AIM for Literacy Solutions to Advance Adolescent Literacy

AIM for Literacy Solutions to Advance Adolescent Literacy in West Virginia May 2008 West Virginia Department of Education

As promised… Who: Literacy Leadership Teams (LLT) What: Webinar 2 LLT roles and responsibilities Year 1 of multi-tiered literacy instruction When: May 28, 2008 -Wednesday Where: Any convenient location April 16 th Power. Point presentation is available at http: //wvde. state. wv. us/ose/Rt. I. html West Virginia Department of Education

“The challenge for the Literacy Leadership Team, then, is to set goals that can be enacted by all stakeholders, measured for progress and revisited yearly for revision. ” Jo. Anne Allain (2008)

KNOW • The components of AIM for Literacy • The LLT’s roles and responsibilities • Year 1 of multi-tiered literacy instruction West Virginia Department of Education

DO • Identify the levels of support for literacy in a multitiered model • Define your role on the LLT • Plan and organize for implementation of Year 1 of tiered instruction West Virginia Department of Education

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS • How does a multi-tiered instruction model of literacy support the needs of all students? • To what extent will your participation on the LLT encourage collaboration and shared decision-making among your faculty? • How will Year 1 create the atmosphere for the process of literacy improvement? West Virginia Department of Education

West Virginia Department of Education

AIM for Literacy Meeting the Needs of All Learners through Tiered Instruction

Levels of Support Advanced Tier Individual Students Classroom Unit Professional Development Students consistently exceed the targets and can handle advance materials; need challenge, extension and enrichment Assessment: Assessment every 6 -8 weeks Materials: Standard plus reading 25 books per year; SREB recommends 100 pages of technical text to receive credit for one book Students in the classroom are exceeding the benchmarks as demonstrated through assessment; teachers are models and resources for others; AP and Pre-AP trained teachers Advanced Placement training and material; Pre-AP instructional strategies and materials; Differentiated Instruction training; Training on adopted instructional materials; Instructional guides and/or standards-based unit plans; Assessments for and of learning Time: Policy 2510 RLA requirement West Virginia Department of Education

Levels of Support Individual Students generally can Tier 1: Benchmark meet the standards; average learner Intervention: Occasional in-class modifications; SBRR and SBRI in vocabulary and comprehension strategies Assessment: Assessment every 6 -8 weeks Materials: Adopted grade level instructional materials plus reading 25 books per year; SREB recommends 100 pages of technical text to receive credit for one book West Virginia Department of Education Classroom Unit Professional Development 75 -80% of students are making good progress; teachers need praise and recognition and may serve as a resource to others; all teachers SBRR and SBRI in pre reading, during reading and post reading strategies and writing strategies Time: Policy 2510 RLA requirement Differentiated Instruction training Training on adopted grade level instructional materials Instructional guides and/or standardsbased unit plans Assessments for and of learning

Levels of Support Tier 2: Strategic Individual Students Classroom Unit Students are typically between the 30 th-49 th percentile on normative measures; 1 -2 years behind; gaps in skills and knowledge Intervention: Direct instruction with teacher or one -on-one in the form of reteaching, preteaching, adjustments of pace and complexity; separate reading intervention; possible strategic tutoring program Assessment: Assessment every 3 -4 weeks to pinpoint problems and target interventions Materials: Standard reading program with added support class and materials plus reading 25 books per year; SREB recommends 100 pages of technical text to receive credit for one book Classrooms where about one-third of the students are not making benchmarks (25 -30%); reading specialists/special education teachers/coaches/content area teachers labeled literacy intensive classes (i. e. , social studies class is considered reading intensive) West Virginia Department of Education Professional Development Collaboration and coteaching training Training on adopted grade level instructional materials Differentiated Instruction training Instructional guides and/or standards-based unit plans Content area teacher Time: Policy 2510 training on instructional requirements for RLA block strategies in reading and with defined intervention writing component SBRR and SBRI: building background knowledge; vocabulary; fluency; comprehension strategies Assessments for and of learning

Levels of Support Tier 3: Intensive Individual Students Classroom Unit Students test below the 30 th percentile on normative measures; reading skills are limited Intervention: Assessment every 2 weeks to pinpoint problems and target interventions Classrooms where about half of the students are not meeting benchmark indicators; teachers held accountable to teach the program as designed; reading specialist with assistance from Materials: Intensive special intervention to replace education/coach traditional ELA class; special supplementary Time: Extended time materials and/or for literacy; usually specialized program are temporary replacement programs for gradelevel ELA classes West Virginia Department of Education Professional Development Program specific training without exception Training on adopted grade level instructional materials DI training SBRR and SBRI: building background knowledge; vocabulary; fluency; comprehension strategies; writing strategies Assessments for and of learning

Roles and Responsibilities of the LLT

Identify and discuss the school’s strengths and challenges in literacy. • AIM Literacy Survey • Literacy Capacity Survey Identify and prioritize literacy needs of the students and professional development needs of the teachers. • Information serves as the professional conversation about literacy • Supports school improvement Provide resources and strategies to support change. • Assessments for and of learning • http: //wvde. state. wv. . us. /teach 21

Identifying Strengths and Challenges Literacy Capacity Survey Give the Literacy Capacity Survey. Collect results. Use as a planning guide for LLT. 1. 2. 3. Assess Student Needs Which assessment(s) will we use? 1. 2. 3. Large group tests as a “first cut” Assess all struggling students beyond the WESTEST to determine specific needs (Tier 2 and 3) Place students in appropriate tier. Determine movement in tiers.

What is the school-wide emphasis on adolescent literacy? 1. The administrator’s role in improving the school’s literacy opportunities is clearly evident. 2. School leaders encourage collegial decision making. 3. School leaders support integration of literacy instruction across the content areas. 4. School leaders and staff members believe the teaching of reading is their responsibility.

Literacy Capacity Survey and the World Café Process Groups sit around tables and discuss guiding questions for a given amount of time. One person stays at the table the entire time to capture the conversation, then share with the next group. When time is called, participants move to a new table with different individuals, hear about the previous conversation, then continue that group’s discussion. At the end of several rounds, questions and ideas are recorded on a flip chart. http: //www. co-intelligence. org/P-worldcafe. html

Literacy Capacity Survey Based on your individual and/or team results, what have you discovered? What strengths and needs are suggested? What priorities emerge? What potential roadblocks do you see and how will you overcome them? What are your next steps in the advancing the process building literacy capacity at your school?

Determining Needs of Students Most large-group assessments provide a “first cut. ” Schools need to collect further critical diagnostic information to begin to understand their students’ literacy problems. WESTEST Scholastic Reading Inventory - www. scholastic. com Gates-Mac. Ginitie, Degree of Reading Power (DRP) Adopted text series test Compile data and determine the number of classes needed for strategic and intensive students. Strategic students need targeted literacy instruction. Intensive students need comprehensive literacy instruction.

Identifying Resources Tier 1 = Effective Instruction in ALL Classes Standard based unit plans Instructional guides Research based vocabulary instruction Research based comprehension strategies Differentiated Instruction Rubrics Lexiles Assessment for learning

Identifying Resources Tier 2 – Strategic All in Tier 1 Strategic tutoring Content specific reading and writing strategies Tier 3 – Intensive All in Tier 1 Specialized training in specific programs (i. e. , Wilson Reading)

Year 1 Implementation Keys for Success

Year 1: 2007/2008 Conduct awareness sessions to build a culture of literacy in your school Agree on what Tier I instruction is at the upper elementary and middle school levels Research best practices for Tier 1 instruction Vocabulary, Comprehension, Fluency, Writing and Motivation Analyze current Tier 1 instruction relative to best practices Implement some new practices across the curriculum Identify universal screening and progress monitoring assessments

Challenges from the AIM Pilot Schools Changing teacher opinions about whose responsibility it is to teach reading skills Convincing teachers to try new classroom strategies without making it seem like “extra” work Movement among tiers Differentiating instruction is more difficult than one size fits all Teachers implementing strategies in isolation, rather than seeing the strategies as a part of their teaching philosophy Assessing in more than one way

Successes from the AIM Pilot Schools Students were given timely assessments FOR learning and modifications were made to enhance learning. Content class literacy instruction The following strategies have been implemented this year: K-W-L, Frayer, Reading for a Purpose, Semantic Map, Word Sort, Quick Sketch, Venn Diagram, Anticipation Guide, RAFT, NICK, Word Map, Think Aloud. Increase use of small group instruction Increased targeted instruction

Additional Resources National Association of Secondary School Principals http: //www. pricipals. org/s_nassp/bin. as p? CID=52747&DOC=FILE. pdf Jo. Ann Allain Sopris West Joann Allain Sopris West $34. 49 West Virginia Department of Education

Additional Resources http: //www. all 4 ed. org/publication_ material/reports/reading_next Douglas Fisher & Gay Ivey ASCD

Additional Resources http: //lexile. com/Entrance. Page. Html. aspx? 1

“Improving adolescent literacy requires that this goal be shared and central to the mission for a school staff. Buy-in is not a one time ‘event’ but rather an ongoing process. ” Don Deshler (2006)

Next Steps Create a tentative LLT meeting calendar. Conduct the Literacy Capacity Survey. Start building your culture of literacy at the beginning of the 2008 -2009 school year.

Next Time Who: Literacy Leadership Teams (LLT) What: Webinar 3 Strengthening the Core Program Universal Assessments When: August 27, 2008 3: 15 -4: 15 p. m. Where: Any convenient location in your building

Contact Information Linda Palenchar RTI Coordinator Office of Special Programs, Extended and Early Learning lpalench@access. k 12. wv. us (304) 558 -2696 Terry Reale Reading English Language Arts Coordinator Office of Instruction treale@access. k 12. wv. us (304) 558 -5325 West Virginia Department of Education