The Continuum of Literacy Learning

Regardless of the version you have (PreK-8, K-2, or 3-8) this resource is sure to become endlessly helpful to you, IF you learn how to use it! I am excited to see some of you really digging into the sections as you write your units of study, evaluate Benchmark assessment results and plan for small group instruction. I know it contains a lot of information, and it can be overwhelming, but I personally have not found another resource to be so valuable in my classroom teaching. There are seven Curriculum Components covered in the each version of the Continuum, but the layout of the book is different in the different versions. If you have the large PreK-8 continuum, you will find these 7 as the tabs that divide the book, with each grade level having pages within the tab. If you have the orange (K-2) or purple (3-8) versions, your tabs are organized mostly by grade level with the 7 components covered in each. Here are the 7 components:

* Interactive Read Aloud & Literature Discussions- here you will find a year-by-year list of specific behaviors to support and teach to the whole class

* Shared & Performance Reading- here you will find a year-by-year list of specific behaviors to support in whole group readings and guided small group readings

*Writing About Reading- a description of genres, and evidences of thinking within, beyond and about text for each grade level

*Writing- As we move in the direction of incorporating writing into our literacy blocks strategically, this section can begin to help you imagine which units of study can help you deliver instruction on various writing skills and genres. 

*Oral, Visual & Technological Communication- Year-by-year understandings and behaviors to support

* Phonics, Spelling, and Word Study- This is an overview of phonics skills to be covered at each grade level. Synthesizing this with your standards and (if possible) the Detailed Phonics Continuum in the back of the PreK-8 version, will give you a well rounded idea of how to embed phonics instruction. If your team has the F&P Phonics set, you will be able to get all of the information you need for scope & sequence from that. 

* Guided Reading- If you ask me, this is one of the MOST important parts of the Continuum. As we grow in our knowledge about text complexity and levels of readers in our classrooms, this resource provides everything you need to know about certain kinds of books and the sequencing of skills in order to expedite growth towards and beyond grade level expectations. If you are interested in learning more about how to use this section to inform your instruction, please contact me and I can come join you at a team meeting or prep to talk you through it.

Beyond "Turn & Talk"

I'm really excited about these. More can be found at THIS SITE, but I'm going to put a few up here as well. The biggest thing to note is that you will need to teach these procedures to your students just like you teach lining up, hand raising and a other classroom routines. Once they know them, you can reference them quickly by flipping back to an anchor chart or poster you create as a class about the sharing procedure.

Reader's Notebook

Many of you are starting to teach your students how to write in notebooks in response to your whole group, small group and independent reading times. I found this other blog, that has great examples of what you might have students do with their notebooks. Take a look and start talking with your collaborative team about which ones would best fit in your units of study! Here is her list of what might be in an intermediate notebook.

Partner Cards

As I've been out there modeling lessons, I've used these cards a few times in some of your classrooms. I had a few requests for where I got them, so here is the link to the FREE TpT product! Enjoy !

Writing About Reading

"Writing down what they think about what they've read allows readers to clarify their thinking. It is an opportunity to reflect. Readers better understand their reading when they have written about it. The writing may be a summary or a response. Sometimes just jotting down a few notes will clarify meaning."- Cris Tovani

As your students become more comfortable with your expectations of them as a reader, you should begin to introduce them to what you expect of them as a writer. The best way to do this is to use a reader's response notebook, folder or procedure. Just like with all your other literacy activities, the expectations should be delivered through modeling and scaffolded instruction. Unlike book reports and other "product" tasks, writing about reading should naturally flow through the thinking process of a reader. It should be about creating an authentic way to record a reader's thoughts, feelings, wonderings and analysis of texts they are reading. According to Fountas & Pinnell (2001) there are multiple appropriate and engaging ways for students to write about their reading, including:

                             * Recording comments on sticky notes

                             * A paragraph or page reflection on what has been read 

                             * A letter to a friend or teacher about what has been read

                             * A web, chart or list 

But, students need to be taught how to do these things, they need direction and modeling. There are simple and more involved ways of responding, but F&P provide some great starting places and graphic organizers that can be used as you teach students what their options are. You can find a folder of those PDFs HERE for your classroom use. Be creative, look at your standards, try to allow your students to have as many opportunities as possible to write about the meaning they create when they read! 

Reading Workshop

We're a few weeks in now. Many of you have spent your days wading through the first unit of study your team wrote back in June. You're quickly finding out what works and what doesn't. Your team is tweaking your plans and changing how you plan for the following units of study. Many of you have students deep in books, some even with overflowing book boxes, and it is a wonderful thing!

So take a minute with me to reflect....

 I love this video. I have watched it several times at different points in this journey and I am always grateful to be reminded of the impact a well-designed, well-run reading workshop. There are a few things that stick out to me from the video, I've noted them and connected them to our work below:

"Outgrow yourselves, over and over and over"

This process of crafting units of study, assessing and collaborating is an opportunity for increased student learning, but it also provides job embedded professional development as well. Don't pass up the opportunity to grow as a teacher, growing pains aren't always easy to handle, but its worth it!

"The reading workshop works, not because its based on market research but on reading research."

I love the way Calkins directly addresses the issue of "teacher-proof" curricula. There are some intelligent people that have written some great resources, but the simple fact that they have never been to EP, or met an EP child, should mean that we approach with caution. In effort to be sure we "cover" all the standards, we often seek an external source to tell us what to do. I believe that familiarizing ourselves with research and standards, tuning into our students, and collaborating with our professional learning teams, we can deliver high quality instruction to EVERY student. 

"Explicit and direct instruction through demonstrating and scaffolding."

This is the real purpose of large and small group instruction. The expectation is not that our students would learn everything they need to know in those times with us, but rather that they would see high quality examples of what to do, be guided in how to do it and then given time to practice doing it. If we're the only ones talking, we're the only ones learning and working. 

"Time to talk about books" 

Notice Calkins was talking about kids talking about books, not adults. I have already seen some great examples of students in our schools who are learning what it means to have meaningful conversations about their reading with their peers, keep up the good work!

"Access to a variety of texts"

This is essential. It does not matter how old or young the student is, how much they like Volcanoes or the Harry Potter series, it is our job to expose and explore many different kinds of texts with our students. It is also our job to create an environment where they want to branch out of their comfort zones. 

"Consistent and predictable environment so that students can carry on and teachers can teach."

If  you're having trouble with this as you begin your second unit, go back. Take a day to address it and revisit your anchor charts. Your reading workshop will only be effective if your students gain independence in reading and writing about reading. 

"Teaching our hearts out, so no child gets left behind."

You do this, the best you can. I just like hearing her say it.

"It's not ok to have 80% of our kids at reading proficiently." 

Overwhelming, yet profound and so very true. Especially when we are aiming to inspire each student every day!

Teach so it matters...

In his book Engaging Readers & Writers With Inquiry Jeff Wilhelm states that one of the first actions steps to take towards building a culture of inquiry is to 

       

"Reconceptualize your role and that of your students as members of an inquiring community that shares a common vocabulary and set of conceptual tools and strategic practices to solve open problems in a discipline."

Sounds easy, right?!? Not so much. These things are essential first steps, and because of the that I believe they deserve some discussion. As we look at the elements of common vocabulary, conceptual tools, and strategic practices, I will give you some practical thoughts about how to try and maybe even fully implement them for the benefit of your students. 

Developing a common language or vocabulary is something all educators should be aiming for. Not just for the purpose of test taking or spewing definitions, but to enrich the understanding of the content and its themes. This can be done by 

• Most importantly, this includes the conversational language you expect and use in your classroom discussions. How do expect them to agree with you, one another or a guest? What should they say if they disagree? What does a response to a question sound like? How can students have clarifying conversations when they misunderstand or disagree? When these "norms" are established and students know the boundaries and expectations for communication, they will be more likely to engage in classroom conversation and discussion than if they think you are only looking for thoughtless compliance. 
• Creating a visual support for important vocabualry words in your classroom. A bulletin board, poster or even notecards on the wall should be in a place where you and your students can access it. The purpose being that you will use them more, your students will see them more, and the meanings will be reinforced. Consider having students create illustrations or symbols to further support the vocab as their understanding develops. 

Teaching a set of conceptual tools means giving students options for how to deepen their understanding of a concept when there is a defect  As with other elements of inquiry learning, independence is built from repeated modeling and guided practice. 

• One way to do this is by presenting graphic organizers that cause students to record what they know, questions they have and provide an emphasis on connections. If students can see connections between knew knowledge and something they already understand, their conceptual understanding will be stronger. 
• If students are building knowledge through reading a text, teach them how to find key words, identify root words or note similar vocabulary. 

Narcissism & Assessment

   

 I was at a great workshop, focusing on meaningful assessment and feedback at all grade levels. As I sat surrounded by hundreds of educators, I found myself wondering "How did we get here? How did we get to a place where we aren't testing what students really know in a way that is effective or helpful, but grading is consuming so much of our time and brain energy?" The theme of giving honest and authentic feedback kept rolling past my eardrums and into my mind throughout the day, along with the acknowledgement of a fear we have developed in truly measuring and reporting learning. I believe there are many reasons why at times we shy away from the fact that a student, or perhaps many,  are not making it and why we aren't reporting these results to them. We're afraid. Not of what it says about us as teachers or even about what it may mean in terms of curriculum changes. I believe we're afraid of our students (and in many cases their parents.)
        The students we deal with today are living in a world that literally screams a message of their "importance" .....because these are the days when you can gather Facebook "friends", twitter "followers" and Instagram "Likers" as easily as you can sit on the couch and breathe.
      As I considered the implications of this on how we give feedback and assess student learning I was reminded of an article from TIME magazine last month.

The witty and insightful content of the article is steeped in the truth and research of how we got here. The author explains that in the 1970s, there was a push towards self-esteem and self-worth in educations. The original intentions were pure, or at least remotely innocent, but the results have been long lasting. As the article explains from a physiological perspective, self-esteem without an authentic self-awareness, breeds narcissism. You see, if you are just told that you are amazing and wonderful and even worthy of royal titles like "princess" simply because you exist, you begin to develop an entitlement mentality that creeps into all of your thinking. So, zoom ahead 40 years and we now have sports leagues where all participants walk away with a trophy (even if they lost), people who pour themselves into virtual relationships rather than real ones, and an overall consensus that no one wants to be "judged" by anyone else's standard. 

      So, in turn, this leaves us as educators cowering in the corner. Students are "passing" on that shouldn't be. Parents push back about the value of homework and attempt to justify the behaviors we are "concerned" about. No one wants to be the barer of bad news, but if we don't start giving specific and honest feedback about where are students are in their learning, how close they are to the target, and what they might need to do to make improvements.......it will only get worse. 

     So as not to leave you on an immensely negative note; I believe these children are capable of developing an authentic and realistic view of themselves. One that has an awareness of strengths and opportunities.  I believe they have the capacity to receive a D on an assignment that was truly D work, and become better for it. They will need our help though. 

"School should not be a place where young people go to watch old people work!"

"I don't know if teachers can work any harder  than they're already working, so we've go to find ways to make students carry more of the thinking load in our classrooms. As I walk out of school with my colleagues at the end of each day, we're all tired. We're carrying heavy bags of books and papers, and our shoulders are slumped. Meanwhile, our students bound past us to the parking lot, running and jumping down the steps two at a time, full of energy. I once heard someone say: 'School should not be a place where young people go to watch old people work' We've got to figure out how to work smarter, because what we're being asked to do is really a challenge."- Cris Tovani in Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? (2004)

This is one of my all time favorite quotes for today's teachers. There are so many demands on us, and so many people and government structures telling us that we aren't doing enough. And at times, we preach that message to ourselves, questioning a lesson or a student's engagement level and if there is anything we could even possibly to do change it. And then something "new" comes along from our district or instructional leaders and we walk away from a conversation, email or PD thinking "I just can't handle another thing!" But Tovani makes an excellent point. If we were spending our days as facilitators of thinking, delivering short bursts of high quality modeling followed by a large stretch of time to support learners in small groups and individually as THEY work, we may have a little something left at the end of the day.Many teachers find themselves giving the "This is our community and we all have responsibilities" speech to their classes several times a year, but somehow when it comes to the learning, we have most of the responsibility.

Do you know about Emperor Penguin mothers? After delivering an egg into the care of the father, they travel, by walking and swimming, for 2-3 MONTHS eating food for their babies. They return from their long trip, only to regurgitate already digested food into their baby's mouth, which the young penguin receives without so much as a "Thanks Mom, you didn't have to do all that work and digest it for me too!"

I don't want to be a "penguin mother" teacher. I don't want to spend all my evenings and weekends swimming the seas of worksheets and papers, waddling across the snowy plains of lesson plans and show up on Monday to deliver a "student-proof" lesson.

I want to make them do a lot of the work.... and MOST of the thinking in my classroom. If they don't, they won't learn.

Give some responsibility away, ask a student to tell you what they're thinking instead of answering a specific question. Encourage them to communicate their new learning with a poem or diagram and then ask them to help you see the holes in their own thinking.

"Back When I was in School..."

I realize that by sharing some of this I am inviting criticism because it could potentially reveal my age, but I think it is timely and important. When I was in Kindergarten, I distinctly remember being considered a "high reader" because I could independently turn pages of Dr. Seuss and other classics while "reading" them accurately to other children. I also remember receiving compliments on my "wonderful" writing which consisted of words with simple beginning and ending sound (sometimes correct and sometimes not.) I don't believe that the school system I was in was behind the times or upholding low expectations, it was simply a different time in literacy education, and every other kind.

A few other things I distinctly remember from my childhood mark the turning of the tide for not only our culture, but education as well. First, I recall exactly where I was and the cock-eyed pigtails I was sporting when my mom tried to explain that my Uncle Hal had just gotten a "bag-phone" for business. My small mind and mouth bombarded her with questions about how a phone like this could work if it wasn't plugged in and why someone would ever want to talk on the phone anywhere but from home (in this moment my iPhone is vibrating an email notification.) I also remember our first computer as a family. It was a step above the Apple II e that I had grown found of jamming black bendy "disks" into at school. This screen was in color. And as far as I was concerned, creating imaginary "Wibbles" made this machine worth the space and money investment for my family.

And now, zooming ahead, as an educator I find myself communicating with my colleagues almost constantly, via text, email, tweet and phone. I am expected to share information with my student's families in many of those ways and maintain and updated classroom website. My filing cabinet was full of graham crackers for the last 3 years, and my desktop was "overflowing" with shared files. I often stand in front of a "smart" board rather than a chalk or whiteboard, manipulating words, shapes, and the internet in front of my students. It is a different time.

Lucy Calkins (2010) explains; "Today's information age requires that young people develop literacy skills that are significantly higher that those that have ever been required of them- and this education needs to be for all students, not just for the elite."

This is so powerful to me, because Calkins is acknowledging the change and the challenge for us, but there is no room for belly-aching. If you aren't comfortable, or the student doesn't speak English, or the standardized tests are paper & pencil.....(or whatever other excuse comes to mind) it's out! This is our charge. Regardless of if our students grow up to be doctors or custodians, professional athletes, politicians, sales clerks or mechanics, we need to help them be more than just literate. Students of today need to be Multi-literate problem-solvers with a head full of knowledge about the world and the tools that are available to them.

Professional Learning Communities

Question #1:

What is it we expect them to learn?

Question #2: 

How will we know when they have learned it?

Question #3:

How will we respond when they don't learn?

Question #4:

How will we respond when they already know it?

Groups of Teachers vs. Collaborative Teams

"The 3 strands of strong school cultures are academic focus, shared beliefs and values, and productive professional relationships."(Saphier, King & D'Auria, 2006)

"When people gather together to commit themselves to ideas, their relationships change- they have made promises to each other and they are likely to feel morally obliged to keep their promises" (Sergiovanni, 2005, p. 32)

"Members of a PLC realize that all of their efforts must be assessed on the basis of results rather than intentions" (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, Many, 2006)