Learning to Read

Reading to Learn
Sharonda Robinson, MPS
Mimi Czarnik, Alverno College
Desiree Pointer Mace, Alverno College
September 30, 2010
Opening Remarks
Dr. Heidi Ramirez
MPS Chief Academic Officer
 Themes

Cognitive development, theories of learning, and

essential elements of reading
Reading: a complex, constructive process
Learning to read vs. reading to learn
Supporting educators as they work to enhance
student learning and achievement in reading
 Outcomes

Identify role-based pathways through

the Comprehensive Literacy Plan, be
able to explain those pathways to others,
and how the Comprehensive Literacy
Plan connects to the Common Core
Standards
 Outcomes

Identify connections between

observations of the classroom
environment, conditions for
instructional design, and educational
theory
 Outcomes

Make connections between the

Comprehensive Literacy Plan and
specific educator roles and practices
 Outcomes

Set goals for region-based and cross-

department collaborative work across
roles, naming specific high-leverage
practices that teachers can
immediately implement and practices
that may take longer to develop.
The Comprehensive
Literacy Plan
Sharonda Robinson
Early Implementation Focus
• Standards
• Understanding of and begin informed use of Common Core
State Standards and WMELS
• Instructional Design
• Effective organization for and use of literacy block
instructional time (w/ explicit literacy instruction)
• Establishment of classroom routines and procedures to
promote independent student behaviors and allow for
effective, small-group and differentiated instruction
• Effective teacher modeling and use of proven instructional
strategies to help students meet rigorous standards
Early Implementation Focus

• Assessments for Learning

• Assessment of/for student learning toward standards
(benchmarks and curriculum-based assessments)
• Access to and Use of Resources
• Effective use of district-adopted texts and related instructional
materials and resources (e.g., leveled readers, MPS literacy
microsite)
 Standards for Reading

• Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS) - PreK

• Early Literacy
• http://www.collaboratingpartners.com/EarlyLS_docs.htm
• Common Core State Standards - K5-Gr. 12
• Foundational Skills (K5-Gr. 5)
• Literature (K5-Gr. 12)
• Informational Text (K5-Gr. 12)
• Content Area (Gr. 6-12; built in for K5-Gr. 5)
• http://www.corestandards.org/
 Reading Block

Differentiated
Whole Group Whole Group
Small Group
Instruction

Teacher-Led
Explicit Small Literacy
Group Reading Work Stations
Instruction
Independent Practice (PreK-Gr. 8):
Five Literacy Work Stations

•Independent Reading
•Independent Writing
•Media/ Technology
•Phonics/Word Work
•Vocabulary
 Reading Materials and Resources: Tier 1
Houghton Mifflin Pre-K Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Journeys K-5 McDougal Littell
Literature 6-8

                                                                 
                                                             

                                   

                            

•Reading A-Z/RazKids
•Vocabulary A-Z
Key Components of the
MPS Comprehensive Plan

Assessments – Reading

• Formative
• Benchmark
• Summative
Expectations
For Central Services Literacy Leaders:
• Understand and support the CLP and its implementation
• Understand the standards, assessments, and related resources
• Use data to monitor progress and improve
• Actively participate in professional development and reflect on and in
practice
• Promote effective literacy instruction/support teacher learning
• Help ensure students are prepared to learn – reinforce literacy learning
• Share expertise with others
CLP Support Tools

Current CLP Implementation Tools

CLP (How to Read It for Your Role)
Pacing Guides and Timelines
Implementation Guides (Look Fors)
Correlations
“The number one school level factor that
impacts student achievement is a
guaranteed and viable curriculum.”

What Works in Schools

Marzano, 2003
Connecting Theory and Practice
Learning to Read,
Reading to Learn

Mimi Czarnik
Desiree Pointer Mace
Alverno College
Partner share: Strong Practices

It always works when I _____________

in my teaching.

or

Students love it when I

_________________.
 SHARE:
What do our responses tell us
about student learning?
Word Wall

Please write one word that you feel

describes an effective learning
environment.

Please add your card to the wall.

 A Very Brief Tour of the Universe
(of Learning and Reading Theory)

Content adapted from R. Gleason (2009) photo by NasaGoddard

Cambourne’s
Conditions of Learning
Immersion
Demonstration
Expectation
Responsibility
Use
Approximation
Response
Engagement
 Bransford et al.: How People Learn
We construct new knowledge based on our current
knowledge. Learners thrive in student-centered
environments.

Bransford, J., Brown, A., Cocking, R. (2000). How people learn: brain, mind, experience, and school. Committee on Developments in the Science of Learning, National
Research Council (U.S.).
 The Zone of Proximal Development

“Vygotsky maintains that with the support of another more

experienced person, the learner is able to do more than he
is able to do on his own. Whatever the task, the learner is
supported with assistance from his more capable partner.
Gradually the learner takes over the task and becomes
expert, but meanwhile his teacher, parent, or other learning
partner works to extend the learner’ knowledge and skills
even further.” (pp. 191-192)
Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: Teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
The Levels of Knowing and
the Zone of Proximal Development

Learning and Knowing

Known
ZPD
Controlled and Almost
correct Under
Control
Control
Controlled with with
almost no Lapses
attention
 Scaffolding

Teacher Student

I do… You watch

I do… You help
I help… You do
I watch… You do
Parts of this graphic were adapted from Buehl, D. (Sept. 27, 2005). Scaffolding. WEAC :Education News 20052006. Retrieved from:
http://www.weac.org/news_and_publications/education_news/2005-2006/readingroomoct06.aspx.
 Gradual Release of Responsibility
Parts of this graphic were adapted from Fountas, I. & Pinnell, G.S. ( 1996). Guided reading: Good first teaching for all children. Portsmouth NH: Heinemann., p.
26.
What is Reading?

Photos by woodleywonderworks, GoXunuReview, EasaShamih, k12reading , uberculture

Table talk: What does your
word wall idea look like in a
reading classroom or
lesson?
Definition of Reading
 Reading is comprehension. Reading
is a dynamic interactive process of
constructing meaning by combining the
reader’s existing knowledge with the text
information within the context of the reading
situation. The key elements are reader, text
and context.
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. (1986). A guide to curriculum planning in
reading (Bulletin No. 6305). Madison, WI: Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction.
Five Areas of Reading Instruction
 Put Reading First and
Report of the National
Reading Panel
 phonemic awareness
 phonics
 fluency
 vocabulary
 text comprehension
How Does Reading Develop?

Building an Effective Reading Process Over Time

(Developmental Stages of Reading)

Emergent Readers
Early Readers
Transitional Readers
Self-Extending Readers
Advanced Readers
Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. (2001). Guiding readers and writers: Teaching comprehension, genre, and content literacy. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, p. 8.
Reading to Learn: Metacognition

Metacognition is thinking about or

reflecting on your thinking; “an
awareness and knowledge of one’s
mental processes such that one can
monitor, regulate and direct them to
a desired end.”  
Source: The Literacy Dictionary (2005)
Reading to Learn: Metacognition

Metacognition helps readers

monitor their reading, notice
whether or not they are
understanding, and take action to
solve the problem if they are
confused.  
Source: The Literacy Dictionary (2005)
Reading to Learn: Metacognition

Metacognition supports reading to

learn, incorporating knowledge of
texts, tasks, strategies, and learner
characteristics.

http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d96.html
Reading to Learn: Metacognition

Texts: By observing organizational

patterns or structures of texts,
students can observe how authors
arrange ideas and determine which
kinds of structures are used to
interrelate ideas.
http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d96.html
Reading to Learn: Metacognition

Tasks: Locating a specific detail in a

text requires a different process than
that needed to write a critical
analysis of the text.

http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d96.html
Reading to Learn: Metacognition

Strategies: These include forming a

mental image, rereading, adjusting the
rate of reading, searching the text to
identify unknown words, and
predicting meaning that lies ahead.

http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d96.html
Reading to Learn: Metacognition

Learner characteristics: the awareness of

the learner of his or her own
characteristics--such as background
knowledge, degree of interest, skills, and
deficiencies--and of how these affect
learning.

http://www.indiana.edu/~reading/ieo/digests/d96.html
Reading to Learn: Tier 2 Words
(Academic Language)

Tier 2 words represent the more sophisticated

vocabulary of written texts. Mature language users
use such words with regularity, but students
encounter them less frequently as listeners. As a
result, these words are unknown to many of our
learners. Because of their lack of redundancy in
oral language, tier 2 words present challenges to
students who primarily meet them in print.

Source: http://www.weac.org/news_and_publications/education_news/2004-2005/read_tier.aspx
Reading to Learn: Tier 2 Words
(Academic Language)

http://web1.d25.k12.id.us/home/title1/download/HighInvocab.pdf
 Teaching Tier 2 Words

Model for students how to “explain” a word rather than

seeking a definition. A “student-friendly explanation”
should include the following components:
• The word is described in everyday language
• The word is explained in connected language
• The explanation exemplifies multiple contexts that feature the
word in action
• The explanation includes “you,” “something,” and “someone” to
help students ground the new word in familiar situations.

Source: http://tchandler.wikispaces.com/file/view/Fully+Grasping.ppt
A Balanced Literacy Framework

• Different points of entry into the “literacy club”

• Opportunities to succeed for children who struggle
• Different levels of support and configurations for
instruction
• Focus on print and comprehension, behaviors, and
habits
• Varied opportunities for assessment that informs
instruction
Balance Across the Day
Within the Classroom Environment
• Whole group, small group, partner, and one-to-one
instruction
• What we teach (phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency,
comprehension, vocabulary)
• Teaching in isolation versus in context
• Formal and informal assessments
• Independence and Collaboration
• Teacher Talk and Student Talk
• Student Choice and Teacher Mandate
• Consistency and Variety
Supporting the CLP

In your role, what can

you do to support the
implementation of the
Comprehensive
Literacy Plan?
Connecting Theory and Practice: Working
with the Classroom Implementation
 
Guides
Within your role-alike group, choose one example of
Classroom Environment (e.g. literacy work stations, word
walls).
 
What theories of reading and/or learning does this example of
classroom environment reflect? 

Then examine the Instructional Design conditions. Thinking

about those theories, what invitational question(s) can you ask
of teachers to help them consider, establish and sustain this
practice in their classroom?
Regional Group Work
Move to your regional group and share your questions to guide educator adoption of
the CLP. Set goals around these implementation practices:

• What different perspectives exist in your region

based on roles?
• What can be implemented in the classroom
immediately? 
• What benchmarks do you want to establish for your
mutual work in the region?
• What resources/ further development do you need to
support the implementation of the CLP?
Thank you.

Sharonda Robinson  
robinss@milwaukee.k12.wi.us

Mimi Czarnik
mimi.czarnik@alverno.edu

Desiree Pointer Mace

desiree.pointer-mace@alverno.edu