Classroom Practices For Supporting Upper Elementary Literacy Instruction in tcrsb
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Knowing Our Targets TCRSB End of Year Instructional Reading Targets for Grades Four to Six
TCRSB End of Year Instructional Reading Targets for Grades Four to Six (continued)
TCRSB End of Year Instructional Writing Targets for Grades Four to Six
TCRSB End of Year Instructional Writing Targets for Grades Four to Six (continued)
TCRSB End of Year Instructional Writing Targets for Grades Four to Six (continued)
TCRSB End of Year Instructional Writing Targets– Genres for Grades Four to Six
Increase sustained writing time as developmentally appropriate for each student. What’s Happening in Our Classrooms? Essentials of Reading Instruction and Assessment The goal of reading instruction and assessment in grades Four to Six in TCRSB is to support students as they grow through the transitional stage of reading development in to the fluent stage of reading development. Teaching In Action Grades 4-6 characterizes transitional readers as ones who can do the following. set purposes for their reading read widely and experience a variety of children’s literature select appropriate material adjust strategies for different texts and different purposes use pictorial, typographical, and organizational features of written text to determine content, locate topics, and obtain information integrate cues as they use reading strategies of sampling, predicting, and confirming/self-correcting self-correct quickly, confidently, and independently prefer to read silently can retell and discuss their own interpretations of texts read or viewed recognize characters can be stereotyped make meaningful substitutions have an increasing bank of sight words use a range of word identification strategies for constructing meaning Teaching In Action Grades 4-6 characterizes fluent readers as ones who can do the following. select, with growing independence, texts appropriate to their interests and learning needs read widely and experience a variety of children’s literature, with emphasis on genres and authors use pictures and illustrations, word structures, and text features to locate topics and obtain or verify understandings of information describe their own processes and strategies for reading and viewing give reasons for their opinions use background knowledge to question information presented in print and visual text seek information from a variety of sources Students who are moving from the transitional to the fluent stage of reading development need different methods of instruction and assessment than students in the emergent and early stages. Central to this is a shift in focus from the closely leveled texts found in early elementary classrooms to a greater variety of texts that these students will find motivating and engaging. In Beyond Leveled Books, Karen Szymusiak, Franki Sibberson, and Lisa Koch say, “Because the needs of students (in the transitional and fluent stages) are so different, we need to look beyond levels when choosing books for instruction and when helping students choose books for independent reading.” (p. 52) The focus of how we use texts for instruction needs to change also. These students are now reading to learn, but still need to be engaged in learning to read. Students in the transitional and fluent stages of reading development are motivated by finding themselves reflected in what they read and view. As they grow older, regardless of their abilities, they are exposed to an ever-widening variety of experiences. They have a greater variety of interests. Consequently, there is an ever-widening gap in their needs. Asking only simple, literal comprehension questions, telling students to “sound it out” or “look it up” when they encounter an unfamiliar word, are not effective practices. We easily, and all too quickly, made the switch from learning to read to reading to learn and failed to offer our students a support system for continued growth as readers. We slipped into a faster, faster, and higher, higher mode of reading instruction regardless of our students’ comprehension, fluency, response, and interest. We didn’t expect them to use reading behaviours beyond decoding and minimal comprehension... We now realize that the strategies that work well with emergent readers aren’t necessarily the strategies that can help transitional readers become independent. (They are) students who do not understand understanding. (pp. 53-54) Reading can’t be distilled to a reading level, a basket of books, or a test performance. We can’t shrink reading down to answering comprehension questions about the text. We can’t define reading by the books that the teacher has chosen for the students to read. We can’t teach reading with meaningless activities to be done after a text is read. (p. 61) (Szymusiak, Sibberson, and Loch, 2008) Because of this shift in focus, it is less important to conduct formal records of oral reading with all students in grades four to six than in grades primary to three. Regular classroom assessments (e.g. reading response journals, reading conferences, small-group and whole class discussions) that indicate a student can successfully read and fully comprehend the transitional and early fluent texts they are presented with will be sufficient in many cases. More structured assessments such as running records should continue to be administered with students whom teachers consider to be only approaching, or below, grade level. Essentials of Writing Instruction and Assessment The goal of writing instruction and assessment in grades Four to Six in TCRSB is to support students as they grow through the transitional stage of writing development in to the fluent stage of writing development. Teaching In Action Grades 4-6 characterizes transitional writers as ones who can do the following. show an increasing awareness of audience enjoy giving and receiving feedback about writing begin to revise for clarity use words that elaborate text use a variety of sentence structures begin to produce stories with two or more characters support topics by relevant detail write more-complex reports, letters, poems demonstrate increasing knowledge of spelling patterns, writing terminology produce increasingly conventional writing Teaching In Action Grades 4-6 characterizes fluent writers as ones who can do the following. enjoy playing with words and ideas to create particular effects write for a wide range of purposes convey more-complex and abstract ideas through writing write in a variety of genres including expository texts develop characters through dialogue and description demonstrate increasing knowledge of spelling patterns, range of genres use representational forms across the curriculum produce increasingly conventional writing with a high degree of spelling accuracy use most punctuation marks independently Students who are moving from the transitional to the fluent stage of writing development need different methods of instruction and assessment than students in the emergent and early stages. We expect them to write increasingly complex pieces for a greater variety of purposes across the curriculum. To become effective writers, students must learn to sustain their engagement throughout the writing process. All parts of the writing process are interdependent and overlap. It is understood that for some purposes, not all steps will be followed (e.g., personal responses, note-making). It is important for teachers to model each of the following steps in the writing process. Teachers of grades Four to Six in TCRSB are encouraged to use mentor texts accompanied by Think-aloud to demonstrate elements of form, genre, and writer’s craft. They are also encouraged to share their own writing. Planning students prewrite, engaging in lots of purposeful talk in both whole class and small group settings, to consider topic, form, purpose, audience, and genre students create outlines, often with the aid of a graphic organizer the teacher and students view and discuss, and possibly co-create, assessment criteria (e.g. rubric) Drafting students write, applying their knowledge of conventions, form, etc., to the best of their ability, but should not focus on conventions to the extent that the flow of their thinking and writing is disrupted while a focus on conventions should not disrupt the writing, teachers and students should avoid terms like “rough copy” or “sloppy copy”, as students should be writing as well as they can, even in the first draft students should write or keyboard on every second line and only one side of the page, to allow space for feedback and to make changes when revising the teacher confers with individuals or small groups Revising students re-read their work and make changes to ideas, organization, and clarity and effectiveness of language at the paragraph, sentence, and word level as necessary; this may also be done with a peer students should be encouraged to read their work aloud at this stage the teacher confers with individuals or small groups generally focusing on one specific element at a time Editing students re-read their drafts and make changes at the word level and to conventions the teacher confers with individuals (note: peer editing is generally ineffective and is discouraged) Publishing students prepare a final draft to be shared and assessed teachers are encouraged to develop publishing rituals and have students write for a wider audience than just the teacher The Roles of Genre and Form and the Reading-Writing Connection Teachers of Grades Four to Six in TCRSB are encouraged to make explicit for students the reading-writing connection. Since the 1980s, researchers have studied how skilled readers make meaning from text and how skilled writers make meaning with text. What they have discovered is that these two processes that were once seen as opposites, as two sides of a coin, are in fact complementary and reciprocal. Before we can teach our students how to write in a particular genre or form, we need to immerse them in reading that genre or form. At the centre of the reading-writing connection sits the mentor text. Teachers are encouraged to use well written texts, including their own writing, to model elements of genre, form, and writer’s craft. These should be viewed through both the reading and writing lenses. How as a reader do I use a particular strategy to make meaning from this text? How as a writer might I apply a particular technique used in the mentor text to make meaning with my own writing? By deconstructing these texts through Think-aloud, teachers make explicit for students the skills and strategies they need to grow as readers and writers. Students learn the craft of writing as they read, listen to, and discuss good literature. They fall in love with certain texts and genres and perhaps the work and style of certain authors…. It is through mini-lessons (focus lessons), reading and rereading, talk, and writing that students learn what effective authors do when they compose. Teachers may stimulate, encourage, and scaffold the talk as they prompt with questions.” (Trehearne, 2006) It follows that the language we use in instructing and assessing students about genre and form should be consistent across the reading-writing connection. Many resources offer a detailed breakdown of specific types of both fiction and non-fiction text for organizing reading materials. School and community libraries are organized in this way. These serve a meaningful purpose. To aid in making the reading-writing connection explicit, however, teachers may find it useful to use a common set of terms to identify genres and forms of text for both reading and writing. The table on the following page offers a suggested organization of these terms. Genres at A Glance
Poetry is unique. Each of the genres and forms above is most often written in prose, or represented through visual media. Poetry as a form can fall into any of the genres listed above. Narrative poetry and expressive poetry (aka lyric poetry) are most common. But descriptive poetry is certainly viable, and song lyrics that would be classified in the “urban” genre and the emerging genre of “slam poetry” are often persuasive. In the content areas, students could be encouraged to write expository poems, as the pattern and rhyme of poetry would be an aid to remembering important information about a topic. Teachers of Grades Four to Six in TCRSB are encouraged to have their students experience a wide variety of poetry as both readers and writers. Teachers across these grades in a school are encouraged to confer about the poetry experiences they plan for their students to ensure they have a variety, and to avoid what has been a common practice of focusing largely on specific forms of poetry, such as haiku and limerick, where the details of the form may outweigh appreciation and creativity. Specifically, poetry is an excellent vehicle to focus on word choice and the use of figurative language. Visual Media are any of the many forms of text that rely primarily, or at least heavily, on images to convey meaning. Like poetry, visual media texts fall into all of the genres above. A graphic novel or storyboard tells a story. A poster or video can inform or persuade. An audio recording can describe an object. A webpage can reveal how its creator thinks about an emotionally charged issue. The students in our schools today are spending increasing amounts of time with visual media, and often less time with print text. But many of them are relatively passive in their use of these media. While they may be skilled with the technology, many give little thought to how messages are constructed through various media, or the techniques used to manipulate and persuade. Teachers of Grades Four to Six in TCRSB are encouraged to have their students both read and write visual media text. Many of the information texts used in content areas are richly supplemented by visual media. Students must be taught how to navigate and apply the text features and graphical elements of these resources. Students access the World Wide Web and other internet-based applications such as social media and video sharing sites on a daily basis. They must be taught how to do so safely and with a critical eye. Teachers are encouraged to use the tools available to create media texts. While some teachers may lack experience and confidence with these tools, this should not be a barrier. Conferring with a colleague who has some skills and experience is encouraged. And it’s likely that the students themselves will have the necessary skills to use the technology. References: Department of Education Resources: Teaching in Action Grades 4-6, 2006 Copies of this document are available in every school or can be obtained by contacting Central Office or downloading from the Department of Education website The Writing Workshop Series DVD, 4-9 (DoE) One copy of this is available in each school Reading Workshop Series DVD (DoE) One copy of this is available in each school Spelling Primary to 9 Available in each school, by downloading, or by contacting Central Office Active Young Readers Grades 4-6 Reading Multiple copies in each school Assessment Passages binder Coming Soon: Revised/Updated 4-6 Curriculum Guide Tri-County Regional School Board Resources: Classroom Practices For Supporting Multiple copies in each school Early Literacy Instruction in TCRSB P-6 Writing Exemplars Multiple Copies in each school and on TCRSB sharepoint Literacy Resource Site on TCRSB sharepoint (the site includes multiple links to additional websites) Available in Your School or by Contacting Central Office: Anderson, Jeff Everyday Editing Anderson, Jeff Mechanically Inclined Cooper, Damian Talk About Assessment Cunningham, Patricia Making Big Words and Hall, Dorothy Fletcher, Ralph and Lessons for the Writer’s Notebook Portalupi, JoAnn Fountas and Pinnell Guided Reading Gallagher, Kelly Teaching Adolescent Writers Harvey, Stephanie and Strategies That Work Goudvis, Anne Johnson, Pat and Catching Readers Before they Fall, Supporting Readers Who Struggle (K-4) Keier, Katie Rog, Lori Jamison and The Write Genre Kropp, Paul Scott, Ruth McQuirter Nelson Word Study (grades 4, 5, and 6) Stead, Tony Good Choice Strickland, Dorothy S. Supporting Struggling Readers And Writers (3-6) Ganske, Kathy and Monroe, Joanne K. Szymusiak, Karen Beyond Leveled Books, Supporting Early and Transitional Readers in Grades K-5 Sibberson, Franki and Koch, Lisa Szymusiak, Karen and Still Learning to Read (3-6) Sibberson, Franki Taberski, Sharon Comprehension From The Ground Up Trehearne, Miriam Comprehensive Literacy Resource for Grades 3-6 Teachers Recommended Resources Available From the School Book Bureau Note: Many of these are in schools now. Schools are encouraged to locate and share resources for the benefit of all colleagues. Atwell, Nancy Lessons That Change Writers Bear, Donald R., Words Their Way: Word Study for Phonics, Vocabulary, and Spelling Instruction Invernizzi, Marcia and Templeton, Shane Beers, Kylene When Kids Can’t Read What Teachers Can Do Beers, Sue and Reading Strategies for the Content Areas: An ASCD Action Tool Howell, Lou Boushey, Gail and The Café Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literacy Assessment and Instruction Moser, Joan Kittle, Penny Write Beside Them Tovani, Cris I Read It, But I Don’t Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers TCRSB, 2012 Directory: lrs -> Important%20Documents lrs -> Reader Description lrs -> Analyzing the temperature and mineral composition of the Olympus Mons, the Valles Marineris Important%20Documents -> Classroom Practices For Supporting Early Literacy Instruction in tcrsb lrs -> Lab Instructions Lab 4, due 7: 00 pm October 6, 2008 ees5053/geo4093: Remote Sensing, utsa student Name lrs -> Lab Instructions Lab 3, due 5: 30 pm September 25, 2007 ees5053/ES4093: Remote Sensing, utsa student Name Download 246.7 Kb. 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