Regina Public Schools Reads for Middle Years A companion document to the

Saskatchewan English Language Arts Curriculum for Grades 4-8

2016

Big Ideas of ReadingWhat is important to understand about reading?

“Children learn to read by reading… but not without instructional support. It’s well

known that in order to become thoughtful, strategic, proficient readers, children

need to read a lot. When children read extensively, they learn about themselves,

other people, and the world; they learn that reading is something they can do

that empowers them to control their lives, connect with each other,

and make the world a better place.”

(Miller & Moss, 2013, p. 1)

• How do the overarching principles of readingconnect to my philosophy of effective instruction?

• How do I address comprehension, engagedreading and fluency with my students every day?

• How do I make oral language a foundational partof student learning?

Page 1

Saskatchewan Reads is based on current research in learning to read and teaching reading. The following overarching principles guided the work of this document (Saskatchewan Education, 2002; Manitoba Education, 2004; Ontario Ministry of Education, 2003).

All students can read.• All students have the capacity to learn to read and understand the processreadersusetounderstand,reflectandconnectreadingtotheirdailylives.

• Teachers need to show students that they believe in the students’ potential asreaders.Bybuildingself-confidenceandself-acceptance,teacherscanhelpstudentsgainasenseofconfidenceandcapability.

The teacher is essential in a student’s success in reading.• It is essential for teachers to engage students in reading and promote a love of

reading.

• Ongoing formative assessment is used to guide instruction.

• It is important to provide authentic reading time with quality reading material thatincorporates a balance of teacher and student selected texts to allow for choice,voice, level and interest.

• Teachers need to be aware of and respond to the developmental level of eachstudent. By recognizing where students are as language learners, teachers canprovide responsive instruction and experiences that will build upon what studentsknow and can do.

• Asreflectiveandresponsivepractitioners,teachersusetheirknowledgeofstudents, the curriculum and language development to guide decisions aboutclassroom instruction. Teachers learn about the effectiveness of their teachingwhentheyreflectontheresultsoflearningopportunitiesandconsiderpossibleadaptations to help students achieve curriculum expectations.

• Teachers are culturally and linguistically responsive to the needs of their students.

• TeachersfulfillthecurricularexpectationstoinfuseMétisandFirstNationscontent,perspectives, values and lessons.

Oral language is the foundation of literacy.• Oral language is the foundation of literacy and is a strong predictor of learning.

Language and literacy have a reciprocal relationship.

• Through listening and speaking, people communicate thoughts, feelings,experiences, information and opinions. They learn to understand themselves andothers.

• Students use oral language to learn, solve problems and reach goals. To becomediscerning,lifelonglearners,studentsneedtodevelopfluencyandconfidenceintheir oral language abilities.

• Oral language carries a community’s stories, values, beliefs and traditions.

Overarching Principles

Page 2

Balance is important in reading instruction.• An integrated English Language Arts program provides balance in all of the

language strands (listening, viewing, reading, speaking, representing and writing).

• Effective instruction utilizes an appropriate balance of learning to read (skills/decoding) and reading to learn (meaning making).

• Reading skills (language cues and conventions, fluency,vocabularyandcomprehension) are taught intentionally in context, not in isolation.

Family and community are critical partners in a student’s reading success.• Familiesareastudents’firstteacher.Learningtoreadand reading to learn happensathomeandat school.

• A collaborative working relationship and effective communication through informal conversation between school and home will move students toward furtherengagementinreading,betterfluencyandhighercomprehension.

• It is important for schools and families to identify and utilize groups and community partners that support literacy development.

• Schools should promote an appreciation of the cultural values and heritages of all members of the school community.

Page 3

Allington, R. (2002). What I’ve learned about effective reading instruction from a decade of studying exemplary elementary teachers.

Allington, R. & Gabriel, R. (2012). Every child, everyday.Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2013). Better learning through structured teaching: A framework for the gradual release of responsibility.Daniels, H. & Harvey, S. (2015). Comprehension and collaboration: Inquiry circles for curiosity, engagement, and understanding.

Ways to support oral language development...

• conferring• word study

• poetry• songs• turn & talk • vocabulary

• reader's theatre• digital storytelling

Thefollowinggoalsofproficientreadingrepresentthepurposeandfocusofreadinginstruction (Allington, 2012; Fountas & Pinell, 2009; Routman, 2009, Wilhelm, 2001):

• engaged readers;

• comprehension; and

• fluency.

Proficientreadersincorporateallthreegoalswhenreading.

Engaged readers believe they are capable and choose to read for a variety of purposes(tolearn,seekspecificinformation,andforenjoyment).Theyperseverethrough reading challenges and apply appropriate strategies for comprehension.

Comprehension is an interaction between the reader and text to extract and construct meaning. It occurs before, during and after reading. Comprehension is a lifelong process that develops and changes based on the complexity and purpose of the text, as well as the use of metacognitive processes.

Fluency involves automaticity and prosody (phrasing, pausing, rate, stress, intonation andintegrationofthesefivefactors)inawaythatdemonstratesunderstanding.

Thegoalsofproficientreadingareachievedusingthegradualreleaseofresponsibilitymodel, purposeful instruction, curriculum expectations, and various forms of assessment. Using the four instructional approaches, teachers can model,observe,andsupportstudentsastheybecomeproficientreaders.

Goals of Proficient Reading

I see that engagement is more complex than simply fostering a love of reading. My readers need to be taught about the

purpose of reading and how to interact with different types of

text.

Page 4

Instructional Approaches

How do I use the gradual release of responsibility to teach reading?

“Structured teaching requires that teachers know their students and

content well, that they regularly assess students’ understanding of the

content, and that they purposefully plan interrelated lessons that transfer

responsibility from the teacher to the student.”

(Fisher & Frey, 2014, pp. 16 – 17)

• How do I use ongoing assessment to makeinstructional decisions for students?

• How do I ensure that I am consciously movingstudents towards independence?

• As I gain confidence with the gradual releaseof responsibility, how do I ensure that it is arecursive process?

Page 5

Asteachersgainconfidencewiththeinstructionalapproaches,teacherswillfindtheseare not sequential but recursive. The gradual release of responsibility model is not prescribed or scripted and allows for teachers to use ongoing assessments to make instructional decisions. It is also important to note that reading takes place across all curricular areas.

According to Fisher and Frey (2014), effective teachers have engaged students in purposeful instruction designed to meet the needs of individual and smaller groups of students. A way that teachers can achieve this is by using the gradual release of responsibility model. The gradual release of responsibility model has been documented in research as an effective approach for improving literacy achievement. The teacher gradually transfers increased responsibility to the students. Teachers ensure that each step of the process is supported and that students are prepared for the next steps in learning (Fisher & Frey, 2014).

The four instructional approaches are described in the following gradual release of responsibility chart (Ontario Early Reading Strategy, 2003):

Gradual Release of Responsibility

Modelled Reading Teacher to Students “I do it”.

Teacher models the thinking processes through think alouds.

Shared ReadingTeacher with Students “We do it”.

Teacher shares reading experiences and responses to the material read.

Scaffolded/Guided ReadingStudents with Teacher “We do it together”.

Coaching and guiding students in their application of strategies.

Independent ReadingStudent “You do it”.

Providing students with opportunities to read independently, asking questions, practising strategies, and expressing their responses to the material read.

Page 6

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xten

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dec

ision

s.

Page 7

Modelled Reading

The teacher purposefully plans, models and explicitly demonstrates the important cognitive strategies for comprehending and responding.

During a modelled read, the teacher may ‘think aloud’ to demonstrate the use of readingcomprehensionprocessesorwordidentificationstrategies.Selectedtextscanbe brief, sharing as little as a sentence or a single paragraph, and can be revisited for multiple purposes.

Choosing Texts

The teacher looks for passages that:

• representmanyviewpointsthatreflecttheperspectives,culturesandwaysofknowing of First Nations, Métis and other cultures;

• include strong examples of cues and conventions or comprehension strategies tobe highlighted; and

• reflectformativeassessmentdataandincorporatecurricularexpectationsacrossdisciplines.

Purpose

Modelled reading serves a variety of purposes, including:

• expanding content knowledge;

• promoting oral language and vocabulary development;

• modellingfluency;

• modelling before, during and after strategiesfor comprehension

• developing motivation and appreciation forreading;

• modelling effective reading behaviours;

• introducing different genres, text structures andwriting styles; and

• demonstrating reading for a purpose.

Tovani, C. (2000). I read it, but I don't get it: Comprehension strategies for adolescent readers.Gear, A. (2008). Nonfiction reading power: Teaching students how to think while they read all kinds of information.

Layne, S. (2015). In defense of read-aloud: Sustaining best practice.Trelease, J. (2013). The read aloud handbook.

Page 8

Modelled Reading Is… Modelled Reading Is Not…

Explicitlyplannedtodemonstratespecificreading behaviours.

Simply reading a story aloud with no intentional purpose.

Verbalizing thinking and explaining what proficientreadersdoastheyprocesstext.

Reading without sharing or explaining his/her thinking.

Effective when used prior to students being asked to practice the skill or strategy.

Listening to text and not giving students the opportunity to practise the skill or strategy.

Integrating a variety of contexts across curricula.

ConfinedtoEnglishLanguageArtsinstruction.

Pre-reading texts to identify teaching points. Randomly selecting text.

Brief and purposeful. Lengthy reading of a text.

Demonstrating the skill or strategy many times and then practiced by students during shared, scaffolded/guided, and independent reading.

Demonstrating the skill or strategy only once before moving to a new skill.

• What evidence do I have that modelled readingis making a difference in student learningoutcomes? (conversations, observations andproducts)

• How do I collect evidence that students areapplying the skills and strategies demonstrated inmodelled reading?

Page 9

Assessment• Formative assessment of a student’s

application of the skills and strategiesexplicitly demonstrated in a modelledread can be assessed through teacherobservations, conversations with studentsand student products.

PurposeShared reading serves a variety of purposes, including:

• exposing students to a wide range of text forms and genres;

• engaging students in supported reading so that the whole class can share thereading experience;

• increasing students’ exposure to text;

• teaching before, during and after reading strategies

• integrating content of other curricula areas;

• intentionally highlighting language cues and conventions (genre, textfeatures, sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary, etc.;

• sharing responsibility toward the goal of independent reading; and

• engaging students in conversation.

The teacher invites students to share in the demonstration of cognitive strategies for comprehendingandresponding.Itisthisparticipationthathelpsbuildconfidenceinthe development of new and previously taught skills. Interaction is fostered in a variety of settings, including whole group, small group, and partner. Shared reading texts, based on curricular expectations and purpose, are selected, revisited or created.

Choosing Texts

The teacher looks for texts that:

• representmanyviewpointsthatreflecttheperspectives,culturesandwaysofknowing of First Nations, Métis and other cultures;

• include strong examples of cues and conventions or comprehension strategies tobe highlighted; and

• reflectformativeassessmentdataandincorporatecurricularexpectationsacrossdisciplines.

A variety of texts, often at students’ instructional level, are used during shared reading, such as:

Shared Reading

• How do I activate and build upon students’prior knowledge and experiences?

• How will I monitor my students’ level ofengagement?

• articles;• poems;• graphs, maps, and charts;• posters;

• websites;• visual images;• songs; and• student writing.

Page 10

Shared Reading Is… Shared Reading Is Not…

Using a text that is visible and accessible for all students in the class.

Reading aloud with a text that is only visible to the teacher.

Using a variety of texts including different genres, digital, and visual texts.

Favouring one genre or text type.

Helping students apply strategies in authentic reading experiences.

Having students practise skills in isolation.

Inviting students to join the teacher in reading often.

One student reading at a time while other students follow along (round-robin reading).

Sharing teacher thought processes while demonstrating a skill or strategy.

Choral reading without a purpose.

Serravallo, J. (2015). The reading strategies book: Your everything guide to developing skilled readers. Fountas, I., & Pinnell, G. (2011). The continuum of literacy learning, grades PreK-8: A guide to teaching.

Rog, L. (2014). Struggling Readers: Why band-aids don't stick and worksheets don't work.Routman, R. (2003). Reading essentials: The specifics you need to teach reading well.

Page 11

Assessment• Formative assessment of a

student’s application of theskills and strategies explicitlydemonstrated in a sharedread can be assessedthrough teacher observations,conversations with studentsand student products.

• Teachers utilize checklistsand/or anecdotal recordsto record observations andconversations on students’use of strategies.

Scaffolded/Guided Reading

The teacher scaffolds students’ learning as needed by building on and reinforcing students’ strengths and needs, previously taught strategies, and providing feedback to move students towards independence.

The teacher facilitates small group instruction as the students practise skills and strategies based on their strengths and needs.

Within the research, there are variations of the structure of scaffolded/guided reading. These variations include time, formation of groups, and selection of texts.

Choosing Texts

The teacher looks for texts that:

• representmanyviewpointsthatreflecttheperspectives,cultures,andwaysofknowing of First Nations, Métis, and other cultures;

• provide exposure to rich authentic literature, including a variety of genres, andmay include levelled texts;

• support and align with a student’s individual needs (skills and strategies) based onassessment; and

• reflectformativeassessmentdataandincorporatecurricularexpectationsacrossdisciplines.

Purpose

Scaffolded/guided reading serves a variety of purposes, including:

• expanding students’ content knowledge;

• practising and consolidating before, during and after strategies;

• developing students’ motivation and appreciation for reading;

• guiding the improvement of students’ reading through vocabulary,fluency,andcomprehensionincontext;and

• releasing responsibility toward independent reading.

Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2012-2013). Guided reading: The romance and the reality.

Fountas, I., & Pinnell, G. (2011). The continuum of literacy learning, grades PreK-8: A guide to teaching. Miller Burkins, J. (2010). Preventing misguided reading: New strategies for guided reading teachers.

Johnson, P. (2006). One child at a time: Making the most of your time with struggling readers, K - 6.

Daniels, H. (2002). Literature circles: Voice and choice in book clubs and reading groups.

Page 12

Scaffolded/Guided Reading Is… Scaffolded/Guided Reading Is Not…

Continually changing flexible groupings to meet the learning needs of students.

Establishing static groups that remain unchanged for long periods of time.

Varying instructional time based on student needs.

Each student receiving the same amount of instruction.

Responsive teaching based on observations of the reader and the opportunities offered by the text.

Teaching the text.

Integrating a variety of contexts across curricula.

ConfinedtoEnglishLanguageArtsinstruction.

Student-centred. Teacher directed.

Students practising reading for the majority of the time. Explicitly teaching skills to the whole group.

Each student having their own text and processing text at their own pace.

One student reading at a time while other students follow along (round-robin reading).

Using a variety of texts that may be levelled. Labelling students as text levels.

Page 13

Guided readinggroups change as students

develop. I see how this also helps build the classroom environment

and student relationships.

Assessment• Student data gathered through a variety of diagnostic and formative assessments

(assessment for learning), along with curriculum outcomes, should be theconsistent starting point when planning for scaffolded/guided reading.

• Teachers will know the scaffolded/guided reading lessons are effective whenstudentsusethespecificskillsandstrategiesduringscaffolded/guidedandindependent reading activities across the content areas.

• Assessment data of students’ reading behaviours may be collected through:

- running records of oral reading/miscue analysis;- observations using anecdotal records, checklists or criteria in rubrics;- reading conferences (conferring with a student); and

- response to texts (oral retell, writing about reading or representing reading,Compose and Create outcomes).

• How do my students’ reading processes influencethe way I select texts for them?

• How do I extend my students’ reading abilities tomove them toward independent reading?

• How do I know the scaffolded/guided reading hasbeen successful?

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Guided/scaffolded readingwith small groups... so what do I do with

the other students in my classroom? Reader's Workshop? Daily 5?

Independent reading? I really need to talk to another teacher who is making

guided/scaffolded reading work in her classroom.

Thestudentreadsindependentlytoachievethethreegoalsofproficientreading(comprehension,engagedreading,andfluency)usingappropriate,justrightself-selected text. The teacher is available as a support and confers with individual students to monitor student progress toward goals.

Choosing TextsThrough conferencing and personal connection, a teacher gains information about individual students to foster a positive reading environment and a respectful classroom culture. The teacher is then able to provide a wide range of text that address students’ interests, daily lives and the world around them. Text should represent content from manyviewpointsthatreflecttheperspectives,cultures,andwaysofknowingofFirst Nations, Métis, and other cultures. Students self-select just right text with teacher guidance and support.

PurposeIndependent reading serves a variety of purposes in the classroom setting, including:

• allowingstudentstoconsolidate,practice,andreflecton learned reading skills and strategies;

• fosteringcompetentandconfidentreaders;

• practicing skills to critically select just right text; and

• applying before, during and after reading strategies.

Assessment• Student data is gathered through observation and conferencing with students.

• The teacher gathers evidence and provides feedback to students in areas such as:

Independent Reading

- problem-solving when processing text;- applying strategies independently;- goal setting and progress toward goals;

- student’s text selection; and- stamina.

- self-assessment; and- anecdotal records.

• Other tools may include:- reading inventories and surveys;- checklists;- reader response;

• Evidence gathered in independent reading addresses assessment for, as and oflearning.

• How does the information gained through individualconferences impact whole and small group instruction?

• How do I organize my independent reading blockto gather information and provide feedback in aneffective way?

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Independent Reading Is… Independent Reading Is Not…

Active,withstudentsandteacherreflectingonanddiscussing the books students are reading.

Silent… (as in SSR, DEAR, USSR, SQUIRT, etc.*).

Students self-selecting “just-right” texts with teacher guidance as needed.

The teacher choosing texts that students must read.

Increasing time students are reading (stamina) through daily, scheduled blocks of extended time.

An activity that students who have completed other work get to engage in.

The teacher observing individual students’ reading behaviours, conferring with students about their reading and keeping records of these observations and conferences.

Students left on their own to read without purpose, with the teacher sitting and reading as a model for students.

Using the classroom library as an important instructional tool and an opportunity to engage students.

Having poor quality and limited reading materials within the classroom.

Students setting goals in collaboration with the teacherandreflectingonprogress.

Students reading silently and only listing the books that they have read without accountability.

Students responding orally or in writing to reading and sharing those responses with other students or the teacher.

Students reading in isolation.

Allen, P. (2009). Conferring the keystone of reader’s workshop.

Kittle, P. (2013). Book love: Developing depth, stamina, and passion in adolescent readers.Miller, D., & Moss, B. (2013). No more independent reading without support.

Beers, K. (2003). When kids can't read: What teachers can do grades 6 - 12.

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* Sustained Silent Reading (SSR); Drop Everything And Read (DEAR); UninterruptedSustained Silent Reading (USSR); Super Quiet Uninterrupted Independent ReadingTime (SQUIRT).