Motivating the Middle School Reader

Motivating Readers Through Choice

We know that the more students read, the better readers they become.  So what happens when students lose interest in reading? How do we continue to grow a love of reading in our students… especially in middle school, when many activities – particularly social media and other digital distractions – compete for their time?  One of the number one motivating factors in independent reading is choice. 

With our beautiful new library commons now open at OMS, many will notice – and maybe wonder about – the shift to organization by genre.  As our media specialist, Jane Carlson shared, “Research has shown that student satisfaction and circulation are both higher in libraries organized by genre, especially at this age.”  Looking for mysteries? Find them all in one spot!  Love historical fiction?  Discover many time periods all in one place.  Have students who just can’t get enough fantasy or graphic novels?  Now they can easily connect to the genre they love!

What About Reading Level?
There’s also the question of lexile levels.  While many of our books do have the lexile level penciled in on the front cover, some do not.  A lexile gives us a quantitative measure of text complexity, it doesn’t take into account the student’s interest, curiosity, or background knowledge for any one particular book.  While knowing a student’s lexile level is one helpful element to consider when choosing texts for instructional purposes, it may limit a student’s independent reading choices.  Who are we to take a book out of a student’s hands?  Leveling systems were never intended to be used in this way (Parrott, 2017).  Let’s build a love of reading, not by the number in the front cover, but by the excitement with which a student approaches a book they’ve discovered!

But How Do I Help Them Pick Appropriate Books?
Conducting a brief reading conference (conferring) with students is a great way to get to know readers, their book choices, and level of understanding.  While conferring can inform later teaching points (more on this later), a quick conversation about book choice is a great place to begin.  Next time your students are choosing books or reading independently, sit by a student and ask him/her to read aloud a page or two and talk about it with them to ensure understanding.  As conferring becomes part of your routine, you’ll be able to build upon the strengths and needs of each individual reader!

Knowing our readers is important; and knowing our readers beyond a letter or number is even more important.  The quantitative measures of text are one measure of complexity for us, as teachers, to know and use in our instructional decisions – not for students to limit themselves in independent reading choices.  Happy Reading!

Read more from Kiera Parrott’s conversation with literacy gurus Fountas & Pinnell: “…Guide Readers by Interest, Not Level” and Doug Fisher & Nancy Frey: “Accelerate Learning Through Independent Reading”

If you’re interested in learning more about conferring, contact Katie Coudron about a coaching cycle.  Stay tuned for further posts, professional learning sessions, and resources to support individual and small group needs of readers!

I have my Fountas & Pinnell BAS data, now what?

As teachers have completed assessments, it has been exciting to collaboratively dig into their data and begin setting instructional goals for students.  Although the Literacy Continuum can feel overwhelming at first glance, when you utilize it in tandem with individual student assessments, it helps us to set targeted instructional goals for the students and is well worth our time. 

You don’t have to take my word for it, here are some of the comments that teachers have made:

“I started my small groups this week. I am loving it. I am so glad I did the assessments. I love how detailed your groups can be.” – Lindsey Born (2^nd grade, Wilson)

“This information will help to make my small groups more purposeful which will be better for kids.  We are really getting to know our readers exactly where they are at.” – Lauren Bogda (4^th grade, McKinley)

A three-step process to try and look at the continuum and assessments efficiently to set instructional goals:

1.       Look over one students’ assessments (or this could be done with a group of students), and identify areas where they need additional instruction and support. (For example, if a student scored 1 out of 3 on the “within the text” section, they likely need additional support with retelling or summarizing.)

2.       Look at the Literacy Continuum guided reading section that aligns with the students’ instructional level.  Find the sections of goals that were most difficult for them on the assessment.  (Referencing the example in number 1, go to the “within the text” section, and focus in on the “summarizing” portion.)

3.       Choose the instructional goal(s) in that section that align with the support the student would benefit from.  (If reading at an instructional level of H, the example student could have instructional goals: “Talk about the important information after reading” and “Summarize information in the text, selecting the information that is important.” Page 455 of Literacy Continuum) Pay close attention to the red dots (newer to that level), but also consider the other goals as well if it matches with a student’s needs.

The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System coupled with the Literacy Continuum will help us to know our readers and provide them with the targeted instruction that they need to accelerate their growth.  Your literacy coach would love to collaborate with you during this process; send an email with some dates and times that work well for you.   

Why Work With a Coach?

We are back and ready for the 2017-18 school year to be our best yet!  We have many exciting transitions happening around the district and we are ready to harness the positive energy that comes with the fresh start of a new school year.  We know when we all come together around a common goal we are energized, supported, and more likely to achieve that goal.  Our common goal?  Student learning! 

The latest research from John Hattie identifies collective efficacy as having a 1.67 effect size on student learning (Donohoo, 2016), nearly 4 times that of a standard year of growth.  Working with a coach gives you the power of collaboration around goals you set for student learning.  Coaching is for everyone!

What does student-centered coaching look like?

Interested in learning more?

Contact your coaches today - we’re ready to partner with you around student learning!

• Lincoln & Washington: Joanne Harmsen – jharmsen@owatonna.k12.mn.us
  
• McKinley & Wilson: Libby Zeman – lzeman@owatonna.k12.mn.us
• OMS: Katie Coudron  - kcoudron@owatonna.k12.mn.us

References:

Donohoo, J. (2016). Collective Teacher Efficacy. In J. Donohoo, Collective Efficacy (pp. 1-12). Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

Sweeney, D. (2011). Student-Centered Coaching: A Guide for K-8 Coaches and Principals. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

Sweeney, D. (2013). Student-Centered Coaching at the Secondary Level. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

Sweeney, D., & Harris, L. S. (2017). Student-Centered Coaching: The Moves. Thousand Oaks: Corwin.

Student First Leveling

A few months ago, I heard two students talking about the books they were reading.  One said, “I want to read that book too, but I can’t, because I am a K.”  The other student kindly looked at the first and said, “Well, I’m an M, so you’ll get here in no time.”   Our kids hear and interpret the language that we use.

The more I read about teaching reading, the more convinced I am that the best way to move our students forward, is to really know them as readers and how they are developing along the Literacy Continuum (Fountas & Pinnell).  In order to know the specific skills that I should be focusing on in my instruction with a student (conferring or small group), I find it most helpful to utilize an assessment that will provide information around the level that would match their current characteristics of reading. 

Often the next logical step seems to be, I know what this students’ level is, so now I need to get them reading those texts.  However, it seems we might need to pause for a moment and reconcile the valuable information we have obtained about our reader with all of the other things we know about reading:

*Readers can access higher level texts on topics that they have background knowledge in or that peak their interest. 

*Kids can read more complex text if they have someone to talk with about the text.

*We know how to teach our students to pick books that fit well for them, and we want to continue to foster that. 

*One of our most vital goals is to get kids to love reading.  We want them to pick up all kinds of books to ignite that spark!

*We want to build up, not box up, their identity as a reader.

So let me ask you this, if everywhere our students go, the level of the text is already identified, and they are restricted to a certain level, how does that reconcile with the things we already know about teaching reading? 

Those of you who know me, and how excited I am about the Benchmark Assessment Kits (Fountas and Pinnell) and all of the information that you can obtain to target instruction, are probably perplexed as to the contradiction that appears to be brewing here.  Allow me to clarify my opinion (which has evolved over the last year greatly as I have dug deeper both in research and also with students).  There is a time and place that we need students to be in a specific level as we provide instruction around specific skills that are characteristics of that level (hence we have the guided library leveled A to Z).  It’s helpful when we send books home for students to read independently, that we are confident that it will be a positive experience (hence we have leveled take home libraries).  However, it is also important that students learn the skill of choosing an appropriate book and have opportunities to access books at a variety of levels for a variety of purposes (hence your classroom library, their book shelves, the public library, etc.).

The bottom line is that when necessary, we level books; we don’t “level kids.”  We can apply the shift of student-first language to reading levels as well when we say, “Jenny is showing characteristics that match level G.”  Let’s build up their identity as a reader and be purposeful in how we choose books and how we teach students to choose books.  Our students hear what we say, and they interpret what they hear. 

Perhaps that prior conversation could have gone: “Wow, that book looks interesting and I’d like to read it.  It looks like there are a few words I don’t know on each page though.” The other student smiled at the first and said, “Would you like to read this book together?  We can talk about any words we don’t know.” 

Let’s set our kids up to be critical thinkers, free from the confined box of a level identity. 

Developing Grit in Reading

“Grit” has become a common term used by students and staff across our district.  Anyone who has watched a youtube video on growth mindset or grit understands that developing grit in our students is vital in preparing them for the future regardless of where life takes them.  Thomas Hoerr, author of The Formative Five states it well: “Grit gives us the courage to take risks and to fail because we know that failure is a necessary ingredient in ultimate success.” (119)

As I work with students across K-5 in reading, it is fairly easy to observe grit in students as they tackle complex texts.  There are also countless opportunities to support students with their development of grit as they read things that are challenging for them in that moment.  I started to ask myself, what specifically are teachers doing to help develop grit in their students.  What concrete things can teachers do to foster this growth?  I uncovered some ideas in talking with a kindergarten teacher and in reading chapter 6 entitled, “Grit” of The Formative Five.

Jen Koziolek, kindergarten teacher, talked about how important it was to establish a classroom of trust in each other before focusing on developing grit with students.  They celebrate mistakes so that they will feel comfortable trying something even if it ends up being a mistake.  Once this culture is created, Jen introduces reading strategies that students use when tackling words they don’t know.  Students learn how to “get their lips ready like Lips the fish” and to “use their eagle eye for picture clues.”  As they learn these strategies, she purposefully chooses books for groups that will stretch them just enough to need to use these strategies.  They know that they will have to work hard each day when they come to the table for guided group, and they are praised when they use their strategies (not when they effortlessly read words correctly).  These kindergarteners even encourage each other to “have grit” when things are tricky. 

The work that this kindergarten classroom has done, aligns with Hoerr’s six steps to developing grit (Hoerr p. 123):

1.       Establishing the environment (physical and psychological)

2.       Setting the expectations (everyone, including teachers, needs to step outside your comfort zone and work through difficulty)

3.       Teaching the vocabulary (words like tenacity, guts, courage, reliance and perseverance help students to identify and understand grit)

4.       Creating frustration (facilitate experiences that will push them)

5.       Monitoring the experience (teach about grit at the moment of frustration)

6.       Reflecting and learning (after an experience, reflect on feelings and reactions)

There are many staff and students that are perpetuating the spread of grit across education.  It’s exciting to think about what these students will accomplish throughout their education and life because of the grit that they have developed at a young age.  Behind the solutions in society’s future will be the faces of these gritty kids powering through failure to solve the most challenging problems.

Meeting Your Students' Needs... One Small Group at a Time

Why Small Groups?

We are social beings.  Our students are social beings.  Think of your own professional development and what causes you to engage more deeply… sitting and soaking in ideas independently?  Or do you find yourself more engaged when given the opportunity to connect and discuss ideas and application with colleagues?  Often, it is a combination of approaches that help us internalize our learning.  The same is true for our students.

We know that small group instruction, the opportunity for students to work together with the support of a teacher, is effective practice at any level.  “Hattie’s (2009) research suggests a .82 effect size boost in learning growth from the dialogue of group work” (Mattos, 2016).  Creating small groups allows us to practice differentiated instruction.  Differentiated instruction is not intended to result in completely individualized instruction for every student, but it is intended to better meet the needs of the wide variety of students we serve.  We see guided reading groups in primary grades and strategy-based groups that can work in a variety of levels.  Another way to create flexible groups is based on student needs, as determined through formative assessment.  Flexible grouping is not only great at any level, it works in any content area!

Our formative assessment data provides a wealth of information for us around what students are able to do and what misconceptions they still have.  When one creates groups based on learning needs, it allows a teacher to more easily differentiate content, process, or product for each group.  As groups work collaboratively on a task, it also allows the teacher to insert him or herself with groups to coach, prompt, and cue according to their specific needs (Fisher & Frey, 2014).  "These flexible groups gather students together who need reteaching, additional time, or extending learning."  The key to these groups is their flexibility, “we don't want to enter into systems that result in long-term tracking,” but instead when we create groups by target, by student, we are much more likely to provide responsive instruction for our students (Mattos, 2016).

For example, when reviewing student summaries, a teacher might see students who have all the key ingredients (main idea and supporting details) but need help putting it together in writing.  Other students might be able to recognize supporting details but are having a hard time synthesizing a main idea.  Still others might have the main idea but the details they've chosen are irrelevant.  Each group has very different needs all based around the same target.  A teacher can design collaborative practice for each group that will meet them where they are and help them move forward, while planning to coach or provide the additional instruction each group needs.

If you're interested in collaborating around needs-based grouping and instruction to meet the needs of your learners, contact your coach – we'd be happy to help!

Katie Coudron – Willow Creek & OJHS (kcoudron@owatonna.k12.mn.us)

Joanne Harmsen – Washington & Lincoln (jharmsen@owatonna.k12.mn.us)

Libby Zeman – McKinley & Wilson (ezeman@owatonna.k12.mn.us)

Fisher, D. and Nancy Frey (2014). Better Learning Through Structured Teaching. Alexandria: ASCD.

Mattos, M. (2016). Best Practices at Tier 1. Bloomington: Solution Tree.

Same Strategy, Same Group

Another way to group students for small group reading instruction is by the strategy that they need.  Much can be read about strategy lessons in Jennifer Serravallo’s book: Teaching Reading in Small Groups (especially in chapter 4: “Guided Practice Toward Independence: Strategy Lessons for Comprehension, Print Work and Fluency”).  The main purpose of strategy groups is to provide students with additional guided practice opportunities around a specific strategy.  This could be a strategy that has already been taught in whole group, or perhaps conferring notes reveal a group of students who could benefit from some guided practice with the same strategy. 

The basic structure of a strategy group lesson has four components:

·         connect and compliment

o    explain the purpose of the group and provide positive feedback

·         teach

o   short explanation, demonstration or example

·         engage

o   give students the opportunity to practice in their own independent text and provide coaching

·         Link

o   encourage students to continue the work as they move to independent time 

(Serravallo, page 99) 

With strategy group lessons, the demonstration is a short time, and the guided practice time is longer.  As students move into their independent text, it is important to check to make sure that the text they are using matches the strategy.  During this coaching time with their independent text, the teacher spends time with each student: “I spend, on average, two minutes per student.  I do not linger for two minutes with each student, though.  Instead, I move among them with the urgency of a plate spinner, giving them just the right support as they practice…” (Serravallo p. 107).  This analogy paints a picture of how the teacher not only engages students but supports them and communicates the importance of reading and this strategy. 

If you are interested in exploring the use of strategy groups in your classroom and would like to collaborate, please contact your literacy coach.

Libby Zeman (ezeman@owatonna.k12.mn.us)

Joanne Harmsen (jharmsen@owatonna.k12.mn.us)

Katie Coudron (kcoudron@owatonna.k12.mn.us)

What exactly do you mean by “Guided Reading”?

Guided Reading has developed a variety of different meanings.  In this post, I will be referring to guided reading as a small group reading structure most appropriate with students in the primary grades (K-2) still focusing on constrained reading skills (alphabetics, phonemic awareness, phonics, automaticity and fluency).  During a guided reading lesson, teachers use leveled text to explicitly teach and support students to read increasingly complex text.  The gurus of this small group structure are without a doubt, Fountas & Pinnell.

Assessment and Goal Setting:

The process begins by assessing a student’s reading level.  This is most comprehensively done using the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System.  This assessment will identify a student’s independent, instruction, and frustration levels while uncovering other essential reading behaviors.  Students are then grouped in small groups of 4-6 based on their instructional reading level.  Once the group’s level has been decided, looking through the Literacy Continuum is very helpful in determining goals that will best support the reader’s growth.  Finally, the teacher selects an appropriately leveled text for the group to read. 

Lesson Structure:

A typical guided reading lesson will take about 20 minutes.  The lesson begins with an introduction to the text.  This might include activating (or providing) background knowledge, using new vocabulary words in conversation to discover their meaning, discussing the structure of the text, or drawing attention to the writer’s craft.  Students then independently read the identified section of text as the teacher listens-in, coaching students through confusion as needed by modeling, prompting, and reinforcing effective strategy use.  This is the “beef” of a guided reading lesson, supported time in text.  When students have completed the reading, the teacher leads a short discussion of the text, observing what students say about the text and helping them pose questions to better understand.  The next step is a brief, but explicit, demonstration of a specific strategic action, the previously determined goal, (solving words, adjusting reading for purpose/genre, summarizing, inferring, monitoring, analyzing, etc.) referring back to any part of the text that has just been read.  The lesson concludes with word work based on student need (teach any aspect of word analysis that you observed as needed).  Students can be sent off with a reading response task to extend the meaning.  This might include responding to the text in writing, drawing or discussion.

Instructional Support:

If you are a K-2 teacher and interested in digging deeper into any aspect of guided reading (assessment, goal setting, lesson structure) contact your literacy coach.  Both of us have been working with teachers in Student Centered Coaching cycles through this process. 

Joanne Harmsen (Lincoln & Washington) jharmsen@owatonna.k12.mn.us

Libby Zeman (McKinley & Wilson) ezeman@owatonna.k12.mn.us

Uncovering Engagement

Do you ever sit at your table with your small group and look up at the rest of the students and wonder who is and who is not engaged in their book?  Do you see kids chatting and wonder if they are talking about their books or about what they did over the weekend?  As a classroom teacher, it is difficult to run your small group and keep tabs on all of your students to monitor their engagement.  As a literacy coach, one of the things that I have been doing recently is coming into a classroom during independent reading and tracking engagement utilizing Jennifer Serravallo’s Engagement Inventory. 

The inventory provides information on who is engaged, smiling/making other facial expressions in response to their text, switching books frequently, zoning out, looking at the teacher or other students or other categories that teachers specifically requested.  After sharing the data with one teacher, she commented: “I didn’t know my students were spending so much time responding to text in writing and less time reading.”  Another teacher commented, “I thought those girls were off task with their chatting, I didn’t realize they were talking about their books and their words.”

Many of you have read chapter 3 from Jennifer Serravallo’s book Teaching Reading in Small Groups titled: “Without Engagement We’ve Got Nothing: Helping Children Want to Read.”  Having engagement data can help determine what types of small groups (or mini lessons) might help students move forward. 

If you are interested in having your literacy coach come in during independent reading (or another) time, contact Libby (ezeman@owatonna.k12.mn.us) at McKinley and Wilson, Joanne Harmsen (jharmsen@owatonna.k12.mn.us) at Lincoln and Washington or Katie Coudron (kcoudron@owatonna.k12.mn.us) at Willow Creek or OJHS.  We’d love to help you gather some data!