Leaping into Literacy Academy

Leaping into Literacy AcademyWelcome to the first day of the Leaping into Literacy Academy. Its a pleasure to be here with you. I am Beth Kirchgessner, Beth K. an Act 89 Reading Specialist here at IU 19. Our first item on the agenda is to talk about a resource program which classroom teachers will have access to throughout the school year and to talk about the programmatic implications for the program.Its a gift. Truly. I have been teaching reading for over 15 years and as a reading teacher and a classroom teacher I know the value of finding a material which assists you in teaching reading well. So, how does it work and what efforts will I need to put in to be able to use it productively. Thats what well cover this morning the what, the why, and because we are all teachers and we want to be effective in our teaching well spend the second part of this morning going over the how. How does this tool work, what planning and implementation and learning do I need to do to have it work effectively for my students. 1ObjectivesWhat: To introduce the Reading A-Z leveled program and to discuss the tools available to you with Reading A-Z

Why: To discuss and review Differentiated Instruction and Benchmarking Students

How: To discuss and practice the how tos of running records and differentiated grouping

Our Objectives over these two days:What: To introduce the Reading A-Z leveled program and to discuss the tools available to you with Reading A-Z

Why: To discuss and review Differentiated Instruction and Benchmarking Students

How: To discuss and practice the how tos of running records and differentiated grouping

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First -- The Reading A Z program. Isnt it lovely? I truly am a huge fan of this program. If you look across the yellow/beige tabs which highlight the different sections of materials available to you. What we are focusing on today is the third tabe from the left leveled reading and the third tab from the right Assessment. There are many resources on Reading AZ which youll find support reading and language instruction but for today we are just diving deeply into these two.Now what weve highlighted on this slide with the two green circles are the website; www.readinga-z.com and the login. Youll be given a prompt card with this information so dont worry about getting it down were just aiming to help it look familiar. In sessions later on today youll have a chance to hop on and try the site yourselves.3

Once youve put in your login the site will take you to the Welcome page where you click on Home.4

And that will take you to the Product sites. The subscriptions which are available to you are:Reading A-Z, Raz-Kids a site which reads stories aloud to students, Vocabulary A-Z, Writing A-Z. If you click on the green link for Reading A-Z up there at the top of the product sites list it will take you to the resources page. 5

The leveled reading books for differentiated instruction are our focus this morning. So we click on the tab circled in green and here we are ( click to next page).6

Now weve talked about how to log in and well go over in a few how to do a running record and benchmarking but for right now we are up to talking about why this approach matters and why it represents a key element of best practices in reading lets take a minute for self-reflection before we go ontake a minute and just consider for yourself what elements of our your classroom practice are working well and what if any would benefit from some additional support or resources. (1 min. pause). Oknow we dont need to bare our souls here but do take a minute to turn to your neighborhood and share a bit about your reading structure. Ok in the classrooms we have had over the years evolution in the structure of our reading groups, changes in the material we use. We have over the last 20 -30 years made some changes in how we teach and how we use our reading materials. With that in mind lets talk about the idea of leveled reading. In shared reading we read and the children may or may not read a percentage of the books, in choral reading, the children read a percentage of the books; right when their turn comes. In leveled reading the children are placed in a book which has been benchmarked as at their instructional level. Its a book which is at their instructional decoding level and at their instructional comprehension level. Its in the words of Goldilocks and the Three Bears not too cold, not too hot but just right. for you to use to teach them some key ideas about reading so that they leave their lesson with a few more tools in their tool belt.

So take a minute and consider with a colleague sitting near you what it would mean to have ready access to stories which are marked as the appropriate level for a group of students and books which come with some teaching points a summary of the story plot for you to share with your students along with the key vocabulary pointed out on the cover page along with a quick check quiz for a comprehension check and what if that program was set up in a sequenced order so that you could see the progression in challenges visually and be given lesson plans for support in teaching that sequence. You dont have to raise hands here but has anyone else had that pit in your stomach feeling when you work with a child and at the end of your time together you go well that was just too easy or worse yet that was just too hard. Today well be talking about assessing our children with Benchmark books so that we know where they are supposed to be reading, so that we can group them accordingly and give them the lessons they need. Each level aa ( which along with A and B are kindergarten books) all the way up through x, y and z fifth grade books with first, second, third and fourth in between are leveled for sentence complexity, concept challenges and load, illustration support, word ratios so that children who are instructional at their Benchmark level are receiving the lessons which will move them on up. There are more than 20 books at each level typically a student needs around 8 books at a level alongside their language arts work in order to be ready for the next level. Heres a look see at those readers by level7

Each level has about twenty books with different teaching points; along with developmentally appropriate vocabulary and the quick checks. Again, taking a look here you see the books which begin at level aa which is preschool appropriate on up through levels a-c which are kindergarten appropriate on up through the grades with levels x, y and z rounding out 5th grade. Now what else do we have with the program to support our teaching8

Each book comes with a story summary; the vocabulary to preteach is highlighted and there are accompanying full lesson plans with what to and how tos if youd like them along with and were really not encouraging diving into these as much as were encouraging the books there are some useful work sheets. 9

So at the bottom of each leveled book under the summary youll find additional teaching resources which you may find helpful in your teaching. The lesson plans are complete; there are ideas for teaching objectives, reading strategies, grammar and mechanics lessons, comprehension lessons, word work etc. That said - Our primary hope is that youll use the site to benchmark your childrens reading levels and have them grouped and reading in their instructional level. Lets take a look at the texts there are fiction and non-fiction; some series books Im a big fan of the Bonk and Friends Monster series which teaches character lessons alongside some embedded phonics lessons that I like to use for my word work/phonics lessons. Lets take a look inside some books:10

This is from The Hungry Frog an early reader. 11

And from a list of books available for students reading at a level M which is typically a mid second grade level a level 24 on the DRA as an aside for anyone from upper grades do we have upper grade teachers here? . For 6th, 7th, 8th youll find the leveled books appropriate for bringing along readers who are behind their peers.So when you click on the book youll find a summary and the lesson plan objectives. This is the inside of that book.12

Mid Second Non-Fiction text with an accompanying follow-up comprehension quiz. Our children often need more work with good non-fiction texts at first, second and third and fourth grade and the A Z booklets have many choices and the kids find the topics engaging. Some of the nonfiction selections will fit into your content area studies as well George Washington in history; Butterflies in Science 13

The Quick Check quizzes offer an opportunity to practice multiple choice questions, inferential thinking (notice question 10 having read Louis Brailles biography can your student interpret question 10 Why do people today know Louis Brailles name) , theres detailed and factual recounting, using a glossary ( the words in black here its Braille are on a Glossary page of the text always a good place to start in a reading lesson or certainly a good place to encourage children to jump to as they are reading the words that are in the glossary are in dark black in the text to let students know they can jump to the glossary for information). You may find the last question on the Quick Checks helpful as the Extended Response Questions here #11 offer an opportunity for students to compose a written response based on the reading. 14

Here is a level Y text covering Louis and Clarks expedition across our country. As I mentioned there are resources for content area studies in history, science and some cultural studies at all of the levels.15

In some of the upper grade books theres a listing of follow-up courses of study alongside the glossary of vocabulary definitions. . Is there a catch? Yes, so here goes. First, while the IU has printed out books for you to take home today in collections of 5/6 for you to use with small groups. In order to have a sufficient collection to take you through the school year youll need to print more books in small group collections. A project but a cost-effective one. Books that are printed, used and stored in a file for next time accumulate over time and in a reasonable amount of time youll have a good sized collection of leveled books you are familiar with. It is reasonable to imagine that on average a weaker group will meet with you 2 or even 3 times a week to read their books then re-read from them and another lesson to get a book or books for next time. The books have been printed such that theres one for you and enough for a small group. A second challenge - the first year; when you are not yet familiar with the content in the books it takes that few extra minutes to prepare - That said the summaries really help you to have a good sense of the book and as you see here the key vocabulary and summary are listed for you as are the download buttons for downloading stories to make additional copies.So, take a few minutes you may have some ideas you want to mull over in terms of how you could envision this working in your classroom or grade level if there are questions you can put them on a post-it and there is a parking lot board for those there and well go through them. And then lets take a break and when we come back well talk about running records and benchmarking.16Using running records for Benchmark AssessmentStudents should be assessed using benchmark books in the first six weeks of school. These benchmark levels are used to determine which text level from A-Z is the appropriate start point. Throughout the year students read one to two times weekly with leveled readers. Students are re-assessed in May.

Students should be assessed using benchmark books in the first six weeks of school. These benchmark levels are used to determine which text level from the Reading A-Z leveled readers is the appropriate start point for your student groups. Typically there are 4 groups in a classroom. Sometimes 3, sometimes 5 it depends on the results of your benchmarking and where kids fall. Throughout the year students read one to two times weekly with leveled readers. (Earlier readers; K and 1 and 2nds or thirds who are behind will read more books in order to move up.)Students are re-assessed in May.

17Taking a Running RecordRunning records are taken most often at the earlier stages of reading and when benchmarking in the fall and spring. Students who are not progressing at the expected rate should be assessed even more frequently than the schedule suggested below.Early Emergent readers (Levels aa C): every 2 to 4 weeks Emergent readers (Levels D J): every 4 to 6 weeks Early fluent readers (Levels K P): every 6 to 8 weeks Fluent readers (Levels Q Z): every 8 to 10 weeks

Each Reading A Z book has a typed out running record accompanying it to help you to quickly do a check on your students decoding and comprehension skills so you can insure they are in their just right books. Running records are taken most often at the earlier stages of reading and when benchmarking your students. Students who are not progressing at the expected rate should be assessed even more frequently than the schedule suggested below.Early Emergent readers (Levels aa C): every 2 to 4 weeks Emergent readers (Levels D J): every 4 to 6 weeks Early fluent readers (Levels K P): every 6 to 8 weeks Fluent readers (Levels Q Z): every 8 to 10 weeks 18Taking a running record takes practice. Before attempting a running record, read the procedural steps below, then go to the section on Marking a Running Record Form.Select a book that approximates the student's reading level. Explain that she/he will read out loud as you observe and record her/his reading skills. With the running record form in hand, sit next to the student so that you can see the text and the student's finger and eye movements as she/he reads the text. As the student reads, mark each word on the running record form by using the appropriate Running Record Symbols and Marking Conventions shown below. Place a checkmark above each word that is read correctly. If the student reads incorrectly, record above the word what the student reads. If the student is reading too fast for you to record the running record, ask her/him to pause until you catch up. Be sure to pay attention to the reader's behavior. Is the student using meaning (M), structural (S), and visual (V) cues to read words and gather meaning? Intervene as little as possible while the student is reading. If the student is stuck and unable to continue, wait 5 to 10 seconds, then tell her/him the word. If the student seems confused, provide an explanation to clear up the confusion and say, "Try again."

The instructions for everything that we are talking about today are outlined on the website and on pages in your packet so you have a ready reference and the Act 89 reading teachers are also available as a resource. Today we are going to go over running records and benchmarking to review the process. Go on

Taking a running record takes practice. Before attempting a running record, read the procedural steps below, then go to the section on Marking a Running Record Form.Select a book that approximates the student's reading level. Explain that she/he will read out loud as you observe and record her/his reading skills. With the running record form in hand, sit next to the student so that you can see the text and the student's finger and eye movements as she/he reads the text. As the student reads, mark each word on the running record form by using the appropriate Running Record Symbols and Marking Conventions shown below. Place a checkmark above each word that is read correctly. If the student reads incorrectly, record above the word what the student reads. If the student is reading too fast for you to record the running record, ask her/him to pause until you catch up. Be sure to pay attention to the reader's behavior. Is the student using meaning (M), structural (S), and visual (V) cues to read words and gather meaning? Intervene as little as possible while the student is reading. If the student is stuck and unable to continue, wait 5 to 10 seconds, then tell her/him the word. If the student seems confused, provide an explanation to clear up the confusion and say, "Try again."

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Lets take a few minutes and check through the symbols and see whats what.As an important aside I have to share that personally dontmake check marks over whats correctly read check, check, check its too time consuming. Take that time and use it to write down and analyze the errors/miscues/mispeaks that are made so you see patterns of the students confusions. Ok take a few minutes to read through the running record marking conventions...

lets share if you have questions about the coding.20

Heres a sample running record for now we are only concerning ourselves with recording marks and coding errors and self-corrections. 21

Lets take a look at one of the Benchmark Books so we can get a sense of the text and of the process of Benchmarking our students. This Benchmark Booklet is Level L by Fountas and Pinnell Leveling or Level 20 the beginning of second grade by DRA level. Now lets imagine that you are a second grade teacher and youve done the benchmarking in the first few weeks of school to see where your kids are and which Reading A Z books are at their instructional not too hot, not too cold level. Most classes will have about 4 levels in their classrooms. Youll have your level Hs and Is they are back in first grade level readers the summer time leisure has them rested and refreshed but they are going to need some brushing up to catch up to grade level and get to grade level end by May. Youll be seeing them more frequently, the reading teacher I do hope you have one will also be seeing them because these cherubs need double dipping/ extra lessons in order to accelerate their progress to grade level. Then youll have your level Ks and Ls. The Ks are just at level 18 solid end of first grade reading and your Ls are right ready for second grade reading without any confidence building. Youll see them twice a week starting with level K books and giving the Ks the firm foundation they need with about 8 level K books over the next 4 weeks until you can fold the Ks into level L books. and of course youll have a few students who are well ahead of everyone. They are in second but reading books at level 28 or N, O, P and maybe even levels above and you have to see them once a week in small group in order to make sure they practice decoding, critical thinking, response writing in order to further their stronger skills as they need. With this program you are reaching into a file cabinet to grab a set of 6 books and give them a short lesson and instruction and they are off and running. So, its September; you are going to do some Benchmarking of your students; youll be wanting to read the the Benchmark texts which fall in the range of your grade level so that when the kiddos tell youre their alternative answers to the comprehension you can give those responses a thumbs up or thumbs down. If you would take out Harold and the Hungry Plant and read through it well take a few minutes to read it before going in to taking the running record. 22

Ok.. Here is where we find the Benchmark books and the papers we need to take a running recordIn addition to some books to get you started you are also being given an original copy of the benchmarks and the running record and the comprehension quick check for each level ( levels aa through z). This master can be used for assessing your students at each of the different grade levels in the fall and in the late spring. 23

If you could pull these sheets out of your packet lets try this twice and see how two different students respond. I think youll be excited at how quickly this begins to be become clear.24