The California Reading Initiative

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Improving Secondary Literacy What Makes a
Difference?
CalSTAT Roundtable March 2, 2005
Dr. Kevin Feldman kfeldman_at_scoe.org www.
scoe.org/reading corner
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A Heuristic for Balanced Literacy
MOTIVATION (pleasure, purpose, joy, success)
COMPREHENSION
DECODING
Word Recognition
Fluency
Academic Language
Comprehension Strategies
44/26 phonemes to letters Decode single
Multi-syllable words Strategies to
apply in texts
Vocabulary Content Area Knowledge
Syntax text structure Grammar ELD as
appropriate
Active Strategic Reading (e.g.
summarizing) Self Monitoring Fix Up
Strategies Flexible - adjust to text/purpose
Rate (150) Accuracy (95) Prosody Via
Guided Oral Repeated Reading
Writing, Listening, Speaking Skills
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Bottom Line Practical Implications In Secondary
Schools

• Assess beyond State Tests/Grades to
• identify who needs help what kind of help
• 2) Provide Reading Classes - Matched to Needs
• - level one 2 hr replacement intensive care
• - level two 1 hr supplemental strategic
  classes
• 3) School-wide Content Literacy Focus
• - academic vocabulary, academic writing
• - expository comprehension
• 4) Independent Reading Program

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Effective Interventions
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Example Secondary Literacy Assessment Systems
Minimum Assessments Beyond State Tests/Grades
to Begin to Address the Question - WHY??
Must listen to them read!!
1. Oral Reading Fluency (e.g. The Fluency
Monitor from www.readnaturally.com) 2.
Comprehension (e.g. SRI www.scholastic.com or
DRP) 3. Phonics - CORE Phonics Survey
(www.corelearn.com)
CORE Assessing Reading Multiple Measures
Arena Press K-8 [phone] www.corelearn.com
reliable/valid efficient inexpensive
useful
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Literacy Acceleration Game Plan Tiered Support
for Older Struggling Readers
- Adapted from Drs. Anita Archer Mary Gleason
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 0-3.
Reading Intensive Care 3.0-5.0 Reading Booster
5-7.0 Reading Tune UP
v Strategies for decoding longer
polysyllabic words - affixes . -
complex vowel patterns - decodable chunks
vPassage Reading/Fluency v Academic
writing v Correlated Spelling/WS v Read Aloud
- vocab stretch v Indepen. reading Comp.
v Intense Word Recognition -
sound/symbol - decoding reg. words .
- irregular words v Fluency
Building v Spelling Word Study v
Independent reading v Read Aloud - Vocab
stretch
v Passage Reading Strategies
Prepared Participation v Content Reading
Strat. - text structure - summarizing
- note taking - preteach
vocabulary v Study Strategies v Academic
Writing v Independent reading

English Language Development as needed
content/intensity of support must match
assessed student needs - not one size fits all
intervention!
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One Example Mountain Ridge Middle School -
Paradise (Chico, CA.)
Structure Added a 7th period to the day by
cutting 7 min. from the other 6
periods - WHOLE SCHOOL is in a
reading class.
Content 4 Levels Based on Assessed NEEDS - NOT
labels
Intensive (2 periods) v decoding phoneme
awr. (Language!) v fluency v oral comp. v
vocabulary
Strategic -2 v REWARDS (content lit) v
academic writing vStudy skills v vocabulary
Strategic -1 v advanced decoding (REWARDS) v
fluency v comp. strat v vocabulary
Benchmark v Content elaborations v
vocabulary v writing v research projects
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Language! Elk Grove Unified School District,
CAGray Oral Reading Test-3 Passage Comprehension
N345 1 year
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Elk Grove - Same Cohort-SAT9 Results by Ethnic
Group
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Columbus OH 6th 7th Graders One Year in Read
180 (170 students)
(SAT 9)
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Quid Pro Quo Reciprocal Accountability
(adapted from Allain, 2004)
Accountability must be a reciprocal process. For
every increment of performance I demand from you,
I have an equal responsibility to provide you
with the capacity to meet the expectation.
Likewise, for every investment you make in my
skill knowledge, I have a reciprocal
responsibility to demonstrate some new increment
in performance. - Elmore, 2002
Teachers Will v implement a research based
ELA curriculum w/fidelity v use interactive
structured strategies (e.g. partners/cloze) v
pre-teach critical vocabulary v provide
assessment driven reading intervention classes

Administrators Will v provide comprehensive
prof. development curriculum tools v provide
ongoing coaching re new strategies/curriculum
v provide valid assessments grade level
meetings to discuss/act on the data v
coordinate school-wide literacy
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What Can We Conclude?

• It is NEVER too late - Older students can become
• far more literate! Intervention can Work If

2) There is no BEST program - but teachers do
need a solid research based program that has
been proven to get results, matches assessed
needs is age appropriate
3) Intensity of instruction is key - group
students by need, smaller group sizes, well
prepared teachers, motivation!
4) Students learn what they are TAUGHT! - and
encouraged/motivated to practice
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TEACHING is NOT Telling
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Nor is it Assigning
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Instructional Research
Categories of Instructional Strategies that
Affect Student Achievement (Marzano, Pickering
and Pollock, 2002)
Category Effect Size No. Studies
Identifying similarities and differences
1.61 31 Summarizing and note taking
1.00 179 Reinforcing effort and
providing recognition .80
21 Homework and practice .77
134 Nonlinguistic representations .75
246 Cooperative learning .73
122 Setting objectives and providing
feedback .61 408 Generating and
testing hypotheses .61
63 Questions, cues and advance organizers
.59 1,251
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This is NOT new news What is the Challenge here?
Instructional Delivery Matters!!

• Explicit - interactive/responsive
• Systematic - high to low utility,
• concrete to abstract, easy to hard
• Direct - I do it - We do it - You do it
• Intensive - feedback/scaffolding

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What is Direct - EXPLICIT Instruction? (ask Anita
Archer!)
I do it
We do it
You do it
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Increasing Student Response to Instruction A
Tool Kit
1) Choral Responses (answers are short/same) -
students cue you they are attending (e.g.finger
on the title) - provide thinking time - signal
group response
2) Partner Responses (answers long/different) -
teacher assigns - provide a label/role 1s tell
2s - alternate ranking for partnering -
specific topics/jobs - no one is passive
4) Individual Responses (AFTER practice) -
randomly call on individuals to share
3) Written Responses - list first, then
share - scratch paper golf pencils!!
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What Makes These Linguistic Engagement
Strategies Work? In a word it is
STRUCTURE
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WHAT is Being Structured?

• Topic - a range of questions/topics
• Who - partner, group, 1s then 2s
• Time - short, focused
• Preparation - write 1st, think time,
• rehearsal
• Language - academic vocabulary, syntax,
• Academic English

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Strategic Comprehension A Cognitive Approach to
Extracting Construction Meaning from
Challenging Texts
Frontloading Key Vocabulary, Big Ideas, Clarify
Purpose, Mental Anchors, Questions, etc
Traditional Format

• .
• Teacher Mediated ORAL
• Silent reading
• - read more than once
• chunk text
• structured
• dialogues

Phase 1
Reading Assignment Given
Independent Reading
Phase 2
Discussion to see If students learned The main
concepts
Activities to reinforce extend reading
Phase 3
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In Terms of Academic English
ALL Students Are ESL!!

• Academic English as a foreign language
• Vocabulary - nature density
• Syntax
• Grammar

AESL
It is NOT a natural language - it must be
taught!
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What Does it Mean to Teach Vocabulary?
Is having students look words up in the
dictionary followed by crafting sentences showing
appropriate usage teaching vocabulary? YES -
NO - WHY?
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How Can This Be? What is Going On Here?
CONFUSION
Instruction or Activity

• Students on their own
• Definitions not explanations
• Little guidance or feedback
• No expressive use of new
• vocabulary (oral/written)

• Teacher directed
• Clear explanations
• Guide student use
• I do it, we do it, you do it
• Precedes application activities

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Instructional Steps for Directly Teaching a New
Term

• Pronounce
• Explain
• Examples
• Elaborate
• Assess

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Vocabulary Teaching Sequence (3 levels)

• Pronounce the word, name part of speech
• - severe, adj. - a describing word

1) Kia Level

• 2) Ask students to all repeat the word.
• - severe

3) Provide an accessible synonym and/or a
brief explanation/example. SYN. - harsh,
extreme, very bad - flunking a class
4) Rephrase the simple definition/explanation,
asking students to complete the statement by
substituting aloud the new word. - my
head really hurt, I felt dizzy, my headache was
__

• 5) Provide visual image or showing sentence
• - image of in a hospitalhead in a bandage

Provide a Note Taking Guide/Scaffold
2) Honda Level
severe, adj. harsh, extreme flunking a class
was ___________
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Elaboration/Rehearsal Checking for Understanding
3) Lexus Level
Is a paper cut a severe injury?
Would being grounded for a month be a severe
punishment for not making your bed
3 examples of severe consequences of poor
diet/ eating habits
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Word Types A Lens for Thinking About Vocabulary
(Beck et al., 2002) Choosing Important
Words to Teach
Tier 1 Basic Tier 2 Frequent Academic
Tier 3 Content Specific
analyze approach role consist major require sign
ificant vary interpret respond consequence
home dog happy see come again find go look boy
volcano lava pumice glaciated abdominal peninsula
molt phonological diphthong
Brick words
Mortar words
Research see Coxhead http//www.vuw.ac.nz/lals/di
v1/awl/
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Comprehension is - the process of simultaneously
extracting constructing meaning through
interaction involvement with written language.
RAND Reading Study Group, 2002
http//www.rand.org/multi/achievementforall/readin
g/
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What Does It Mean to Teach Comprehension?
Is having students read a grade level
passage followed by answering literal
inferential questions teaching
comprehension? Yes - No - WHY?
Provide 2 reasons to support your view What is
your evidence? Be prepared to convince your
partner!
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Testing or Teaching Whats the Difference?
Testing Vs. Teaching

• before/during/after reading

• after reading

• focus is on the how to of
• extracting constructing
• meaning

• focus is on assessing/
• testing of comprehension

• focus is on right/wrong
• answers - end result

• focus is on the process, how
• you arrive at the end result

• assigns tasks (e.g. summarize
• the story)

• teaches discrete strategies
• (e.g. steps in how to summarize)

• thinking process is covert

• thinking process is overt -
• via thinking aloud/modeling

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Cognitive Strategies that Improve Reading
Comprehension
2 BIG Ideas in Comprehension Strategy Teaching?
1) Chunk the text 2) Teach practice strategies
that work!

• Summarizing paraphrasing
• Text structure/patterns/organization
• Questioning (self questioning)
• Visualizing/Connecting
• Predicting monitoring
• Self regulation fix up strategies

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For example in comprehension strategy instruction

• Direct explanation what the strategy is its
  purpose
• Modeling demonstration of how to use the
  strategy
• including thinking aloud while interacting
  w/a text.

I do it

• Guided Practice the teacher guides the students
  in
• how and when to use the strategy coaches
  and
• mediates practice in pairs, individually,
  whole class
• Feedback provided during coaching/practice -
• including specifics related to correct,
  partially
• correct incorrect responses

We do it

• Application students use the strategy
  independently,
• w/additional feedback as needed, gradual
  release of
• responsibility from teacher to student

You do it
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Paragraph Shrinking Oral Summarization

• Paragraph Shrinking (summarize/paraphrase)
• 1. Name thewho/what the paragraph is about
• 2. Identify the most important details
• about who/what
• 3. State the gist in 10-15 words or less
• 4. Record each gist statement in summary
  notes

• Identify specific character attributes/traits

• Identify plot devices other literary features

• Answer/create questions related to the text

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Paragraph Shrinking w/Oral Cloze W/ VERY Needy
Students
Steps 1st Read- Read w/Oral Cloze - more
slowly-basic access 2nd Read Re-Read w/Oral
Cloze-bit faster, identify topic 3rd Read
Silently Read - identify 2-3 important
details list on the overhead identify
most important details (2-3) shrink the
paragraph using these 2-3 important
details in 10-20 words
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Reciprocal Teaching (Palincsar Brown)
Predict - prior knowledge, anticipation, think
about Clarify - key vocabulary that is
unknown, big ideas Question - formulate Qs,
discuss, read Summarize - section by section
of key big ideas, paraphrase
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Another CSR Collaborative Strategic
Reading (Vaughn Klingner)
Manual from www.sopriswest.com
CSR Map
Before reading
After reading
1. PREVIEW - brainstorm - preread - predict
4. WRAP UP - ask/generate questions - review
- record in learning log
During Reading
3. GET THE GIST - summarize/paraphrase -
compare/contrast - note in learning log
2. CLICK CLUNK - note hard parts - fix
clunks - clarify
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Bottom Lines Re Text Mapping Using Graphic
Organizers

• Choose a map based on the kind of thinking
• that would most illuminate the text -
  support
• comprehension of the most essential
  information
• Mediate the students engagement w/the map -
  model
• the kind of thinking required, link it
  directly to text
• Use structured engagement tools, especially
  partners,
• to make sure EVERY single student is part of
  the
• instructional conversation.
• Use a limited number of maps over over to
  build
• student fluency in their use - tie to
  prewriting,
• studying for tests, review, etc.

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Bottom Line
Cant Simply Assign the Reading, We must
Mediate
their reading sense making of the text DURING
the reading process (not just afterward)
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• Marzanos Conclusions
• 2 Keys to Closing the Gap
• School Wide Literacy
• Focus - accountable
• independent reading
• Direct School Wide
• Teaching of Important
• Vocabulary K-12

I would add - excellent interventions based on
assessed needs for ALL who need it!
www.ascd.org
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The greatest danger for most of us is not that
our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it
is too low and we reach it. Michelangelo