Bridging the gap with balanced literacy

1. Bridging the gap with balanced literacy Presenter: Darlene Breaux

2. Introductions / Icebreaker • License Plate activity • Each participant gets a license plate template. Put the name of the state you were born in at the top. • Put any combination of letters and numbers, up to 10, that express you in some way (be prepared to explain it). • Add decorations and pictures to your license plate to express your personality.

3. Pre-assessment

4. Balanced literacy • Balanced Literacy is a program that that was developed on the idea that all children can read and write. • It follows the gradual release of responsibility model from the teacher to the students.

5. Balanced Literacy • This model includes the following 8 components • Read Aloud • Shared Reading • Guided Reading • Independent Reading • Modeled Writing • Shared / Interactive Writing • Guided practice in Writing • Independent practice in writing

6. Why Balanced Literacy? “Reading and writing are closely related processes and should not be artificially isolated for instruction.” (Burts, Charlesworth, & Hart, 1997, p. 226) “…contemporary education must go beyond simply presenting students with information and must ensure that students retain important information, understand topics deeply, and actively use the knowledge they gain.” (Graves, Juel, & Graves, 2007, p. 16) “We particularly need to improve all children’s higher-order thinking skills. We need to guide as many students as we possibly can to a level of literacy that enables them to read challenging material, to analyze it closely, to learn from it, to reason from it, and to problem solve.” (Graves, Juel, & Graves, 2007, p. 17)

7. Three Main components

8. Reading

9. Teacher reads aloud to students, asking questions before, during and after to help students make connections and build interest in the topic and reading as a whole. • Provides adult model of fluent reading. • Models use of reading strategies. • Text level is above grade level. • Develops vocabulary. • Encourages prediction. • Builds interest in reading. • Read Aloud

10. Using a variety of prose, such as non- fiction, fiction, rhymes, songs, and poetry, the teacher and students share quality text through spontaneous interactions. • Shared Reading • Promotes reading strategies. • Develops confidence. • Improves fluency and phrasing. • Increases comprehension. • Builds interest in reading. • Identifies elements of text.

11. Teacher works with small, flexible, groups of students using appropriately leveled texts to observe and help individuals hone specific skills or strategies. • Guided • Reading • Clarifies vocabulary. • Allows for observation of individual reading skills. • Encourages use of strategies to unlock meaning. • Supports progress monitoring. • Graves, Graves, & Juel, 2007, pp. 256-267.

12. Students reading together in pairs or groups, using text(s) to accomplish a common goal. Cooperative Reading • Encourages cooperation. • Develops social skills. • Supports active learning. • Increases self esteem. • Improves attitudes toward school. • Fosters conflict resolution. • Builds critical thinking skills. • Graves, Graves, & Juel, 2007.

13. A time for individual students to spend time reading a book, usually of their choosing, without interruptions. • Independent • Reading • Improves fluency and reading achievement. • Communicates that reading is important. • Increases comprehension. • Builds enthusiasm for reading. • Offers choice of reading material. • Graves, Graves, & Juel, 2007, p. 59.

14. Writing

15. Teacher models writing by thinking aloud while doing so. • Develops writing strategies. • Identifies conventions of language. • Builds language skills. • Provides models for a variety of writing styles. • Supports clear and concise communication skills.

16. Teacher and students work together to compose written work that communicates clear and concise ideas while implementing writing strategies, proper grammar, and mechanics. • Provides opportunities to plan and construct texts. • Develops writing skills for a variety of purposes. • Increases phonics and spelling knowledge. • Applies what has been learned.

17. Guided • Writing “In guided writing, students create their own writing, with the teacher as guide. Activities associated with guided writing take place in small homogeneous groups of students. Teachers serve as mentors as students go through the process” (Paulson, 2008). • Provides individual/small group instruction. • Prompts students to engage in certain writing strategies. • Allows for observation of individual writing skills. • Encourages use of strategies to communicate concise, clear ideas. • Increases progress monitoring in strategy use, phonics, grammar, and mechanics of writing.

18. Cooperative Writing Students writing together and sharing ideas to accomplish a common goal. • Encourages cooperation. • Develops social skills. • Fosters active learning. • Increases self-esteem. • Improves attitudes toward school. • Fosters conflict resolution. • Builds critical thinking skills. Graves, Graves, & Juel, 2007.

19. Independent Writing Independent writing time “provide[s] students with the consistent opportunity to apply and practice the skills already introduced and to cultivate their love of and comfort with writing on their own level” (Paulson, 2008). • Increases understanding of multiple uses of writing. • Develops writing strategies. • Builds confidence as a writer.   • Strengthens text sequence. • Supports reading development.  

20. Running Records • Administering • Analyzing • Practice • Resources

21. Post-assessment