Literacy Now

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.

If your students think they need you for just about every reading challenge, asking “What does this word say?” and “I don’t really get this part…” and “I can’t find any books I want to read,” then you likely dream about the day they learn to solve their own problems. True independence, in which students make choices, engage in deep reading, and self-direct how and why they read, is not just the stuff of dreams. I’ve found there are a few key moves we can make as teachers to support students’ reading independence. Let’s examine why solving our own problems is essential in the learning process.

The learner’s high

David Rock, in his book Quiet Leadership, explains what happens in the brain when someone solves her own problem. When a person encounters a problem she needs to solve and goes on to struggle to figure out a solution, a synapse is formed in the brain. That is basically a connection from one area to the next. The brain actually builds a new map and gets smarter. As this synapse is forming and the solution has arrived there is a “light bulb moment,” a feeling of eureka. This eureka feeling is actually a release of chemicals that are being produced by the brain—dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin. These chemicals give you a “high” feeling as wonderful sensations arrive in your body. We have all experienced the “learner’s high,” and it has propelled us forward in wanting to solve problems again and again.

When we step in and help our students to solve the problem, we are actually stealing their “learner’s high.” We mean well. We think we are being helpful, but in fact we have robbed our students of two important evolutionary and learning experiences. We have not let students form the synapse in the brain that forms true learning and connections. Second, we have not let students experience the rush of problem solving, which is designed to reinforce their motivation to problem solve in the future. Being helpful often makes the helper feel better but not the one being helped, because we stole their feel-good chemicals. As teachers we may inadvertently be walking around “high” on the dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin we get from solving our students’ problems.

Take one step back

The next time your students are faced with a reading problem, ask yourself, “Do I really need to step in just yet?” For many of us, we are uncomfortable watching students struggle so we swoop in and help out. As your students begin asking for help or seem to be experiencing a problem, follow this one simple step: Instead of stepping in to solve the problem, take a step back and pause. Breathe. Give them a moment to try a strategy on their own first. You can always step in and help after they try a bit on their own.

Notice your own threshold for letting readers struggle. If you can step back for only 5 seconds before stepping in to help, then the next time try to give them 10 seconds. Build your own stamina for struggle.

Create a classroom of trust

I am not suggesting we put students in a situation where they will be embarrassed, become frustrated, or feel defeated. In order to use this “step back practice” you first want to make sure that students are holding books they can read with accuracy and comprehension and that you have already modeled several strategies they know how to use. Once we teach students to use these tools, we can trust they will likely be able to use them with a little space and time.

If you worry that students won’t try anything and will just sit there when a problem arises, then consider giving readers a chance to try, to see if this is in fact what happens. If students do just sit there waiting for help, then show students your process of trying your best to solve your own reading challenges. Model the process of not giving up. Make struggling a positive verb in your classroom. Embrace the belief that all readers can tackle their challenges with modeling, permission, and space.

Gravity Goldberg is author of Mindsets and Moves: Strategies that Help Readers Take Charge (Corwin 2016) and coauthor of Conferring with Readers (Heinemann, 2007). She leads a team of literacy consultants in the NY/NJ area and presents to teachers across the United States. At the heart of Gravity's teaching is the belief that everyone deserves to be admired and supported. She can be reached via e-mail and on Twitter.

Goldberg will be a presenter at the Preconference Institute “Who's Doing the Work? Teaching for Transfer Across Read-Aloud, Shared Reading, Guided Reading, and Independent Reading” Friday, July 8, 9:00 AM–5:00 PM at the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston. She will also present “Using Mindsets and Moves to Develop Truly Independent Readers” Sunday, July 10, 8:00 AM–9:00 AM, in addition to copresenting at “Feedback That Moves Writers Forward: Saying the Right Thing at the Right Time So Students Own the Process” Sunday 10:00 AM–12:00 PM. Visit ilaconference.org for more information or to register.

Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.
―Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Teachers must be readers.

“I don’t have time to read” is like saying, “I don’t have time to breathe” if you are a writing teacher. Making time for reading is crucial. Pick books that you can visit again and again and again to mine for all the art and writing techniques you notice so you can share them with your writers.

What message could be more powerful to your students than to explain that if you seem tired it’s because you stayed up too late reading? Or, how great would it be if you know books well enough to suggest good ones for every single reader in your class—regardless of his or her interests and past reading experiences? And then over time, because you and your students have become avid readers and rereaders, you can help them read with a writer’s eye, to understand what works about a piece of writing and find craft moves they want to try on their own.

Imagine the power you’d have as a writing teacher if you were a reading addict.

Every year in August, I read To Kill a Mockingbird. It’s a habit I adopted about 20 years ago and a tradition I look forward to eagerly, like a cool lemonade on those thirsty summer days in Macomb, GA.

I learn from this masterful text every time I read. By rereading, I’m held captive in Harper Lee’s writing web, which is spun with now-familiar images and events that range from ordinary to heartbreaking. This book is a mentor text for me—each reading makes me a better writer. Each reading makes me a better person.

The first time I read TKAM, however, I didn’t appreciate its depth the way I do now. It took three, four, five readings—and working with the text with students—to ferret out its writing riches. Sure, I understood the story and the central messages right away, but to get inside the text, to deconstruct it as a piece of writing and understand why it is so powerful, took many passes. With each subsequent reading, I appreciate the book more. It has many lessons to teach about life¾but just as many about writing. Make no mistake about it, the two go together.

So I keep reading, keep exploring new texts, keep imagining their impact on the student writers in our classrooms. I just can’t wait to share some of the books I read. Recently I read The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin, for instance, a magnificent chapter book that I devoured from cover to cover and then went back and read again. I’m now reading Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer by Kelly Jones. I am sure I’ll read it more than once; it’s that good.

On my “recent” shelf, Robo-Sauce by Adam Rubin and Daniel Salmieri, The Whisperer by Pamela Zagarenski, and Perfect by Nicola Davies are a few of my favorites. I’m reading Enchanted Air and The Lightning Dreamer by Margarita Engle each for about the fourth time. Maybe Something Beautiful by F. Isabel Campoy, Funny Bones by Duncan Tonatiuh, and Niño Wrestles the World by Yuyi Morales make my heart sing again and again. If you haven’t read these gems yet, run—don’t walk—to your library or local bookstore and find them.

My reading obsession led to Dream Wakers: Mentor Texts That Celebrate Latino Culture.

It's been said that good writers borrow but great writers steal. Writing thieves read widely, dive deeply into texts, and steal bits and pieces from great texts as models for their own writing. I’ve stolen from all these books and many more. I’m a committed reader¾and rereader. You should be, too.

Ruth Culham is a recognized expert in the writing assessment field and is known for conducting lively teacher workshops. Her current book, The Writing Thief, gives insight on how to use reading to practice writing skills. 

Culham will present “The Writing Thief Goes on a Reading Rampage” Monday, July 11, 8:30 AM–9:30 AM, and “Writing Is the New Black” Saturday, July 9, 4:00 PM–5:00 PM at the ILA 2016 Conference & Exhibits in Boston. She will also copresent at “Using Culturally Texts for Reading and Writing Well” Sunday, July 10, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM. Visit ilaconference.org for more information or to register.

Leadership in literacy was not in my grand plan when I left my undergrad program.  With a double major—Elementary Education and Reading Instruction—my professional goal was to be the best darned fourth-grade teacher ever and eventually retire quietly having systematically given all my tattered classroom resources and picture books to new teachers starting their journey.  I planned to spend my career making a difference for 30 students a year. Then I gratefully took a job teaching remedial reading to seventh and eighth graders.

Ironically, I haven’t taught one day of fourth grade beyond student teaching.  I found I spoke the same language as middle schoolers, they made me laugh. I’ve never looked back.

In addition to teaching, I was asked to lead the Reading Department—of which I was the one and only member—which entailed keeping track of where the $200 I was given to spend on materials went.  There were no committee approvals or hoops to jump through.  I used a legal pad, a pencil, and a calculator to perform all my leadership duties.

A few years later, in a different district, my department was slightly larger, but the legal pad of computations was similar.  “Leading” meant keeping track of money, ordering highlighters, and choosing the size and color of our sticky notes.

One transformative day, my principal called me in to her office. “So, I’ve heard of this new thing called ‘reading coaching.’  Would you like to be one?  I think you would do a great job of helping teachers here in our building.”  She freed me up a couple hours a day to “coach” my peers, model in classrooms, and problem solve.  At that time there wasn’t a model in place, we weren’t sure where it was going, and I spent a long summer reading everything I could on instructional coaching.  What I couldn’t see at the time was that she had opened an invisible door.  I now had opportunities that weren’t visible to me before that fateful meeting.

Soon after I started coaching, I realized it was lonely work.  I had no one to ask when I had a question. I had no one to coach me.

I reached out to our local council leaders, who linked me to people in similar professional roles.  We met in coffee shops or over pizza surrounded by dirty napkins and piles of resources we wanted to share. We frantically took notes regarding each other’s experiences.  I had stumbled across a group of like-minded and equally passionate people. 

I volunteered for a committee, and suddenly I was on the state executive board and planning professional development opportunities for teachers outside of my community.  Another invisible door had opened.

Skip forward a few years.  Reports of the success of building coaching spread to the district office, and I was invited to leave my home school and, with two others, implement literacy coaching in all seven middle schools.  I packed up my classroom, all the while reassuring fellow teachers and students I would only be gone one year, two at the most. 

As it turns out, I haven’t been back. Yet.

I continued to lean on my local council colleagues for support and advice.

While I was coaching, my supervisor pushed me to earn my administrative license.  She predicted I would soon be leading groups, and I would need supervisory credentials to make it happen.  Even without knowing when I would ever use it, I completed a program and earned my education specialist credential.  She had also opened an invisible door.

My work with our state council allowed me to work with staff and Board members from International Reading Association.  I attended two advocacy workshops in Washington D.C., learned from IRA staff at Leadership Academies, and found myself again surrounded with people holding similar passions.  Each person I met opened more and more invisible doors to new possibilities.

Now I’m completing my third year on the (now) International Literacy Association Board of Directors, still surrounded by passionate and energetic people, and highly grateful for those who pushed me along the way.

Invisible doors opened to me because of a handful of leaders.

Each time I took a risk, it was due to one person making a personal contact, pointing out a door I didn’t realize was there.  We need more leaders to push our passionate and energetic peers to share their talents, to speak out and advocate, to strive for more—to see possibilities they might not yet see.

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.