Learning to Read in a Balanced Literacy Environment Beginning Readers August 27, 2013

1. Learning to Read in a Balanced Literacy Environment Beginning Readers August 27, 2013

2. Presenters from Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools • Linda Baldwin • Carole Hutchinson • Shona Sneddon

3. Balanced Literacy Definition • The aim of balanced literacy is to encourage the development of skills in • speaking and listening (oral language), • reading and viewing, • writing and representing • to make meaning of the world and to prepare our students to be engaged, reflective lifelong learners.

4. Balanced Literacy Definition Our balanced literacy approach recognizes that learners need to use a variety of strategies and authentic tasks to become efficient readers, writers and communicators through a variety of literature and media. As practitioners, we continually utilize ongoing assessment to inform our practice and to be responsive to student needs.

5. Balanced Literacy Definition Within balanced literacy, the gradual release of responsibility (I do/We do/You do) is usedto empower students to apply strategies and skills to new learning opportunities.

6. COMPONENTS OF BALANCED LITERACY - GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY

7. Principles of Learning • Learning requires the active participation of the student • People learn in a variety of ways and at different rates • Learning is both an individual and a group process

8. Activity • What are classroom activities or instructional practices that would support each of these elements of reading? • Add to your handout, and write on post-it notes throughout to share at the end

9. Current research in literacy instruction suggests that successful literacy programs include 10 Essential Characteristics (BC Ministry of Education IRP)

10. Ten Essential Characteristics of a Successful Literacy Program Literacy learning in Kindergarten is critical to later success A comprehensive and co-ordinated literacy program is crucial.

11. Ten Essential Characteristics of a Successful Literacy Program Professional learning communities support a comprehensive and co-ordinated literacy program. An extended and uninterrupted block of time for literacy learning is essential.

12. Ten Essential Characteristics of a Successful Literacy Program Literacy experiences must strongly support student engagement. Ongoing assessments are used to drive instruction and support learning.

13. Ten Essential Characteristics of a Successful Literacy Program Focussed teaching is essential. A resource-rich environment makes a big difference.

14. Ten Essential Characteristics of a Successful Literacy Program Struggling and/or reluctant literacy learners benefit from research-based interventions

15. Ten Essential Characteristics of a • Successful Literacy Program • Successful family-school partnerships improve student literacy learning

16. Five Elements of Reading Phonological Awareness • Vocabulary • Decoding and Word Recognition • Independent • Reader • Comprehension • Fluency

17. Five Elements of Reading Phonological awareness: • is auditory and is the ability to recognize, combine and manipulate basic sound units of the spoken word • there is no evidence that phonological awareness is taught in a specific order, however, below is a progression of elements which range from the easiest to the most difficult • it is the foundation upon which reading is taught and can be integrated into every component of the primary literacy program

18. Five Elements of Reading Decoding and word recognition: • the ability to accurately sound out words and is fostered through explicit and systematic phonics instruction • phonics teaches the principles of letter-sound relationships, including letter patterns and how to correctly pronounce words

19. Five Elements of Reading • understanding the letter sound relationship enables the reader to more efficiently figure out words they haven’t seen before. • although models may vary slightly, elements to teach phonics are systematic

20. Five Elements of Reading There are four main approaches to phonics instruction: A. Synthetic approaches that start by teaching the individual sounds and then how to blend them into words B. Analytic approaches that teach the whole word first, then the component sounds within the word are analyzed C. Analogic approaches teach students to apply word parts they know to identify and write new words D. Phonics through spelling which is an approach that introduces letters, sounds and patterns with immediate links to writing

21. Five Elements of Reading Fluency: • the ability to read smoothly and accurately with appropriate expression and intonation • if able to successfully decode, fluent readers can concentrate on making connections and develop a deeper understanding of what they are reading

22. Five Elements of Reading Vocabulary: • areader’s vocabulary can be developed in the classroom by using open ended questions and wherever possible paraphrasing their responses with a richer vocabulary • there is a direct correlation between having a strong vocabulary base and having greater success in learning to read

23. Five Elements of Reading Comprehension: • is the active, fluent construction and revision of the meaning of text • when constructing meaning students engage in three different • levels of thinking: literal, inferential and critical

24. Learning Routines Why do we need to organize and teach the learning routines? -learning routines are habits of the mind that are self-directed and self-monitored (Rog, 2013 Read, Write, Play, Learn…) -whichever structure you use it is important to model, demonstrate and practice what you want your students to be able to do (Gradual Release of Responsibility, Pearson & Gallagher 1983)

25. The Daily 5 and The Cafe • Daily 5 (Boushey & Moser, 2005) • “ Building Muscle Memory”

26. The Daily 5 and The Cafe

27. The Four Blocks • The Teacher’s Guide to the Four Blocks (Cunningham, Hall & Sigmon, 1999) • Framework • Represents four different approaches to teaching children to read • Daily incorporating the different approaches • Uses a variety of formats to make each block as multilevel as possible

28. Learning Routines How do effective learning routines look in the context of a balanced literacy classroom?

29. Program • Fits in the Working with Words section of a balanced literacy program and covers the phonological awareness, decoding and word recognition elements • Review sounds • Big Book • Student sound book • Practice sheet • Word cards for blending • Word games and segmenting • Tricky words

30. PWIM : Picture Word Inductive Model (Calhoun, 1998) • Program • uses pictures containing familiar objects, action and scenes to draw out words from children’s listening and speaking vocabulary • the purpose of PWIM is to develop the students’ vocabulary, concepts about words, sentence and paragraph structures • the strategy can be used whole class, small groups, pairs or individuals • Fits within the guided reading and writing sections of a balanced literacy program and covers the vocabulary and comprehension elements

31. Program • Fits within the Working with Words part of a balanced literacy program and covers the phonological awareness element

32. Assessment • Primary purpose to guide instruction and meet needs of students • Of learning – confirm what students know: summative, marks • For learning – modify teaching or activities: formative, descriptive • As learning – role of the student: personal reflection

33. Assessment • Screening – brief test to asses an individual in order to identify a need for help or intervention • Universal or district screening – may indicate areas of curriculum that need supplemental support or identifies what students are at risk and may need additional diagnostic assessment • Progress monitoring – repeated assessment of target skills to see progress toward essential learning outcomes and to determine the effectiveness of an intervention • Diagnostic assessments – individually administered to discover specific areas of skills deficits and provide baseline data

34. Assessment • Critical that students be assessed upon entering school and continue to be frequently assessed in the early years as they begin to read • Initial assessment provides a baseline • Informal throughout the year allows the teacher to address students’ individual needs and give extra assistance or change instruction • Imbed in instruction when possible • Examples include: anecdotal records, conferences, checklists, rubrics, products, response groups, learning logs, interviews

35. Activity Completion • Put your post-it note activities on the appropriate chart paper

36. Participant Activities for the 5 elements of reading Decoding and Word Recognition Lexia sticker scenes word searches flip books Bingo memory games with sight words Writing word within a word Primary Success Dolch words McCracken Explode the Code Primary Phonics fill in the blank sentences Crosswords "does that look right?“ lots of easy reading books spelling • Phonological Awareness • Rubber band words • Segmenting • Word sorts • McCracken • Explode the Code • Primary Phonics • Zoo Phonics • Sort pictures by sounds – initial, vowel, endings • playing with sounds in words using blocks • Games • rhyming • student created word games • Lexia Fluency short "fold and say" stories shared, choral reading with poetry or chants daily practice read aloud, read along use different voices partner reading repeated reading sing and definition small group learning and discussion Apps model Comprehension literacy circles shared reading check for understanding reading power strategies re-tell - summarize story story elements word toss open discussion write, read, write book reports literal, inferential, critical, evaluating Vocabulary Lexia word searches picture induction write out pre-discuss word wall Paraphrase stories with good vocabulary Dictionarypractice research projects spell aloud 1,2,3 Spell

37. Websites • Foundations for literacy http://foundationsforliteracy.cllrnet.ca/index.php/Foundations_For_Literacy • Jolly Phonics http://www.jollylearning.co.uk/ • Summer Institute • http://successforallsummerinstitute.weebly.com Thank you for attending this workshop. Enjoy the last few days of summer!