@ILAToday Literacy Leadership Brief: Children Experiencing Reading Difficulties
Today is a day to celebrate another #ILA Literacy Leadership Brief. This one is titled Children Experiencing Reading Difficulties: What We Know and What We Can Do and it has many implications for students, teachers, and school communities.
In its entirety . . . here
As announced by @ILAToday . . .
What are your takeaways?
What did this affirm?
What questions remain?
Where are you sharing this?
Additional ILA Resources: Link
NCTE Position Statements: Link
NCTE: Act of Reading: Instructional Foundations and Policy Guidelines link
Reading Recovery: Responding to the Reading Wars Link
Reading Recovery: Offering a preventative intervention for young children learning literacy. psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psyche…
Richard Allington “The Hidden Push for Phonics Instruction” (TN Literacy Journal) tiny.cc/s6hbhz
Lucy Calkins: No One Gets to Own the Term “The Science of Reading” – Link
Paul Thomas – Mississippi Miracle or Mirage? Link
#DigiLitSunday: Summer Slide
Is this your belief?
For your students?
For yourself?
How would we know?
What is summer slide?
Summer slide reports what students lose over the summer if they don’t read or write. Reading and writing over the summer can promote growth for students. But is that growth equitable? Does it work for all students? How much do they need to read and write? Renown educator and researcher Richard Allington addresses this issue in School Library Journal here.
WRITING
There isn’t a lot of research about summer slide and writing. Graduate students might want to consider that for an action research project. What is the effect of “not writing” for a student after they write daily for 180 days? How could we measure that? This may just be a cartoon but think about this from a student perspective for just a minute.
READING
There are many different infographics outlining summer slide. Which one will motivate you to action?
What can teachers and parents do? Ask questions!
Writing:
Decorate new journals
Writing stories with your child
Make a summer writing heart map of ideas to write about
Continue blogging – slice of life/ kidblog
Keep Learning Going Through the Summer series – #TWTBlog
Student or Adult Writing Partners
Reading:
TBR Lists – (To Be Read)
Establish Reading Partnerships for conversations about the book
Set personal reading goals
Start a series (or two)
5 Apps for Summer Learning (not all are free)
How will you share this information with your students and their families?
How will YOU continue your own learning over the summer?
What professional book will you read?
What book study will you join?
How will you model that “love of learning”?
#SOL16: Rainy Night Results in . . .
Rain . . .
No outside work.
Rain . . .
Time to read.
(Gotcha – definitely NOT inside work!)
After two glorious days of temps in the 70’s and 80’s, I was so happy that this was waiting at my doorstep yesterday after a long day of work. Perfect timing! Relaxing with friends . . .
It’s available online courtesy of Stenhouse Publishers here. I have been reading (albeit slowly) the online version, but it’s tedious. Reading online means that I have one device open to read and another device open to take notes. No split screen. There’s a limit to the size that I like to view pages in professional texts. Slow. Absorbing. Delighted.
I love this infographic.
“This book does not advocate the simple idea of the teacher doing less. Rather it is a guide to being intentional about what we do less of.” – Joan Moser (Foreword)
This book is truly a gem as it guides the reader to think, and to think deeply about whether teacher scaffolds unintentionally cause greater student dependence. If our goal is joyful, independent, capable readers . . . what should we really do more of? What should we do less of?
I’m savoring this book and pages 14 and 15 are my current favorite because the section is “What Do Reading Levels Mean, Anyway?” and wordlover me is mesmerized by the use of “ubiquitous”. And the thought leaders . . .
“Dorothy Barnhouse
Vicki Vinton
Debbie Miller
Regie Routman
Gail Boushey
Joan Moser
Chris Lehman
Stephanie Harvey
Richard Allington,
Peter Johnston,
Mary Howard
Kathy Collins
Kylene Beers,
Fountas and Pinnell”
Oh, my!
Ready for some “next generation literacy instruction“? Ready to learn about “saying less” so students do the work to learn more?
You need to read this book!
And check out how long you resist figuring out where the words come from that are the background for half the page of the book cover. It’s another favorite section of mine. (Truthfully, I thought I would be farther in the book. But I’m rereading. Marking. Post-it-ing! Thinking!)
What’s it like to get that book you have been eagerly anticipating?
Do your students know that joy?
Thank you, Anna, Betsy, Beth, Dana, Deb, Kathleen, Stacey, and Tara. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here. Thank you for this weekly forum!
#SOL15: Summer Reading – How important is it?
What are your summer reading plans?
Do you have a stack of books to be read? A reading group that will meet? Regular trips to the library?
Why do you read in the summer?
I’m currently revisiting multiple books and chapters on “mentor texts”. I’m not reading straight through. I’m looking for specific details to flag and reread AGAIN at a later date. Reading for fun is off the list as the school year winds down and I prep for summer classes. My reading doesn’t stop. But I find that my reading shifts and there is a surge in my “Reading to Locate Information” habit that overpowers my “Reading for Fun” habit.
What do your reading habits look like? Do they change in the summer time? Do you make time for leisurely reading? How do we explain our “habits” to our students? Does all reading have to be “serious reading”?
Why should students read at home?
I’m sure that many of you are familiar with this graphic.
But what about this one that Donalyn Miller posted on Twitter this week?
The title of the graph is “Low Income Students Fall 2.5 to 3 Years Behind by Grade 5”. The yellow line shows the cumulative growth of low income students vs. the blue line for middle class students.
What should we do?
Richard Allington says that 80% of the summer reading loss is tied to income. That’s an astonishing fact that does seem to be supported by the graph above. His data from sending 10 books home for students in Florida emphasizes the importance of students reading ALL.YEAR.LONG! For more ideas about summer reading programs check out his book.
Additional resources from Richard Allington can be found on his website here.
Why is it important for students to continue to read in the summer? (Not necessarily assigned book lists- but choice in reading!)
How can we encourage reading ALL.Year.Long?
How do students become habitual readers?
Check out the writers, readers and teachers who are “slicing” here. Thanks to Stacey, Anna, Beth, Tara, Dana and Betsy at “Two Writing Teachers” for creating a place to share our work. So grateful for this entire community of writers who also read, write and support each other!
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