Issue 6: Jun 23, 2008 Connections Newsletter

Suggestions for Reading Text

Carol Brewer
Jun 23, 2008

How do your students read text? Do they read one at a time while other students "follow along", do they read with their partner because they "like to", or do they read silently and answer the questions at the end of the chapter? Many times teachers have their students read different ways, but there is no purpose for the reading assignment. Teachers need to plan for a purpose of how text is read. The Learning-Focused Reading Model suggests three different ways.

• Shared Reading:  The teacher is choral reading with the students. The purpose for this type of reading is for the teacher to model the focus of the lesson. This focus might be a comprehension skill from the English, Language Arts Curriculum or the content from the Science or Social Studies (or any other) curriculum.

• Paired Reading:  Students are reading with partners. The purpose for this type of reading is for students to practice what has been modeled. The students stop reading from time to time to summarize, ask each other questions, or make personal connections. They model the same comprehension strategies that the teacher has modeled in the shared reading. The teacher monitors by visiting different pairs to ensure understanding.

• Independent Reading: Students are reading to themselves. The purpose for this type reading is for students to apply what has been modeled and practiced to prepare for assessments.  Can the students read independently and comprehend what has been read? Can they complete a graphic organizer from what has been read? Can they use the graphic organizer to answer questions or complete the assignment? This type reading prepares students for taking their State Test.

Summary Point Writing

Brenda Hill
Jun 23, 2008

Current research shows (US DOE, 2006) that writing greatly impacts student learning and achievement. Exemplary schools have focused on literacy as one component of balanced achievement where strategies and skills are developed through a literacy continuum kindergarten through 12th grade. Not only do we realize the importance of teaching writing, but also we need to make sure that students are consistently and pervasively writing across all subject areas throughout the day. 
 
How do we accomplish this task with the limited amount of time in our daily schedule? We begin by embedding writing assignments in our lesson plans. These assignments do not have to be lengthy essays or papers, but rather brief, written responses that require students to think about new learning, process it in a clearer way, and get the information down on paper. Summary point writing is one way to have students write about new learning. It can be used for students to summarize learning at the beginning, during, or at the end of a lesson in 1-2 statements. This requires students to "write to inform", holds them accountable for their learning, and provides a quick informal assessment. Summary point writing is one of the most effective, efficient ways to consistently and pervasively make writing assignments that greatly impact student achievement within the daily schedule. 

Learning-Focused has several resources/trainings available to help students become better writers: Comprehensive Literacy, Writing Assignments and Assessments K-2, Writing Assignments and Assessments 3-5, Writing Assignments and Assessments 6-8, Writing Assignments 9-12, and Differentiated Assignments, in our Literacy Strategies Collection. For additional information about materials or training, contact us at 866-95 LEARN.

Tips for the Learning-Focused Coach: Providing the Support Teachers Need

Debbie Cargill
Jun 23, 2008

Keep the Learning-Focused conversations going: Fostering ongoing dialogues with teachers and administrators about exemplary practices will help create a common language for all. A common language will help create a culture of learning for the school with a focus on increasing student achievement and closing achievement gaps. Learning-Focused conversations provide coaches with opportunities to coach teachers' thinking and help them to move forward with the implementation of the Learning-Focused model.

Build teachers' capacity to work together: There is strength in collaborative planning and sharing. Coaches can facilitate the coming together of teachers to collaboratively reflect and plan by scheduling time for sharing ideas, tasks, and decision-making. Teachers talk about teaching and learning and work together to improve skills and solve problems. Coaches facilitate the formation of effective teams and help teachers to build trust and positive, nurturing relationships. The more collaborative the environment, the more likely that classroom doors will open and everyone will learn from each other.

Model exemplary practices: Teachers need opportunities to see exemplary practices. Coaches can demonstrate and co-teach lessons and strategies for individuals and grade level teams.

Provide professional learning opportunities: Professional development has been shown to be most effective when it is job-embedded and driven by agreed upon goals. Teachers learn best from other teachers. Coaches facilitate these learning opportunities by taking on the role of professional development leader and maximizing the resources and talent present in the school. The ultimate goal is to build the capacity of every teacher to ensure that every student is successful.

Be a change leader: Remember to listen, start small, and stay focused. Coaches facilitate the change process through collaborative relationships and ongoing conversations. Effective support for teachers is the key to improving instructional practices in the classroom.

What About Word Walls?

Cindy Riedl
Jun 23, 2008

Rarely have I concluded a workshop on vocabulary instruction without a teacher challenging why I recommend that word walls for the primary grade levels contain words that are not only color coded for connections but also cut out by their word shapes. My typical response has been that cutting out the word's shape makes the word easier for the student to recognize. Students also use the outline made around the letters of the word to remember and recall the word.

James Cattell (1886) was the first psychologist to propose this method as a model for word recognition using the pattern of ascending, descending and neutral characters. Reicher (1969) supported Cattell's supposition after replicating many of his studies. Reicher's research supported the word shape model because it allows the student to quickly recognize the familiar shape. Once the shape has been recognized, then the student can deduce the presence of the correct letters longer after the stimulus is presented.

Lowercase text is read faster than upper case text. Woodworth (1938) was the first to report this finding. His work supported the word shape model, because lowercase text displays unique patterns of ascending, descending and neutral characters. When text is presented in all uppercase, all letters have the same text size and thus are more difficult to read. This premise could be challenged based on the fact that most readers spend the highest percentage of time reading lowercase text and therefore are more proficient at it. Keeping this in mind, consider that most of the conflicting theories deal with studying adult subjects, not beginning readers.

The strongest evidence for the use of the word shape model for primary word walls is the word 'superiority effect', which showed that letters are more accurately identified in the context of a word than in isolation. Rather than wasting time hashing over the science of word recognition, I would prefer to focus on how to help teachers make their word walls a more effective tool in a vocabulary immersion approach to instruction.

The Word Wall Approach (Green, 1993) was originally designed to challenge and motivate high-achieving as well as reluctant learners in elementary and secondary classrooms. The goal was to develop vocabulary-learning skills and to internalize new vocabulary. Students were meant to consult the word walls as a thesaurus and spell check during writing assignments. They were expected to use them as resources during language development lessons. Specific lessons and competitive games were to be devised around the word wall to encourage the development of vocabulary learning strategies. Students' vocabulary would be built during explicit instruction and learning, as multiple exposures and opportunities for making meaningful connections among words occurred. The repetition made possible by using this word wall approach resulted in greater vocabulary retention and an enthusiasm for learning, as students saw, touched, said, and wrote the words.

Literally surrounding students with words is not enough! Giving life to those words by organizing them as multiple walls devoted to a specific language curricular objective makes the difference! It is critical that word walls become an integral part of the classroom.

Lack of wall space is not a problem. Word walls can be created using window shades, shower curtains hanging from portable rods, pocket charts for easy student access, or individualized foldables made from file folders. Regardless of how words are actually displayed, it is important to add words gradually in the context of the learning and ensure that they are easily visible to all students (Moore, Moore, Cunningham, & Cunningham 1994).

Colors should be used to distinguish one word from another and different types of words. For instance, background colors can correspond to a specific language or academic goal; i.e. pink background for concepts, yellow for nouns, orange for phonics rules or green for spelling conventions. These color designations trigger associations in the minds of learners about the place and time they first encountered the word.

Word wall activities need to meet the learning needs of the students. For example, some teachers may want to focus on synonyms and antonyms, prefix/suffix and root words collections or semantic groupings to reinforce vocabulary building when focused on grade appropriate high-frequency words. These words are added to the wall as they are encountered in real texts and are used for authentic communication purposes. The contextualized connection assists students as they realize the importance of the words and helps with making the connections of the word encountered in texts. Fixed placement of the words often limits the use of words. Activities that encourage students to move words about reinforce multiple usages and reordering into different categories.

All learners will make reference to the word walls at other times, on their own, such as when editing their work. No word wall word can be misspelled during writing activities. Teachers must constantly model the use of the word wall words during explicit instructional activities and games to assure student involvement.

Furthermore, it should be possible for words to be reordered or regrouped based on conceptual needs during future lessons. Bringing word walls to life takes thoughtful practice because they truly are 'works in progress'. At the beginning of the school year or term, the word wall is empty. As teachers and students select words, criteria need to be met before words are placed on the wall. Entries must be grade appropriate, useful to the students and used by the students. For word walls that are constantly changing based on instructional units of study, it is critical that the words remain long enough to ensure that students have multiple encounters with the words and opportunities to make connections between new and old entries before they are removed to make room for other words in future units.

Our goal as teachers is to bring words to life for all our students! Whatever works best should be employed. Every classroom is different in size, shape and make up, but there is always a way to create and make word walls effective. Think outside of the box! Raise student achievement using thoughtfully designed word walls and explicit vocabulary instruction.

Learn more about Vocabulary Instruction in a Learning-Focused Workshop!