What Makes A Good Adolescent Literacy Program

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• What Makes A Good Adolescent Literacy Program?
• Judith Zorfass
• Joan Dunfey
• Andrea Winokur Kotula
• Education Development Center, Inc.
• May 18, 2005
• Webcast

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Introductions of EDC Presenters

• Dr. Judith Zorfass
• Dr. Andrea Kotula
• Ms. Joan Dunfey

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Agenda

• The Knowledge Base
• Literacy Goals
• 15 Elements of Adolescent Literacy Programs
• Highlights of the 15 Elements
• Strategies
• Assessment
• Professional Development
• Selecting Schoolwide Literacy Programs
• Q A

4
Knowledge Base

• Report of the National Reading Panel Teaching
  Children to Read (2000)
• Adolescents and Literacy Reading for the 21st
  Century (2003)
• Reading Next A Vision for Action and Research in
  Middle and High School Literacy (2004)
• Presentations by SEAs at the NECAC Adolescent
  Literacy Meeting (April, 2005)
• Past and present Federally-funded adolescent
  literacy projects conducted at EDC (ongoing)

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Literacy Goals

• Phonological awareness
• Decoding skills
• Rapid and automatic word recognition
• Store of word meanings
• Fluency
• Motivation
• Linguistic knowledge
• Comprehension strategies
• Linking to prior and background knowledge
• Setting a purpose for reading
• Discourse knowledge
• Self-monitoring and fix-up strategies

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15 Elements in Adolescent Literacy Programs
(Reading Next)

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Highlights of 15 Elements

• Assessment
• NPR Strategies
• Professional Development

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Types of Assessments

• Screening to identify those in need of extra
  instructional support
• Diagnostic to determine specific instructional
  needs
• Progress Monitoring (Formative Assessment) to
  ensure that adequate progress in reading is being
  achieved throughout the year
• Outcomes (Summative Assessment) to evaluate
  overall reading outcomes

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Example From Reach for Reading

• How do ALL of the students in a grade read?
• Which students will benefit from more intensive
  work on the essentials of reading?
• How many of these students is a school able to
  serve?

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Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests6th Grade
Percentiles (n 249)

• Vocabulary

Comprehension
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6th Grade SRI Scores by Quartile (n 277)
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11 Diagnostic Tests
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Sample Profiles
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Strategies (NRP and 21st Century)

• Motivation
• Skills Related to the Alphabetic Principle
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension

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Strategies for Understanding the Alphabetic
Principle

• Provide systematic, explicit, and direct
  instruction
• Use high-frequency sound-spelling relationships
  and words
• Encourage reflection
• Connect word analysis, word recognition, and
  semantic access

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Strategies for Fluency

• Repeated reading (with successively more
  difficult passages, as student is ready)
• Guided reading practice

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Strategies for Vocabulary Development

• Repetition and rich support
• Restructuring tasks and instruction, as needed
• Active engagement
• Use technology tools
• Provide direct and indirect instruction
• Create opportunities for incidental learning

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Comprehension Strategy Instruction

• Comprehension monitoring
• Cooperative learning
• Graphic organizers
• Story structure
• Question answering
• Question generating
• Summarization
• Mental imagery
• Mnemonic
• Multiple strategies

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The Content

• Adolescent Literature
• Questioning
• Response Strategies
• Selecting Literature
• Assessment

• Content Literacy
• Reading and Writing
• Text Structures
• I-Search
• Online Research
• Study Strategies
• Social Studies
• Science
• Math

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Overview Sites
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Reading Workshop Reading Comprehension

• http//www.springfield.k12.il.us/resources/languag
  earts/readingwriting/readcomp.html

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Mosaic of Thought Teaching Reading Comprehension
in a Readers Workshop

• http//www.madison.k12.wi.us/tnl/langarts/mosaic.h
  tm

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Using Prior Knowledge
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Literacy Matters Questioning

• http//www.literacymatters.org/adlit/questioning/i
  ntro.htm

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Reading Quest KWL

• http//curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/st
  rat/kwl.html

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Self Questioning the Text to Clarify New Ideas
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Literacy Matters Adolescent Literacy Lesson Plans

• http//www.literacymatters.org/lessons/curriculum.
  htm

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Howard County Public Schools What is Strategic
Reading?

• http//www.howard.k12.md.us/langarts/Curriculum/st
  rategies.htm

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Visualizing
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Literacy Matters Response Strategies Using Arts
and Crafts

• http//www.literacymatters.org/adlit/response/arts
  .htm

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Mrs. Lees Literary Compendium

• http//www.gretchenle.com/online_units/online_unit
  s.html

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Summarizing
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Literacy Matters How to Read a Textbook

• http//www.literacymatters.org/content/readandwrit
  e/textbook.htm

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Learning Strategies Database Summary Writing

• http//muskingum.edu/cal/database/general/reading
  .htmlSummary

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Synthesizing and Evaluating Main Ideas
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Reading Workshop Synthesizing and Evaluating
Main Ideas

• http//www.springfield.k12.il.us/resources/languag
  earts/readingwriting/readcompsynth.html

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Scholastic Strategies to Use During and After
Reading

• http//teacher.scholastic.com/lessonrepro/lessonpl
  ans/profbooks/strategies.htm

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Professional Development

• Leadership
• Principal
• Title 1, Literacy Coaches, Curriculum
  Coordinators
• Special Education Administrators
• Reading Leadership Teams
• Ongoing professional development
• coaching, mentoring
• LASW
• inquiry teams
• study groups
• online courses

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Example of Online Graduate Courses

• Helping Struggling Readers Improve Comprehension
  (July 6 - August 10)
• Improving Reading and Writing in the Content
  Areas
• Making the Most of Adolescent Literature
• Teaching Students How to Conduct Online Research

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Course Evaluations

• The most valuable element of this workshop
  is time. No matter the assignment, a person can
  complete the different activities based on their
  schedule. Time is precious to everyone. No one
  wants to give up the most important things in
  life just because their taking classes to better
  themselves. Learning should be a reward in its
  own and by structuring this online course in this
  was, learning is indeed rewarding.

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Selecting SchoolwideLiteracy Programs

• Guidelines
• Addressing diverse needs
• Critical questions to ask
• Some currently available programs

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Guidelines

• Programs should be appropriate for both the
  reading levels and the age levels of the students
  involved
• It is unlikely that any single program will
  address all the literacy needs of a school
• Programs should be flexible enough to allow for
  students different learning styles, abilities,
  backgrounds, and interests

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Addressing Diverse Needs
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Critical Questions to Ask in Selecting a Reading
Program

• For what age group?
• For what reading level?
• Is there independent research about the program
  if so, what does it say about the programs
  effectiveness?
• What sort of support/training is available?
• What level of expertise is assumed of the
  teacher?
• What is the cost (direct and indirect)?
• What are the implications for changes in the
  infrastructure?

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Selected Current Programs

• Accelerated Reader
• Ramp Up
• Read 180
• Reading is Fame
• Strategic Literacy Initiative
• Project CRISS
• Talent Development High School Literacy Program
• Supported Literacy Approach

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Supported Literacy Comprehension and Writing in
Diverse Classrooms

• Evidence-based comprehension strategies into six
  thematic units
• Based on language arts comprehension and writing
  standards
• Targets supporting an interpretation with
  evidence from the text orally and in writing
• Particular benefit students in 25th- 60th
  percentile on comprehension
• Compelling adolescent themes, texts
• Integrative meaning-making framework

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The Meaning-Making Cycle
Engage (Pose a question)

Represent (Write a supported interpretation
essay)
Respond (Write journal entries)
UNDERSTAND A TEXT
Revisit (Compare interpretations
in teacher-facilitated discussion)
Elaborate (Share responses in discussion circles)
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Sample Lesson Plan
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Deepening the Work in SchoolsSupported Literacy
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References

• Biancarosa, G., and Snow, C. E. (2004). Reading
  Next. A Vision for Action and Research in Middle
  and High School Literacy A Report from Carnegie
  Corporation of New York. Washington, DC
  Alliance for Excellent Education.
• Kamil, M. L. (2003). Adolescents and Literacy
  reading for the 21st Century. Washington, DC
  Alliance for Excellent Education.

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References

• National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children
  to read An evidence-based assessment of the
  scientific research literature on reading and its
  implications for reading instruction. Washington,
  DC National Institute of Child Health and Human
  Development

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Links to Reports

• National Reading Panel
• http//www.nationalreadingpanel.org/
• Alliance for Excellent Education
• http//web.all4ed.org/publications/ReadingNext
• Adolescents and Literacy Reading for the 21st
  Century
• http//www.all4ed.org/sitemap.htmlLiteracy

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Follow-up Contacts at EDC

• Andrea Winokur Kotula, Ed.D. (Reach for Reading)
• AKotula_at_edc.org
• Judith Zorfass, Ed.D. (Literacy Matters)
• JZorfass_at_edc.org
• Joan Dunfey (Literacy Matters)
• Jdunfey_at_edc.org
• Catherine Cobb Morocco, Ed.D. (Supported
  Literacy)
• CMorocco_at_edc.org
• Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC)
• 55 Chapel Street, Newton MA 02458
• .