Category: The Common Core Standards

Informal Interventions for Struggling Readers

Developing Reading Skills During Each Instructional Moment

I’m working my way through an interesting article in this quarter’s Reading Research Quarterly called Effects of a Response-Based, Tiered Framework for Intervening With Struggling Readers in Middle School by Greg Roberts, Sharon Vaughn, Jack Fletcher, Karla Stuebing, and Amy Barth.  The article refers to research suggesting that targeted and data driven interventions at the middle school level can be effective in helping struggling readers develop their skills.  I am particularly energized by the assertion that, “adolescents with reading difficulties benefit from explicit and systematic interventions organized around their instructional needs,” the mention of oral reading fluency as an indicator of student automaticity but not comprehension, and the listing of strategy instruction models including monitoring, summarizing, and question generation.  There are formal ways of examining and working to effect student’s development at the middle school level including the Response to Intervention (RTI) process and Adolescent Accelerated Reading Initiative (AARI) implementation.  These processes and programs are effective, important, and even essential to student achievement.  However, as I read this article I continue to think about what’s happening in the classroom on a moment-to-moment basis.  If we remove the statistics, the databases, and the acronyms we’re left with the people.  Thinking critically about why it’s important to put energy into these larger and more formal efforts gives me cause to think about some small and informal things that might be done to keep students reading fluency and comprehension moving in the right direction between interventions and across content areas.  Again, I appreciate and support formal interventions, but I think we can complement them by working to understand student needs as they evolve during each lesson we teach.  Here are some thoughts:

Keep a conferring journal.  Make time for daily, weekly, biweekly, or even monthly individual conferences with each student.  For the purpose of intervention, teachers would have to decide on frequency based on need.  In doing so they would also have to manage the process, being sensitive to the academic, social, and emotional needs of each learner.  Notes would have to be simple and straightforward so that they could be effective in information ongoing instruction.

Collaborate across content areas.  Grade level teachers looking to effect enhanced development in struggling readers might consider teaming up.  Given the shift toward increased exposure to informational text with the introduction of the Common Core State Standards, language arts teachers are equipped to be great partners to their colleagues in math, science, social studies, and the unified arts.

Promote engagement by allowing interest driven self-selection.  By using an inquiry/differentiated model of Project Based Learning (PBL) teachers can give thier students ownership over the text they choose.  In doing so, they can make sure that students are invested in the reading and able to make real meaning from it.

Explicit and systematic does not have to mean complicated and formal.  What are you doing to understand and address the needs of struggling readers in your classroom?

Cross Curricular Canoe Trip – So Cool!

Something Cool I Saw Today

Mrs. Ables 3rd grade class is using literature to enhance their Social Studies learning.

They’re reading the book Paddle to the Sea in which the character “Paddle” is doing just that.  They did some research on the the great lakes and made the amazingly cool map that you see below.  They marked the map off with lots of great information about Michigan and it’s waterways.  Now, as they read about Paddle’s journey, they’re literally following him in their own canoe – passing and thinking critically about Michigan’s landmarks as they go.

Making connections, working together, being creative, having fun, learning…Super Cool!

THE AMAZINGLY COOL MAP

PARTS OF THE AMAZINGLY COOL MAP (note the class in the canoe)

Are you doing something similar?

How could you adapt this activity to fit your content?

What would you do to follow up?

Leave a comment or contact me if you have any ideas or input:)

365 Lessons: #8 Critical Thinking with Edcanvas

365Lessons

#8 Explore New Ideas, Tools, and Possibilities Whenever You Have a Chance

[Lesson Breakdown]

Sometimes it’s twitter, sometimes it’s live action, sometimes it’s blog or a workshop.  Educators are constantly surrounded by new tools, technologies, and strategies.  We should be exploring as many as we can.  You never know when you’ll come across something that you can use to enhance your instruction, your students’ learning experience, and everyones ability to achieve.  For those of you who are not in education, explore anyway…you never know what you’re going to find!

Watch the following Cool School Tool video (2 minutes short), check out Edcanvas at http://www.edcanvas.com/login, sign up for an account, and explore.  You might find a way to make it work for you, your colleagues, and your students.

Two Great 21st Century Ideas Using Wikis: Digital Backpacks and Visual Thinking Instructional Links

The best part about my new job is the collaboration.  When I was in the classroom I had lots of opportunities to work hand in hand with many incredible educators. However, the intense demands of classroom instruction often had me feeling like I spent a good deal of my time in relative isolation.  Now it’s my responsibility to spend every day brainstorming with, exploring on behalf of, listening to, and supporting efforts of the teachers in my district.  It’s an incredible charge and I’m already finding that it’s the learning opportunity of a lifetime!

Today I came across the following two great 21st Century ideas (among others) in ‘back to school’ preparation sessions with some of my colleagues:

 

DIGITAL BACKPACKS:

In building her WIKI one colleague (a 5th grade teacher) insisted on having digital backpacks ready to go for her students to use as soon as the first few weeks of school.  The really cool part of her vision was that she insisted we make blank pages then guide small groups in WIKI refresher workshops so that the students will be able to finish the pages on their own.  She is going to use the development of this structure to enhance her students’ ability to navigate the digital environment.  I like it!

This teacher has one requirement.  Each student’s backpack must be linked to the Digital Backpack page in her class WIKI’s navigation bar and each must have six distinct page links within it:  Reading, Writing, Math, Science, Social Studies, and Other.  She plans to leave the rest up to each individual, promoting creativity and personalization.  She intends to teach her students how to use those pages to showcase their work, collaborate with their peers, and practice digital citizenship by communicating to a global audience.  I’m excited to visit throughout the year and witness the progress.  These students will be working in and communicating through digital environments in every aspect of their lives.  Consistently using their Digital Backpacks will allow them to function within that reality while learning in school.

 

VISUAL THINKING PROMPT PAGES:

I worked with another 5th grade teacher to design a WIKIi page and links modeled after protocols outlined in Making Thinking Visual by Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church, and Karen Morrison.  So far, she’s created a page in her classroom WIKI’s navigation bar called “Visual Thinking” that connects to four other page links entitled: Step Inside, Circle of Viewpoints, What Makes You Say That, and “I Used to Think…Now I Think.”  Each of those pages has instructions explaining how to use the protocol associated with it, and each links students to connected discussion tables.  Students will regularly be directed to the pages which will be updated with new focus topics periodically.  This teacher believes that these visual thinking strategies will effectively encourage critical thinking.  I really like the way she’s using this digital environment to weave them into her team’s practice.  It was a simple structure to set up and it will be easy to update with fresh and relevant topics throughout the year.  I’m looking forward to seeing how this strategy unfolds!

As always, I’ll keep my eye on both of these great wiki applications and report back periodically:).

 

The Inadequacy Factor: Diving Into The Common Core One Step at a Time

I spent the morning in a great session about Common Core Math.  A group of administrators and instructional leaders from my district put their heads together and designed a really inspirational morning for third through fifth grade teachers from around the district.  I had the good fortune to be invited as well.  We started out in grade level groups – I sat with the fifth grade teachers.  It was interesting to hear their perspectives as we worked through a series of problems.  One by one we were given time to think through each problem, talk with a neighbor about our thoughts, then come together in a whole group discussion focused on comparing each problem to the type of problems we were exposed to as elementary students, and the type of problems we typically expose our students to.  The process lent itself to the kind of critical thinking that the facilitators intended.  They suggested that it could work with our students as well.

The consistent themes were that these problems encouraged us to think about the ‘why’ behind the ‘what,’ and that the structures of the solutions were somewhat vague.  Instead of being asked to continue a pattern we were shown how someone else continued a pattern and asked to describe thought process.  Was she correct?  How did she come to her conclusions?  Instead of being asked to choose between ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, and ‘d’, we were asked to identify which among them met particular criteria.  Each problem prompted a complex train of thought and an interesting conversation about mathematics.  My instinct to find answers was as strong as ever but I began to see answers in a new light – process instead of product.

Later, in a conversation about the common core my principal suggested that we should be starting small and working toward change one step at a time.  He told me that we simply need to keep moving forward and that “if we’re not feeling inadequate we’re probably doing something wrong!”  I appreciate that sentiment and that style of leadership.  It helps me feel like I can explore, take some reasonable risks, and even learn from my mistakes if necessary.

As always, I’ll give it a shot and report back:).

What Do You Notice About the Common Core Standards: Thinking Critically About Critical Thinking

My students and I have been the benefactors of an incredible Professional Learning Community (PLC) this year.  Our third grade math team has been working hard to generate, share, and support one another in the purposeful execution of ideas for instruction aimed at fostering the kind of critical thinking suggested by cutting edge research and the Common Core Standards (CCS).  We kicked off the effort by bringing in a math workshop expert from Oakland Schools.  One of the first skills we worked on was questioning.  We were told that by giving students a math related visual to examine (pictures, words, or numbers) and prompting them with the question, “what do you notice?” we could begin to forester the kind of abstract reasoning outlined in the CCS.  After seven months of practice I’m a believer.

It was difficult at first.  I was compelled to assert myself in the discussions that “what do you notice?” generated.  I wanted to tell students whether or not they were on the right track.  I wanted to give them the “answers.”  What I have since realized is that some students notice things that I don’t.  Some notice things that I wouldn’t have thought about without their input.  More importantly, when things I don’t notice are brought to my attention and I’m given the opportunity to examine them critically – I grow.  Through this practice I have seen my students grow as well.

As we work to integrate the CCS into our instructional design we should be engaged in the type of learning it suggests for our students.  We should be collaborating, thinking critically, asking questions, taking reasonable risks, and engaging all stakeholders in authentic conversations centered on student achievement.  We should be asking ourselves what we notice; and we should be eager to consider the observations and ideas of others.  Change is difficult.  I feel fortunate to be working in field that encourages slow but steady growth and a district that supports collaborative innovation.

Our third grade math PLC is just one example of the efforts we’re making to think critically about the shift to the CCS.  The workshop model is being explored and implemented across the curriculum at all levels.  Teachers are finding success as learning coaches, facilitators, and collaborators.  Interest and inquiry driven project-based learning is being used to combine content area studies and produce authentic, socially relevant outcomes. The dialogue is open and expanding.