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:
“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..
I love how you have pulled together these two important ideas. We have been working with the progressions and looking at where students are, and how to move them along in the progressions, but I can see the text bands adding to that work would be powerful. Thanks so much for your thinking and sharing!
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