Intervention/Classroom Connection

Jaimie Howe contributed this post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

Providing interventions and coaching all in one day has always been a struggle for me since I began this journey six years ago.  I have come to realize, however, the power of combining both of these roles.  

With the implementation of the new Lucy Calkins's Reading Units of Study this past fall, I have found myself extremely involved in the planning and teaching of these new units in several grade levels. This close involvement has improved the success of my intervention instruction greatly. The connections I can make for students during intervention to what they are currently doing in their classroom has been invaluable.  

One of the largest benefits I have realized, is my ability to use common language to support the transfer of skills from intervention to the classroom. For example, in first grade, students learn to be “word detectives” and are taught specific language for using strategies.  In kindergarten, students learn that they have superpowers (sound power, pattern power, picture power, etc.)  and are “super readers”, so this is the language I incorporate into my interventions with these kids. I have linked two bookmarks that are used in the classroom that I incorporate into my interventions to create common language. They have worked wonders to support our students.

Super Readers Bookmark

Word Detective Bookmark

Workshop Model: Reading Mats

Jaimie Howe contributed this post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

Click here to access a PDF of a Reading Mat.

As the year has progressed and we have been learning more and more about the Lucy Reading Units of Study, I have been noting specific components and resources that I believe are extremely beneficial.  Last month I wrote about Text Bands and Learning Progressions.  This month I would like to share a very simple resource, yet one that has proven to be essential to our K/1 students and teachers: The Reading Mat.  The great thing about this tool, is that anyone can implement it, whether you are using the workshop model or not. The reading mat is just an organizational tool to keep kids on track during independent reading time. Lucy states, “Stacking books on the reading mat allows kids to plan and be intentional about their reading.” This has proven to be true in all of our classrooms.  We have seen a huge increase in on task behavior and ultimately, volume of reading.

The reading mat is just a file folder with a red sticker/paper on one side and a green sticker/paper on the other - showing kids where to start (green) and stop (red).  Students make a stack of their books on the green side and place them onto the red side after they have finished reading each book.  If they read all the way through, they then work backwards, reading them again.  You will notice, however, in the pictures below that one reading mat has quite a few more books than the other.  This was an inconsistency we noticed throughout our district.  It was important for us to clarify for teachers that students reading at a kindergarten or first grade level need to have at least 10-15 books at their independent or instructional reading level to place in their mats along with poetry and sight words.  Students in classrooms where 10-15 books were in each book box were reading a much higher volume than those with only 5-10 books. Challenge your students to build their “reading muscles” by reading all the way through their mats and back every day.

Text Bands and Learning Progressions

Jaimie Howe contributed today's post. Click here for more of Jaimie's writing and thinking.

In my last post, I reflected on the initial professional development associated with my district’s implementation of the Lucy Calkins Reading Units of Study (RUOS). I identified the areas of Text Bands and Learning Progressions as areas that I wanted to increase my knowledge in. After reading more about them in Lucy’s, Reading Pathways, I realized just how integral these two components are to the Reading Workshop, so I prepared a professional development session for our Back to School In-Service Day, solely focused on these two topics. I would like to share what I did for this professional development and also the effects I have witnessed these two components have on classrooms/students this year.

In planning for this professional development session, I wanted teachers to have as much time as possible digging into these concepts rather than listen to me tell them why they are important. First, I gave a very brief overview of each topic, indicated where the information could be found, and recommended an activity for digging deeper. Below you will find a brief outline of how this information was presented:

Click here to access a PDF of the image.

Fast forward to now, four months into full implementation of both the RUOS and WUOS, I find myself so grateful for the time I spent digging into these two topics because I am witnessing their power first hand - and it is AMAZING!  One of the comments I made in my last post was:

“The most exciting part of this whole journey will be witnessing the extraordinary growth

in our students’ literacy development and their flourishing love of reading due to

great teaching and tons and tons of opportunities to read and write”

Boy was I right! I have had the opportunity to do a lot of team teaching with the units this fall in several grade levels.  The engagement level I am observing and the amount of books students are reading is astonishing! I believe that knowledge of the text bands has decreased teachers’ focus on what specific level students are and put it more on what the students can do with any particular text. Introducing learning progressions to students has also improved goal setting and student accountability  If you unfamiliar with text bands and Lucy’s reading learning progressions, I highly recommend you take the time to learn more about them.  They truly are powerful tools..

Reading Workshop: Here We Come

Jaimie Howe contributed this post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

My reader’s workshop journey continues as I start to engage in the professional development that surrounds my district’s purchase of the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching Reading. Have I told you how excited I am?!   Yes, I’m sure I have as I’ve written several posts this year around the process my district has gone through to get us to the point of planning full implementation of a reading workshop framework next fall.  I can’t wait!

Our first professional development opportunity came on one of the last in-service days of the school year.  The district sought out the expertise of CESA 6 and invited Nicole Lehr to share her knowledge and experiences with the Lucy Reading Units of Study.  Grades 3-5 spent the morning with Nicole and grades K-2, the afternoon.  I was lucky enough to attend the entire day.  As I listened and engaged in the presentation, there were plenty of moments that validated my thinking, some excellent reminders, yet also several items I knew I needed to dig deeper into as they are integral components in the success of a reading workshop.  The two at the top of my list are text bands and learning progressions.

Why Text Bands?

• We use them to confer with readers
• They give us a better grasp on the books our students are reading
• We use knowledge of the text bands to help students tackle the work they will take on in their own books

Why Learning Progressions?

• They can act almost as cue cards by giving pointed, specific tips about a student’s next steps
• We can use them to teach transference across genres
• Understanding them allows us to be able to place the work the child is attempting to do and place it on a larger map that charts pathways to proficiency

Lucy provides two excellent resources in her kits that offer invaluable information about the reader’s workshop: A Guide to the Reading Workshop (Primary and Intermediate) and Reading Pathways.  My next step is facilitating a book study over the summer using these resources to build a deeper understanding of text bands and learning progressions as well as the reading workshop in general.  Hopefully this will prepare us to get the most out of the professional development in August from the Teacher’s College Reading & Writing Project and for successful implementation in the fall.

The most exciting part of this whole journey will be witnessing the extraordinary growth in our students’ literacy development and their flourishing love of reading due to great teaching and tons and tons of opportunities to read and write.  Lucy says it best:

Powerful instruction produces visible and immediate results; when youngsters are taught well, the thinking, talking, and writing about reading they produce becomes far more substantial, complex, and significant. Good teaching pays off. When you provide students with constant opportunities to read and to write and when you actively and assertively teach into their best efforts, their literacy development will astonish you, their parents, the school administrators, and best of all, the students themselves.

Lucy Calkins, 2015

Reflection Wisconsin Title 1 Conference, 2016

Jaimie Howe contributed this post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

Two amazing educators were keynote speakers at the Title 1 Convention this year:  Dr. Mary Howard and Linda Hoyt. I found them both to be very inspiring and feel their messages are very important to share..  Many of the statements below pushed me into some deep reflection and hope they will do the same for you.

Click here to access the images below as a PDF.

Embracing a Workshop Model (Part 2)

Jaimie Howe contributed this post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

Click here to read Jaimie's original post about embracing a workshop model.

Finally, I’m getting around to updating everyone on my district’s progress in moving forward with a Reader’s Workshop Model district wide.  Below, I will briefly explain the process our district took to evaluate the Lucy Units of Study for Teaching Reading, links to resources we used, and, ultimately, how we finally came to our decision.

Starting in November, the district formed a team to review the Lucy Units of Study for Teaching Reading.  The team consisted of classroom teachers K-5, special education, intervention specialists (Title 1), District Reading Specialist, and district administration. Each of the elementary buildings were equally represented.  We met for two half days and 2-3 one hour after school meetings.  During those meetings we spent most of the time in grade level groups reviewing each grade level’s materials. We used a rubric created by Louisiana Believes (Louisiana Department of Education).

The rubric correlates to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and allowed us to really break apart the materials into chunks and determine strengths and weaknesses in specific areas.  Below are the specific components that were represented.

I: Text Selection

II: Foundational Skills

III: Questions and Tasks

IV: Scaffolding and Support

V: Writing to Sources and Research

VI: Speaking and Listening

VII: Language

Components, I, III, IV, and VII were very strong in all grade levels.  The other components also scored well across the board; however, ranged a bit more between grade levels.

Along with the rubric, teams also viewed many of the online resources/videos available from Heinemann: Units of Study for Teaching Reading and the Reading and Writing Project.  I highly encourage you to take a look at these if you’re considering implementing a Reader’s Workshop Model in your district.

At our final meeting, we met an analyzed a spreadsheet that had been created, compiling all of the grade level’s rubric scores. It seemed everyone agreed that we should move forward with purchasing the materials; however, a final decision was not made until all participants participated in a Google Form Survey, allowing each individual to voice opinions and/or concerns with the potential of moving forward.

We just got the e-mail last week indicating that the kits have been purchased!  I am so excited to be a part of this process and look forward to writing more about how we proceed with professional development and implementation of the materials.

Qualitative vs. Quantitative

Jaimie Howe contributed today's post. Click here to read more of Jaimie's thinking.

Over the last few months these two words have resonated with me quite frequently. After several presentations over the last two months regarding word study and the transfer of skills (see my last blog post), I’ve found myself stopping to think about these two words quite often. I’ve said so many times in conversations that reading/literacy is not black and white and that we need to stop trying to make it that way.  I feel this ties right into qualitative and quantitative processes. At what point do we ever really stop and analyze which adjective describes the way we teach, assess, and respond to student’s learning?

Below are the dictionary definitions of these two terms.

qualitative

/ˈkwɒlɪtətɪv; -ˌteɪ-/

adjective

1.involving or relating to distinctions based on quality or qualities

quantitative

/ˈkwɒntɪtətɪv; -ˌteɪ-/

adjective

1. that is or may be estimated by quantity.

2. of or relating to the describing or measuring of quantity.

Qualitative referring to quality and quantitative referring to quantity. Which term would you rather have describe your teaching?

In my opinion we don’t use qualitative measures enough.  We seem to be very heavy on the quantitative side.  I think about the amount of assessment we do, the push to always do more, get as much in as possible.  It seems to always be about quantity.  I do believe quantitative measures are definitely needed, but like everything else, in balance with qualitative.  I understand why we lack the use of qualitative measures as well- they take time.  But sit back and imagine a group of teachers sitting down at a table and really analyzing the miscues on a student’s running record and making instructional decisions based on student’s use of the meaning, syntactic, and visual cueing systems versus based on a number they received on any particular quantitative assessment.

We need to push ourselves to use qualitative practices more often, in conjunction with all of the quantitative measures we already have.The qualitative practices require us to really think, analyze, and discuss students’ core needs.   We can’t afford to continue to disregard some of the best information we have on our students. It’s worth the time and effort.

Word Study: Transfer of Skills

Jaimie Howe contributed today's post. Click here for more of Jaimie's thinking.

Where does word study fit in the realm of a typical elementary school day? The answer is everywhere.  

I recently attended the NCTE conference in Minneapolis, MN and attended a session on Word Study and the transfer of those skills to reading and writing.  Below is a table that was shared describing the subject.

What It Is	What It Is Not
Learners find logical spelling patterns that can be categorized and generalized Spelling instruction is alongside authentic reading and writing Children learn words by doing sorts and other hands on activities - tactile Children become part of word study groups that learn, think, and talk together about their words	Only taught in isolation Memorization A time to learn spelling “rules” Children doing workbook pages Weekly lists Words practiced by writing, copying, or reciting them

From my experience, I do feel that most teachers have shifted towards this idea of “word study” versus traditional spelling; however, are still struggling to see the transfer of these skills in the students’ reading and writing.  So if teachers are using “word study” versus traditional spelling, why aren’t students using the skills they’ve learned in their reading and writing?

The session I went to at NCTE addressed exactly this.  There is a continuum of instruction that needs to occur in order for these skills to transfer for most students:

1. Explicit Instruction: Sort Introduction
2. Practice Activity: ex: blind sort, open sort, partner sort, games, etc.
3. Application Activity: ex: Word Hunt
4. *Explicit Instruction for Transfer: shared reading, poetry, interactive writing

What the presenters found was that 87% of questions that teachers asked during the sort introduction could be answered with one word or yes/no and that most of the activities during the week were spent practicing. Very little time, if any, was spent on application or explicit instruction for transfer.  Below is an example of what the presenters heard when observing in classrooms:

What They Heard	What It Could Be
Teacher: “Okay, What’s the word?” S1: “fudge” T: “Good, and this word?” S2: “stage” T: “Right. What does stage mean?” S3: “We had our play on a stage.” * Study by  Ganske, 2013	Teacher: “Wow, you really explained ‘fudge’.  I love the specific language you used. I wish I had a piece right now. Can you identify and define the word?” S1: “That’s stage.  It refers to a floor that’s raised, where you perform.” T: “Can you expand on that?” S2: “ I can explain another meaning.”

So when we think about the transfer of these skills, we need to reflect on what type of language and interaction we are having within our sort introductions and also to what extent the activities we are having the students do throughout the week are supporting the transfer of these skills. Also, at what point are we making the connections from word study instruction to the student’s reading and writing? If word study only occurs during one time of the day, in isolation,  and never carries over into reading and writing, how can we expect students to make these connections and apply the skills?  

Also, a deeper issue is the type of assessment we are using to determine students’ needs in word study.  The assessments tend to fall too much on the quantitative side; however, where we can gain the most information about our individual students is qualitative assessment.  To me, the best assessment of spelling is a sample of a student’s writing, not a weekly spelling test.

Quantitative	Qualitative
Spelling Inventory Spell Checks High Frequency Word Lists Letter ID Letter Sound Concepts About Print (PALS COW) Phonemic Awareness	Student Writing Sample      -not one where conferring occurred Running Records      -miscue analysis

In conclusion, word study is more than just sorting words and finding patterns.  It’s more than just one spelling inventory, to determine a student’s needs.  Word study encompasses all areas of literacy, speaking, listening, language, reading, writing, and so much more.  It is not something that can be taught at one time of the day and then forgotten about. Thought, analysis, and reflection in many areas of literacy are an integral part in the understanding of a student’s word study knowledge and their ability to transfer the skills from isolation to reading and writing.  

Kids Must Write Every Day!

Jaimie Howe contributed today's post.

“It has become increasingly clear that children’s success

in many disciplines is reliant on their ability to write.”

—Lucy Calkins

For those of you that have read my previous blog posts, you are probably aware of my sincere passion for writing instruction, workshop model, and ultimately Lucy Calkins.   This post is no different . . . I can’t seem to meander into any new territory because these topics are always at the forefront of my mind.  

So today, I reflect on a blog post written by Lucy herself, as part of Heinneman’s, The Writing Master’s Series: (#WritingMasters).

http://www.heinemann.com/blog/writingmasters-calkins1/

Lucy starts her post with an analogy to mathematics instruction:

“When a child enters your school, what is the promise that you make to the child and her parents about the writing education that she will receive?” I point out that chances are good that in math, the school essentially promises that child, “Whether or not your teacher likes math, you’ll be taught math every day. You won’t need to be lucky to get a teacher who teaches math. And the course of study that you receive from one teacher won’t be all that different from what you’ll receive from another teacher.” Given that writing is one of those subjects that affects a learner’s ability to succeed in every other subject, the promise a school makes to youngsters as writers probably shouldn’t be that different from the promise made to children as mathematicians.”

So why is it that writing instruction seems to be treated so differently than other subjects? Is math easier to teach?  Do teachers understand math instruction more than reading/writing instruction? Are teachers scared to teach writing because they are not confident writers themselves? Have teachers not seen first hand the huge impact writing can have on student achievement?

These are questions I seem to ask quite often and finding the answers seems to be becoming more urgent.  I have been a literacy coach, reading specialist, and interventionist for the last five years and have watched reading/writing scores stay stagnant or drop each and every year. Why?  I keep coming back to writing instruction. I know teachers believe writing instruction is important; however, I truly don’t think many teachers like teaching writing, so it’s the first thing to get cut from the day if they need to find room for something else..  This post by Lucy Calkins has once again made it clear to me, how much I need to advocate for writing instruction and help teachers understand the urgency for students to be proficient writers.  Writing needs to be a constant topic of conversation and hold just as important of a role in instruction as any other subject.  The first place to start is making it a non-negotiable: KIDS MUST WRITE EVERY DAY!

Conferring and Goal Setting Made Easy

Jaimie Howe contributed today's thinking.

Last month I wrote about the potential of implementing the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for Teaching Reading in the district I currently teach in. In preparation for this potential implementation and also for use during this transition time, the district purchased all teachers (classroom, SPED, ELL, and more . . .) The Reading Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo.  

Until I came into this district I had never even heard of Serravallo and little did I know that she has done a ton of work with Lucy and The Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project as well as written numerous other texts that support the implementation of a Reader’s Workshop model.   

The Reading Strategies Book makes conferring, goal-setting, and strategy groups so EASY.  Serravallo says:

“For years I’ve been getting emails almost daily asking, 'Isn’t there a book of the strategies themselves?' Now there is. Strategies make the often invisible work of reading actionable and visible. In The Reading Strategies Book, I collected 300 strategies to share with readers in support of thirteen goals-everything from fluency to literary analysis. Each strategy is cross-linked to skills, genres, and Fountas and Pinnell reading levels to give you just-right teaching, just in time.”

Recently I began coaching in a fifth grade classroom, supporting the teacher with the initial work of setting up a reader’s workshop.  A big hurdle to overcome was getting the routine in place in order to make time for meaningful conferring. Once this happened and we began conferring last week, the bigger question became, “How do I know what goals to set with students?” and “How do I know if it is the right one?” This is where Serravallo’s The Reading Strategies Book comes in.  Each of the thirteen goals within the text has a chapter with a brief, but detailed explanation about who the goal would be best suited for.  With this information in hand and the thirteen goals on a list right next to us when conferring, we were able to very easily select a goal with the student based off of the student’s oral reading behaviors and our conversations. We then recorded each student’s goal on a class list and organized them based on the goal. With the ease of the way Serravallo’s book is set up, we will easily be able to select the strategies we need to teach in order to achieve the goals and will be able to get started right away. 

I highly recommend, any teacher of reading, check this book out.