Effective Literacy Practices in Grades 7-12
The practices identified here are research-supported literacy practices that have been shown to increase student achievement and engagement with curricular outcomes in all subjects that require literacy skills. This site can be used by teachers as they plan for, teach, and reflect on the high impact strategies that support learners in their classrooms. The information in this document supports the gradual release of responsibility, inquiry-based learning, and universal design for learning.
Effective Literacy Practices Chart.docxBackward Design: Begin with Curriculum Outcomes and Diagnostic Assessment
To establish the learning targets for students, teachers need to assess where students are in relation to outcomes and their learning needs. Pre-assessments and formative assessments are continually used to make those determinations. They need not be products, although they can be; conversations and observations are valid formative assessments. These assessments and ongoing feedback inform instruction at every stage of the gradual release of responsibility model supporting students to meet their learning targets.
Key Messages About Assessment
All forms of assessment should be planned with the end in mind, thinking about the following questions:
How will I identify what students will learn?
· Select clear learning targets and criteria for success
· Assess students’ strengths and areas for improvement before teaching a new strategy or skill
How will I know students are learning?
· Assessment for learning should happen every day as part of classroom instruction focusing on how learning is progressing during instruction, determining the effectiveness of the instruction, and identifying the next steps
· Collect and interpret evidence to summarize learning at a given time and make judgments about the quality of student learning based on established criteria. This evidence can be reported in PowerSchool, included on report cards, and used to support conversations with parents
How will I design the learning so all will learn (i.e., universal design for learning)?
· Instruction and assessment practices must be culturally responsive and include students’ existing cultural and linguistic skills and knowledge
· Evidence of learning should be analyzed to determine specific strengths and areas for continued instructional focus or support
Effective strategies of assessment for learning during a lesson include:
● strategic questioning
● observing
● conversing (conferring with students to “hear their thinking”)
● analyzing students’ work (products)
● engaging students in reviewing their progress (e.g., meta-cognition)
● providing opportunities for peer feedback and self-assessment
To print Backward Design and Key Messages about Assessment, click here.