Open Court Reading

Tools for Schools

June 9, 2008

Sharing the why: our purpose

Clarify district expectations Provide practical tools for guiding

staffs toward coherent instruction in ELA

Provide guided practice in the use of common tools

Establish a vision for next school year

Glancing back and gazing forward:Open Court in perspective

ELA Content StandardsBalanced LiteracyOCR AdoptionTraining and SupportAssessment NotebooksAlignment of Curriculum, Instruction

and Assessment

Essential questions and common denominators

How do the Big Ideas of Reading, Balanced Literacy and Open Court fit together?

What does fidelity mean? What are the “Must do’s” and “May do’s”

of reading instruction? How can I help the staff improve their

practice as reading teachers?

How do the Big Ideas of Reading, Balanced Literacy and Open Court fit together?

Tool #1: PliersReading Instruction Matrix

Big Ideas of Reading

Balanced Literacy Open Court

What does fidelity mean?

Implementation of a Scientifically-Based

Reading Research (SBRR) program Carefully Faithfully Systematically

Instructional content based on “Big 5” Assessment data regularly used to meet student

needs Differentiating instruction Monitoring progress

What is fidelity of program implementation?

Content - Accurately teaching the

the reading program the way it was designed

Delivery - Using effective teaching techniques and strategies to maximize student learning

What is fidelity of program implementation?

Coherent Instructional design Explicit instructional strategies Systematic instructional sequences Ample practice opportunities Aligned student materials

Ongoing use of assessments that

inform instructional decisions

What is fidelity of program implementation?

Systematic delivery of explicit instruction Scaffolding Differentiation

Intervention (in addition to initial instruction) Students NOT making adequate progress Students EXCEEDING grade level standards

How do you maintain fidelity and differentiate instruction?

Follow program’s scope and sequence Select activities to meet identified student

needs Use instructional daily routines Focus on grade-level power standards

Within the BIG 5

What are the “Must do’s” and “May do’s of reading instruction?

Tool #2: The Socket Wrench

Literacy Instruction Commitments

Must do’s May do’s

How can I help the staff improve their practice as reading teachers?

Tool #3: The Swiss Army Knife

O.C.R. Observation Checklists

Levels K-5

Part 1: Preparing to Read

Part 2: Reading and Responding

Part 3: Language Arts

Workshop

Three ways to use the checklists:

To document fidelity of program content and delivery (evidence-based)

To facilitate meaningful, professional conversation about teacher practice (explicit)

To structure ongoing walk-throughs and teacher support (systematic)

Guided Practice

OCR Video Clip #1

Phonics and Fluency Grades 2 & 3

Sound by sound blending/ Whole word blending

Use 2nd grade checklist

Time: 2 minutes 39 seconds

Focus Questions: How is this blending activity

important for all students? How have you seen this routine

used in the classroom?

Guided Practice

OCR Video Clip #2

Comprehension Grade 1

1st Read of Shared Reading

Use 1st grade checklist

Time: 2 minutes

Focus Questions: What questions would you have for

this teacher in a follow-up conversation?

Describe observations you have made during shared reading.

Guided Practice

OCR Video Clip #3

Workshop/ Intervention Grades 4-6

Introduction to concepts of workshop and intervention

Use 4th grade checklist

Time: 1 minute 8 seconds

Focus Questions: What are some difficulties attached to

implementing workshop? How have you or your teachers

overcome them?

Sharing the how: your plan

Describe your vision for utilizing… The Pliers (Reading Instruction Matrix)

The Socket Wrench (Must do’s and May do’s)

The Swiss Army Knife (Observation checklists)

Paper Airplane

A Lesson for Flying

Outside the Box