new approaches to teaching and learning

New Approaches to Teaching and LearningJack Deskins, Arts CoordinatorJoey Wiseman, Social Studies CoordinatorRobin Anglin, Science CoordinatorEdwina Howard-Jack, NBCT, English Language Arts Coordinator

WVDE, Office of Instruction

Just because something is traditional is no reason to do it, of course. Piracy, for example, is a tradition that has been carried on for hundreds of years, but that doesn’t mean we should all attack ships and steal their gold.Horseradish by Lemony Snicket

1998* 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011208

210

212

214

216

218

220

222

NAEP Reading Grade 4Overall Average Scale Score

Embargoed until NCES release

41998* 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

250

252

254

256

258

260

262

264

266

NAEP Reading Grade 8Overall Average Scale Score

Embargoed until NCES release

Homework

Homework

• What worked? 

• What didn’t work? 

• What evidence do you have of student engagement? 

• What would you do differently? 

• Are the student artifacts you brought representative of

the entire class or are they exemplars?

Culture of Literacy

• noun, the systematic killing of the love of reading, often exacerbated by the inane, mind-numbing practices found in schools (Gallagher, 2009)

Read-i-cide

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.”

~ Ray Bradbury

Reasons for Readicide:1. A Curriculum Steeped in Multiple-Choice

Test Preparation Drives Shallow Teaching and Learning

2. Rather Than Lift Up Struggling Readers, an Emphasis on Multiple-Choice Test Preparation Ensures That Struggling Readers Will Continue to Struggle. Test Preparation Plays a Large Part in Maintaining “Apartheid Schools.”

Reading for Pleasure

• Time • Place • Resources • Access • Allocation of Funds • Student Input in

Reading Selections • Modeling

• Media Center • Personalizing • Conversations About

What Students Read • ISE Days• Beyond School Day• Priority • Discourse • Content

Text Complexity

Grade Level: Lexile Range:

K-1 N/A

2-3 450-790

4-5 770-980

6-8 955-1155

9-10 1080-1305

11-CCR 1215-1355

Distribution of Text

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Grade 4 Grade 8 Grade 12

LiteraryInformational

It’s Your Turn

Evaluate a Text

The Grapes of WrathExcerptSteinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath.New York: Viking, 1967 (1939).

Placemat

Quantitative

Quantitative

Qualitative

Reader and Task

• Briefly describe the reader.• Explain the task associated with the text. • Consider these variables

– Student’s motivation– Knowledge– Experiences– Purpose and the complexity of the task assigned and

the questions posed.

Resources

Resources

It’s Your Turn

Evaluate a Text

The Grapes of WrathExcerptSteinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath.New York: Viking, 1967 (1939).

Placemat

What did the authors say?

Typical Lesson Model

Close reading Vocabulary in

context

Writing in response to the text

Grammar in context

Short inquiry-based projects building background knowledgeListening and Speaking in context

Reading

Text-dependent Questions• How were the terms 180 degrees and 2 o’clock

used in the text?• Why did the instrument panel become dark? • What did the author mean by, “Lovell’s heart went

timpanic? Has your heart ever gone timpanic? Describe what caused it and how it felt.

• How did Pilot Jim Lovell find his way back to the aircraft carrier?

• Did the pilot have much experience when the incident occurred? How do you know this?

Text-dependent Questions

Writing Prompts

Recap of Instructional Moves• First move: Teacher does little to

introduce So as not to simplify the text or rob students of discovering things for themselves

• Second move: Students read to themselves

Research shows students reading and re-reading improves their comprehension

Recap of Instructional Moves

• Third move: Teacher reads portion of text out loud

Research shows that teachers reading out loud improves fluency and builds vocabulary—smoothes out comprehension bumps caused by dysfluency, allowing all to access challenging text

• Fourth move: Students paraphrase or translate into own words

Research shows asking students to write about what they read strengthens their comprehension of texts

Recap of Instructional Moves

• Fifth move: Teacher asks a series of specific, text-dependent questions

Text-dependent questions serve as the scaffolding. They sustain focus on the paragraphs, sentences and even words of the text. They ask for evidence to support claims.

Recap of Instructional Moves

Sixth move: Students write an independent essay on that is text-based and requires evidence to support claims and connects reading analysis to writing. This is a means of processing and should be used as formative assessment.

Your Turn

Close reading Vocabulary in context

Writing in response to the text

Grammar in context

Short inquiry-based projects building background knowledgeListening and Speaking in context

Homework