“Stuck in the Middle ”: Helping Students Begin New Literacy Lives

1. “Stuck in the Middle”: Helping Students Begin New Literacy Lives Summary by Abbi Gee Photo Credit: http://www.rainbowreaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/boy-struggling-reading.jpg

2. Article "Stuck in the middle": Helping students begin new literacy lives. Barbara Radcliffe, 2007 • A case study of her own middle school classroom. • Look—she wrote a book with Buehl! Photo Credit: http://www.amazon.com/Strategies-Enhance-Literacy-Learning-Classrooms/dp/0205360610/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361321884&sr=1-1

3. Importance • Struggling readers are failing to gain the skills they need to be successful. • Due to our use of high-stakes testing to determine placement, promotion, and retention of students, students are entering and exiting middle school later.   • The icing on the cake: students’ own perceived inadequacy due to low test scores.   • Culminates in unmotivated, frustrated students who are caught in a cycle of literacy failure.

4. Summary • Radcliffe uses a five-step approach to break the students’ cycle of failure and help them begin what she calls new “literacy lives.”   Photo Credit: http://www.itac.org/Publications/News_Letter/2012/June/Images/Five%20Easy%20Steps.jpg

5. Summary STEP ONE: ACCEPTING THE CHALLENGE • Acknowledge the attitudes and beliefs students hold about literacy • Discuss different types of literacy • Help students see themselves as readers and writers— develop a new “literacy self” Photo Credit: http://www.itac.org/Publications/News_Letter/2012/June/Images/Five%20Easy%20Steps.jpg

6. Summary STEP TWO: BUILDING STRONG TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS • Get to know the students personally • Utilize reading surveys, quick writes, & community-building activities • Have students explore their reading history & make a reading timeline Photo Credit: http://www.itac.org/Publications/News_Letter/2012/June/Images/Five%20Easy%20Steps.jpg

7. Summary STEP THREE: CREATING LITERACY-RICH ENVIRONMENTS • Select content that excites students • Find a balance between interest and reading level • Introduce them to the library • Create READ! posters to foster positive attitudes Photo Credit: http://www.itac.org/Publications/News_Letter/2012/June/Images/Five%20Easy%20Steps.jpg

8. Summary STEP FOUR: CONNECTING READERS TO TEXTS • Develop a learner profile using all your compiled information • Select a text you think will speak to the student • Introduce the text in a one-on-one conference • Keep trying until student sees success Photo Credit: http://www.itac.org/Publications/News_Letter/2012/June/Images/Five%20Easy%20Steps.jpg

9. Summary SAMPLE LEARNER PROFILE • Radcliffe’s learner profiles include the following data she collects: • name • birth date • test scores http://www.englishclub.com/images/writing/writing.png

10. Summary SAMPLE LEARNER PROFILE • The students also respond to the following: • Preferred learning style: • Multiple intelligences: • Thoughts on reading: • Reading strategies: • Reading interests: • Hobbies: • Favorite book: • Favorite form of writing: • About me: • Why do people read? • Book recommendation: • What does someone have to do in order to be a good reader? • How do you feel when you are asked to read aloud in front of your classmates? • Do you prefer to read by yourself, in a small group, or as a whole class? • What sort of things do you think about when you read?

11. Summary STEP FIVE: SUPPORTING READERS WITH STRATEGIC LITERACY INSTRUCTION • “All readers deserve intentional and explicit reading instruction.” • Effective before-, during-, and after-reading strategies • Socratic seminars • Literature circles Photo Credit: http://www.itac.org/Publications/News_Letter/2012/June/Images/Five%20Easy%20Steps.jpg

12. Summary • Results: after a year in her course, 28 out of 32 remedial eighth-grade students saw success on the state assessment and were able to advance to high school.   • Her techniques align closely to our class readings; her strategies are sound.   • Students had a newfound love and appreciation for reading. The cycle had been broken! Photo Credit: http://www.exchangesupplies.org/drug_information/campaigns/break_the_cycle/resources_break_the_cycle/sq_break_the_cycle.jpg

13. Take Away • Struggling readers need help to break out of the cycle of failure. • Their own reading histories and self-reported data can be a great starting point. • Following Radcliffe’s suggested five steps helps students enjoy reading AND learn specific reading strategies to improve their reading.

14. Resources: Strategic Literacy Instruction • http://www.webenglishteacher.com/konigsburg.html for a collection of information and lesson plans by author and title. • http://www.readingrockets.org/articles/82 for Jim Burke's 103 ideas that students can do before, during, and after reading. • http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr259.shtml or http://www.litcircles.org/ or http://www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Reading/RDG0206.html for an introduction to literature circles with many practical advice and lesson plan ideas. Photo Credit: http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/books-clip-art-71.jpg

15. Resources: Strategic Literacy Instruction • http://www.studyguide.org/socratic_seminar.htm or http://www.teachnlearn.org/socratic_seminars.htm to glean how to knowledge on using Socratic seminars to engage and motivate readers. • http://www.literacymatters.org/adlit/intro.htm to learn more about the world of adolescent literature and ideas for activities and lesson plans.

16. Resources: Choice in Reading Material • http://nancykeane.com/booktalks/ to access a database of book talks by interest or subject. • http://www.reading.org.ezproxy.gvsu.edu/downloads/choices/yac0 -bookmarks0 -2006.pdf for the most recent list of Young Adult Choices reviewed by teenagers and published by the International Reading Association. • http://www.teachersfirst.com/read-sel.cfm for appropriate book suggestions by grade level. • http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/allreviewed.html for reviewed book suggestions through grade nine.

17. Resources: Graphic Organizers • Story Map (http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/storymap/). The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution. • Plot Diagram (http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/plot-diagram/). The Plot Diagram is an organizational tool that is used to map the events in a story. Designed in a pyramid or triangular shape, this mapping of plot structure allows readers and writers to visualize the key features of stories.

18. Resources: Graphic Organizers • Literary Elements Map (http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/lit-elements/). Students can map out the key literary elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution as prewriting for their own fiction or as analysis of a text by another author in this secondary-level interactive. • ReadWriteThink Notetaker (http://interactives.mped.org/notetaker722.aspx). Useful for a wide variety of reading and writing activities, this outlining tool allows students to organize up to five levels of information using bullets, Roman numerals, or letters.

19. Radcliffe’s References • Beers, K. (2002). When kids can't read: What teachers can do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. • Biancarosa, G., & Snow, C. E. (2004). Reading next-A vision for action and research in middle and high school literacy: A report to Carnegie Corporation of New Tork. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education. • Brashares, A. (2001). The sisterhood of the traveling pants. New York: Delacorte. • Buehl, D., & Stumpf, S. (2005). The 6-8 literacy notebook. Madison, WI: Madison Metropolitan School District. • Burke, K. (2000). Reading reminders: Tips, tools, and techniques. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook. • Daniels, H. (1994). Voice and choice in the student-centered classroom. York, ME: Stenhouse. • Grimes, N. (2002). Bronx masquerade. New York: Dial. • Guthrie, J., & Wigfield, A. (1997). Reading engagement: Motivating readers through integrated instruction. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. • Hinton, S.E. (1967). The outsiders. New York: Penguin. • Langer, J. (2002). Effective literacy instruction: Building successful reading and writing programs. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. • Lewis, C. S. (1950). The lion, the witch, and the wardrobe. New York: Macmillan. • McCombs, B., & Barton, M. (1998). Motivating secondary school students to read their textbooks. NASSP Bulletin, 82(600), 24-33.

20. Radcliffe’s References • Mikaelsen, B. (2001). Touching spirit bear. New York: Scholastic. • Myers, W. D. (1992). Somewhere in the darkness. New York: Scholastic. • Myers, W. D. (1999). Monster. New York: HarperCollins. • National Middle School Association. (1995). The developmentally responsive middle school: This we believe. Columbus, OH: Author. • Pelzer, D. (1995). A child called It. Omaha, NE: Omaha Press. • Plumb, B., & Ludy, J. (2002). Seminars and self-assessment. In J. Holden & J. Schmit (Eds.), Inquiry & the literary text: Constructing discussions in the English classroom (pp.161-172). Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. • Rudell, R., & Unrau, N. (1997). The role of responsive teaching in focusing reader intention and developing reader motivation. In J. T Guthrie & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Reading engagement: Motivating readers through integrated instruction (pp. 102-125). Newark, DE: International Reading Association. • Shakur, T. (1999). The rose that grew from concrete. New York: MTV Books/Pocket Books. • Spinelli, J. (1990). ManiacMagee. Boston: Little, Brown. • Strasser. T. (2000). Give a boy a gun. New York: Simon and Schuster. • Tovani, C. (2000). I read it, but I don't get it: Comprehension strategies for adolescent readers. Portland, ME: Stenhouse. • Tyree, O. (1993). Flyygirl. Washington, D.C.: Mars. • Woodson, J. (1998). If you come softly. New York: Penguin Putnam.

21. Bibliography Radcliffe, B. (2007). "Stuck in the middle": Helping students begin new literacy lives. Voices from the Middle, 15(2), 18-29. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.gvsu.edu /docview/213930808?accountid=39473