Focus on Teaching and Learning: Elementary Literacy Mapping Pedagogy and Instructional Tools for Effective Lesson De

1. Focus on Teaching and Learning: Elementary Literacy Mapping Pedagogy and Instructional Tools for Effective Lesson Design

2. Curriculum, Instruction and Professional Development Elementary Literacy Team Susan Sauer, Curriculum Supervisor Pamela Guenther, Central Office Reading Coach Naomi York Abdullah, Central Office Reading Coach Lisa Yonek, Reading First Program Officer Nada Jordan, Reading First Technical Assistant Patty Falk, Reading First Technical Assistant

3. Reflection on 2007-2008 With a partner, Describe one initiative in your building that positively impacted the K-5 reading program this past school year. What plans do you have to sustain the initiative during the upcoming school year? Might consider in light of scores, in consideration of the information you learned about RtI.Might consider in light of scores, in consideration of the information you learned about RtI.

4. Reflection on 2007-2008 DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION

5. What Is Differentiated Instruction? Differentiated Instruction provides an approach for teaching that focuses on addressing individual needs and interests of students. It provides a variety of options to successfully reach targeted outcomes. It meets learners where they are and offers challenging, appropriate options for them in order to achieve success. DI is not a single strategy but rather an approach to instruction that incorporates a variety of strategies. It is a process through which teachers enhance learning by matching student characteristics to instruction and assessment. 3) Di can be viewed in three instructional levels: Activities will be simpler, easier and more hands-on Middle Level: Activities take the big ideas a little further. Students are required to manipulate the basic knowledge. High Level: Activities are more challenging and complex than those of the other two levels. The students are required to analyze the knowledge. DI is not a single strategy but rather an approach to instruction that incorporates a variety of strategies. It is a process through which teachers enhance learning by matching student characteristics to instruction and assessment. 3) Di can be viewed in three instructional levels: Activities will be simpler, easier and more hands-on Middle Level: Activities take the big ideas a little further. Students are required to manipulate the basic knowledge. High Level: Activities are more challenging and complex than those of the other two levels. The students are required to analyze the knowledge.

6. Why Is Differentiated Instruction Important? �Differentiated instruction or teaching differently is necessary to address the diversity of students� needs. Traditional practice using whole group lecture format is not working. The increase in student variance in classrooms, often described as a disparity in skills and knowledge, has become a huge challenge for teachers who are responsible for providing high-quality instruction to enhance student achievement.� Differentiated Instruction: Grouping for Success by Vicki Gibson, Ph.D. and Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D. What are characteristic features of differentiated instruction? V. Gibson information from book To make teaching and learning work, teachers must develop an alternate approach to instructional planning beyond �covering the text� or �creating activities that student will like�. V. Gibson information from book To make teaching and learning work, teachers must develop an alternate approach to instructional planning beyond �covering the text� or �creating activities that student will like�.

7. Differentiated Instruction: Intensive Intervention for Students Who Continue to Struggle Increasing instructional time Decreasing group size Improve the quality and specificity of instruction with more opportunities for re-teaching and guided practice. Utilize materials that offers intensive instruction to accelerate the learning of priority skills RTIRTI

8. This a sample from the teacher manual. The program outlines small group instruction based on the needs of the students. This a sample from the teacher manual. The program outlines small group instruction based on the needs of the students.

9. Purpose: Data Driven Decision Making and opportunity to utilize when deficits are shown from 4 Sight; Recommend: If beginning of year�approaching�later can return to same strategy/skill focus using higher level text (on level) Note: will have for grades 2-5 Eligible Content to insertPurpose: Data Driven Decision Making and opportunity to utilize when deficits are shown from 4 Sight; Recommend: If beginning of year�approaching�later can return to same strategy/skill focus using higher level text (on level) Note: will have for grades 2-5 Eligible Content to insert

10. DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTIONPITTSBURGH PUBLIC SCHOOLVIDEO LIBRARY

11. Today�s Session: Learning Intentions How can instructional leadership capacity be advanced through understanding curriculum content and the tools and practices supporting each content area that advance teaching and learning? How can instructional leadership capacity be advanced through understanding the coherent professional development cycle and the tools and practices supporting professional development in each content area? Guiding Inquiries for Leadership Week: What are effective instructional leadership practices and dispositions for principals and other school leaders and district leaders? What evidence would you show that effective instructional leadership practices are in place? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to coherently support and facilitate the district�s vision? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to continue to improve teaching and learning and monitoring of district instructional initiatives to support student success? What is the role of central office leaders in supporting effective instructional leadership practices of principals and their schools? What tools, routines and practices do central office leaders use to assist schools in developing coherency of district academic initiatives and monitoring continuous instruction improvement to advance student learning? Guiding Inquiries for Leadership Week: What are effective instructional leadership practices and dispositions for principals and other school leaders and district leaders? What evidence would you show that effective instructional leadership practices are in place? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to coherently support and facilitate the district�s vision? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to continue to improve teaching and learning and monitoring of district instructional initiatives to support student success? What is the role of central office leaders in supporting effective instructional leadership practices of principals and their schools? What tools, routines and practices do central office leaders use to assist schools in developing coherency of district academic initiatives and monitoring continuous instruction improvement to advance student learning?

12. Areas of Focus Pedagogy and Effective Teaching: Teacher/Student Moves as it relates to Theoretical and Pedagogical Knowledge Core Instructional Support: Tools to Advance Teaching and Learning Professional Development: Tools and Structures in support of Academic Rigor, Differentiated Instruction and Accountable Talk

13. Pedagogy and Effective Teaching Pedagogy refers to the strategies, techniques and approaches that teachers employ to facilitate learning. Pedagogy is the �lens� by which one views teaching. Pedagogy includes beliefs about what it means to teach, about what should be taught, and the role of students. It encompasses consideration of theories of teaching, curriculum and instruction, as well as the ways in which formal teaching and learning is planned and delivered. When deciding what teaching method to use teachers consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. The teacher should also be able to deal with students with different abilities and should also be able to deal with learning disabilities. Many times, teachers assist in learning outside of the classroom by accompanying students on field trips. The increasing use of technology, specifically the rise of the internet over the past decade has begun to shape the way teachers approach their role in the classroom. When deciding what teaching method to use teachers consider students' background knowledge, environment, and their learning goals as well as standardized curricula as determined by the relevant authority. The teacher should also be able to deal with students with different abilities and should also be able to deal with learning disabilities. Many times, teachers assist in learning outside of the classroom by accompanying students on field trips. The increasing use of technology, specifically the rise of the internet over the past decade has begun to shape the way teachers approach their role in the classroom.

14. Pedagogy and Effective Teaching Foundational / Theoretical Framework Common Understanding of the Reading Process Essential Components of Beginning Reading The Profile of a Struggling Reader Effective Teaching and Planning Features of Effective Instructional Design The research over the past 30 years and more specifically since NCLB has contributed greatly to the knowledge base on literacy. There are several bodies of work that I have cited as providing a common understanding of the reading process. I have included a few on this slide. It is certainly important to include in any discussion the information on Culturally Responsive The research over the past 30 years and more specifically since NCLB has contributed greatly to the knowledge base on literacy. There are several bodies of work that I have cited as providing a common understanding of the reading process. I have included a few on this slide. It is certainly important to include in any discussion the information on Culturally Responsive

15. Foundational / Theoretical Framework The term 'reading' means a complex system of deriving meaning from print that requires all of the following: The skills and knowledge to understand how phonemes, or speech sounds, are connected to print. The ability to decode unfamiliar words. The ability to read fluently. Sufficient background information and vocabulary to foster reading comprehension. The development of appropriate active strategies to construct meaning from print. The development and maintenance of a motivation to read.

16. Foundational / Theoretical Framework Essential Components of Beginning Reading Phonemic Awareness: The ability to hear and manipulate sounds in words. Alphabetic Principle: The ability to associate sounds with letters and use these sounds to form words. Fluency with Text: The effortless, automatic ability to read words in connected text. Vocabulary: The ability to understand (receptive) and use (expressive) words to acquire and convey meaning. Comprehension: The complex cognitive process involving the intentional interaction between reader and text to convey meaning. Big Ideas are the basis for curriculum and instruction. Big Ideas inspire the measures we use. Big Ideas are the basis for curriculum and instruction. Big Ideas inspire the measures we use.

17. The Reading and Writing Connection �Reading and writing are sufficiently overlapping activities that support a symbiosis in which the impact of the two together become greater than the sum of their separate impacts.� The constructive processes that develop meaning are apparent through the reading and writing connection. In reading, meaning is built from texts and in composing, meaning is built for text. Reading is the construction of meaning through relationships of parts from the text and prior knowledge, while writing is relating our prior knowledge and experiences to the text by putting meaning on the page. They do not understand that learning to write evolves from what they read. By combining reading and writing together in the curriculum it will lead to different learning and thinking outcomes which will foster better attitudes towards reading and writing. Teachers need to be concerned with the effects of reading upon writing and integrate a connection between reading and writing into the curriculum The relationship between reading and writing is based on communication. Both processes should develop as a natural extension of the child's need to communicate (Wilson, 1981). In other words, if reading and writing are to be communicative then the reader needs to read with the sense of the writer and the writer needs to write with the sense of the reader. A reader need to make sense of what the writer is communicating through the text and the writer need to make sure that his/her message is clear and understood by the reader. Children should make the connection that other children will be reading their writing, so that children will need to have a better sense of the writer and write better with the sense of the reader. Children need to develop their communicative skills by having the opportunities to read and write (Aulls, 1985; Holt & Vacca, 1984; Smith, 1983). Literacy instruction needs to explicitly present the relationship between reading and writing. They do not understand that learning to write evolves from what they read. By combining reading and writing together in the curriculum it will lead to different learning and thinking outcomes which will foster better attitudes towards reading and writing. Teachers need to be concerned with the effects of reading upon writing and integrate a connection between reading and writing into the curriculum The relationship between reading and writing is based on communication. Both processes should develop as a natural extension of the child's need to communicate (Wilson, 1981). In other words, if reading and writing are to be communicative then the reader needs to read with the sense of the writer and the writer needs to write with the sense of the reader. A reader need to make sense of what the writer is communicating through the text and the writer need to make sure that his/her message is clear and understood by the reader. Children should make the connection that other children will be reading their writing, so that children will need to have a better sense of the writer and write better with the sense of the reader. Children need to develop their communicative skills by having the opportunities to read and write (Aulls, 1985; Holt & Vacca, 1984; Smith, 1983). Literacy instruction needs to explicitly present the relationship between reading and writing.

18. CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUGGLING AND STRONG READERS: BEFORE READING Struggling Readers reluctantly approach or resist reading tasks possess limited background knowledge inconsistently recall or use background knowledge read without a clear purpose read without considering how to approach the material set minimal or no goals Strong Readers confidently approach reading tasks activate their background knowledge on the subject before reading connect background knowledge to new learning know their purpose for reading make predictions and choose appropriate strategies set relevant, attainable goals Characteristics of Struggling and Strong Readers Before Reading Reading is a very complex activity and not everyone learns to read in the same way. A competent reader frequently fails to realize how incredibly difficult and frustrating learning to read can be for the non-reader. Proficient readers automatically construct meaning without thinking consciously about cueing systems, background knowledge and context clues. This lack of understanding sometimes makes it difficult to help a young child who is struggling with reading. Some simple steps will help anyone open up the world of reading to a child. Characteristics of Struggling and Strong Readers Before Reading Reading is a very complex activity and not everyone learns to read in the same way. A competent reader frequently fails to realize how incredibly difficult and frustrating learning to read can be for the non-reader. Proficient readers automatically construct meaning without thinking consciously about cueing systems, background knowledge and context clues. This lack of understanding sometimes makes it difficult to help a young child who is struggling with reading. Some simple steps will help anyone open up the world of reading to a child.

19. CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUGGLING AND STRONG READERS: DURING READING Struggling Readers possess a limited attention span need guidance for reading tasks possess a limited vocabulary do not consistently apply word attack skills read word-by-word, lack fluency do not monitor their comprehension Strong Readers focus their complete attention on reading are able to read independently possess an extensive vocabulary use appropriate decoding or word attack skills read fluently monitor their comprehension

20. CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUGGLING AND STRONG READERS: AFTER READING Struggling Readers forget or mix-up information only look for "the answer" and give verbatim responses do not read outside of school; rely on the teacher for information Strong Readers reflect on what they have read and add new information to their knowledge base summarize major ideas and recall supporting details, make inferences, draw conclusions, paraphrase seek additional information from outside sources

21. Macmillan Research Based Practices How does Macmillan support Before reading instruction? How does Macmillan support During reading instruction? How does Macmillan support After reading instruction? Tier 2Tier 2

22. RESEARCH FINDINGSIN SUPPORT OF MACMILLAN�S INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH

23. RESEARCH RELATED TO BUILDING BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE To help ensure that the text is comprehensible, it is important learners are given scaffolds before reading to help them set a purpose for reading, to spend time accessing and building background knowledge, to make connections from the known to the new and to emphasize key vocabulary. This process naturally brings prior knowledge to a level where it is ready to apply, stimulates questions on the topic, builds interest, and most of all builds the content language that will support the reading (Hoyt, 2003).

24. MACMILLAN�S APPROACH TO BUILDING BACKGROUND The introduction of each five/six day theme begins with Oral Language opportunities. Instruction is primarily whole group. Vocabulary is emphasized through the Isabel Beck routine Define, Example, Ask Quick Checks support informal assessment A Comprehension skill and strategy is introduced and supported by a graphic organizer. Quick Checks support differentiated instruction

25. Research Related to Effective Vocabulary Instruction Teach specific vocabulary through explicit instruction and use of new words. Teach independent strategies that students can use to unlock the meanings of words through instruction in strategy content (e.g., affixes, context, and references) and processes. Develop general vocabulary by structuring an environment that builds word awareness through play, the availability of good books to encourage wide reading, and teacher modeling of word interest. Word play develops domains of word meaning relatedness as it engages students in practice and rehearsal of words. Talk about the plans for this yearTalk about the plans for this year

26. MACMILLAN�S APPROACH TO VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION Vocabulary Words (Tier 2) Explains meanings of words in everyday language using Define, Example, Ask Routine. Words are reviewed for an entire week in multiple contexts to ensure deeper understanding and ample opportunities for usage. Words are explicitly taught and explained using student friendly definitions and relevant example sentences, and then students are asked to use and apply the word to their lives.

27. Research Related to Effective Comprehension Instruction Comprehension is a complex thinking process. It is how we come to understand what we read, write, and hear. Effective Text Comprehension is "intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader". Research suggests that text comprehension is associated with four domains: Interactive Engaging Constructive Strategic interactive�in reading, comprehension, the interplay between the reader and the text. engagement�the emotional involvement of the reader in the process of responding to the content of reading, as occurs in a total absorption in a story or play constructive theory �an individual�s prior, mental structures, and beliefs bear upon how readers get meaning from text. strategy�a thoughtful, systematic plan for decoding or comprehending text. Readers apply strategies to help comprehend text. Adjusting reading speed, re-reading to confirm meaning. How Can We Teach Reading Comprehension? When reading comprehension is regarded as interactive, engaged, constructive, and strategic thinking, the goal of reading is to develop thoughtful and conscious reasoning about problems encountered in real text where each reading comprehension situation demands a slightly different response. Students need to learn to reason adaptively with their knowledge about how comprehension occurs. Good comprehenders need to coordinate and orchestrate multiple factors involved in the reading process that have been discussed - interactive, engaging, constructive, and strategic. � Interactive: Implications for Teaching/Learning Determine students' background knowledge and experiences before they read. If background knowledge is lacking, build background knowledge before reading. This is called "frontloading." If students have background knowledge, activate and focus it before they read. Structure lessons and activities that teach students how to 'think as they read.' engagement the emotional involvement of the reader in the process of responding to the content of reading, as occurs in a total absorption in a story or play. Implications for Teaching/Learning Engagement Model "asking questions while you read" by doing a " think-aloud" for students of your own self-questioning when you read. Demonstrate how self-questioning can help you detect when comprehension breaks down and how you can use strategies to regulate understanding. Honor students' questions. Share questions that a reader might have before, during, and after reading. Help students categorize questions. The answer is "right there" in the text. The answer is found in different places in the text. The student must "think and search" in the text for the correct answer. The answer is inferred. The "author and you," the reader, must make interpretations. The answer is not in the text. The reader is "on your own" or do further research. Ask sincere questions that promote engagement with the text. Ask questions for which there aren't necessarily right answers, but ask questions which promote wonder and generate thinking as opposed to assessment questions where a particular answer is required and is used to check or monitor students' reading. Sincere questions are more likely to enhance understanding and encourage the construction of meaning. Discuss students' questions as a class. Discussion helps to promote the social construction of meaning. The following are examples of questions that keep the reader engaged and help them to monitor their understanding. "I wonder......" "How come...." "Why...." "I'm confused about...." "I don't get it..." Monitoring your comprehension is a dimension of metacognition. This term refers to an awareness and understanding of one's learning process. There are two distinct facets of metacognition. The first is an awareness of yourself as a learner; being able to recognize personal strengths and weaknesses as a learner. This recognition allows a reader to know or she/her does not understand. This self-awareness tells the reader when comprehension has broken down.The second facet is self-regulation. This awareness allows the reader to regulate or "fix-up" his/her comprehension when it does breaks down. At this point one's repertoire of strategies becomes very crucial to understanding. The process of adjusting one's strategies to control comprehension and long-term recall is called metacognitive processing. Reading Comprehension as Constructive One of the most important dimensions of reading comprehension is that it is a constructive process. Meaning cannot just be extracted from the text. It must be actively created in the mind of the reader from the integration of prior knowledge with the information in the text. As the mind meets information in the text, it doesn't act just as a "passive absorber" but rather as an "active shaper and editor."Reading comprehension is a constructive process that takes place over time. It is a process of how knowledge and understanding are built. The building blocks for the construction of knowledge are called "schemata," a technical term that cognitive psychologists use to refer to how we store knowledge. A schema is the mental file about a concept or idea. As the reader learns more about a concept, he/she adds that information to the file. These files represent the prior knowledge and are often networked and interrelated. An Example of Reading Comprehension as ConstructiveWhen we read to very young children, they begin to build a schema for stories. At first they may add the feelings of warmth and love to their file on "reading books." Soon they begin to notice color and pictures and the sound of a voice and they add that to their "reading books" file. As they grow older, they develop favorite books and add those titles to the file. Soon they realize that there are all different kinds of stories that can be read to them. They will begin to associate books with a visit to the library or going to a bookstore and will most likely build a separate schema for "library" and "bookstore," but this schema will interrelate with the "reading books" schema.Eventually children who are read to develop a "story schema" that tells them a story has a setting, characters, problems, goals, events, and a resolution or ending. Story schema will help children when they are readers because they will be able to identify the characteristics of a story when they read and in turn this will help them comprehend and remember stories better and will make them better writers of stories. Implications for Teaching/Learning Relate pre-reading activities relate the story/information to student's background. Prepare students for reading and learning by Presenting key vocabulary--pre-teaching vocabularyPoint out the organization of the text so students can activate their text structure knowledge  Don't make assumptions about students' background knowledge. Pre-teach concepts. Send a clear message that creating meaning is the expectation of reading. Encourage predictions and inferencing by allowing students to build, express, and defend their own interpretations. Reading Comprehension as Strategic In order to comprehend, the good reader must be strategic. Comprehension demands strategic processes. Good readers have control of the reading process and the way they control the process of understanding is by using reading strategies. In order to comprehend, the good reader has to have a repertoire of learning strategies. The good reader needs to know what strategies he/she has available to use, why a reader would use a particular strategy, how she/he would use a strategy, and when and where she/he might use a strategy. Strategic ProcessesIn order to decide which strategic processes to use, a good reader must:Analyze the reading task. "What do I already know about this topic/story theme?" "What is the structure of the text that I am going to read?" "What task am I suppose to do with this material?" "Under what conditions am I supposed to learn this material?" Plan the reading process. "What strategies will I need in order to accomplish the task?" A Possible Plan "Build my background knowledge." "Read slowly because this is tough material." " Summarize often to make sure I am understanding." "Take notes as I am reading." "Reread to clarify if I don't understand Monitor Myself "Use my plan to constantly check for comprehension breakdowncontinue on automatic if I am understanding. Regulate Myself "If my comprehension breaks down, I will stop, and use my plan to fix-up understanding or create a new plan if I have to." Reflect On "Think about both my understanding and my process of understanding."Large amounts of time for actual text reading--opportunities to orchestrate the Skills and strategies of proficient reading. Choice-Provide opportunities and guidance in making reading selections. Choice is related to interest and motivation. Assurance--Ensure that all students spend most of their time reading books that are appropriate in difficulty. Multiple readings--Honor and encourage rereading, which will leadto fluency and greater comprehension. Provide regular opportunities for readers to discuss what and how they arereading. Reading comprehension is a social as well as a cognitive process. Teacher directed instruction in comprehension strategies. Teacher modeling and explanation of strategies, guided and independent practice accompanied by feedback and application in real reading situations. Teach strategies that are authentic--as much as possible like the onesactual readers use when trying to comprehend. Focus on flexible application of the strategy rather than a rigid sequence of steps. Focus strategy instruction on what, why, how, when, and where a strategy could be used. Encourage and facilitate transfer of thinking processes. Opportunities for peer and collaborative learning are an integral part of comprehension instruction. Allow students to gain access to other's thinking process. Strengthen a sense of belonging to "the literacy club." Time to talk about reading. Provide for student-centered discussions that honor multiple interpretations. Foster an environment for responsive teaching and responsive learning. Create an atmosphere for grand conversations that instill a life-long love of reading. Promote various purposes for reading Efferent reading (when a reader gets information) Aesthetic reading (when the reader has a lived through experience of reading and responding personally to a text). Promote the idea that learning about comprehension is embedded in discussion. Guidelines for a Successful Program of Comprehension Instruction (Fielding, L.G. and Pearson, P.D. (1992. ) Reading Comprehension: What Works. Educational Leadership. Feb. 62-68. The Goal of Reading Comprehension Instruction Is the Independent Learner interactive�in reading, comprehension, the interplay between the reader and the text. engagement�the emotional involvement of the reader in the process of responding to the content of reading, as occurs in a total absorption in a story or play constructive theory �an individual�s prior, mental structures, and beliefs bear upon how readers get meaning from text. strategy�a thoughtful, systematic plan for decoding or comprehending text. Readers apply strategies to help comprehend text. Adjusting reading speed, re-reading to confirm meaning. How Can We Teach Reading Comprehension? When reading comprehension is regarded as interactive, engaged, constructive, and strategic thinking, the goal of reading is to develop thoughtful and conscious reasoning about problems encountered in real text where each reading comprehension situation demands a slightly different response. Students need to learn to reason adaptively with their knowledge about how comprehension occurs. Good comprehenders need to coordinate and orchestrate multiple factors involved in the reading process that have been discussed - interactive, engaging, constructive, and strategic. � Interactive: Implications for Teaching/Learning Determine students' background knowledge and experiences before they read. If background knowledge is lacking, build background knowledge before reading. This is called "frontloading." If students have background knowledge, activate and focus it before they read. Structure lessons and activities that teach students how to 'think as they read.' engagement the emotional involvement of the reader in the process of responding to the content of reading, as occurs in a total absorption in a story or play. Implications for Teaching/Learning Engagement Model "asking questions while you read" by doing a " think-aloud" for students of your own self-questioning when you read. Demonstrate how self-questioning can help you detect when comprehension breaks down and how you can use strategies to regulate understanding. Honor students' questions. Share questions that a reader might have before, during, and after reading. Help students categorize questions. The answer is "right there" in the text. The answer is found in different places in the text. The student must "think and search" in the text for the correct answer. The answer is inferred. The "author and you," the reader, must make interpretations. The answer is not in the text. The reader is "on your own" or do further research. Ask sincere questions that promote engagement with the text. Ask questions for which there aren't necessarily right answers, but ask questions which promote wonder and generate thinking as opposed to assessment questions where a particular answer is required and is used to check or monitor students' reading. Sincere questions are more likely to enhance understanding and encourage the construction of meaning. Discuss students' questions as a class. Discussion helps to promote the social construction of meaning. The following are examples of questions that keep the reader engaged and help them to monitor their understanding. "I wonder......" "How come...." "Why...." "I'm confused about...." "I don't get it..." Monitoring your comprehension is a dimension of metacognition. This term refers to an awareness and understanding of one's learning process. There are two distinct facets of metacognition. The first is an awareness of yourself as a learner; being able to recognize personal strengths and weaknesses as a learner. This recognition allows a reader to know or she/her does not understand. This self-awareness tells the reader when comprehension has broken down.The second facet is self-regulation. This awareness allows the reader to regulate or "fix-up" his/her comprehension when it does breaks down. At this point one's repertoire of strategies becomes very crucial to understanding. The process of adjusting one's strategies to control comprehension and long-term recall is called metacognitive processing. Reading Comprehension as Constructive One of the most important dimensions of reading comprehension is that it is a constructive process. Meaning cannot just be extracted from the text. It must be actively created in the mind of the reader from the integration of prior knowledge with the information in the text. As the mind meets information in the text, it doesn't act just as a "passive absorber" but rather as an "active shaper and editor."Reading comprehension is a constructive process that takes place over time. It is a process of how knowledge and understanding are built. The building blocks for the construction of knowledge are called "schemata," a technical term that cognitive psychologists use to refer to how we store knowledge. A schema is the mental file about a concept or idea. As the reader learns more about a concept, he/she adds that information to the file. These files represent the prior knowledge and are often networked and interrelated. An Example of Reading Comprehension as ConstructiveWhen we read to very young children, they begin to build a schema for stories. At first they may add the feelings of warmth and love to their file on "reading books." Soon they begin to notice color and pictures and the sound of a voice and they add that to their "reading books" file. As they grow older, they develop favorite books and add those titles to the file. Soon they realize that there are all different kinds of stories that can be read to them. They will begin to associate books with a visit to the library or going to a bookstore and will most likely build a separate schema for "library" and "bookstore," but this schema will interrelate with the "reading books" schema.Eventually children who are read to develop a "story schema" that tells them a story has a setting, characters, problems, goals, events, and a resolution or ending. Story schema will help children when they are readers because they will be able to identify the characteristics of a story when they read and in turn this will help them comprehend and remember stories better and will make them better writers of stories. Implications for Teaching/Learning Relate pre-reading activities relate the story/information to student's background. Prepare students for reading and learning by Presenting key vocabulary--pre-teaching vocabularyPoint out the organization of the text so students can activate their text structure knowledge

28. Research Findings on Strategic Readers Use a wide range of comprehension strategies to deepen and enrich their understanding of what they are reading Aware of their own thinking processes Make conscious decisions to use different comprehension strategies as they read to help them understand more of what they are reading Know when and how to use these strategies depending on the text they are reading Attribute successful comprehension to effort more than ability Are self-regulated in the use of strategies -Aware of what they are reading, and reflect on their level of understanding of a text. -They know what to do when reading does not make sense. -They are flexible and adaptable in their use of various strategies The Difference between Skills and Strategies Strategies are plans readers use flexibly and adaptively, depending upon The reader's background The text being read The task or purpose for which the reading is occurring The environment in which the learning situation is happening Strategies emphasize the cognitive processes that make up understanding. A strategy is a deliberate, planned, and conscious activity.Skills are procedures that readers need to over-learn through repetition, often through drill and practice, which occurs in isolation of the task of understanding. All too often skills are taught so that they become automatic responses and fixed behaviors and that can lead to rigid application with little transfer to new situations. A skill is a level of competence.An Example of a Reading Skill The young reader needs to be taught to decode text--to learn letter/sound relationships and to learn high frequency words to an automatic level. These are necessary skills. However, if the novice reader doesn't realize that the point of learning these skills is to comprehend what he/she is reading, but instead see decoding as what reading is all about, the reader can become so over-concerned with reading for accuracy that he/she forgets to read for meaning.The child who is skillfully sounding out words but getting little meaning is simply "word calling" not comprehending. Problem: Poor comprehenders seem to be unaware that strategies exist and could be used to monitor and fix-up comprehension breakdowns.Solution: They need to be directly taught strategies and given direct explanation and guided practice with WHAT a strategy is WHY and HOW a reader uses a strategy WHEN and WHERE a reader might use a strategy -Aware of what they are reading, and reflect on their level of understanding of a text. -They know what to do when reading does not make sense. -They are flexible and adaptable in their use of various strategies The Difference between Skills and Strategies Strategies are plans readers use flexibly and adaptively, depending upon The reader's background The text being read The task or purpose for which the reading is occurring The environment in which the learning situation is happening Strategies emphasize the cognitive processes that make up understanding. A strategy is a deliberate, planned, and conscious activity.Skills are procedures that readers need to over-learn through repetition, often through drill and practice, which occurs in isolation of the task of understanding. All too often skills are taught so that they become automatic responses and fixed behaviors and that can lead to rigid application with little transfer to new situations. A skill is a level of competence.An Example of a Reading Skill The young reader needs to be taught to decode text--to learn letter/sound relationships and to learn high frequency words to an automatic level. These are necessary skills. However, if the novice reader doesn't realize that the point of learning these skills is to comprehend what he/she is reading, but instead see decoding as what reading is all about, the reader can become so over-concerned with reading for accuracy that he/she forgets to read for meaning.The child who is skillfully sounding out words but getting little meaning is simply "word calling" not comprehending. Problem: Poor comprehenders seem to be unaware that strategies exist and could be used to monitor and fix-up comprehension breakdowns.Solution: They need to be directly taught strategies and given direct explanation and guided practice with WHAT a strategy is WHY and HOW a reader uses a strategy WHEN and WHERE a reader might use a strategy

29. Macmillan�s Approach to Comprehension Building Explicit introduction of the focus strategy/skill (What? Why? When? How?) Think Aloud as a strategy to model how skilled readers construct meaning from a text. QAR as a questioning strategy that emphasizes a relationship between the question, the text, and the background of the reader. Connect and Compare (Paired Selection) Graphic Organizers used to facilitate understanding and organize information graphically. Retelling Cards (K-2) aid in students in retelling significant events in text Leveled Readers offer the opportunity for students to develop and practice essential reading skills and strategies at their own instructional level. Workstation Flipcharts (Independent Reading Activities) Think Alouds: Being aware and modeling the thinking processes going on inside one�s head as they read, modeling this activity�thinking out loud while reading takes careful planning.Think Alouds: Being aware and modeling the thinking processes going on inside one�s head as they read, modeling this activity�thinking out loud while reading takes careful planning.

30. Teaching and Planning:Features of Effective Instructional Practices In preparing students to be proficient, the following should be present in all reading/language arts classrooms: Consistently implemented, high quality initial classroom instruction and follow-up small-group instruction that is well-differentiated according to student needs. Engagement with rigorous, challenging tasks that involve meaning-making. Connecting new knowledge with prior knowledge, and in the process addressing misunderstandings. Classroom talk that is accountable to the learning community and to accurate and appropriate knowledge (student-student, teacher-student). Timely, specific feedback structured to facilitate improved performance. The Role of the TeacherThe teacher is the key individual who influences the tone of the classroom. The teacher's expectations, encouragement, evaluations, attentiveness, and attitude greatly effects student's perception of their academic abilities. Teachers must maintain a supportive, safe, and positive environment for learning to occur. When teachers believe that all students can learn and teachers can make a difference, then student's learning is enhanced.A series of studies have confirmed what was probably obvious from the beginning. Good teachers, effective teachers, matter much more than particular curriculum materials, pedagogical approaches, or "proven programs" (Allington & Johnston, 2001; Darling-Hammond, 1999; Duffy, 1997; Pressley, et al, 2001; Sanders, 1998; Taylor, Pearson, Clark & Walpole, 2000). It has become clearer that investing in effective teaching � whether in hiring decisions or professional development planning � is the most "research-based" strategy available. If we are to hope to attain the goal of "no child left behind," we must focus on creating a substantially larger number of effective, expert teachers. Good teachers, effective teachers, manage to produce better achievement regardless of which curriculum materials, pedagogical approach, or reading program is selected. I am not going to attempt to understand why it has taken education so long to recognize what other industries recognized almost from the start � expertise matters. Instead, I am going to describe what the teaching of exemplary elementary teachers looks like and challenge school administrators to examine whether their daily practice and their longer-term planning is designed to foster such teaching. In other words, I believe school administrators should be crafting policies that ensure that more effective teachers are created each year in their schools. For much of the past decade my colleagues and I at the National Research Center on English Learning and Achievement have been studying some of the best elementary school teachers in the nation (Allington & Johnston, 2002; Pressley, Allington, Wharton-McDonald, Collins-Block & Morrow, 2001). These teachers were selected, primarily, from schools that enrolled substantial numbers of poor children and schools that reflected the racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the nation. We observed first and fourth-grade teachers from six states (New York, Texas, New Hampshire, California, Wisconsin, New Jersey). In each case we spent at least ten full instructional days, and often more, observing, interviewing, and videotaping in each room. Two books, a number of articles, and related technical reports provide documentary details (the books and articles are cited throughout and the technical reports, along with research summaries, can be found at http://cela.albany.edu). We studied teachers found to be particularly effective in developing reading and writing proficiency. Over the course of the study, however, it became clear that the teachers we were studying developed academic proficiencies well beyond higher reading and writing achievement test scores (though the evidence we gathered did demonstrate that these teachers did produce significantly better standardized test performances as a matter of course). The hundreds of days of classroom observation and the hundreds of interviews with teachers and students provide a clear portrayal of what good elementary teaching looks like. Below I sketch six common features � the 6 Ts of effective elementary literacy instruction � that we observed in the exemplary elementary classrooms we studied. Time These teachers had a "reading and writing vs. stuff" ratio that was far better balanced than is typically found in elementary classrooms (Allington, 2001). In other words, these teachers routinely had children actually reading and writing for as much a half of the school day � often around a 50/50 ratio of reading and writing to stuff (stuff is all the others things teachers have children do instead of reading and writing). In typical classrooms, it is not unusual to find that kids read and write for as little as ten percent of the day (30 minutes of reading and writing activity in a 300 minute, or five hour, school day). In many classrooms, a 90 minute "reading block" produces only 10�15 minutes of actual reading, or less than 20 percent of the allocated reading time is spent reading. Worse, in many classrooms, 20 minutes of actual reading across the school day (Knapp, 1995) is a common event, which includes reading in science, social studies, math, and other subjects. Thus, less than ten percent of the day is actually spent reading and 90 percent or more of the time is spent doing stuff. The issue is less stuff vs. reading than it is a question of what sorts of and how much of stuff. When stuff dominates instructional time, warning flags should go up. This is true even when the activity, in some form, has been shown to be useful. Activating students' background knowledge before reading (Pearson & Fielding, 1991) and generating discussion after reading (Fall, Webb & Chudowsky, 2000) is useful. But three to five minutes of building background knowledge is probably enough; spending most of a 90 minute reading block on building background knowledge seems an unlikely strategy for improving reading proficiencies. In less-effective classrooms, there is a lot of stuff going on for which no reliable evidence exists to support their use (e.g., test-preparation workbooks, copying vocabulary definitions from a dictionary, completing after-reading comprehension worksheets). Extensive reading is critical to the development of reading proficiency (Krashen 2001; Stanovich, 2000). Extensive practice provides the opportunity for students to consolidate the skills and strategies teachers often work so hard to develop. The exemplary elementary teachers we studied recognized this critical aspect of instructional planning. Their students did more guided reading, more independent reading, more social studies and science reading than students in less-effective classrooms. Texts If children are to read a lot throughout the school day, they will need a rich supply of books they can actually read. This seems a simple statement of fact. But there also exists a large and potent research base supporting supplying children with books of appropriate complexity (Allington, 2001). Simply put, students need enormous quantities of successful reading to become independent, proficient readers. By successful reading, I mean reading experiences where students perform with a high level of reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension. When a nine-year-old misses as few as two or three words in each one hundred running words of a text, the text may be too hard for effective practice. That text may be appropriate for instructional purposes but developing readers need much more high-success reading than they need instructional difficulty reading. It is the high accuracy, fluent, and easily comprehended reading that provides the opportunities to integrate complex skills and strategies into an automatic, independent reading process. The exemplary teachers we studied too often had to teach against the organizational grain. They rejected district plans that "required" all children be placed in the same textbook or tradebook (and do the same worksheets on the same day). They recognized such schemes for what they are: Truly anti-scientific, non-research-based fads designed more, it seems, as an attempt to exert administrative power than to produce high levels of student achievement. Unfortunately, these exemplary teachers too often had to spend both their personal time and personal funds to locate and/or purchase the texts needed to effectively teach the children they were assigned. Some were lucky to work in "smart" organizations. These organizations provided a rich and expansive supply of texts that supported children's learning across the school day (multi-level texts available for social studies and science as well as for reading classes). Organizations that knew that "one-size-fits-all" mandates contradicted virtually everything we have learned about effective teaching. A primary outcome of these exemplary teachers was the acceleration of literacy development in their lowest-achieving students (Allington & Johnston, 2002; Pressley, et al, 2001). While students of all achievement levels benefited from exemplary teaching, it was the lowest achievers who benefited most. In these classrooms, lower-achieving students spent their days with books they could successfully read. This has not typically been the case in less effective classrooms (Allington, 1983). In too many schools, the lower-achieving readers receive appropriate reading materials only when they participate in special support instruction (e.g., special education resource rooms, Title 1 in-class support, bilingual education block). In other words, in too many cases the lower-achieving students receive, perhaps, an hour of appropriate instruction each day and four hours of instruction based on grade-level texts they cannot read. No child who spends 80 percent of his instructional time in texts that are inappropriately difficult will make much progress academically. These exemplary teachers noticed that the highest-achieving students: received a steady diet of "easy" texts � texts they could read accurately, fluently, and with strong comprehension consistently out-gained both the average-achieving students and the lower-achieving students, year after year. They seemed to notice that motivation for reading was dramatically influenced by student reading success. They acted on these observations by creating multi-level, multi-sourced curriculum that met the needs of the diverse range of students in their classrooms. Teach Obviously, part of good teaching is planning instructional time allocations and selecting appropriate books. But here I want to focus more on the notion of active instruction � the modeling and demonstration of the useful strategies that good readers employ. Much of what many administrators might consider teaching behaviors involves little or no active instruction (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, in press). Much of what many teachers consider teaching is little more than assignment and assessment. Somewhere along the way, active teaching � explicit explanation, direct teaching � has been lost in the shuffle of thinking about classroom instruction. These exemplary teachers routinely offered direct, explicit demonstrations of the cognitive strategies used by good readers when they read. In other words, they modeled the thinking that skilled readers engage while they attempt to decode a word, self-monitor for understanding, summarize while reading, or edit when composing. The "watch me" or "let me demonstrate" stance they took seems quite different from the "assign and assess" stance that dominates in less-effective classrooms (e.g., Adams, 1990; Durkin, 1978-79). The dominance of the "assign and assess" model has been too little written about, but the truth is that "instruction" of this nature is of little benefit to all but the few students who have already acquired a basic understanding of the strategy that is the focus of the lesson. As Adams (1990) pointed out in her analysis of traditional phonics programs, when teachers assign a worksheet that requires children to fill in the missing vowel, only children who already know the correct vowel response can successfully do the task. And they don't need the practice activity. Children who do not know which vowel to put in the blank space cannot acquire that knowledge from the worksheet. They need actual teaching. In other words, the missing vowel worksheet is an assessment of who already knows the vowel patterns not an instructional activity that will teach the vowel pattern. Likewise, when assigned a story to read, with questions presented at the end to answer (Durkin, 1978), children who have already the developed appropriate strategy to use while reading can respond correctly, but those who have not developed the strategy cannot. And these latter children cannot acquire the strategy from the end-of-story questions. They would need someone to actually teach the strategy to them � someone who would model and demonstrate the strategy to use (Duffy, 1998). These exemplary teachers seemed to realize that most commercial instructional packages provide no useful information on direct and explicit skills and strategy instruction. In other words, they realized that the scripts that one typically finds in commercial packages offer teachers a "definitional" model. Students are taught that the main idea in a text is the author's most important idea about a topic. They offer little in the way of helping children develop useful strategies for determining the relative importance of the various ideas an author might present on a topic. Thus, these teachers took on the responsibility of crafting explicit demonstrations of skill and strategy use. For example, they might demonstrate the use of the deletion strategy when teaching summarization. They might show how to list the various ideas an author presents in a persuasive paragraph through a line-by-line analysis � a "watch me do this" lesson. Then they might demonstrate through a think-aloud process the strategy of deleting redundant, trivial, and subordinate information until they have arrived at the summary statement. These teachers offer useful strategy models � decoding strategies, composing strategies, self-regulating strategies � as separate lessons to the whole class, to targeted small groups, and to individual students in side-by-side instruction. In fact, it is this literal plethora of instructional activity that truly sets these teachers apart and explains much of their effectiveness with lower-achieving students (Taylor, et al, 2000). We have a wealth of studies demonstrating the power of active teaching, especially for children who struggle to learn to read and write. But for children to come to own the powerful strategies being presented they must have enormous successful practice in using the strategies independently � extensive successful reading experiences. The instructional environment must also foster independent strategy transfer and use. A real concern is that when instruction becomes too explicit, too much of the time, children never acquire the independent strategy transfer and use. Use of a strategy in a highly structured, teacher-directed setting is not the same as knowing how and when to profitably and successfully use the strategy when reading independently. Thus, expert teaching requires knowing not only how to teach strategies explicitly, but also how to foster transfer from the structured practice activities to independent use while engaged in reading. It is this transfer problem that makes scripted instructional material problematic. Talk Like the Teach component, classroom talk is under-researched. We saw fundamental differences in the nature of the classroom talk in the exemplary teacher classrooms and the talk typically reported in classroom observational studies. First, we observed these teachers fostering much more student talk � teacher-student, student-student � than has been previously reported. In other words, these exemplary teachers encouraged, modeled, and supported lots of talk across the school day. This talk was purposeful talk though, not simply chatter. This talk was problem-posing, problem-solving talk related to curricular topics (Allington & Johnston, 2002; Johnston, Woodisde-Jiron & Day, 2001). It wasn't just more talk but a different sort of talk than is commonly heard in classrooms. We described this difference as "more conversational than interrogational." Much previous work has well-documented the interrogational nature of most classroom talk. Teachers pose questions, children respond, teacher verifies or corrects. That is the dominant pattern observed in study after study, grade after grade (Cazden, 1988; Nystrand, 1997). The classroom talk we observed was more often of a conversational nature than an interrogational nature. In other words, teachers and students discussed ideas, concepts, hypotheses, strategies, and responses with others. The questions teachers posed were more "open" questions, where multiple responses would be appropriate. For instance, consider the difference between the three after-reading questions below: So, where were the children going after all? So, what other story have we read that had an ending like this one? Has anyone had a problem with a pet like the boy in the story? Responses to Q1 are strictly limited to a single "correct" response as dictated by the story content. But Q2 and Q3 offer the opportunity for multiple "correct" responses. In addition, while a response to Q1 leads only to a "Right" or "Wrong" teacher reply, Q2 and Q3 lead to follow-up teacher queries along the lines of, "Explain how the endings are similar" and "Tell us more about how your pet problem was like the problem in the story." While Q1 offers an assessment of appropriate strategy use, Q2 and Q3 offer the opportunity to examine the thinking � the strategy in use � and the opportunity for instruction. Q1 assesses recall; Q2 and Q3 assess a broader understanding and help make children's thinking visible. The nature of classroom talk is complicated and too little understood. While there is evidence that more "thoughtful" classroom talk leads to improved reading comprehension (Fall, et al, 2000; Johnston et al, 2001; Nystrand, 1997), especially in high-poverty schools (Knapp, 1995), we still have few interventions available that focus on helping teachers develop the instructional expertise to create such classrooms and few of the packaged programs offer teachers any support along this line. True conversation cannot be scripted or packaged. The classroom talk we observed was highly personalized and focused on a targeted reply to student responses. Teacher expertise was the key, not a scripted, teacher-proof, instructional product. Tasks Another characteristic of these exemplary teacher classrooms was the greater use of longer assignments and reduced emphasis on filling the day with multiple, shorter tasks. In these classrooms, students often worked on a writing task for ten days or more. They read whole books, completed individual and small group research projects, and worked on tasks that integrated several content areas (reading, writing, and social studies). The work these children in these classrooms completed was more substantive, more challenging, and required more self-regulation than the work that has been more commonly observed in elementary classrooms. We observed far less of the low-level worksheet-type tasks and a greater reliance on more complex tasks across the school day and across subject matter. Perhaps because of the nature of this work, students seemed more often engaged and less often off-task than other researchers reported. Relatedly, the tasks assigned often involved choice � student choice. We described the instructional environment as one of "managed choice." Students did not have an unlimited range of task or topic choices, but it was less common to find every students doing the same task and more common to observe students working on similar but different tasks. For instance, in a fourth-grade unit on insects, each child caught and brought that insect to class. They then sketched the insect using magnifying glasses to discover detail. These sketches were then labeled for body parts (thorax, abdomen, antennae, etc.). Students also observed the insect in its natural environment and jotted field notes about observed behaviors and habits. They wrote a short description based on these notes and constructed a model of the insect from craft materials. Finally, they presented their insect to classmates and then posted their sketches, models, and descriptions on the classroom wall where classmates could review and study the insect projects. Choice of this sort has been documented to lead to greater student ownership of the work and greater engagement with the work (Turner, 1995). A related characteristic is that such an array of student work makes it more difficult for students (and perhaps teachers) to rank student work from best to worst. Low-achieving students may have selected one of the more interesting insects to research and display. Peers see the new information on an interesting bug rather than seeing the same insect worksheet they just completed. Test Finally, these exemplary teachers evaluated student work based more on effort and improvement than simply on achievement status. This focus meant that all students had a chance at earning good grades, regardless of their achievement levels. This creates an instructional environment quite different from one where grades are awarded based primarily on achievement status. In those cases, the high-achieving students do not typically have to work very hard to earn good grades. Lower-achieving students often have no real chance to earn a good grade regardless of their effort or improvement. Achievement-based grading � where the best performances get the best grades � operates to foster classrooms where no one works very hard. The higher-achieving students don't have to put forth much effort to rank well and the lower-achieving students soon realize that even working hard doesn't produce performances that compare well to those of higher-achieving students. Hard work gets you a C, if you are a lucky low-achiever, in an achievement-based grading scheme. The complexity, though, of effort and improvement grading lies in the fact that teachers must truly know each student well in order to assign grades. They have to be able to recognize growth and to track or estimate the student effort involved. The exemplary teachers often used a rubric-based evaluation scheme to assign grades. Improvement was noted based on where students started and where they ended up rather than on simply the latter. One other aspect of the improvement and effort evaluation model is that it shifted much of the responsibility for earning grades over to the students. Students could not assign bad grades to "unluckiness" if only because the evaluation scheme was rather transparent to them. The rubrics provided the information needed to improve their grade. The fourth-grade exemplary teachers we studied did acknowledge that the effort and improvement grading scheme required careful explanation to parents because most were more familiar with achievement-based grading. However, none of the teachers reported much parental resistance, perhaps because these teachers were typically able to describe in substantive detail just what a child needed to do to achieve a better grade. I must also note that we observed almost no test-preparation activity in these classrooms. None of the teachers relied on the increasingly popular commercial test preparation materials (e.g., workbooks, software). Instead, these teachers believed that good instruction, rich instruction, would lead to enhanced test performances. The data bore out their beliefs. It was in the less-effective teachers' classrooms that we observed as part of our sub-study that we found much test preparation activity. It seems that less-effective teachers truly don't know what to do and, as a result, drift towards the use of packaged test-preparation activities in the hopes that such activities will make up for less-effective teaching throughout the year. The Role of the Teacher

31.  Teaching and Planning:Features of Effective Instructional Practices Differentiated instruction as the deliberate effort to provide academically rigorous instruction that is responsive to diverse student needs. Use of student performance data to guide instruction and allocate instructional resources. Instruction in a variety of strategies for improving and monitoring comprehension. Extended discussions of a text�s meaning in a learning environments in which students are motivated to understand and learn from the text. Examination of student work to understand how students are thinking, the fullness of their factual knowledge and the connections they are making. Instructional strategies modeled through explicit instruction is essential to literacy development. Effective teachers needs to model the strategy or skill using authentic texts, demonstrate how and when to use it, and discuss the importance of its use. They will need to guide and support the student through the skill being learned, then gradually decreasing assistance until the student can utilize the strategy independently. The teacher needs to provide opportunities to practice in order for the student to be independent and a successful learner. Teaching comprehension-fostering strategies, monitoring activities, and critical thinking skills helps to develop the student's vocabulary development, self-monitoring skills, and comprehension strategies. Although the focus of reading instruction changes dramatically from the early to later grades, three program elements are critical at all grade levels: Consistently implemented, high quality initial classroom instruction and follow-up small-group instruction that is well-differentiated according to student needs. Teachers at all grades must be prepared to provide strong initial instruction in critical skills and knowledge to their classroom as a whole. At every grade, specific skills must be taught and specific knowledge acquired to meet grade-level standards in reading. Teachers must be able to support student growth in critical areas through skillful, systematic, and explicit instruction at the whole classroom level; they must also be able to work effectively with small groups of students who have different instructional needs. Small-group instruction is necessary because students in most classes vary widely in their instructional needs, and their diverse needs are best met when instruction is at the right level and focused on areas of most critical need. Appropriately differentiated instruction involves even deeper teaching skills than whole-classroom instruction, because it requires teachers to diagnose individual needs and make appropriate adjustments to their instructional focus and instructional routines. Use of student performance data to guide instruction and allocate instructional resources. Data on student performance in reading from both formal and informal assessments have two important uses in elementary schools. First, data provide valuable information to help teachers adapt instruction for individual students. Valid and reliable assessments of reading progress provide key information that allows teachers to target their instruction for individual students, and it also allows them to determine when further adjustments need to be made because of a lack of student progress. Second, reliable data on student progress are useful for principals in making important school-level decisions about instruction and allocation of resources, such as decisions about: a) scheduling classes, b) assigning students to classes, c) planning professional development and support for each grade level as well as individual teachers, and d) allocating resources to support extra instruction for students who need it. Resources to provide interventions for struggling readers. Even when teachers are providing excellent initial instruction and effective small-group differentiated instruction, some students� instructional needs will still not be met. In many elementary schools, the diversity of talent and preparation for learning to read is so great that some students will require four or five times the amount of instruction an average student requires. Some students� needs are simply too great to expect the individual teacher, by herself, to meet them. Research has shown that we must provide reading instruction for diverse groups of students along a continuum of intensity: some students can maintain adequate progress through whole-class instruction; others need extra assistance through differentiated support by the classroom teacher; and still others may require substantial additional instruction from reading intervention specialists. The principal must identify a variety of additional instructional resources to meet the needs of these students. Without effective initial classroom instruction and strongly differentiated instruction by classroom teachers, the need for intervention specialists may simply overwhelm school resources because too many students will not make expected yearly progress. Unless the school has a strong assessment plan and uses student data effectively in making decisions, instructional opportunities will be lost, and resources may not be allocated properly. Finally, unless strong, timely interventions are available to students who need them, significant numbers of students will continue to leave elementary school unprepared for the literacy demands of middle and high school. Instructional strategies modeled through explicit instruction is essential to literacy development. Effective teachers needs to model the strategy or skill using authentic texts, demonstrate how and when to use it, and discuss the importance of its use. They will need to guide and support the student through the skill being learned, then gradually decreasing assistance until the student can utilize the strategy independently. The teacher needs to provide opportunities to practice in order for the student to be independent and a successful learner. Teaching comprehension-fostering strategies, monitoring activities, and critical thinking skills helps to develop the student's vocabulary development, self-monitoring skills, and comprehension strategies. Although the focus of reading instruction changes dramatically from the early to later grades, three program elements are critical at all grade levels: Consistently implemented, high quality initial classroom instruction and follow-up small-group instruction that is well-differentiated according to student needs. Teachers at all grades must be prepared to provide strong initial instruction in critical skills and knowledge to their classroom as a whole. At every grade, specific skills must be taught and specific knowledge acquired to meet grade-level standards in reading. Teachers must be able to support student growth in critical areas through skillful, systematic, and explicit instruction at the whole classroom level; they must also be able to work effectively with small groups of students who have different instructional needs. Small-group instruction is necessary because students in most classes vary widely in their instructional needs, and their diverse needs are best met when instruction is at the right level and focused on areas of most critical need. Appropriately differentiated instruction involves even deeper teaching skills than whole-classroom instruction, because it requires teachers to diagnose individual needs and make appropriate adjustments to their instructional focus and instructional routines. Use of student performance data to guide instruction and allocate instructional resources. Data on student performance in reading from both formal and informal assessments have two important uses in elementary schools. First, data provide valuable information to help teachers adapt instruction for individual students. Valid and reliable assessments of reading progress provide key information that allows teachers to target their instruction for individual students, and it also allows them to determine when further adjustments need to be made because of a lack of student progress. Second, reliable data on student progress are useful for principals in making important school-level decisions about instruction and allocation of resources, such as decisions about: a) scheduling classes, b) assigning students to classes, c) planning professional development and support for each grade level as well as individual teachers, and d) allocating resources to support extra instruction for students who need it. Resources to provide interventions for struggling readers. Even when teachers are providing excellent initial instruction and effective small-group differentiated instruction, some students� instructional needs will still not be met. In many elementary schools, the diversity of talent and preparation for learning to read is so great that some students will require four or five times the amount of instruction an average student requires. Some students� needs are simply too great to expect the individual teacher, by herself, to meet them. Research has shown that we must provide reading instruction for diverse groups of students along a continuum of intensity: some students can maintain adequate progress through whole-class instruction; others need extra assistance through differentiated support by the classroom teacher; and still others may require substantial additional instruction from reading intervention specialists. The principal must identify a variety of additional instructional resources to meet the needs of these students. Without effective initial classroom instruction and strongly differentiated instruction by classroom teachers, the need for intervention specialists may simply overwhelm school resources because too many students will not make expected yearly progress. Unless the school has a strong assessment plan and uses student data effectively in making decisions, instructional opportunities will be lost, and resources may not be allocated properly. Finally, unless strong, timely interventions are available to students who need them, significant numbers of students will continue to leave elementary school unprepared for the literacy demands of middle and high school.

32. Today�s Session: Learning Intentions How can instructional leadership capacity be advanced through understanding curriculum content and the tools and practices supporting each content area that advance teaching and learning? How can instructional leadership capacity be advanced through understanding the coherent professional development cycle and the tools and practices supporting professional development in each content area? Guiding Inquiries for Leadership Week: What are effective instructional leadership practices and dispositions for principals and other school leaders and district leaders? What evidence would you show that effective instructional leadership practices are in place? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to coherently support and facilitate the district�s vision? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to continue to improve teaching and learning and monitoring of district instructional initiatives to support student success? What is the role of central office leaders in supporting effective instructional leadership practices of principals and their schools? What tools, routines and practices do central office leaders use to assist schools in developing coherency of district academic initiatives and monitoring continuous instruction improvement to advance student learning? Guiding Inquiries for Leadership Week: What are effective instructional leadership practices and dispositions for principals and other school leaders and district leaders? What evidence would you show that effective instructional leadership practices are in place? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to coherently support and facilitate the district�s vision? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to continue to improve teaching and learning and monitoring of district instructional initiatives to support student success? What is the role of central office leaders in supporting effective instructional leadership practices of principals and their schools? What tools, routines and practices do central office leaders use to assist schools in developing coherency of district academic initiatives and monitoring continuous instruction improvement to advance student learning?

33. Tools and Practices that Support and Advance Teaching and Learning Increased Central Office Support in Elementary Literacy Establishment of Teaching and Learning Teams Elementary Literacy K-2 Teaching and Learning Feedback Tool Elementary Literacy 3-5 Teaching and Learning Feedback Tool Core Curriculum Frameworks at the Elementary Literacy Level / Second Semester Alignment of K-2 Macmillan with Early Childhood Instructional Standards and 3-5 Macmillan to Pennsylvania Academic Standards & Eligible Content Posting for (14) K-5 Curriculum Writers and (2) Copy Editors Three week novel study modeled after the DL Patterned Way of Reading, Writing, and Talking beginning in Unit 4.

34. Tools and Practices that Support and Advance Teaching and Learning Comprehensive Assessment System including Screening and Diagnostic testing in K-5 Establishment of Reading First Coaching Lab Revised Grade 5 Macmillan Scope and Sequence to Ensure Genre Study Prior to PSSA Compass Learning Computer-based program Aligned to Macmillan Scope and Sequence (K-2) Aligned to PSSA Anchors (3-5) Aligned to 95% Phonics Screener Results (3-5)

35. Tools and Practices that Support and Advance Teaching and Learning Consistent Delivery of Instruction: Core-Macmillan Treasures Supplemental-Macmillan Triumphs and Treasure Chest EAP and Extended Year Alignment Extended Day: Macmillan Treasure Chest, Triumphs, Compass Early Interventions (K) and Summer Adventures (1-2) aligned to Macmillan Focus Skills/Strategies Summer Adventures in Reading (3-5) re-aligned to Macmillan Focus Skills/Strategies and 4 Sight Spring Benchmark

36. Teacher Instructional Handbook Scavenger Hunt: Using a post-it note, mark the page(s) where you find the following answer: According to the pacing guides, how many themes are the students asked to cover during the PSSA Reading testing window (3/16-3/27)? What is an example of an Accountable Talk �move� to support the students in Linking contributions? How many minutes per week is recommended for the scheduling of grade 5 Reading/Language Arts/Writing? Why are these important? Only 1 theme so not attending to pacing at that time Purpose: To Engage students in building on one another�s conversations Why are these important? Only 1 theme so not attending to pacing at that time Purpose: To Engage students in building on one another�s conversations

37. Teacher Instructional Handbook 4. What is a sample of a PSSA Question Stem aligned to A.1.5? 5. What are some recommended Assignments in the Grading Guidelines that support Academic Rigor? 6. Which units focus on Inference in Macmillan Treasures? 7. Which Question Answer Relationships (QAR) are associated with Inference? 8. How many lessons in Macmillan Triumphs and Treasure Chest address the long vowel sounds?

38. Teacher Instructional Handbook 9. What are two recommendations for re-teaching Vocabulary: Context Clues and Multiple Meaning (A.1.1.1, A.2.1.1) found in the Recommendations for Re-Teaching document that could be used to reinforce word learning in the core over several days. 10. How many writing opportunities in narrative genre are in Unit 1? 10. Macmillan Treasures Grade 5 Scope and Sequence or Writing Opportunities by Unit 10. Macmillan Treasures Grade 5 Scope and Sequence or Writing Opportunities by Unit

39. Which tools and practices in the Instructional Handbooks support and advance teaching and learning? Instructional Handbook Pittsburgh Public Schools K-12 Time Distribution 2008-2009 Pacing Guidelines (ALA & Non ALA) Elementary Literacy Grading Guidelines and Grade Weighting Instructions for Teachers Elementary Portfolio Toolkit District Definition of Differentiation Macmillan Treasures / Triumphs / Treasure Chest Matrices

40. Which tools and practices in the Instructional Handbooks support and advance teaching and learning? Instructional Handbook Sample PSSA Question Stems Aligned to Question Answer Relationships (QAR) Differentiated Instruction in Small Groups: Recommendations for Re-teaching Aligned to Assessment Anchors Principles of Accountable Talk Moves Reminders for Facilitators Reminders for Participants

41. How can instructional leadership monitor, support and advance teaching and learning in elementary reading?  Ensure all instructional decisions guided by data. Assist teachers in accessing expert support and/or professional development to gain the necessary content knowledge and pedagogy to effectively instruct students. Provide pedagogical and structural supports (horizontal, vertical or by subject area) to deepen the learning experiences and share teaching practices. Dedicate a portion of time everyday to observe teaching and learning and to provide structured feedback. Establish Learning Communities in which teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. Teachers know the subjects they teach and have the necessary pedagogical knowledge. The professional teaching standards represent the teaching profession�s consensus on the critical aspects of the art and science of teaching (pedagogy) that characterize accomplished teachers in various fields. Based on the latest developments in pedagogy, teaching has become more than an activity that conserves valued knowledge and skills by transmitting them to succeeding generations. Therefore, teachers also have the responsibility to challenge existing structures, practices, and definitions of knowledge; to invent and test new approaches; and, where necessary, to pursue organizational change in a constant attempt to improve the school. As agents of the public interest in a democracy, teachers through their work contribute to the dialogue about preserving and improving society, and they initiate future citizens into this ongoing public discourse. 1The focus of the quick wins depended on the needs of the school. But some areas were particularly important and open to rapid change: the use of time,105 resources and the physical plan,106 and student discipline.107 101. Ibid. 102. Duke (n.d.); Duke et al. (2005); Johnson and Asera (1999); Lachat and Smith (2005); Picucci et al. (2002a,b) Zargarpour (2005). 103. Conzemius (2000); Murphy and Myers (in press); Rhim et al. (2007); Tung and Ouimette (2007); Whiteside (2006). 104. Johnson and Asera (1999). 105. Duke (n.d.); Duke et al. (2005)??????; Johnson and Asera (1999); Picucci et al. (2002a,b). 106. Ibid. 107. Ibid. 3. Pro vide visible impro veme nts earl y in the turnaro und process (quick wi ns) ( 23 ) Changing the use of time was a quick win for several turnaround schools: thoughtful changes improved student achievement. Some turnaround schools changed instructional schedules to maximize learning time,108 others the way teachers could use time for planning.109 Most often, the schools created common planning times for teachers through grade-level planning teams or content teams in secondary schools.110 Changing instructional time also involved student teams in middle schools so that all students on the team shared a common group of core subject teachers. This arrangement allowed teachers to know their students better and to collaborate on meeting individual student needs.111 Common planning time for teachers can improve instruction and student discipline� a vehicle for problem-solving and brainstorming while keeping the focus on raising student achievement.112 Although no clear evidence links student achievement to changes in the use of instructional time, teachers felt that their instruction improved.113 Improving the physical plant Teachers know the subjects they teach and have the necessary pedagogical knowledge. The professional teaching standards represent the teaching profession�s consensus on the critical aspects of the art and science of teaching (pedagogy) that characterize accomplished teachers in various fields. Based on the latest developments in pedagogy, teaching has become more than an activity that conserves valued knowledge and skills by transmitting them to succeeding generations. Therefore, teachers also have the responsibility to challenge existing structures, practices, and definitions of knowledge; to invent and test new approaches; and, where necessary, to pursue organizational change in a constant attempt to improve the school. As agents of the public interest in a democracy, teachers through their work contribute to the dialogue about preserving and improving society, and they initiate future citizens into this ongoing public discourse. 1The focus of the quick wins depended on the needs of the school. But some areas were particularly important and open to rapid change: the use of time,105 resources and the physical plan,106 and student discipline.107 101. Ibid. 102. Duke (n.d.); Duke et al. (2005); Johnson and Asera (1999); Lachat and Smith (2005); Picucci et al. (2002a,b) Zargarpour (2005). 103. Conzemius (2000); Murphy and Myers (in press); Rhim et al. (2007); Tung and Ouimette (2007); Whiteside (2006). 104. Johnson and Asera (1999). 105. Duke (n.d.); Duke et al. (2005)??????; Johnson and Asera (1999); Picucci et al. (2002a,b). 106. Ibid. 107. Ibid. 3. Pro vide visible impro veme nts earl y in the turnaro und process (quick wi ns) ( 23 ) Changing the use of time was a quick win for several turnaround schools: thoughtful changes improved student achievement. Some turnaround schools changed instructional schedules to maximize learning time,108 others the way teachers could use time for planning.109 Most often, the schools created common planning times for teachers through grade-level planning teams or content teams in secondary schools.110 Changing instructional time also involved student teams in middle schools so that all students on the team shared a common group of core subject teachers. This arrangement allowed teachers to know their students better and to collaborate on meeting individual student needs.111 Common planning time for teachers can improve instruction and student discipline� a vehicle for problem-solving and brainstorming while keeping the focus on raising student achievement.112 Although no clear evidence links student achievement to changes in the use of instructional time, teachers felt that their instruction improved.113 Improving the physical plant

42. Teaching and Learning Feedback Tools: K-2 and 3-5 Literacy The Elementary Literacy Teaching and Learning Feedback Tools will be used by members of the Cross Functional Teaching and Learning Teams. A separate Literacy Teaching and Learning Feedback Tool has been developed for K-2 and 3-5. This tool will be used during classroom visitations and learning walks. The intent is to provide feedback to inform the professional development training. This tool is not to be used in evaluative ways. This tool supports the recursive cycle of professional development and professional learning of teachers. Instructional strategies modeled through explicit instruction is essential to literacy development. Effective teachers needs to model the strategy or skill using authentic texts, demonstrate how and when to use it, and discuss the importance of its use. They will need to guide and support the student through the skill being learned, then gradually decreasing assistance until the student can utilize the strategy independently. The teacher needs to provide opportunities to practice in order for the student to be independent and a successful learner. Teaching comprehension-fostering strategies, monitoring activities, and critical thinking skills helps to develop the student's vocabulary development, self-monitoring skills, and comprehension strategies. Instructional strategies modeled through explicit instruction is essential to literacy development. Effective teachers needs to model the strategy or skill using authentic texts, demonstrate how and when to use it, and discuss the importance of its use. They will need to guide and support the student through the skill being learned, then gradually decreasing assistance until the student can utilize the strategy independently. The teacher needs to provide opportunities to practice in order for the student to be independent and a successful learner. Teaching comprehension-fostering strategies, monitoring activities, and critical thinking skills helps to develop the student's vocabulary development, self-monitoring skills, and comprehension strategies.

43. Word Study: Skilled word learners use their knowledge of phonics and word structure to deal effectively with new words. (3-5) Which Literacy concepts/skills/strategies are the students working to understand? 1. In what ways does the teacher assist the students to examine and make generalizations about the sounds and patterns represented in print (i.e., word sorts, spiral review, etc.)? 2. In what ways does the teacher assist students to explain similarities and differences between features (spelling patterns, prefixes, suffixes, etc.)? 3. In what ways does the teacher monitor progress and provide support for students whose demonstrated weaknesses are limiting their progress?

44. Word Study: Skilled word learners use their knowledge of phonics and word structure to deal effectively with new words. (3-5) 1. How are students demonstrating understanding of the regularities, patterns and rules of the English language? 2. How are students applying word analysis strategies to decode, read and spell new words? 3. How are students using mapping, graphing, and other graphic organizers to show word relationships? 4. In what ways does the instruction, materials and environment support the learning of all students (ELL, LS, ES, Gifted, etc.?)

45. Reading Comprehension: Component 1 Launch (Conceptual Frontloading) Before Reading: 1. In what ways does the teacher assist students to elicit, build and focus prior knowledge related to the Focus Question/Theme? 2. In what ways does the teacher design a vocabulary instructional routine that: Explains the meaning of vocabulary words using student friendly language? (DEFINE) Provides meaningful examples of words within students� experiential realm? (EXAMPLE) Asks questions to determine word meaning? (ASK) Introduces and models the focus word-learning strategy? Guides the initial encounter of words in context?

46. Reading Comprehension: Component 1 Launch (Conceptual Frontloading) During Reading: 1. How does the teacher introduce the structure/ purpose of the Focus Skill and Focus Strategy and the accompanying graphic organizer? 2. How does the teacher demonstrate/model the use of the Focus Skill and Focus Strategy (i.e., Think Aloud) using text? 3. In what ways does the instruction, materials and environment support the learning of all students (ELL, LS, ES, Gifted, etc.?)

47. Reading Comprehension / Main Selection Before Reading: 1. How does the teacher introduce the type (genre) and characteristic features of the main selection (fiction, nonfiction, autobiography, etc.)? 2. In what ways does the teacher establish a mental set (purpose) for learning prior to reading (I.e., cues, higher order questions, organizers, etc.)? During Reading: 1. In what ways does the teacher facilitate discussion that supports the students in: - grappling with the central ideas of the text - examining and citing evidence from text - explaining their thinking and supporting it with details - initiating their own questions about the text - building, refining and/or extending the contributions of others - building a cohesive understanding of text 2. How does the teacher support students in keeping track of relevant information?

48. Reading Comprehension / Main Selection After Reading: 1. What type of post reading discussion/task was provided (i.e., Summarize, Think and Compare, Response prompt, completion of graphic organizer, etc)? 2. What type of structure for working on questions/task was observed (individual, paired, whole group)? 3. In what ways does the teacher assist students in reconstructing, responding or extending meaning? 4. In what ways does the teacher assist students in citing evidence from the text while responding? 5. How does the teacher support students in documenting responses to text?

49. Reading Comprehension: Paired Selection Before Reading: 1. How does the teacher introduce the type (genre) and the type/purpose of text features (headings, timelines, graphs, etc.) or literary elements (metaphor, personification, etc.) in the selection? 2. How does the teacher introduce the vocabulary/content words? During Reading: 1. In what ways does the teacher assist students in discussing/interpreting information provided in the text features (expository) or discussing/interpreting the author�s use of literary elements in text (narrative)?

50. Reading Comprehension: Paired Selection After Reading: 1. What type of post reading discussion/task was observed (i.e., Connect and Compare, organizer, etc.)? 2. In what ways does the teacher assist students in reconstructing, responding or drawing connections across texts? 3. In what ways does the teacher assist students in reflecting on the use of text features and/or literary elements? 4. How does the teacher support students in documenting responses to text?

51. Accountable TalkSM Student Centered Classroom What percent of the students spoke during the discussion? What was the dominant structure of talk observed (e.g. teacher-student-teacher, student-student)? Student Talk In what ways did student-to-student discussions occur during the lesson? How do students ask questions and support or challenge each other�s contributions during discussion? How do students use talk to connect among ideas (i.e. repeating ideas, adding or restating in own words)?

52. Accountable TalkSM Student Centered Classroom Teacher Talk 1. In what ways does the teacher facilitate a discussion with and among students? 2. How does the teacher invite students to ask questions and evaluate others� contributions? 3. How does the teacher assist students to connect among ideas (i.e., asking to repeat, add on or restate in own words)?

53. Classroom Environment A. Physical Environment 1. In what ways does the classroom configuration facilitate group/partner work and discussion with peers? 2. In what ways can students access program resources, materials and technology during independent and small group time? B. Classroom Display 1. In what ways are visuals and/or graphical representation used to document and reference current reading focuses? 2. In what ways are visuals and/or graphical representations used to document and support multiple exposures to vocabulary meaning across many contexts? The teacher is the key individual who influences the tone of the classroom. The teacher's expectations, encouragement, evaluations, attentiveness, and attitude greatly effects student's perception of their academic abilities. Teachers must maintain a supportive, safe, and positive environment for learning to occur. When teachers believe that all students can learn and teachers can make a difference, then student's learning is enhanced.The teacher is the key individual who influences the tone of the classroom. The teacher's expectations, encouragement, evaluations, attentiveness, and attitude greatly effects student's perception of their academic abilities. Teachers must maintain a supportive, safe, and positive environment for learning to occur. When teachers believe that all students can learn and teachers can make a difference, then student's learning is enhanced.

54. Classroom Environment C. Student Work 1. In what ways is feedback provided on student�s work to advance learning of concepts, skills and/or strategies? 2. In what ways are students connecting their work to standards of proficiency for quality work (having access to proficient models, explanations, rubrics, and/or criteria charts, etc.)?

55. Learning Intentions: How can instructional leadership capacity be advanced through understanding curriculum content and the tools and practices supporting each content area that advance teaching and learning? How can instructional leadership capacity be advanced through understanding the coherent professional development cycle and the tools and practices supporting professional development in each content area? Guiding Inquiries for Leadership Week: What are effective instructional leadership practices and dispositions for principals and other school leaders and district leaders? What evidence would you show that effective instructional leadership practices are in place? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to coherently support and facilitate the district�s vision? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to continue to improve teaching and learning and monitoring of district instructional initiatives to support student success? What is the role of central office leaders in supporting effective instructional leadership practices of principals and their schools? What tools, routines and practices do central office leaders use to assist schools in developing coherency of district academic initiatives and monitoring continuous instruction improvement to advance student learning? Guiding Inquiries for Leadership Week: What are effective instructional leadership practices and dispositions for principals and other school leaders and district leaders? What evidence would you show that effective instructional leadership practices are in place? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to coherently support and facilitate the district�s vision? What are tools, routines and social practices that instructional leaders can effectively use to continue to improve teaching and learning and monitoring of district instructional initiatives to support student success? What is the role of central office leaders in supporting effective instructional leadership practices of principals and their schools? What tools, routines and practices do central office leaders use to assist schools in developing coherency of district academic initiatives and monitoring continuous instruction improvement to advance student learning?

56. EXCELLENCE FOR ALL:MEETING AND EXCEEDING ACHIEVEMENT GOALS IN ELEMENTARY READING Professional Development Goals for Coaches and Teachers during the 2008-2009 School Year: Support teachers in thoughtful Planning and Enactment of Instructional Lessons using the Core Issues of Lesson Design and the Revised Rigorous Planning Guide Support teachers in using Visual Representation Strategies to Enhance Reading Comprehension and Improve Writing Encourage Greater Levels of Student Engagement

57. Content-Focused CoachingSM Content-Focused CoachingSM is a professional development model designed to promote student achievement by: engaging teachers in regular, on-going examination of classroom practice in a content area assisting teachers in understanding and using a set of Core Issues as the framework for preparing, enacting and reflecting on rigorous instruction providing teachers with an opportunity to learn from each other and become reflective practitioners contributing to the development of a collaborative learning community receive rigorous literacy instruction to develop the habits of competent readers and writers use these competencies to develop deep content knowledge engage in Accountable Talk as a strategy for developing knowledge, reasoning skills, and the skills of academic discourse receive rigorous literacy instruction to develop the habits of competent readers and writers use these competencies to develop deep content knowledge engage in Accountable Talk as a strategy for developing knowledge, reasoning skills, and the skills of academic discourse

58. Rigorous, Accountable Discussions to Support Comprehension of Macmillan texts Features and Indicators of Accountable Talk� Applying the Questioning the Author approach and the Core Issues of Lesson Design and Reflection to text discussion Identifying intended learning from the text Segmenting the text to build intended learnings Developing queries to elicit thinking and talk Applying Questioning the Author to Macmillan texts Read-Aloud Anthology selections Main Selection texts Using a Main Selection two-day lesson planning protocol Developing Student Habits of Accountable Talk

59. Goal: For Teachers to be able to facilitate the reading and discussing of texts in a manner that results in students� understanding of important ideas reflected in the standards. Distribute Core Issues of Lesson Design to principals Reference Accountable Talk Moves for Participants and Facilitators in Instructional Handbooks Distribute new tool: Revised Main Selection ProtocolDistribute Core Issues of Lesson Design to principals Reference Accountable Talk Moves for Participants and Facilitators in Instructional Handbooks Distribute new tool: Revised Main Selection Protocol

60. Overview of CFC/PPS ELA Work at Elementary for Principals, Coaches and Teachers: 2008-2009 2007-2008 October 30/31 Three Levels of Comprehension Vision of AT in Child Labor Tape Prepare Ss to use habits of talk November 19/20 Using QtA approach to support Ss Talk Studying a Rigorous Lesson Plan Planning a Rigorous Text Discussion Dec. 17 Preparing for Pre/lesson/Post cycle Live example of Post Conference January 23 Preview of Coaching Lab February 18/19 Coaching Labs in schools March 17 Cancelled March 18 Coaching Labs in schools/debrief April 21/23 Coaching Labs in schools May 19 Greenway 2007-2008 October 30/31 Three Levels of Comprehension Vision of AT in Child Labor Tape Prepare Ss to use habits of talk November 19/20 Using QtA approach to support Ss Talk Studying a Rigorous Lesson Plan Planning a Rigorous Text Discussion Dec. 17 Preparing for Pre/lesson/Post cycle Live example of Post Conference January 23 Preview of Coaching Lab February 18/19 Coaching Labs in schools March 17 Cancelled March 18 Coaching Labs in schools/debrief April 21/23 Coaching Labs in schools May 19 Greenway

61. Using the Content-Focused Coaching� Model to Support Elementary Literacy: 2008-2009 Literacy Focus: Supporting student text comprehension through lessons that include rigorous discussion, targeted vocabulary development and high quality writing assignments Coaching Focus: Assisting teachers to know how to plan, enact and reflect on such lessons through learning groups, pre/lesson/post cycles of individual conferring, and teacher labs Professional Development Focus: Utilizing conceptual tools and new structures to build systems that support adult learning Why this focus? We jointly agreed to focus our attention on comprehension because meaning making is the point of reading. Our data suggest that improved comprehension is a need across all grade levels. By using �comprehension� as our focus we are addressing a portion of every day of the program. Students need to comprehend every time their eyes meet text. We reasoned that if we could develop teachers� habits of thinking around this portion of the program it would be generative and transfer (with our help) to additional aspects of implementation of Macmillan. Why this focus? We jointly agreed to focus our attention on comprehension because meaning making is the point of reading. Our data suggest that improved comprehension is a need across all grade levels. By using �comprehension� as our focus we are addressing a portion of every day of the program. Students need to comprehend every time their eyes meet text. We reasoned that if we could develop teachers� habits of thinking around this portion of the program it would be generative and transfer (with our help) to additional aspects of implementation of Macmillan.

62. Overarching Goals for the Year: Assist teachers to know how to plan and be able to enact lessons that include rigorous text discussion, targeted vocabulary and high quality writing assignments. Advance coach learning to Facilitate coach and teacher labs Support robust vocabulary instruction during a lesson and throughout the day Support high quality writing assignments to support and assess comprehension Lead school based PD using CFC resources Support principals to support this literacy and coaching work Support Elementary Literacy Lead Team to develop and use new structures and conceptual tools, and CFC resources to develop systems that support adult learning. How are we working to achieve our goals? To achieve this goal we have worked to develop a �system� in which coaches, principals and a leadership team support one another to use the Content-Focused Coaching Model of Professional Development to improve instruction and learning. We especially aimed to support coaches to assist teachers to deepen their pedagogical content knowledge about reading (especially comprehension) and to support their use of Accountable Talk in the context of text discussion as an instructional strategy to support student learning. How are we working to achieve our goals? To achieve this goal we have worked to develop a �system� in which coaches, principals and a leadership team support one another to use the Content-Focused Coaching Model of Professional Development to improve instruction and learning. We especially aimed to support coaches to assist teachers to deepen their pedagogical content knowledge about reading (especially comprehension) and to support their use of Accountable Talk in the context of text discussion as an instructional strategy to support student learning.

63. Structures: FOR COACHES PD sessions six times throughout the year Continued coaching labs New Coach PD FOR ELEMENTARY LEAD TEAM Monthly planning meetings Monthly reflections on sessions and other work Support for new coach training Support for planning principal training FOR TEACHERS District in-service Weekly grade level team meetings led by the literacy coach-- during the �Awareness and Study� cycle Pre/lesson/post conferences with the literacy coach during the �Learning� cycle Feedback from the coach and Teaching and Learning Teams regarding independent practice on the �Application� cycle Opportunities for Teachersto Learn This Work: School-based learning groups Grade level team meetings Coach models of instruction Individual conferring with coach Opportunities for Teachersto Learn This Work: School-based learning groups Grade level team meetings Coach models of instruction Individual conferring with coach

64. Coaching Labs and Professional Learning Communities CFC Coaching Labs offer a structure for refining coaching and teaching practice. The pre/lesson/post cycle embedded within the lab offers all participants an opportunity to refine their understanding of both the content to be delivered in a given lesson and implementation challenges they present. Coaching labs have provided a forum for genuine practice-based PD where the real problems of practice are discussed and addressed through a sharing of ideas based on evidence-based reasoning. Reference the Coaching Lab Protocol in Teacher Instructional Handbook We want to tell you how impressed we are by the energy with which you have engaged in our coaching labs second semester.� Your overwhelmingly positive feedback about the value of this way of supporting and learning from each other is evidence of the effort and commitment you brought to this opportunity for practice-based professional development.� Thank you all for stepping up and making this a successful initiative that can now be part of the way educators work together in�Pittsburgh! � Many of you have expressed a desire to engage the teachers in your school in teacher labs next year, and a video example of this process will be a valuable tool for establishing a vision of this way of working together as a community of learners.� Therefore, we are seeking a volunteer to host a CFC lab that will be videotaped which captures the lead coach engaging a teacher in a pre-conference/lesson/post-conference cycle around a�Macmillan main selection.� � We know this is a busy time for everyone, but we want to invite all coaching lab groups to volunteer to meet one more time for this video purpose.� When we know more about the dates when this taping can be done and have worked out the logistics, we�ll know how many groups we might be able to tape and which groups can fit into the taping schedule.��If you are willing to be taped as the lead coach with one of your teachers, and if your principal is willing to have videotaping occur at your school, please let Susan Sauer know by this�Monday, May 12, 2008. We hope to have additional opportunities to capture your good work on videotape next year, so this won�t be your only opportunity.Reference the Coaching Lab Protocol in Teacher Instructional Handbook We want to tell you how impressed we are by the energy with which you have engaged in our coaching labs second semester.� Your overwhelmingly positive feedback about the value of this way of supporting and learning from each other is evidence of the effort and commitment you brought to this opportunity for practice-based professional development.� Thank you all for stepping up and making this a successful initiative that can now be part of the way educators work together in�Pittsburgh! � Many of you have expressed a desire to engage the teachers in your school in teacher labs next year, and a video example of this process will be a valuable tool for establishing a vision of this way of working together as a community of learners.� Therefore, we are seeking a volunteer to host a CFC lab that will be videotaped which captures the lead coach engaging a teacher in a pre-conference/lesson/post-conference cycle around a�Macmillan main selection.� � We know this is a busy time for everyone, but we want to invite all coaching lab groups to volunteer to meet one more time for this video purpose.� When we know more about the dates when this taping can be done and have worked out the logistics, we�ll know how many groups we might be able to tape and which groups can fit into the taping schedule.��If you are willing to be taped as the lead coach with one of your teachers, and if your principal is willing to have videotaping occur at your school, please let Susan Sauer know by this�Monday, May 12, 2008. We hope to have additional opportunities to capture your good work on videotape next year, so this won�t be your only opportunity.

65. Which tools and practices in the Instructional Handbooks support the coaching cycle and professional development?  Instructional Handbook Accountable Talk Moves / Reminders for Facilitators Accountable Talk Moves / Reminders for Participants Elementary Literacy K-2 Teaching and Learning Feedback Tool Elementary Literacy 3-5 Teaching and Learning Feedback Tool Coaching Lab Protocol

66. Coaching Support in Planning and Reflecting on a Rigorous Text Discussion2007-2008 Susan Smith, Coach Stacey Riggle & Dina Moreno, Teachers Rod Necciai, Principal 2007-2008 October 30/31 Three Levels of Comprehension Vision of AT in Child Labor Tape Prepare Ss to use habits of talk November 19/20 Using QtA approach to support Ss Talk Studying a Rigorous Lesson Plan Planning a Rigorous Text Discussion Dec. 17 Preparing for Pre/lesson/Post cycle Live example of Post Conference January 23 Preview of Coaching Lab February 18/19 Coaching Labs in schools March 17 Cancelled March 18 Coaching Labs in schools/debrief April 21/23 Coaching Labs in schools May 19 Greenway 2007-2008 October 30/31 Three Levels of Comprehension Vision of AT in Child Labor Tape Prepare Ss to use habits of talk November 19/20 Using QtA approach to support Ss Talk Studying a Rigorous Lesson Plan Planning a Rigorous Text Discussion Dec. 17 Preparing for Pre/lesson/Post cycle Live example of Post Conference January 23 Preview of Coaching Lab February 18/19 Coaching Labs in schools March 17 Cancelled March 18 Coaching Labs in schools/debrief April 21/23 Coaching Labs in schools May 19 Greenway