out that they still have a core curriculum that all students are intended to get. A basal has an intentional scope and sequence by which it increases the likelihood that all students will be exposed to the right things at the right time. No basal program is perfect and all can benefit from an in-depth analysis. (Click to Next Slide)

To Basal or Not to Basal Both need the following:
Teachers highly trained Coaching for implementation Fidelity checks Ongoing formative assessment Selecting the essential pieces Adequate time Instructional grouping In the examples some used published basals, some did not. How does a team decide? It is important that whatever they choose, the teams realize that systematic and explicit instruction, properly sequenced needs to occur. MiBLSi’s stance is that a core would be advantageous but neither guarantees success nor suggests that other methods can be successful. Trainer Note: Bring folks back to their Schoolwide Training Plan, and ask them to identify how Question on the bullet “selecting the essential pieces”..are we suggesting they select pieces of the core or intervention program? Rule of thumb, if you are using an intervention program, that is not the time to select pieces. But if you are using a core program (basal or a compilation of materials, strategies) there are so many pieces contained in a core program that can have you teaching from the core all day long. So selection of essential pieces will be critical.

To Basal or Not to Basal When not using a research-based core basal, however, you will also need to address the instructional design of what constitutes your core: Instructional priorities Sequencing of skills Materials Time usage Cumulative review

Benefits of Using a Core Basal
A well-sequenced, research-based core eliminates the need for significant amounts of preparation and planning. More likely to have consistency across classrooms If it is a good core, it is sequenced, research-based and requires less work and planning from teachers.

Obstacles of using a Core Basal
$ Perceived loss of teacher autonomy Cost to purchase a basal is often times a concern. Trainer Talk regarding the perceived loss of teacher autonomy: as a teacher if you are using a core program, you are still going to be making informed instructional adjustments based on data, research. So, it is not about loosing your professional judgment, it is about enhancing your professional judgment.

Programs Implemented with High Fidelity
Programs are only as good as the level of implementation. Not all programs are written to provide the guidance to do the following well. To optimize program effectiveness: Implement the program everyday with fidelity Deliver the instruction clearly, consistently, and explicitly (e.g., model skills and strategies) Provide scaffolded support to students (e.g., give extra support to students who need it) Provide opportunities for practice with corrective feedback (e.g., maximize engagement and individualize feedback) You are going to hear me talk today out of both sides of my mouth because we need to make sure that we are implementing our programs with fidelity. With that said though, we know that sometimes even your best core programs have some areas that need support. Our core programs are written with your average to above average child in mind. So when you have at-risk learners, the child who doesn’t come to the table with the background knowledge, often times the core program will assume they have the prior knowledge but for some of your learners, that isn’t the case. So, you need to make sure you are using your program with fidelity with that said though, you need to identify some areas where you may have to augment, supplement the core meaning more teaching modeling, more guided practice, more independent practice in order to make sure those students have mastered the necessary skills. Last but not least, the last bullet is very important because we need to make sure we are providing our students with many opportunities to respond and receive feedback. In schoolwide reading day 2, we talked about the factors that impacted time. That was the area that many of you identified as having the most control over. You have the most control over the number of times students respond to your instruction and receive feedback. (Click to Next Slide)

Looking at YOUR Core

Two Basic Questions Are we teaching the right things at the right time? Are we teaching the right things well such that all students are learning? Today we are going to try to answer two basic questions. Are we teaching the right things at the right time? And are we teaching the right things well such that all students are learning? (Click to Next Slide)

Looking at the data Always start with your data.
What does it say about your core instruction? in terms of percent of students in the low risk and established categories (80% or above) in terms of sustaining appropriate growth? (95%) If you are meeting the above criteria and other data substantiates your findings, there is very little need to do a comprehensive analysis of your core. We always start with our data. First and foremost, we have to look at our data and ask ourselves what is saying about the instruction that is happening in the core. If your data says you have 80% or more of your students that are meeting the expectations and you are keeping 95% of them where they need to be (at grade level) well then you need to celebrate that and quite frankly, looking at your core is not necessarily what you need to do. I don’t know of too many schools who are there yet but yesterday, we worked with schools who had 89% of their students established and kept 95% of them where they needed to be. But if you are not meeting that criteria, then you have to go in and look at your core. You are going to hear us say at nausea between now and the next two years, “Go back and look at your core…look at your core…look at your core…” Because it is what is going to give you your biggest bang for your buck. By focusing on your core, it decreasing the number of students your reading teachers and title I support staff are going to have to be servicing. So by always starting with your data, it will tell you a story and lead you to the area in which you will need to focus. (Click to Next Slide)

Kindergarten Alphabetic Principle
Approximately 40% of students are consistently not making benchmark. We are going to present some data today. I understand that some of you are still testing your students using the DIBELS measures, I understand some of you do not have the data entered into the website so that is why we did not ask you to bring your own data today. If you did, wonderful but we will show you some project data that will present a pretty compelling case as to why we need to be looking at alphabetic principal. The data in this graph represents cohort 2 data. The black line is a phase line indicating that was the first year cohort 2 schools began participating in MiBLSi. We know that there are 40% of kindergarten students who are below expectation-they have not met the critical skill of alphabetic principal. (Click to Next Slide) Cohort 2: N=1,644 End of year at Benchmark 53% N=1,504 End of year at Benchmark 67%

1st Grade Alphabetic Principle
Again, approximately 40% of students did not make the benchmark . So if we move on and look at first grade. The same cohort, we find that again, approximately 40% of students did not meet the benchmark for alphabetic principal. They are falling behind. (Click to Next Slide) Cohort 2: N=1618 Percent at Benchmark Mid Yr: 41% End of Yr: 65% N=999 Percent at Benchmark Mid Yr: 58%

Second Grade Alphabetic Principle
Yet again, fall of 2nd grade approximately 40% of students are consistently not established in A.P. If we look at second grade, the last time this particular skill is assessed, yet again, about 40% of students have fallen behind. (Click to Next Slide) Cohort 2

First Grade Alphabetic Principle: Rates of Growth
2 sounds per week 2 sounds per week 1.3 sounds per week 1.7 sounds per week This graph will show us the rates of growth for students in the 20th percentile, 50th percentile, and 80th percentile. If we begin by focusing in on the rate of growth of students who scored in the 20th percentile, we see that from the beginning of the year to the middle of the year those students’ average gain was approximately 1.5 sounds per week. Now in order to accelerate those students to catch them up to the students scoring in the 50th percentile they would have needed to make gains of approximately, sounds per week. Between the middle of the year and the end of the year, it drops off. The students scoring in the 20th percentile only gained .5 sounds per week. The emphasis on this particular skill is not has heavy the second half of first grade as it was the first half of the year. There is a changing emphasis in that grade. The emphasis the second half of the year is on connected text. If we look at the rate of growth of the students scoring in the 50th percentile. We see 1.7 sounds per week in the winter and then 1.3 sounds per week. Your highest students scoring at the 80th percentile made gains of 2 sounds per week in the first half of the school year and 2 sounds per week the second half of the school year. So I want you to take a minute to tell your partner what you notice about the trajectories of the three different groups of students displayed in this graph? Go ahead. Trainer note: this should be only about one minute. They should notice the gap between all three groups widening. Call participants back together and discuss what you heard as you were walking around to each group. As I was walking around the room many of you noticed the gap widens. I also heard that letter sounds and the blending of those sounds is more explicitly taught but not so much the second half of the school year. So you do have to go in and take a look at your core. Remember what alphabetic principal is, it is two things. It is knowing the sounds and it is taking the sounds and blending them into words. But we also need to have the automaticity and after a child continues to blend a word and blend a word and make a word to a point in the brain where they do not have to think about it anymore. It is taking sounds and blending words and then the blending words have to become sight words. The sight words are not just “the” and “was”. The are all words. (Click to Next Slide) 0.5 sounds per week 1.5 sounds per week To have all become proficient, the lowest 20% would need a rate of 2 or more correct sounds per week. 48

Data Summary Spring Kindergarten and Fall First Grade are critical times for phonetic instruction. Current core program is leaving approximately 40% of the students behind. The students left behind fall further behind. The bottom line is, we presented some data where 40% of the students have been left behind. And the students who are left behind fall farther behind. Some of you may already know what your own data says to substantiate looking at this particular area in first grade, but we have enough data to say that this is an issue. (Click to Next Slide)

Taking Data vs. Using Data
This is a good example of taking data as opposed to using data.This reflects the change in risk factors over the first semester for children learning how to decode. Students at the benchmark status in winter have an almost 90% chance of reading at an appropriate rate by in text at the end of the year. Those who are strategic have less than a 50% chance and those who are intensive have only a 12% chance. When school A was asked how they achieved this, they mentioned commitment in terms of time and instruction. School B is a school of similar demographics in the same district. School C is a school with a much higher SES profile in another district who started at the same levels as School A. This is a good example of how using data produces results. If all we do is collect data and it is not apart of our conversations at the district level, school level, grade level, classroom level and informing our instruction then what good is it? (Click to Next Slide)

Core Program Analysis: Targeted Skill Review
Let’s talk about core program analysis. (Click to Next Slide)

Question 1: Are we teaching the right things at the right time?

Points to Consider Sequencing of skill
Preskills taught before the strategy itself Instances that are consistent with the strategy are introduced before the exceptions High utility skills are introduced before less useful ones Easy skills are taught before more difficult ones Strategies and information that are likely to be confused are not introduced at the same time.

Answering Question 1 Tools that are helpful Curriculum Maps
Oregon Reading First Florida Center for Reading Research “A Consumer’s Guide to Analyzing a Core Reading Program…” Some of the tools that are helpful in regards to answering this question are curriculum maps. Oregon Reading First and Florida Center for Reading Research have developed curriculum maps that can help you determine the appropriate sequencing of skills. The second tool is one that we will actually be working from today. It is the Consumer’s Guide to Analyzing a Core Reading Program.” We will talk in a bit about how that tool is to be used and how we will use it today. (Click to Next Slide)

(Oregon Reading First 180 day pacing guide)
Curriculum Maps (Oregon Reading First 180 day pacing guide) Let’s talk about the curriculum maps. Immediately following the power point slides in this section, you have a copy of the Oregon Reading First Curriculum Maps. You will need to take them out for an activity we will be doing in a minute. Trainer Note: Wait for binders to click before continuing. Ask participants to check their neighbor to make sure they have the necessary things out. (Click to Next Slide) 55

How to Read Curriculum Maps
“Big Idea” Months Skill Outcomes X Instructional Emphasis Discuss how to read the curriculum maps. Team activity: Now you will need to look at first grade alphabetic principal. I would like you to work as a table and read through the skills/outcomes that are expected of first graders in regards to this particular big idea. What do each of the skills look like/sound like in first grade. We want you to go through this process because you may not have first grade teachers or people who have a common understanding of what the sequence of instruction looks like/sounds like in first grade. So, read through the skills/outcomes and discuss each of these in terms of what it looks like within a first grade classroom. Go ahead and we will be around to answer any questions. Trainer Note: Some teams may have difficulty with this. You may want to have a cheat sheet completed ahead of time that concretely defines each of the outcomes e.g. “Reads words with common words parts” was confusing to some teams. This activity is necessary to prime the pump so to speak for the use of the Consumer’s Guide for first grade. (Click to Next Slide) Measurable DIBELS Benchmark 56

What to do if your core is completely inadequate?
Cry Purchase a new core Provide a series of supplemental instruction programs to replace or augment the core Important reminder: Review the scope and sequence of each supplemental program and its fit to an overall instructional plan. So what do you do if you find your core is completely inadequate? Do you cry? Maybe, although we don’t want you to cry. It would be great if your district were in a position to purchase a new core program; however, in today’s economic times I don’t think that is a possibility for many of us. Let’s target in on the third bullet though. You may find that your core is inadequate in the area of alphabetic principal. You may have to provide some supplemental programs to augment the core. I caution you with one thing. Any supplemental program that you choose like K-PALS etc. Make sure you look at the scope and sequence to ensure the right skills are being taught at the appropriate times. Using the Oregon Curriculum Maps we referenced a few minutes ago will assist in that process. In addition, think of our most at-risk students (those who are at the tip of the triangle), if you have a series of supplemental/intervention programs that introduce different sounds, you may have a child who is having to learn for example, 3 different sounds per week. May that confuse some of our at-risk learners? Yes or no? Yes. Please keep that in the back of your minds as well. (Click to Next Slide)

Question 2: Are we teaching the right things well such that all students are learning?

Points to Consider Are the lessons: Explicitly taught Modeled
Scaffolded Practiced to mastery Reviewed across time

Points to Consider Are we maximizing instructional engaged time by attended to The big ideas Use of time Classroom management Increasing opportunities for students to respond and receive corrective feedback

Answering Question 2 Helpful Tools
Training information from “Schoolwide Reading Day 2” (i.e. “Systematic & Explicit Instruction Definitions & Guidelines”) “A Consumer’s Guide to Analyzing a Core Reading Program…” Some helpful tools for you to use include the training information from Schoolwide Reading Day 2, specifically the document entitled, “Systematic and Explicit Instruction Definitions and Guidelines.” I should also add in some of the information/content we used from our behavior trainings. Are we in the classrooms defining our expectations for routines, transitions? Have we taught those to our students? The second thing is the “Consumers Guide” which we will go into detail in a moment. (Click to Next Slide)

Targeted Skill Review: Kindergarten Phonics
Break before moving into this section. Trainer Note: This section will require you to complete the modeling of the core program materials. Here is what needs to be tabbed ahead of time and instructions for laying out the materials in a way that makes the process go very smoothly. You need the following Houghton Mifflin themes: one, two, four, six, and ten. Theme One Tabs: W2, T6 (Theme Skills Overview): Since you are beginning the modeling process by trying to answer question 2 of “Letter Sound Association Instruction” you will want to find the first time in the series where the teacher uses the instructional routine to “explicitly model the introduction of a letter sound prior to practice and assessment.” In this particular series, it does not happen until theme two; however, you need to model how to look for it beginning in theme one, noting that “previewing the ABC’s” is the primary focus in the first theme. It is important to emphasize how using the graphic organizers e.g. theme skills overview (broader view) and “Daily Lesson Plans” (closer look into the daily lessons that occur in the classroom) assist in the process of finding the necessary information. Theme 2: T6 (“Theme Skills Overview”), T18 “Daily Lesson Plans” noting in week one “beginning sound /s/” is introduced. Since this is what number two of the consumer’s guide is asking us to identify the initial instruction, we need to know what day in week one /s/ is introduced. Then refer to the “Daily Lesson Plans” to note that /s/ occurs in day 2. You will then need to turn to that specific lesson to review the instructional routine (T36). Theme 6: T94, Since the initial instruction of teaching letter sounds occurs in week 6, theme 6 would be approximately the middle of the year. Remember that the Consumer’s Guide (as we are using it) is asking for three points of time (initial instruction, some week in the middle of the year and then a point in time that represents the end of the year (Theme 10) Theme 10: T36 Things to note: continue to emphasize that core programs are designed for average to above average students. Show the “Definitions and Guidelines for Explicit and Systematic Instruction” on the document camera and when showing the first time the instructional routine occurs, there needs to be more modeling, practice, etc. Don’t get bogged down in reading each of the instructional routines in theme 6 and 10. The point to emphasize with those is that the instructional routine is the same. You only have to make the point once that the level of instruction needs to be much more explicit for the at-risk child. Refer back to Anita Archer and how in a three minute clip there were 44 opportunities for students to respond and receive feedback. The second modeling piece is in the “Decoding” section of the Consumer’s Guide. You will be using themes 4, 6, and 10. Theme 4: T50 (blending short a words) Just as you did in the modeling of the first section, keep reminding the participants that it is easy to say, “these lessons are good” but bring them back to the data, if you are leaving more than 20% of your population behind then it is not good enough. Keep them thinking in terms of how to enhance the lesson (more modeling, more guided practice) Theme 6: T112 (blending short i words) Just as in the first modeling, the lesson used in theme 6 is really just to demonstrate the instructional routine is the same. Theme 10: T50 (blending short u) This theme is used to show that the instructional routine is consistent throughout the year. Now we will begin to move into the meat of the rest of the morning. We will spend the rest of this morning walking you through the process of conducting a targeted skill review. You are going to hear me say again and again that this is a process. We eventually will want you to replicate this process back in your buildings. We will be modeling this process using kindergarten core materials and we are going to have you work using the first grade core materials. Choosing kindergarten and first grade materials was kind of intentional on our part. We are isolating the big idea of alphabetic principal. Knowing you guys may not have your own first grade data to review, we have enough project data to demonstrate the area of alphabetic principal at the K-1 level is a problem. It really was intentional for us to use kindergarten core materials because you will also see elements of a kindergarten core program that will need some additional explicitness of the instructional routine in addition to the first grade core materials. (Click to Next Slide)

Steps for Targeted Review
Respond to your data Gather appropriate materials Clarify subjective terminology and concepts Use advance organizers from the basal if available Designate a note taker to document findings Summarize key findings Identify instructional enhancements Establish an action plan In regards to the steps for completing the targeted skill review, the first thing we have to do is respond to our what everybody? Data. It is about responding to your data. For the school I was working with yesterday who had 89% of their students established in the area of alphabetic principal, that is an area that they did not necessarily need to begin to look at. Instead, they could use their data to identify a different area. Again, because we are just trying to teach a process, they were not hung up on that fact that we were looking at an area where there data was above the 80% threshold. Once you have responded to your data you will need to gather the appropriate materials. That includes your core program materials. The next thing you will want to do is to make sure that any subjective terminology and/or concepts are clarified. We began to take you through this process a little while ago when we had you work within your table to read through the skills/outcomes listed under first grade alphabetic principal just so there was some common understanding of what the skills/outcomes look like and sound like when teaching first graders how to read. You will see in a second when you review the statements in the Consumer’s Guide (the document by which we will be using to perform a targeted skill review) you will see there are some subjective terms and concepts. Using advance organizers will help in this process. As you know, our core basal programs have a lot of stuff in them. Using the advanced organizers (the theme at a glance, the daily lesson planner) will help frame your thinking. Designating a note taker will also be important. That individual will also be responsible for summarizing key findings. Then as you are going through the process always be thinking about instructional enhancements. Always going back to your data because it is easy to say that what we have is really good. The next thing out of your mouth should be “well, what percent of first graders are established in alphabetic principle?” If you have less than 80% of your kids established in A.P. then what is there is not enough. Again, keeping in mind that your core programs are written with your average to above average students in mind. Last but not least, it is important to commit the instructional enhancements you identified to an action plan. This is where we see things fall apart. We work with schools that have known the core program is not meeting the needs of their students and have already identified what needs to be done to enhance the core. The problem is that the time/resources have not been allocated to make the enhancements a possibility. Today, as we go through this process with you, we will ask you to identify at least one-two instructional enhancements and then commit those to an action plan. (Click to Next Slide)

Respond to Your Data Data Summary
Spring Kindergarten and Fall First Grade are critical times for phonetic instruction. Current core program is leaving approximately 40% of the students behind. The students left behind fall further behind. So, again respond to your data and you probably should have someone at your table who will be the nag and say, “What about our data? This lesson may look good but look at our data and the levels of our students.” (Click to Next Slide)

Gather Appropriate Materials
Core teacher materials “A Consumers Guide to Analyzing A Core Reading Program …” District and Oregon Reading First Curriculum Maps Sticky notes, pens, pencils Action Plan In terms of gathering appropriate materials, the first thing you need are the core program teacher materials. You will also need the “Consumer’s Guide” and you may even find you need to refer to the Oregon Reading First Curriculum Maps to help frame your thinking. Sticky notes, pens, and pencils are also needed along with an action plan. (Click to Next Slide)

Center on Teaching and Learning College of Education, University of Oregon A Consumer’s Guide to Analyzing a Core Reading Program Grades K-3: A Critical Elements Analysis August, 2006 Deborah C. Simmons, Ph.D. Texas A&M University Edward J. Kame’enui, Ph.D. University of Oregon Here is what I want you to do right now. You will find following this power point section, a pink stapled packet. It looks like this (show on document camera) and you also need the white stapled packet that is right behind the pink stapled packet. The white packet looks like this (show on document camera). Trainer note: give participants time to click open binders and take out the necessary documents. Tell them these are the tools they will be using for the remainder of the morning. Before I turn you loose we are going to take a look at the Consumer’s Guide. The cover of the document looks like this. The white document in front of you contains only snippets of the actual document. You have the complete document in the back of your binder, behind the tab entitled, “Consumer’s Guide.” You do not need this now so please do not bother taking it out. It is there as a reference for you for when you return to your buildings. (Click to Next Slide)

Focus of the Consumer’s Guide
“A key assumption of a core program is that it will (a) address all grade-level content standards and (b) ensure that high priority standards are taught in sufficient depth, breadth, and quality that all learners will achieve or exceed expected levels of proficiency. All standards are not equally important. Our critical elements analysis focuses on those skills and strategies essential for early reading.” I will let you read this quote. This is from the authors and it details the focus of the guide. It is true that all standards are not equally important. This document was developed with the intention of working with teachers/schools in focusing on the skills and strategies that are essential for early reading. (Click to Next Slide) (August 2006, p. 4)

Critical Elements by Grade Level
Kindergarten Phonological and Phonemic Awareness Letter-Sound Association Decoding Irregular Words Vocabulary Listening Comprehension Third Grade Phonics and Word Analysis Text Reading and Fluency Vocabulary Reading Comprehension This is just a sample. There are of course critical elements for 1st and 2nd grade. These critical elements reflect the big ideas of beginning reading supported in research. Often times we typically have intermediate buildings (grade 4-5 or 6) and say, “What about us?” This ends with third grade. Well, when you review the critical elements and criterion statements in third grade you will see the essential elements hold true for fourth through sixth grade. Trainer Note: We are not asking teams to do all elements but rather focus on a few criterion within one element based on their data and needs. (Click to Next Slide) A review of the criterion for third grade reveals that the essential elements hold true for fourth through sixth grade.

Using This Tool Today. Used for whole program analysis prior to adoption For this task, the criterion are guiding statements to look critically at systematic and explicit teaching elements These columns represent equally distributed points in time later in the year for each criterion statement. For example: if the initial instruction for criterion 1 is in week 10 and there are 30 total weeks of instruction in the year, the middle column would look at week 20 and the final column would look at week 30. In regards to how we will use this tool today, this tool was originally intended to be used by schools who were previewing core reading programs prior to adoption/purchase. For that reason, there is a column that is used for rating the elements of the particular core program. We are not going to use this column because what you have is what you have. We are not expecting you to toss your core program and go back to tell your curriculum directors your core program was rated very poorly. What we want to do is to use the criterion statements, which are guiding statements to look critically at the degree to which the instructional routines are explicit and the content is presented in a systematic way. You will also notice there are three columns devoted to providing evidence. What you need to know here is that these columns represent equally distributed points of time for each of the criterion statements. Trainer Note: Read the example provided in the box. It is possible that depending on the criterion statement, the points of time identified may not be the same. It depends on when a routine or skill was initially introduced. Identifying the end of the year is easy, you are just pulling from the last theme in your core program. The middle of the year (just as the example noted) is just the difference between the two. Now, please do not get caught up in exact intervals when identifying the middle of the year. This is just for us to take a snap shot. The last thing I want to mention, and you do not have this on your version of this slide are letters written in italics following the criterion statements. Those letters are defined in the beginning of the complete version of the Consumer’s Guide. They provide the reader with strategies in how to gain a representative sample from the program that is being reviewed prior to adoption. We will not be using those today. So, please pay not attention to them. Trainer talk: We are not using this tool as it was originally intended. We are using data to isolate areas of need to increase intensity of instruction. The criterion in this tool can be a very helpful means to look critically at both the sequence and explicitness teachers are asked to follow when teaching specific skills. Therefore, we are looking at these criterion in an attempt to improve the day-to-day instruction in order to increase student learning of specific outcomes. (Click to Next Slide) Provide reviewer with strategies “to gain a representative sample of the program” prior to adoption

Kindergarten Example Alphabetic Principle
Now we will model how you will review the core program materials that you brought today. (Click to Next Slide)

Clarification of Terminology
Need to agree on the definitions of subjective terminology. The first thing you will have to do (and you have this in your pink stapled packet) is clarify any subjective terminology or concepts. What I mean by subjective concepts has to do with what that particular statement looks like/sounds like in the particular grade level. So in terms of the terminology, you can see that “explicitly models” and “frequent and cumulative review” may mean different things to different people sitting at the table. The first thing you will want to do then is to come to some sort of agreement about what is meant by “explicitly models” and “frequent/cummulative review.” (Click to Next Slide)

“Explicit” Teacher Models and Explains “I do it.” “We do it. We do it. We do it.” Teacher provides frequent feedback to students. “You do it…until it is automatic.” Well, explicit has to do with the teacher modeling and explaining. That is the I do it, we do it, and you do it until it is automatic. Remembering back to Schoolwide Reading Day 2, we talked about how the I do it, we do it, and you do it is an iterative process that is contingent on the skill and level of learning of the students. It may be I do it, I do it, I do it, we do it, I do it again, we do it, we do it, we do it, now you do it, nope, I do it again, and we do it again etc until the level of learning is automatic. Often times we are asked to equate a number around the teacher modeling that is necessary or guided practice etc. There is not a specific number; rather, you need to make sure you constantly go back to your data and if you are finding more students are hitting that target zone then great, the number of modeling's, guided practices, and independent practices is working. If your data suggests otherwise then you need to adjust those pieces. (Click to Next Slide)

“Frequent and Cumulative Review” Ongoing sufficient practice such that skills are not lost across time. Practice that allows for integration of the skill into more complex tasks. As for frequent and cumulative review, we are talking about ongoing sufficient practice such that the skills are not lost across time and that the level of practice allows for the skill to be integrated into more complex tasks. A good example of this basic decoding CVC words and then integrating that skill into decoding multisyllabic words. The task of decoding multisyllabic words is more complex; however, we need to be intentional about integrating the decoding skill into more complex tasks. (Click to Next Slide)

Modeling the Targeted Skill Review
Let’s begin the modeling portion of the targeted skill review. (Click to Next Slide)

Modeling Kindergarten: Letter-Sound Associations
I am only going to model in Letter Sound Association Instruction number 2 which says, “Explicitly models the introduction of the new sound of a letter prior to student practice and assessment.” You have the somewhat completed version of what I am modeling in front of you because it is the pink stapled packet. Trainer Note: go to document camera. So, the first thing you will do is lay out your themes, theme one all the way to theme 10 (Trainer points to them on the presentation table.) You want to identify the first point in which that particular skill is introduced. If I look at theme 1, I open up to the first part and quickly realize that the first two weeks of school have to do with a welcome to kindergarten. If you look at what is happening within these days the students are previewing the ABC’s. So, then we go into theme 1 and go to the theme skills overview which give me a broad picture in terms of the concepts being taught. I look through to word work which you can see here and it is previewing the ABC’s for week one (point to it), week two (point to it), and week three (point to it.) We are now into five weeks of school and the target skill has been previewing the ABC’s. So we are now into the middle of October. There is nothing in theme one. Now we have to go to theme two. And again, I am going to open up to the Theme Skills Overview and I find that in week one initial consonant /s/ is taught. But, I need to know when during week 1. By looking at my “Daily Lesson Plan” that will help me zero-in on the exact day in which initial consonant /s/ is taught. It happens in day two of week one. What I want to do now is go to that particular lesson to review the instructional routine that is used and I want to assess the explicitness of the routine. (Trainer shows the actual lesson and read the lesson as a teacher would read it when teaching it to students.) I will just say from the get-go that many of you will say, “We know this is not enough but think about some of your new teachers, some of the teachers who are not necessarily new but new to the grade level, wouldn’t they need to know this? I work with some schools where middle school teachers due to lay-offs and contract provisions were placed in lower elementary grades and have not a clue how to teach reading. One of the teachers was a PE teacher and now is teaching second grade. We want to make sure there is adequate communication across grade levels so we can make sure that we not only have an understanding of what explicit instruction means but how to we make the lessons in our core materials that much more explicit because our data indicates we are leaving many students behind. If we look back at this instructional routine, you can see that one major component of students learning the sound of /s/ has to do with the instruction that occurred in the Phonemic Awareness warm-up. In terms of the actual instruction of teaching phonics, (Trainer reads the lesson and mentions the guided practice is a picture sort and the independent practice is a student practice page.) If you think in terms of what the criterion statement of the Consumer’s Guide is asking us to assess, turn to your partner and discuss the level of explicitness of the instructional routine we read and discuss what you might do to enhance the lesson in order to make it more explicit so all of the students benefit from the instruction. Go ahead. Trainer Note: go around and quickly listen to what is being said. You will hear majority of the teams say the modeling was not enough. Call the group back together and mention what was heard. Please know, I am not hear to insult your intelligence by saying to you the number of teacher modeling’s is not enough. What I am here to say is when we think about concise wording and how we define systematic and explicit instruction, we framed our thinking around a document we used in Schoolwide Reading Day 2. (Trainer: put the “Definitions and Guidelines for Explicit and Systematic Instruction” up on the document camera. The participants have this sheet and it is the last page of their white stapled document. That particular stapled document is what participants will be working from when they begin review first grade core materials.) Think back to the Anita Archer clip from Day 2 and think about the time in which it took me to read the instructional script for Sammy the Seal. In a three minute clip, Anita provided students with 44 opportunities to respond and receive feedback. So, how do we take what we have in our core materials and make the instructional routine such that we are maximizing the number of student responses (chorally) so all students are benefiting. This piece is the initial instruction but we also want to look at the instructional routine three points of time. Then I go to the middle of the year considering when this skill what initially taught, I will pull theme 6 to quickly look at whether or not the instructional routine is the same and I know right away it is the same. The alfafriends card is used, same kind of script etc. Now we need to look at the end of the year and so theme 10 is what I will pull from and low and behold it is the same routine alphafriends card and everything. (Click to Next Slide)

Modeling Kindergarten: Decoding Instruction
Now I will model one of the criterion statements for Decoding Instruction. That is the second page of your pink packet. We will only be looking at number one which says, “Provides explicit strategy for blending words.” Explicit strategy being one of those subjective terms that you would have to come to agreement. Week 12 is the first time the instructional routine for decoding words is taught. That puts us well into November. Think about our at-risk learners needing more chances to practice a skill as opposed to learning different skills. Well, we should immediately be saying that the decoding instructional routine can be introduced weeks before this so long as the child has knowledge of a few consonants and at least one vowel. Would you not think that providing students with seven additional weeks of practice in a skill may improve the likelihood they mastered the skill yes or no everyone? Yes. In terms of the instructional routine, (Trainer goes to the script of the lesson and reads it to participants as if teacher was reading it to student). It is easy for us to say to ourselves, “Wow, that is a really good lesson. There is modeling, practice, and independent practice.” That is when you go back to your data to say, “Wait a minute, we are leaving behind ____ percentage of our population so this isn’t enough.” Trainer Note: You already modeled how to use the Theme at a Glance and Daily Lesson Planner to identify the point of initial instruction. You need not do that again. They are getting antsy and want to get to work. (Click to Next Slide)

Summarization of Key Findings
Here are is the summarization of findings. This is exactly what you have in front of you. (Click to Next Slide)

Summarization of Key Findings (continued)
This was the summarization for what we just did. (Click to Next Slide)

FIDELITY PLUS Instructional Enhancements
The goal of this was just to introduce you to the process. You may not have had a chance to complete the three criterion statements that is fine. This is just to introduce you to a process. Right before you began the review of your core materials, I asked you to begin thinking about possible enhancements as you went along through the steps for review. Let’s define instructional enhancements a bit further. (Click to Next Slide)

Guiding Questions What did you find?
Are the instructional routines systematic, explicit, & appropriately sequenced? Is there sufficient modeling, practice, opportunities for feedback, and ongoing review? If so but your data suggests that too many students are not getting it, are they being done with fidelity? How do you know? Has there been adequate training and professional development? In order to identify the types of enhancements that are needed, you need to review your summary of findings. Were the routines explicit, appropriately sequenced. Again, the data tells you that. I had one school yesterday whose first grade alphabetic principal was 40% of the students were established. The team, as they were reviewing their core program kept saying this is a wonderful core and there are more than enough modeling's, practices etc. So I said, “Well what can you attribute to having 60% of the students below where they need to be?” I asked if it was fidelity of the program, have all teachers been trained? If it is fidelity and lack of training then that is a whole new level of problem solving around using the core as intended. Your line of questioning though is contingent on the data. (Click to Next Slide)

Instructional Enhancements
Let’s go back to our model and this slide is the third page of your pink stapled packet. These are the identified instructional enhancements. When we defined instructional enhancements we are looking for things that are realistic, practical, and doable. Because we are not suggesting that you are going to completely realign your core or that you are going to spend days upon days realigning the materials. Instead, we are asking you to identify one or two things that you can do that will give you your biggest bang for your buck. Looking at the first one highlighted on this slide, it had to do with the introduction of /a/. The kindergartners did not begin blending until week 12. By introducing /a/ earlier, we can begin to use that routine in week 3 or 4. That is something is easy to do . The materials for the week can be shifted into week 3 or 4. Here is another reason why that is important. In week 12, not only were students learning the sound /a/ but they were also learning sight word /a/ in that same week. Could that not be confusing to our students yes or no everyone? Yes. The second enhancement identified has to do with more modeling, guided practice and independent practice. (Click to Next Slide)

Action Plan Once you have identified the enhancements you will want to commit those to an action plan. This is the last page of your pink packet and the goal here is to have you list how are you going to deploy the resources to make what you identified happen? Does it require time? Who will do it etc.? (Click to Next Slide)

Remember… You are engaging in significant schoolwide systems change.
You can only move as fast as the rest of your staff. Sometimes you need to move slow in order to move fast. Here are some things to remember. This is a lot of work. You are engaging in significant schoolwide systems change. We said in August that this was not going to be easy and it would take a lot of work. Here is the good news though folks. The work you are doing now-communication plans, lesson plans for behavior expectations, behavior matrix all those things take a lot of work up-front but once it is done, the brunt of the work is finished. Any modifications needed will be minor adjustments to systems and processes that you at the very least have the foundation put in place. You need to remember two other things though. You may need to move slow in order to move fast. That is why we have been saying from the get-go gather staff input. Take information back to staff. If you want them to buy-in and be a part of what is happening then spending the time to give them the knowledge-the “how-to knowledge” we talked about that is essential in helping staff manage change and transitions. Don’t ever under estimate that fact. (Click to next slide)

Assignment Universal screening for first grade
Use alphabetic principle as the “targeted skill” that needs to be explored in the core program Use the documents provided from today’s training to conduct a targeted skill review Be prepared to report findings so please document

RtI: Ensuring Students are Responding to Effective Core Instruction

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