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Fresh Strategies to Spark Interest, Develop Independence, and Meet Key Common Core Standards, Grades 4-8

Make research reading and writing real and motivating for students. Chris' strategies help you tailor instruction to kids' needs, reach the standards for research, and challenge students to become inquisitive thinkers who can meet real-world demands.

"When we embrace the messy excitement of the [research] process and the drive to inspire others, we can energize our students, our instruction, and ourselves."
Christopher Lehman

Sit down with Christopher Lehman as he shares the strategies he has used to make research reading and writing real and motivating for students. Chris draws on his experience with the Reading and Writing Project and as co-author of Pathways to the Common Core to help you tailor your instruction to your students' needs, get to the heart of the Common Core State Standards, and, most importantly, challenge your students to become driven, inquisitive thinkers who can meet the demands of school and life in the 21 st century.

Energize Research Reading and Writing provides a menu of fresh, classroom-tested strategies for teaching research across all contents as well as:

at-a-glance guides for differentiation-ways to ramp up strategies for experienced researchers and ways to make them accessible for emerging researchers

samples of grade level language for each strategy and tips for content-area teachers

ideas for using the strategies to build plans for the short and long research projects that the CCSS requires

a quick-reference chart that links each strategy to the CCSS so you can quickly turn to the strategies that aim to align with a particular standard.

Use this book as a complete research unit plan or as a source for targeted strategies. Energize Research Reading and Writing has all the tools you need to transform your students into engaged and independent researchers.

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Research the Way It Was Meant to Be: A Re-Introduction

Chapter 2: No More Handouts: Teach Students to Narrow Down Topics and Evaluate Sources Independently

Chapter 3: Stop the Random Numbers and Recopied Paragraphs: Teach Students to Note-Take with Purpose, Not Indifference

Chapter 4: Beyond "Put It into Your Own Words": Teach Students to Write to Teach Ideas, Not Just Regurgitate Facts

Chapter 5: Free from Graphic Organizers: Teach Students to Craft Organizing Structures with Their Readers in Mind

Chapter 6: Without Agonizing Memorization: Teach Students to Cite Sources on Their Own

Chapter 7: English or Content Areas, Long Studies or Short Projects: Turn Strategies into a Study That Matches the Needs in Your Classroom

Appendix
References

Reviews

"If you are looking for a way to teach research wisely and well, it's here. If you are looking for a way to teach curiosity and critical thinking, it's here. If you are looking for down to earth inspiration, sprinkled with wit, it's here. Chris will have you dog-earring favorite pages, laughing out loud at unerringly true quips, and copying sections to share with colleagues."
Lucy Calkins, coauthor of Pathways to the Common Core

"In this irreverently practical guide, Lehman offers writing teachers far more powerful roles than being a taskmaster and error seeker: model, coach, guide, partner, and appreciator."
Harvey "Smokey" Daniels, coauthor of Best Practice, 4th edition

"I love that Chris teaches such thorough methods, and can make you laugh out loud with his wry sense of humor. Chris's experience, warmth, and wit make this book a 'must-have' for anyone teaching students to research and express their research in writing, in any discipline. "
Mary Ehrenworth, coauthor of Pathways to the Common Core

"Gorgeously written and structured, every page offers practical, delightful lessons and suggestions promising to ignite every student's passion for reading cool facts and then teaching them to others through writing."
Katherine Bomer, author of Hidden Gems

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Make research reading and writing real and motivating for students. Chris’ strategies help you tailor instruction to kids’ needs, reach the

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This inquiry leads students through an investigation of campaign finance by examining election costs, expenditures, and the complex relationships between candidates and political-action committees. By investigating the compelling question "Does money matter in political campaigns?" students dissect contemporary political campaigns in order to assess whether or not campaign-finance reform should take place.

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Teaching Kids to Talk with Clarity and Purpose

Practical strategies for teaching talk across the school day and in every subject. Classroom video shows the work in action!

Shana Frazin and Katy Wischow passionately believe in the need to help students develop strong talk skills across the school day, in every subject, to prepare them for their academic lives and lives as active citizens outside of school. Using a unique "cycle" for talk that's similar to the writing process (generating, choosing, developing, acting, and reflecting), they name the predictable things we do most times we engage in a conversation, and show us how we can teach into those parts.

Shana and Katy provide practical strategies for teaching four important purposes for talk that exist both in the classroom and in the real world:
* talking to build relationships
* talking to play with ideas
* talking to clarify, analyze, and argue
* talking to report.
They offer a clear description of each purpose, the "when and how" to teach into those purposes, and what to do when things go awry. Classroom video brings the content to life showing what the talk looks and sounds like in action.

(click any section below to continue reading)

Contents

Part One: Foundations of Talk
Ch. 1: Why Teach Talk?
Ch. 2: Talk Is a Cycle, Too
Part Two: Purposes for Talk
Ch. 3: Talking to Build Relationships
Ch. 4: Talking to Play with Ideas
Ch. 5: Talking to Clarify, Analyze, and Argue
Ch. 6: Talking to Report
Part Three: Leveling Up Your Talk
Ch. 7: Reciprocity: The Relationship Between Listening and Talking
Ch. 8: Making Talk Visible: Celebrating, Going Public, and Assessing
Ch. 9: Tackling Talk Trouble

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Practical strategies for teaching talk across the school day and in every subject. Classroom video shows the work in action! - Heinemann

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More is more when it comes to students' vocabulary knowledge, and in The Vocabulary Playbook, educators in K-12 get ideas for transforming all children into curious, capable word learners. The key? Put away the word-list mindset, and embrace active modeling, peer work, and independent practice.

Five modules offer direct instruction and effective routines that show how to:

Select and teach only the most high-utility, transferable words that are ripe for discussion

Use direct instruction to model word-solving in each content area

Teach morphology in ways that invite students to apply understandings in reading, writing, talk, and listening

Turn academic word-learning into a relevant experience with peer collaboration activities

Create a culture of word consciousness by emphasizing concepts, modeling curiosity, and offering "low-risk" routines that make it okay to not yet know

Intentional vocabulary instruction is critical in every grade, and in every content area. With The Vocabulary Playbook, your approach is now tactical, transparent, and fun. Whether you are an administrator executing a school-wide plan or a teacher eager for practical strategies, this is the book that will help students build academic success-word by word.

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Students develop vocabulary when teachers make it a priority-it’s that simple. This resource abounds with dynamic word-learning activities...

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This unit is all about learning well in today’s digital world and then sharing that knowledge with others—the most fundamental and joyous of intellectual

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Are your students ready to become the engaged and informed citizens our democracy needs right now? Your classroom can be a place for them to experience what it means to live in community with others, to balance their own interests with those of the group, to challenge themselves to overcome differences, and to ask the questions that help them understand the crux of an issue.

Powerful reading and writing is fundamentally linked to civic education. The Civically Engaged Classroom is packed with practical guidance designed to support teachers in giving students the skills, knowledge, and tools to be active participants in society. Each chapter describes classroom structures, curricular possibilities, and specific lessons for teaching crucial civic virtues, including:

acknowledging identity, bias, and privilege

building background knowledge

close and critical reading and ethical research skills

composing nuanced stances in writing

building coalitions and engaging in activism.

The work of engaging young people isn't about giving students a voice: they already have their own voices. The work is about teaching them to use those voices with power.

If you are an educator and are interested in joining a community of practice dedicated to preparing the citizens this world needs right now, then the Coalition of Civically Engaged Educators is for you! Visit https://www.civically-engaged.org to learn more.

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Create more alert, thoughtful, engaged, inquisitive, and active citizens by reframing teaching so that it's not just about content and standards, but also

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Video Option 1

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Video Option 2

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Add a post in this column with your name and your reflection.

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Double Bubble Protocol - ASM, October 2023

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Unpacking Standards Double Bubble Process.pdf

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Possible Sentence Frames to Highlight Different Perspectives

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Weekly Workshop Planner (Small Groups & Conferences)

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by Cynthia Lee & Lauren Gould

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by Cynthia Lee & Lauren Gould

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Ways to Take Our Pages  to the Next Level

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Ways to Take Our Pages  to the Next Level

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I want to continue building up the level of academic discussions in partnerships, fishbowls, small groups, etc. And incorporate a variety of discussion formats. I can consult with the coaches for new ideas and/or to help demonstrate new formats in the classroom.

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I would like to talk less. More turn and talk, more small groups with students talking to each other, try out inside/outside circle. I would like some support (April?) to set up and facilitate inside/outside circle. --cynthia

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I'd like to continue to have well structured workshop sessions in my classroom ( minilesson, workshop time,etc)

I think I need to adjust my mindset to include that less is sometimes more. Maybe teaching more fundamental things repetitively is more beneficial and will lead to going deeper further down the line. To accomplish this, I need time to practice, and further down the line, I´d like feedback from a trusted colleague who is able to observe my teaching over a period of time with my goals in mind in order to make sure i'm on the right track.

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I want to hold on to a lot of the routines that have already been in place.

I want to make sure I am actively integrating turn-and-talks into my class more frequently and thoughtfully. Also adding in more small group work for check-ins and opportunities for feedback.

Areas of support would be tips for maximizing the articles used for Read Alouds. In general, I could use help with reducing the time it takes me to find good resources/graphics/articles/organizers.

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I want to continue to improve and grow my small group practice and that of the coaching team to better support teachers and students.

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Working
I love collaborating with teachers and it felt great to be part of the group.

Include more of
I would like to include more of getting into classes, and working with teachers to plan, co-teach, create and share resources.

Support needed
I'd love to team up with teachers, when planning and thinking about units. It could look like creating resources, developing performance tasks, support students (and teachers) with utilizing tools to showcase learning.

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Hold: building and strengthening routines, structures, tone and environment.

Add: Build more planned small groups; using groups for feedback.

Support: Help with using Small Groups for feedback.

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Something I'd like to hold onto is starting off with a compliment when conferring with students and noticing what they need. I'd like to adjust the amount of time I spend with students. At times, I think I help too much and don't allow students to practice the skill on their own.  The support I need is using my timer more often. Also, leave the student with a plan (post-it note). 

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Something I'd like to hold onto is starting off with a compliment when conferring with students and noticing what they need. I'd like to adjust the amount of time I spend with students. At times, I think I help too much and don't allow students to practice the skill on their own.  The support I need is using my timer more often. Also, leave the student with a plan (post-it note). 

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The coaching labs and demo labs were very helpful for me. The small group mini lesson structure, turn and talk strategy, fishbowl strategy and conferring guide are very applicable not only to Humanities but also to other subjects. I also noticed the power of read aloud and the mini lessons to every student. I have learned a lot.

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I loved observing all the great student engagement in each class and successful workshop structures that were modelled by Jenny and the teachers!

I'm looking forward to learning more about the current note-taking types used in MS.

I'm really curious about developing rubrics that #1 maximize feedback for students and #2 minimize teacher time for implementation. Work smarter, not harder!

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7th grade word collection small group planner

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ASM 7th Grade Small Group Planner - Digital Distractions

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Jeff Anderson's Patterns of Power for Grades 6-8

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Grade 8 Lesson Resources from Patterns of Power for Grades 6-8

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Authors Jeff Anderson, Travis Leech, and Melinda Clark lead a vibrant approach to grammar instruction in Patterns of Power, Grades 6-8: Inviting Adolescent Writers into the Conventions of Language. Here, young, emergent writers are invited to notice the conventions of the English language and build off them in this inquiry-based approach to instructional grammar. The book comes with standards-aligned lessons that can be incorporated in just 10 minutes a day. Patterns of Power's responsive, invitational approach puts students in an involved role and has them explore and discuss the purpose and meaning of what they read. Students study short, authentic texts and are asked to share their findings out loud, engaging in rich conversations to make meaning. Inside you'll find:

Ready-to-use lesson plan sets that include excerpts from authentic and diverse mentor texts curated for grades 6-8

Real-life classroom examples, tips, and Power Notes gleaned from the authors' experiences that can be applied to any level of writer

Resources, including a Patterns of Power Planning Guide and musical soundtracks, to use in classroom instruction or as handouts for student literacy notebooks

Patterns of Power, Grades 6-8 provides a simple classroom routine that is structured in length and approach, but provides teachers flexibility in choosing the texts, allowing for numerous, diverse voices in the classroom. The practice helps students build cognitive recognition and provides a formative assessment for teachers on student progress. With these short lessons, students will gain confidence and move beyond limitation to produce effortless writing in your class and beyond. The Patterns of Power series also includes Patterns of Power, Grades 1-5: Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language; Patterns of Power en Español, Grades 1-5: Inviting Bilingual Writers into the Conventions of Spanish; Patterns of Power, Grades 9-12: Teaching Grammar Through Reading and Writing; and Patterns of Wonder, Grades PreK-1: Inviting Emergent Writers to Play with the Conventions of Language.

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Authors Jeff Anderson, Travis Leech, and Melinda Clark lead a vibrant approach to grammar instruction in Patterns of Power, Grades 6-8: Inviting Adolescent Writers into the Conventions of Language. Here, young, emergent writers are invited to notice the conventions of the English language and build off them in this inquiry-based approach to instructional grammar.

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Which innovation from Ancient China has had the biggest modern impact?

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Minilesson Planner with Teaching Point Example

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Minilesson Planner with Teaching Point Example

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ASM Grade 7 Minilesson Planner - Feb 2024

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Feel free to make a copy and revise!

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Feel free to make a copy and revise!

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ASMadrid - 68 Debriefs & Grammar - Feb 2024

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Playlist of Additional Dairy Nutrition FAQs

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Playlist of Additional Dairy Nutrition FAQs

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Share your videos with friends, family, and the world

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Critical Readers and Researchers Investigate . . .

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Critical Readers and Researchers Investigate . . .

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In this revolutionary guide to learning, Professor Dan Willingham helps you study more efficiently and effectively, shrug away exam stress and make learning a skill you can master and enjoy. Outsmart Your Brain

Based on the latest brain science, is a handbook for successful learning, teaching you how to battle your brain's own mechanisms to study more efficiently, vastly improve your grades and make learning a genuinely fun experience.

Smart, enlightening and immensely practical, this is a book for older children, university students and adult learners studying for the bar, medical exams and other professional qualifications. Also useful for teachers of all ages and stages,

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Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy

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Outsmart Your Brain: Why Learning is Hard and How You Can Make It Easy : Willingham, Daniel: Amazon.es: Libros

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The more high school students read, the better they perform academically, but encouraging struggling readers is difficult. These research-based instructional approaches may help.
Encouraging America's students to read is becoming more and more of a hard sell. Analysis of national surveys over the past five decades indicates that the percentage of 12th graders who reported reading a book or magazine almost every day declined from 60% in the late 1970s to just 16% in 2016 (Twenge, Martin, & Spitzberg, 2019). The average number of books 12th graders reported reading per year decreased from just over 5.15 to 3.24 over the same period. By 2016, a third of students surveyed did not read a single book for pleasure in their final year of high school (Twenge et al., 2019). A 2018 national survey found a continued decline since 2010 in the percentages of students reporting that they read frequently and that reading was fun (Scholastic, 2019). The most pronounced decline occurs between the ages of eight and nine, when the percentage of students reporting they read five to seven days a week goes from 57% to 35%, and this decline carries into adolescence. Not surprisingly, students' time spent on social media, texting, and other internet use has grown dramatically over the same period.

The problem of low reading motivation and achievement is even more pronounced in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. Many adolescents in those areas enter high school with underdeveloped reading skills that often lead to academic failure, motivational roadblocks, and pervasive disengagement in school. The achievement gap between students from high- and low-income groups remains, even as the gap in school readiness rates has narrowed somewhat (Reardon & Portillo, 2016). Lack of success in the past makes students less likely to want to read, which leads to a continued downward spiral. How do we reverse these trends?

Research has shown that motivation contributes significantly to reading achievement (Retelsdorf, Köller, & Möller, 2011; Schiefele et al., 2012) and that improvement in reading is hard to achieve when students lack motivation (Baker & Wigfield, 1999; Guthrie & Wigfield, 1999; Unrau & Schlackman, 2006). One of the five recommendations in the federal What Works Clearinghouse's guide for improving adolescent literacy focuses on the need to "increase student motivation and engagement in literacy learning" (Kamil et al., 2008, p. 26).

Motivating students to read more is a critical step for increasing their academic achievement and preparing them for adulthood. But finding ways to help struggling adolescent readers without sacrificing a standard high school English language arts (ELA) curriculum has proved challenging for most schools. Although students may flounder in a standard ELA course, excluding them from that curriculum hinders their ability to catch up to their peers. Fortunately, there are instructional practices that improve reading motivation and promising adolescent literacy interventions that could help increase student motivation to read.

Increasing reading motivation in the classroom

In secondary schools, reduction in reading instruction, lack of choice, weak personal connections with teachers, lack of real-world connections, and use of complex texts may explain why adolescents have lower levels of reading motivation compared to elementary school students (Guthrie & Davis, 2003). However, increasing reading motivation in high school students is not impossible. Research shows that there are several instructional practices that, when included in a reading program, could support the growth of reading self-efficacy, frequency, engagement, and motivation for reading. Not surprisingly, these instructional practices address students' needs for autonomy, belonging, and competence, sometimes described as the "ABCs of Motivation" (Anderman & Leake, 2005).

Autonomy

When students have opportunities to exercise their autonomy and make choices while learning, their intrinsic motivation increases (Guthrie et al., 2004). They take ownership and try harder than students who are not provided choices (Beymer & Thomson, 2015). Providing choice leads to outcomes such as increased effort, improved task performance, perceived competence, and preference for challenge (Patall et al., 2008). The opportunity to choose relates strongly to secondary students' reading behavior, engagement, and achievement (Davis et al., 2020).

When students have opportunities to exercise their autonomy and make choices while learning, their intrinsic motivation increases.

Belonging

Creating a sense of belonging in the classroom and encouraging student collaboration in learning also can increase students' reading motivation. Research shows that through discussion of comprehension questions with their peers, students can draw meaning from complex texts (McKinstery & Topping, 2003). Students are interacting with the text as they search for references or inferences to defend their answers during class discussion. They also gain a deeper meaning of the text when they hear others' reactions and make comparisons. On post-reading comprehension measures, students who participated in collaborative learning experiences outperformed those who worked individually (Klingner et al., 1998; McKinstery & Topping, 2003; Stevens et al., 1987). Adolescent students who rate themselves as pro-social during reading activities also report higher levels of reading behavior, frequency, and reading achievement (Davis et al., 2020).

Competence

Another way to encourage reading motivation and self-efficacy involves building students' reading competence by teaching them how to use reading strategies independently. When students become proficient and independent users of reading strategies, they become more confident in their reading skills (Schunk & Pajares, 2002; Schunk & Rice, 1992). Students with high confidence in reading will persist at difficult reading tasks and work to complete those tasks (Schunk, 1989, 2003); use a greater variety of cognitive strategies for processing information (Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990); place a higher value for tasks at which they succeed (Wigfield, 1994); and earn higher grades (Pintrich & DeGroot, 1990) than students with low confidence. Self-efficacy relates highly to reading behavior, engagement, and achievement for secondary students (Davis et al., 2020).

To make reading strategy learning interesting for students, instruction should use conceptual themes (Perkins & Unger, 1999) and driving questions (Blumenfeld et al., 1991) that "provide a natural context for teaching and understanding" (Guthrie & Cox, 2001, p. 290). Having deep interest in a topic helps motivate students to learn difficult skills, such as reading comprehension strategies (Filippatou & Kaldi, 2010; Kaldi et al., 2011). Research indicates that strategy instruction based within a content-rich approach, using deep discussion around specific content, is more effective than learning strategies through direct instruction alone (McKeown, Beck, & Blake, 2009).

We also support student motivation when we provide them with interesting texts on their reading level. As texts become more complex in secondary school, struggling adolescent readers disengage (Guthrie & Davis, 2003). Matching materials to reading levels brings students success and increases their self-efficacy (O'Connor et al., 2002).

Promising adolescent reading interventions

How do we translate this motivation research into practice in reading instruction? According to a recent research review (Baye et al., 2019), the most effective adolescent reading interventions emphasize student motivation and relationships in the classroom. These researchers found that programs with the largest positive effects on student reading involved one-on-one tutoring, individualized learning, or cooperative learning. Effective adolescent literacy interventions highlighted in both this review and the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) include Achieve 3000, Read 180, and Strategic Adolescent Reading Intervention (STARI).

The most effective adolescent reading interventions emphasize student motivation and relationships in the classroom.

Achieve 3000

McGraw Hill's Achieve 3000 is a supplemental online reading program that engages students individually in nonfiction texts at their reading level and provides opportunities for them to respond to the text in different ways. Teachers receive professional development that equips them to use Achieve3000 data on student progress to respond to individual student weaknesses in literacy, including vocabulary and comprehension skills. Studies have shown potentially promising effects on reading comprehension (WWC, 2018). The program is available through the Achieve 3000 website.

READ 180

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's READ 180 is a widely used year-long intervention, delivered in a 90-minute block period, designed to supplement regular ELA instruction (WWC, 2016). It involves a combination of whole-group and small-group instruction and individualized computer-assisted instruction and practice in grammar, writing, vocabulary, and comprehension skills. The intervention includes professional development and a learning management system for teachers. Several studies have found significant positive effects on reading achievement, while other studies showed indeterminate effects (WWC, 2016).

STARI

The Strategic Adolescent Reading Initiative (STARI) seeks to address reading motivation through engaging and relevant texts and instructional strategies that meet students at their reading level, encourage student voice, and emphasize collaboration (Kim et al., 2017; Vaughn et al., 2022). The full-year course serves as supplemental reading instruction to the regular ELA course. The impact study demonstrated that the intervention's effect on reading outcomes was impacted by student engagement in the instructional activities, and it had a significantly positive effect on several reading outcomes. STARI is available from the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) Institute website.

ALFA

ALFA (Accelerating Literacy for Adolescents) Lab, developed by our team at Johns Hopkins University School of Education, is a recently evaluated one-semester elective designed to boost reading achievement, motivation, and frequency among struggling 9th-grade readers taking a regular grade-level English course (Schoeneberger et al., 2023). ALFA's multicultural curriculum includes high-interest readings and associated activities for three units (Feisty Felines, Heroes, and Galaxy). Similar in some ways to READ 180 and STARI, ALFA involves both whole-class instruction and rotation of small groups of students to four stations during each 90-minute lesson. ALFA's small-group components include:

Main Station, where teachers lead guided reading activities.

Collaboration Station, where students collaborate to construct and apply knowledge from a text.

Wordology, where students master key vocabulary and use it in writing.

Media Madness, which uses media to research unit-related information and produce a capstone project.

Professional development includes summer training for teachers and assistants and monthly coaching and implementation supports.

The external evaluation found positive (though not statistically significant) overall impacts of ALFA on reading achievement, motivation, and reading frequency (Schoeneberger et al., 2023). However, the impact of ALFA on reading frequency for male and Hispanic students - groups that may struggle more than others with reading motivation - was large and statistically significant. There is some evidence that the positive effects of ALFA on reading achievement were at least partially boosted through its impact on reading motivation and frequency. Given that the evaluation's promising results occurred during the pandemic, continued attempts to assess ALFA's effectiveness appear to be warranted. Curriculum materials (teacher manual, lesson plans, and student materials and activities) are available at no cost online ( https://alfa.every1graduates.org/).

Literacy is a top priority

Motivating today's adolescents to read is a challenge. Literacy interventions designed to engage and motivate adolescent readers can potentially address this challenge and lead to improvements in academic outcomes. We encourage school leaders to try out evidence-based literacy programs such as those we have highlighted above. And as the cultural milieu continues to evolve for adolescents, developing additional relevant and engaging literacy programs remains a top national priority if we are to raise up a new generation of readers.

Note: The development and external evaluation of ALFA was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through grant R305A180154 to Johns Hopkins University. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the institute or the U.S. Department of Education.
References
Anderman, L.H. & Leake, V.S. (2005). The ABCs of motivation: An alternative framework for teaching preservice teachers about motivation. The Clearing House, 75 (5), 192-196.

Baker, L. & Wigfield, A. (1999). Dimensions of children's motivation for reading and their relations to reading activity and reading achievement. Reading Research Quarterly, 34 (4), 452-477.

Baye, A., Inns, A., Lake, C., & Slavin, R.E. (2019). A synthesis of quantitative research on reading programs for secondary students. Reading Research Quarterly, 54 (2), 133-166.

Beymer, P.N. & Thomson, M.M. (2015). The effects of choice in the classroom: Is there too little or too much choice? Support for Learning, 30 (2), 105-120.

Davis, M.H., Wang, W., Kingston, N.M., Hock, M., Tonks, S.M. & Tiemann, G. (2020). A computer adaptive measure of reading motivation. Journal of Research in Reading, 43 (4), 434-453.

Filippatou, D. & Kaldi, S. (2010). The effectiveness of project-based learning on pupils with learning difficulties regarding academic performance, group work, and motivation. International Journal of Special Education, 25 (1), 17-26.

Guthrie, J.T. & Cox, K.E. (2001). Classroom conditions for motivation and engagement in reading. Educational Psychology Review, 13 (3), 283-302.

Guthrie, J.T. & Davis, M.H. (2003). Motivating struggling readers in middle school through an engagement model of classroom practice. Reading & Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 19, 59-85.

Guthrie, J.T. & Wigfield, A. (1999). How motivation fits into a science of reading. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3 (3), 199-205.

Guthrie, J.T., Wigfield, A., Barbosa, P., Perencevich, K.C., Taboada, A., Davis, M. H., . . . & Tonks, S. (2004). Increasing reading comprehension and engagement through Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96 (3), 403-423.

Kaldi, S., Filippatou, S., & Govaris, C. (2011) Project based learning in primary schools: Effects on pupils' learning and attitudes, Education 3-13, 39 (1), 35-47.

Kamil, M.L., Borman, G.D., Dole, J., Kral, C.C., Salinger, T., & Torgesen, J. (2008). Improving adolescent literacy: Effective classroom and intervention practices: A practice guide (NCEE 2008-4027). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

Kim, J.S., Hemphill, L., Troyer, M., Thomson, J.M., Jones, S.M., LaRusso, M.D., & Donovan, S. (2017). Engaging struggling adolescent readers to improve reading skills. Reading Research Quarterly, 52 (3), 357-382.

Klingner, J.K., Vaughn, S., & Schumm, J.S. (1998). Collaborative strategic reading during social studies in heterogeneous fourth-grade classrooms. The Elementary School Journal, 99 (1), 3-22.

McKeown, M.G., Beck, I.L., & Blake, R.G.K. (2009). Rethinking comprehension instruction: Comparing strategies and content instructional approaches. Reading Research Quarterly, 44 (3), 218-253.

McKinstery, J. & Topping, K.J. (2003). Cross-age peer tutoring of thinking skills in the high school. Educational Psychology in Practice, 19 (3), 199-217.

O'Connor, R.E., Bell, K.M., Harty, K.R., Larkin, L.K., Sackor, S.M., & Zigmond, N. (2002). Teaching reading to poor readers in the intermediate grades: A comparison of text difficulty. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 474-485.

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This article appears in the February 2024 issue of Kappan, Vol. 105, No. 5, pp. 37-41.

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Motivating adolescents to read - kappanonline.org

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The more high school students read, the better they perform academically, but encouraging struggling readers is difficult.

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1. Summarizing what I hear from the kids (or would like to have heard!) for them - rather than have them always share out - as a time saver. - Nick

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1. Summarizing what I hear from the kids (or would like to have heard!) for them - rather than have them always share out - as a time saver. - Nick

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I am looking forward to utilizing more thoughtful vocabulary instruction and diving into more small group work during our memoir unit to reach a variety of learners. We would also like to incorporate language standard L3 A * varying sentence patters for meaning etc.

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2. Be more intentional with integrating grammar into the revision step of the writing process. - nick

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2. Be more intentional with integrating grammar into the revision step of the writing process. - nick

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Two things I would like to continue to do are: (Carol)

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Two things I would like to continue to do are: (Carol)

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1) Summarize partner shares for the group

2) State the answer vs dragging things out especially when something has an explicit answer.

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I want to

1. keep small group work tight and focused

2. elevate, share my own reflections, on what students share with partners

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Language Standards: L1B and L3A: Active and Passive Voice

-cynthia

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Grammar goals: L3A

I am committed to working mini-lessons more routinely into my units. Talking less and giving the students more time over text.

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I would like to work on previewing important vocabulary for a unit or piece or text.

I would also like to continue working on teaching small groups, particularly for reading units which feel harder for me.

-cynthia

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Thinking about our model of Learning Support, I'm going to dive deeper into the idea of providing small group lessons and instruction as a means to support in classrooms across the Middle School. This would look like the Learning Support team keeping a library of small group lessons in various content areas, then making it possible for teachers to "schedule" a small group lesson with students in their classroom.