literacy : successful implementation across disciplines within a high school

LITERACY: SUCCESSFUL

IMPLEMENTATION ACROSS DISCIPLINES

WITHIN A HIGH SCHOOL

By: Crystal Flowers & Latrina Pennamon-Nash

OBJECTIVE: To give teachers the tools they need to

understand literacy and effectively provide literacy across various curricula.

To provide teachers with literacy strategies to use in their classrooms.

OUR SUCCESS STORY Gains on the Georgia High School

Writing Test (GHSWT) Gains on the Biology, US History,

American Literature, and Ninth Grade Literature & Composition EOCTs

13% gain in graduation rate

WHAT IS LITERACY?Task-based (conceptual) definition

Literacy is the ability to use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one's goals, and to develop one's knowledge and potential.

Skills-based (operational) definition

Successful use of printed material is a product of two classes of skills: word level-reading skills & higher level literacy skills.

WHAT IS CONTENT LITERACY?

"Content literacy can be defined as the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline. Such ability includes three principal cognitive components: general literacy skills, content-specific literacy skills (such as map reading in the social studies,) and prior knowledge of content.” 

(McKenna & Robinson, 1990)

CONTENT LITERACY IS… Not the same as content knowledge Effectively teaching content which

automatically makes students more content literate

Content specific Implementing reading and writing as

complementary tasks

CONTENT LITERACY IS… Germane to all subject areas, not just

those relying heavily on printed materials

Not a requirement to instruct students in the mechanics of writing

Relative to the tasks expected of students

Has the potential to maximize content acquisition

WHY IS LITERACY SIGNIFICANT? The CCGPS for English language arts,

mathematics, and literacy in science, history/social studies, and technical subjects will ensure that all Georgia students have an equal access and opportunity to master the skills and knowledge needed for success beyond high school.

(GA DOE)

THE FACTS Over the last 15 years, 15 million students have

graduated from high school reading at below the basic level (Bottoms, 2004).

The percentage of high school seniors performing at or above the basic level in reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) decreased from 80% in 1992 to 73% in 2005 (NCES, 2007).

Over the same period, the percentage of high school seniors performing at or above the proficient level decreased from 40% to 35% (NCES, 2007).

About 70% of high school students need some form of remediation; the most common problem is that students cannot comprehend the words they read—not that they cannot read them (Biancarosa & Snow, 2004).

IMPLEMENTING LITERACY WITH FIDELITY

The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds

SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES… What worked for us

Professional Development Gradual Release Model

Think Aloud Reciprocal Teaching Pre-reading Strategies

Prior Knowledge Anticipation Guides

During Reading Strategies Chunking and Annotating

After Reading Strategies Making Connections

MODELING….Strategy #1: Pre-Reading Activity Examples: Anticipation Guide

ABC Graffiti

Strategy #2: During Reading StrategyExamples: Think Aloud Concept Map

Strategy #3: After Reading StrategyExamples: Frayer Model ABC Graffiti (post) Anticipation Guide (post)

CONCLUSION…

It is our hope that you walk away from this session with more confidence in your abilities as an educator to provide effective literacy strategies to your students.

CONTACT INFORMATIONDr. Latrina Pennamon-NashEmail: latpen3@yahoo.com

Ms. Crystal Flowers Email: crystal.flowers@gmail.com

Central High School, Macon, GA

REFERENCES: McKenna, M. C., & Robinson, R. D. (1990). Content literacy:

A definition and implications. Journal of Reading, 34(3), 184. Retrieved March 9, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 1873576).

Websites:http://nces.ed.gov/

www.gadoe.org

http://www.sccresa.org/toolsforschools/commoncore/contentliteracystrategies/

http://www.betterhighschools.org/pubs/documents/NHSC_HighSchoolLiteracy_000.pdf