Vacca, J. L., Vacca, R.T., & Gove, M K. (2012). Reading and learning to read (8th ed.). New York: Longman.

Notes from Chapter 4 Text

Birth to 5 is critical for children’s development and learning. They acquire basic understanding about reading and writing at this age. The foundations of reading “begin at home and schools build on these foundations to develop skillful strategic readers” (Vacca. p.106).

Environmental print

Wherever one sees print in their environment such as: labels, video games, signs, computers…etc.

How writing develops (p. 107)

Infants learn early on that signs and motion are ways to communicate. Young children learn writing through exploration. The critical component is a child’s opportunity and exposure to explore writing.

• Scribbles: A primary form of writing which includes early scribbling (not usually representational), controlled scribbling (systematic repeated marks and are characterized by scribble writing or linear progression) and scribble drawing (children begin to recognize difference between writing and drawing). Scribble drawing is an important piece for developing writing capabilities. Talking with children about their drawings help them to create meaning of their drawings and help them to better communicate their thoughts. Then, there is name scribbling in which the scribbles mean something to the child. **When children differentiate between drawings and scribbling as a means of written expression, they begin to make great strides in their knowledge of print” (p.110)***
• Invented Spellings: This term refers to children’s written words before they have learned how to spell. It is a milestone for writing development. This allows children to create meaning with what they are writing. This signifies that a child is beginning to analyze speech sounds in print. It is an emerging competence for writing that should be celebrated.

How reading develops (p.106)

Children see written language, or environmental print, everywhere. They are continuously exposed to it. They learn about reading and writing through observations in everyday life and also through everyday activities. Children use these experiences to construct there own concepts about print. As children get more and more exposure to print, they become good readers and writers.

Phases of literacy development (pp. 105-106): There are five phases children go through during literacy development:

1. Phase I: Awareness and Exploration
   • Birth to preschool
   • children explore environment and build foundations of reading and writing.
   • Children are curious about print and print-related activities
   • Demonstrate logographic knowledge- identifying labels, signs, cereal boxes and other types of environmental print
   • They pretend read
   • Begin to identify some letters and letter-sound relationships
   • They begin to write letters or approximation of letters
2. Phase II: Experimental Reading and Writing
   • Begins around kindergarten
   • Understand basic concepts of print (reading left to right, top to down)
   • They enjoy being read to and engage in reading and writing themselves.
   • Continue to recognize letters and letter-sound relationships
   • Become familiar with rhyming
   • Begin writing letters and high-frequency words
3. Phase III: Early Reading and Writing
   • Occurs in first grade usually
   • children read simple stories and write about topics that they have strong feelings about
   • they can read and retell familiar stories
   • begin developing strategies for comprehension
   • Begin developing word identification skills through increasing letter-sound pattern recognition
   • Awareness of punctuation and capitalization
4. Phase IV: Transitional Reading and writing
   • Occurs in second grade usually
   • Children transition from early reading and writing to more complex literacy tasks
   • They read with greater fluency
   • Use cognitive and metacognitive strategies when comprehending and composing
   • Improved skills: word identification strategies, sight-word recognition, reading fluency, conventional reading, proof reading what they have written and silent reading
5. Phase V: Independent and Productive Reading and Writing
   • Starts in about third grade
   • This is a life-long process of becoming productive readers and writers
   • Use reading and writing in increasingly more sophisticated ways for multiple purposes and a variety of audiences

Literate environment (p.112)

A literate environment fosters interest and curiosity about written language and supports children’s efforts to become readers and writers. Children should have access to materials that encourage writing such as crayons, pens, pencils, paper, and chalkboards. They should be given plenty of opportunities to write, draw, and express themselves.

At home: Parents can get a good start on literacy development at home by: providing easy access print and books, modeling literacy behaviors, being supportive, and reading stories. Parents can encourage children to help write shopping lists, communicate by writing each other notes, and creating occasions to write such as writing a letter to santa.

Design of the classroom environment (p.116): Teachers can have book areas, listening areas, writing areas, and computer areas that help to create a literate environment. Decorations in the class should reflect print that supports the curriculum and promotes active engagement. Doorways can be a symbol of entering a learning environment and what is going to happen in the room. Materials for reading and writing should be placed in numerous areas around the room and they should be easily accessible.

Literacy-Related Play Centers p118

Allows children to play with print on their own terms. It gives them experience using literacy as well as observing others use literacy through play. If teachers decide to use play centers, they should: make sure the area helps promote literacy and facilitates pretend play. Centers can include: an office space, library, grocery store, bank…etc. Teachers can also ask students to share pretend stories which would include topics like story sense, print forms, dictionally and vocabulary. Teachers can follow these roles during play: onlooker, stage manager (make suggestions to extend play or prompt responses), co-player, and leader roles. Here is the research-based practice from the text:

Core language and literacy skills (pp. 121-122)

Refers to essential skills young children must have to be successful readers.

1. Oral language comprehension: The ability to speak and listen with understanding. It includes grammar, word meanings, and listening comprehension. It is the foundation of learning to read and write.
   • Activities to promote oral language comprehension: Shared book reading, storytelling, dramatic play, singing songs, and finger plays
2. Vocabulary: Refers to words that a person knows and uses. It is a strong predictor of reading comprehension.
   • Receptive vocabulary: listening to words they understand and use in context.Expressive: talking, using words to express themselves.Activities to promote vocabulary: taking to children, modeling dramatic play, use language around children. The most important activity is reading aloud to children.
3. Phonological awareness: Hearing sounds of language apart for, its meaning. Children need to listen for: number of words in a sentence, number of syllables in a word, number of individual sounds in a word.
4. Alphabet knowledge: The ability to name and write 26 letters of the alphabet. These are the building blocks of the English writing system and predict success for reading. Activities include: using alphabet books, alphabet magnets, and drawing letters.
5. Developmental writing: The first attempt at writing words and composing texts. See notes about scribbling as mentioned earlier.
6. Print knowledge: Refers to the ability to recognize print and its use in specific ways. Knowledge of reading terms, rules, and procedures such as distinction between pictures, words and letters. Activities: collect pictures and label them, write text under children’s drawing, having children id words in their surroundings.
7. Developing early literacy Skills: Chapter 5 will be covering these topics in more detail. It will address the components that develop needed skills for success as well as instructional approaches for each one.

How to promote oral language development: p. 114

A teachers and parents can promote oral language development a number of ways:

Language-experience stories: It is a story that is told by a child aloud and printed by a teacher. Children must experience language and have time and space to explore language in order to understand what it is used for and start using it themselves. Teachers can ask children to tell about their experiences, share their own stories, dictate words, sentences and stories, and write their own stories. It is important to show children how language is transcribed into print so the teacher would write the stories as they are being told word for word (exactly as the child is saying it, regardless of grammatical errors). Then, the teacher reads it aloud, pointing to each word as he or she reads.

Shared Reading: The teacher and students read and reread favorite stories, songs, poems, and rhymes. This is an opportunity for readers to learn about what books are, what makes a story a story, and how expert readers read books.

Video: Shared Reading

Shared reading is usually whole class activity. Books with rhythm and rhyme work well.

• Day 1: Focus on comprehension. Read the story to students and use expression. Think about the story, ask questions such as who, what, where, when? What was the problem and how was it solved?
• Day 2: Focus on vocabulary. Reread story and allow students to chime in. Focus on words that they might not know. List words they don’t know on a “wow chart”. Allow students to demonstrate what the words might mean.
• Day 3: Flow, fluency, and frequency. Focus on how clues help them to read with expression. Allow students to read along with the teacher and have them change their voices when they see these clues.
• Day 4: Focus on phonemic awareness and phonic knowledge. Read text together. After reading, reinforce sounds, word families, rhyming words…
• Day 5: Focus on oral, written, and visual language. Allow students to recreate the story. Use story to create a visual for the story.

Video: Shared Reading First Grade

The teacher reads the page to the whole class, pointing to each word. Then has the students read after, while she points to each word. The teacher also works on vocabulary words as they come up. She also focuses on the sounds we hear as we read aloud. She talks about how we would write words as we hear them.

Video: Invented Spelling

You can look at a child’s spelling to learn what the child understands about word structure, speech sound, and how we use letters to represent those. Unconventional spelling is a way to practice letter-sound connection (phonemic awareness) and should be encouraged. Note this quote: “Spelling is a puzzle that anyone can solve once the rules are learned”.

Classroom Application

• Encourage spelling invention: Allow children to try to spell words the best they can and experiment with written language without restrictions. If students are too focused on getting it right, writing becomes work and loses meaning. Doing this allows children to build confidence and recognize the value of taking risks (p.112).
• Use activities that were suggested in the core literacy and language skills. These activities are mentioned in the section labeled Core Language and Literacy Skills above. Also reference pages 123-124.
• Make use of play centers. Use the list provided on page 120 to help supply the play center.
• Be sure to always have materials that encourage reading and writing in easily accessible locations. Materials may include: colored paper, sticky notes, pens, pencils, crayons, labels on items, and books. You may want to have them on all the tables so children are encouraged to use them daily.
• Use the list on page 114 to promote oral language development. The list is shown in earlier section.
• Use the checklist to help promote a print rich environment:

• Use language experience stories to help students explore language and print. Have students tell a story, write it down word for word, and read it back to the student several times while pointing to each word.
• In the video Invented Spelling, use quote in class “Spelling is a puzzle that anyone can solve once the rules are learned”.
• Follow 5-day outline for shared reading listed in the shared reading section above.

Notes From Text Chapter 3

Vacca, J. L., Vacca, R.T., & Gove, M K. (2012). Reading and learning to read (8th ed.). New York: Longman.

ELL developmental language levels:  This is a framework of levels of language development for those learning English.  It focuses on listening, speaking, reading and writing at four different levels.  There are also instructional strategies for each level (Vacca, p. 71).

Response protocol:  This refers to promoting English language development by encouraging ELL to expand on their answers.  It provides teachers with suggestions on helping students elaborate their responses in English (p.72).  For example “Can you tell me more.” and “Yes, I agree with___.  Can you tell me what you mean?”

Cultural Diversity Approaches:  These approaches help teachers create a multiculturally inclusive classroom environment.

• Contribution approach:  Teachers include culturally specific celebrations and holidays in the curriculum (p.76). *Note: There was a discussion about this in class where we referenced the video: Dangers of a Single Story, retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en#t-1107614. This video talked about how a single-story can influence a child’s (and adult’s) perspective of the world and various cultures. It is important to create a multicultural perspective when providing classroom materials and lessons.

• Additive approach:  A thematic approach that integrates multuculturalism into the curriculum (p.76).

• Transformative approach:  Teacher encourages multiculturalism in the classroom by including material and events which allow students to make judgements about them, think critically and generate their own conclusions (p.76).

• Decision-making and social action approach:  Teachers encourage students to engage in activities or projects related to cultural issues they learn about.  This may include civic duties and social action (p.76).

Academic and cognitive diversity:  This refers to variations in children’s ability to think, learn, and perform acadimically.  It is a large domain that includes issues around disabilities and exceptionalities.

Exceptional children:  This term refers to children who are different than the norm, either above or below, in an amount that requires specialized education to meet their needs (p.85).  This may include a child with any of the following:  learning disabilities, physical disabilities, emotional disabilities, disorders, gifts and talents (p.85).

Public law 94-142:  Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed in 1975.  It includes the following principles:

• Nondiscriminatory ID and evaluation

• Free, Appropriate Public Education (FAPE)

• Least Restrictive Environments (LRE)

• Parent and student participation and shared decision-making

IDEA included additional procedures for identifying students with learning disabilities:

• States must not require that the criteria for determine a specific learning disability include severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement.

States may use alternative research-based methods to determine whether a student has a learning disability

• States must allow the use of a child’s response to scientifically research-based intervention when identifying specific learning disabilities.  

• Failure to achieve success in any of the following areas: oral expression, listening comprehension, written expression, basic reading skills, fluency, reading comprehension.  

Instructional principles for academic and cognitive diversity:  These are guidelines for what literacy learning for students with diverse needs should look like (p.87): 

• Students should be engaged with authentic text

• Reading must be purposeful and be relatable

• Students must be motivated to read and material must be engaging

• Students who struggle need supportive teachers that can guide them towards success and increase their self-esteem

• Students need teachers who will be dedicated to assessing them daily

• Parents must be involved

Inclusion:  Incorporating the needs and abilities of all students into classroom instruction (p.549).  Students with disabilities are included in classroom exercises and activities while getting support from both the regular teacher and the spscial education teacher (p.87). 

Literacy coaches: Provide long-term professional development for teachers that results in improved reading achievement among students.

Differentiated instruction:  Refers to the different needs that learners have and how teachers can accommodate diverse needs during instruction.  Teachers: assess student needs, implement multiple approaches to learning, and blend whole group, small group, and individual instruction.

Running Log:

Reference my personal UWSuperior folder on my computer to retrieve Running Record documents that were provided this week. There are samples of a running record as well as video sources to help conduct a running log myself.

Classroom Application

New Literacies for ELL:  Reference the table on page 83 to incorporate new literacies into the curriculum as a means to benefit English Language Learners:Research based practice for inquiry learning:  Use of KWLQ (that they know, what they want to know, what they learned, and questions that are unanswered) as a framework for question formulation and practice for literacy learning as the children naturally connect to reading, writing, listening, and speaking for inquiry learning (p.90)

Multicultural lesson plan resource (p.96):  Navigate this website for multicultural lesson plans and resources:  www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/edmulticult.htm Great example of differentaition: 

Continue reading “Amanda Cordova, EngEd370, Chapter 3 Notes: Meeting the Literacy Needs of Diverse Learners” →

Vacca, J. L., Vacca, R.T., & Gove, M K. (2012). Reading and learning to read (8th ed.). New York: Longman.

Text book notes Ch. 2

Conditions critical for all classrooms: Immersion, authenticity of text, engagement expectation, ownership of learning, time to read and write, practice responding to readings, trial and error/approximation, demonstrate the role that literacy has in their lives (p. 46).

Basal reading approach (p.47):

Most widely used approach among teachers today. It provides a complete reading program. Basal reading is considered a bottom-up approach and is based on the idea that students learn to read by reading, writing , and talking about meaningful topics. It includes narratives and expository text with many genres for multiple grade levels. This program will be more detailed in Chapter 13 blog.

Language-experience approach (p.48):

Prevelant in PreK and Kindergarten. It is associated with story dictation: recording the language of children on chart paper and using what they say as the basis of reading instruction. It may also include building word banks of known words, creative writing activities, directed reading-thinking lessons, oral readings, and investigating interests. This approach allows students to use their own language and embraces their background and experiences as a basis to learn to read.

Integrated language arts approach (p.48):

Immerses students in reading, writing, talking, listening and viewing activities in conjunction with each other. It focuses on being able to use language arts to think clearly, strategically, critically, and creatively. teachers integrate language learning across the curriculum by organizing instruction around themes, inquiry based project learning and literature study.

Literature-based approach (p.51):

This approach is top-down and interactive. It focuses on individual student abilities, meaning, interest, and enjoyment. Teachers allow students to pick their own books. Literature is used as a springboard for writing. They look at story structure. They use text to relate to their own life and are encouraged to write about it. They may be asked to expand on stories by creating a new book cover or song for the book.

Technology-based approach (p.51):

Learning to read using technology such as mobil phones and desktops is vital and allows for interactive learning. Children use technology to find information, read about things, and create their own ways of communication.

Technology-based instruction (p.52):

Teaching and learning are being defined by the technology used in the classroom. It increases availability of reading materials, changes the way reading takes place, provides individual learning opportunities, and encourages use of good judgement in locating useful information.

Instructional scaffolding (p.55):

Scaffolds serve as supports, lifting up workers so they can reach areas not otherwise in reach. It suggests helping students do what they can’t do on their own at first. Teachers help students use skills that will eventually lead to independent learning.

Explicit strategy instruction (p.55):

This offers strategic learning rather than habit formation. Students construct knowledge about use of skills and strategies. They are more able to recognize rationale or payoff of learning the skills being taught. An example of explicit strategy is discussed in this chapter: use of a mini lesson. a mini lesson includes: creating awareness of the strategy, modeling the strategy, providing practice in the use of the strategy and applying the strategy in authentic reading situations.

Running Records

Below information was taken from Reading A-Z: https://www.readinga-z.com/helpful-tools/about-running-records/ (Links to an external site.) 

Running records:

Running records are a part of a 3-part process to place students in appropriate level texts and determine whether or not students can move up a level:

• Part 1: Students read Benchmark Passages or Benchmark Books(Levels aa-J), and you capture their reading behavior on Running Records.
  • See Blank Running Record pdf stored in UWSUP file (personal note to self)
• Part 2: Student retell the text and you use Retelling Rubrics  to score their comprehension.
• Part 3: Students take an oral or written Comprehension Quick Check Quiz, and each question’s answer tells what skill it assessed to help you identify comprehension skills for additional practice.

Assessment Schedule

Developmental Level	Reading Level	Schedule
Early Emergent readers	Levels aa-C	every 2 to 4 weeks
Emergent readers	Levels D-J	every 4 to 6 weeks
Early fluent readers	Levels K-P	every 6 to 8 weeks
Fluent readers	Levels Q-Z	every 8 to 10 weeks

Taking the Running Record:

Running records are taken most often at the earlier stages of reading. Taking a running record takes practice. Before attempting a running record, read the procedural steps below, then go to the section on Marking a Running Record Form.

• Select a Benchmark Passage or Benchmark Book (Levels aa-J) that approximates the student’s reading level. Explain that she/he will read out loud as you observe and record her/his reading skills.
• With the Running Record form in hand, sit next to the student so that you can see the text and the student’s finger and eye movements as she/he reads the text.
• As the student reads, mark each word on the running record form by using the appropriate Running Record Symbols and Marking Conventions shown below. Place a checkmark above each word that is read correctly.
• If the student reads incorrectly, record above the word what the student reads.
• If the student is reading too fast for you to record the running record, ask her/him to pause until you catch up.
• Be sure to pay attention to the reader’s behavior. Is the student using meaning (M), structural (S), and visual (V) cues to read words and gather meaning?
• Intervene as little as possible while the student is reading.
• If the student is stuck and unable to continue, wait 5 to 10 seconds, then tell her/him the word. If the student seems confused, provide an explanation to clear up the confusion and say, “Try again.”

Marking running records

Step 1: Mark the text on the running record form as student reads from Benchmark Passage or Benchmark Book.

• Errors (E) — Errors are tallied during the reading whenever a child does any of the following:
  Substitutes another word for a word in the text
  Omits a word
  Inserts a word
  Has to be told a word
  Mispronounces a word (not a result of dialect; creates a nonword)
• Self-correction (SC) — Self-correction occurs when a child realizes her or his error and corrects it. When a child makes a self-correction, the previous substition is not scored as an error.
• Meaning (M) — Meaning is part of the cueing system in which the child takes her or his cue to make sense of text by thinking about the story background, information from pictures, or the meaning of a sentence. These cuses assist in the reading of a word or phrase.
• Structure (S) — Structure refers to the structure of language and is often called syntax. Implicit knowledge of structure helps the reader know if what she or he reads sounds correct.
• Visual (V) — Visual information is related to the look of the letters in a word and the word itself. A reader uses visual information when she or he studies the beginning sound, word length, familiar word chunks, and so forth.

Step 2: Mark number of errors made in the first box to the right of the line, mark self corrections in second box to the right, determine if self-corrections were made as a result of meaning, structure, or visual cueing. Total the score.

Scoring running records

Qualitative analysis: The qualitative analysis is based on observations that you make during the running record. It involves observing how the student uses the meaning (M), structural (S), and visual (V) cues to help her/him read. It also involves paying attention to fluency, intonation, and phrasing. Think back to the prompts you offered and how the student responded. These observations help you form a picture of the student’s reading development.

Error Rate

Error rate is expressed as a ratio and is calculated by using the following formula:
Total words / Total errors = Error rate

This means that for each error made, the student read approximately 12 words correctly.

Accuracy Rate

Accuracy rate is expressed as a percentage. You can calculate the accuracy rate using the following formula:
(Total words read – Total errors) / Total words read x 100 = Accuracy rate

You can use accuracy rate to determine whether the text read is easy enough for independent reading, appropriate to use without frustration during reading instruction, or too difficult for the reader. The breakdown of these three categories is as follows: 

Accuracy Rate Chart

Independent	Easy enough for independent reading	95% -100%
Instructional	Instructional level for use in leveled reading session	90% – 94%
Frustrational	Too difficult and will frustrate the reader	89% and below

Self-Correction Rate

Self-correction rate is expressed as a ratio and is calculated by using the following formula:
(Number of errors + Number of self-corrections) / Number of self-corrections = Self-correction rate

If a student is self-correcting at a rate of 1:4 or less, this indicates that he or she is self-monitoring his or her reading.

Running Record Example:

Classroom Application

Using Word Magic app as described on page 53. It allows students to identify individual letters and letter blends to complete a partially spelled word. This is good for age 4 to grade 2.

Look into using Book Cover Creator at http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resourcces/interactives/bookcover. Students can use this tool to design their own book covers to books they have already read or books they are writing themselves.

Reference ReadWriteThink at http://www.readwritethink.org for access to high-quality practices and resources in reading and language arts instruction.

Students will be evaluated for their reading levels in accordance with Reading A-Z website. See instructions above and reference personal UWSuperior EngEd folder for pdf. documents relating to the material.

Text book Reading Chapter 1

Vacca, J. L., Vacca, R.T., & Gove, M K. (2012). Reading and learning to read (8th ed.). New York: Longman.

Explicit: Making it a practice to model skills and strategies that children need to decipher known words, explain why it is important for students to learn the skill or strategy under study, and guide students in their acquisition of the skill or strategy (p.6). **Explicit instruction is essential as children progress through various phases of word-reading development and develop strategies to read words quickly (p.19).

Systematic instructional approach: includes direct teaching and logical instructional sequence. It includes ample opportunity to practice specific skills and move along a specific trajectory (p.7). For example, using big books or selections from basal reading anthology to identify words for study and providing practice and application of use of the skill or strategy.

Autobiographical narrative: A tool that helps link ones personal history as a reader to instructional beliefs and practices. This allows one to explore memories, incidents, and situations that cause them to believe or act certain ways. It also allows one to reflect on where they want to go in the future. Questions to ask: how did you learn to read? What are your reading habits, what influence did school or home have on reading? What activities resonated with you? Which ones do you regret? (p.13).

Professional knowledge: Knowledge acquired from ongoing study of the practice of teaching. Develop knowledge that is based in theory, research, and practice (p.14). What teachers ought to know and be able to do in order to teach reading as well as standards or the knowledge base (p.13).

Literacy coach: Literacy coaches provide teachers with professional development opportunities and resources to improve expertise in the classroom. They may help develop curriculum with colleagues, conduct professional development presentations, model lessons or provide feedback in classrooms (p.15-16).

Alphabetic principle: It suggests a correspondence between letters (graphemes), which are basic units of writing, and sounds (Phonemes) (p.17).

Orthographic knowledge: Knowledge of likely spelling patterns. Skillful readers do not need to put any energy into identifying words because they recognize spelling patterns. Skilled readers can group patterns into syllables automatically (p.18).

Schemata: Using prior knowledge to understand what they are reading. They reflect on prior knowledge, experience, values, attitudes, skills, and procedures in a reading situation. They use what they already know to create meaning for new events (p.19).

Schema theory and reading comprehension: Schemata, or prior knowledge, influences how one comprehends what they are reading. If they are reading something they don’t have any experience about, their understanding will be much different than from someone who has had numerous experiences relating to what they are reading about. Schemas are important for comprehension. They provide a framework that allows readers to organize text information, it allows them to make inferences about what is likely to happen, and they help readers to elaborate (including speculation, judgement, and evaluation) (p.20).

Metacognition: In reading, it refers to self-knowledge, task knowledge, and self monitoring. It helps us to reflect on wether or not what we read is making sense. Using explicit instruction such as modeling, demonstrating, explaining, rational-building, thinking aloud, and reflecting help students develop metacognitive awareness and strategic knowledge (p.21).

Implicit: Implicit instruction is based on unstated assumptions in conjunction with given information.

Piaget: Explained that language acquisition is influenced by general cognitive attainments. A child’s interaction and manipulation with surroundings is critical to language development. Language reflects thought and does not necessarily shape it (p.23). Children must be actively involved in order to grow and learn.

Vygotsky: Language stimulates cognitive development. Children carry on external dialogues with themselves which gives way to inner speech (p.23). Children must be actively involved in order to grow and learn.

Graphophonemic system: Graphic marks or symbols on a page represent speech sounds.

Syntactic system: Readers process knowledge about how language works. Provided by grammatical relationships with sentence patterns. Readers use arrangement of words in sentences to construct meaning from text. It refers to the order of words (p.24).

Semantic system: Stores schemata (background knowledge, experiences, conceptual understandings, attitudes, beliefs, and values) that readers bring to a text (p.24).

4 steps of literacy development: Language strategies to make sense of written language.

1. Text intent: Written language is expected to be meaningful. They can reconstruct and re-create author’s message.
2. Negotiability: Children use whatever knowledge needed to make sense of what they are reading. There is a give-and-take process between reader and author.
3. Risk-taking: Children experiment with how written language works. This allows children to grow and learn as language users.
4. Fine-tuning: Experience with language builds off of previous experience and they improve their construction of author’s meaning (p.25).

3 Models of Reading: a process of reading as communication event between reader and author. It describes the way readers use language information to construct meaning from print. How a reader translates print into meaning is the key issue in building models of reading process.

1. Bottom-up: Assumes the process of translating print to meaning begins with print. The process is initiated by decoding graphic symbols to sounds. The reader identifies features of letters, links features together to recognize letters, combines letters to recognize spelling patterns, links spelling patterns to recognize words and proceeds to sentence, paragraph, and text level processing.
   • May include: students sounding out words, telling students what word is and having them spell it and repeat the word, help see smaller words within the word, help break down word phonetically, sound out word syllable by syllable, give clues such as “the sound of the beginning constant rhymes with…” (p.529, Appendix A)
2. Top-Down: Assume that the process of translating print to meaning begins with readers prior knowledge and experience. The process is initiated by making predictions about the meaning of some unit of print. Readers decode graphic summons into sounds to check out the hypotheses about meaning. This process is conceptually driven. Ideas or concepts in the mind of a reader trigger information processing during reading.
   • May include: having student skip word and come back to it to see if it makes sense, don’t stop the reader when they make an error if it won’t change the meaning of paragraph, discussing what children read, book reports, setting a purpose for reading (p.529, Appendix A)
3. Interactive: Assumes that the process of translating print to meaning involves making use of both prior knowledge and print. It is initiated by making predictions about meaning and/or decoding graphic symbols. Reader forms a hypothesis baed on interaction of information from semantic, syntactic, and graphophonemic sources of information (p.27).

RTI: Response to Intervention. A systematic approach to identify and instruct struggling readers. It focuses on early support and intervention. The three tiered approach strategy is used in many school districts (p.30):

1. Tier 1: all students are provided research-based instruction differentiate to meet each student’s needs. Intervention is considered preventive and proactive.
2. Tier 2: More intensive work is provided to learners who have not been successful in traditional classroom learning situation. Therefore more focused small group interventions are implemented with frequent monitoring to measure progress. regular classroom teachers receive support for special educators and literacy coaches.
3. Tier 3: learners receive intensive individualized intervention targeting specific deficits and problem areas. special educators and literacy specialists are responsible for the intervention and assessment processes; classroom teachers provide support.

Written and developed by: Cassandra Bellwood, Kente P.S. Kerri Denyes, Princess of Wales P.S. Lisa Friar, Foxboro P.S. Cassandra Windsor, Harmony P.S. Kim Mahoney, C.O.D.E. Project Leader. Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board. C.O.D.E Project, 2007

Five Stages of Spelling Development

Monitoring Progress in Spelling Using Developmental Information

Phonological Awareness vs. Phonemic Awareness

Source 1: K12Reader 300×250 Article Detail Top. http://www.k12reader.com/phonemic-awareness-vs-phonologicalawareness/

Phonological Awareness: Reader recognizes that words are made up of sound units. Words are made up of sound units (phonemes) and can be blended or segmented with onset (beginning sound) and rime (end sound). It is the basic building block for understanding phonics- that letters and sounds are connected.

Phonemic Awareness: Is one aspect of phonological awareness that deals with the smallest unit of sound (phonemes). All words are made up of several small phonemes blended together. For example, “ball” is made up of three sounds /b/ /aw/ /l/.

Source 2: pdf document provided by professor- Phonological Awareness (2) pdf. No author or source listed.

Classroom Application:

Provide environment where children feel comfortable reading: have multiple books, use various writing materials, provide uninterrupted time for reading and writing (p.2).

Assist students in developing skills needed to communicate across new literacies. Students will need to be able to represent what they know using more than just linear written communications. They will be using graphics, sound, and motion in a nonlinear way (p.10). To become better at doing this, be immersed yourself. For example, create a Twitter account. Learn about what kids are doing.

Develop an autobiographical narrative to understand my own beliefs and plan for the future (p.13). Answer questions listed in vocabulary segment above and determine how that may influence my teachings.

Teachers often use the strategy of sounding it out when students don’t know a word. It is important to followup this strategy by asking comprehension questions such as “does that word make sense? Does it sound like a language?” (p.21).

Embrace reading as a language process. Do not isolate reading and writing for instructional purposes. Keep language “whole” (p.23).

Utilize an interactive model for reading which incorporates both prior knowledge and graphemic information. Key questions students can ask themselves include: “What do I need to know? and “How well do I already know it?” (p.29).

Utilize the Three Cuing System as noted in above tables.

Vacca, J. L., Vacca, R.T., & Gove, M K. (2012). Reading and learning to read (8th ed.). New York: Longman.

Chapter 1 explicit, implicit, systematic instructional approach, autobiographical narrative,

professional knowledge, literacy coach, alphabetic principle, orthographic knowledge,

schemata, schema theory and reading comprehension, metacognition, implicit, explicit,

Piaget, Vygotsky, graphophonemic system, syntactic system, semantic system, 4 steps of

literacy development, 3 models of reading : bottom-up, top-down and interactive, RTI and

the three tiers

Chapter 2 scope and sequence, basal reading approach, language-experience approach, integrated

language arts approach, literature-based approach, technologgy-based approach,

technology-based instruction, instructional scaffolding, explicit strategy instruction

Chapter 3 ELL Developmental Language Levels, response protocol, contribution approach, additive

approach, transformative approach, decision-making and social action approach,

academic and cognitive diversity, exceptional children, Public Law 94-142, IDEA 2004,

Instructional Principles for Academic and Cognitive Diversity, inclusion, literacy coaches,

differentiated instruction

Chapter 4 environmental print, invented spelling, how writing develops, how reading develops,

phases of literacy development, literate environment, core language and literacy skills,

shared reading, how to promote oral language development, design of classroom

environment, oral language comprehension, vocabulary, phonological awareness,

alphabet knowledge, developmental writing, print knowledge, developing early literacy

skills, language-experience stories,

Chapter 5 emergent literacy, scaffolding instruction, storybook experiences, interactive writing,

linguistic awareness, print awareness, concept of print, assessing concept of print,

phonemes, alphabetic principle, phonics, phonemic awareness, phonological awareness,

alliteration, rimes, phonological awareness continuum, orthographic system, phoneme

isolation, phoneme identity, phoneme categorization, blending, segmenting beginning

and ending sounds, phoneme deletion addition and substitution, Elkonin boxes,

phonemic segmentation, schema

Chapter 6 high-stakes testing, authentic assessment, retelling, formative assessment, selfassessment,

formal assessments, standardized tests, norms, reliability, validity, types of

test scores, types of assessments, diagnostic test, criterion-references tests, informal

assessments, informal reading inventory, independent reading level, instructional reading

level, frustrational reading level, miscues, miscue analysis, running record, analyzing

running record, words per minute, DIBELS, portfolios, anecdotal notes, checklist,

interviewing

Chapter 7 word attack, word analysis, word recognition, decoding, phonics, pre alphabetic phase,

partial alphabetic phase, full alphabetic phase, consolidated alphabetic phase, onsets,

rimes, analytic phonics, synthetic phonics, linguistic instruction, decodable text, digraphs,

consonant blends, diphthongs, syllables, analogy-based instruction, developmental

stages of word learning and spelling, embedded phonics instruction, phonograms,

making words, word walls, high-frequency words, cloze sentences, cross-checking, selfmonitoring,

structural analysis, morpheme and inflected endings

 Chapter 8 fluency, effective fluency instruction, mediated word identification, automaticity, prosody,

predictable text, types of predictable texts, strategies to assist with fluency: choral

reading, echo reading, fluency-orientated reading instruction (FORI), readers’ theater,

repeated readings, paired readings, fluency development lesson (FDL), automated

reading, oral recitation lesson (ORL), support reading strategy, cross-age reading, what

parents can do at home to help their student become a fluent reader, assessing fluency,

reading rate, WPM or WCPM

 Chapter 9 aptitude hypothesis, knowledge hypothesis, instrumental hypothesis, vocabulary,

components of vocabulary, Principles to Guide Vocabulary Instruction, Strategies for

Vocabulary and Concept Development, synonyms, antonyms, think sheets, categorization,

multiple-meaning words, categorization, word sorts, concept circles, semantic mapping,

analogy, paired-word sentence generation, predictogram, self-selection strategy, word

knowledge rating

 Chapter 10 scaffolding instruction, literal questions, inferential questions, evaluative questions,

active comprehension, ReQuest, QAR’s, QtA, reciprocal teaching, think-alouds, story map,

general and specific comprehension questions, schema, activities to build schema for

stories, macrocloze stories, scrambled stories, story frames, circular story map, DR-TA,

KWL, discussion webs, story impressions, text connections: text to self, text to text, text to

world

Source:  Tompkins, Gail E.. Literacy for the 21st Century: A Balanced Approach. Pearson Education. Kindle Edition.

Trade books: Teachers use trade-book selections for classroom use but teachers must not assume the reading level is appropriate for all students because levels vary among classes.

Text sets: Carefully chosen reading material about a specific topic which includes different genres, a range of reading levels, and multimedia resources that present numerous perspectives.  Multimedia may include:  films, videos, models and diagrams, newspaper articles, nonfiction books, poems and songs, primary source materials, and websites (p.403).

Mentor text: Using books that are familiar with students and can be reread to model the writer’s craft (p.403).  Teachers identify a specific feature of the book and then students try to use that feature in their own writing.  

Learning logs: This is a log students use in different courses to record their reactions to what they learnd.  It is a place to “think on paper” (p.405).

Double-entry journals:  Students divide their journal page into two parts and write different information in each column.  For example, the first column could say “My notes after reading” and the second column could say “My questions and ideas” (p.406).

Quickwriting: Students are given 5-10 minutes to write their thoughts in a free-flowing manner without focus on grammar (p.408).  Teachers use quickwriting to activate students’ background knowledge at the beginning of a thematic unit, monitor their progress and clarify misconceptions during the unit, and review big ideas at the end (Readence, Moore, & Rickelman, 2000) (p.408).

Essays: Written by students to persuade, analyze, or explain something.  They are classified as nonfiction and are generally no longer than two pages.  There is a five-paragraph structured essay that includes an introduction, body, and conclusion divided into five paragraphs. This structure isn’t recommended due to its limitations (p.411).

Collaborative books:  Students work together to write collaborative books. Sometimes students each write one page for the report, or they can work together in small groups to write chapters (p.411).

Stage One: Prereading

• Kwl charts:  A tool to gain background knowledge.  A chart that students fill out and says what they know, what they want to know, and what they learned. 
• Anticipation guides: Teachers introduce a set of statements on the topic of the chapter and students agree or disagree with each statement. They read to see if they were right. 
• Prereading plan:  Introduce big ideas in a chapter by presenting an idea discussed in the chapter and having students brainstorm words and ideas related to it (p.417).
• Question-answer relationships:  Turning main headings into questions and prepare to read to find the answers to the questions.  

Stage 2: Reading

• Students read the assignment, teacher assists in identifying big ideas and organize details.

Stage 3: Responding

• Clarify misunderstandings
• Summarize big ideas
• Make connection to students lives

Stage 4: Exploring

• Study vocabulary words
• Review big ideas
• Help students connect the big ideas and details.  
• Using semantic feature analysis chart helps classify important information.  These are data charts to record information according to big ideas. 

Stage 5: Applying

• Expand students’ knowledge about the topic
• Have students personalize their learning
• Expect students to share their knowledge
• Students participate in WebQuest, read additional books from the text set, research online, and interview people to expand knowledge.  

Sq4r study strategy:  “a six-step technique in which students survey, question, read, recite, relate, and review as they study a content area reading assignment”  (p.421).

How to plan a thematic unit:  (Taken directly from text on pages 422-423)

1. Determine the focus. Teachers identify three or four big ideas to emphasize in the unit because the goal isn’t to teach a collection of facts but to help students grapple with several big understandings. Teachers also choose the grade-level standards to address during the unit. 
2. Collect a text set. Teachers collect stories, nonfiction books, and poems on topics related to the unit for the text set and place them in a special area in the classroom library. They’ll read some books aloud, and students will read others independently or in small groups. Other books are used for minilessons or as models or patterns for writing projects. 
3. Coordinate textbook readings. Teachers review the content area textbook chapters related to the unit and decide how to use them most effectively. For example, they might use one as an introduction, have students read others during the unit, or read the chapters to review the big ideas. They also think about how to make the textbook more comprehensible, especially for English learners and struggling readers. 
4. Locate digital and multimedia materials. Teachers locate websites, DVDs, maps, models, artifacts, and other materials for the unit. Some materials are used to build students’ background knowledge and others to teach the big ideas. Also, students create multimedia materials to display in the classroom. 
5. Plan instructional activities. Teachers think about ways to teach the unit using reading and writing as learning tools, brainstorm possible activities, and then develop a planning map with possible activities. They also make decisions about coordinating the thematic unit with a literature focus unit using a related book, literature circles featuring books from the text set, or reading and writing workshop. 
6. Identify minilesson topics. Teachers plan minilessons to teach strategies and skills related to reading and writing nonfiction as well as content area topics connected to the unit, based on state standards and needs they’ve identified from students’ work. 
7. Plan ways to differentiate instruction. Teachers devise ways to use flexible grouping to adjust instruction to meet students’ developmental levels and language proficiency levels, provide appropriate books and other instructional materials for all students, and scaffold struggling students and challenge high achievers with tiered activities and projects.
8. Brainstorm possible projects. Teachers think about projects students can develop to apply and personalize their learning at the end of the unit. They often use the RAFT procedure to design tiered projects so students have alternative ways to demonstrate their learning. This planning makes it possible for teachers to collect needed supplies and have suggestions ready for students who need assistance in choosing a project. Students usually work independently or in small groups, but sometimes the whole class works together on a project. 
9. Plan for assessment. Teachers consider how they’ll monitor students’ progress and evaluate learning at the end of the unit. In this way, they can explain to students at the beginning of the unit how they’ll be evaluated and check to see that their assessment emphasizes students’ learning of the big ideas.

Alternative assessments:  Be sure to interact with EL students by asking questions about the book they are reading.  Teachers may use different assessments such as having students draw a picture instead of writing an essay about big ideas.  Portfolios can be helpful in documenting Els progress.  

Classroom application

Using magazines to integrate reading into content areas is a great idea.  I often get Sierra Club and WDNR magazines at home.  This would be a good way to put them to use in the classroom as well.  I also liked the idea of using National Geographic Little Kids for younger students. There was a nice reference chart on page 404 that includes several recommended magazines that cover various content areas.

I will be using learning logs in my classrooms.  I have several lesson plans for math and science classes that already incorporate a version of this.  I call them journals though.   I liked the idea of using double-entry journals such as the one on page 406 because it allows students to reflect on their readings and add a deeper meaning to the text. 

WebQuest are inquiry-oriented digital projects that fosters ability to use the internet to search and retrieve information from websites and understand multimodal presentations. The resources are book-marked for easy use and include introduction, task, process, resources, evaluation, and conclusion (p.414).  There is a way to find teacher-made WebQuests and also creating your own.  It will be a helpful tool in the classroom.  

The steps to develop a thematic unit will aid in future lesson planning.  I copied the text directly into the blog so I have all the needed information to do this in my classroom.  

The example unit plans listed on pages 425-433 will definitely help when developing my own unit plans.  I liked the format of the fourth grade unit on desert ecosystems.  This would be a good reference for my future science class.

Source:  Tompkins, Gail (2017). Literacy for the 21^stCentury: A Balanced Approach

Differentiation:  Differentiated instruction is based on this understanding that students differ in important ways (p.370).  Differentiation refers to providing various modes of instruction delivery so students have a number of ways to receive information.  Teachers must differentiate their instruction because students learn differently and are interested in different things.  Differentiation is rigorous, relevant, flexible, and complex.  There are three ways that teachers differentiate instruction:

• Differentiating the content “what”:  This includes literacy knowledge, strategies, and skills that students are expected to know at each level.  Teachers differentiate content by providing more instruction and practice for struggling readers and less practice for others.  This also may include increasing the complexity of the activities (p.371)
• Differentiating the process “how”:  This includes the instruction provided, materials used, and activities.  It also includes activities to implement what they learn using oral, written or visual means (p.371)
• Differentiating the product “result”:  This refers to what the student learned and understood. This may include projects, posters, multimodal reports, games, and new versions of stories.  The complexity of these projects vary by changing the level of thinking that is required to complete the project (p.372).

Grouping for instruction:  The teacher groups students depending on the purpose, complexity of activity, and specific learning needs (p.373).

1. Work together as a whole class:  activities include interactive read-alouds and word walls.
2. Work in small groups:  Activities include revising groups and shared reading.
3. Work individually:  Activities include reading logs and language experience approach.
4. Combination of groups:  Activities include minilessons and interactive writing

Tiered activities:  These are activities that vary in complexity and focus on the same essential knowledge (p.374).  They are different ways of reaching the same goal. Teachers vary activities in several ways:

1. Complexity of thinking
2. Level of reading material
3. Form of expression such as visual, oral, or written expressions:
   1. Visual:  charts, posters, and dioramas
   1. Oral: dramatizations, oral reports, and choral readings
   1. Written:  stories, poems, and reports

Literacy centers:  Small group work where students practice analyzing concepts, strategies, and skills that were taught during the minilesson.  The centers range in complexity and can either be permeant or temporary.  The table below shows examples and descriptions of literacy centers.

Characteristics of a struggling reader (p.384):

• Difficulty developing concepts about written language, phonemic awareness, letter names, and phoneme–grapheme correspondences 
• Slower to respond than classmates when asked to identify words 
• Behavior that deviates from school norms
• Ineffective decoding skills
• Don’t read fluently
• Insufficient vocabulary knowledge
• Difficulty remembering author’s message

Characteristics of a struggling writer (p.385):

• Difficulty developing and organizing ideas
• Struggle with word choice 
• Struggle with writing complete sentences and effective transitions
• Struggle with grammar, capitalization, punctuation, spelling
• Complain of pain while writing
• Show little interest
• Do bare minimum
• Refuse to write

Below are useful tables that help to identify potential problems and solutions for struggling readers and writers. These were taken from pages 387-389.

High-quality classroom instruction is a necessary component for helping students who are struggling.  It is best to prevent difficulties in the first place.  Using high quality instruction with intervention can help struggling students.  It is standard-driven and incorporates research-based procedures and activities.  There are four components to help struggling readers and writers:

1. Personalizing instruction: The teacher adjusts instructional programs to fit the student’s needs.
2. Use appropriate instructional materials:  Making sure you have appropriate reading level books for struggling readers. 
3. Expanding teachers’ expertise:  Be sure to continually develop professionally by attending workshops, conferences, and/or professional book clubs.  Reference Figure 11-5:

• Collaborate with literacy coaches:  Coaches are experienced teachers who work with struggling readers and writers.  They help support teachers by demonstrating instructional procedures and evaluation techniques. 

Interventions:  Interventions help struggling readers and writers by building on current instruction.  The student is met with on a daily basis. Teachers diagnose, provide intensive expert instruction and scaffold individuals or small groups of students. This could take on the form of an additional lesson during the day, offering extra instruction, or offering an after school program.  Focus has shifted towards early intervention for students who may be at risk in preschool, kindergarten or first grade.  There are three types of interventions for young students (p.391):

• Preventive programs to create more effective early-childhood programs 
• Family-focused programs to develop young children’s awareness of literacy, parents’ literacy, and parenting skills 
• Early interventions to resolve reading and writing problems and accelerate literacy development for low-achieving K–3 students

Reading recovery (p.392):  This is a type of intervention program for lowest-achieving first graders.  It is a 30-minute daily one-on-one tutoring by specifically trained and supervised teachers for 12-30 weeks.  It includes reading familiar books, independently reading the book introduced in previous lessons, learning decoding and comprehension strategies, writing sentences, reading a new book with teacher support.  

Interventions for older students:  We typically want interventions to occur before students reach higher grades.  Early intervention is key.  However, this isn’t always possible.  Teachers should design intervention programs that include high quality instruction, instructional-level reading materials, and more time for reading (p.393).

RTI:  This refers to Response to Intervention (RTI).  “RTI is a schoolwide initiative to identify struggling students quickly, promote high-quality classroom instruction, provide effective interventions, and increase the likelihood that students will be successful” (p.393).  It includes:  screening and prevention, early intervention, and intensive intervention. 

Classroom Application:

Literature circles are an important piece for differentiated instruction.  There are twenty different types of centers that may be used to help students acquire learning material.  Figure 11-2, Literacy Centers was pasted in my blog above.  This chart will be a great reference for setting up circles in my classroom.  

Knowing the three kinds of differentiation (content, process, and product) will help me develop improved lesson plans that will be accessible to all students.  

Identifying struggling readers and writers helps teachers with differentiating instruction to meet their needs.  Using the examples provided on pages 387-389 will help me develop activities based off what I am seeing in my classroom.  For example, if a student is not understanding the meaning of words, I may choose to teach specific vocabulary words prior to reading.   

As a teacher, I will never stop growing and learning.  To aid in my professional development, it is important to know where to go for effective opportunities.  The chart on page 391 will be useful for helping me plan for future PD.

Source:  Tompkins, Gail (2017). Literacy for the 21^stCentury: A Balanced Approach

Teachers often use a balanced approach to teaching, where they use two or more approaches to teaching. Common approaches include:  Guided reading, basal reading programs, literature focus units, literature circles, and reading and writing workshop:

1. Guided reading:  Lessons last about twenty minutes.  Students reread familiar books they have already read.  Teachers introduce a new book and guide students as they read it.  The purpose is to develop independent readers who use strategies flexibly to decode unfamiliar words, read fluently, and comprehend what they are reading.  This is a teacher-centered approach.  This is often used with literature focus units or reading and writing workshop.  
   1. Introduce a book:  Build student’s background knowledge, interest, and talk about illustrations.  They set a purpose.
   2. Students read book aloud softly while the teacher monitors individual students.
   3. Grand conversation:  The class discusses the book, making connections, sharing ideas and clarifying questions.  Teachers also identify vocabulary words and reading strategies.  
   4. Strategies:  self-monitoring, checking predictions, decoding unfamiliar words, determine if words make sense, check that it is the appropriate word in the syntax of the sentence, chunk phrases to read more fluently.  
2. Basal reading programs:  Commercial reading programs with lessons that used to focus on religious and patriotic values.  Students read aloud to classmates.  This process is about memorizing words rather than using phonics to decode them (p.335).  Now, basal readers include diversity and emphasize an organized presentation of strategies, skills, and phonics.  
   • Purpose:  To teach the strategies and skills that successful readers need using an organized program that includes grade-level reading selections, workbook practice assignments, and frequent testing (p.336).
   • Components:  Selection in grade-level textbooks, instruction about decoding and comprehension strategies and skills, workbook assignments, and independent reading opportunities (p.336) 
   • Organization:  basal reading is organized into units on various topics.  Each unit includes four to six weeklong lessons.  Everyone reads the same selections, regardless of reading level.  
   • Materials:  
     • Student textbook (anthology):  Selections are grouped into unites, each unit includes stories, poems, and informational articles.  
     • Print and digital material to support learning such as workbooks.
     • Multimedia materials:  audio, CD, videos.
     • Assessment tools:  placement evaluations, informal reading inventories, running records, unit tests.  Information is available on how to administer test, analyze results, and manage assessment program.  
     • Teacher’s instructional guide:  A handbook that gives comprehensive information about how to plan lessons, teach the selection, and assess student progress.  
     • Lesson planner:  an online management tool that teachers download to use for planning instruction and aligning lessons with state literacy standards.
     • Kits, big books, supplemental books, and home school connections are also available.

• Literature focus units:  Teachers direct students as they read and respond to popular books. The focus is to teach students about literature and develop life-long readers (p.340).
  • Components:  Teachers involve students in three activities: Students read and respond to a trade book together as a class; the teacher teaches minilessons on phonics, vocabulary, and comprehension using the book they’re reading; and students create projects to extend their understanding of the book (p.340).
  • Steps to develop a literature focus unit:
    • Select literature:  may be a picture book, novel, nonfiction, or poetry.  The teacher obtains numerous copies of the book. Teachers select related books (author or genre).  They collect 2 or more copies of 10-30 different books for the next set.  These are available to students for independent reading time.  Teachers also collect related materials such as puppets, diagrams, DVDs, book boxes..etc. 
    • Set Goals:  The teacher identifies what he/she wants students to learn and standards to be met.
    • Develop a Unit Plan:  Teachers read selected books and think about the unit’s focus. Then, chose the activities to use at the five stages of the reading process and how they will differentiate instruction for all students.  
    • Coordinate grouping patterns with activities: Grouping patterns should be alternating during various activities to include independent, small group, and whole class exercises.  
    • Create a time schedule:  Create a plan with sufficient time for students to move through all stages of reading process.  
    • Assess Students:  Plan, monitor, evaluate, and reflect.  Think about what assessment to use, tools, and lesson adaptations.   

• Literature circles (book clubs):  These are small, student-led book discussion groups that meet regularly in the classroom.  These are also called book clubs.  These books are chosen by the students so they should naturally be interested in them. Students form small groups and set a reading schedule.  The students get together to discuss the book while the teacher sometimes monitors their discussions.  Literature circle provides:
  • Choice:  students choose the book, the group, the schedule, and the roles.  They also decide how they share the book with peers.
  • Literature:  The books should be at the readers reading level.  It is recommended to chose shorter books or picture books at first so students don’t become overwhelmed.  Teachers should read books so they can facilitate book talks when they introduce them and contribute to discussions.
  • Response:  Students meet several times to talk about the books.  They summarize reading, make connections, learn vocabulary, and explore author’s use of text factors.  One of the best ways to prepare students to respond to literature is by reading aloud to them and involving them in grand conversations (p.347).
  • Types of talk during literature circle discussions:

• Roles students play in literature circles:

• Steps to plan for literature circles (pp.349-350):
  • STEP 1: Select Books. Teachers prepare text sets with five to seven related titles and collect six or seven copies of each book. They give a brief book talk to introduce the books, and then students sign up for the one they want to read. Students need time to preview the books, and then they decide what to read after considering the topic and the difficulty level. Once in a while, students don’t get to read their first choice, but they can always read it another time, perhaps during another literature circle or during reading workshop. 
  • STEP 2: Form Literature Circles. Students get together to read each book; usually no more than six students participate in a group. They begin by setting a schedule for reading and discussing the book within the time limits set by the teacher. Students also choose discussion roles so that they can prepare for the discussion after reading.
  • STEP 3: Read the Book. Students read all or part of the book independently or with a partner, depending on the book’s difficulty level. Afterward, they prepare for the discussion by doing the assignment for the role they assumed. 
  • STEP 4: Participate in a Discussion. Students meet to talk about the book; these grand conversations usually last about 30 minutes. The discussion director or another student who has been chosen as the leader begins the discussion, and then classmates continue as in any other grand conversation, taking turns sharing their responses according to the roles they assumed. The talk is meaningful because students talk about what interests them or confuses them in the book. 
  • STEP 5: Teach Minilessons. Teachers teach minilessons before or after group meetings on a variety of topics, including asking insightful questions, completing role sheets, using comprehension strategies, and examining text factors (Daniels & Steineke, 2004). They address the procedures that students use in small-group discussions as well as literary concepts and strategies and skills.
  • STEP 6: Share With the Class. Students in each literature circle share the book they’ve read with their classmates through a book talk or another presentation. 
  • STEP 7: Assess Learning. Teachers monitor students’ progress in the literature circle, checking that they’re responsible group members, engaged in the book they’re reading, actively participating in the group, and developing their comprehension. At the end of the literature circle, students

Reading and writing workshop:  There are three main components to reading and writing workshops:  time, choice, and response.  Students have a large amount of time and opportunity to read and write. This is the core of the curriculum. 

• Reading workshop:  Students also get choices during workshop such as selecting their own books.  Students also respond to the books that they are reading either through conferences with the teacher or in their reading logs. Responses show the students reading strategies and helps teachers monitor their learning.  They may include patterns such as:  character identification, assessment, story involvement, connections, predictions, and questioning.  Workshops are designed for students to work on their own projects or readings. During the sharing portion, students discuss the books they have been reading with their classmates.  Reading workshop may include minilessons to teach procedures, comprehension strategies, and text factors.  Teachers may also decide to use interactive read-aloud to encourage a community of learners.

• Writing workshop:  Providing an opportunity for students to apply what they have learned through work time on their own writing.  The writing is about topics they chose themselves while the teacher acts as a facilitator and guide.  Students generally keep a writing folder where they keep their projects. During workshop, students can have access to multiple writing media such as lined paper, blank paper, colored paper..etc.  There are three components to writing workshop:  writing, sharing, and minilessons.  Sometimes, teachers can add reading aloud to students.  During the writing component, students receive 30-45 minutes to write. Students chose their own pace and topic to write about.    

Goldilock Strategy: This is a developed strategy to choose books based off the folktale “The Three Little Bears”.  The strategy works well for any grade level.  The books are categorized by too easy, too hard, and just right.  

Silent sustained reading (SSR) is a school-wide time scheduled for students to read a book of their choice independently.  These are books they read for pleasure and should be comfortable reading.  There are no instructional components.  

Management of the workshops:  On the first day of school, make sure to establish a workshop environment in the classroom.  Provide students time to read and write.  Teach them how to respond to books and to their classmates’ writing.  Develop a schedule for reading and writing workshops. Having a writing workshop schedule helps monitor progress (p.362).  During workshops, teachers can observe students. 

Classroom application

While it sounds like basal reading comes with numerous tools, strategies, and materials, I am not sure I like the idea of it being teacher-led and void of student choice.  I would consider implementing this in the classroom because of the great tools available, but I would definitely want to include additional strategies that include choice such as literature circles and workshops.  

I found the segment about literature circles to be very valuable. I like the idea of letting students discover the books they enjoy through literature circles.  This makes reading something that is interesting and exciting for the students, encouraging them to be life-long readers.  This type of lesson also gets students thinking about kinds of issues, topics, authors, and genres that intrigue them.  What’s more, “they prepare students for making choices by creating a community of learners in their classrooms in which students assume responsibility for their learning and can work collaboratively with classmates” (Tompkins p.345).  They may even find books and stories that can help them with everyday life outside of the classroom.  I intend to follow the steps to develop literature circles listed on pages 349-350.  These steps were copied and displayed above.  

The use of reading and writing workshop will also be a key component in my instruction.  I encourage independent work that allows students to showcase their learning while increasing motivation to learn and do well.  As stated in the text, “ students participating in reading workshop showed more positive attitudes toward reading” (Tomkins, p.463).  Workshops allow students to take ownership in their work and, hopefully, pride in their progress.  To monitor student progress, I would like to implement a chart similar to the one on page 362.  This is an easy snapshot of where each student is in the writing process.  

Source:  Tompkins, Gail (2017). Literacy for the 21^stCentury: A Balanced Approach

Text Factors: 

• Genres:  The three broad categories of literature are stories, informational books or nonfiction, and poetry, and there are subgenres within each category. For example, science fiction, folktales, and historical fiction are subgenres of stories (p. 294)
• Text Structures: Authors use text structures to organize texts and emphasize the most important ideas. Sequence, comparison, and cause and effect, for example, are three internal patterns used to organize nonfiction texts (p. 294) 
• Text Features:  Authors use text features to achieve a particular effect in their writing. Literary devices and conventions include symbolism and tone in stories, headings and indexes in nonfiction books, and page layout for poems (p. 294)

Stories:  Narratives about characters trying to overcome problems or deal with difficulties.

Formats:  Picture books, chapter books, novels

Narratives Genres: How books are categorized. Folklore are stories that began hundreds of years ago and passed down from generation to generation.  Fantasies are imaginative stories.  Authors create new worlds for the characters but the worlds are based on reality so readers believe they exist.  Realistic fiction are stories that are lifelike and believable. The outcome is reasonable and the story is a representation of actions that seem truthful.  These books help students discover that their problems are not unique and they are not alone in experiencing them.  Below is a great chart of Narrative Genres:

Elements Of Story Structure (pp. 299-304): 

• Plot:  the sequence of events involving characters in conflict situations.  It is based on the goals of one or more characters and the process they go through to attain them.  Conflict occurs between characters and nature, between characters and society, between characters, and within characters.
• Characters:  Characters are the people or personified animals in the story.  They are the key structural element when stories are centered on characters. Characters are developed in four ways:
  • Appearance
  • Action
  • Dialog
  • Monologue
• Setting:  The location of where a story takes place.  There are four dimensions to settings:  location, weather, time period, and time. 
• Point Of View:  The viewpoint or perspective that a story is written in:
  • First person:  Perspective from the eyes if a character using the first-person pronoun I
  • Omniscient:  Telling readers about the thought process of each character. (Omniscient, omnipotent- god like).
  • Limited Omniscient: Thoughts of one character, told in third person.  Typically focused on main character.
  • Objective:  Readers are eyewitnesses to the story and are confined to the immediate scene.
• Theme:  The underlying meaning of a story.  It usually deals with character emotions and values.

Narrative Devices (p. 304):  Authors use narrative devices to make their writing more vivid and memorable. Imagery is probably the most common.

Text Factors Of Nonfiction Books (pp.306-308): Nonfiction provides real information and knowledge about topics students may be interested in.  

Nonfiction Genres:  nonfiction provides information for any topic you can think of.  Some types include: 

• Alphabet books
• Biographies
• Reference books

Expository Text Structures: The way nonfiction books are organized (p.308).

• Description. The author describes a topic by listing characteristics, features, and examples. Phrases such as for example and characteristics are cue this structure. When students delineate any topic, such as the Mississippi River, eagles, or Alaska, they use description. 
• Sequence. The author lists or explains items or events in numerical, chronological, or alphabetical order. Cue words for sequence include first, second, third, next, then, and finally. Students use this pattern to write directions for completing a math problem or the stages in an animal’s life cycle. The events in a biography are often written in the sequence pattern, too. 
• Comparison. The author compares two or more things. Different, in contrast, alike, and on the other hand are cue words and phrases that signal this structure. When students compare and contrast book and movie versions of a story, reptiles and amphibians, or life in ancient Greece with life in ancient Egypt, they use this organizational pattern. 
• Cause and Effect. The author explains one or more causes and the resulting effect or effects. Reasons why, if… then, as a result, therefore, and because are words and phrases that cue this structure. Explanations of why dinosaurs became extinct, the effects of pollution, or the causes of the Civil War use this pattern. 
• Problem and Solution. The author states a problem and offers one or more solutions. A variation is the question-and-answer format, in which the writer poses a question and then answers it. Cue words and phrases include the problem is, the puzzle is, solve, and question… answer. Students use this structure when they write about why money was invented, why endangered animals should be saved, or why dams are needed to ensure a permanent water supply.

Formats Of Poetry:  Three types of poetry books for children include:  picture-book poems for one poem, poetry collections related to a single theme, and comprehensive anthologies where poems are arranged by category.  

Verse novels:  novels told through poems rather than prose.   

Poetic Forms:  Forms include acrostic, apology, bilingual, color, concrete, found, limericks, list, odes, and poems for two voices.

• Rhymed Verse:  most common for K-8.  
• Narrative Poems:  poems that tell a story and have illustrations.
• Haiku: A Japanese poetic form that contains 17 syllables arranged in lines of 5,7, and 5 syllables. They normally deal with nature.
• Free Verse:  Contemporary form.  Writers don’t use traditional poetic techniques.   Writers choose words to express ideas precisely and create powerful images.  
• Odes:  Poems that celebrate every-day objects.  It is unrhymed, written directly to that object about why it is valued.   
• Concrete Poems:  Words and lines are arranged on the page to convey meaning.  They may take on the shape of an object being written about.  

Poetic devices include (p. 316):

• Assonance: the type of alliteration where vowel sounds are repeated in nearby words. 
• Consonance: the type of alliteration where consonant sounds are repeated in nearby words. 
• Imagery: words and phrases that appeal to the senses and evoke mental pictures. Metaphor: a comparison between two unlikely things, without using like or as. 
• Onomatopoeia: words that imitate sounds. 
• Repetition: words, phrases, or lines that are repeated for special effect. 
• Rhyme: words that end with similar sounds used at the end of the lines. 
• Rhythm: the internal beat in a poem that’s felt when poetry is read aloud. 
• Simile: a comparison incorporating the word like or as.

Comprehension Strategies:

“Text Factors Teach students how to recognize and analyze text factors using these strategies so they can increase their comprehension of complex texts: Consider genre; Recognize text structure; And attend to literary devices. Introduce these strategies in minilessons and have students practice using them as they read books and listen to books read aloud. If students struggle, reteach the strategies, model their use, and think aloud about their application” (p.319).

Assessing Knowledge Of Text Factors (p. 320) 

Although there aren’t formal tests to assess students’ knowledge of text factors, students demonstrate what they’re learning as they participate in reading and writing activities and develop oral and written projects. Teachers use this instruction– assessment cycle: 

• Step 1: Planning. As they plan for instruction, teachers determine which text factors they’ll teach and how they’ll monitor students’ progress and assess students’ learning. 
• Step 2: Monitoring. Teachers monitor students’ progress as they observe and conference with them about their reading and writing activities. For example, they notice whether students choose sentences containing literary devices when asked to share favorite sentences with the class from a book they’re reading or whether they mention text factors during grand conversations. They also take note of students’ understanding of text structures as they make graphic organizers and their awareness of structural elements and literary devices in their reading log entries. 
• Step 3: Evaluating. Teachers encourage students to apply their knowledge of genres, structural elements, and literary devices as they respond to literature, develop projects, and write stories and other compositions. One way to do this is to include items on rubrics and checklists that pertain to text factors. 
• Step 4: Reflecting. Teachers ask students during conferences to reflect on how they’re growing in their ability to use text factors to comprehend complex texts, and students also write reading log entries, letters, and essays to reflect on their learning. Teachers also consider the effectiveness of their instruction and think about ways they can adapt instruction to emphasize text factors to enhance students’ comprehension abilities.

Classroom Application:  

It is important to know that realistic fiction helps students understand they are not unique in their problems, therefore they are not alone.  This will help students during their own book selections.  They can be helped and encouraged to read realistic fiction to explore solutions in their own lives.

Plot identification:  I liked the idea on page 300, where students create a story map to identify the plot. The map identifies the beginning, middle, and end of the story using words and pictures.  

Setting: It was interesting to learn that setting is not only about location.  I did not realize that weather can also make up the setting.

Understanding and knowing narrative devices will also help me in the classroom.  By referencing Figure 9-4, I will be able to help students understand the authors goals.  

Figure 9-5 provides excellent examples of expository text structures and correlating graphic organizers that can be used for each structure.  This will be very useful for classroom activities relating to nonfiction material.  Additionally, the book list provided on page 310 will be useful for identifying books that relate to the structure I am presenting to the class.  I, personally, would be interested in Boy, We Were Wrong about Dinosaursby Kudlinski, K. V.

As noted above, comprehension strategies are also important to recognize.  The strategy listed on page 319 will be helpful:  “Text Factors Teach students how to recognize and analyze text factors using these strategies so they can increase their comprehension of complex texts: Consider genre; Recognize text structure; And attend to literary devices. Introduce these strategies in minilessons and have students practice using them as they read books and listen to books read aloud. If students struggle, reteach the strategies, model their use, and think aloud about their application” (p.319).

Source:  Tompkins, Gail (2017). Literacy for the 21^stCentury: A Balanced Approach

Notes and Vocabulary from Text

Comprehension (p.255):  Comprehension is the goal of reading.  Understanding what we are reading and make sense of the words in the text to maintain interest.  “Comprehension is a creative, multifaceted thinking process in which students engage with the text” (p.255).  Comprehension includes the following:

• Literal comprehension:  readers pick out main ideas, sequence details, notice similarities and differences, identify stated reasons.
• Inferential comprehension:  Readers use clues in the text, implied information, and their background knowledge to draw inferences.  They make predictions, recognize cause and effect, and determine the authors purpose.
• Critical comprehension:  Readers analyze symbolic meanings, distingue fact from opinion, and draw conclusions.
• Evaluative comprehension:  readers judge the value of a text using generally accepted criteria and personal standards.  They detect bias, identify faulty reasoning, determine the effectiveness of persuasive techniques and assess the quality of text.

Text complexity (p.256):  A new way of examining comprehension to determine the cognitive demands of books, or more specifically, how well readers can complete an assigned task with a particular text (Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2012).

• Qualitative Dimensions. Teachers make informed judgments about a book’s grade appropriateness by examining its layout; its text structure, language features, and purpose and meaning; and the demands placed on readers’ background knowledge (p.256). 
• Quantitative Measures. Teachers use readability formulas or other scores to determine a book’s grade appropriateness by calculating word length, word frequency, word difficulty, sentence length, text length, and other quantitative features. They often rely on computer software to determine reading levels, such as Lexile scores. 
• Reader and Task Considerations. Teachers reflect on how they expect students to interact with the book, and on students’ literary knowledge and strategy use as well as their motivation and interests. With instruction, students grow in their understanding of how to read complex texts, and they learn to think about ideas and information in different ways (p.257).

Comprehension factors and roles in comprehension 

Background knowledge:  Teachers should make sure to develop background knowledge about texts that will be read during class so that students find the reading to be challenging, but not so challenging they are discouraged. Background knowledge can include information about the genre, understanding about the topic, and world or literary knowledge.  Teachers can use a variety of strategies to build background knowledge including: visual representations, discussions, field trips, dramatizations, and using artifacts (p.259).  

Vocabulary:  Students who have extended vocabulary have an easier time with comprehension (p.259). Teachers can preteach key words to build background knowledge using KWL charts, anticipation guides, and other prereading activities (p.259).

Fluency:  Fluent readers can use their cognitive resources to devote their attention to comprehension rather than decoding words.  Teachers can help students using word-identification strategies, having students do repeated readings, and providing students with books at their reading levels so they can be successful (p.259).

The comprehension strategies and what readers do:  Thoughtful behaviors that students use to facilitate their understanding as they read (p.259).

Inferences (p.262):  When students search for additional meaning beyond what is stated in the text. Drawing inferences comes after literal comprehension.  This is a higher level thinking skill.  Teachers use four steps to teach about drawing inferences:  

• Activate background knowledge about topics related to the text. 
• Look for the author’s clues as you read. 
• Ask questions, tying together background knowledge and the author’s clues. 
• Draw inferences by answering the questions.

Here is a useful example of a way to practice making inferences in class:

Comprehension skills:  Comprehension skills are different than strategies because skills involve literal thinking, they are like questions to which there is one correct answer (p.267). 

• Skills related to main ideas and details:  Noticing similarities and differences, identifying topic sentences, comparing and contrasting main ideas and details, matching causes with effects, sequencing details, paraphrasing ideas and choosing a good title for a text (p.268).
• Skills related to evaluating strategy (higher level thinking):  Recognizing the author’s purpose, detecting propaganda, distinguishing between fact and opinion

How comprehension strategies fit into the reading process:  the strategies are used at every stage in the reading process.  Their activities vary from stage to stage, depending on the strategy being used (p.267). Reference the chart on page 267 for information about the stage, what readers do, and the comprehension strategy.

Ways to teach comprehension (p.268-269):  Teach students how to understand what they are reading using explicit instruction, reading and writing to develop students’ understanding.  Minilessons can be used to teach each comprehension strategy first independently, then integrate several strategies simultaneously Teachers can follow these steps to help with instruction:

1. Describe strategy
2. Model it for students as they read a text aloud
3. Use it collaboratively with students
4. Provide opportunities for guided and then independent practices.

The following are great instructional procedures for each strategy (p.271):

Create expectations of comprehension:

• Involving students in authentic reading activities every day 
• Providing access to well-stocked classroom libraries 
• Teaching students to use comprehension strategies 
• Ensuring that students are fluent readers 
• Providing opportunities for students to talk about the books they’re reading 
• Linking vocabulary instruction to underlying concepts

Reading Factors:  Be sure that students read increasingly complex text and focus on author’s message.  Four reading factors include:  key ideas and details, integration of knowledge and ideas, range of reading, and level of text complexity.  

Reciprocal teaching: Student becomes the teacher in small group reading sessions.  This strategy involves four strategies that guide discussion:  predicting, question generating, summarizing and clarifying.

Assessing comprehension:  May use a combination of formal and informal assessments for comprehension.  Options include:  comprehension thinking strategies assessment, developmental reading assessment, informal reading inventories.  Diagnostic assessments can be completed to evaluate student progress and identify those who are struggling.  Assessment may occur in steps:  planning, monitoring, evaluating, and reflecting.

Cloze procedures:  “Teachers examine students’ understanding of a text using the cloze procedure, in which students supply the deleted words in a passage taken from a text they’ve read. Although filling in the blanks may seem like a simple activity, it isn’t because students need to consider the content of the passage, vocabulary words, and sentence structure to choose the exact word that was deleted” (p.279).

Story retelling:  “Children retell stories they’ve read or listened to read aloud to assess their literal comprehension (Morrow, 2002). Students’ story retellings should be coherent and well organized and should include the big ideas and important details. When teachers prompt students with questions and encourage them to “tell me more,” they’re known as aided retellings; otherwise they’re unaided retellings. Teachers often use checklists and rubrics to score students’ story retellings” (p.279).

Factors affecting student motivation:  There are many things that can effect student engagement and interest in reading.  Some focus on the teachers’ role and others focus on the students’ role.  This chart is a great summary of what teachers can do to promote and motivate students to read and/or write (p.281):

Classroom application

• I will use a mix of quantitative measures and reader and task considerations to help students find books to read in class. I believe using the students’ interest to find books will help create a life-long reader.
• Helping students use strategies listed on page 260, Comprehension Strategies, will greatly help my instruction while providing students comprehension tools needed to succeed. 
• Figure 8-5 will be an excellent reference for ways to encourage comprehension strategies among students.  I will remember to use the following steps to help with instruction:  Describe strategy, model it for students as they read a text aloud, use it collaboratively with students, and provide opportunities for guided and then independent practices (p.269).
• The suggestions and ideas listed on page 281 will be very helpful when focusing on ways to motivate students. I particularly liked how each motivating factor is categorized and there is a list of what teachers can do for each of those factors.  Great resource!  Additional suggestions that will be helpful:
  • Students express their own ideas and opinions. 
  • Students choose topics for writing and books for reading. 
  • Students talk about books they’re reading. 
  • Students share their writing with classmates. 
  • Students pursue authentic activities—not worksheets—using reading, writing, listening, and talking.