My Philosophy of a Balanced Reading Curriculum

My goal for each of my English literacy students is that they maintain or develop these three qualities:

1. Loves to read:  Human beings will voluntarily do over and over that which brings them pleasure (Trelease, 2013).  This is why developing readers that enjoy reading is one of the most important qualities in becoming a lifelong learner.  This is developed through exposure and engagement with a variety of media that is developmentally appropriate and by engaging with other students in their learning community.  Most importantly, it is done by connecting readers to books they like and can read.

2. Communicates well through reading, speaking, and writing:  Speaking and writing are crucial parts of communication. “Reading and writing are processes that help us more effectively understand and communicate with one another” (Cooper, 2018, p. 332).  Students will build their communication skills as they read, talk about, and practice reading and writing daily.  

3. Uses their literacy skills to support a passion for lifelong learning:  “Through this communication, we are able to improve our world, prosper, and enjoy life” (Cooper, 2018, p. 332).  Such a student is capable of using their reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills to communicate with their peers, share ideas, and is purpose-driven, curious, reflective, capable of engaging with developmentally appropriate printed materials, and thinks critically. 

Resources:

Cooper, J. D. (2018). Literacy: Helping students construct meaning (Kindle ed.). Australia: Cengage Learning.

Trelease, J. (2013). Read-Aloud Handbook-ch. 1, pg 1. Retrieved August 02, 2020, from http://www.trelease-on-reading.com/rah-ch1.html

Amplify Caregiver Hub

Information about getting started, accessing texts in the Amplify Library, materials, unit overviews, additional activities, and FAQ.

How will students be assessed?

“Assessment should be a collaborative REFLECTIVE process. Assessment is not something we do TO our students; it is something we do WITH and FOR them” (Cooper et. al. 2018, pg. 64).

Students reading fluency will be assessed: 

Student reading fluency will be assessed through individual conferences with the students and through class participation in reading.  This is to help me know where students are so that I can help them to select books that are appropriate for them as we work on building our skills.  Parents will be provided with specific reading levels through our MAP testing tool.  This will be provided within the MAP report provided at conferences or via report card.  This level is not reflected in the student's report card grade.  

Students will demonstrate their competencies and progress toward goals with portfolios: 

Students will complete portfolios of their writing work.  These will include self-selected writing that demonstrates their mastery of skills they are working on, goals selected with them and by them, and reflections on their growth and learning through their writing.  Students can use work from any of their courses and suggestions for a pieces’ use will be made at individual conferences that I will have with each student. Portfolios will need to be completed one week prior to the end of each quarter for the assigned competencies.

The following excerpt from the Wisconsin State Standards provides an overview of the types and purposes for writing that students will complete as they work through their portfolios:

To provide rigorous writing instruction that will facilitate college and career readiness, students must have the opportunity to write consistently for a variety of high- and low-stakes purposes. 

• Low-stakes writing is the formative writing that is crucial to developing students’ identities as writers, developing dialogic relationships through writing in community with other writers, and developing ideas and draft text for high-stakes writing. Regular low-stakes writing is crucial for high-stakes writing. 

• High-stakes writing often has a more explicitly rhetorical purpose and can take various forms, including but not limited to: conveying information in professional contexts, proposing a solution to a pressing social problem, writing with and for community groups, developing a polished literary work, writing for standardized assessments, and research-based writing to intervene in scholarly conversations. 

In this writing section, the standards focus on creative, formal, and reflective writing. Students produce argumentative, informative, and narrative writing in each of these modes. 

These writing modes are described as: 

• Creative writing: creative writing is writing in which students take the role of literary artists, using techniques associated with literary arts to entertain, discover, and convey imagined or real worlds. For instance, creative writing may include slam poetry, short stories, creative nonfiction, multi-modal compositions, fan fiction, or lyric poetry. 

• Formal writing: Formal writing is a flexible category that we broadly define in two ways: writing for academic inquiry and writing to engage and intervene in the social world. Writing for academic inquiry means using research, critical thinking, and analysis to address an issue in which writers have a stake for an audience. For instance, it could take the form of a research paper, presentation, or poster. Writing to engage and intervene in the social world means writing for professional, civic, and community purposes. For instance, this mode of writing could include emails, multimodal compositions, letters to the editor, argumentative essays, or campaigns with the purpose of taking action. 

• Reflective writing: Reflective writing is formative writing that allows teachers and students to enter into conversation and develop ideas and thoughts together. It is often a building block to more specific rhetorical tasks. 

Wisconsin DPI. (2020, July 29). Wisconsin Standards for English Language Arts. Retrieved August 02, 2020, from https://dpi.wi.gov/ela/standards

Other assessments will allow students to demonstrate their competency:

Students will also be assessed in other authentic ways such as creating a multimedia presentation to demonstrate the competency: Makes strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.

• Students will be given choices for ways they can demonstrate their ability to meet the competency standards and coaching to meet it at their developmental level.