Components of a Balanced Literacy Program

Balanced

Literacy

Fifth Grade

Bettendorf Community School District

August 2010

1 Bettendorf Elementary Literacy Philosophy

We believe Bettendorf literacy instruction must consist of an integrated and balanced approach where: Literary processes, genres, strategies, and conventions are explicitly taught. Students are monitored and assessed to maximize students’ development of these traits. Literacy instruction includes authentic experiences helping students to make and apply connections to their personal self and world. Literacy instruction fosters an appreciation and enjoyment of literary pursuits.

Bettendorf elementary literacy instruction will include teaching students to read, write, speak, listen, view, and think effectively. We believe this instruction is an integral part of developing students who function as life long learners and participants in our society.

LITERACY SCOPE AND SEQUENCE FIFTH GRADE

READING USES DECODING SKILLS (P) Rereads (P) Uses context (P) Uses parts of words—prefixes/suffixes, and root words

INDEPENDENTLY READS FICTION AND NONFICTION IN A VARIETY OF GENRES FICTION NONFICTION ELECTRONIC RESOURCES (P) Realistic fiction (I) Autobiographies (I) Blogs (P) Mysteries (I) Survey Books (P) Online resources (P) Historical fiction (P) Multicultural books (P) Informational picture books (P) Specialized books (P) Reference books

READS FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES USES TEXT STRUCTURE USES GRAPHIC CUES (P) Reads for information (P) Uses description (P) Uses illustrations (P) Reads to perform a task (P) Uses sequence and time order (P) Uses charts, tables, & graphs (P) Reads for literary experience (P) Compares and contrasts (M) Uses titles, headings, & photos (P) Reads for enjoyment (P) Identifies cause and effect (P) Reads to study (P) Identifies problem and solution (P) Scans to find information or fact

USES COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES (P) Identifies purpose (P) Draws inferences (P) Evaluates and synthesizes (P) Activates prior knowledge (P) Monitors (P) Engages in discussion (P) Predicts and verifies (P) Rereads and reads ahead (P) Writes to learn (P) Asks and answers questions (P) Identifies main ideas (P) Summarizes (P) Creates visual images (P) Draws conclusions

USES A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES TO COMPREHEND AND INTERPRET FICTION ELEMENTS OF FICTION ANALYZES PLOT STRUCTURES (P) Identifies and uses setting, characterization, & theme (P) Analyzes events & conflicts

USES COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES (P) Identifies purpose (P) Rereads and reads on (P) Predicts and verifies (P) Identifies main ideas (P) Asks and answers questions (P) Summarizes (P) Creates visual images (P) Engages in discussion (P) Monitors (P) Writes to learn (P) Draws conclusions (P) Activates prior knowledge of elements of fiction & plot structure (P) Evaluates and synthesizes

USES A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES TO EXPAND VOCABULARY (P) Identifies spelling families (P) Studies word meanings—synonyms, antonyms, homographs, and homophones (P) Uses context clues (P) Uses glossaries, dictionaries, and other resources (P) Reads frequently and widely (P) Uses new vocabulary in speaking and writing (P) Uses root words, prefixes, and suffixes

5 WRITING USES THE WRITING PROCESS PREWRITE DRAFT (P) Generates ideas (I) Writes for audience (P) Talks to others (I) Indents paragraphs (P) Brainstorms (P) Uses organization (P) Gathers information (P) Varies sentence length (P) Uses graphic organizers (P) Uses dialogue, sensory words, and details (P) Uses tools (P) Produces multiple drafts (P) Uses technology, libraries, & community resources (P) Uses paragraphs to develop separate ideas (P) Outlines (P) Explains, supports, and connects ideas

REVISE EDIT (P) Rereads, reflects, and makes revisions (P) Self edits spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and usage (P) Confers with others to improve writing (P) Confers with others to correct errors (P) Applies criteria (P) Uses print and technological resources to edit

PUBLISH (P) Selects medium for communication (P) Publishes with print and technological resources (P) Shares completed work (P) Incorporates photos, illustrates, charts, and graphs

WRITES FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES WRITES FOR DIFFERENT AUDIENCES (P) To entertain (P) Self, teacher, & others (P) To inform (P) To record WRITES USING DIFFERENT FORMATS (P) To describe (P) Expository paragraphs (I) News articles (P) To persuade (P) Poetry (I) Editorials (P) Research reports (I) Blogs

WRITES FOR DIFFERENT MEDIUMS WRITES IN A VARIETY OF GENRES (P) Writes multimedia products (I) Interviews (P) Autobiographies (P) Uses print and graphic text (P) Essays (P) Revises (P) Electronic presentations, power points, & Pixies WRITES FOR LEARNING PURPOSES (M) Writes to improve comprehension (M) Writes to increase retention (M) Synthesizes new understandings with old (M) Forms and supports opinions (M) Reflects on experiences

ADHERES TO CONVENTIONS CAPITALIZATON GRAMMAR USAGE (P) Capitalizes with quotations (P) Identifies and uses pronouns (M) Attends to verb tenses (P) Capitalizes proper nouns (P) Identifies and uses verbs/verb forms (M) Avoids redundancies (Peter he went…) (P) Capitalizes book titles (P) Identifies and uses prepositions (M) Avoids double negatives (P) Identifies and uses adjectives and adverbs (M) Avoids sentence fragments (P) Identifies and uses irregular plural nouns (M) Uses subject/object pronouns

SYNTAX PUNCTUATION (M) Uses simple/compound subjects and verbs (P) Uses possessive nouns (M) Writes compound sentences (P) Uses end punctuation—periods, question marks, and exclamation points (M) Uses subject/predicate (P) Uses quotation marks (P) Uses commas before/after clauses and between compound sentences (P) Uses semicolons

6 SPEAKING *Considers audience and variables in the speaking situation *Produces a coherent message *Participates in a variety of communications situations *Uses appropriate content and conventions for purpose, audience, occasion, and context *Demonstrates control of delivery skills *Participates appropriately in one-on-one situations and group settings *Recognizes the role of evaluation in oral communication *Recognizes the role of response in oral communication

LISTENING *Listens for information and understanding *Listens for interpretations, analysis, and evaluation *Listens to establish, maintain, and enhance relationships

VIEWING *Analyzes the effects of visual media on society and culture *Understands how literary forms can be represented in visual narratives *Uses a range of strategies to interpret visual media *Applies a variety of criteria to evaluate informational media

****These are minimum skills to be taught in Fifth Grade (I)=Introduce the skill (P)=Practice the skill (M)=skill should be underground

7 Balanced Literacy is a curricular methodology that integrates various modalities of literacy instruction. Assessment-based planning is at the core of this model. The balanced literacy approach is characterized by explicit skill instruction and the use of authentic texts. Through various modalities, the teacher implements a well-planned comprehensive literacy program that reflects a gradual release of control, whereby centricity and responsibility is gradually shifted from the teacher to the students. The labels to, with and by characterize the modalities as follows:

The teacher models by reading or writing to the students within the following modalities:

Interactive Read Aloud Demonstration or Modeled Writing

The teacher reads or writes with the students within the following modalities:

Shared Reading Shared Writing or Interactive Writing Guided Reading (contains independent reading with close conferring)

Reading and writing is done by the students, independently within the following modalities:

Independent reading (with teacher observation and conferring) Writing process (with teacher observation and conferring)

Balanced Literacy is implemented through the Reading and Writing Workshop Model. The teacher begins by modeling the reading/writing strategy that is the focus of the workshop. Subsequently, students are engaged in practicing the focal strategy in small groups or independently as the teacher monitors and provides guidance. Selected students share their work. Then, students read leveled texts independently or write independently for an extended period of time as the teacher circulates amongst them to observe, record observations and confer. At the culmination of the workshop session, selected students share their strategies and work with the class.

It is recommended that Guided Reading be implemented during the extended independent reading period. Based upon assessment, the teacher works with small groups of students (no more than 6 students in each group) on a leveled text (authentic trade book). The teacher models specific strategies before reading and monitors students while they read independently. After reading, the teacher and students engage in activities in word study, fluency, and comprehension. The purpose of Guided Reading is to systematically scaffold the decoding and/or comprehension strategy skills of students who are having similar challenges.

Direct Instruction in Phonics and Word Study are also included in the Balanced Literacy Approach. For emergent and early readers, the teacher plans and implements phonics based minilessons. After the teacher explicitly teaches a phonemic element, students practice reading and/or writing other words following the same phonemic pattern. For advanced readers, the teacher focuses on the etymology of a word. Students who are

8 reading at this stage are engaged in analyzing the patterns of word derivations, root words, prefixes and suffixes.

The overall purpose of balanced literacy instruction is to provide students with a differentiated instructional program which will support the reading and writing skill development of each individual.

Teaching comprehension of text is one of the five essential elements of the balanced literacy approach to reading instruction. The teacher begins every lesson by activating students' prior knowledge (schema) through discussion and continues this throughout the lesson to help students make connections to other books as well as their own experiences.

Children are taught to use comprehension strategies including:

Sequencing Relating background knowledge Making inferences Comparing and contrasting Summarizing Synthesizing Problem-solving Distinguishing between fact and opinion Finding the main idea and supporting details

During the Reading and Writing Workshop teachers use scaffolded instruction as follows:

Teacher modeling or showing kids what a good reader does when reading a text, thinking aloud about the mental processes used to construct meaning while reading a book aloud to the class.

Guided practice gradually gives the students more responsibility with the teacher stepping in to help as needed. Students practice a comprehension strategy during discussion in a large group or in smaller groups with peers.

Independent practice where children begin to work alone while reading books by themselves, conferencing individually or in small groups with the teacher to make sure they are using a comprehension strategy correctly.

Application of the strategy is achieved when the students can correctly apply comprehension strategies to different kinds of texts and are no longer just practicing but are making connections between and can demonstrate understanding through writing or discussion.[2]

Throughout this process, students progress from having a great deal of teacher support to being independent learners. The teacher support is removed gradually as the students acquire the strategies needed to understand the text by themselves.

9 References

1. How to Save the Schools, by E.D. Hirsch Jr., New York Review of Books, May 13, 2010 2. Miller, D. (2002). Reading with Meaning-Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades, Portland: Stenhouse Publishers. ISBN 1-57110-307-4

Fountas. Irene and Pinnell, Gay Su. Guiding Readers and Writers/Grades 3-6, Portsmouth, NH,Heinemann, 2001.ISBN 0-325-00310-6

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_Literacy"

10 Shared Reading 3-5 Whole Group 2-3 Weeks per quarter Plus 10 Minute Mini-Lessons when conducting Guided Reading Groups Purpose Assessments The teacher and students read a text together. *Teacher Observation Shared reading: *Anecdotal Notes *Allows the teacher to model reading strategies *Participation *Provides students with essential demonstrations of how reading works and what readers do to construct meaning *Demonstrates awareness of text *Develops a sense of story or content *Teaches students strategies for decoding unknown words and for construction of meaning from the text *Develops fluency, phrasing, and reading strategies *Increases comprehension *Allows students to see themselves as readers; feeling comfortable and experiencing fluency when joining in the reading of familiar texts *Provides students with a safe, non-threatening environment in which to practice new and familiar reading strategies

Possible Activities/Ideas Resources Available *Teacher led/facilitated *Jr. Great Books *Teacher models strategies (fluency, think aloud, *Scholastic News/Weekly Reader/Time for Kids etc.) *Social Studies and Science trade books & Texts *Use of different genres connected to units or *Shared Reading Books themes * Library *Discussion *AEA *Content Support *Teach strategies for comprehension *Grade level skills taught *Vocabulary Development *Building Background information *Retelling and Summarizing *Writing before, during, and after *Technology *Build classroom communities *Graphic Organizers

11 Guided Reading 3-5 60 minutes per day 15-20 minutes per group Meet at least 3 times a week with each child Meet daily with below grade level children Purpose Assessments Guided Reading is the part of a balanced literacy *At least 3 running records on each child each program in which a teacher supports each reader's quarter measuring accuracy, fluency, and development of effective strategies for processing comprehension text at increasingly challenging levels of *Fluency rubric attached difficulty. The ultimate goal of guided reading is *Teacher-made comprehension assessments to help children learn how to use independent *Discussion reading strategies successfully to unlock meaning, *Projects therefore becoming independent readers. Ongoing observation and assessment are critical components of a successful guided reading program. The teacher introduces a selection at the student's instructional level.

Guided reading: *Promotes reading strategies and offers students the opportunity to practice their reading skills *Increases comprehension *Encourages independent reading *Allows the teacher to monitor individual progress *Provides support through teacher prompting and grouping according to particular needs *Expands student's belief in own ability as a reader and consolidates or extends their understanding of text

Possible Activities Resources Available *Reciprocal Teaching *Trade Books *Literature Circles *Graphic Organizers *Discussion *Jr. Great Books *Reader's Workshop *SRA *Leveled Grouping *Skill Based Grouping *Interest Grouping *Strategy Teaching *Use Volunteers *Professional judgment based on individual class *Concurrent Daily 5 activities *Concurrent SRA *Concurrent Interventions

Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) Target Rate Norms

Grade Fall Winter Spring (WCPM) (WCPM) (WCPM)

1 10-30 30-60 2 30-60 50-80 70-100 3 50-90 70-100 80-110 4 70-110 80-120 100-140

5 80-120 100-140 110-150 6 100-140 110-150 120-160 7 110-150 120-160 130-170 8 120-160 130-170 140-180

Source: Adapted from “AIMSweb: Charting the Path to Literacy,” 2003, Edcormation, Inc. Available at www.aimsweb.com/norms/readingfluency.htm. Data are also adapted from “Curriculum-Based Oral Reading Fluency Norms for Students in Grades 2 Through 5,” by J.E. Hasbrouck and G. Tindal, 1992, Teaching Exceptional Children, 24, pp. 41-44.

14 Writing 3-5 45-60 Minutes Daily Purpose Assessments Writing is that part of a balanced literacy program Each grade level will be responsible for a formal in which the teacher models and teaches the forms writing piece each quarter: and genres of writing, as well as the writing 3rd grade: 1st Quarter-Autobiography/Narrative process. The students learn to write clearly, 2nd Quarter-Interview revise, edit, and publish. The teacher monitors, 3rd Quarter-Poetry/Narrative conferences with students, and assesses student's 4th Quarter-Letter progress as they work. 4th grade: 1st Quarter-Autobiography Modeled/Shared Writing: The teacher and 2nd Quarter-Narrative students collaborate to write the text; the teacher 3rd Quarter-Research acts as the scribe. This writing: 4th Quarter- Poetry *Develops concepts of print 5th grade: 1st Quarter-Personal Letter *Develops writing strategies 2nd Quarter-How to/Writing to inform *Supports reading development 3rd Quarter-Research Report *Provides model for a variety of writing styles 4th Quarter-Compare/Contrast *Models the connection among and between Other assessments to consider: sounds, letters, and words *6+1 Writing Traits *Portfolios *Produces text that students can read *Teacher Observation independently *Daily Journaling *Necessitates communicating in a clear and *Use of the Writing Process specific manner *Writing Rubrics (Attached) Interactive Writing: The teacher and students compose together using a “shared pen” technique Possible Activities/Ideas in which students do some of the writing. *Writer's Workshop Interactive writing: *Journaling *Provides opportunities to plan and construct texts *Response/Dialogue Journals *Increases spelling knowledge *Conferencing *Produces written language resources in the *6+1 Writing Traits classroom *Handwriting *Creates opportunities to apply what has been *Different Genres learned *Modeled/Shared/Interactive/Independent Independent Writing: Students write *Sharing with Others independently. Independent writing: *Mini Lessons *Strengthens text sequence *Vocabulary *Develops understanding of multiple uses of *Spelling (i-Spell) writing *Free Writing *Supports reading development *Conventions *Develops writing strategies *Blogging *Develops active independence *Pen Pals/Letters

Resources Available *Writers Express/Write Source' *Rubrics (attached) *6+1 Writing Traits (kits/trade books/gold book)

Word Work 3-5 15-20 Minutes Daily Purpose Assessments Word Work allows for: *Teacher Observation *teaching how words work *Spelling Tests *decoding *Anecdotal Notes *comprehension *vocabulary development *taking words apart *teaching meanings of parts of words

The goals of Word Work are to: · Teach students the correct spelling for high- frequency, often irregularly-spelled words. · Teach students how to decode and spell words based on words they already know. · Teach students to develop a visual checking system to determine which spelling patterns to apply. · Teach students key words containing the major prefixes, suffixes, and spelling changes and how to use these to decode spell, and building meaning for polysyllabic words. · Teach students to use cross checking while reading and a visual checking system while writing to apply what they are learning as they engage in meaningful reading and writing. Possible Activities/Ideas Resources Available *Word Wall *Month by Month Phonics *Making Words *Making Words *Spelling (i-Spell) *i-Spell *Guess the Covered Word *Vocabulary *Month by Month Phonics *Close Procedure

17 Self Selected Reading 3-5 15-20 Minutes Daily Purpose Assessments Self-Selected/independent reading is the part of a *Student Conferences balanced literacy program in which the teacher *Individual Book Logs provides children time to read texts of their choice. The teacher holds individual conferences with children about their reading.

Independent Reading: *Encourages strategic reading *Allows students to choose texts that interest them *Increases comprehension by allowing readers to practice the behaviors of proficient readers *Supports writing development *Extends experiences with a variety of written texts *Promotes reading for enjoyment and information *Develops fluency by reading just-right books and fosters self-confidence by reading familiar and new texts *Provides opportunities to use mistakes as learning opportunities *Builds stamina for reading

Possible Activities/Ideas Resources Available *Daily 5 Activity *Library *End of the Day *Class Library *Between Specials *Books from Home *After Recess *Books you've shared in class *Whenever!

18 Oral Literacy (Read Aloud) 3-5 15-20 Minutes Daily Purpose Assessments The teacher read a selection aloud to students. *Teacher Observation

Read Alouds: *Promote a love of reading, stimulate the imagination, and help students develop an ear for the vocabulary and structures of language in print *Allow the teacher to introduce new reading strategies, and to model them by thinking aloud *Provide models of fluent reading *Develop a sense of story/text *Develop vocabulary and encourages prediction *Build a community of readers *Develop active listening

Possible Activities/Ideas Resources Available *Library *AEA *Class Library

19 Questioning Strategies

Thoughtful questions cause complex thinking and promote reflection. This type of question causes the learner to interact with the author the task, the content, or the situation. Effective thoughtful questions focus the learner’s thinking on personal performance, behavior, decisions, or perceptions.

Question Examples/Question Starters What might be… What do you think… How is this way better than… How would you feel if… From your perspective, what do you think… What helps you decide to… What might happen if you decided to change it? What do you see happening ext? Talk a bit about how you did… What would be your criteria for doing… How do you see yourself beginning? Who might be able to assist you? What possible resources available? What did… As you think about…how can you… What could be possible alternatives for… What might have caused…

20 A Principal’s Guide: What To Look For During Literacy Instruction

The teacher is directly involved with students: . Working with groups of students or individuals . Listening to children read . Helping students with reading . Conferencing with students . Taking running records The teacher periodically provides instruction to the whole group (mini-lessons which introduce, model, and practice strategies). Direct instruction is related to individual and group needs and follows the Bettendorf Literacy curriculum. Routines and procedures have been taught and are followed. Students are actively engaged in authentic reading and writing tasks Students who are working together are focused on the task and have clear roles. Worksheets are used minimally and occupy a small portion of independent work time. Students are doing the majority of the reading, although the teacher frequently provides a good model by reading aloud. All adults in the room are engaged with students. Groups of students are flexible, based not only on reading level, but also on interest or strategy. Running records should be completed at least three times per quarter with students in grades 3-5, four times per quarter with students in grade 2, and weekly with students in grade 1.

You should not see: . DOL . Round Robin Reading . Heavy reliance on worksheets . The teacher sitting at his/her desk