There are 52 questions currently posted in the database that match this query.

Displaying question 1 through 52

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Teacher
High Point, NC

Expert's keyword(s) : science, middle school, science books

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Grad. Student
Benedicta, ME

Expert's keyword(s) : reading level, assessment, reading habits, DAR, DRP, reading inventory

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
District admin/coordinator
Lead teacher specialist
Ashland, VA

Expert's keyword(s) : NILD therapy, special education, learning disabilities, research

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Student
Teacher
Providence, RI

Expert's keyword(s) : reading strategies

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Afterschool Basic Skills Instructor
Brooklyn, NY

Expert's keyword(s) : tutoring, heterogeneous instruction, reading comprehension

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
SLC Facilitator
Union Bridge, MD

Expert's keyword(s) : remedial reading programs, struggling readers

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
teacher
Harrington, ME

Expert's keyword(s) : strategy template

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Building admin/coordinator
SLP-LLD
Newmarket, NH

Expert's keyword(s) : assessment, gifted

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
District admin/coordinator
Director, Coordinator
Machias, ME

Expert's keyword(s) : special education, reading disabilities, screening

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Education consultant
Language Arts Teacher/Educational Consultant
Melrose, MA

Expert's keyword(s) : writing, adolescent literacy

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Science Teacher
So. Hampton, NH

Expert's keyword(s) : assessment, science, pre-reading

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Education consultant
Consultant
Omaha, NE

Expert's keyword(s) : writing, best practices

In reading instruction, the infamous debate about whole language vs. phonics seems to be resolving itself through "balanced literacy approaches" that combine deliberate integration of the most effective components of both. Writing instruction has incurred similar strife between advocates of grammar/structure exercises and those who promote extensive free choice writing only as the route to good writing. Again, the research suggests that this seems to be best resolved through a student centered teacher guided workshop approach which contains aspects of both of the above. That is, students have extensive opportunity to write a variety of types of writing connected to reading or exemplified by reading they are doing, and there is ample time to discuss the writing vis a vis a holistic or analytical rubric, time to revise after getting feedback, time to edit, time to reflect on the writing verbally or in writing. Writing motivation -- and, therefore, quality of writing, does seem to improve with practice, clear feedback, revision, and editing for a purpose -- to write a real letter, create a newsletter, advertise an event, publish a book.

The National Writing Project has a list of writing best practices that exemplify the assumptions on which its very successful approach is based (you may be familiar with this) -- see, for example:


http://nvo.com/ecnewletter/fwisdelateachers/

I hesitate to advocate "writer's workshop approach" without a caveat -- in its best form, a good writer's workshop does all of the above. It also trains students to be good reviewers of each other's writing and shows them how to use rubrics to evaluate their own and others' work. The writer and the writing are both respected and not confused. Readers of a piece respond to that piece as a reader so the writer can guage if the impact was as s/he desired. The teacher teaches minilessons on aspects of writing that emerge as an issue in several writers' work. The minilessons are practiced in the context of writing. The teacher also writes and shares his/her drafts and writing decisions with the class, seeking their feedback.

I have seen all of this work -- and fail -- in classes of first through 12th graders. So the "approach" is, as usual, only as good as its implementation. It seems more productive to label the best practices involved in writer's workshop and other approaches that lead to improved student writing.

It seems to be helpful to have each student identify writing goals and review those goals at regular intervals. It seems useful to have a variety of different types of writing occurring and to have a language to describe different kinds of writing. It is important to note that not all pieces of writng need to go through all stages of the writing process. But this needs to occur many times throughout the school year, not just a few times each semester, for a writing process approach to be effective.

It seems important to have a clear description of the writing process used at a particular school/grade level; a clear writing rubric that is either general (early elementary) or specific for each assignment (possible later on) which corresponds to the state writing rubric used to evaluate student writing. It is important to develop a common language about writing across the school (examples of this include labeling for genre, the 6 Traits program and John Collins Writing Progam). It is important that time for feedback, revision, analysis and reflection be built in to the expectations for writing and that the conventions associated with different types of writing be taught and practiced in the context of writing (bibliographies, poetry forms, scripts, mysteries, table of contents, glossaries, etc.).

Hope this is helpful.


Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

New York, NY

Expert's keyword(s) : math, word problems

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Social Studies Teacher
Annapolis, MD

Expert's keyword(s) : reading, learning

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Due to the fact that I am a teacher in the Cranston School Dept. in Rhode Island, my students must use the Accelerated Reader program. Therefore, their reading must be limited to select books that have tests that go along with them. Many students do not get particularly excited about what they are reading or even about selecting a new book. How can I encourage and inspire these middle school students to read when they hold a negative or ambivalent attitude toward reading? What are some strategies which I can utilize in my classroom? (This question is also posted in the "Early Literacy in the Northeast" spotlight.)

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
MATH TEACHER
CRANSTON, RI

Expert's keyword(s) : motivation, middle school, reluctant readers

I think that the issue here might be more a general motivational issue rather than one specific to Accelerated Reader. As far as Accelerated Reader goes, if you find the selection too limited, you might want to try www.bookadventure.org -- this is a free online set of quizzes about 6,000 books through a partnership with Sylvan Learning and the National Education Association. Several teachers I know supplement AR by allowing students to take book adventure quizzes for credit as well. That may or may not be an option at your school.

However, as I said, the issue is more one of motivation than selection I think. Effective ways to boost motivation at the middle school level -- and you may have tried some of these -- rely less on getting kids to get more "points" and getting them more excited about reading. The trick is using several strategies so some will "hook" different kinds of kids.

Read a book aloud to the class (middle schoolers like this!) and when complete, have everyone take the test.

Have students read in pairs.

Book commercials where students actually advertise favorites or a book recommendation board or part of a school website where kids recommend books and say why they liked them -- credit for these can be given -- kids take recommendations from each other much more than from adults. See http://westcler.org/am/wallaceb/ar.htm and http://www.hamiltonschools.org/davies/arbookreviews/arlist.htm for some examples.

Have book recommendations announced over the loudspeaker one a day before lunch. Have students who have read that book "vote" or tell the class whether they agree or disagree with the recommendation.

Show scenes from movies made from available titles and entice interest this way. Promise to show the whole of a movie when enough books are read/points are made for that quarter.

Have your students be penpals by email with students from another class who is doing AR and have them send recommednations back and forth after getting to know others' interests -- serve as consultants, so to speak. Or set up an electronic book chat with either an author or another class to talk about books.

Get book reviews of the books so students (and you) can have a better sense of what they are about so you can make suggestions. (Some of these are available online or may be available through your school library).

Have your students do an author study. There are great websites about most children's authors -- many will respond to questions and queries.

Use the writing process and have students give feedback and respond to one anothers' writing (not just peer editing). This is reading, builds interest and excitement, and builds a literacy community.

Keep an active wordwall with incredible phrases or great examples of points of view or million dollar words or "I could see that in my mind" sentences. Let students add to the wall (but have to say where the addition is from) and give extra credit for adding to the wall. Have a different theme or focus each month.

These are some ideas that have worked with disengaged readers at the middle school level. The goal is to hook the "reluctant" middle -- once you build momentum in the class towards being a community of readers and writers -- because reading and writing are cool (not uncool) and people who can't read and write well get taken advantage of in our society (middle schoolers don't want to be left out)-- it will continue to build. But it might require deliberate leadership, a shift from reading by oneself to sharing books and reading them together, and group rewards for the entire class to get things moving.

Another idea to try next year -- the Battle of the Books competitions are very popular at the middle school level and can be modified to be more manageable. There are several Battle of the Books sites on the web.
If you want more information from me on this, write back!

Hope this is helpful. Good luck.

Regards,

Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

I am looking for research papers or research books on "reverse mainstreaming." Thank you.

Asked by:
State admin/coordinator
Research Analyst
Topeka, KS

Expert's keyword(s) : reverse mainstreaming

Although I am familiar with the term in an early childhood context, I have no experience with it in terms of adolescent literacy. Is your question a general one or one more specifically applicable to high school literacy issues? I can imagine some ways to replicate the situation at the secondary level to give students more experience with students who process and understand text differenty but I am not sure if this is what you are seeking. Please write back if you want to explore this further.

Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Does current research support the use of sustained silent reading programs at the high school level? If so, what components are most likely to ensure their success?

Asked by:
Education consultant

Chico, CA

Expert's keyword(s) : sustained silent reading, increasing reading

The answer is mixed but seems to depend on implementation strategies. Certainly more reading is associated with better test scores and improved reading comprehension so if your sustained silent reading program actually increases reading, then it would be successful.

The answer also depends on what you mean by sustained silent reading.

However, sustained silent reading (SSR), with required logs and/or sharing responses, seems to be an effective route to building a literacy culture, supporting practice, addressing the needs and interests of a variety of learners, and developing an expectation that reading is a life-long skill.

A bibliography of resources related to effective use of sustained silent reading at the secondary level can be found at http://indiana.edu/~eric_rec/ieo/bibs/ssr-sec.html.

It is important to note that it will probably not be effective to use free choice sustained silent reading without asking for sharing, log entries, personal or critical responses, book recommendations, bulletin boards where Best Picks are posted, or other kinds of follow-up. It is also important to see SSR as one strategy of many strategies that must be simultaneously implemented, not as a "magic bullet." A variety of types of materials need to be available (see Key Component A) and teachers must commit to read, not patrol, during this time. Encouragement, stamina, and the establishment of a routine are important to a successful SSR routine. With adolescents, explaining why SSR is key to their literacy development and inviting their participation are key.

One overview of effective components of sustained silent reading programs for English language Learners can be found at http://iteslj.org/Articles/Chow-SSR.html

A recent research study into sustained slent reading at the high school level within English classes (free choice reading time in school on a regularly scheduled basis) showed that there were several positive outcomes related to reading comprehension and reading interest and motivation (Pilgreen, 2000). Schoenbach et al (1999) also found positive outcomes related to both when sustained silent silent reading was incorporated as a regular part of their ninth grade academic literacy course.

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Providence, RI

Expert's keyword(s) : special education, assessment, strategies, varied reading levels

I think the first thing you need to do are some good diagnostic reading assessments to determine where the reading issues are. Mary Beth Curtis of Lesley University, former director of the Boys Town Reading Center, recommends the DAR based on the work of Jeanne Chall. Using a tool like this can allow you to create subgroups of students who need similar "zeroing in" and support for particular skill/strategy development.

The next piece is two-fold -- having reading materials available that are on different reading levels and explicitly teaching students to become strategic readers. You can use many of the strategies and tools recommended in Key Components B and C of the Adlit Support Framework on this website to help students use graphic organizers and other strategies before, during and after reading to improve reading comprehension. These same strategies can be used with different levels of reading material, depending on your instructional goals. That way common learning and inquiry can drive student work but the reading itself can be on different levels.

Cooperative and collaborative learning is an important way to address the learning needs of students at different reading levels when you want to use a common text. Paired reading, reciprocal teaching, collaborative writing and strategies that take students through structured interactions with text are helpful (guided reading protocols, QAR, SQ3R). These are described in depth at several sites linked to this website under the "what is its?' in Key Component B and C.

Hope this is helpful. Please feel free to write back with more specific questions as a followup.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Building admin/coordinator
director
Bronx, NY

Expert's keyword(s) : motivation and engagement, diagnostic assessment, explicit teaching of strategies

Hi Norm,

I am sorry for the delay on the answer -- there have been some technical problems on this end.

I am going to suggest some resources of which you already may be aware. Without knowing what you are already doing it is hard to be more specific -- feel free to write again and we can continue the conversation.

When dealing with older students who have a history of seeing themselves as unsuccessful readers, it is, of course, important to connect them to authentic uses of reading and writing and to their interests(reading to much younger children after practicing, sending email to penpals, working in small groups to accomplish manageable tasks -- creating posters for an event or to educate others of an issue, doing research on an area of interest to them.) Using the computer can be very motivating; scaffolding students to where they can help others can also be motivating.

You need to get buy in and to provide a safe space to be a struggling reader and writer. Spending time on building small groups that can support one another and cheer one another on as you provide opportunities to strengthen literacy skills is essential. Getting students to understand that they do bring a wealth of background knowledge to text, that they deserve to be good readers and that reading and writing is about making meaning, communication, opportunity and power is key.

The other side of this, of course, is to have both good diagnostics and good interventions. Using simpler texts about real issues and explicitly teaching how to use graphic organizers, think alouds, KWLs, and metacognitive reading strategies is essential. You need to get a clear sense of each student's reading issues and then use a four step explicit teaching of a strategy in context -- teach, model, assist, independent use. The particular strategies you use are going to depend on readers' needs, abilities and interests.

The spotlight has a wealth of examples and strategies throughout the "what is its?" under each Key Component. After clicking on the investigate button, click on the learn more buttons.

Other work that may be helpful: Are you familiar with the BoysTown work that Curtis and Longo did? "When adolescents can't read" is the title of their book. Mary E. Curtis also just did a synthesis of research that points out strategies of what works with the population you describe: http://216.26.160.105/conf/nichd/synthesis.asp

Donna Alvermann wrote the paper linked below on effective reading
instruction for adolescents for the National Reading Conference:
http://nrc.oakland.edu/documents/2001/alverwhite2.PDF

Chris Tovani's book "I read it but I don't get it" has some nice strategies as does "Guided Comprehension for Grades 3-8" which offers specific strategies that may be more helpful than it sounds. "Reading for Academic Success: Powerful Strategies for Struggling,Average,and Advanced Readers,Grades 7-12" by Strong, Silver, Perini and Tuculescu may be helpful as well. So may "Reading for Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms" by Ruth Schoenbach, Cynthia Greenleaf, Lori Hurwitz, Christine Cziko

I hope this is helpful.


Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Harrington, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Ken,

As I discussed when I saw you, everything I have found does not suggest a simple direct linear progression such as the one you describe. If there were such a progression, designing effective professional development would be a piece of cake -- we would just need to be able to assess where teachers were on the continuum and help provide experiences to move them along toward learning-centered teaching! But it does not, alas, seem to work that way.

In the literature I have read recently, teachers seem to come to pieces of learning centered philosophy in different ways. It seems to depend on the intersection of the individual, the subject, the circumstances, past experience, the climate for change and risk-taking at the school and the opportunities for professional development that are available to him/her. This is a synopsis of case study research across many different fields that attempts to capture a "logical progression" such as you suggest and has been unable to do so.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Harrington, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Ken,

Basically the lesson planning responsibilities for teachers who facilitate more of a constructivist teaching environment center on the essential questions the class is exploring, the criteria you set as the teacher for a "quality investigation", and the sorts of experiences you use to frontload and scaffold the investigation. So it becomes more like unit planning -- you plan the big picture complete with essential questions, teaching and learning goals, and your plan for frontloading, scaffolding and assessing -- with the actual lesson plans created along the way based on feedback from the built in kinds of formative and diagnostic assessment you do throughout the unit of study.

I posed the same question to Jeff -- he had a similar response:
Learning centered teaching requires a deep consideration of the instructional context and the immediate, situated purpose of what is learned. It requires much more flexible lesson planning since the learning is not "content driven" and therefore cannot be laid out in advance. It requires understanding students' current needs, interests and abilities, and an "in the moment" flexibility for addressing needs at the point of need. Lesson planning is therefore more global - directed towards big goals. More local daily plans are designed to assist students where they are and is therefore more seat of the pants. Traditional lesson planning is therefore not entirely appropriate at the local level when using inquiry and learning
centered approaches.

Hope this is helpful,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
business instructor
Jonesport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Linda,

There has been quite a bit of research on the motivational influence and learning possibilitis available through computer simulations like the Sims. Other popular simulation learning experiences that have been built off of games include Oregon Trail, Yukon Trail, Mayan Trail, Tom Snyder's Decisions Decisions series, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, Lemonade Stand, International Inspirer, stock market simulations, and others from the Sims series.

Success depends on the teachers' knowledge of both what he or she wants to accomplish through using the game and the teacher's familiarity with the game itself. That way learning experiences can be designed around the game and other materials/resources can be used with the game. Some teachers have students work in teams, compare the information provided in the game with other sources, keep journals/logs/checkbooks, and write point of view papers at various points throughout the simulation. These strategies are important because otherwise students go into "game mode" where the learning is not "front and center" (much like when students watch a movie for class without an assignment to pay attention to certain aspects -- the need to have a purpose for reading, again!). It is also important to have the students' critically assess the game afterwards to decide where they perceive the simulation to be realistic and why they feel that is the case.

Jeff Wilhelm's book Hyperlearning talks about the motivational influence and literacy support of computers on nonmotivated students as do many articles from the International Society for Technology Education journal: Learning and Leading with Technology (see www.iste.org).

I feel that computer simulations can generate scenarios that are motivating and can present the "consequences" of different options, allowing students to "try out" decisions. I have used them successfully to enrich many different units of study and once you put in the "up front" time to learn the software, you have an effective learning tool that can really add fun and substance to your teaching.

Have a great day.


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Harrington, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Ken,

This is what has been suggested to me so far:

Jeff wrote: I really like Tim O'Brien's Vietnam stuff - both for YAs and his stuff for adults. I really like THE THINGS WE CARRIED. And Walter Dean Myers FALLEN ANGELS. Other good Vietnam stuff is THE THIRTEENTH VALLEY.

Lots of great civil rights stuff too like WARRIORS DON'T CRY.

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Hi folks,

Here is another tech. question about the tools on the Knowledge loom. As I am reading the questions posted by others is it possible to responed to the question directly?

Thanks

Allison

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Jonesport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Allison,

Not at this time -- which is why we are creating the other forum for you. You will be able to do that easily on the new forum without any "go-between".

If you want to respond to someone else's posting on the KLoom, email me what you want to add and the number of the question to which you are responding and I can post it as an additional comment. Others can do this as well -- my email is jmeltzer@crminc.com.

Have a great day.


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

One of the bugabears I encounter constantly as an English teacher is the problem of how to teach vocabulary. In the good old days, one tended to acquire vocabulary simply by reading a lot. Nowadays, since books aren't at the top of most students' recreational must-try lists, vocabulary has to be laid on by other means. For several years, I have been constructing all vocabulary materials myself--lists, reviews, quizzes, tests, all drawn from/related to works under study. This works pretty well, but is still a distant second best. Does anybody have any really neat ideas about how to get kids beyond the 500 desperate word stage?

(And by the way, Julie, thanks for the cogent reply. I found Langer's latest in a recent NCTE catalogue. Can't wait to check it out.)

Pat Foley
Woodland Jr/Sr High School

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
mrs.
baileyville, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Pat,

For some suggestions to start off, see my response to question 1185. I especially recommend Janet Allen's book Words, Words, Words.

Beyond that, I am listing some resources that you may find valuable:
Curtis & Longo's article in Reading Online "Teaching vocabulary to adolescents to improve comprehension": http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=curtis/index.html

Karen Bromly's Vocabulary learning online available at http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/lit_index.asp?HREF=webwatch/vocabulary/index.html offers links to several sites that are applicable to high school learners.

Although middle school based, Ruddell and Shearer's 2002 interesting study with middle school students discusses the use of the Vocabulary Self Collection strategy (Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 45:5 Feb 2002) and Rosenbaum's word map strategy (Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 45:1, Sept 2001)are also well worth looking at.

And, of course, you can look at the KLOOM under key component C and find some resources and strategies under "vocabulary" -- more coming soon!

Hope this is helpful.


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

First, Thank you Julie! for your response to my question about getting students to read their math books. The first solution is the one I'm trying now and it seems to be helping.

New Question: I'm integrating reading and writing in my Advanced Anatomy class by integrating the history of medical beliefs into the curriculum. Typically, I ask for opinion pieces on each article and the results have not been good. Additionally, I've been advised by visiting experts that if I'm only going to have students write once or twice a week not to bother because it's a different genre and should be daily. I intend on ignoring this advice but since they're probably correct, I need to know how to integrate writing in this course successfully. If they don't give me something written back I have no idea what they're thinking i.e. did they understand what they read, and worse yet, did they read it at all. I do class discussions after the reading already.

What are some ideas for the type of writing that would be a better fit in science? Monday, my students are reading articles on the Hippocratic Oath and its recent revisions, and the activity will be a jigsaw. But I still want them writing more! as well as thinking more, instead of spitting back to me what they've read. Thanks for your help.

Roxanne Cirrincione

Lubec High School

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
science/math teacher
Lubec, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Roxanne,

What a great way to approach anatomy! Some writing ideas that would be appropriate given the level of your students that come to mind:

I would try the RAFT strategy. Students Read a fairly meaty selection and then select an Audience, a Format and a Topic. So, for instance, a "doctor" could write a complaint to the board of medical examiners complaining about the procedures used to diagnose an illness or disease. Or an "athlete" could write an exercise plan for the parts of the body used in a specific sport for other athletes. What is nice about this is that students often get into it and then share and listen to one another's, noting how this directs attention to certain parts of the reading and raises additional questions. This does not need to be a long exercise. You can also set the topic and allow them to select the audience or point of view.

You can use the Internet and give the students short related articles written for the general public on related topics and have them write whether or not these articles are accurate and why and whether they inform or misinform the public. You could do this with historical medical documents as well. And you can have students compare and contrast treatment recommendations from former times and now.

I would also think about an ongoing writing project where students create a "did you know" newsletter of short articles decribing information that they feel others should know from the material they are learning. This could be copied and distributed once a month for three or four months.

I will look for some other specific ideas for integrating writing more effectively in the science/biology/anatomy classroom and will add those to this answer.

Good luck!


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Eastport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Dear Paul,

I have been searching high and low for "teacher professional development to implement a successful SSR program". My conclusion -- everyone is putting together the features of an SSR program based on their goals and what has been shown to be effective. Then teachers get together and agree on implementation strategies and periodically review what is occurring during SSR and how it is going and make changes if necessary. Some schools poll the students at various points as well.

The components of a successful SSR program that are repeatedly cited are those on the Knowledge Loom spotlight under Key Component B -- Reading and Writing -- "what is it?" -- "silent reading strategies and resources". The SSR program needs to have a purpose, specific rules, choice (which can be restricted to Science or a month of non-fiction, etc...), teacher modeling, some sort of writing/sharing/posting about books, sharing with the students the purpose and goals of the program and a positive "climate" around the program -- teachers need to read, not monitor, it needs to be scheduled as part of the school day, kids who want to read aloud to one another or to listen to books on tape get to use that option, it can't be the thing that is always interrrupted or cancelled.

The research is clear on the link between more reading and greater achievement. The reason the research is mixed on SSR is because of implementation differences or difficulties.

Some sites that you may want to check out to provide handouts/information to your colleagues:

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/curr038.shtml


http://angelfire.com/ok/freshenglish/ssr.html


http://www.lab.brown.edu/voices/3qtr2001/adlit.shtml


http://www.makingstandardswork.com/forums/Feedback/posts/5.html

I am confident that by using these resources and those on the Knowledge Loom your literacy team can design and implement an effective SSR program for students that your colleagues will buy in to.

Good luck!


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

This is a follow-up question to the one I posted 8-21-02.

When I checked last night and saw there was no reply yet, I asked my son, a senior at W.A., "Why don't you ever read the math book?" His response was that math was an auditory learning process and that reading the book resulted in a confusion of words he had no idea what they meant. By the way, the kid does not have reading problems. Has any research been done that would shed light on this possibility?

Thanks.

Roxanne Cirrincione

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
math/sci teacher
Lubec, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Roxanne,

There is no evidence that I could find that "math is an auditory learning process". To the contrary, it appears that people use three primary modalities for taking in information: auditory (hearing) visual(technical and graphic) and kinesthetic (actually doing). Humans tend to use all three -- and there is considerable evidence that if teachers use more than one, they will reach many more of their students. Just using two, instead of talking only, reaches up to 30% more students.

So, while your son may be a strong auditory learner who can translate complex mathematical concepts into practice by hearing about them, others in his classes probably could use some scaffolding by using the text more effectively and/or by journaling/writing out the rationales and reasons for the answers or for why they think something is correct.

And, the research does show, that the more students interact with the concepts, including in math, through these various means, the more helpful it is to everyone because understanding is deepened and reinforced and weaker learning modalities are strengthened.

Since schools have historically focused on talking/lecturing as the primary form of instruction, those students who learn well through this modality are naturally "advantaged" -- which is great for them, but not fo rall of the others!

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Hello from Washington County!

As we have been working together we are wondering if there will be a way to upload things we have developed onto the web so it is easier to share across the geographic distances?

Thanks


Allison

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Jonesport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Allison,

I have confirmed that the LAB will be creating a forum that will allow you and the other course participants to share documents, etc. I will be coming up on Oct. 15 to your class meeting and will explain how the forum works and help everyone log on.

The LAB wants to be sure that the electronic tools provided meet teachers needs. The original forum that the LAB was going to provide would have been text only so it pays to ask!

Please let folks know. I will send out a group email before the Oct. 15 class meeting.

Hope all is well.


Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

I role modeled reciproal teaching with my students it went really well. However, when I put them into groups to do the same work it didn't go so well. Does anyone have suggestions about how to keep students on task during reciproal teaching activities?

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
ss teacher
Baileyville, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

I am not sure how you did the modeling for the whole class. But it is important to remember that these are often new skills for students and they must be practiced, and students need to receive feedback to be able to use them competently. Usually it is recommended that you have students practice each component one at a time in the small groups and then come back together and discuss how it went, sharing suggestions between group and how it could be improved between each attempt. Then try that component again. In this way you build the whole process step by step more slowly before asking the students to put it all together into one process. By the time you do that, the time put in "up front" means they can use Reciprocal Teaching effectively and efficiently for the rest of the year whenever you want them to do it.

Some teachers add a written component to each step -- after the group processing, students individually provide a summary, etc. in writing. You can also add a question that asks what students found beneficial (or not) to the group piece -- this helps builds metacognitive awareness of the process.

Some resources you may want to check out:

http://staff.esuhsd.org/~aielloj/reciprocal_teaching.htm


http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/


http://depts.washington.edu/centerme/recipro.htm#compo

Hope this helps!


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Does anyone have any suggestion(s) about how to encourage other English teachers to relinquish their strangleholds on strategies that don't work and at least experiment with alternative approaches?

Pat Foley, Woodland High School

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
mrs.
baileyville, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Pat,

Nothing convinces teachers to make changes faster than 1) clear and convincing great results and/or 2) a mandate that what you are accountable for is different from what you have been accountable for before.

According to the research, the most effective strategies for changing "resistant" teacher practice are: 1) good ongoing professional development, 2) participation in action research and/or reflective teacher study groups, 3) collectively examination of student work and determining common standards and expectations; 4) peer coaching and 5) examination of the demands of content area standards and the colleaborative development of program assessments for which all teachers are responsible.

The research also says that in order for the above to be successful, several environmental conditions must be in place:

The efforts must be sustained over time, there is good administrative leadership/support, there is good facilitation by teachers and/or outside professional developers, it requires time -- time to develop the habits and to try out new practices and to develop assessments and to reflect and to make changes in one's practice and, lastly, it requires active participation in a community of practice that uses best practices -- whether this is at one's school, through professional organizations and/or online in virtual professional communities.

Seeing demonstrations of strategies that work are also helpful.

Langer's study may be of interest to you. She looked at the professional development lives of teachers who were excellent teachers of high school English/Language Arts: http://cela.albany.edu/eie1/index.html

I am not sure if this answers your question. Please feel free to write back with a more specific query if I have not provided a sufficient answer.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

My research question deals with strategies related to monitoring student comprehension during the course of a unit as opposed to a final assessment. What strategies, resources, references, etc would you suggest to aid my quest?

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Science Teacher
Baileyville, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Steve,

Most research on effective teaching would agree with you that frequent formative and diagnostic assessment throughout a unit of instruction is essential. Students do better (no surpises here!) when they get frequent and helpful feedback about work in progress and when instruction is adjusted to respond to what they already know and what they seem to know. Of course, this assumes that the teacher is clear about his/her goals and objectives in teaching the unit and is clear about what content standards the unit is designed to help students address.

Formative assessment refers to ongoing "checks" on skills and comprehension all along the way. Diagnostic assessment looks at individual students' understanding vis a vis where you want the level of understanding to be; in other words, by assessing, formally or informally, where a student's understanding/misunderstanding is at, you can adjust instruction/ correct misunderstandings up front.

Some strategies to accomplish either or both of the above beyond just observing of students or listening to what students raise in discussion include:

1. Quick Writes -- ask students to jot down a quick response to the class or a lesson or to answer a question in the beginning of class; ask students to write down the three most important points of today's lesson and justify their answers; ask students to self-assess their understanding and to provide examples to justify their answer -- a quick efficient way to "check in"
   


2. 
   Concept maps -- have students develop concept maps in pairs or individually about their understanding of the topic at hand at a point in time
   


3. 
   Having students check in with you re: planning and execution of a research/inquiry project at strategic points (instead of assigning it, telling students the due date and giving them time and reminders but no interim feedback or guidance);
   


4. completed anticipation guides
   


5. think aloud protocols
   


6. completion of graphic organizers related to concept/vocabulary development (especially necessary in science
   


7. question generating (where students tell you what good test questions would be or good "ask an expert" questions would be or what questions they think an article will answer or what questions they still have after doing a Webquest
   


8. 
   requiring students to assemble a unit or project portfolio to meet certain criteria throughout the unit which is checked and reviewed at various points
   


9. "memos of understanding" (where you ask students at points throughout the unit to jot down what they know and what they have questions about -- a modified individual KWL).
   

Descriptions of most of these can be found in Key Component B under the "What is It" in the best practices listed under "role of the teacher" in this spotlight.

Good ongoing assessment lets you know where your students are so you can refine your instruction to better support their success. Good ongoing assessment should not interrupt teaching and learning but help make students aware also of what they know and do not know and help them to take an ongoing inetractive stance to the content being explored in the unit.

Sometimes, particularly in science, you want to know if students really understand a smaller but important concept before continuing with the unit. To do this, you may want to design a performance task (or, preferably, adapt one someone else has designed) to really find out what students know at that point about the concept. For a source of good performance tasks in a variety of science areas: http://www.pals.sri.com/tasks9-12.html

For some general but relevant assessment resources, you may want to check out:
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/ae0/al_what.html

There are wonderful science resources on the web, as you probably know, but few focus specifically on ongoing assessment as a separate issue, instead blending assessment and instruction within lesson plans and sites. (examples include the Eisenhower site http://www.enc.org/, AskEric http://ericir.syr.edu/cgi-bin/res.cgi/Subjects/Science, the PBS teacher site and the NSF site).

For examples of more science specific assessment ideas, you may want to look at the following sites and journal articles:


http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/toolkit98/assess.html


http://www.nwrel.org/assessment/toolkit98/folio.html


http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/science/eric/eric-6.htm


http://linus.icoe.org/reading/cal/knowledgscales.htm


http://linus.icoe.org/reading/cal/wordsort.htm


http://ericae.net/ericdb/EJ557511.htm


http://ericae.net/ericdb/EJ559332.htm


http://ericae.net/ericdb/EJ558859.htm

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Jonesport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Pam

I think a lot of the issues that come up in career prep classes can be "frontloaded" by relating to personal experience or finding out about the experiences locally/of others related to them. A lot of the frontloading techniques Jeff and Tanya talk about in their course can be adapted for your career prep goals. For instance, in talking about particular careers, having students complete anticipation guides on short articles related to those topics can assist them to generate their questions which can be used to guide their inquiry units into aspects of the topic that they want to know about. The anticipation guides themselves would be a way to give students a framework in which to think about what they learn further. On-line articles are a great way to generate this.

Watching and then doing a group analysis of televised interviews with people talking about aspects of life; using computer or non-computer simulations (e.g. the Sims; Decisions, Decisions; the Stock Market; the Game of Life) and constructing pictorial representations in small groups of the steps students think need to be followed with regard to achieving certain types of life goals are all ways to get students talking, playing and relating and thinking about the categories of what they need to consider as they further explore a topic in depth.

Another idea: students could read about a career they think they are interested in at http://www.whatdotheydo.com and then write down the qualifications they think someone who is successful at that career needs. Then they could find an online ad for a job that interests them. That could be directly related to a resume writing workshop where students create not their resume but the resume that would be of a good candidate for that job, based upon meeting the criteria for good resume writing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/lab/teachers/owlspecific.html (scroll down to the resume section and see the Powerpoint presentations available.)

Webquests are also a great frontloading technique. Career prep websquests can be found at:
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix.html
under "life skills/careers" or "professional skills".

Some great resources for materials to use to support frontloading activities include:
http://dmoz.org/Kids_and_Teens/School_Time/Social_Studies/Economics/Careers/


http://mdb.economicsamerica.org:591/lessons2/search.htm


http://www.state.hi.us/dlir/rs/loihi/CARINFO/CPS/CPDESC.HTM


http://stats.bls.gov/k12/html/edu_over.htm

Hope this is helpful.


Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
math/sci teacher
Lubec, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Dear Roxanne,

Getting students to read the text in math class is often a challenge. The question is figuring out whether students do not read the text from habit (laziness), from a difficulty with learning math from print, or from difficulty with reading itself. Here are some ideas that other teachers have found successful in getting students to read/interact/learn more from textbooks:

1. Using the Cornell two column note taking procedure might be helpful, particularly when the students need to read a page or two of explanation. That is, they would read the material and take notes in two columns, one listing key terms and the other with explanations, relevant key points, etc. A description can be found at: http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/edis771/column_notes.html
   


2. 
   Jigsawing the text might be another strategy to try where students each get a part of the text to read and then have to explain it to others. (See http://www.ncela.gwu.edu/classroom/toolkit/lessons/sjigsaw.html for an example) Again, after doing this several times and having each group come up with the main points, this would become part of the "habit" they bring to reading the text.
   


3. 
   A third way to do it is to give a quick cloze assessment. After a student says s/he is through reading the text, on occasion (not each time and not predictably) you would give the text as a cloze assignment with every fifth word blank and they would need to fill it in without looking at the original in a way that makes sense mathematically. Then this could be added to their quiz/homework grade.
   

Since you are talking about advanced students, you may want to check out these links which are from college resource centers but apply to reading math textbooks:

http://www.usu.edu/arc/idea_sheets/problem-guided_reading.htm


http://mathforum.org/orlando/andersen.orlando.html

In general, I would not assign the actual problems before you have the students do some kind of active interaction with the text, at least for a while. It might be one of the strategies above or it mght be asking each students to read the material and choose the three most important pieces of information. You would list those -- or they would post those -- and you could see whether they are, in fact, choosing the most important concepts/information. You could also give the students a quick graphic organizer to fill in and hand in before getting the problem assignment. After doing this several times, they would likely "do this" as they read and if they are rewarded the first several times with information they had previously skipped, it is self-reinforcing.

Combining writing with reading is also very effective. Some good ideas for math journal content and strategies can be found at:http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~mathed/t/rc/jour/JOURNAL.HTM

Just some thoughts. Some of the strategies at: http://www.nade.net/documents/SCP97/SCP97.2.pdf
might also be helpful.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Jonesport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Leigh,

SQ3R is a research-based content area reading/study skills strategy that has been around a long time (since 1946). It is really a way to study effectively in order to learn from text without outside assistance. SQ3R gives students a clear set of steps they can use to explore/make meaning from text. So it "codes" for students how to approach text in a way to get the most out of it. Of course, students must be explicitly taught the strategy and must practice it before they can comfortably use is on their own.

Vacca & Vacca (1998) summarize the technique as follows (p. 425)

In SQ3R, students SURVEY the material (S) first. They figure out what kind of text it is, what it is generally about and what kind of information it can provide. That is, they scan it, or use an anticipation guide or make predictions about what the text will be about based on a "quick overview".

Then students raise QUESTIONS that they expect to find the answers to in the text.

Next they READ the text, searching for ideas and information that will answer their questions.

They RECITE (answer out loud or in writing) the answers to their questions (can be done in pairs or small groups).

They REVIEW and reflect on the material by "organizing and elaborating on ideas encountered int he text and rereading portions to verify or expand on answers to their questions".

Some websites that offer student friendly descriptions of SQ3R:

I hope this is helpful.


Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher

Jonesport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Leigh,

Janet Allen's Words Words Words is a nice book (short, practical) about ways to approach teaching vocabulary with graphic organizers in the back that are helpful. She advocates, as do others in the field, that what is needed is to generate a culture of curiosity about words and an expectation of "word play",

We know that kids learn words through regular use of them. Word walls that kids help build around "important words in a particular unit", "delicious words", "absurd words". etc. help students to identify and categorize words and allow them to list them. Strategies that give students a list and ask them to categorize what words into the following categories: I have heard but do not know, I know one meaning of, I know and can use -- can get students more invested in words -- which will lead to learning vocabulary.

Some web based descriptions of strategies for teaching vocabulary in high school and vocabulary activities can be found at:

http://litsite.alaska.edu/uaa/workbooks/readingvocabulary.html


http://www.ogilvie.tased.edu.au/Webpage/OHS_English_Literacy.html


http://vocabulary.com/

Some of the links on the spotlight under key component C: vocabulary might be helpful. The interactive thesaurus is usually a hit with kids.

Hope this is helpful. Good luck!


Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Ms.
Calais, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Tammy,

You are absolutely right -- to be effective and useful, portfolios need to be organized and purposeful and regularly and strategically reviewed and culled.

What to put in them can only be answered once the goal of your portfolio is clarified. Do you want evidence of particular standards being met in the form of types of assignments accompanied by student reflection? Do you want evidence of particular skills? Is the portfolio going to be for just one year and one class or multiyear in one content area or multiyear across content areas? Are you trying to track progress academically, intellectual growth, compliance with requirements? What do you want the end result to look like? To provide evidence of? You may institute different portfolios for different purposes.

Some sources for how to design, organize and use effective portfolios include:

http://www.ed.gov/databases/ERIC_Digests/ed388890.html


http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/notes/5/portfolio.html


http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-4535.html

A variety of descriptions and samples of actual high school portfolios used by others can be found at:

http://ahsmagnet.united.isd.tenet.edu/spor.html


http://www.mehs.educ.state.ak.us/portfolios/portfolio.html


http://www.mpsaz.org/boulder/hb/require.htm


http://www.lehman.cuny.edu/education/center/step.htm

As with many things, there is, of course, no one right way to do this. I hope the resources mentioned will give you a better idea of some of the things that can be done and help you organize and plan as you design and implement portfolios to meet your needs and those of your students.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

After completing the Adolescent Literacy Institute and thinking about teacher research, I would like to know the following: In general, what do people think about project-based assessment, and are there any materials you could recommend to me (lessons, projects, books, articles, research, etc.)?

Thanks


Joanna Charles

JonesportBeals HS

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Teacher
Jonesport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Hi Joanna,

Project based assessment (also sometimes called authentic assessment/performance based assessment/culminating performances) is a valuable tool for assessing higher order outcomes when designed well. It is important to clearly define the criteria for project assessment ahead of time ("backwards design")and to make sure that projects created according to that criteria will give you, the teacher, good information about what has been learned and how well it has been learned. The second key is to make sure that there is a clear scoring rubric designating not only whether or not something is done but the level or quality of the work in each of the assessed areas. Doing this well is tricky and takes practice but eventually both teachers and students can come to fairly close consensus about scoring. At that point, project based assessment becomes as valid as other types of assessment and since it is more flexible and more easily tailored to some of the outcomes you are seeking, it is an excellent way to go.

There are several very good resources for looking at project based instruction and assessment.

Some good book titles include:

Some interesting sites to check out where you can learn more about project based assessment, see examples, and find tools :

http://www.4teachers.org/profd/assessment.shtml


http://glef.org/teachers.html


http://www.fort-mill.k12.sc.us/fmhs/authentic/

Hope this is helpful. As you read and research more, write back if you have more specific questions.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Building admin/coordinator
Principal
Eastport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Dear Jeanne,

As we discussed, this is a mutlifaceted question! There are several strategies that you can use to approach providing ongoing formative, diagnostic and summative feedback relative to student literacy skills and ability. And, you will probably want to use more than one in combination with one another.

Tests/Assessments


To get a baseline sense of reading level, the Degrees of Reading Power tests, used over time, provide an easy administratable vehicle that can provide ongoing periodic feedback. it is easy to give and score and interpret. You can find out more at www.tasaliteracy.com. This gives a general reading level corresponding to grade level.

For more diagnostic information, I think the best bet may be the DAR. I found references to the DAR (see below) in several places.

"The DAR (diagnostic assessments of reading) based on Jeanne Chall's work is very highly regarded.It is a criterion-referenced test which can be used to establish mastery levels (ranging from first-through twelfth-grade levels) in six areas of reading and related language skills: word recognition, oral reading of connected text, knowledge of word meanings, silent reading comprehension, spelling and word analysis." -- Curtis & Longo, (1999), authors of When Adolescents Can't Read: Methods and Materials That Work from Brookline Books (based on the Boys Town Reading Center work).

Curtis and Longo say that they prefer the DAR over other similar tests "because of its ease in administration, scoring and interpretation, as well as the convenience of having all the subtests together in one test" (p.12)

Reference information: Roswell, F.G. & Chall, J.S. (1992) Diagnostic Reading Assessments. Chicago, IL: Riverside. You can order the DAR from Riverside Publishing: http://www.riverpub.com/products/group/dar/home.html

Some online diagnostic options include http://www.inetlibrary.com/reading_assessment.html and http://www.readingplacement.com where students take an online test and get subset scores on different areas along with suggestions to teachers. I do not know how good they are but they are probably worth looking at. They are likely to be less expensive. I am not sure how calibrated they are at this point.

Portfolio Assessment


You will probably want to establish ongoing student portfolios with certain required types of pieces included and scored on common rubrics. Students should attach a reflection statement to each piece submitted to the portfolio listing their perceived strengths and weaknesses of the particular piece and specific suggestions of how they would improve that type of writing in the future. Peer responses could also be included.

Performance assessment/exhibitions/
projects/demonstrations


Student exhibitions prepared according to specific criteria and scored according to agreed upon rubrics would enable you to track presentation/communication skills and content knowledge/content literacy. A summary page with ratings on different dimensions of the rubric and comments from teachers, peers and the presenter could be included in the portfolio. The key here would be to establish some common rubrics with established criteria (some fixed/some flexible to reflect the specific task) and to get consensus on the acceptable levels of quality so the progress could be tracked and good feddback given).

Annotated Reading Logs


Having students keep annotated reading logs throughout the year and having students complete an annual reading summary of habits and strategies would be a useful piece for teachers and students and parents in tracking literacy. These summaries and logs could be assessed semiannually using a rubric to determine where a student is in terms of reading level, preferences, use of reading strategies, etc.

Standards-based reporting


Reporting to parents in writing (report cards with attachments) and through in-person "progress conferences" that showcase the portfolio and are "chaired" by the student would be productive. Reporting should be standards-based so that progress toward the identified "priority outcomes" for each grade could be documented for each student. A summary form could be developed that showed the goals and the progress of that particular student toward those goals based on the rubric scores and test scores.

These strategies, used together, should form a fairly robust set of data upon which good decisions could be made and assistance could be based and progress could be seen.

Of course, setting these up require substantial collaboration among teachers. The rubric development and schedules for when and how assessment will take place is obviously critical. However, these same strategies could be put into place with simultaneous content goals and be the structure and substance for the school's assessment plan.

I would be happy to continue discussing this with you -- hopefully this is helpful as you and the team move forward.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Building admin/coordinator
Principal
Eastport, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

Dear Jeanne,

The research does not conclusively show either -- at least not that I can see. In general, rules of good formatting should include "white space" and enable the reader to be easily directed to the most important parts of the text. Part of the issue is how used to visual multitasking students are -- those who have used visual media extensively (TV, the Internet) are very used to having a lot of visual stimuli to manage. Some students may need to use blank paper to conceal "busy" parts of the page to focus on other parts -- this is the case for some readers in any case. This is similar to the issues around classroom environments -- different types seem to appeal and support different learners.

If two texts are available, I guess that I would base a decision on what text to use as a primary text on the following key principles of textbook evaluation: 1) the accuracy of the information; 2) the coherence of the text (is the information presented in an order that makes sense? Do transitions make sense?); 3) the features of the text (is it consistently "coded"; does it have an index; is there a glossary; are there useful visuals?). The busyness/attractiveness of the text would be an issue to consider, as would general reading level, but these would not be my first concerns as I would be using the text as a reference and would use other visual and written support texts, including the other text if it addressed a specific topic in a particularly effective way.

I hope this is helpful.


Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Research/tech assistance org

Rockford, IN

Expert's keyword(s) :

Basically by putting all of the parts of the Adolescent Literacy Framework into place, Title I learners will be more prepared for college. "Title I" is a large and varied population. Look especially on the Spotlight under the "What is it?s" to find strategies and resources for putting the best practices into place. Of particular importance for students not coming from a strong literacy background is developing a critical literacy stance; that is, becoming an interpreter of text, not just a receiver of it. This often needs to be explicitly taught.

For teachers faced with helping those readers who are still struggling, the following resources may be helpful:

WestEd's Reading for Understanding is excellent. Jeff Wilhelm's book Strategic Reading has several excellent suggestions. Cris Tovani's book I Read It But I Don't Get It is highly recommended by teachers. All of these are on the adlit bibliography on the cover page of the Adolescent Literacy in the Content Areas Spotlight.

Vocabulary building is often key for college bound students: see Janet Allen's Words, Words, Words for suggestions.

For Title I teachers faced with high school students reading several years below grade level:

The book by SEDL (another lab) Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level: A Guide to Resources can be found at http://www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/read16.html .

The book When Adolescents Can't Read -- Materials and Methods That Work is worth examining: http://www.brooklinebooks.com/education/reading/adcant.htm .

Hope this is helpful.


Regards,


Julie Meltzer

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Research/tech assistance org
teacher
New York, NY

Expert's keyword(s) :

I have given a lot of thought to your question. I am going to assume that you are speaking of high school students who are ELLs. If this is not the case, and my response does not answer your question, please write back and I'll try again.

As you know,high school ELLs with little or no formal schooling and/or weak literacy skills in their first language pose real dilemmas for educators charged with implementing standards-based education. In their case, putting all aspects of the first three components of the Adlit Framework into place at their level but in very rich ways is essential. I would suggest using picture books with these learners, using Easy Reader or similar software so that books can be read aloud, doing a lot of group writing together about experiences you have facilitated as part of learning (the Language Experience approach)and then doing group editing and rereading, doing Guided Reading and DRTAs (see resources and suggestions under each of the Best Practices for Key Component B in this Spotlight) using word walls and creating personal vocabulary lists -- essentially using many of the hallmarks of a balanced literacy approach but geared around topics of interest and with the students' understanding that they deserve to have these skills, it is not their fault that they do not have them and that together you will help them get the skills they need so no one takes advantage of them.

A few other suggestions: Some folks in Beaverton, Oregon have developed sets of strategies aimed just at this population: you can contact Joann Hulquist, the director of the ESL/Bilingual Program and ask about the workshop materials from the International Reading Association workshop: joann_hulquist@beaverton.k12.or.us

You can also contact Carol Conklin, principal of a high school in New York where they have a great differentiated approach to instruction for ELLs: cconklin@tufsd.org

These last suggestions pertain to struggling adolescent readers but has many practical suggestions that may be applicable. The book by SEDL (another lab) Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level: A Guide to Resources can be found at http://www.sedl.org/pubs/catalog/items/read16.html.

The book When Adolescents Can't Read -- Materials and Methods That Work is worth examining: http://www.brooklinebooks.com/education/reading/adcant.htm

Hope this is helpful.


Regards,


Julie Meltzer

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
University
Assistant Professor
Honolulu, HI

Expert's keyword(s) :

This situation is analogous to 9th and 10th graders who read at only a 4th-6th grade level and are confronted with the complex language and structures of science and social studies textbooks.
Many of the strategies that are effective there will, as you probably know, be helpful to your students as well. These include use of anticipation guides, use of KWL, two column note taking, mapping the text using graphic organizers, role play, teaching text structures and features directly, and strategies for vocabulary development. Examples of these can be found on the Adolescent Literacy in the Content Areas Spotlight in the Best Practices under Key Component B, Roles of the Teacher and Key Component C. Also important are allowing for small group work and discussion and rewriting text in own words (see other Best Practices in Key Component B).

Below are a few other links that specifically list strategies that struggling readers can use to tackle technical writing:

http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/ela1112/tpccom.htm;


http://www.hio.ft.hanze.nl/thar/reading.htm;


http://www.yorku.ca/cdc/lsp/read/read.htm

I hope this is helpful. It was nice to meet you at the International Reading Association Conference.

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Building admin/coordinator
SLP-LLD
Newmarket, NH

Expert's keyword(s) :

Dear Amesbury teachers,

Some suggestions for technology assistance for those students who can't read what they write:

Use of Alphasmarts -- You may have access to these but these versatile word processors are relatively inexpensive, portable, durable, can download to a computer for printing and have proven tremendously valuable for students with writing issues. Information at http://www.alphasmart.com

There is some basic work happening with voice recognition software but this is still at the basic stages. students speak their work and the computer types it out. Then they can edit it -- a great boon to those students who do not type well or who do not type fast enough to get their thoughts out. One example that come greatly recommended by others is Dragon Naturally Speaking 6.0: http://www.1stvoice.com . Another product available for MAc and PCs is Microsoft's ViaVoice.

A very helpful website and resource you may or may not know about is that of the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST), located in Peabody MA (see http://www.cast.org/about/ ).

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you find other resources -- that's how the Loom grows.

Julie Meltzer

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
Program Leader for Literacy
Chelmsford, Ontario, Canada, N/A

Expert's keyword(s) :

I do not know of something that exactly matches your query. However, the following resources would probably be helpful:

WestEd's Strategic Literacy Initiative lists examples of ways to support reading development through the content areas. Some examples are on their website:

http://www.wested.org/stratlit/ideas/ideas.shtml

Maryland has started a great collection of examples of literacy support in the content areas to meet their standards. See:

http://mdk12.org/practices/support_success/hsa/index.html

The lesson plans listed on the Eisenhower site for inquiry in math and science http://www.enc.org/topics/inquiry/
and on the Marco Polo site
for various content areas
http://marcopolo.worldcom.com/mpnnewcontent.shtml
tend to be extremely rich in literacy demands and strategies but need to be looked at on a case by case basis.

Webquests tend to be very rich in literacy demands and strategies:
http://webquest.sdsu.edu/matrix.html

The Tuscon Unified School District has templates for literacy strategies:
http://edweb.tusd.k12.az.us/Templates/index.htm

There are more content area specific strategies and lesson suggestions on this Spotlight if you go to Investigate, then Component C then Supporting Literacy in the classroom. Click on "what is it?" and scroll down to sugegsted strategies and resources and you will see links there that may be what you are looking for, at least in part.

Hope this is helpful.


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
Research/tech assistance org

Philadelphia, PA

Expert's keyword(s) :

Like you, I am having some difficulty finding a clear knowledge base for the design of effective middle and high school summer reading programs. I did go to Ask Eric and found an archived response that may have some useful resources: http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printresponses.cgi/Virtual/Qa/archives/Educational_Levels/K-12_Education/summerprogs.html

But, as you say, most are library based (or remedial). You may try talking with an AskEric librarian beween 1-4 pm on weekdays if you have not already tried this.

A quick review of several programs that claim to be effective seems to reinforce some common characteristics:
choice, clear expectations, incentives or rewards (adding to one's grade) instead of punishments, "read ins" or other social sponsorship of reading, and required demonstration that students read. For some ideas on creative reporting formats and motivating participation, I found the following: http://www.geocities.com/cplrmh/summer.html , again a library resource but one focused on what works with teens.

I think effective strategies would depend on what the district is trying to accomplish. There seem to be three primary reasons why district start summer reading programs: 1) to increase motivation to read and the amount of reading middle school and high school students are doing, 2) to try to ensure some common reading experiences shared by all entering a certain grade, and 3) to address the needs of weak readers through intensive summer intervention. (see, for example, http://www.ers.org/SSP/sspsu98c.htm .)Certainly each of these would require different approaches

I would be happy to hear more about what you are trying to do and would try again to find specific resources. And if you find any good resources in this area, please let me know. Hope this is helpful. Good luck!

Regards,


Julie

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

Asked by:
K-12 Classroom teacher
teacher
Naples, ME

Expert's keyword(s) :

I am not sure whether you are asking about instruction or assessment. That is, are you asking how teachers can help students make sure they understand the materials being read? Or are you asking how teachers can "find out for sure" if students understood the material they read?

In the first case, helping students to use graphic organizers to analyze reading selections, teaching students two column note taking and using a Reciprocal Teaching protocol are three strategies that teachers can support students to develop better reading comprehension strategies across the content areas. Which of these would be most effective and what other strategies would be useful depend on the content area, the students and the types of texts but all three are well worth exploring. Once taught and practiced, they can become an integral part of content area teaching and learning and do not "interrupt" instruction. Examples of these can be found in the strategies and resources on the Adolescent Literacy Spotlight in the best practices (what is its) both Components B and C. Effective vocabulary instruction is also key -- see this best practice under Component C. A last important strategy is to connect background knowledge explicitly to what is assigned for reading and to have students read several sources about the same information.

Assessing comprehension can be done on an ongoing basis through completion of graphic organizers or examination of written notes from a reciprocal teaching session or examination of two column notes (see above). "Quick Writes" are another convenient way to "check" understanding. Ultimately, however, the best way to assess comprehension is to have students apply the information gained from the text materials to a problem or situation. This will show whether or not students understood what they read.

I could provide more specific ideas if I knew the content area or the situation. Feel free to write again. Hope this helps.

Regards,


Julie Meltzer

Answered by :
Julie Meltzer
Senior Research Associate
Portsmouth NH
jmeltzer@crminc.com

At a recent meeting of the New England Secondary School Network, this question about literacy was posed:

What are some creative ways to exhibit student literacy knowledge (in various subject areas)?

Asked by:
Research/tech assistance org
Knowledge Loom Project Manager
Providence, RI

Expert's keyword(s) :

This resource is developed and maintained by The Education Alliance at Brown University. Seed funding was provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Send comments to: loom@alliance.brown.edu