Adolescent Literacy:  Turning Promise into Practice

 

Introduction

Vince:  Kylene Beers' intro expresses what I so strongly believe:  we are at a crucial confluence where academic literacy (measured by CSAP and AYP) meets up with 21st Century skills (measured by student readiness to enter the post-secondary world).  She states that "we should view these areas of growth as developing in tandem";  I think it is a rich opportunity today.  How can we develop an environment in our school where teachers develop the literacy skills necessary for academic achievement today and 21st century success tomorrow? 1/16/08:  As you read, consider the LRT's three functions:  coaching, assessment use, and school leadership. 

 

Jari:  To answer Vince's question, we have to immerse ourselves in all of the technology that is available today and get rid of our "technophobic" fears.  There has to be a merging of the two:  literacy and 21st century technology.  Many of our teachers are using the interwrite boards in the classroom, and the involvement of students is much higher in these classrooms.  You can project an article right up on the board, go through discuss main idea or whatever you want.  You can show them how to determine essential information, use context clues, etc.  The use of the interwrite board puts many best practices into play, the biggest one of course, being modeling.  But first, the district would need to commit to getting the necessary technology into the classrooms.  The other interesting topic that Kylene mentions in the intro is the "continuum", and I think that would make for a very interesting conversation as to what that really looks like in D11.

 

Chapter 1:  The Measure of Our Success

 

 

Chapter 2:  Flying Blind

 

 

Chapter 3:  Multiliterate Youth in the Time of Scientific Reading Instruction

 

 

Chapter 4:  The Essence of Understanding

 

 

Chapter 5:  Tom Sawyer, Teaching and Talking

 

 

Chapter 6:  Of Times, Teens, and Books

Jari:  I chose to read chapter 6 because I truly believe we need to revisit the short stories and novels that we are asking our kids to read today (you know, the "I teach it because it's my favorite", or "because I've taught it for 20+ years", etc.).  There is a lot of great new young adult literature out there that reflects the times we live in today, and I know there are titles we could and should look at to reach our reluctant boy and girl readers.  I got pretty excited as I read this chapter at the number of titles that were mentioned (many of which several of us have already had coversations around).  Graphic novels are now being written in both fiction and nonfiction; there are multi-genre books, etc., and we need to explore these alternatives for our kids.  I would like to set up a committee to look at reading some titles, making some recommendations, and pushing them through the approval process at the beginning of next year.  I'd like to have a middle school and high school student (preferably reluctant readers) representative.  We could possibly do a survey to gather some information.  We have to do something to reach our kids.  Anyone interested in working with me on this (it would basically be just doing lots of reading over the summer) and being ready to make some recommendations when we come back in August?

 

Vince:  Check out this article on graphic novels  which includes a book list.  Scholastic provides a teacher resource called Using Graphic Novels with Children and Teens.

 

3/21/08 Meeting:  Carol, Sara (Battle of the Books list), Vince, Jari,.  Make recommendations and provide reviews on the YAL Readings page.

 

 

A place to start for book list recommendations for teens: 

 

Book List Recommendations 

 

Comic Books for Young Adults 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 7:  Mastering the Art of Effective Vocabulary Instruction

 

 

Chapter 8:  English Language Learners in the Classroom

 

 

Chapter 9:  One Teacher to One Student with One Powerful Strategy

 

 

Chapter 10:  Teaching English Language Arts in a "Flat" World

 

This is a very interesting chapter and does dovetail quite nicely with the chapter we read by Kadjer on "Unleashing Technology".  What I thought was the most interesting was the statement students need to be a versatilist; comparing them to an Olympic athlete training for an event they didn't know they were doing until they get to the competition.  In Jari's & Vince's comments on the introduction we are at a point where we are being measure by CSAP, AYP, ACT, SAT, and the NAEP; yet we have to prepare our students to work in a world that doesn't use some of the skills those tests measure.  How do we mesh the two?  The one thing that Burke didn't include in his list was lifelong learner.  If the world is constantly changing we have to prepare students to be constant students of knowledge.  At one point, you could get a degree and need very little post-graduate work to keep up with improvements in your field.  With the changes in technology, almost every field requires more training constantly - something students today need to realize.  Sara

 

Carol: 

 

Terri: 

 

Suzette:  See Jim Burke's site:  English Companion.

 

 

 

Chapter 11:  Teaching Writing from the Inside

 

 

Chapter 12:  Teaching Writing Your Way

 

 

Chapter 13:  Writing:  Common Sense Matters

 

 

Chapter 14:  Unleashing Potential with Emerging Technologies

Have the reading completed by February 15! 

Vince: 

 

Hello again to all!  Besides feeling incredibly ancient, I felt drawn to both the podcasting and the digital book trailer ideas.  Surely, podcasting is an excellent way to amplify the quality of literacture circle output.  I can see students readily embracing podcasting as they discuss the book of choice.  I think that their interaction might actually be much more natural and fruitful.  The self-evaluative piece would help them hone their thinking and expressive skills.  An additional benefit is that the teacher becomes a learner of the individual student thinker.  It's an exciting new world out there!  Then again, the digital book trailer dovetails nicely with the multigenre responses to literature that several of us have elicited from students.  Kajdar's assertion that she teaches "multimodal composition" instead of technological clicking is thrilling.  It really reflects using tech to facilitate classroom instruction, evoking deeper, richer learning instead of trying to fit tech into whatever easily allows us to continue teaching as we have been.  These techniques, among others discussed here, really do seem to "unleash potential" in learning.  So, I guess all we need is a wider range of tech tools, tech tools that work well, and positive tech interaction with teachers.   I'm truly jazzed!  TTFN, Eileen

 

Hi everyone!-- There is a great deal in this book so far that excites me...not the least of which is the validation I feel when I see in print much that I have known in my heart to be true about students and learning, but that certainly goes against the mainstream of the "CSAP" and "AYP"  mentality with which we have been brainwashed the past several years. (O.K., I'll get off my soapbox now!) I think the student Max certainly spoke for many students when he stated "... my reading and writing doesn't happen in here.  Anywhere I'd really want to write is blocked, or the stuff teachers ask us to do is so much the same thing again and again that it isn't really writing." Max also stated "...School is about fitting things into tight little boxes that you measure with a test.  You can't do that with these tools."  That is pretty powerful stuff!   I love the idea of a classroom blog to which everyone contributes in a variety of ways, including images and video.  The idea of relective, responsive posts building from one another with a responsive, engaged audience just seems like the best kind of learning to me.  As adults, isn't that one of the frameworks to which we respond most enthusiastically?  I know I really value and learn best from the feedback and dialogue I have with others about common topics/interests. I wonder how difficult it would be to have sites like this available to students in classrooms in District 11.  What would the tech issues be?  Could it be supported? Would, as Eileen stated, the tech tools work well?  Could we unblock enough sites so that students could add images, video, etc.? Would the "powers that be" in D11 even go for this, or are there certain legalities involved?  Hmm....lots of food for thought!  Renae

 

Renae has identified a huge challenge -- District decisions about tech use for literacy growth. Perhaps District personnel could use Beers survey on page 216 to ferret out beliefs/actions? For me, there's a chasm between my beliefs, my home use of tech and my professional use with colleagues and students.  [Vince, I applaud your persistent efforts to leap this chasm!).  No doubt, tech provides students with "agency, choice, and authentic audience, all of which build motivation and learning engagement." (pg 221)  We all know motivation and engagement is gateway for struggling readers and my experience surely affirms this.  Like, Eileen, I find it appealing to think multimodal composition....as long as those experiences result in quality writing, more purposeful reading, and deeper understanding.  I agree with Kadjar's summary, "We're past the point where we can keep doing old things with old tools or old things with new tools." (page 229).  As with any transformation, the challenge becomes what about the "old" shall we hang on to?  For me, quality and depth of understanding never get old.  Pat

 

This chapter makes it evident that we are at a crossroad like no other in recent history.  I thought I was pretty advanced with technology (I can use the entire Microsoft office suite well), but then when they Kajder presents her ideas of technology in the classroom.  I realize how far I have to go.  We do have a long way to go as a district if we want to keep students like Max (who are obviously very bright, but not willing to play the school game) interested in school.  The thought that has stuck with me for the last week since I finished this chapter is the quote at the bottom of page 215.."We need to think about what happens when we really invent - and offer students, and ourselvs, opportunities to do new things in new ways, taking advantage of the unique capacities of the multimodal tools now at our fingertips."  I know it is going to take a lot to move us in the direction of more technology, more money, more thinking about how to apply the technology and lots of training.  Unfortunately, I see many teachers taking Kajder's ideas and trying to fit them into a traditional model - which will just turn it into more of the same.   I also see teachers becoming frustrated with technology that doesn't work. It is an exciting time to be in education.  Sara

 

Kajder asks if it is enough to take what we've done in the past and reproduce the process using different tools to create the same product - certainly not IF we want to keep 21st century learners engaged.  With much time spent writing on blogs, wikis, and myspace, the conflict lies in the audience - sometimes the audience is 'self'.  How does that line up with school writing?  Max says, "In school, writing is about handing something in.  Here, it's about having something to say."  When a classroom used a weblog the class discussion moved from format questions to having something to say - this becomes high stakes because of the response of the community of writers, the audience has changed!  How do we, District 11, get to this place?  One way is to utilize the students' multimedia digital video technology skills.  Kajder says,"I do not teach the technology."  This statement is key.  Terri

 

One of the bulleted points at The Partnership for 21st Century Skills addresses professional development:  "Enables 21st century professional learning communities for teachers that models the kinds of classroom learning that best promotes 21st century skills for students";  my goal in using the wiki is to create an opportunity where we are modeling classroom learning using these tools in a professional development model.  Just like Kadjer says that our students are looking "to us to push them," I am hoping that we can push administrators and teachers to become more savvy with technologies in a 21st century learning environment.  And I appreciate the comments above from Renae and Pat;  my feeling is that if we create a need and a model for using wikis, blogs, Blackboard, etc., then we will gain momentum that cannot be ignored.  Let teachers and principals see the tool in action...then others will need to respond to make them accessible.  This is my hope.  Vince

 

 I was struck by Kajder's remark in her conclusion that "New technologies challenge me to create openings."  I think of this in relation to Sara's idea that we are at a crossroads like no other in recent history.  I hope that we are the last generation who experience such an extreme gap in understanding the technologies that our students use.  The danger in this situation is that the gap is not just about technology.  We aren't using the multi-modalities we know are so important to thinking, learning, and being.  The opportunities are unlimited.  Just the simple idea of kids bringing visuals into their reader-response discussions of texts is a powerful notion.  We have great potential to understand our students' minds through new windows--nevermind student engagment, think about what would happen to teacher engagement!  Alas, but like all of you, I am very concerned that most of us work in outdated buildings where most classrooms do not have more than a teacher computer, and that our district still blocks many potentially powerful sites. 

 

By the way, what did people think of the 4th Interlude?  I love this idea of rooting writing in student choice and revelation.  I'd love to do some professional development around this, but am not sure how it should look.  Thoughts?   Laura

 

 

I was relieved to find that I actually knew something about the technology discussed in this chapter!  The wiki was new to me (thanks, Vince!), and I have never "blogged," nor have I ever participated in a podcast - however, I'm sure that all of these are in my future.  As I read, I wondered if and how these technologies might fit into the middle school setting.  I discussed them with an 8th grade reading class that I was covering, and found that only one student had heard of a blog.  Most of them had a "My Space" sight, but that was the extent of their knowledge.  They genuinely seemed curious and I thought about how many more kids of this age group we might keep interested in learning if we had more technology integrated into our schools.  We currently have InterWrite boards in our school, but only a few teachers feel comfortable using them, which then makes one wonder if the teachers are willing to change their way of instruction to utilize these emerging tools.  As LRT's, we have the unique ability to help lead the way within our own schools.  Dorian

 

 

Chapter 15:  Making It Matter Through the Power of Inquiry

 

 

Chapter 16:  Building Academic Success with Underachieving Adolescents

 

 

Chapter 17:  Thinking Through Assessment

 

 

 

 

Chapter 18:  Effective Teachers, Effective Instruction

 

 

Chapter 19:  Five Things You Need to Know About Literacy Coaching in Middle and High Schools

 

 

Jari:  One of the statements in this chapter that really hit home with me was on page 298 and says, "Their work is most successful when it is integrated into the building and district instructional decision-making structures."  To me, integrated into the building means reading and writing across the curriculum with building wide initiatives - everyone is doing the same things and working toward the same goal.  We know that research shows this to be true and a best practice.  As for the integrated into the district instructional decision-making structures, that to me meant following the pacing guide and other initiatives, but embracing it as a building.  I'm truly not sure how you could be successful as a literacy coach and not follow the pacing guide, district initiatives, etc.  Did anyone else interpret this differently?

 

Vince:   One statement that struck me, and connects to Jari's quote above, is the sentence on p. 206: "when coaching is part of a coordinated and interdisciplinary literacy program, all of these educators can work together to create the real changes needed to support all struggling students."  All schools need to clearly articulate their literacy program; I'm not sure all of our secondary schools are there yet.  Could all teachers in your building articulate what your school's coordinated and interdisciplinary literacy program is?  

 

For our group activity at our meeting, we did  The Text Rendering Experience.doc 

 

Group 1 (pages 295-298)(Jari, Deborah, Renee):  The role of a literacy coach is as a collegial facilitator -- partnering with classroom teachers to support classroom instruction.  Foremost, you can expect the coach to work with teachers in a respectful collegial way.  A literacy coach's work is as a supporter of classroom instruction, demonstration and practice.  Their work is most successful when it is integrated into the building and district instructional decision making structures.

 

Group 2 (pages 298-302)(Suzette, Terri, Sara, and Carol):  No LRT is an island.  After examining the number of competencies that are required for an LRT, the three that seemed most important to our group were respect, collaboration and sharing.

 

 

 

 

Chapter 20:  The Role of Handover in Teaching for Democratic Participation

 

 

Archived Comments:

Vince said

It seems that the key word is collaborative.