Livermore Falls Middle School

ADOLESCENT LITERACY
AT
LIVERMORE FALLS MIDDLE SCHOOL

Adolescent Literacy at SAD # 36 is…

Students who comprehend and apply…

reading
writing
speaking and
thinking strategies across the curriculum.

They are…

self guided
reflective and
engaged communicators,

who will be able to..

learn and
transfer knowledge as they develop.

Putting Theory into Action

Livermore Falls Middle School students and staff are working hard to incorporate research-based best practices for literacy throughout all content areas. The Sociocultural model of learning is the foundation for instructional delivery. This means the environment is both teaching and learning centered.

Research Base Instructional Involvement
Implications

Vygotsky                                  -social interaction                        -Students
Rogoff                                      -explicit instruction                     -Parents
Bruner                                      -gradual release                           -Teachers
                                                 -individualized &                        -Support Staff
                                                 differentiated                             -Administration
                                                 -close observation                       -Community
                                                 -data-driven decisions

Following is a graphic that explains the gradual release of responsibility approach that is used to help students transfer knowledge from new to known, and apply it within multiple contexts.

GRADUAL RELEASE OF RESPONSIBILITY

Teacher Does Student Watches	Teacher Does Student Helps	Student Does Teacher Helps	Student DoesTeacher Watches

Think- alouds Modeling Demonstration Showing	Coaching Support Guided practice Shared demonstration Small group	Partner work Group work Prompting Independent practice Scaffolding	Application Backing off Transferring Reinforcing Evaluating

Lev Vygotsky
Pearson & Gallagher, 1983

These stages are used to introduce any new content or process when learning. It follows a sequence. However, if a child demonstrates the need to have a particular concept remodeled, or supported through teacher coaching, peer assistance or extra feedback, the cycle of gradual release is repeated from the point of need. A few details to remember:

each individual child moves through the stages at different rates
with each concept or process the rate of movement can vary
the process can be and often is multi-directional

SKILLS VERSUS INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Teachers at L.F.M.S. have devoted a large amount of time and energy toward professional development opportunities in integration of literacy-based instructional strategies within content area instruction. Our main focus: helping students become more effective at acquiring and communicating knowledge while strengthening their abilities to be reflective learners.

According to the research completed by Afferbach, Pearson and Paris (08), skills and strategies are often confused. They define each as follows:

STRATEGIES

SKILLS

deliberate
goal oriented and intentional
attempts toward accurate use and ownership of reading processes

automatic actions
occur without attention to identify or command the reading processes
used by successful readers

effort toward:

decoding
understanding words
construct meanings of text

result in:

   -decoding
   - comprehension with speed
   - efficiency
   - fluency

STRATEGIC READERS

Efficient readers use a variety of “in-the-head”, or metacognitive strategies when navigating text. (Wilhelm, 01) Because these strategies occur within a reader’s mind, they are impossible to see. Most often, readers who struggle with processing and comprehending text, do so, because they are unaware or not applying strategic processing. Below is a list of metacognitive strategies that readers at L.F.M.S. are taught.

Keep in mind that the list of instructional techniques identified in the third column of the strategy chart are just some of what we use in our school. Many of the instructional practices are inter-changeable among the various strategies that are listed.

STRATEGY	DEFINITION	Some instruction we use to help build awareness . . .
Visualization	Creating a mental picture of information that is understood	~ drawing a picture ~ graphic organizers ~ semantic mapping
Connections	Relating personal experiences, other texts, global or social issues to information that is read.	~ authentic conversations ~ Journaling ~ Marking text ~ 2-3 column notes ~ Use of sentence stems These are similar. . . This is like. . . This reminds me of.. It made me think of…
Predict - Confirm/Alter	Engaging with the text to make a guess of what will occur next, then collecting data while reading to support or alter one’s thinking	~ authentic conversations ~ Journaling ~ Marking Text ~ 2-3 column notes
Questioning -	Setting a purpose for reading by forming questions and reading to explore answers.	~ Marking / Coding the text ~ Journaling ~ Literature circles ~ Quick-Writes
Self-monitoring -	Knowing when understanding is lost, and searching for help when unable to independently problem-solve	~ Flagging the text ~ Exit Slips ~ Think Pair/Share ~ Interactive bookmarks
Retell -	The recall of details and specific information within text	~ Partner reading ~ Literature discussion ~ Turn and talk ~ Jigsaw
Summary / determining what’s important -	To capture the main ideas and or events from a text	~ carousel ~ Jigsaw ~ Triple entry journals

STRATEGY	DEFINITION	Some instruction we use to help build awareness . . .
Inferencing	Hypothesizing, interpreting, and drawing conclusions that are not directly stated within a text	~ Think / Pair-Share ~ Literature Circles ~ Coding the text ~ Dramatizations
Analyze	Noticing text structures, author’s style, text features, vocabulary, purpose and theme within a text	~ Graphic organizers ~ scavenger hunts ~ Text walk ~ Structured note taking
Evaluate	Determining importance of the information presented within a text and judging the style, credibility and usefulness of the text	~ Exit slips ~ Literature discussions ~ Reviews / critiques ~ Presentations

Information from the above chart gathered from (Robb, 2000, Wilhelm, 01, & Kelley, Clausen-Grace, 07)

LITERACY CLASSES

Literacy classes at Livermore Falls Middle School incorporate the use of a variety of instructional materials. The core program for each grade level is described below with a brief outline of the topics that may be covered within a given year. Each teacher is encouraged to utilize several literature books to support and engage students with authentic reading experiences at individualized levels.