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. 2 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