Principal Byron Williams

1
Salmen High School

• Principal Byron Williams
• Assistant Principal Glen Walden
• Assistant Principal Terri Wortmann
• 9th Grade Coordinator Toni Rich

300 Spartan Drive Slidell, LA Population 806 9th
Grade Academy 176 Reading Program 21
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Why do we have a reading course in high school?

• During the 2006-2007 school year, the Whole
  Faculty Study Groups focused on Working on the
  Work.
• Groups discussed the need for engaging student
  work
• Groups discussed the need to make work relevant
• Groups discussed the need for Literacy
• Literacy Team discussed 9th Grade I-Leap scores
  and found that 97 students scored Unsatisfactory
  or Approaching Basic
• With those needs discovered, the School
  Improvement Committee decided to make
• the 2007-2008 goal Literacy.

3
Goal of Literacy

• Literacy Focus
• How do we address the needs as a faculty?
• Whole Faculty Study Groups (WFSG) are composed
  of 5 to 7 faculty members from a variety of
  curricular areas.
• Cross Curricular members open the discussion
• Cross Curricular members bring new ideas to the
  table
• WFSG read and discuss articles on incorporating
  literacy strategies into the content areas.
• WFSG share strategies from lessons.
• Staff include Literacy goals and activities in
  weekly lesson plans.

4
Goal of Literacy

• Development of a Reading class for regular high
  school students.
• Areas of concern
• Which grade level is eligible?
• How do you select the students needing the
  course?
• Which program do you adopt?
• Who will teach the course?

5
Which grade level is eligible?

• Started with the 9th grade class
• Felt the 9th Grade Academy made most sense
• Get students early in High School career
• Students most at risk to drop out
• Funded from the 8G 9th Grade Redesign Grant
• Received Literacy Coach staff position from
  district

6
Student Selection

• Selected students for reading class based on 8th
  Grade LEAP scores
• All regular education students earning
  Unsatisfactory and Approaching Basic were
  scheduled into the course
• Students are not singled out due placement in
  this course course takes place of elective
  class
• Students receive an elective credit

7
Which Program to adopt?

• Reviewed the list of literacy programs available
  and authorized by the State Department.
• Narrowed the list to those programs with high
  school levels
• Discussed the programs with the parish ELA
  Curriculum Specialists
• Contacted companies
• Presentations made by companies at the school
  site

8
Adopted Program

• Voyager Passport Reading Journeys
• Reasons chosen
• Engaging for the students
• Quick paced
• Expeditions, units, are 10 days in length.
• Students are provided anthologies, work books,
  vocabulary books, and a lexile level library.
• Students have access to the Voyager website, SOLO
• utilize 2 of the 10 days
• Provides additional exercises

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Passport Journeys Overview

• Targets students who have significantly low
  scores in reading
• Provides explicit, systematic, scaffolded reading
  instruction in
• Whole group
• Small group
• Includes age-appropriate instruction
• Employs high-interest content in a visual,
  interactive format
• DVD segments for each Expedition
• Technology component (SOLO)
• Integrates with a comprehensive assessment system

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Two Week Lesson Plans

• Lessons 1-5

Lesson 1 Lesson 2 Lesson 3 Lesson
4 Lesson 5

• Advanced
• Word
• Study
• (10 minutes)
• Before
• Reading
• (15 minutes)
• Reading
• (20 minutes)
• After Reading
• (5 minutes)

Before Reading (10 minutes) Reading (15
minutes) After Reading (10 minutes) Journeys Lib
rary or Word Study (15 minutes)
SOLO Independent Guided Reading and Vocabulary
Practice (50 minutes)
Before Reading (10 minutes) Reading (15
minutes) After Reading (10 minutes) Journeys
Library or Word Study (15 minutes)
Advanced Word Study (10 minutes) Before
Reading (15 Minutes) Reading (20 minutes) After
Reading (5 minutes)
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Two Week Lesson Plans

• Lessons 6-10

Lesson 6 Lesson 7
Lesson 8 Lesson 9 Lesson 10

• Advanced
• Word
• Study
• (10 minutes)
• Before
• Reading
• (15 Minutes)
• Reading
• (20 minutes)
• After Reading
• (5 minutes)

Advanced Word Study (10 minutes) Before
Reading (15 Minutes) Reading (20 minutes) After
Reading (5 minutes)
Before Reading (20 minutes) Assessment (25
minutes) Expedition Wrap-up (5 minutes)
Before Reading (10 minutes) Reading (15
minutes) After Reading (10 minutes) Journeys
Library or Word Study (15 minutes)
SOLO Independent Guided Reading and Vocabulary
Practice (50 minutes)
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Strategic Online Learning Opportunities (SOLO)

• SOLO

Vocabulary
Previewing
Main Idea
13
SOLO

• Additional SOLO activities

Questioning
Summarization
14
Results

• Reading Connected Text (Fluency Rates) 3rd Period
• Benchmark 2 - 123.4
• Benchmark 3 - 127.5
• Increase of 3.32 (after 5 expeditions)

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Results

• Reading Connected Text (Fluency Rates)5th Period
• Benchmark 2 - 129.9
• Benchmark 3 - 133.3
• Increase of 2.62 (After 5 expeditions)

16
Results

• Reading Benchmarks (Comprehension and Vocabulary
  Assessment) scores 3rd Period
• Benchmark 2 - 865.6
• Benchmark 3 - 880.6
• Increase of 1.73 (After 5 expeditions)

17
Results

• Reading Benchmarks (Comprehension and Vocabulary
  Assessment)5th Period
• Benchmark 2 - 853.3
• Benchmark 3 - 868.8
• Increase of 1.78 (After 5 expeditions)

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Student Comments

• I was afraid people would call me stupid for
  being in the class, but I was wrong. People are
  jealous because we have so much fun in Reading
  class.
• 15 year old female student
• I think the Voyager program is good because we
  do group work and listen to Mrs. Richs brain
  work.
• -15 year old male student
• Teachers model reading by explaining their
  thought process