Reading Instruction for All Students, Grades K3

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Reading Instruction for All Students, Grades K-3
Differentiating

• Kathryn Prater, Ph.D.
• The University of North Carolina Greensboro

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Goals for the Session

• Define differentiated instruction
• Review strategies for differentiating instruction
• Discuss develop instructional settings that
  allow for differentiated instruction

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What is it? Who needs it?

• Differentiated instruction is planned
• and delivered with precision in
• small, flexible groups to meet identified
• student needs
• Differentiated instruction benefits ALL
• students in the classroom VITAL for
• the struggling readers

Adapted from Eastern Regional Reading First
Technical Assistance Center, (2004). 90-minutes
plus presentation. Tallahassee Florida State
University.
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How do you maintain fidelity and differentiate
instruction?

• Follow programs scope and sequence
• Focus on grade-level high-priority skills
• within the BIG 5
• Select activities to meet identified needs
• Use instructional daily routines

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Differentiated Instruction

• What is your greatest challenge in providing
  differentiated instruction?
• Think for a moment
• Pair up with a colleague
• Share your challenges with your table

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Features of Effective Differentiated Instruction

• Systematic planning and delivery
• Clear, precise and consistent language use
• Explicit explanation and demonstration
• Connected to students current understandings and
  experiences

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Systematic Instruction

• Systematic literacy instruction requires an
  overall plan for instruction that is
• Sequential
• Use the established scope sequence
• Thoughtfully planned
• Designed to address individual, small group or
  whole class needs
• Delivered with precision and adaptability

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Clear Consistent Language

• The way you present new information and review
  skills can act as a support for students.
• All of these are ways of describing the same
  skill--
• Stretch the sounds
• Segment the sounds
• Say each sound
• Say it like a ghost

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Explicit Explanation Demonstration

• The teacher tells the students what they will
  learn.
• The teacher models and explains the
  skill/strategy for the students.
• The students practice the skill/strategy with the
  teacher and the teacher provides support and
  feedback.
• The students practice the skill/strategy on their
  own using connected text. The teacher monitors
  and supports as needed.
• Explicit instruction takes the mystery out of a
  skill or strategy.

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Connected to Students Understandings and
Experiences

• Students learn more when they can connect new
  information to something they already know.
• Harp Brewer (2005) call this the Velcro
  Theory.
• When planning instruction, include a bridge
  from known to new concepts.

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Strategies for Differentiation

• Level of Explicitness
• Task Features
• Pacing
• Grouping Practices
• Management
• Strategies to develop independence and problem
  solving skills in all learners
• Instructional settings that allow for small group
  instruction

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Level of Explicitness

• When planning targeted lessons, ask yourself
• What do students already know about the skill or
  strategy?
• How much of a bridge do I need to build?
• Do I model and explain the skill?
• Is the language clear and consistent across
  activities?
• Do I provide feedback and support?
• Are there ample opportunities for practice?

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Modify Task Features

• Demands
• Learning new skills requires more support
• Review and practice of skills requires less
  support
• Quantity
• Adjust the amount of items/tasks required to the
  students needs and abilities.
• Students who experience difficulty may require
  more practice to understand new concepts.
• A little practice everyday is more effective than
  spending an hour on one day.

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Modify Task Features

• Quality
• Level of complexity of the response
• Yes/No responses
• Either/Or responses
• Selecting from a set of possible responses
• Rating
• Generating a response (written or oral)

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Modify Task Features

• Quality
• Level of complexity of the response
• Blooms Taxonomy
• Read the nursery rhyme.
• With a partner, write at least one question for
  each level of Blooms Taxonomy using the nursery
  rhyme as the text.

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Little Miss Muffet

• Little Miss Muffet
• Sat on a tuffet
• Eating her curds and whey
• Along came a spider
• And sat down beside her
• And frightened Miss Muffet away

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Pacing

• There are two ways of pacing during instruction
• Activity pacing is the rate at which the teacher
  conducts the different activities within a
  lesson.
• Lesson pacing is the rate at which the students
  progress through the scope and sequence of the
  core reading program.

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Grouping Practices
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Grouping Practices
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Grouping Practices
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Why is small group instruction important?

• So the teacher can most effectively
• Monitor individual oral responses
• and
• Provide immediate and specific feedback
• To help ALL students to achieve critical
• objectives and become successful readers

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How do you plan for small group
instruction?

• Collect and analyze assessment data
• Identify concepts and skills students
• know and do NOT YET know
• Organize groups of students
• Similar instructional needs
• The higher the need, the smaller the group
• Make data-informed instructional decisions
• Target the identified skills
• Assess progress regularly
• Adjust instruction as needed

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And then

• Continually monitor student progress
• Make timely instructional adjustments
• Be Flexible when it comes to
• Membership
• Instructional purpose
• Level of scaffolding (explicitness)

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How many students should be in a small group?
DEPENDS

• GREATER needs SMALLER flexible group
• Especially during the early stages of
• reading development
• Letter-sound correspondence
• Beginning decoding skills
• Especially for those identified at-risk for
• reading difficulties
• FEWER needs LARGER flexible group

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How many small instructional groups? DEPENDS

• Consider the assessment data
• How many students need targeted instruction
  in specific skills?
• How can those specific skills be grouped?
• Consider the reality of your classroom
• How many groups can you realistically teach in
  a day?

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Managing Small Group Instruction

• Classroom Arrangement
• Rules
• Procedures
• Appropriate Workstation/Center Activities

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Classroom Arrangement

• Areas of instruction
• Whole or large group
• Large enough for all students to sit comfortably
• Small group area
• Table with room for materials
• Teacher can see the whole room
• Independent work or Work Stations
• Sufficient space to complete the assignments
• Allow room for transitions
• Organized so students can set up and clean up

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Encouraging Talk

• Oral language development provides a foundation
  for literacy development.
• The way a classroom environment is structures can
  encourage or discourage conversations and
  meaningful use of language
• Small divided areas encourage talk
• Wide-open spaces discourage talk
• What does your classroom encourage?

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Small Group Area

• Your place of business
• Organize materials for easy access
• White boards, dry erase markers erasers (socks)
  
• Reading materials for each group
• Assessments and anecdotal record logs
• Magnetic letters cookie sheet
• Magic or oopsy tape
• Markers of various colors and sizes
• Timer
• Word cards/sentence strips
• Chart paper
• Scissors

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Areas for Independent Work

• Create spaces for independent and small group
  work
• Assign a place for work in progress
• Avoid secret spaces
• Arrange chart holders, easels or tables to create
  smaller areas within the classroom
• Display work creatively

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Classroom Standards

• Rules
• 3-6 basic rules
• Always have your materials ready for learning.
• Model what following the rules looks like and
  sounds like
• Establish meaningful consequences

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Procedures

• The most lavishly appointed classroom may turn
  into a shambles if routines for using it have not
  been established. New Zealand DOE
• If you dont establish a procedure, students will
  create one.

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Procedures that Support Independence

• In order for you to work effectively with small
  groups, students have to be able to work
  independently.
• How to solve problems as they arise
• How to get back on track
• How to stay focused

Some of these activities were adapted from
Forsten, Grant, Hollas (2002). Differentiated
Instruction Different Strategies for Different
Learners. Peterborough, NH Crystal Springs
Books.
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Morning Work

• Start the Day with a Purpose
• Take folder out of backpack and put both away
• Attendance (next slide)
• Lunch Choice (next slide)
• Prepare materials for the day (sharpen pencils)
• Select workstation or find name on chart

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Attendance

• Use clothes pins with names
• Students move their pins as they enter

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Morning Activities

• Sing-A-Long Chart
• Poetry Song Books
• Social Writing Time
• DOL
• Partner Reading
• Puzzle Time (beginning kinders)
• Engaged students means you get to TCB--
• Assessment
• Individual tutoring
• Engage students in conversations

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How do I get workstations started?

• Start with a manageable number (5)
• Teach basic procedures
• I do it.
• We do it.
• You do it.
• Introduce and practice new workstation activities
  during small group instruction time

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Rotate or Choice?

• How students rotate through workstations is up to
  you
• Charts for rotation
• Sign Up for choice

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Appropriate Workstation/Center Activities

• The purpose of Workstation/Center activities is
  to
• Reinforce the core reading program
• Extend practice opportunities
• Practice and apply learned skills
• Always connect workstation activities to the
  skills and strategies students need to develop.

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Accountability for Workstation Activities

• Workstation activities provide necessary practice
  time for all learners, especially those who need
  additional practice.
• Most activities should require a product to
  document each students effort.
• Exceptions may include rereading for fluency
  practice or phonological awareness practice
• These products are NOT teacher-generated
  worksheets they are student-generated products
  that demonstrate understanding or usage of skills
  and strategies.

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5 Components--Grade Level Relevancy
Adapted from Simmons, Kameenui, Harn, Coyne
(2003). Institute for beginning reading 2. Day 3
Core instruction What are the critical
components that need to be In place to reach our
goals? Eugene University of Oregon.
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Differentiating Within Workstations

• Design open-ended activities that can be easily
  modified.
• Adjust the Features of the Tasks
• Quantity
• Quality
• Demand
• Task Cards
• List the tasks for each reading group

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Using Task Cards

• I can. . .
• Generate a list for each workstation with each
  reading group and put this task card in each
  workstation.
• Differentiate for each student using color coded
  task cards

Adapted from Diller (2003). Literacy Work
Stations Making Centers Work. Portland, Maine
Stenhouse.
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Task Cards for 3rd Grade Loving Literature

• Skill--identifying story elements, summarize
  events
• Most students--complete a graphic organizer of a
  story. Describe 3 important events.
• Advanced students--create a graphic organizer for
  a story. Write a summary with at least 3
  important events.
• Struggling students--provide a sample of a
  graphic organizer, complete a graphic organizer
  on a story. Write the events at the beginning,
  middle and end of the story.

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Sounds LettersKindergarten

• Skill--segmenting words into individual phonemes
• Materials--picture cards, T chart for sorting, 3
  square Elkonin boxes
• Task Cards
• Most students choose a picture, say each sound
  in the word
• Advanced students same as most students, sort
  by of phonemes (3 or 4)
• Struggling students Teacher selects words with
  3 phonemes, students use Elkonin boxes to push
  sounds as they segment

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Letters Sounds First Grade

• Skill--practicing spelling/phonics patterns
• Materials--magnetic letters, paper
• Task Cards
• Most students create words using known spelling
  patterns, write each word (sand, hand, land)
• Advanced students same as most students, write
  a sentence with each word
• Struggling students Teacher limits the number
  and type of letters and words, provides picture
  support

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Second GradeSing-A-Long/ Recording Studio

• Skill-- identify and define targeted words
• Materials-- books on tape, list of vocabulary
  words, dictionary, paper, pencil/markers
• Task Cards
• Most students listen to a story, write down the
  vocabulary words as you hear them, write a
  summary of the story using at least 2 of the
  words.
• Advanced students same as most students write
  a summary using at least 4 of the words.
• Struggling students listen to story, write the
  words before the story and check them as you hear
  them in the story. Talk with your partner about
  what these words mean.

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Third GradeComprehension

• Skill--summarize events
• Materials--construction paper folded into 4 door
  flip book, markers, crayons, pencil
• Task Cards
• Most students 4 part summary using story
  elements
• Advanced students same as most students and
  write a 1-2 sentence main idea statement
• Struggling students 4 part story map, sequence
  events

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Review of the Goals for the Session

• Review the Big 5 components identified by SBRR
• Define differentiated instruction
• Review some strategies for differentiating
  instruction
• Discuss Workstation/Center activities

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Resources

• Diller, D. (2003). Literacy Work Stations
  Making Centers Work. Portland, Maine
  Stenhouse.
• Diller, D. (2005). Practice with Purpose
  Literacy Work Stations for Grades 3-6. Portland,
  Maine Stenhouse.
• Forsten, Grant, Hollas (2002). Differentiated
  Instruction Different Strategies for Different
  Learners. Peterborough, NH Crystal Springs
  Books.
• Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, Johnston (2004).
  Words Their Way Word Study for Phonics,
  Vocabulary Spelling Instruction. Columbus, OH
  Pearson.
• Ellery (2005). Creating Strategic Readers.
  Newark, DE International Reading Association.

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For more information, contact
Kathryn Prater, Ph.D. prater.kathryn_at_gmail.com The
University of North Carolina Greensboro
A special thank you goes to Ann Fiala for her
assistance with the development of this
presentation.