Literacy Now

Gosh, I love middle-schoolers. They are so. . .honest. Unquestionably honest.

Last month I asked our middle-school students some very informal questions about their classroom and out-of-school reading. These kiddos were enrolled in a full-year reading intervention course for students not yet reaching grade-level reading goals. We wanted to use their responses to plan and prepare for the coming year. The teachers and I braced ourselves for the answers these highly honest adolescents would provide. 

What I found out had me laughing—through tears.

Finding research to support increasing student achievement in literacy by encouraging independent reading is not difficult. We know choice is important, we know making reading social is crucial to today’s kids, and we know making reading meaningful and authentic is vital to keeping them engaged. Seeing that our students prove our theories and research to be true is always gratifying.

Our students advised us that the best place to find out about good books is to ask another student. Proof that for students, reading is social. They told us that they usually choose their next book on the basis of their favorite authors or the next book in a series. Unfortunately, “teacher suggestion” ranked almost equally with “chosen randomly from the shelf”. 

I asked, “How can your teachers make reading more interesting and fun in the classroom? How can they make it something you want to do?” Some of my favorite responses were the most honest. Note that I kept their initial spelling and grammar intact, as it adds to the authenticity. They are quite revealing. 

I don’t know, but the teachers could try and work some stuff into the lesson that kids like.  (If they only knew how hard we try to do just that!)

Just give me good book about fallen angels and stuff like that or a book that people die in.

Talk about sports. (This would create a very narrow curriculum, but we’ll consider it.)

Let you read whatever you won’t. (I’m pretty sure this youngster meant whatever you want.)

Don’t force a kid to read things they don’t want let them pick. (Also, don’t make them eat green vegetables or go to the dentist, right? But we get the point.)

Give us more books to choose from. (Oh, my! How many of your teachers frequent used bookstores, book clubs, and garage sales looking for new selections? If it were up to us, every classroom would have new books to choose on the shelves every week.)

There were many responses from students who wanted us to know they aspired to improve their world, and they wanted to read about genuine issues:

If we read an article have it be a powerful one that people should care about, and if it’s a normal book then books that get your attention right away. I want to read about something I really care about.

Many responses were reflective of current emphasis on testing:

Let us just read instead of analyzing paragraphs!

Actually let us independent read cause we don’t do that a lot

Let me read and let me injoy the book and NOT think about how I fell.  (This darling student likely meant, “think about how I FEEL”.  He has a few spelling needs.)

Then there were of course those few students who were hoping for sweeping change:

Don’t look to see if I’m really reading.

Give candy and don’t talk to us. Also, let us sit wherever we want.

These connections with kids prove to me yet again that our future generations are savvy, smart, and want to make our world a better place.

Overall, it should be noted I could easily separate their answers into categories.

1. Give us a choice.
2. Let us talk.
3. Don’t give us worksheets.

Your advice is noted, middle-schoolers. See you next fall!

Julie Scullen is a former president of the Minnesota Reading Association and Minnesota Secondary Reading Interest Council and is a current member of the International Literacy Association Board of Directors. She taught most of her career in Secondary Reading Intervention classrooms and now serves as Teaching and Learning Specialist for Secondary Reading in Anoka-Hennepin schools in Minnesota, working with teachers of all content areas to foster literacy achievement. She teaches graduate courses at Hamline University in St. Paul in literacy leadership and coaching, as well as reading assessment and evaluation.

I remember when my journey began—when I started to fully understand the importance of literacy.

I am from the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, and I attended an educational fair put on by our teachers union. There were many booths belonging to various educational organizations—one of which was the local reading association. I was given literature about the association, began attending meetings, and was encouraged to join. That was the start.

A part of these meetings is a short workshop on a literacy topic or skill. When members return from a conference, they share what workshops they attended and are always so enthusiastic. So I decided I should attend one.

Attending my first International Literacy Association (ILA) conference in 2009 in Minneapolis, MN, was like being in a place with everything one could wish for educationally, such as the General Session and Featured Speakers, the various workshops and sessions, and of course the Preconference Institutes. The Preconference Institutes, to me, set the tone for the whole conference.

When you make a decision to attend a particular institute, you consequently seek out other workshops to enhance and clarify what you learned there.

Attending the conference gives me an opportunity to acquire new methods, texts, and strategies for the teaching of literacy. The conference provides me with the tools and materials needed to motivate both struggling and strong readers. There are a wide variety of books and also a wide range of other technological tools you can use in the classroom from the simple to the more sophisticated.

That first year, I attended an institute on graphic novels. I had no idea of the approach the presenters would take and was completely surprised and energized to return home and incorporate graphic novels in my classroom. Every year there are new twists to genres, like Greek mythology, informational texts, and graphic novels.

The ILA conference is so full of important, motivating ideas that aid in improving the planning of my lessons. Today’s student is easily bored and distracted, and with the ideas, lesson plans, and suggested tools displayed, the teacher who attends the conference will always have interesting and motivating classes.

I am also exposed to the best names in literacy from all over the world, like Laura Robb and Patricia Edwards. I can buy books from literacy experts and hear speakers who have actually worked in the field of literacy. You are introduced to the many ways technology can be used in literacy and how to integrate the various subjects in literacy by using informational texts as reading material and by using students’ cultural backgrounds to encourage them to actively participate in the class. Using ideas obtained from the conference makes my classes more enthusiastic, and students are not shy to express themselves.

You attend one conference and, because of the enthusiasm shown by the various speakers, you want to try their ideas and return to share your success. The conference is interactive: You gain information; improve your skills, methods, and strategies; and, above all, you improve as a teacher. It gives you an opportunity to meet other teachers, share what works and what may not, and discuss differences and similarities.

This is what keeps me coming back to the conference every year.

The ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits will be July 9–11 in Boston, MA, with more than 6,000 attendees eager to cultivate new teaching practices. With over 300 sessions, including several new additions to the schedule, and the popular Preconference Institutes on July 8, the weekend is sure to be a memorable one. Learn more about what’s coming up at this summer’s conference at ilaconference.org.

Marian A. Payne, an ILA member since 2003, teaches at Russell Latapy Secondary School. She is the treasurer of the Trinidad and Tobago Reading Association.

For a long time I didn't teach writing well. I'd stand and deliver, tell and demand, and then wonder why my students wrote little or seemed less than inspired to communicate a message. I'm not proud to admit this, but if we don't reflect on our past, we can't change our future.

Flashing back to my early teaching, I tried to consider what made writing hard to teach and why students didn't seem inspired. I had to realize I didn't connect with students because I wasn't writing. They had no mentor to connect with, no purpose to aspire to. My students received superficial instruction. Today, as I aspire to write, I try to provide authentic instruction to my writers.

Superficial instruction is communicating the content written on the page of a teaching manual. I consider this superficial, because I fall into a tell vs. show instructional style. For instance, transition lessons have caused me trouble. Our class may co-construct an anchor chart and list all the transitions, but that is only a list. Next, we can locate transitions used in an example and speculate why an author might have used the corresponding transition. Delving into text examples may be deeper thinking and more authentic than just listing transitions, but we're still missing something. My students still didn't see how the writer chose their transitions—that missing element in my instruction—how does an author choose to use transition in the moment?

Authentic instruction is my ability to show an actual reading process with live examples. When I consider live writing, I teach students with examples of writing that I am currently working on. My examples include blog posts, articles, chapters, or memoirs. I also incorporate live action writing (my writing process) across the writing workshop. I'll show writers my idea development and my live revisions which may include adjusting my writing according to feedback I have received or just revising sentences, word choice, and even relocating paragraphs as I feel fit.

Examples I show my students are not random; rather, they connect to current lessons. For example, I taught a lesson on text boxes. At the time, I was building an article that included text boxes. By showing my examples, I was able to provide rationales for the construction and selection of text boxes I devised which deepened the lesson.

Authenticity also means in-the-moment writing. In some cases, to model an authentic writing process, I'll draft a piece on the spot to show students how the act of writing looks. For instance, the memoirs I draft, fresh, original, and in front of the class, are about my childhood. I may not be working on a culminating project with my memoirs, but I am sure to tell my students these are memories I am collecting now, hopefully to use later. When I show my students chapters or articles, they learn what my writing purpose is and who my audience is. During our revision lessons, showing my work and my revisions demonstrate perseverance, the very trait so many writers struggle with. I will not write a piece I have no passion for, or an aimless piece, simply to satisfy the requirements of a lesson, because I don't want writers to feel like they have to create products contingent on the assignment.

Perhaps you’re wondering, Isn't your writing above the level of your students? Doesn't that set a bad example?

I hope my writing is above the levels of students (although I wonder sometimes). To be authentic, I have to write as myself. After all, the meaning of authenticity is being true to oneself. If I write at the level of my students (sixth graders), I run the risk of patronizing them. My writing, in turn, is an example to aspire to, not to replicate.

In no way can I ask students, who are 12 years old, to write like me. Students will ultimately assume inferiority, and many will quit. I will include sophisticated words, more complex sentences, and a wider array of transitions in my writing. The purpose of modeling is to provide students with ideas, options, and inspiration. If my students don't see writing they can attain, they won't know how to challenge themselves as writers. The idea is never to compare but to promote the quality of the writing. Quality takes time.

When I model my writing, even at my level, I am able to communicate the writing process. This is perhaps the most important aspect of authentic writing to my students who wonder about choosing transitions and sentence construction. All writers need to own a process, but first they have to see one in action. My life as a writer becomes a scaffold for students adopting their own purposeful writing life, a life of writing for themselves rather than for an assignment.

As my writing instruction evolves, I realize I may not teach writing perfectly, but I guide my writers better than I have before. By showing, I inspire. Telling, as in “Do as I say, not as I do,” is not only hypocritical, but a transfer of shame and inferiority. If I wanted my kids to write I had to show myself as a writer—my authenticity.

Justin Stygles is a sixth-grade teacher and literacy specialist in Western Maine. He has taught at a variety of levels for 12 years and is currently working with Corwin Literacy about effect, emotions, and transactional reading.

At some point, we’ve all experienced that moment when a student is reading aloud, finishes a sentence, and asks, “What does that word mean?”

Instead of saying, “Look it up,” I take the opportunity to engage my students in the all-important context clues discussion.

First, establish a comfortable learning environment. Students are often embarrassed for not knowing how to pronounce the word in the first place, what it means, or both. Therefore, some variation of the following scenario tends to ensue in our classroom:

Me: “Have any of you ever read a page from a book and wondered what you just read?”

Class: “Yes!”

Me: “I have, too. Although this may be because of several factors including being distracted, tired, hungry, and so forth, it is quite often due to not understanding the vocabulary. Does that sound about right?”

Class: “Yes.”

Once students feel comfortable accepting that it’s OK to not understand every word, we complete a context clues activity together. Because the basic layout can be used for any subject area, I will stick to describing the method instead of the exact sheets I use:
Begin with a paragraph pertaining to the subject at hand. This paragraph should contain a few higher level vocabulary words that may be new to most students. Make sure those words are in bold.

The directions should read similar to this: Read the following paragraph. After you have finished, go back and reread each sentence containing a bold word. Now, on the back of this paper, write each bold word and, on the basis of how it is used in the sentence, give your definition of that word.

After allowing students a few minutes to complete this portion, distribute the second part of the activity. This handout should include dictionary definitions of each bold word. Including every definition for that word the dictionary contains is vital. It is not uncommon for each bold word to have 3–5 definitions.

Have students select the dictionary definition that best matches their personal definition of each bold word. By doing this, students will see that the first dictionary definition does not always match the definition of a word based upon its context; this should remind us that “look it up” is not necessarily always the best advice (because students usually only read the first definition given).

To round out this assignment, I typically create columns on the board with each bold word at the top. I then poll students to see which dictionary definition was most often selected. We then discuss the importance of context clues and how central it is to pay attention to what happens around a word and how that can help solve the puzzle by connecting the pieces.

Students tend to enjoy this assignment. It is quick to generate and easily adaptable for any content matter once the template has been created.

Jeremy Burris teaches developmental English and reading at Isothermal Community College in Spindale, NC. He is also an adjunct English instructor at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC, and Blue Ridge Community College in Flat Rock, NC. 

With an energized focus on empowering the voices of educators through connection and sharing, the participatory learning movement has brought personalization to the forefront of professional development in education. Today, educators with a desire to develop their practice are taking charge of their own professional growth by designing customized anytime, anywhere experiences. Focused on optimizing learning and growing as professionals, teachers and literacy leaders are finding great value in peer-to-peer sharing as part of professional learning networks, or PLNs. Together with emphasis on both voice and choice, these inspired groups are reinventing traditional models of professional development, allowing teachers to explore, collaborate, and continuously reflect in meaningful and transformational ways.

Exploration of practice

In the spirit of anytime, anywhere learning, educators have found communities of connected educators through participation in social media networks, including Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram. Through a process of following and connecting with like-minded educators, teachers can personalize their online PLNs and take ownership of their own professional growth. One of the most popular ways educators use social media for peer-to-peer sharing is by participating in weekly educational chats. For Twitter chats, teachers come together at a predetermined time to thoughtfully and purposefully explore topics that are significant in their classrooms. In connected conversations of tweets, educators meet via hashtags to share experiences and examine concepts with educators of the world. Popular chats for literacy include #ILAchat, #Read4Fun, #engchat, #edchat, and #edtechchat. Days, times, and weekly chat topics can be found at Education Chats Listing and Participate Learning.

As partners in the process of professional development, teachers are seeking out peer-to-peer learning opportunities that allow for exploration of thought and practice. Edcamps, open to all educators, have quickly become the “PD of choice” for many educators that are seeking relevant and actionable conversations to improve practice. In these free, daylong “un-conference” events, teachers come together to share and learn through a collaborative exchange of ideas about topics that matter most in their lives and in their schools. Learning at an Edcamp is completely customized and sharing is always participant driven. Sessions are viewed as facilitated discussions as opposed to formal presentations, and topics are meant to encourage inquiry, offer direction, and shape practice.

Collaboration to grow and refine

Both within the school communities and in online networks, educators are creating opportunities for sharing and professional growth through collaboration. Each day, learning teams within schools are powerfully leveraging technology and digital spaces for cooperative sharing and discussion. Teachers who love using Pinterest as a visual bookmarking tool have started recognizing the value in social spaces that allow for open sharing of resources and shared thought. Padlet is one such tool that allows for planning and sharing by providing a corkboard-wall for teams to pin ideas and information, including website links, PDFs, photos, and images. Learning teams can also collaborate and share ideas for professional growth and discovery with online communication tools like Slack. Slack allows teams to seamlessly work together online in real time with use of “channels” for sharing and indexing of information and files. With tools such as Padlet and Slack, workflow and organization of thought can be streamlined and extended for collaborative professional growth and connection.

In addition to integrated communication solutions, teachers are finding ways to create and share databases of resources and collections with learning teams. With the online platform Participate Learning, educators can share and curate high-quality resources in “Collections.” The site also allows teachers to browse collections by grade level, content area category, and Common Core standards. Working with peers in collaborative platforms like Participate Learning, professional learning and growth can become personal, customized, and in the hands of the educator.

Reflection leads to transformation

Opportunities for exploration and collaboration are great entry points for educators seeking ways to customize their own professional growth; however, as with any new learning, time for reflection is extremely valuable when aiming to put ideas into practice. Charged with making a difference in the lives of their students, educators are finding ways to carve out time to reflect and examine practice with colleagues in thoughtful ways. As a communication tool for groups, Voxer, a walkie-talkie–style app, is a simple way for teams to share throughout the day on common topics. Through reflective discussion, educators can deepen conversations to allow for impactful change and growth for practice and outcomes. Blogging and podcasts further allow educators to synthesize and reflect on ideas and professional practice. These forms of sharing allows for ideas to extend to a global audience, therefore flattening school walls to create a world of opportunity and connections.

As the movement to personalize professional development through participatory peer-to-peer sharing spreads through educational communities and schools, educators are continuing to find new and innovative ways to design their own learning and professional growth. With anytime, anywhere opportunities available for all, teachers can continue to engage in connected communities to bring together content, resources, and experience to shift practice—placing teachers at the center of their own professional learning and growth.

Jennifer Williams is a literacy specialist and recently elected member of the Board of Directors for International Literacy Association. She is the cofounder of Edcamp Tampa Bay and serves on the coordinating teams for Edcamp Literacy and Edcamp Global. She believes in the power of shared stories, and she champions teachers to direct their own professional growth through participatory learning opportunities. Connect with Jennifer on Twitter.

In addition to Friday’s sold-out EdCamp, Williams will present “Connected Educators: Designing Your Professional Learning Network” Saturday, July 9, 11:00 AM–12:00 PM at the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston. Visit ilaconference.org for more information or to register.