1. How to Implement a Successful Literacy Initiative Nicole Hochholzer
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How to Implement a Successful Literacy Initiative
Nicole Hochholzer

2. Answer the big questions:
Who?
How?
What?
When and where?
But most importantly:
WHY???

3. Adolescent Literacy
A successful adolescent literacy initiative is only successful if you know WHY you are implementing it!

4. Answering the questions:
Developing great leadership – WHO?
Using lexiles to differentiate instruction – HOW?
Choosing the most effective strategies – WHAT?
Fostering reading for pleasure – WHEN & WHERE?

5. DEVELOPING GREAT LEADERSHIP
Do form a strong team of interested staff
Don’t rely on one administrator or one literacy coach
Do develop a plan that details WHO will do WHAT by WHEN with time for reflection and adjustment
Do give yourselves time – it won’t happen in one year
Don’t expect things to go perfectly – they won’t!

6. Successful literacy initiatives generally address five steps:
Identify the literacy issues and needs in the school.
Develop consensus around the need for change.
Build capacity to address the literacy issues and needs with staff.
Design action steps to support change over time.
Monitor, evaluate, and modify plans as success is achieved.

9. Leading with Literacy Rubric

10. Grade Levels Do I want to buy a 5th grade shoe?
Why would I want to buy a 5th
grade book?

11. USING LEXILES
Using lexile data gives staff helps with the WHY - the argument “it’s not my job to teach reading” seems rather petty when a student with a 400L is facing a textbook of 1300L
It’s up to the literacy leadership team to help staff understand HOW to use lexiles to differentiate instruction

12. Lexile Literature 1500 - On Ancient Medicine 1400 - The Scarlet Letter
Brown vs. Board of Ed.
War and Peace
Pride and Prejudice
Black Beauty
900 - Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders
800 - The Adventures of Pinocchio
700 - Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery
600 - A Baby Sister for Frances
500 - The Magic School Bus Inside the Earth
400 - Frog and Toad are Friends
300 - Clifford’s Manners

13. Lexile Texts
The Making of Memory: From Molecules to Mind; Doubleday
Philosophical Essays; Hackett Publishing
Psychology: An Introduction; Prentice Hall
Business; Prentice Hall
America: Pathways to Present; Prentice Hall
Writing and Grammar Gold Level; Prentice Hall
900 - World Cultures: A Global Mosaic; Prentice Hall
800 - Word 97; Glencoe/McGraw-Hill
700 - World Explorer: The U.S. & Canada; Prentice Hall
600 - Science (Grade 4); Addison-Wesley
500 - People and Places; Silver Burdett Ginn
400 - Imagine That!; Scholastic Inc.
300 - My World; Harcourt Brace

14. Uses at Kaukauna High School:
Self-selection of books in English classes
Math textbook example
Helped teachers understand need for strategies and differentiation
Part of textbook selection process
“Snapshot” test for special ed

15. CHOOSE THE MOST EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES:
Literacy Leadership Team can:
“Test run” strategies
Run in-services
Serve as resources
Act as cheerleaders

16. What are the best strategies?
Strategies that work with all subject areas
Strategies that aren’t too daunting or complicated
Strategies that complement already existing curriculum
Frankly, the best strategies are the ones you can do!!

17. Chapter 8 Content Area Strategies
Strategies For Specific Content Areas
CTE – Give One Get One
Fine Arts – Semantic Feature Analysis
Math – SG4R
Physical Education – ABC Squares

18. Vocabulary: the great equalizer
Vocabulary strategies are great to start with because everyone has content-area vocabulary
It’s not just an “English issue”

19. Concept Definition Map
What is it? (definition)
What is it like?
LITERACY
What are some examples?

20. Vocabulary Knowledge Rating Sheet Unit of study:___________
WORD 3
Can define it, use it, teach it 2
Heard it, seen it 1
Do not know it
Definition, example, and/or image 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Source: Kinsella and Feldman

21. Vocabulary Squares
Term
Definition
Example
How I will remember this

22. Read Around the Text Picture Cues This picture shows… Captions
Questions
Maps, Charts
Graphs
First and Last
Paragraph
Big Ideas

23. The Deluxe Reading Tour
Title of the Reading:
MY title for the reading:
Key Quote (one of the most important statements in the reading)
Why I Chose This Quote (reasons and evidence to support my choice)
Brief Casual Summary (the main ideas expressed in my own words)
Graphic Representation (illustration or clip-art that conveys theme)
Source: Kinsella & Feldman

24. Two Summarizing Strategies:
Summarizing Fiction: Somebody Wanted But So
Somebody – main character
Wanted – problem they dealt with
But – force that worked against the problem
So – outcome, but don’t give away ending
*Then take each part and craft it into a sentence to summarize what was read
Source: Laura Robb

25. Summarizing Strategies…
Summarizing Nonfiction: TFCN
T – Topic
F – 2 Fascinating facts
C – connection made
N- new understanding
*Then write a summary

26. The Lesson Research Suggests a New Format
Traditional Format
New Format
Prereading Activities
Discussions
Predictions
Questioning
Brainstorming
Setting Purpose
Reading
Assignment
Given
Guided
ACTIVE
Silent Reading
Activities to clarify,
reinforce, extend
Knowl-edge
Independent
reading
Discussion to see if
students learned main
concepts, what they
“should have” learned

27. Chapter 9 Practices and Instruction
Recommendations for:
starting a literacy initiative
working with ELL students
making the most of professional development time
using young adult literature to enhance a literacy initiative

28. Reading CAN be fun! Make Book Clubs attractive and rewarding
Draw attention to reading – create buzz!!
Latch on to trends in Young Adult Lit

29. Using RAFTs for Book of the Month
Each month, select a high-interest Young Adult title and amass 25 copies
Create a RAFT assignment for students to complete
Once complete, student selects teacher who will give ____ amount of extra credit

30. Remember… Don’t expect perfection Give yourself some time!
Start small and start strong
Always focus on the WHY

31. Nicole Hochholzer
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(920) x5430