The Past, Present , and Future of Secondary Reading: A Guide for Coaches

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The Past, Present , and Future of Secondary
Reading A Guide for Coaches

• Evan Lefsky, Ph.D.
• Director of Secondary Reading

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Questions for Reflection

• Do my teachers provide students with many books
  they can read and want to read?
• When my teachers ask students to read/write, do
  they get to write about what they know and care
  about?
• Do my teachers give students plenty of time to
  explore topics and themes through reading and
  writing?

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Questions for Reflection

• When my teachers ask students to read/write
  content information, do they show them how to do
  it?
• Do my teachers give students opportunities to
  demonstrate and use their strengths in reading
  and writing, or do reading and writing activities
  only accentuate their weaknesses?

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Reading Next

• A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and
  High School Literacy
• www.all4ed.org
• (Biancarosa and Snow, 2004)

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Status of Reading Grades 4-12

• Over 8 million students in grades 4-12 are
  struggling readers
• Every school day, 3000 students drop out of high
  school
• Only 70 of high school students graduate on-time
  with a regular diploma
• High school students in the lowest 25 of their
  class are 20 times more likely to drop out than
  the highest performing students
• 53 of high school graduates enroll in remedial
  courses in postsecondary education

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Its not our fault.

• Its only our fault if we dont do anything
  about it.
• -Wayne Green
• Seminole County Schools

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Instructional Components

• Direct, explicit comprehension instruction
• Effective instructional principles embedded in
  content
• Motivation and self-directed learning
• Text-based collaborative learning
• Strategic tutoring
• Diverse texts
• Intensive writing
• A technology component
• Ongoing formative assessment of students

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Direct, Explicit Comprehension Instruction

• Comprehension strategies instruction
• Comprehension monitoring and metacognition
  instruction
• Teacher modeling
• Scaffolded instruction
• Apprenticeship models

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Effective Instructional Principles Embedded in
Content

• Reading instruction using content texts
• Reinforcement of instruction in content area
  classes
• Coordinated with other subject area teachers and
  the reading coach
• Teach reading and writing practices specific to
  subject areas

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Role of Content Area Teachers

• Incorporation of comprehension and vocabulary
  strategies (i.e. CRISS, SIM, Content Enhancement
  Routines)
• Instructional level text for guided strategy
  instruction
• Leveled text for independent reading

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Motivation and Self-Directed Learning

• Student choice in text and areas of research
• Independent reading
• Make relevance obvious to students
• Intrinsic versus extrinsic

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Text-Based Collaborative Learning

• Interacting with other students around a text
  (not just discussion)
• Scaffolding for engagement at all ability levels
• Varied levels of text

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Diverse Texts

• Wide range of topics
• Wide range of reading levels
• High interest/low readability
• Appealing to different cultural, linguistic, and
  demographic groups

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Ongoing Formative Assessments of Students

• Ongoing assessment of strengths and needs
• Informal and frequent
• Progress monitoring

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Secondary Progress Monitoring

• Fluency Probes
• Grade Level FCAT Passages
• Quarterly
• Provided on-line at
• www.florida-achieves.com
• Print and assess students
• Piloting MAZE measure in Spring and Fall
• Expansion of PMRN 6-8

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Infrastructure Components

• Extended time for literacy
• Professional development
• Ongoing summative assessment of students and
  programs
• Teacher teams
• Leadership
• A comprehensive and coordinated literacy program

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Extended Time for Literacy

• Two to four hours of literacy-connected learning
  daily
• Text-centered instruction in all subjects
• No longer just teaching content knowledge
• Effectively reading and writing about content
  knowledge

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Professional Development

• Teachers, Reading Coaches, Administrators
• All Individual Professional Development Plans
  (IPDP) geared towards increasing student
  performance in reading
• Other strong teachers going through reading
  endorsement

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Professional Development

• Long-term, ongoing
• Use research on effective adult learning
• Within the school day
• Integration of reading coaches

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Coaching

• We know very little specific to literacy coaches
  or reading coaches
• We know even less about the impact on student
  achievement
• Coachs roles are either misunderstood or not
  valued

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Coaching Roles

• Take teachers through the coaching process
• Demonstrate lessons using school-based materials
  for reading
• Classroom set ups for effective reading
  instruction
• Bridge between reading and content teachers

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Coaching Priorities

• Focus on building rapport and trust
• Focus on building support system
• Focus on reading teachers (need most support)
• Focus on building knowledge base
• Focus on learning what works for teachers and
  students
• Curriculum and materials development (based on
  SBRR)

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Effective Reading Coaches

• Supportive rather than evaluative
• Flexible
• Focus on teacher needs
• Never force coaching on a teacher
• Have deep knowledge of reading
• Can access reading knowledge readily (in a
  variety of contexts)
• Can readily access resources for teachers

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Reporting of Time

• Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network (PMRN)
• Bi-weekly reporting
• Same ten categories as current quarterly
  reporting

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How Coaches Spent Their Time
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Ongoing Summative Assessment of Students and
Programs

• Program evaluation
• Longitudinally tracking individual students and
  cohort groups
• Should go beyond state assessments
• Demonstrate progress toward school-based goals
• Inform instruction where possible

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Teacher Teams

• Regular interdisciplinary meetings
• Discuss common students
• Align instruction
• Kids less likely to get missed
• Number one factor in student growth

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Leadership

• Commitment and participation
• Building personal knowledge base in reading and
  writing difficulties of students
• Attending professional development targeted at
  teachers
• Foundational knowledge needed to alter schedules,
  etc.
• Teacher may have to pick up this role

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Comprehensive and Coordinated Literacy Program

• Team meetings
• Reading and writing teachers support other
  subject area teachers
• Kids needs vary
• Remediation efforts must vary
• Local community collaboration

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The K-12 Comprehensive Research-Based Reading Plan
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School LeadershipExpectations for Administrators
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Create a Reading Leadership Team

• Principal
• Reading Coach
• Mentor Teachers
• Build reading knowledge

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Principal Roles

• Establish model classrooms
• Provide time for weekly professional development
  opportunities
• Explain the role of the reading coach to faculty
• Support the role of the reading coach
• Provide materials for professional development

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The principal will ensure that the coach is
not used as a reading resource teacher, a
substitute, administrator, or in any other
capacity that takes them away from being a full
time professional development resource in
reading.
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Monitor Reading Instruction

• Collect and monitor lesson plans
• Weekly walk-through visits
• Collect and monitor assessment data
• Target teacher areas of need based on data

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Challenges of FCAT

• Endurance
• Reading and writing for 160 minutes
• Text Length average900 words
• No connection to text
• MOTIVATION!

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What Teachers Can Do

• Read extensively in all classes to build text
  knowledge and fluency
• Read for longer periods of time
• Read longer texts

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What Teachers Can Do

• All texts should be linked to the curriculum
• Build background knowledge and vocabulary
• Offer student-selected texts related to the
  content unit being studied

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Research-Based Reading Classroom (Guthrie, 2002)

• Which factors affect FCAT reading scores?

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Research-Based Reading Classroom

• Which components should we focus on?

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Intensive Reading Course

• No One size fits all approach
• In addition to English/language arts
• Severity of reading difficulties (as determined
  by assessment) dictates intensity
• Rule of thumb
• In need of decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and
  comprehension90 minutes minimum
• In need of vocabulary and comprehension45
  minutes minimum
• Lower teacher to student ratio (maximum of 15 is
  recommended)

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Intensive Reading Course

• Daily small group differentiated instruction
• (in groups no larger than 3-5 students)
• Highly qualified instructor (deep reading
  knowledge)
• Knowledge and skill in motivation of struggling
  readers
• Daily independent reading practice

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Classroom Set Up
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(No Transcript)
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Independent Reading Practice

• There is a book for every student

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Why Independent Reading (For Us)?

• Improves Reading Achievement
• Improves Student Confidence (Successful practice)
• Improves Student Motivation to Read Texts

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Why Independent Reading (For Them)?

• Its rewarding
• Builds a mature vocabulary
• Makes you a better writer
• Makes you smarter
• Prepares you for work
• Its financially rewarding
• Gatekeeper to college and beyond
• Arms you against oppression
• (Adapted from Gallagher, 2003)

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Motivation is the Key!

• Student Choice
• Gives students ownership of the outcome
• Clear goals
• Whats in it for the students?
• Academically safe environment
• Reading materials at the students independent
  reading level.

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Other keys to success

• Access to high interest materials
• Time to read
• A place to read
• Reading is valued in the classroom
• Teacher monitoring
• Student accountability

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Books in the Classroom

• Have appropriately leveled books and materials in
  the classroom.
• Have a variety of reading material available.
• Have teacher book talks to introduce books the
  students might enjoy.
• Have reading materials that address life
  situations of students.

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Monitoring Independent Reading
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Conferencing with Students

• How is the reading going?
• What do you like/dislike about this book?
• What makes this a good choice for you?
• Are there parts that confuse you?
• Have students read a section of text they liked
  and one that is new.

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Whole Group Instruction

• 10-15 minutes (usually) daily
• Explicit teacher modeling of reading strategies
• Focus on comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency

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Small Group Rotations Differentiated Instruction

• 3-4 groups of 3-5 students
• 3-4 stations
• 3-4 rotations each day
• Each rotation is 15-20 minutes

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Teacher Led Group

• Reinforce whole group instruction
• Differentiate instruction to specific areas of
  student need
• Flexible groups
• Activity
• Skill
• Text

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Shared Reading Group

• Reciprocal Teaching
• Text-based discussion
• Flexible groups
• Texts
• Interests

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Technology

• Practice and reinforcement of skills taught in
  whole group and teacher led group
• 3-5 days per week
• 15-20 minutes per day
• Must only supplement teacher instruction

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Independent Work

• Research
• Listening Centers
• Content area connections

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The Study

• Read 180
• Reach
• RISE
• Control
• 10 high schools
• 9th and 10th grade students
• Random assignmentexperimental
• Pre and post test

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R.I.S.E.

• Reading Instruction Through Strategy Enhancement

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Components of RISE

• Text Sets
• Independent Reading Practice
• Fast-Paced Word Study (Especially polysyllabic
  words)
• Explicit Comprehension, Vocabulary, and Fluency
  Instruction
• Instruction supported by a reading coach

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Text Sets

• Unit of study organized around a theme or
  standard or concept
• Collection of instructional materials related to
  the theme
• Must take into account students independent
  reading level as well as the reading level of any
  texts you ask them to read
• Any content area

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Choosing a Topic
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Text Set Topics

• Religious Conflict
• Underground Railroad
• The Crucible
• Ecosystems
• Computer Ethics
• Civil Rights
• World Religions
• French Speaking African Countries
• Ecology
• Volcanoes
• School Violence
• Disabilities
• Horrors of War
• Civil Rights
• The American Revolution
• Great Mathematical Thinkers
• Gangs

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Types of Text that Can Be Used In Instruction

• Pictures/Photographs
• Young adult novels/historical fiction
• Primary source documents/artifacts
• Expository pieces
• Magazine articles
• Newspaper articles (Current Events)
• Journals/Diaries
• Question and answer books
• Picture books
• Poetry
• Web sites

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Choosing Appropriate Text

• Engaging reading style
• Connection to current events
• Connection to pop culture
• Humor
• Teen or young adults as central character
• Action or adventure
• Fantasy or science fiction

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Utilization of Texts

• Hooks
• Read aloud
• Independent reading
• Guided reading
• Shared reading
• Research

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Text Set

• Concept/Theme
•  
• Media/Current Event (HOOKDraw Kids In)
•  
• Read-Aloud (Upper-level Too Difficult for Kids
  OR Picture Book)
•  
• Leveled Independent Reading (Many different books
  to meet the levels of many kids)
•  
• Guided Reading (Insertion of Vocabulary and
  Comprehension Instruction)
• Link to Text (Textbook or Main Piece of Difficult
  Literature)
•  
• Research/Writing (ProductHigh Interest Topic to
  Students)

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Focus of Text Set Unit

• How will you facilitate
• Reading
• Writing
• Discussion
• EVERY DAY?

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Text Set Unit SpecificationsThe Up-Front
Thinking
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Choosing High Impact Vocabulary

• Words with mileage (Tier 2)
• Identify key concepts and terms (vocabulary) to
  be learned during the unit
• How will they be taught?
• Explicitly (direct instruction)?
• Implicitly (through reading practice and
  discussion)?

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Strategy Instruction

• For readings that are to be completed using
  guided instruction
• Engaging text
• Which reading strategies will you model for the
  students?
• Be sure to use strategies before, during, and
  after reading.

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Discussion

• How will you stimulate discussion before, during,
  and after reading?
• Will you use provocative questions?
• Will the discussion be small group or whole
  group?
• How will you keep the discussion going?

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Writing

• What writing opportunities will students have
  before, during, and after reading?
• What form will they take (journals, quick
  writes, exit notes, etc.)?
• What will be their purpose (assessment,
  reflection, etc.)?

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Research

• What research opportunities will you include
  during the course of the unit?
• Will they be small group or individual?
• How will topics be assigned? Will they?

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Assessment

• How will you assess reading gains?
• How will you assess the learning taking place?
• Objective tests?
• Written assignments?
• Individual or group projects?

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Classroom Look-Fors

• Text-rich environment (70/30 balance)
  representing many genres and reading levels
• Explicit teacher modeling of strategies of expert
  readers (before, during, and after)
• Daily student practice in authentic texts
• Daily small group differentiated instruction
• Independent reading practice with teacher
  progress monitoring
• Teacher read aloud
• Text-based instructional conversations

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Motivational Keys

• Your motivation spreads
• Relevance (for students and teachers)
• Success (for students and teachers)

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Contact Information

• Just Read, Florida! Office
• 325 West Gaines Street, Suite 1548 Tallahassee,
  Florida 32399
• Phone [phone]
• Website www.justreadflorida.com
• E-mail justread_at_fldoe.org