Reading First Action Seminar

1
Reading First Action Seminar Los Angeles Unified
Schools February 2005
2
Its not the I.Q., but the I WILL that is
important in education. -anonymous
3
A Quick Review

• Support networks and collegial groups keep us
  thinking about improving our work!
• We cant evaluate what we do not know.
• When we hear incorrect information, we have to be
  willing to have the discussion!
• The road to improved student achievement is
  through adult learning.
• Fail to plan.Plan to fail!

4
Objectives and Outcomes

• Determine how analysis of student of writing can
  be used to inform teaching decisions.
• Identify how the lesson design of Open Court
  contributes to the schema necessary for quality
  writing.

5
Follow-up Conversation Vocabulary
castigation n. Criticism or punishment
delivered in a severe manner (formal)
6
Follow-up Conversation Vocabulary

• 1. What evidence did you see of robust vocabulary
  instruction and development at your school?
• 2. How did you use the information provided in
  the last professional development?
• 3. What correlations are there between your SOAR
  data and your responses to the previous
  questions?

• Share the data collected, evidence seen, and the
  actions taken since the last seminar. Colleagues
  will give constructive feedback.

7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
Insert LD writing data disaggregated by
ethnicity.
10
Insert LD writing data disaggregated by language
proficiency.
11
Examining School Site Writing Data

• 1. Examine your Grade 3 writing data.
• 2. Discuss with your school team
• What observations can you make?
• What are the implications for instruction?

12
A Closer Look at Writing Instruction

• During your classroom observations, what evidence
  do you have that writing instruction is taking
  place daily?
• What is the evidence that teachers understand the
  connection between the core components of OCR and
  writing instruction?

13
What does it take to write?

• Turn to the graphic organizer (Handout page 8).
  
• Describe the function and parts of a carburetor.
• You have 3 minutes to begin your prewrite. Go!

What do you need to know to write about this
subject?
14
The goal of a carburetor is to mix just the right
amount of gasoline with air so that the engine
runs properly. If there is not enough fuel mixed
with the air, the engine runs lean and either
will not run or potentially damages the engine.
If there is too much fuel mixed with the air, the
engine runs rich and either will not run (it
floods), runs smoky, runs poorly (bogs down,
stalls easily) or at the very least wastes fuel.
The carb is in charge of getting the mixture just
right.
15
A carburetor is essentially a tube.
There is an adjustable plate across the tube
called the throttle plate that controls how much
air can flow through the tube.
At some point in the tube there is a narrowing,
called the venturi, and in this narrowing a
vacuum is created.
16
In this narrowing there is a hole, called a jet,
that lets the vacuum draw in fuel.
17
(No Transcript)
18
Please read The excerpt from Wondrous Words
Writers and Writing in the Elementary
Classroom By Katie Wood Ray
Please afford others the gift of silence.
19
Compare and Contrast
Inexperienced writers
Experienced writers
20
What adds up to good writing instruction?
(
)

Quality Writing Instruction

• Knowledge
• of the
• Standards

Writing Process

Conceptual Development

Genre
21
Tonights Objectives

• Determine how analysis of student of writing can
  be used to inform teaching decisions.
• Identify how the lesson design of Open Court
  contributes to the schema necessary for quality
  writing.

22
What are the traits of good writing?

• In order to better answer this question, think
  about the following
• a novel you have enjoyed
• the newspaper you read this morning
• an email communication shared
• a great article you have studied
• Then, list traits common to good writing.

23
Activity 1

• Read Sample A of student writing, focusing on
  content and applications.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses of the writing.
• Be prepared to report your findings.

24
Activity 2

• Read Sample B of student writing, focusing on
  content and applications.
• Identify strengths and weaknesses of the writing.
• Be prepared to report your findings.

25
Focusing on content and applications, what is it
going to take for this student and others like
him to become proficient writers?
26
Tonights Objectives

• Determine how analysis of student of writing can
  be used to inform teaching decisions.
• Identify how the lesson design of Open Court
  contributes to the schema necessary for quality
  writing.

(
)

Quality Writing Instruction
Knowledge of the Standards
Writing Process

Conceptual Development

Genre
27
What are the OCR ingredients that contribute to
the knowledge base necessary for quality writing?

• Unit Opener
• Inquiry Journal
• Concept/Question Board
• Build Background
• Preview and Prepare
• Phonics/Fluency
• Word Knowledge (2002)
• Developing Oral Language

• Selection Vocabulary
• Comprehension Skills
• Discussing the Selection
• Theme Connections (small group discussion)
• Concept/Question Board
• Exploring the Theme
• Inquiry Journal
• Concept/Question Board

28
Taking a Closer Look
How does the City Wildlife unit opener contribute
to the schema necessary for quality writing ?
29
(No Transcript)
30
Activity 3

• Read the schema map for City Wildlife.
• Learning Goals
• Selection Concepts
• 2. Highlight conceptual knowledge and vocabulary
  that would support the student writing.

What key concepts and vocabulary taught in the
City Wildlife unit will enhance student writing?
31
Activity 3, cont.

• Read the Unit Overview page on the Unit Opener.
• Page numbers

32
Think Aloud Model

• Lets look at the Unit Opener
• What knowledge base (schema) do my students need
  about ____ to enhance their writing?
• What vocabulary do I want to preteach?
• What concepts can I illustrate that will support
  the theme?
• What literature, activities, and realia will help
  activate prior knowledge and build background?

33
Unit Opener City Wildlife
Realia bird nest, insects, plants in a pot,
pictures (pet vs. wild animals) Vocabulary
habitat, survive, adapt, pet (domestic),
wildlife Activities nature walk with observation
journal, read aloud Resources Wild in the City
by Jan Thornhill, When the Pigs Took Over by
Arthur Dorros, internet sites, Thinking Maps
34
Activity 4What are the OCR ingredients that
contribute to the knowledge base necessary for
quality writing?

• Divide OCR components equally amongst colleagues.
• Read the lesson.
• Determine how each component will contribute to
  students schema necessary for quality writing.
• Record you answers on a puzzle piece.
• Be specific.
• Share with your colleagues and build your puzzle
  on the chart paper.

35
Think-Write-Pair-Share

• Several OCR components contribute to the
  schema necessary for quality writing. What
  discoveries did you make about this statement?
• Individually, quick-write. (3 minutes)
• At the cue, find a partner to discuss your
  responses with, noting similarities and
  differences. (4 minutes total)
• You will be invited to share publicly.
  (3 minutes)

36
Do these C/Q Boards build schema?
37
How does this vocabulary evidence add to
students schema?
38
Content Standards and Instructional Practices
Kindergarten - Grade 3
Read the Overview from page 26 and 27 of the
Reading/Language Arts Framework for California
Public Schools (provided in your participant
packet).
Of particular interest here are ideas,
organization, voice, word choice, sentence
fluency, and conventions. The first five involve
content (rather than spelling and mechanics) and
directly address aspects of decontextualized
communication that many students find
challenging. - page 26
39
Activity 5What evidence of conceptual knowledge
do you find in your students writing?

• Look at the samples of student writing you
  brought with you.
• As you read the work, discuss as a team
• ? What do we notice?
• ? What tend to be strengths?
• ? What tend to be challenges?
• ? Which students look well on their way and which
  students need more instruction?
• What area do we want to focus on first?
• What are the implications for professional
  development?

40
Writing Objectives
S Specific M Measurable A Actionable R
Realistic T Time-bound
41
Fuzzy Objective

• Our objective is to improve
• student achievement.

42
SMART Objective

• By June, 90 of our Kindergarten students will
  be at or above grade level in phonemic awareness
  (as measured by the Kindergarten End-of-the-Year
  assessment) through all of our Kindergarten
  teachers meeting regularly to plan phonemic
  awareness lessons, practice teaching, and gain
  feedback from each other.

43
Effective Objectives

• Addresses, or aligns with, the current situation
• Objective is SMART
• Reaching objective will have a significant impact
  on success at your site

44
Action Plan
45
An Opportunity to Share

• Pair up with another school team.
• Share your action plan.
• Team A Team B (7 minutes)
• Team B Team A (7 minutes)

46
Reminders!
47
Improving Student Writing

• Students must be challenged to do the deep
  thinking that leads to works like those of Toni
  Morrison and Isabelle Allende and Kurt Vonnegut
  and Daisaku Ikeda and Shakespeare and J. K.
  Rowling, Emerson, Tolstoy, Pushkin.  They were
  thinkers first.  Weve got to push thinking as
  the measure of writing capacity just as we push
  phonemic awareness, automaticity, and fluency
  before comprehension. 
• -Alta Ray
• former reporter for LIFE magazine
• Expert, Elementary Literacy