The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project Applying the findings and recommendations of the National Reading Panel to teaching and learning in Colorado The information in this document is meant to improve teaching and learning in Colorado schools. Please duplicate, distribute, extend, and apply this information in paper and electronic format as needed. The participants in the Pike’s Peak Literacy Strategies Project have made a significant effort to appropriately cite primary source research wherever possible. The members of the project are not liable for the content. Any errors gladly will be corrected as soon as possible. March 2004 The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project . The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project Spring 2004 In Spring 2003, nine school districts in the Pike’s Peak region volunteered to participate in a project to translate the report of the National Reading Panel (2000) into a useable, practical document for classroom teachers. The goals of the group were: x To ensure that Individual Literacy Plans (ILPs) reflect the comprehensive, recent research on what reading is and how to teach it. x To provide teachers with instructional strategy suggestions that are based in the findings of empirical research x To speak a common language about literacy that will assist teachers as students move from one school to another throughout the region x To improve the quality of instruction at school and support at home for developing readers This document is organized as a user-friendly resource tool for district and school administrators as well as for reading specialists and classroom teachers from all content areas. It can be used as the central document in staff development and is a natural part of any discussion about writing and implementing ILPs. The document is available at no cost in PDF format and may be duplicated on paper or in electronic format with appropriate credit given to the source. The document is structured with the following concepts in mind: According to the National Reading Panel, there are 5 dimensions of reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension). Each dimension can be divided further into its component parts, that we are calling “Diagnosed Needs.” For example, “speed,” “accuracy,” and “expression” are parts of the “fluency” goal area. When a student has a need in a particular area, there are a number of empirically-based “strategies” the student can employ that are specifically related to the diagnosed need. In addition to the specific strategies described in each section of the document, there are a number of empirically-based general strategies that all teachers can employ that have been shown to improve student achievement. Some of these are described in the introduction. PPLSP Project. Spring 2004 1 The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project . Acknowledgments This project is based on the work of the National Reading Panel (2000) and the National Research Council committee on Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project participants used these documents as starting points for investigating the primary source literature in numerous journals and books. Support for the project came from the nine school districts in the Pikes Peak Region who provided summer stipends and substitute time for the participants listed below to attend meetings and spend their summer reading the research literature in a way that most never had read before. Throughout the process, participants called into question their own teaching practices and their beliefs about how students acquire the complex set of skills we refer to as reading. It was both a frustrating and extraordinary process for all involved, resulting in an appreciation of why a project such as this has not been undertaken before. Project Participants Academy Alisabeth Ackerman* Florence Karol Gates Janelle Bergant Julie Holiday Bonnie Kern Fountain Susan Spencer Theresa Hazlett Juli Woodman Cheyenne Mountain Jennifer Barnes Lewis-Palmer Sara Vandenberg Julie Robertson Colorado Dept of Education Manitou Springs Janice McDermott Karen Martens Noli Morath Colorado Springs 11 Linda Tripp Kim Bolling Susan Osburn Widefield Suzette Pope Carole Hiegert Jeanne Scott Cindy May Barbara Thompson Missy Ross Falcon Woodland Park Ellen Crow Val Brown Karen Gooley Bev Tarpley* Carol Snyder * = Project Coordinators PPLSP Project. Spring 2004 2 The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project . Overarching Concepts about Reading Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998) describes the conditions under which students are most likely to become successful readers: Adequate initial reading instruction requires that children: x use reading to obtain meaning from print, x have frequent and intensive opportunities to read, x be exposed to frequent, regular spelling-sound relationships, x learn about the nature of the alphabetic writing system, and x understand the structure of spoken words (p. 3). Adequate progress in learning to read English beyond the initial level depends on: x having a working understanding of how sounds are represented alphabetically, x sufficient practice in reading to achieve fluency with different kinds of text, x sufficient background knowledge and vocabulary to render written texts meaningful and interesting, x control over procedures for monitoring comprehension and repairing misunderstandings, and x continued interest and motivation to read for a variety of purposes (p. 3-4). PPLSP Project. Spring 2004 3 The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project . Overarching Instructional Strategies Some strategies did not fit neatly into a particular reading dimension and so a general category was created. Below is a list of strategies supported in the research literature that can be used by the teacher or by the student to improve overall achievement. Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement (2001) identifies nine instructional strategies teachers can use in all grade levels and content areas to improve student achievement. They include: 1. Identifying similarities and differences 2. Summarizing and note taking 3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition 4. Homework and practice 5. Nonlinguistic representations 6. Cooperative learning 7. Setting objectives and providing feedback 8. Generating and testing hypotheses 9. Cues, questions, and advance organizers In addition to the strategies described above, a number of other strategies appeared repeatedly in the research literature as they relate to learning in general, including: 1. Modeling 2. Repetition 3. Scaffolding 4. Reciprocal teaching 5. Progress monitoring 6. Ongoing classroom assessment 7. Direct instruction These strategies are not limited in their usefulness to a particular content, grade level, or student demographic. All students benefit from high quality teaching and the techniques described here can be very effective when skillfully implemented under the right conditions. PPLSP Project. Spring 2004 4 The Pikes Peak Literacy Strategies Project . Six Things Every Teacher can do to Improve Student Achievement 1. Provide instruction that is responsive to the diagnosed needs of students. Carefully listen to and observe students to understand not only who is struggling, but why. Where are the misconceptions? Which skills are lacking? To do this well, the teacher must skillfully interpret the data available to them that helps identify the students’ strengths and needs. Also, teachers must have a clear understanding of the level of sophistication the student must develop in the skill area in order to be successful. 2. Set high expectations for all students. A recent article in Education Week (Burris, 2004) described a school in which the honors track became the normal track for students. The focus was on equity. Not only did regular achievers thrive, but so did the traditional high achievers. 3. Scaffolding is when the teacher provides students with assistance in some form or another as a temporary means to help the student perform at a level above what he can do independently. It helps the student operate in his zone of proximal development (Vygotsky), which is a highly motivating and challenging skill level. Obviously, if a teacher simply starts teaching all students with higher expectations (see #2 above) without providing them with the support they need to reach those expectations, then many students will struggle and many will give up. It is important to note that the scaffold(s) should gradually be removed until the student is able to perform the skill independently. 4. Modeling. Students have a right to know what we expect of them and at what skill level it is expected. Albert Bandura provided the field with numerous research studies illustrating the power of modeling. Students learn a considerable amount from what they observe. Models allows students to see what the teacher expects, thus allowing them to use the high quality samples to gauge their own work. 5. Provide specific and immediate feedback. Carol Dweck and others have conducted considerable research in the field of human motivation illustrating that specific feedback is more useful than general feedback, and that immediate feedback is more effective than delayed feedback. 6. Help students develop metacognition skills. Scott Paris, Dale Schunk, and others conduct research related to helping students raise their awareness of what they