Literacy Work Beyond 4th Grade:

Working with Students & Teachers

Jacy Ippolito, ippolija@gse.harvard.edu, © 2006

Introductions

Who am I?

Who are you?

During this presentation I hope to have us:– Think about challenges of literacy work beyond 4th grade– Think about strategies for working with middle school

students/teachers

A Opening Activity . . .

Take a look at the two passages (fiction/non-fiction)

Talk with a partner about what makes the passages difficult for older readers

What challenges are posed for specific groups of students (LD, ESL, etc.)?

Given these passages, what is main work of literacy instruction beyond 4th grade?

So . . . What’s It All About?

These passages are just a taste of the complexity of literacy work beyond 4th grade

Beyond 4th Grade, it’s all about:– Reading to Learn– Learning to Read (within content areas!)– Motivation– Strategy Instruction– Vocabulary / Background Knowledge– The Reading-Writing Connection– Assessment– Text Factors / Genre

So? That’s the Same as K-4!

Well . . . Yes . . . and No . . .

Same literacy components:– Comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, etc.

But . . . different instructional formats and different instructional challenges:– Literature circles, subject area literacy instruction, longer

reading/writing blocks (or radically shortened!)– Increased expectations around performance, Increased

vocab./background knowledge gaps

Big Differences from K-4?

Books are longer

Assumptions about student differences:– Vocabulary varies widely

– Background Knowledge varies widely

History of school/reading success

Students’ internal motivation is a bigger consideration

And . . . ?

So, How Do We Help Students Beyond 4th Grade?

Let’s return first to our opening activity

Turn to a partner, and together:

– Identify one aspect of the text that might prove difficult (e.g. background info., vocabulary, syntax, motivation, etc.)

– What are one or two activities that might help students with regard to these challenges?

How Do We Tackle Literacy Instruction Systematically?

Reading Workshop - Increased independent reading at “independent levels” - lots of student choice regarding text selection

Guided Reading / Literature Circles with “instructional texts” - to work on increasing advanced reading skills

Discussion groups / Book Clubs to encourage literary language and the social acceptance of reading as an adolescent activity

Whole-Class Activities?

Whole-class mini-lessons during reading and writing workshops, guided reading groups, etc.

Whole-class read-alouds as a way of modeling reading strategies.

Whole-class books - everyone reading the same book at the same time - community builder? Or the fastest way to bore your top readers and frustrate your lowest readers? What do you think?

Strategy Instruction Comprehension

Strategies That Work – by Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis– Making Connections, Questioning, Visualizing, Inferring, Determining

Importance, Synthesizing, etc.

Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader's Workshop

– by Susan Zimmermann, Ellin Oliver Keene– Connecting the Known to the New, Determining Importance, Using Sensory

Images to Enhance Comprehension, Inferring, Synthesis, etc.

See any similarities?

Strategy Instruction in Action

Let’s try this out . . . Turn to a partner and consider our sample texts again.

What are one or two “comprehension strategies” that could help students with these passages?

Do these strategies really work? Are these what we use as fluent, capable readers?

What are the Limits / Down-sides to Strategy Instruction?

What (if any) are the limits or down-sides to strategy instruction?

Are there times when it restricts readers or slows them down?

Are there times when we want to slow readers down at this stage of reading?

WAIT . . . WHAT STAGE OF READING ARE WE

TALKING ABOUT HERE ANYWAY?

Stages of Reading Developmentby

Jeanne Chall (graphic from Nonie Lesaux)

Stage 1Initial Decoding(1st gr.)

Stage 2Fluency (2nd/3rd gr.)

Stage 3Reading for Meaning (4th gr.)

Stage 4Relationships & Viewpoints(high school)

Stage 5Synthesis(university)

Learning to Read

Reading to Learn

Stage 1Initial Decoding(1st gr.)

Stage 5Synthesis(university)

Stages of Reading Developmentby

Jeanne Chall (graphic from Nonie Lesaux)

Stage 2Fluency (2nd/3rd gr.)

Stage 3Reading for Meaning (4th gr.)

Learning to Read

Reading to Learn

Stage 4Relationships & Viewpoints(high school)

Where Does This Leave Us Regarding Literacy Work Beyond 4th Grade?

Working with students in Language Arts classes of course . . . .

But also in small groups (Literacy Classes), one-on-one (pull-out or inclusion), and in content area classes

Some of the most important work is with coaching other teachers - both Lang. Arts teachers and Content Area teachers

Encouraging Literacy Work Across Content Areas

“One of the biggest challenges that I have found in teaching at the Middle school level . . . [is] the inability of teachers who are not English teachers to view themselves as literacy teachers.” – 6th-8th grade English teacher

Responses to this quote?

Encouraging Literacy Work Across Content Areas

Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12– by Cris Tovani– Also wrote (with Keene) I Read It, But I Don’t Get It -

another helpful comprehension strategy book– Some great recommendations for literacy work with

content area teachers– Germs / Science Teacher / Motivating textbook reading

example!

Things to Remember as a Middle/Upper Grades Coach or Professional Developer

Both the teachers and school-at-large are on a continuum of instructional practice and learning (just as students are!)

Look first at the Language Arts teachers and literacy specialists - are they individualizing instruction?

Look next at Content Area teachers - are they taking into consideration literacy challenges as they proceed to deliver content material?

Things to Remember as a Middle/Upper Grades Coach or Professional Developer

OBSERVE FIRST . . . BEWARE OF SNAP JUDGEMENTS ABOUT TEACHERS’ ABILITIES OR PRACTICES!!!

Consider what next steps might be for individual teachers:– Increasing assessment practices?– Offering more substantial vocabulary support?– Explicitly teaching text structures?– Creating small groups for book discussion?

Rome wasn’t built in a day . . .– reform efforts take time and teacher buy-in– show the teachers you know your work first– Then lead by example; push for small changes

OK . . . Deep Breath . . . Now for Something Completely Different!

Let’s take a look at two video clips of teachers working with middle/upper grade students . . . .

What do we notice?

How does it compare to working with lower grade students?

Tutor Working One-on-One with a 6th Grade Student

QuickTime™ and aH.263 decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Tutor Working with Two 6th Grade Students

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Discussion Time!

Let’s chat . . . .

What are things you’re thinking about given this presentation, the reading passages, the video clips, you’re upcoming work with older students, and the myriad of things I didn’t cover today (e.g. the reading-writing connection, types/genres of reading materials, arts and literacy connections, research on older readers, etc.)

Interested in Adolescent Literacy Research?

Two sites to get you started . . .

Alliance for Excellent Education– Adolescent Literacy Research

– http://www.all4ed.org/adolescent_literacy/index.html

– Reading Next report by Gina Biancarosa and Catherine Snow

– http://www.ncte.org/edpolicy/literacy/research/122355.htm