Building Literacy for Life™

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Riverview GardensRoutines and Rituals

Grades 3-6 August 8, 2012

Patty Brinkman

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Session Objectives

• Examine the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model

• Explore a Community of Learners• Examine Environments to Support Independent

Learners• Identify purpose of mini-lessons • Understand characteristics of Independent

Reading

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Table Brainstorm

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Building a Community of Learners

When you walk into a classroom, how do you know that the teacher has built or is in the process of building a community of learners where every child is valued?

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Community of Learners Activity• Think about a classroom where a community of learners

has been created.

• What does this classroom look like? What does this classroom sound like?

• With your table, create a t-chart. Label one side “Looks Like” and the other side “Sounds Like”.

• As a table, list your ideas on each side.

• Choose a reporter and be ready to share.

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Characteristics of a Community of Learners

• Teachers share their own reading and writing.

• Teachers stop students when a negative comment is made and redirect the behavior with a positive response.

• Teachers treat all students with respect.

• Teachers believe that everyone is a learner and has the ability to teach others what they know.

• Teachers create situations for students to work together and support each other in their learning.

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Table Activity• Number off one to five.• Number 1 – Read and present to your table Share Reading and

Writing. (p. 4)

• Number 2 – Read and present to your table Class Meetings. (p. 5)

• Number 3 – Read and present to your table Conferences. (p. 5)

• Number 4 – Read and present to your table Accountable Talk. (p.6)• Number 5 – Read and present to your table Responding to

Literature. (p.6)• Tell at least two ways your section of reading will help build a

community of learners.

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Classroom Configuration

What messages are we sending?

What messages are we sending?

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Traditional Classroom

How it looks… What it says…• Teacher:

“I am the teacher. You will do as I say. Listen to me.”

• Students:“We are supposed to do what the teacher says. The teacher’s way is THE way”

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- Debbie Diller, Spaces & Places, 2008

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Connected RowsHow it looks… What it says…

• Teacher: “I have the information. I want you to be part of my group, but I’m not ready for you to be on your own.”

• Students: “Watch the teacher. Stay in your seats. That’s where you do your work.”

- Debbie Diller, Spaces & Places, 2008

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Horseshoe

How it looks… What it says…• Teacher: “We will

work together to learn. I’m not going to be the only one thinking. I’m interested in what you have to say.”

• Students: “We are going to be expected to think and participate. The teacher will lead our discussions.”

- Debbie Diller, Spaces & Places, 2008

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Table GroupsHow it looks… What it says…

• Teacher: “We will be learning together in lots of ways.”

• Students: “We are ALL learners and will work together. My ideas are valued here and will be used to help others.”

- Debbie Diller, Spaces & Places, 2008

Small Groups

Area

TWhole Group Area

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Classroom Configuration

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Classroom Configuration

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Classroom Libraries Activity

• Think, pair, share with your table.• Think: What purpose does a classroom library serve? What does a classroom library need to look like?

• How would my students use a classroom library?

• Think about the questions with your partner.

• Share your ideas with your table.

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Five Major Functions of Classroom Libraries

• Support literacy instruction• Help students to learn about books• Provide a central location for

classroom resources• Providing opportunities for

independent reading and curricular extensions

• Serving as a place for students to talk about and interact with books

Source: Reutzel, D. R. & Fawson, P. C. (2002). Your Classroom Library: New Ways to Give it More Teaching Power. Scholastic.

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Books in Classrooms• Expand children’s literary experiences (classroom library, wide variety of genres and forms, topics, multicultural)

• Support research and inquiry (books in centers, big books, content area texts in centers)

• Promote the development of referencing skills (dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedia)

• Aid children’s reading development (small group instructional reading/guided reading)

Source: Fountas and Pinnell. Matching Books to Readers.

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Setting Up Your Classroom Library

• Physical design/location

• Organization/storage of books

and resources• Selection criteria of materials for students and teachers

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Classroom Library

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Classroom Library

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Classroom Library

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Classroom Library

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Texts to Include in Classroom Libraries

Easy• Allow readers to read quickly, focus on the meaning, develop fluency with little attention on decoding• The reading is automatic, for most of the words read are known wordsJust Right• Allow readers to learn more about the reading process• Offer readers a variety of support in terms of text features with only a few challenges for problem solving activity• Allow students to read at least 90% of a given text independently (with good phrasing and fluency)Challenging• Most books at this level pose quite a problem for readers• When a student is unable to read a text with at least 90% accuracy, the meaning is jeopardized and quickly begins to break down• At this point, students may become quite frustrated

Source: Fountas and Pinnell. Matching Books to Readers.

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How Many Books in Our Classrooms?

• Lucy Calkins and Nancie Atwell: at least 20 per child

• Reutzel and Fawson: 300 to 375 minimum, 1500 to 2000

maximum (120 to 140 leveled texts)

• Richard Allington: at least 500 per classroom

• Regie Routman: an adequate classroom library will have

at least 200 books, but an excellent library will have more

than 1000

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Growing Your Collection

• Public, School Libraries

• Book clubs/Bookstores (new and used)

• Garage Sales

• Donations (from teachers, families,

community)

• Grants (local, state, federal)

• Fundraisers (PTA)

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What is a Mini-Lesson?• Corner # 1:

– What are different purposes of a mini-lesson? (List)

• Corner # 2:– What is a procedural mini-lesson? (Examples)

• Corner # 3:– What is a strategies and skills mini-lesson?

(Examples)• Corner # 4:

– What is a literary analysis mini-lesson? (Examples)

Discuss and record your ideas. Be ready toshare with the group.

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The First 30 Days of School• Find the calendar on p.18 of your Rituals and Routines

Handbook. Notice that the first 30 mini-lessons have been planned.

• With your partner, study the calendar and pp. 19-49.

• Find an example of each of the three types of mini-lesson (procedural, strategies and skill, and literary analysis.)

• Be ready to share the lesson with your table. Include the type of the mini-lesson, how it would benefit your students, and how it would benefit you.

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Anchor Chart - Procedural

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Anchor Chart – Strategy/Skill

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Anchor Chart – Literary Analysis

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“For students of every ability and background, it’s the simple, miraculous act of reading a good book that turns

them into readers, because even for the least experienced, most reluctant reader,

it’s the one good book that changes everything.”

-Nancie Atwell

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Book Talks

Book talks should include:• Brief, enthusiastic endorsement of the

book• What you loved• Rating (1 to 10) and why• Key information (title, author, genre, etc.)

and synopsis• Enticing hint or interesting part

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During independent reading…

• Reader’s response p.15-16• Conferring p.16 -17• Group share/ evaluation p.17

1.With your group, read assigned pages including any appendix pages.

2.Be prepared to share with the group at least 3 important points about your topic.

3.Record your ideas on chart paper.

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Valuable Lessons Learned from Independent Reading

• How to self select an appropriate text to read independently

• Knowledge of the classroom library classification system (organization of texts by genre, subject matter, difficulty level, etc.)

• The proper care of texts and self management skills with the placement of books back in the appropriate area, section, and basket

• How to sustain/focus one’s attention on a text

• The language of writers/authors

• Motivation, attitudes, and habits of good readers

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Independent Reading

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Independent Reading

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Independent Reading

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Independent Readers Should:

• be matched to texts they can read and understand with 95%

accuracy.

• read a text they enjoy daily.• practice and try out strategies demonstrated during mini-lessons, shared reading and small group instructional reading• monitor their reading, apply fix up strategies when the meaning or decoding breaks down.• self-select appropriate texts within the range of texts found in the classroom library.• talk with friends about selected and read texts (book clubs and discussion groups).

• periodically respond to their independent reading in writing.

Source: Regie Routman. Reading Essentials.

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“Independent reading is one of the most important times of my day, although it wasn’t always so. The turning point for me was realizing that I have to

give children more time to read if I really expect them to read better.

While I gave this notion lip service before, I didn’t fully understand its power.

Learning to read involves applying strategies and skills to real texts, and that requires practice. Lots and lots of practice.

In addition, the experience of reading has intrinsic rewards that lead children to want more.

And the more they want it, the more they read, and the better they get.”

-Sharon Taberski

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Table Brainstorm

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Teacher

Student

Gradual Release of Responsibility in Reading

Read Aloud

Shared Reading

Small Group Reading Instruction

Independent Reading

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Thinking About Instruction• Think about the role of Benchmark Literacy in the

Gradual Release of Instruction Model for Reading.

• Talk with your table and list the instructional strategies and resources Benchmark Literacy uses in each component.

• How does classroom management fit into each of

these components?

• Choose a reporter, and be prepared to share.

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Benchmark LiteracyComponent Activities Resources

InteractiveRead-Aloud

Shared Reading

Small Group Instruction

Independent Reading

HandoutHandout

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Benchmark LiteracyComponent Activities Resources

InteractiveRead-Aloud

•Before Reading•During Reading•After Reading

Getting Started

Shared Reading Whole Group mini-lessons

•TRS•Anchor Comprehension Poster•Genre Study•Reader’s Theater

Small Group Instruction

• Small group Guided Reading•Mini-lesson connection

• Instructional level text•TG•CTDR card•Reader’s Theater

Independent Reading •Choice student reading at independent reading level•Application of mini-lessons•Reader’s Response

•Leveled text•Classroom Library•Various activities

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Benchmark Literacy Questions and Answers