First thought

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First thought

• Find your place on the planet. Dig in, and take
  responsibility from there.
• Gary Snyder
• Poet

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Why are secondary texts difficult?Secondary
Literacy 1

• Philippe Ernewein
• Literacy Specialist
• www.rememberit.org

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Facts About Literacy

• So strong is the link between literacy and being
  a useful member of society that some states use
  grade-level reading statistics as a factor in
  projecting future prison construction.
• Bob Chase, former President, NEA

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Facts About Literacy

• To compete in the global information economy,
  young people today need literacy skills far more
  advanced than have been required of any previous
  generation. The fastest growing jobs make the
  highest literacy and education demands.
• Reading To Achieve A Governors Guide to
  Adolescent Literacy, 2005

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Facts About Literacy

• Forty percent of high school graduates lack the
  reading and writing skills that employers seek,
  and almost a third of high school graduates who
  enroll in college require remediation.
• Reading To Achieve A Governors Guide to
  Adolescent Literacy, 2005

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Facts About Literacy

• Many of our students are likely to be several
  years behind grade-level in their literacy skills.

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DO NOW

• In your journal, reflect in writing for a few
  minutes on one or more of the facts presented
  about literacy.

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What are we learning?

• Different components of reading
• Steps toward comprehension
• Different texts make different demands on readers
  
• Specific demands posed by texts in specific
  content areas

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So what?

• Journal responses
• The achievement gap is a literacy gap.
• Every teacher must be literacy teacher.
• Teaching literacy is our job.

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Secondary Literacy Connections

• Many struggling readers have failed more often
  than they have succeeded in the past, so now they
  figured, Why try? (13)
• Shannon Dingle, RGV 03 6th-8th Grade Special
  Education Wake County Public School

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Secondary Literacy Connections

• I was shocked that my students reached high
  school without mastering the basic skills of
  reading and writing. My first year, the majority
  of my students read on a third to fifth grade
  level, and a class could range from pre-primer to
  9th grade. (1)
• Bernard Weber Mississippi Delta 03 9th
  Grade Global Studies

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Agenda

• DO NOW
• Introduction
• New Material
• Teaching Literacy is Our Job
• Reading Comprehension
• What makes texts difficult?
• LS Modeling/CM Practice
• Close/Journals

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Teaching Literacy Is Our Job.

• Artifact Michaels Science Test
• Think/Pair/Share
• What is keeping Michael from having success with
  this material?
• Literacy-wise, what could have gone wrong?

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The Blenny
The Wrasse
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So what about literacy?

• Does literacy play a role in learning stuff?
• Does literacy help us assess knowledge in content
  classes?
• Does this assessment tell us much about what
  Michael may or may not know?

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So what about Michael?

• Which skills does he need to be able to read the
  questions?
• What role might fluency play?
• Which components go into Michael being able to
  write an answer?

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So what about reading comprehension?

• Each component of reading is at play here
• Decoding
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension Strategies
• Background Knowledge
• Engagement

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So whatto be successful?

• All these components need to be in place for our
  students to be able to demonstrate what they know
  in science and all other content areas.

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So why not more pictures, visuals?

• They could play a part, but not replace literacy.
• With visuals, we could easily test low-level
  skills like knowledge on Blooms Taxonomy.
• Testing students deeper comprehension and
  application of concepts will often require text.

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Dont Let the Blenny Fool You
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Reading Comprehension

• Notes for our hand-out/visual
• Research, CM experience indicate the following
• Minority of our students will struggle with
  decoding words
  
• bottom strands
• Some will struggle with fluency
  
• to tie the bottom strands together
• Most will struggle to comprehend content area
  text
• tying the top strands together

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The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled
Reading (Scarborough, 2001)
Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually
acquired over years of instruction and practice.
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Reading Comprehension is an Interactive Process
RAND Model, 2002
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• How might texts, readers and activities/purposes
  differ?

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What makes texts difficult?

• Vocabulary usage
• Some text use figurative language while others
  use technical terms
• Background knowledge
• Assumptions made by text
• Organization and format
• Some texts have headings or diagrams
• Level of engagement
• Some text loved by 12 year olds, others by 16
  year olds, some may be disliked by all

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Content Area Groups

• CM Instructional Binder
• Identify the demands these texts make on readers
  and complete the left column of the output
  hand-out.
• Complete Text Demands

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Reading Comprehension is an Interactive Process
Todays Session
RAND Model, 2002
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So, how do I teach it?

• Social Studies text
• Math text
• Pair Practice
• List ideas for teaching each of the four text
  demands you identified in the second column of
  the handout

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Pair Practice debrief

• What was challenging about this process?
• What has this process taught you about how to
  start planning literacy instruction?

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What did we learn?

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The Bottom Line

• Literacy has many components, each of which is
  essential to achievement.
• Teaching students the specific skills and
  knowledge they need to read to understand text is
  your content area is critical.

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Why is Literacy important?

• Achievement Gap Literacy Gap
• Our students access to college and careers hinge
  on their advanced literacy skills.
• Teaching literacy is our job.

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Overview of the Secondary Literacy Course

• Core Session 1 Why are Secondary Texts
  Difficult?
• Core Session 2 Reading Purposefully and
  Strategically
• Core Session 3 Building Comprehension Before,
  During, and After Reading

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Overview of the Secondary Literacy Course

• Core Session 4 Integrating Informal Writing
• Core Session 5 Teaching Vocabulary
• Core Session 6 Decoding and Fluency

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Differentiated Placement-Specific Sessions

• The Formal Writing Process
• How to Read Non-fiction Texts
• Motivating Struggling Readers
• Literacy Diagnostics

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Check-out

• Homework?
• www.rememberit.org
• Journals to mailbox
• Names returned