Intro: Education is experiencing a shift from the Balanced Literacy(Small Group) to the Structured Literacy(Whole Group) model. No longer can Teachers/Reading Interventionists say that they looked at a Letter and then follow a rote script.
Now, practitioners analyze, evaluate and synthesize data and then implement interventions.
With that in mind, I put together “A Guide To Reading Interventions.”
Step 1: Gather Data
Every district, state, and country uses their own data gathering tools(I have screeners that I’m willing to share). No matter your tools. There are five areas that must be diagnosed.
Phonological Awareness
Phonics(Spelling)
Vocabulary
Fluency
Comprehension
Step 2: Identify Foundational Weakness
After that data is evaluated, identify what that student/students’ lowest weakness or undeveloped strength.
Phonological Awareness is the lowest foundational skill. Comprehension is the highest skill. Even within those skills, there are sub-components–such as Phonemic Awareness, which is under the Phonological Awareness umbrella.
Step 3: Set Your Groups
Upon deciding where your students fall within the continuum, set your groups–classroom or intervention. Students typically fit into three separate groups(although 2nd grade classrooms look vastly different.).
Red(Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary)
Orange(Vocabulary, Fluency, Foundational Comprehension, Higher Order Comprehension)
Green(Higher Order Comprehension)
Step 4: Attack The Gaps/Enhance Strengths
Once those gaps are determined, You attack them.
An intervention that I provide for Phonological Awareness, Phonics and Vocabulary is Phenomenal Word Power(Which I’ve presented at the State and National level).
Here are a few methods that I use to build Foundational Comprehension.
Targeted Guided Reading(Retelling, Elements of Plot, Character Traits and Feelings)
Explicit Teaching of Analyze Characters, Main Idea, Inference
Video-Alouds
GUIDED READING!!! That’s not aligned to the Science of Reading.
Using it as your primary mode of instruction isn’t good practice but viable in limited doses. And in my version, I focus on one skill, not spiral several that students haven’t mastered.
Don’t forget about the students who are proficient in all areas. Push them, as well. Here’s how to encourage Higher-Order Comprehension.
Closed Reading
Analyze Complex Text
Text Analysis (4-Step Rigor Method)
Conclusion: Differentiating interventions and growing students can be a challenge but if you follow this simple guide, your students will grow…and grow exponentially.
Be Phenomenal, Mr. Short
If your school or district would like a presentation on word study, intervention or comprehension, email thephenomenalstudent@gmail.com or call 281-254-0015.
Place: Greatness Room, Late In 2016-2017 School Year
Intro: Do Your Part
Opening the talk, I let the kids know that 16 of them would have passed the Math Benchmark if they had correctly bubbled in their fill-in-the-blank questions. That’s 76 percent.
I didn’t stop there.
One student made a 40 and didn’t even study.
Me to Him: Would you have done better if you studied?
Him: Yes (Nodding his head)
There was another student who made a 45. He didn’t study, either, claiming that his phone didn’t work. (I know, the classic dog-ate-my-homework excuse.)
Me To Him: “Your notebook doesn’t work? I know we’ve had checkpoints, and you’ve left your math notebook on your desk. You even left your Writing STAAR binder on your desk before Spring Break.”
1st Principle: The Benchmark
After that, I transitioned to talking about the Reading Benchmark by thanking the kids for doing what I asked: putting a smile on Ms. Dixon’s face. She was happy with their improvement. And that’s saying a lot. She holds the same high standard that I do.
You’ve improved but 61.9 percent isn’t good enough. That means 38.1 percent of you failed. I don’t accept that.
No more writing stories or reading picture books for “When I’m Done” time. You need to read. Not comic books or magazines but chapter books.
2nd Principle: Friends Help Each Other
The conversation shifted to friends. I focused on two students. The students always bring up the fact that they go on playdates and hang out on weekends.
One is a strong speller but struggles with reading comprehension. The other does well with reading comprehension but isn’t a strong speller.
I asked: Why don’t y’all help each other? That’s what real friends do.
Then I highlighted two other students who facetime all the time but don’t have anyone at home to study with them.
Me: “Why don’t y’all Facetime and help each other study?”
At that point, I had a message for the kids who were upset that they failed the test.
Me: If you failed, why are you playing at recess? It’s ok to play for about ten minutes. The rest of the time you need to be reading or studying your vocabulary words.
Final Principle: It’s A Small Word
With all the talk about losing, I decided to share some more of my backstory with the kids. I told them that I worked security, but it wasn’t very secure. It’s a job that I quit after my last assignment. The decision wasn’t an easy one. I dealt with opposition from my family. I was told that I was lazy and didn’t want to work.
Also, I lived by myself and had bills. I couldn’t pay those or rent. Eventually, I was evicted. That all led to a point where I was homeless for a day. It was one of the worst feelings of my life. But I wasn’t just homeless because I didn’t have anywhere to stay. I had a bad relationship with my sister at the time. So, I couldn’t stay with her.
It was a tough situation but I vowed: “Never Again.”
I did get a job. Lost it. I kept on pushing, though. Then I got hired in education. Now, I’m here, and I know that I was meant to be here.
Why? I found out that a person, whom I struck up a friendship with at my last assignment as a security guard, is good friends and college classmates with one of their classmate’s dad.
Of course, they wondered which classmate. So, I told them.
One student opined: Small World.
I let them know that she has improved more than anybody.
Closing: Get Tired of Losing
At that moment, I got emotional. I didn’t cry, but I almost did.
Gathering myself, I kept with the talk on losing. I told them about my development as a writer. I started from the beginning. I was in Basic English my first year in college, because I didn’t score high enough on a college-entrance test(A.C.T.).
Even as a college student, I still struggled. I would get a 100 for content and get marked down for grammar and punctuation. The same stuff they struggled with, but I was grown.
They’re in the 4th grade.
I struggled some more as I became a writer professionally. People clowned on me for my grammar…publicly.
Once people did that enough, I decided I was tired of losing. So, when my articles were published, I’d print out the edited version and compare it to my rough draft–identifying my grammatical errors.
Gradually, my grammar and punctuation improved. I wanted to take it to the next level, though.
I sent my articles to national writers. They gave me critiques, which took my writing to another level.
Focusing on the Benchmarks again, I brought up the theme of the week: “Don’t Worry About They.”
Whatever you make on the Benchmark, then that’s what you’ll make on the STAAR.
Students started grumbling…
Deadpanning: Who Is They? I don’t care about They. They don’t matter. We’re The Greatness Room. We’re Great.”
Chants are all good and stuff. But I don’t want you to talk about being Great. I wanted you to shh(finger on lips)…show me.
The speech was long (30 or more minutes) but necessary. I wanted my babies to understand Greatness and what it takes to reach it.
Epilogue: They Reached Greatness
Throughout the day, the kids displayed a different level of focus.
For example, as I reviewed vocabulary words and worked through a reading passage, they were energetic and engaged.
I loved it.
Another example: Before the math lesson (Converting Measurements), I challenged the kids. I wanted 100 percent on the exit ticket.
What percentage of them got the exit ticket correct? 100 percent(Phenomenal).
Shortly after this speech, they reached greatness, and I fulfilled my promise to show them what Phenomenal looked like and turned my room into The Phenomenal Room.
Bloom’s Taxonomy is a classification of educational objectives, which is based on the research of Benjamin Bloom and colleagues that was released in 1956. There are six classifications: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, evaluate and create/synthesis. (I prefer using the word Synthesis.)
Many of the skills that kids are taught are aligned to the rigor matrix and guide many teacher’s instructional practices.
In this article, I’ll detail my experience using these classifications to create a Word Study routine called “Word Power” , and the impact that it had on my student’s growth during the 2019-2020 school year.
Intro: The Origins of Word Power
At the onset of the 2019-2020 school year, the focus was on phonological awareness. Understanding that kids need phonics and vocabulary instruction, as well. The challenge was finding a way to incorporate those components within a 25 minute block.
Throughout the first nine weeks, I brainstormed a system to integrate those other elements. Utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy progression, “Word Power” was birth.
1.Purpose of Study: Meeting All Student Needs
This was not intended to be a study. I created this routine because I wanted to meet all my student needs. Aligning the cycle to Bloom’s Taxonomy accomplished that, though.
*It should be noted that I’m not the first person to have a Word Study routine, but the components are traditionally done on different days of the week and not in concert with one another.
2. Framework: Align To Bloom’s Taxonomy
Knowledge: Day 1
A. Phonological Awareness: What’s The Word? (5 Minutes)
In this part of the routine, I stand on a table and review the weekly words. For example, I say
The first word is park and then ask the scholars: What’s The Word?!!!
Kids then chant: Park!!! (And I repeat for the other 14 words.)
B. Phonics: Underline The Pattern (5 Minutes)
After teaching the words, I have the kids underline the pattern. The kids will say the word and then say the pattern and underline it. (I normally call them up using voices.)
C. Vocabulary: Teach Definitions/Vocab Trailers (15 Minutes)
Originally, I would teach the definitions to kids. After receiving advice from vocabulary expert, Joanne Billingsley, I used the Vocab Trailers technique on the first day to tie visuals with the word.
For this technique, I show a picture that relates to one of the weekly words. Then I give the kids a sentence stem: In this picture or This reminds me of…
The kids turn and talk and then share out their answer. (I’d do this with four images.)
Thanks Mrs. Billingsley.
Comprehension: Day 2
A. Phonological Awareness: Clap It Out (5 Minutes)
To start the day, I break the weekly words into syllables and clap out each word with the kids, which embeds blending into the Word Study cycle.
B. Phonics: Sorts (10 Minutes)
This is quite simple. The kids sort the words according to the pattern. For example
Example of a table that you can make for Control-R Vowels.
C. Vocabulary: Picture This!!! (10 Minutes)
For this exercise, the kids draw pictorial representations of four of the weekly words.
Example of a Picture This!!! for Blends.
Application: Day 3
A. Phonological Awareness: Read and Build (5 Minutes)
On this day, I have the kids apply their skills. First, I call out words and have them spell it on their desk.
B. Phonics: Spell (10 Minutes)
Then, I call out words and have the kids spell them. While they’re spelling words, I walk around the room and assess what errors that they’re making.
C. Vocabulary: Spell and Draw (10 Minutes)
For this portion, I’ll have the kids spell the words and draw a pictorial representation, as well.
Extension: Read Connected Text
I have this as an extension exercise but many times it was the main exercise. In the exercise, the kids read a short paragraph with words centered around the weekly words pattern. They underline the words with the pattern and sometimes answer a few literal comprehension questions. (Teacher Pay Teachers has some good Phonics Fluency Passages. If you’re not comfortable with TPT, you could use Decodable Text.)
Analysis: Day 4
A. Activity:“Conver” Stations”
This is an activity that incorporates all skills. In one station, the kids would sort the weekly words and explain why. One activity might have the kids write a paragraph based on the weekly word(s) and picture. My favorite activity is when the kids incorporated the words with a reading skill.
For example,
I would ask the kids to make a drama about a girl. It was a fun way to get the students to use their words in different ways.
Evaluate(Assess): Day 5
A. Phonological Awareness: Go Noodle Clap It Out
I didn’t assess Phonological Awareness but I would do “Go Noodle Clap It Out” as a brain break, so the kids can get that component.
B. Phonics: Incorporate In Other Disciplines
I didn’t assess spelling on this day, but I’d try to incorporate in the other subjects or disciplines.
C. Vocabulary: Context Clues Assessment (5 to 20 minutes)
To assess vocabulary, I’d give the kids a story and they’d have to fill in the blanks with one of the weekly words.
Create/Synthesis: Day 5
A. Vocabulary: Draw A Picture/Write A Story/Info Text/Poem/Drama/Opinion
After the assessment was completed, I’d give the kids several options. They could draw a picture with a self-selected weekly word or write a story, Informational Text, Poem, Drama, or Opinion using one or many of their weekly words.
To gather data. I used T.P.R.I., a Texas-based assessment which measures the kids foundational growth in Word Reading(Decoding), Graphemic Knowledge (Spelling), Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension. In addition to that, classroom discussion was used to measure vocabulary development.
MAP Growth was used as a measurement too, as well.
Below you will find the results.
4. Interim Results: Phonological Awareness and Phonics Growth
Phonological Awareness
Figure 1.1
*I was able to test for phonological awareness virtually at the End of Year.
From the BOY(Beginning of Year) to the EOY(End of Year) my students grew 19.74 percent in their Phonological Awareness. Students who tested 90 percent or above in Word Reading don’t have to test again. They’re considered developed, so students could have grown five or ten percent more.
There were several glows.
One student grew from 25 to 90 percent.
One student grew from 30 to 80 percent
As a class, only one student didn’t finish the year under 80 percent in Word Reading, but that student grew from 0 to 55 percent.
Phonics
Figure 1.2
*I didn’t test my kids spelling in 4th nine weeks due to Covid-19 and not being in formal classroom.
In this graphic, you’ll see that my students grew 31.57 percent in Graphemic Knowledge (Spelling). The biggest jump was from the BOY to MOY–where the kids grew 19.21 percent.
There were several glows here, as well.
One student grew from 15 to 80 percent.
Another grew from 30 to 80 percent.
Six students grew 40 percent.
11 out of my 19 students spelled at 80 percent proficiency.
5. Overall Results: Growth Above The Norm
Figure 1.3
To get a complete picture of the success of the “Word Power” routine, you have to look at my kids BOY 2019 to BOY 2020 MAP Growth. (Due to Covid-19, there was no MAP Growth assessment at the EOY.)
Desegregating the data, the students grew 24 points, which equates to 2.4 years. As a class(198 average), they were a full year above the Norm (nationally average).
Naturally, there were glows here, too.
One student grew 38 points(close to four years)
Another grew 35 points.
Nine students grew 20 points or more.
Four students grew 35 points or more
*I took a sample size of 15 students–as a few students moved.
6. Discussion: Enhancing My Knowledge
Evaluating the routine and year, the main limitation was my lack of knowledge of the proper scope and sequence for Word Study instruction, which resulted in weekly words being a little random. Also, the age of the students(2nd Graders) didn’t allow me to embed writing as much as I would have preferred to do.
Additionally, if there were school assessments, I could have measured the kids vocabulary development through mastery of TEKS/Skills.
7. Conclusion: New Way of Doing Word Study
Based on the data, the “Word Power” program is an effective one. It can be improved, though, by following the proper Scope and Sequence for Phonics instruction, adding more activities and tracking data weekly. To further validate the method, I’ll use other educators from different grade-levels and environments.
This much is certain: Word Power is a new way of doing Word Study. It naturally embeds phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, writing, fluency while building reading skills. (All of the Daily 5 that the Reading Panel suggested in 2000.)
If you’re interested in learning more about “Word Power” or would like professional development conducted on the routine, email thephenomenalstudent@gmail.com
Early in the school year, I told my students that our first goal-In ELA(English/Language Arts) was to reach District-Level performance and then perform above that level. I didn’t want them to be the best class in their school but in the District.
Mind you, this is a group which started at 56 percent pass rate, 43 percent Proficiency(Barely), and 6 percent Mastery.
With that being said, It’s been a challenging year–with many ups and downs. The kids were far below district-level at the middle of the year after starting strong. I wasn’t very happy but if the Leader panics, then the troops will.
As I prepared them for the RLA Benchmark, I pressed them to increase their performance and Dominate.
After the scores were populated, my students had got back on track and more. 81 percent passed/61 percent Proficiency/31.25 percent Masters.
Today, I found out that my students performed better than I thought. I received a document which showed that 81.25 percent passed, /75 percent were Proficient, and 44 percent Mastered. To further highlight the scores, the district average for Mastery is 15 percent, so my kids were 29 percent above the district…Phenomenal.
Now, I have to keep pushing and make sure that they Dominate!!!
Intro: In part 1(Mapping A Unit) and part 2(Lesson Design, Not Lesson Plan) of my lesson plan series, I wrote about how to create a proper lesson plan.
Today, I’ll detail the three-step process to successfully review those units.
How To After-Plan
1. Calculate Effect Size: A new added component of the review method. After completing your lesson plan, go back through and calculate the over Hattie(effect) size of individual days and weeks.
For example, Explicit Teaching Strategies has a 0.63 effect size. Collaborative Learning has a 0.45 effect size. Using the Jigsaw approach has a 1.20 effect size.
My goal is to ensure each daily ELA(English/Language Arts) block has a 5.00 effect size.
2. Time It Out: Each week, I pour over the weekly lessons, material and strategies to determine how long each part will take. Most times, I keep it the same. Other times, I delete or add a component based on the projected minutes needed.
I’m quite precise, too. Once a student stated: Mr. Short, you said we’d do this at 10:35 and it’s 10:35.
Me: I know.
3. Take Notes: Throughout the course of a school week, I review my after-planning notebook and take notes on the lessons. Additionally, daily informal or formal assessments support the after-planning task.
Conclusion: The three-part lesson planning method requires thoroughness and increased effort but it ensures that your scholars receive quality instruction.
Intro: In lieu of my interview with Dr. Kathryn Garforth on my approach to Literacy, I decided to put together a quick breakdown in the form of a Literacy Block.
My Literacy Block
Word Study: Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary
For word study, I used a routine that I call Word Power, which interweaves phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, oral language practice and writing together to reinforce a weekly sound/pattern. Here’s how I teach Word Study.
Follow A Scope and Sequence
Interactive Phonological Awareness and Phonics
Both Reinforced Through Decodables(Not the primary reading material, though)
Speak, Read, and Write with Vocabulary
Pre-Teach Academic Vocabulary
Fluency: Embedded and Intentional
Teaching fluency should be on a by student and class component. Some students and classes may need repeated reading. Some may need expression. Some may need to put it all together to have overall good prosody. Here are my tips to teach fluency.
Repeated Reading(Intervention and At-Home)
Model Expression
Silly Poems
Reader’s Theater
Comprehension: Rigorous But Scaffolded
I’m a huge believer in high-rigor instruction but it has to be appropriately challenging. Students need to learn basic reading skills before they can grasp the more high-level skills. Here’s how I teach comprehension.
Explicit, Whole Group Instruction
Focus on Metacognition, not anchor charts
Structured According To Bloom’s Taxonomy
Supply Needed Background Knowledge
Reading Is More Than A Book(Real Life Examples, Video-Alouds etc.)
Inspire A Love For Reading(Appealing Books, Model Avid Reading)
Writing: Make It Not Boring
I’ll keep it simple. Writing every day doesn’t make you a better writer…it’s boring. If taught properly, kids won’t even realize they’re doing it. Here’s how I do it.
Follow A Scope and Sequence
Front Load Grammar (First 2 Days of Week)
Reinforce Grammar Through Writing(Days 3-5)
Write About Reading and in other contents
Quality Instruction Over Rote Daily Writing
Conclusion: I’ve never claimed to be an expert on Literacy Instruction but my simple yet efficient approach has and will produce high outcomes for students.
Intro: Last week, I wrote about the first stage of Lesson Planning: Mapping A Unit or The Before.
Today, the focus is the part of planning that is viewed as boring and laborious: Lesson Planning or Doing The Lesson Plans. I get why teachers don’t like the required responsibility. It’s repetitive, takes time, and you’ll change your mind anyway.
Let me reframe your thoughts on lesson planning, though. If you think of the task as you’re designing a lesson, it’ll become a duty you’ll embrace and love.
How To Design A Unit
1. Varied Lesson Intros: A way to design your lessons is to change the way lessons are introduced. Instead of telling students the concept and reviewing a chart, try one of these techniques.
A. Hook: When I introduce any new concept(no matter the subject), I play a song(if one exists). Why? It’s passive learning and interests the auditory learner. You’ll notice that some kids will think it’s lame but those auditory learners will sing the song throughout the instructional block.
B. Use Real World Connections: We’re living in the Tik Tok/Snapchat generation…If you don’t get kids attention in the first ten seconds, they will move on to a new story. To make sure that they don’t move on, project pictures, play videos and ask questions that are relevant to them.
C. Interactive Concept Review: Games are your friend if they’re utilized properly. Kids learn without realizing they’re actually learning. That’s teaching at its highest form.
2. Plan Engaging But Rigorous Activities: Activities are what the kids will be doing…so you might as well make them engaging.
A. Fun Reinforcement: Whenever I reinforcement a grammar skill, the activity is typically fun but meets the standard. Where to find them? I’ll say this in a whisper: Teacher Pay Teachers is a Phenomenal place to look. (Don’t tell your coaches that I said it)
B. Make Them Applicable And Relatable: As adults, don’t we read and watch things in which we enjoy and relate. Kids think the same. Plan activities that will interest them.
C. Incorporate Technology: Several students are 1:1(have their own personal computer) after the pandemic. They’re using technology more than ever. Find ways to incorporate technology in all domains. One caveat, though: Ensure that it’s rigorous and challenging, as well. Otherwise, it’ll be for nought.
D. Give Projects: Kids–especially GT ones–love projects. They’re fun and give them an opportunity to work with their classmates and/or friends for a common goal.
3. Mix Up Instruction/Methods: The I(Do) or the Mini-Lesson, We(Do), You(Do) is a popular method of instruction, which is the mode that I favor but that doesn’t mean teachers shouldn’t mix it up.
A. Video-Alouds: Read-Alouds are a staple of many ELA(English/Language Arts) classrooms but I propose that teachers should conduct Video-Alouds, too. It’s a routine where you play short videos and solicit questions during and after the video has finished.
B. Class Discussion: Although efforts have been made to change instructional delivery, teachers doing a 10-15 mini-lesson and then asking students to practice the skill is the prevalent way of instructing.
Engaging in more frequent class discussions of text, math concepts, social studies topics, and science theories will not only capture students attention but improve classroom community.
C. Flip The Gradual Release: While the gradual release is a good model for teaching, it’s ok to flip or change it from time to time. I understand scaffolding but reversing the gradual release model provides an opportunity to assess what students know.
Conclusion: I’m cognizant that Lesson Design isn’t as boring as Lesson Planning but requires more leg work. Taking the effect size of Lesson Design(0.70) into account, it’s worth it.
To simplify: Proper design leads to better student outcomes.
In my time as a teacher, the bane of most teacher’s existence is lesson planning. It’s the Sunday evening chore that they’d rather not have.
To alleviate that stress, I’ve developed a three-part process to lesson planning: Mapping A Unit(Before), Lesson Design, Not Lesson Planning(During), and Lesson Review(After).
Today, I’m focusing on the Before.
Three Steps To Mapping A Unit
1. Identify Skills/Standards: The first step to mapping a unit is to know the skills or standards that need to be taught. That could be Order of Operations(Math), Life Cycle(Science), Government(Social Studies), Info Text(Reading), Parts of Speech(Grammar), Opinion(Writing). Understanding the requisite standards, will lead to the next step.
2. Rigor-Level: Once the standard is identified, determine the rigor for level for that it on the DOK or Bloom’s Taxonomy chart(whatever your school/state utilizes).
3. Days Needed: Rigor level of standards will determine the days needed. Some concepts may require one day to master…others may take ten days to master.
Sample Unit: Fiction
To help illustrate what mapping a unit looks like, I’ll share one of my sample units.
Knowledge: Retelling(1 or 2 Days): It wouldn’t hurt(depending on grade-level) to review retelling with students before jumping into a Fiction Unit.
Comprehension: Plot(5 days+2): Before students can master higher-level fictional concepts, they must master the Elements of Plot. It’ll take at least five days for them to become proficient and possibly master the concept. For my method, I increase the rigor by the day as a natural scaffold.
Day 1: Introduce Elements of Plot
Day 2: Summarize The Plot
Day 3: Make, Revise and Confirm Predictions
Day 4: Analyze Plot
Day 5: Elements of Plot Quiz/Synthesize The Problem
Day 6: Re-Teach Plot and/or Scene Tableau
Day 7: Re-Teach Plot and/or Scene Tableau
Application: Characters (5-8 Days): If students comprehend a story, they can properly analyze characters, which encompasses many sub-skills.
Day 1: Introduce Character Traits(With a list of terms)
Day 2: Character Traits With Evidence
Day 3: Character Feelings
Day 4: Analyze Character Change
Day 5: Compare/Contrast Characters
Day 6: Analyze Character Relationships
Day 7: Analyze Conflicts Amongst Characters
Day 8: Characters Quiz
You can reduce days if you’re a primary level teacher.
Application/Analyze: Inference(5 Days): Once students can interpret Character Feelings, the cognitive load to infer will decrease. Throughout the five days of explicit teaching of inference, gradually build the rigor.
Day 1: Basic Inference
Day 2: Cause and Effect
Day 3: Drawing Conclusions
Day 4: Most Likely
Day 5: Inference Quiz and Detective Game(Synthesize)
Analyze: Theme/Analyze (5 Days): Mastering all the aforementioned skills make it easier to determine the lesson learned or message in a text.
Day 1: Identify The Theme of a Text
Day 2: Theme With Evidence
Day 3 and 4: Apply and Infer The Theme(I typically use the same passage/book for this level of rigor)
Day 5: Theme Quiz or…
Evaluate/Synthesize: Fiction (2-3 Days): At this stage, I like to model how to analyze a fictional text with all skills incorporated.
Day 1 or 6: Analyze/Evaluate Fiction
Day 2 or 7: Evaluate Fiction
Day 3 or 8: Fiction Quiz(Evaluate) and Realistic Fiction Book(Synthesize)
Conclusion: Lesson planning is a laborious task but can be made easier if you map the unit and know the end goal.
Last month, I received an advanced reader copy of “Building Better Writers” by Natalia Heckman, a Seidlitz Education consultant. In the offering, she provides practical writing instruction to teachers of Emergent Bilingual, ESL, and traditional students.
I poured through the resource in two weeks…highlighting and making notes. After finishing it, I’d like to provide insight into why you should purchase Building Better Writers.
1. Readability: The first thing that struck was the book’s readability. It’s a high-level resource that’s digestible for the novice teacher but practical for the expert teacher. As you can see in the picture above, Heckman clearly diagrams a sentence…explaining the importance of syntax in a sentence.
2. Follows Logical Progression: One of the things that I love about Building Better Writers is the book follows a progression to the writing process from sentence to composition with ideas and strategies to properly teach each component.
3. Phenomenal Strategies: Building Better Writers is littered with easy-to-use, high-outcome strategies, which will improve any ELA(English/Language Arts) teacher’s instruction and engage students.
Here are a few.
A. Cohesive Tie Strategy(Pictured Above): Good writers never use the same word twice unless it’s for effect but Heckman’s supplies a sound strategy to teach it to students.
B. Sentence Live: For this routine, students race to build a sentence using tiles. This strategy fosters collaboration, scaffolds instruction and increases engagement.
C. Attack The Prompt: With this strategy, students use a three-step process of annotating a writing to determine the purpose for writing. I found this routine particularly timely with Extended Constructed Responses becoming a Texas S.T.A.A.R. (State Assessment) expectation from 3rd-8th grade.
If you’re a new teacher, one with a few years of experience, or the resolute veteran, Building Better Writers will help you enhance your practice and transform your writing instruction.
Science of Reading vs. Balanced Literacy has caused debate in homes, academic, and social media circles. SOR proponents have lamented the effectiveness of Balanced Literacy. Balanced Literacy advocates have argued that SOR focuses too much on phonics.
While I’ve never stated a side in the debate, I didn’t realize until recently that I was a Science of Reading(Structured Literacy) teacher my entire career.
Let me explain my journey.
2017-2018: The Origins
In the middle of my second year of teaching, my students were doing well on assessments, but for them to achieve mastery, they’d need to improve on smaller TEKS(Standards). To instruct on these skills, I decided to teach them “explicitly” a week at a time.
The result: 91 percent of my students passed the Reading S.T.A.A.R.(State Assessment). 64 percent were proficient and 25 percent mastered.
In addition to the explicit teaching of skills, I asked my students to engage in Repeated Reading(Fluency) throughout the year. Fluency was embedded in my instructional block, as well. My students actually led choral reading routines. Unbeknownst to me, fluency is a core part of a proper literacy block.
2018-2020: The First Criticism
Building on my second year, I kept with the same practices–Fluency and Explicit teaching. That approach again yielded high outcomes…83.4 percent of my students met their MOY(Middle of the Year) MAP Growth measure.
Around the same time, I received my first criticism. In a meeting, I was told: “You need to do more groups.”
Me: “I have the best scores on the grade-level”
Admin: “We’re not talking about data.”
3rd year Mr. Short was confused. 7th year Mr. Short empowered with the knowledge of the various methods of teaching reading understands that they were Balanced Literacy proponents. (We used The Units of Study.)
The next year, I taught 2nd grade and evolved my literacy practices…incorporating all components of that the National Reading Panel outlined for a functional Literacy Block.
The Components
Word Power(Explicit Phonological Awareness, Phonics, Vocabulary Instruction)
Repeated Reading and Choral Reading(Fluency)
Intentional Read-Alouds, Explicit Skill Teaching, Writing About Reading(Comprehension)
Showing Videos Before Reading Passages(Background Knowledge)
Adding to that, I created an intervention structure(T.I.D. E.)built around screening kids for decoding, spelling, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and then intervening, developing or enhancing them. (All the articles are on my website.)
By the end of the year, half of my students read above grade-level. Two read a Level T(5th Grade). According to MAP Growth, they grew 2.0 years in Reading and 2.4 years in Vocabulary.
Even with the accelerated growth, I was told: “You’re engaging in bad practice.”
2020-2021: Coronavirus and Discovering Myself
After that experience, I didn’t teach most of this year but spent time researching and recovering. It was during this time that I grew to understand why I faced so much opposition…I was a Structured Literacy teacher working in a Balanced Literacy environment.
Eventually, I got back to the business of educating…tutoring and simultaneously experimenting with a structured literacy intervention method. The student(a 2nd grader) who I tutored went from a non-reader to excelling as a reader in five months. She’s still doing well.
At the beginning of the 2021-2022, I accepted a Reading Interventionist position(although I taught as well the first semester).
Utilizing a structured literacy approach, my intervention students grew exponentially…2.0 years on average. Several students grew six and seven levels. That’s in only 20 weeks of intervention.
Following that school year, I created a resource: Phenomenal Intervention(The Playbook).
During the middle of the next year, I presented my method for the first time at Lit Con 23(The National K-8 Literacy and Reading Recovery Conference). Showcasing a Structured Literacy approach at a Balanced Literacy conference was nerve wracking but I received a tremendous response.
Attendees raved about my presentation. One group of people went so far as to say they’d fly me out to present to their district. They’re doing so and I’ll present on May 26th.
A comment from my presentation sums my structured literacy journey up best: “It’s new but I like it.”
I’m a Structured Literacy teacher and proud of it.
A couple of weeks ago, I released a #TalkingThursday: Be Intentional About Your Read-Aloud.
While read-alouds are an effective tool to introduce or review skills, a video-aloud is an effective option, as well.
You may ask: What’s a video-aloud? Video-Alouds consist of playing a commercial, YouTube, Live-Action, Pixar or Disney clip for your students. Throughout the course of this routine, you can engage in think-alouds, ask students to respond in writing, and foster critical thinking.
There are several other benefits, too.
Content Differentiation: Students receive information in a different way than normal.
Increases Engagement: Using cartoons and live-action clips sparks the interest of students
Accessible To All Students: Whether a student is below, on, or above-level, they can access the lesson and learn the skill.
Here are a few examples as to what it looks like.
Summary: Soar
Mini-Lesson: To introduce a summary, I go over a B.M.E.(Beginning, Middle, End) anchor chart…explaining that the beginning is the setting/problem, middle is the events(or steps to solve the problem), and the end is the solution and resolution.
After introducing the concept, I play Soar. Then I model how to find the summary of the short film.
Beginning: A young girl is on a farm when a small boy crashes his plane and gets lost from his family.
Middle: To fix the plane, the girl tapes sticks together. That doesn’t work so she puts a parachute on it. With a little boost, the boy begins to fly again.
End: At the end, the plane is fixed and the small boy rejoins his family. As a thank you to the girl, the little boy lights a star.
Following the modeled instruction, I release students to practice summary with a partner and then independently.
Character Change: The Selfish Giant
Mini-Lesson: Before playing “The Selfish Giant”, I tell students to pay attention to the character’s traits at the beginning and the end. Think about why he changed.
Modeled Instruction: Once the video concludes, I model how to analyze the character change in the story.
Beginning: Selfish
End: Caring, Loving
Why did the giant change? He realized that the kids were important to the garden.
Following this, students practice character change with a partner and then independently.
Author’s Purpose(Explain): How To Floss
Mini-Lesson: Explaining Author’s Purpose comes on the 2nd day of my Author’s Purpose Unit. So, I review the terms and then guide students through several pictures and video clips. One of those clips is “How To Floss.”
We(Do) or You(Do): While watching the video, students do “The Floss” dance. After it’s over, I ask them to determine the Author’s Purpose, which is Explain.
Conclusion: Utilizing video-alouds, instead of read-alouds is a mindset shift but it meets students at their level, not ours.
The Phenomenal Student 