diverse learning cop putting the puzzle together: components of an effective reading program for...
TRANSCRIPT
Diverse Learning CoP
Putting the Puzzle Together:
Components of an Effective Reading Program for Struggling Readers
Facilitator: Donna LupatkinGuests: Cindy Mata-Aguilar, Andrea Kotula,
Cerelle Morrow, Education Development Center
Date: November 3, 2008
Goals
• To understand how the key components of a successful reading program for struggling readers fit together
• To share information about what works in different schools
• To plan ways to continue the conversation and share resources
Agenda
• Welcome and Introductions
• Setting the Context: Problem Solving
• Components of an Effective Reading Program
• Next Steps
Meet our Guest
Cindy Mata-Aguilar brings 32 years of experience in working in education. Ms. Aguilar’s expertise includes literacy, special education, inclusive practices, and school reform in the middle and high school.
Dr. Andrea Winokur Kotula has been a teacher, teacher-educator, and researcher for 40 years. Her primary focus has been on diagnosis and interventions for struggling readers.
Cerelle Morrow is a Senior Training and Technical Assistance Associate. She is a former middle school English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher and holds a M.Ed. in International Education Development, with a specialization in Teaching English as a Second Language (TESOL) from Teachers College, Columbia University.
Setting the Context:Types of Reading Problems
• Foundation skills (phonemic awareness, phonics, and sight word vocabulary)
• Fluency
• Comprehension (vocabulary, text comprehension, and comprehension strategies)
What are the Separate Pieces?
Assessment
Research-based instructional strategies
Programming
Professional Development
Leadership
Integration of Technology
Assessment
• Screening: Which students need additional reading support?
• Diagnostic testing: What kinds of specific help does each student need?
• Progress monitoring: How are they doing? Are they acquiring the needed skills?
Discussion: Testing in Your School
• What kinds of tests do you use in your school? Why?
– One school gives the MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) Test in the spring of the entire school population.
• How do you use the results to inform instruction?
– One school finds that the TerraNova Test identifies red flags.
– Another schools uses the QRI (Quality Reading Inventory) since it provides an informal assessment.
• Assessment drives the instruction
• Explicit and systematic instruction is needed.
• Intensity for struggling readers: more time, smaller groups
• Building sight vocabulary enhances fluency
Foundation Reading Skills
Vocabulary Learning
• Listening – the words needed to understand what is heard
• Speaking – the words used when speaking
• Reading – the words needed to understand what is read
• Writing – the words used in writing
• Sight – those words that can be identified without explicit decoding during reading
Nagy, W.E., & Scott, J.A. (2000)
Vocabulary: Tiers
• Tier 1 – very basic, common words – happy, good, hand, telephone, house.
• Tier 2 – high frequency for mature language – fairly general but sophisticated: coincidence, remote, absurd, delinquent, travesty. Isabel Beck estimates 8,000; 800/yr K-9; 600/year K-12.
• Tier 3 – low frequency words often limited in use to a particular domain – digraph, schwa, isotope, schemata, etc.
Beck, I. L., McKeown, M.G. & Kucan, L. Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction
Discussion
• Implications for Hebrew and English vocabulary learning– Teaching second language learning is best understood
as teaching to all students—from the same perspective that RtI teaches to all students.
• If students come from bilingual homes (Hebrew and English), then it makes it even more complicated to create an effective reading program designed to teach all children.
• “Koallen “might be a helpful tool• “Kriah scan,” a tools designed by Aaron Hirsh
Fried, is useful for all ages.
Comprehension
• Comprehension monitoring
• Cooperative learning
• Graphic and semantic organizers
• Question answering
• Question generation
• Summarization
• Multiple strategy instruction
Discussion
In our discussion, participants noted that it became important to consider the following issues and strategies in designing reading programs:
* Learning academic vocabulary at home and at school.
* Finding and using vocabulary lists of English and Hebrew
* Considering the 10 lists of most frequently used academic words
Programming to Meet Students’ Needs
• Core Instruction
• Supplemental Instruction
• Intensive Instruction
Discussion: Programs in Your School
• What types of supplemental instruction do you provide? – Classroom teachers help students in the
classroom.
• What types of intensive instruction do you provide? – Resource teachers are used, though this gets
expensive.
Professional DevelopmentWho in your school?
What? How? (what strategies)
Classroom teacher
Reading and specialists
Special educators
Administrators
Leadership
• Must involve principal/head of school, curriculum leaders, and members of the Board
• Needs to be aligned to mission, vision, strategic plan
• Needs to provide teachers with ongoing support
• Needs to involve families
• Needs to consider how to access and allocate resources
Integration of Technology
Consider– Types of technology tools– Purpose for use– Students’ abilities and needs– Curriculum goals– Connection to research-based strategies– Availability and access– Professional development
Technology Resources
• TECHMATRIX: http://www.techmatrix.org/
• Literacy Matters www.literacymatters.org– http://www.literacymatters.org/teachers/index.htm
• Read Write Think http://www.readwritethink.org/
• Thinkfinity http://thinkfinity.org/PartnerSearch.aspx?orgn_id=
• Reading Rockets http://www.readingrockets.org/?gclid=CLW3w5yQlZYCFQKaFQodC391Eg
PEJE wishes to thank Hidden Sparks for their generous support of this CoP.