Let’s Get REAL: An Overview of Reading and Writing Initiatives at ZHS

1. Let’s Get REAL:An Overview of Reading and Writing Initiatives at ZHS Charlotte Blanchard ZHS English Department Chairperson Literacy Leader

2. Overview of Session • WHY READING MATTERS • ZHS READING AND WRITING PROGRAMS • COMMON CORE • STANDARDIZED TESTING • WHAT PARENTS CAN DO TO HELP 2

3. WHY ALL STUDENTS NEED TO BE GOOD READERS • Better readers are better students in all subject areas (NAEP, 2003; 2007) • Better readers are more successful in their personal lives (Hofstetter, Sticht, & Hoffstetter, 1999) • Better readers are more successful in their professional lives (Sum, 2007) • Standardized achievement tests and college entrance exams require high levels of traditional print literacy (Johnston & Costello, 2005) 3

4. WHY WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO DEVELOP STUDENTS’ LITERACY ABILITIES • The English language arts and reading teachers can’t do it alone (Langer, 2001) • The overall school culture needs to be supportive of literacy (Brozo & Simpson, 2007; Brozo & Hargis, 2005) • Students need opportunities for sustained print encounters as well as practice and application of literacy strategies throughout the school day (Montero, Alvermann, & Swafford, 2004) 4

5. NOT JUST A ZHS THING… • Every school in the district has a team of trained literacy leaders. • Literacy strategies are implemented from pre-K through 12th grade. • Our future students will be more proficient readers because they will share common knowledge of these effective strategies for processing information.

6. ZHS INITIATIVES • SSR/AR/REAL TIME • COMMON CORE UPGRADES IN ALL CORE DISCIPLINES • STANDARDIZED TEST PREPARATION IN ALL CORE DISCIPLINES • LITERACY STRATEGIES IN ALL DISCIPLINES • 6+1 WRITING TRAITS IN ALL DISCIPLINES

7. SSR/REAL TIME • “Sustained Silent Reading” refers to the educational concept or idea of providing daily, uninterrupted reading time to students • “REAL TIME” refers to our on-site program for SSR implementation (Reading Empowers All Learners) • Students receive 15 minutes daily in designated classes to read silently. • Students choose reading material; however, in English class, the teacher has the option to require that the student read an AR book.

8. AR (Accelerated Reader) • Same program used in ZCSD elementary schools, but ZHS makes it an academic requirement, not just an incentive program • STAR test (administered in first six weeks) determines the student’s reading goals for the first semester; students are retested at midterm and new goals are set; students are tested at the end of the school year to determine progress made • AR can be worth up to 15% of a student’s grade, so it is critical that you monitor your child’s progress carefully.

9. How can I monitor my child’s progress in AR?

10. How can I help to insure my child’s success in AR? • Explore! Help your child to find books that appeal to his interests. • Encourage reading at home. Don’t rely on 15 minutes of daily class time. • Provide quiet time/area specifically for reading. • Check progress often. • Communicate with your child’s English teacher, the school librarian (christina.knight@zacharyschools.org), or the English department chairperson (charlotte.blanchard@zacharyschools.org)

11. LITERACY STRATEGIES What are they? • Instructional practices that braid reading, writing, and thinking with content material from the disciplines • Instructional practices that teach students independent strategic reading and writing processes for content area learning • Teacher modeled and prompted • Student initiated

12. Literacy Strategies Why are they advocated and employed? • To help students use reading and writing in the service of learning • To help students see that content knowledge and the ability to communicate that knowledge are one in the same • To provide students opportunities to learn and use literacy processes throughout the school day • To elevate reading and writing achievement • To build independent, strategic reading skills Brozo08 12

13. A FRAMEWORK FOR LITERACY STRATEGY INSTRUCTION • Readiness Phase • Interactive Comprehension Phase • Extending New Learning Phase 13

14. Content Literacy Strategiesin the Comprehensive Curriculum Brozo08 14

15. WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM • ZCSD uses a writing philosophy called “6+1 Writing Traits” • The premise of the program is that all good writing effectively incorporates six very specific traits: • strong ideas and content • precise word choice • accurate use of conventions of language • clear and compelling organization • individual and powerful voice • varied and natural sentence fluency

16. COMMON CORE • All upgrades in our curriculum are aimed at making the student a more proficient reader and writer who can actively engage with a rigorous text, respond to it in a variety of ways, learn from it, and formulate questions for further research and study. • Reading and writing are NOT isolated classroom activities.

17. STANDARDIZED TEST PREP • 8th/9th grade—Preparing for high school studies (EXPLORE test) • 10th grade—Planning and preparing for college and the workplace (PLAN test) • 11th/12th grade—Being ready for life after high school (ACT) Preparing for the ACT begins long before the spring of your child’s junior year, and the ACT score is a critical factor in your child’s post-secondary future.

18. SO WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP? • Visit http://www.zacharyhigh.org/ , Quick Links, Literacy Support Toolbox for detailed information and videos on reading and writing instruction • Stay actively involved with your child’s reading progress • Ask for help when you need it. We are here to serve you.

19. QUESTIONS?????