Page 43 - EdViewptsSpring2017

When everyone claims a stake, pre-assessment for the upcoming Presentation
the rate of success climbs much school year. This not only elimi- - Close Reading Presentation
higher. Social Studies classes nates the need for beginning of the - Dyslexia Webinar/
explore Document-Based Ques- year benchmarking, but prevents Presentations
tions (DBQ’s), which allows “summer slide” and promotes ○ Targeted:
students exposure to analyzing student voice in literacy. In an ef- - Read 180/System 44 In-
and responding to primary source fort to meet the needs of our Read House Consultation
documents. Even in the related 180 and System 44 students they - National Summer Institute/
arts department and with supple- are provided with 2-3 books within Model Schools Sessions
mental programs, literacy plays their Lexile range that are self-
an integral role in courses such selected. Accompanying the books ○ Unconferences:
as Financial Literacy, Literacy are also Quickwrites and journal - Teacher to Teacher Tuesdays
Media Technology, Environmental prompts related to the specific - Edcamp HTSD (Hamilton
Literacy, and the implementation books they chose. The structure Township School District)
of Reading Counts, a compre- and format of the books and the - Edcamp South Jersey
hension-based testing program, activities are similar to what the - ParentCamp South Jersey
designed to support a student’s students have been completing • Role of the ELA Coordinator:
literacy growth. within the R180/S44 programs The ELA coordinator works
• Academic Vocabulary: Utilizing during the course of the school collaboratively with all ELA
a grade-level, comprehensive list year. Data from our R180 and teachers in facilitating the
of academic vocabulary across S44 students has demonstrated design, implementation and
content areas increases students’ overall growth in Lexile scores revision of a balanced literacy
comprehension and allows oppor- from June to September, effec- curriculum, analyzes student
tunities for exposure to the words tively stopping the “summer slide.” data to make suggestions
in various contexts. Although regarding curriculum changes,
teachers continue to provide Middle school teachers student placement, etc., and
instruction for Tier III terms, every supports the inclusion of literacy
content also focuses on shared often see literacy as a across content areas.
Tier II terms to help students skill built at the elemen- • Programming: Intervention
become immersed in academic programs such as Read 180
vocabulary. tary level. Yet, to pro- “the leading blended learning
• Assessment, Data, and Analy- mote growth and support intervention program building
sis: Teachers use a collaborative students struggling with reading comprehension, academic
approach to tracking student literacy, a strong frame- vocabulary, and writing skills for
progress relative to Reading In- struggling students” and System
ventory (RI) scores, content area work needs to be present 44 “proven to help students
grades, common assessment throughout a student's master the foundational reading
achievement, etc. Teachers assist skills through explicit instruction
students in selecting independent entire educational career. in phonics, comprehension and
reading books using their Lexile writing” are offered to our most
scores and select classroom texts Micro: struggling readers: ELL, Special
based on student needs. Using • Professional Development: Dur- Education (Functional and Self-
data to identify appropriately ing the course of the school year Contained, along with LRC
complex texts for Close Reading our district has committed to both settings) and select BSI students.
helps students continue to grow half and full days for professional We offer these programs in a
in comprehension. Teachers use development. During each of those variety of modes: System 44 as
multi-year data to decide the opportunities, a variety of literacy- a Related Arts class, System 44
instructional plan that will best based professional development is Stand Alone, System 44/Read 180
meet each student’s needs. delivered to either the whole staff Mixed Model and Read 180.
• Summer Reading Program: The or targeted grade levels or content • Professional Learning
implementation of a 100% inclusive areas in an effort to strengthen Communities (PLCs): Allows
(incoming 6th-8th grade) reading the delivery of instruction, assess- for weekly collaboration for all
program communicates the mes- ment, and data analysis related to teachers within their content areas.
sage that all students are lifelong literacy. The following are just some Primarily each content articulates
readers. Students are allowed of the professional development within their respective grade level,
to select a text of their choice to opportunities that have occurred except for R180/S44, whom still
help foster a love of reading while over the past year: meet as a content, but are cross
completing a comprehension ○ Traditional/In-house: grade level. Topics include but are
assignment, which serves as a - Tier II Academic Vocabulary not limited to: the analysis of data

Educational Viewpoints -41- Spring 2017