Unpacking Balanced Literacy

By Jen Sweigart, M.Ed 3rd/4th Grade Teacher

Hillside Elementary School Fulton County Schools

Fulton County Schools Summer Summit June 25-26 and July 25-26

www.jensweigart.blogspot.com

While You Wait…A Self-Assessment: 1) What new reading strategy or task have you implemented successfully in your classroom? Please share! www.padlet.com/wall/balancedsuccess 2)Check out this website for resources: www.jensweigart.blogspot.com 3)Where do I place myself on the Balanced Literacy learning continuum? Place a post-it note under the best description of your Balanced Lit experience.

Essential Questions:

How do I create a Balanced Literacy program with flexible and fluid instructional grouping activities for targeted differentiation? Where can I locate digital resources and applications to support literacy across the curriculum?

TKES Standards:

Performance Standard 3: Instructional Strategies The teacher promotes student learning by using research-based instructional strategies relevant to the content to engage students in active learning and to facilitate the students’ acquisition of key knowledge and skills. Performance Standard 4: Differentiated Instruction The teacher challenges and supports each student’s learning by providing appropriate content and developing skills which address individual learning differences. Performance Standard 8: Academically Challenging Environment The teacher creates a student-centered, Academic environment in which teaching and learning occur at high levels and students are self-directed learners.

This Week’s Reading Strategy: Questioning Author’s Purpose

Our Focused Reading Standard: CCGPS 2.RI.8 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in the text.

Our Role-Play Standard & Strategy

Zones of Comfort, Risk, and Danger: Constructing Your Zone Map

Comfort

Risk

Danger

The Comfort Zone is usually a

place where we feel at ease, with no tension, have a good grip on our environment, and know how to navigate occasional rough spots with ease. It’s also a place to retreat to from the Danger Zone.

The Risk Zone involves adapting to

new circumstances, and it’s the most fertile place for learning. It’s where most people are willing to take some risks, to not know everything or sometimes anything at all. It’s where people open up to each other with curiosity and interest, and where they will consider options or ideas they haven’t thought of before.

The Danger Zone is generally not a good idea to work from, whether

your own or anyone else’s. That area is generally so full of defenses, fears, and red-lights that it requires too much energy and time to accomplish anything from that zone. When you find yourself in this zone, use some strategies to move yourself into “curious.”

Modeled Reading (aka The Read Aloud)

The teacher reads aloud to the whole class using a purposefully selected text. The teacher chooses a focus (in our case today it’s Author’s Purpose, and uses think alouds to model their thinking as a reader while students listen. The teacher would model the a focus strategy for several lessons, and then move this focus into the shared reading lesson.

Today’s Focus: Questioning Author’s Purpose Think Alouds: I wonder what the author intended me to think… I want to ask the author why… By asking that question, I realize… Knowing the author’s purpose, helps me see his/her point of view…

Turn & Talk: The teacher may choose to do a Turn and Talk after the read aloud for evidence of learning. You are listening for the language of the think alouds coming from the students.

A Short Story About The Future of Jobs

In the future…we are going to see a lot more things that look like science fiction, and fewer and fewer things that look like jobs.

*McAfee, Andrew. The Future of Jobs. TED . Feb 2013.

The Mini-Lesson Purpose: To transfer the content taught to that day’s independent/group work. The Structure of the Mini-Lesson includes four components: •Connection •Teach •Active Engagement •Link

Components of a Balanced Lit Classroom

High Teacher Support

Low Teacher Support

Word Study

Read Aloud/Modeled Reading Share Reading Guided Reading Independent Reading

Modeled Writing Share Writing/ Interactive Writing Guided Writing Independent Writing

Assessments

Modeled Writing

Shared Writing Assessments

Guided Writing

Balanced Literacy is more like cooking than baking…

...a pinch of this, a smidge of that, add a little zest. Amounts vary. It is not an exact science or prescribed recipe. Lessons are built off of a standard, driven by assessments, and individualized to the student.

Differentiation

Modern Literacy Model

Common Core

Balanced Literacy

Teaching points grounded in the text and directed toward

expanding students’ comprehension strategies

Readers’ workshop with whole-group mini-lessons,

guided reading, and independent application

Whole-class interactive read-alouds, shared reading, and collaborative project-based

learning

Extending understanding of the text through

writing

Foundational Reading Skills

Writing Across the Curriculum

Speaking, Listening, Research, Collaboration,

and Technology

Literature and Informational Text

Continuous Achievement

It’s kind of asking a lot…don’t you think?

A Day in The Life of a Balanced Literacy Classroom Reading Workshop Days (M W F)

7:50-8:00 Morning Meeting 8:00-8:15 Read Aloud that integrates Science or Social Studies content 8:15-8:30 Mini-Lesson / Shared Reading using Integrated Science or Social Studies text 8:30-9:30 Reading Workshop Rotations (15-20 minutes)

• Guided Reading Groups (Leveled) • Writing & Research (Project-driven) • Skill Review – Word Work, Fluency, Comprehension, etc

9:30 – 11:30 Math & Lunch 11:40- 12:25 Writing Workshop 12:30-1:30 Specials / Recess 1:35- 2:15 1:1 Conferencing, RTI, Self-Selected Reading, Book Clubs, Word Work

Inte

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Integrated Technology

OR…Create 6 rotations with smaller groups over 2 days.

- A Day in The Life of a Balanced Literacy Classroom: Collaborative Lesson, Science Lab, Social Studies

Activity Adjustment

7:50-8:00 Morning Meeting 8:00-8:15 Read Aloud that integrates Science or Social Studies content 8:15-8:35 Mini-Lesson / Shared Reading using Integrated Science or Social Studies text 8:30-9:30 Collaborative Lesson, Lab, Event, Research or Publishing in Computer Lab 9:30 – 11:30 Math & Lunch 11:40- 12:25 Writing Workshop 12:30-1:30 Specials / Recess 1:35- 2:15 Meet with EIP/RTI Guided Reading Group, 1:1 Conferencing, Self-Selected Reading, Book Clubs, Word Work

A Day in The Life of a Balanced Literacy Classroom Formative & Summative Assessments Schedule Adjustments

7:50-8:00 Morning Meeting 8:00-8:15 Read Aloud that integrates Science or Social Studies content 8:15-8:30 Shared Review to prepare for Summative Assessment 8:30-9:00 Summative Assessment 9:00-9:30 Reading Workshop Rotations (15 minutes – 2 rotations in the morning, 3rd rotation moved to the afternoon)

• Guided Reading Groups (Leveled) • Writing & Research (Project-driven) • Skill Review – Word Work, Fluency, Comprehension, Formative quizzes

9:30 – 11:30 Math & Lunch 11:40- 12:25 Writing Workshop 12:30-1:30 Specials / Recess 1:35- 2:15 Meet with 3rd Rotation of Guided Reading Group, 1:1 Conferencing, Self-Selected Reading, Book Clubs, Word Work

Groups change frequently based on

formative & summative

assessments + 1:1 conference

data

Shared Reading/ Active Engagement

•Uses an enlarged text that all children can see via big book, projected text, or multiple copies of the same text; contains text rich language, can withstand multiple close readings, and is appropriate to the interest level of the class. •This is an excellent time to use a complex text that support the Science and Social Studies curriculum. •The text should be an unleveled. Provide scaffolding for students as needed.

Shared Reading/ Active Engagement

Today’s Focus Strategy: Questioning Author’s Purpose Today’s Focus Standard: CCGPS 2.RI.8 Describe how reasons support specific points the author makes in the text.

Today’s Text: How the Smartphone Killed the Three-Day Weekend. CNBC News.

Shared Reading Response: Using Lucy Calkins’ Pushing Your Thinking Stems to

Engage in Strategy & Standard Focus

Close Reading: Read the selected passage once. Jot down the big idea in the margin. Then re-read the passage highlighting details that author provided to support the main idea. Writing in the Air to Organize Thoughts: • Students turn to a partner and respond verbally to a question prompt. They must say out loud what they plan to write before writing it on paper. Question Stems: • What’s the big idea of the text? • In other words… • I realize… • The surprising thing about this… • So I guess what I’m really thinking is… • For example, one day…

This is similar to…different from… On the other hand… The reason for this is… I’m wondering why the author… I’d like to ask the author… I used to think, but now I believe…

What are some resources for that I should consider for shared texts?

•Science & Social Studies textbooks

•Good Habits/ Great Readers or Journeys

•Primary Big books

•Passage from Chapter books (use a document camera or Kindle/Nook app to project the text) •Articles from www.readworks.org, www.tweentribune.com, and http://storyworks.scholastic.com/reproducible

•www.Poemhunter.com

•Library of Congress (primary sources): http://www.loc.gov/teachers/

You must have consistent norms about your expectations for the workshop format to work!!

Reading Workshop Rotations

Guided Reading (Small Group) •pencil Choice Menus for Skill Work (Partners) ~ Differentiation Ideas •Computers •Partner •Choice Menu (Activities are in the bin)

Computers ~ Project-Based Learning Ideas •Access the slideshow at www.jensweigart.blogspot.com •Click on any active link to explore websites

Book Clubs & Small Reading Groups

Writing Workshop

1:1 Conferencing & SSR

Reader’s Workshop Format

Sci/SS Authentic Text & Technology

Differentiation