Teaching All Children to Read: Annual Growth plus Catch-Up Growth For All Students

Teaching All Children to Read: Annual Growth plus Catch-Up GrowthFor All Students Virginia Reading First Sheryl Turner, Sarah Sayko, Stuart Greenberg Eastern Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center

Today Participants Will: Examine their current role as instructional leaders Consider options to expand or revise instructional time for annual growth and catch up growth Determine which options will move student reading achievement ahead in their Reading First schools Go forth and implement for sustainability!

Progressing Through The Day Part I – Setting the stage for improving the % of students making annual growth Part II – Improving the % of catch-up growth- the critical elements of small group instruction Part III – Review processes to make annual growth and catch-up growth Part IV- Sustaining Reading First

Leadership is Crucial to “Beating the Odds” in Reading First

Closing The Achievement Gap: 1. Increase the percentage of students reading “at grade level” each year at each grade level from kindergarten through third grade 2. Decrease the percentage of students with serious reading difficulties each year at each grade level Our most important measures of success is on our comprehension measures at the end of the year-particularly at end of third grade

The most important goal of reading instruction in elementary school is to help students acquire the skills and knowledge they need to read grade-level text fluently and with good comprehension.

Reading Comprehension and The Brain Right now, as you read this passage of text, your occipital cortex is very active, processing all of the visual information you are encountering - the words, the letters, and the features of the letters. The frontal lobe of your neocortex is engaged in processing the meaning of the text you're reading - the meanings of the words, the sentences, and the big picture, and it is working to relate what you are reading with what you already know. Surprisingly, your temporal lobe (particularly on the left side of your brain if you're right handed) is also active right now, processing all of the "sounds" associated with reading - even though you're reading silently to yourself, the areas of the brain that process speech sounds are active just like they would be if you were listening to somebody speak. Your brain is very structured in the way it processes information. Complex tasks such as reading a passage of text are broken down into easier tasks, and the easier tasks are distributed to the areas of the brain that specialize in those tasks.

Reading comprehension is a verycomplex skill. Its most essential elements involve: • skill in reading text accurately and fluently; • sufficient background knowledge and vocabulary to make sense of the content; • skill in using reading strategies that improve understanding or repair it when it breaks down; • ability to think and reason about the information and concepts in the text; • motivation to understand and learn from text.

READING FIRST means… Reading MUST be first • For children • For teachers • For administrators • For parents

Schools That Are Closing The Achievement Gap • Have a relentless focus on instruction, coherent curriculum, and teacher development plan that supports curriculum • Clear vision of what students are supposed to know and do; don’t blame the students • Distribute leadership very consciously • Celebrate every success • Have skills & knowledge, not necessarily charisma Chenoweth, 2007

PRIORITIES FOR PRINCIPALS • Visible presence…frequent, brief, and extended • Model behaviors…”walk the talk” • Use data • Use the observation/evaluation process of your division to facilitate professional growth

Role of the Principal in the Literacy Program Model Resources Planning and Collaborating With Teachers Staff Development Supporting Classroom instruction Providing Specialized Support Literacy Program Development and Coordination Student success leadership instruction diagnosis and assessment Leading a Successful Reading Program, Administrators and Reading Specialists Working Together to Make It Happen Publisher: Nancy DeVries Guth and Stephanie Stephens Pettengill Administration And Interpretation Development and Coordination

Six Guiding Principles:Leadership for Literacy • Literacy is the top priority of the school. • Educators are committed to making a difference. • Educators hold high expectations for student achievement. • Decisions and actions “backward map” from learning to children. • Staff maintains a strong “academic press.” • Educators assume responsibility for student learning.

THINK: • What are the things that you find yourself most often doing for RF in relationship to the next 3 priorities?

PRIORITY ONE: Have a visible presence in the primary wing during the 90-minute block.

PRIORITY TWO: Model behaviors that you wish to institutionalize within the building.

PRIORITY THREE: Use data to drive instruction and your conversations about instruction.

Activity 1:THINK: • What are the things that you find yourself most often doing for RF? • Jot down the three items that you do most time. • Which items are high-yield strategies and are the most important to you?

PAIR AND SHARE: • At your table, discuss, then determine what you deem to be the three most important things that you do to support the implementation of Reading First with these two goals in mind: Increase the percentage of students reading “at grade level” each year at each grade level from kindergarten through third grade Decrease the percentage of students with serious reading difficulties each year at each grade level • Which items are high-yield strategies and are the most important to you?

Whether or not we achieve these goals depends on the strength of our instruction to accomplish two things during the year All students who begin the year meeting grade level expectations continue to meet grade level expectations at the end of the year-they make expected yearly growth All students who begin the year reading below grade level accelerate their development so they make expected yearly growth plus catch-up growth

Whether or not we achieve these goals depends on the strength of our instruction to do two things during the year Insuring all students make expected yearly growth Strong core reading instruction for all students Enough time spent to meet the needs of many students who do not typically receive powerful support at home Enough quality so that the increased instructional time is spent effectively Time X quality = yearly growth

Whether or not we achieve these goals depends on the strength of our instruction to do two things during the year Insuring students who are behind make expected yearly growth plus catch-up growth Effective differentiated instruction by classroom teacher Effective school-level systems and resources to provide additional intensive intervention in small enough groups for enough time, and with enough skill Time X quality = yearly growth + catch-up growth

From the “science of reading” From effective schools Information about the individual components of instruction and assessment that are most effective in raising literacy levels Information about leadership, organizational, and classroom practices that are most effective in raising literacy levels In order to effectively prevent early reading difficulties, we need to apply two kinds of knowledge Understanding and Motivation to Apply

Expected Yearly Growth Plus Catch-Up Growth What are the most important ways children are diverse-when it comes to learning to read? 1. They are diverse in their talent and their preparation for learning to read words accurately and fluently 2. They are diverse in their oral language knowledge and abilities-vocabulary and world knowledge 3. They are diverse in their abilities to manage their learning behaviors and their motivation to apply them selves to learning to read

“Growth is directly proportionate to the quality and quantity of instructional time. When we looked at our data student by student, we saw a painful fact with painful clarity. Most students who start behind stay behind. Time-starved reading programs that rely on sudden growth bursts from extraordinary instruction rarely move students from the 5th-30th percentiles up to grade level.” P. 48 “Catch-up growth is driven primarily by proportional increases in direct instructional time. Catch-up growth is so difficult to achieve that it can be the product only of quality instruction in great quantity.”

Teacher quality x time = growth “This is why the primary and immediate strategy for catch-up growth is proportional increase in direct instructional time. Catch-up growth rarely occurs unless principals and teachers have good data, know each student’s learning needs, and schedule proportional increases in direct instructional time.”

A three pronged plan for meeting the needs of all students 1. Increase the quality, consistency, and reach of instruction in every K-3 classroom 2. Conduct timely and valid assessments of reading growth to identify struggling readers 3. Provide more intensive interventions to “catch up” the struggling readers The prevention of reading difficulties is a school-level challenge

1. Increase the quality, consistency, and reach of instruction in every K-3 classroom Instruction during the Reading Period is typically divided into two sections Whole group instruction - Small group, differentiated instruction, time Consistently implemented, high quality initial classroom instruction and follow-up small-group instruction that is well-differentiated according to student needs.

Activity 2:Reflect & Discuss • Reflect on K-3 classroom instruction at your school. • What are the characteristics of the learning environment in classrooms that support QUALITY reading instruction? • What are the instructional attributes of effective teachers who support QUALITY reading instruction? • Use Handout 1 to note your thoughts. • Discuss your observations and ideas with your table mates. • Be prepared to “Share Out.”

Find Handout 1 in your folder. • Record your reflections. • Record ideas and suggestions from the discussion with your table mates.

1. Increase the quality, consistency, and reach of instruction in every K-3 classroom Instruction during the Reading Period is typically divided into two sections Whole group instruction - Small group, differentiated instruction time Teacher works with small groups of homogeneously grouped students to meet specific instructional needs When not in a teacher-led group, students work on “independent student learning activities”

Classroom Organization: Learning Centers for differentiated groups • Teacher-Led Center (for part of time) • Small group instruction (teaching station) • Teaching “on purpose” • Careful observation of individual students • Addresses particular individual needs • Student Centers (for part of time) • - Academically engaged • - Accountability • - Group, Pair, Cooperative, Individual

Classroom Organization: Learning Stations for Differentiated Groups Points of vulnerability with this system Students can potentially loose annual growth potential be at independent learning centers because they are not engaged and centers are not focused and leveled properly

Classroom Organization: Learning Centers for differentiated groups Points of vulnerability with this system Students waste time at independent learning centers because they are not engaged and centers are not focused and leveled properly To download up to 240 independent student learning activities for K-3 classrooms, go to http://www.fcrr.org/activities/ Instructions for using centers are also available, plus 70 minutes of streaming video

During Non Teacher Directed Time Are Students Engaged In Enough Reading and Application Processes?

Increasing the quality and power of teacher-led, small-group, differentiated instruction Instruction should be differentiated to meet the needs of individual students in at least four ways Frequency and duration of meeting in small groups – every day, three times per week, etc. Size of instructional group – 3 students, 6 students, 8 students, etc. Focus of instruction – work in phonemic awareness in phonics, work in fluency and comprehension, etc. Lesson format – guided reading vs. skills focused lessons

To be able to “differentiate instruction” and plan “accommodations or modifications,” we first must know what constitutes effective instruction!

Introduction: Reviewing Advances in Research on Instruction From a Pivotal Paper by: Barak RosenshineUniversity of Illinois at Urbana

The Most Important Instructional Advancements of the Last 30 Years I. Research on cognitive processing. II. Research on teacher effects, that is, studies of teachers whose classes made the highest achievement gain compared to other classes. III. Intervention studies in which students were taught cognitive strategies they could apply to their learning. From three bodies of research discussed inJ.W. Lloyd, E.J. Kameanui, and D. Chard (Eds.) (1997) Issues in educating students with disabilities.

I. Cognitive Processing Summary Processing results in development of well-connected knowledge structures. • Develop these by extensive reading and practice, processing new information, and organizing new knowledge. J.W. Lloyd, E.J. Kameanui, and D. Chard (Eds.) (1997) Issues in educating students with disabilities.

II. Research on Teacher Effects 20 to 30 procedures studied, including: • Use of praise. • Use of criticism. • The number and type of questions that were asked. • Quality of the student answers. • Responses of a teacher to a student's answers. J.W. Lloyd, E.J. Kameanui, and D. Chard (Eds.) (1997) Issues in educating students with disabilities.

The “most- effective teachers” in studies : • Begin a lesson with a short review of previous learning. • Begin a lesson with a short statement of goals. • Present new material in small steps, providing for student practice after each step. • Give clear and detailed instructions and explanations. Rosenshine and Stevens (1986) in: J.W. Lloyd, E.J. Kameanui, and D. Chard (Eds.) (1997) Issues in educating students with disabilities.

The “most- effective teachers” in studies : • Provide a high level of active practice for all students. • Ask a large number of questions, check for student understanding, and obtain responses from all students. • Guide students during initial practice. • Provide systematic feedback and corrections. • Provide explicit instruction and practice for seatwork exercises and, where necessary, monitor students during seatwork. Rosenshine and Stevens (1986) in: J.W. Lloyd, E.J. Kameanui, and D. Chard (Eds.) (1997) Issues in educating students with disabilities.

II. Three Findings on Teacher Effectiveness The importance of teaching in small steps. The importance of guiding student practice. The importance of extensive practice, is shared with the research on cognitive processing. J.W. Lloyd, E.J. Kameanui, and D. Chard (Eds.) (1997) Issues in educating students with disabilities.

Teaching All Children to Read: Annual Growth plus Catch-Up Growth For All Students