EDUC 640

Balanced Literacy in the Reading Program

Artifact Description
The artifact I am submitting is a PowerPoint presentation called Commitment to
Balanced Literacy. I used this assignment to imagine the possibilities for a schoolwide balanced literacy program at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School (OLL),
where I now work. Building on the resources at the school, I put together a
collection of ideas to foster kindergarteneighth grade literacy activities. I organized
them into the four components of a balanced literacy model: reading, writing,
listening, speaking. Although I was dreaming big, I became quite excited by the
possibilities and I sent this presentation to the new principal, Mrs. Swiston. She was
very encouraging and she too had been planning to make reading a school-wide
focus for the year. I was both pleased and a bit overwhelmed when Mrs. Swiston
shared it with all the teachers. It is now a living, breathing, work-in-progress. I
appreciated this assignment because it helped to guide my thinking from I wish I
could work on school-wide literacy projects to, I will work on school-wide literacy
projects!
Professional Growth
Before taking this course, I had a limited view of my role as a Title 1 teacher. My
thought my job was to assess students, identify those who qualified for service
according to district guidelines, and work with students individually or in small
groups to help them progress in their reading skills. This is the only model that I had
ever known for Title 1 teachers. Although I liked my job, I longed for the opportunity
to organize school-wide events, promote reading to all students through book
commercials, and get students and teachers reading more and talking about books
throughout their day. Before taking this course, I thought I needed to become a
literacy coach in order to promote reading to the whole school.
During the course, Jeannette shared several school-wide literacy models that
changed my mind about the possibilities of my position. These plans illustrated the
benefit of balancing the domains of reading, writing, listening, and speaking instead
of concentrating on reading and ignoring the others. I began to gain a wider view of
my role as a reading specialist and determined to do all I could to move toward
more comprehensive literacy instruction in my Title 1 classroom, in the school
where I work, as well as in the district as a whole.
Some startling statistics that I came across during this course confirmed what has
always been my greatest concern about literacy instruction. I have always been
concerned about the amount of time students and families spend reading at home,
but my efforts to increase at-home reading have fallen short of my lofty goals.
Richard Allington found that reading and writing is being short-changed during the
school day as well. Allington writes, --it is not unusual to find that kids read and
write for as little as 10 percent of the day.In many classrooms a 90 minute
reading block produces only 10-15 minutes of actual readingWorse, in many

classrooms 20 minutes of actual reading across the school day is a common event.
In stark contrast, Americas most effective teachers, had children actually reading
and writing for as much as half of the school day (Allington, 2002). But I like
Stephanie Harveys statement best. In short, we need to build in a ton of time for
our kids to read, just plain read. We need to show them how and then let them
read. (Harvey,2008)
These numbers redirected my attention to maximizing reading and writing time
during the school day. While at-home reading is still pivotal to a childs academic
success, effective use of classroom time is well-within a reading specialists sphere
of influence. Course readings armed me with research-based statistics and schoolwide plans that I could use to try to increase the amount of time our students spend
reading, writing, and communicating.
Since the completion of EDUC 640 I have taken steps toward accomplishing my new
goal of promoting balanced literacy. I have incorporated more writing into my
instruction by using writing journals with my 3-8 graders. Until taking this course, I
thought I needed to devote all my time to students reading skills and only when
they had caught up could I afford to work on their writing. Now I see that writing
instruction promotes better reading and they are two sides of the same coin. A more
balanced approach to my instruction has allowed me to identify and work on
spelling and vocabulary deficits that would otherwise have gone without
intervention.
Ive taken another step toward my goal by creating a reading train with one train
car for every book read by students and teachers. The goal is for the train to extend
throughout the whole school connecting both the elementary and middle school
floors before our second annual family literacy night on March 2 nd. Our Dr. Seuss
themed literacy night will be the second annual event, but this year I am committed
to planning activities in each of the four key elements of balanced literacy--reading,
writing, speaking, and listening. The reading train will showcase the books students
have read, each student will post a writing project to highlight their best writing
efforts. In order to highlight listening and speaking, my Title students will be
performing three Dr. Seuss readers theater plays.
I have ideas for literacy projects that I feel could involve the entire Ashland
School District. I would like to apply for a grant from the local Rotary Club to
purchase books for a community-wide reading event involving students, their
families, and community members. Each school (Primary, Intermediate, Middle, and
High School) would select a book that all students would read. Students would
prepare discussion questions and become student leaders for Community Reads
discussion groups held at the schools. The Rotary grant would ensure that every
family could have their own copy of the selected book so they could read it as well.
This happens in many communities with adult literature. There is no reason that it
couldnt be adapted to include childrens and middle grade fiction as well.
Thanks to this course, I have taken a broader view of my position and the staff at
OLL has welcomed my suggestions. I plan to present some of my ideas to the school

superintendent hoping that he might hire me full-time to spend my afternoons

working to implement district-wide literacy projects.
Student Impact
As a result of taking this course, all students at OLL Catholic School are participating
in the Reading Train project. They are documenting their individual reading and
fostering a culture of reading in grades K-8. Prior to this course, only my Title
students charted their reading in this way. Now all students are able to feel the
positive impact of a collective goal. Just today I had a conversation with a third
grader who does not receive Title instruction. She saw me posting the train cars in
the hallway and we had a wonderful conversation about her favorite genres and her
current read. I also suggested several books and wrote them down for her. While I
dont truly know the impact of our literary exchange, I believe that simple moments
like this can and do turn students on to the wonder of reading.
OLL students are reading independently for at least 15 minutes a day in addition to
their regular classroom reading. This is a step in the right direction. Last year
students participated in DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) for one month preceding
the first family literacy night. The students loved it and asked me why they werent
still doing it every day. The truth was that some teachers felt it interrupted their
classroom schedule too much. The principal didnt agree and DEAR is now a daily
event.
My Title students are doing significantly more writing and vocabulary practice
during their time with me this year. They record unfamiliar words that come from
their reading in their journals and define them. We review the words and use a few
in sentences each day. They are also completing a brief written response each day.
The prompts vary, but they serve as a review to jog students memories before they
resume reading during the next session.
All Title students and a few others will be practicing and performing a Dr. Seuss
Readers Theater play for the family literacy night. This is a direct result of
purposeful planning to include more speaking and listening opportunities. Students
who struggle with reading are typically given the smallest parts in class plays. One
of my students inspired me to change that. I told one of my eighth grade students
who reads very dramatically that she was, made for the stage. She replied that
shed never been in the plays because she couldnt read the parts very well.
Kindergarten, first, and second graders will perform a compilation of Green Eggs
and Ham and Hop on Pop. Third and fourth graders will become The Sneetches and
fifth through eighth graders will give voice to The Butter Battle Book. Performing
the leading roles in a Dr. Seuss production will give these struggling readers a
chance to shine!
Understanding and Application of Standards
During the course of EDUC 640 I developed and demonstrated standards #2, #9,
and #10.

Teaching standard #2: Teachers know how children grow.

When I started as a Title 1 teacher, I found that I sometimes missed the classroom
teachers opportunity to teach in a broader context. I felt somewhat limited by the
confines of teaching only basic reading skills, yet in 30 minutes 3 or four times a
week, what more could I do? When I began to see literacy in a broader way as I
discussed above, I realized that although my time with each student is limited, the
content does not need be. When I find a topic or genre that interests a particular
student, I go to my own collection, the school and public libraries and gather books
about that topic. This year, my students have been reading and writing in response
journals, about the Civil War, insects, the science of smells, and even the nuclear
arms race. I spend a considerable amount of time outside my school day searching
for materials to meet their broad range of abilities. When my third grade boys are
begging me for more books about the Civil War, I know Ive found the right hook for
them. They have discovered that reading is useful and interesting.
Teaching Standard #9: Teachers are able to evaluate themselves.
My commitment to balanced literacy (artifact) is a result of professional evaluation
of my first two years on the job. I came to see that while a few students each year
will progress quickly, reach grade level and no longer need Title services, many of
my students are lifers. At the same time, more and more non-title students
reading scores are falling below proficient levels. I have wondered whether the pullout model is the best way to raise reading performance in the largest number of
students. My school-wide literacy approach is an effort to drastically increase the
amount of time each student spent reading and writing each day and reduce the
need for pull-out title service. I have also been re-evaluating the way my pull-out
schedule disrupts the learning and continuity of my 5 first and second grade
students who all come from one combined class. I see them in three separate
groupings for a total of 1 hours each day. I wonder how much more effective it
might be if I went into the classroom and team taught reading and writing for an
hour and a half each morning. I plan to propose this push-in model. to the
first/second grade teacher and perhaps next year we could give it a try.
Teaching Standard #10: Teachers are connected with other teachers and the
community.
I have connected with other teachers at OLL through the unexpected sharing of my
plan with the entire staff. They have been receptive to the reading train and are
willing to have a second annual literacy night . Staying connected to my public
school Title I colleagues is a challenge since I work exclusively at OLL, however, I
have attended several Title 1 meetings held at CESA this year that I have not
attended in the past. Through these meetings I have learned what Title 1 teachers
in other districts are doing and I have stayed in better communication with my
Ashland School District colleagues. I have a better sense of what is going on in our
district as a whole. I am meeting the standard of connecting with the community
through the literacy night project. This event is designed to communicate with
parents the importance of reading with and to their children. I will be sending a
notice to the newspaper and if they dont send a reporter, Ill submit a photo and
story for community exposure.

Bibliography
Allington, R. (2002, June) What Ive Learned About Effective Reading Instruction. Phi
Delta Kappan. 741-747
Harvey S. (2008) The Primary Comprehension Toolkit. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann.