balanced literacy presentation witt

BALANCED LITERACY PRESENTATION FOR FOURTH GRADE:

BALANCED LITERACY PRESENTATION FOR FOURTH GRADE Jessica Witt EDRDG610

PHILOSOPHY:

It is my philosophy, as a fourth grade teacher, to deliver literacy instruction to your child in balanced manner. I will strive to meet your child’s needs with engaging and motivating lessons and activities. It is my hope through whole class and small group instruction that students will become better readers and enjoy the task of doing so. PHILOSOPHY

DEFINITION OF BALANCED LITERACY:

A balanced literacy program “pays due attention to the need for giving children meaningful encounters with written languages so they will understand its purposes and forms and come to enjoy it. On the other hand, balance also means that teachers must ensure that children learn skills that make reading possible.“ (Temple, Ogle, Crawford, Freppon , 2008) DEFINITION OF BALANCED LITERACY

INDIANA STATE STANDARDS :

Indiana’s Language Arts Standards contain seven main components: Reading: Word Recognition, Fluency, and Vocabulary Development Reading: Comprehension and Analysis of Nonfiction and Informational Text Reading: Literary Response and Analysis Writing: Processes and Features Writing: Applications Writing: English Language Conventions Listening and Speaking: Skills, Strategies, and Applications Check them out at: http://dc.doe.in.gov/Standards/AcademicStandards/PrintLibrary/docs-english/2006-06-ela-grade04.pdf INDIANA STATE STANDARDS

RESPONSE TO INSTRUCTION (RtI) Indiana’s definition: systemic process of meeting the educational needs of all students through professional accountability :

RtI is… Rti is not… A systemic process that aligns all school improvement goals A special education initiative Intent on ensuring all students meet or exceed proficiency standards Intent on decreasing or increasing special education numbers An instructional model designed to benefit all students through greater continuity of services A product or kit to add on to the daily routine Focused on effective instruction to enhance the academic learning of all students Focused on documentation of evidence to remove a student from general education RESPONSE TO INSTRUCTION ( RtI ) Indiana’s definition: systemic process of meeting the educational needs of all students through professional accountability (Definition and chart directly from: IDOE Response to Instruction Guidance Document)

More on RtI:

RtI is broken down into three tiers: More on RtI (Response to Instruction Guidance Document)

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES:

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: READING INSTRUCTION:

We will primarily use our reading curriculum, StoryTown , to implement the reading instruction portion of our literacy block. This 90 minute block will consist of read alouds, shared reading, guided reading, and independent reading. During this time we will also focus on comprehension skills (such as compare/contrast, fact/opinion, drawing conclusions, making inferences, main idea and detail) and comprehension strategies (such as summarizing, asking questions, rereading, making predictions, visualizing). INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: READING INSTRUCTION

READING INSTRUCTION:

By learning the skills and strategies needed to be a good reader, students will hopefully make meaning of their reading encounters and develop a lifetime love of reading. (Temple, Ogle, Crawford, Freppon , 2008) READING INSTRUCTION

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: READING SMALL GROUP:

Tier 2 & 3 students will receive interventions during the 45 minute small group block. Students will work independently on stations that pertain to the week’s skills or strategies while the teacher pulls small groups of students for enrichment or remediation. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: READING SMALL GROUP

GROUPING:

GROUPING Readiness Grouping Interest-Based Grouping In readiness grouping, students will be pulled for enrichment, re-teaching, or pre-teaching opportunities. Interest-based grouping will be done throughout the year using novels and projects. Grouping during small group time happens through flexible grouping. When working with flexible grouping, you will find that groups “change frequently as the focus of instruction changes.” That is, just because your child was pulled for a comprehension station one week, he may not be pulled the next week if his needs or interests do not require it. (Tomlinson, 2003)

Remediated groups:

Groups for remediation change weekly both in content and student body. Depending on a student’s needs, he/she will be pulled for remediation in concepts like: Vocabulary development Fluency Comprehension skills and strategies Grammar Spelling Remediated groups

Enrichment groups:

Like with remediated groups, enrichment groups will also be flexible—meeting students’ needs. Quite frequently, enrichment groups consist of book studies. Some possible titles for this year include: City of Ember, Maniac Magee, and Number the Stars. These groups do not change weekly, but rather after a book study has been completed. Enrichment groups

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: LITERACY WORKSHOP:

Literacy workshop is yet another time to focus on Tier 2 & 3 interventions. During this time students may be pulled for additional small groups. This is also a time that students will be given time to read on their own in class. Students are encouraged to read level-appropriate novels. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: LITERACY WORKSHOP

INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: WRITING:

Writing time consists of grammar and spelling instruction, as well as lessons pertaining to the writing process. The writing process will be delivered using Writer’s Workshop: mini-lessons, independent working time, and sharing time. We also use implement “Six-Traits” into our writing. This program focuses on ideas, organization, sentence fluency, word choice, voice, and conventions in a writing piece. INSTRUCTIONAL ACTIVITIES: WRITING

ASSESSMENTS Assessments will take place in a variety of formats:

ASSESSMENTS Assessments will take place in a variety of formats Informal Formal Daily instructional time through class discussions and slate routines Small group work and conversations Weekly story, vocabulary, grammar, and spelling tests Monthly benchmark assessments High-stakes test (ISTEP)

ASSESSMENTS CONTINUED:

Some small group activities will be assessed with a rubric. In that case, students will be given the rubric prior to completing an assignment. One example can be found here . Assessment results are used to plan whole group instruction and small group activities. Students will be exposed to a variety of test-taking strategies to help them prepare for the ISTEP, which is in the spring. (Au, 2011) ASSESSMENTS CONTINUED

PARENT INVOLVEMENT:

READING IS EVERYWHERE! Your child needs reading for every subject in school. He needs it to solve story problems in math, gather experiment materials for science, and to research about history in social studies. Being an involved parent in your child’s reading development from an early stage will help him in the future! Become involved by showing that you value literacy; let your child see you read. This will encourage him to become a reader. Become involved by listening to your child read or read to him. Become involved by simply talking with your child. Frequent and meaningful conversations between parent and child help build a child’s vocabulary. (Start early, finish strong , 1999 ) PARENT INVOLVEMENT

WHAT TO DO AT HOME In addition to these tips, you can find a helpful family literacy brochure here:

WHAT TO DO AT HOME In addition to these tips, you can find a helpful family literacy brochure here

REFERENCES:

Au, K. (2011). Assessment and accountability: Teaching reading 3-5 . Annenberg Foundation. Retrieved from: http://www.learner.org/workshops /teachreading35/session8/index.html Indiana Department of Education. (2010). Response to instruction guidance document. Start early, finish strong: how to help every child become a reader. (1999). Retrieved from: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/startearly/ch_1.html Temple, C., Ogle, D., Crawford A., Freppon , P. (2008). All children read: Teaching for literacy in today's diverse classrooms . Boston: Pearson. Tomlinson, C.A.(2003). Fulfilling the promise of the differentiated classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. REFERENCES