Literacy Commitments

A Pathway for Developing Literate Students

Goals for Today

• Participants will learn the underlying principles for literacy in all content-area classrooms and the Literacy Commitments.

• Participants be able to utilize the Literacy Commitments and Best Practices during instructional planning.

Quick Write

• What is literacy?

• What does literacy look like in your content?

Think-Pair-Share

• Share your definition of literacy and what it looks like in your content-area with a shoulder partner.

Definition of Literacy

HISD defines literacy as:

• The ability to read, write, speak, listen, and think effectively.

and recommends• All students spend a minimum of 20-25 percent of

their time in each class engaged in integrated literacy strategies.

Why Literacy in every content-area?

Research shows:

• Each academic content poses its own literacy challenges in terms of vocabulary, concepts, and topics. Adolescents in secondary school classes need explicit instruction in the literacies of each discipline as well as the actual content of the course so they can become successful readers and writers in all subject areas.

Adolescent Literacy A Policy Research Brief produced by NCTE

Why Literacy in every content-area?

• The Alliance for Excellent Education (AEE) points to 8.7 million secondary school students-that is one in four-who are unable to read and comprehend the material in their textbooks.

Adolescent Literacy A Policy Research Brief produced by NCTE

Commitments & Best Practices

Commitments are:• a set of baseline literacy

expectations.

Best Practices are:

• research-based strategies that support the implementation of the Literacy Commitments.

Literacy-At-a-Glance

The Literacy Commitments are divided

into the categories of:

• Speaking & Listening

• Writing

• Reading

Facilitated classroom discussion

• The skillful way a teacher encourages students to think deeply, articulate their reasoning, and listen purposefully within the classroom.

Informal Writing

• A means for students to reflect about content-based information. The writing does not adhere to any formal structure. It is a writing-to-learn method.

Prior knowledge and make connections

• By activating prior knowledge, teachers create an entry point by which students are able to connect content curriculum to their personal knowledge base.

Literacy in the Curriculum

Vocabulary

Prerequisites

Background Knowledge and Critical Content

Objective & Time Allocation

Two-Column Notes

KWL Frayer Model

Facilitated-classroom discussions

Informal writing

Prior-knowledge and make connections

Content-specific language

Think-Pair- Share

Debrief

• Please feel free to e-mail us any questions or what you have learned today about Literacy.

• “Schools are effective because of their teachers.” -Rick DuFour and Bob Eaker Whatever it Takes

• “High-level learning by students requires high-level instruction by their teachers.”

-Charlotte Danielson Framework for Professional Practice

• “We put teachers into positions that make the best use of their talents, and then we work to help them improve their performance and reach their potential.” -Pete Hall Building Teacher’s Capacity for Success