Commitm

ent
to Balance
d
Literacy
Sally MacG
regor
Viterbo Un
iversity
E D UC 640
June, 2014

We all know students who love to read. They have been

read to from the earliest age. They come to school with
amazing vocabularies and background information. They
learn to read, then read to learn. They love learning and
we know they will have amazing lives simply because
they have discovered the secretReading changes
lives!

We have all known students like that. Now

imagine a whole class full of them. What if an
entire grade was made up of readers. Theyd
be rock stars in that school and the district
would showcase their talents. What if, by some
chance, there was an entire school filled with
students who knew the magic that was waiting
for them between the covers of a book?

Imagine the Possibilities

Read a Book,
Change the World
I have long believed that if students just read
moresignificantly morethe world would be a
different place. I do not believe this statement to
be hyperbolic. The beauty of this method of
educational reform lies in its simplicity.
I have shared this with my students, my own
children, my students parents, fellow teachers,
and anyone who would listen. Most smile and nod
politely How do we help them understand that
this is BIG STUFF?

Educational Research
Perhaps it will help to share Richard Allingtons research that the
most effective teachers had children actually reading and
writing for as much as half of the school day. He goes on to
say that in many classrooms, 20 minutes of actual reading across
the school day is a common event. (Allington, What Ive learned)
This figure is even more startling. The average American
primary grade student spends only about twelve minutes of
the school day actually reading. (Hiebert et al. 2007 Best
Practice, p.42)
But I like Stephanie Harveys statement best. In short, we need to
build in a ton of time for our kids to read, just plain read. We need
to show them how and then let them read. (Harvey, 08)

Whats Missing?
I dont need empirical evidence to convince me of the
impact of wide reading on student learning. But in this
data driven educational world, it seems no projects
curricula, or new approaches are deemed worthy
without it.
I also wish for some hard, cold facts to jolt well-meaning
but complacent parents out of their lackadaisical attitude.
Perhaps it is nave, but it seems we must prove to
families and sometimes even teachers that extensive
reading leads to academic success a full and rich life.

Simple Isnt Easy

If the evidence is out there, I havent found it. What
then must we do to help families realize the
importance of reading to and with their children?
Most parents readily subscribe to the wisdom of car
seats and vaccinations despite their children's
protests. Why? Because it is good for them and will
keep them alive and safe. Reading is just as vital
for brain development, language acquisition, and
learning processes. And reading is a whole lot more
pleasant than seatbelts and shots!

Do What I Can
I will continue to educate my students and their parents
about the revolutionary and simple intervention that is
sure to bring their child up to grade level.
Do what you can
With what you have
Right where you are.
Theodore Roosevelt

The following is a one year plan to turn the attention of

Our Lady of the Lake (OLL) students, teachers, and
parents toward literacy.

School-Wide Balanced
Literacy Plan
My goal is to work with the staff and the new
principal at Our Lady of the Lake Catholic School to
implement a school-wide plan to get more reading,
writing, listening, and speaking into every school day.
I want to build on the success of the Family Literacy
Night that I organized last year by broadening it to
include all forms of literacy: reading, writing,
listening, and speaking. I also want to formulate a
plan that would engage all students, in all grades,
all year.

Background
My Position: This will be my third year as a
Title I teacher working at Our Lady of the Lake
Catholic School. I am part-time (8-1 four
days/wk) and employed by the Ashland Public
Schools.
My Status: I do not attend OLL Staff meetings
and I am sometimes not included in school
communication.

Opportunities
0 I can share high quality research and

resources.
0 I can begin to develop a balanced literacy
program for the school and focus on one or
two school-wide projects in each area:
reading, writing, listening, and speaking
0 I can broaden the bounds of my Title I
position to enhance the learning of all
students at OLL.

 Read More
All School
Reading Wall
Chart

Guest Author
Writers
Workshop

Readin
g

Writing

Listenin
g

Speakin
g

Cross-age reading
buddies
Guest Readers

Book
Commercials
Table Talk

Individual Reading
Walls
Last year I had Title I students
come up with a reading goala
book or subject or type of book
that they wanted to be able to
read. Their name went at the
bottom of the wall near the floor
and each time they completed a
book and could read it
independently, they wrote the
book title and date and posted
it. Every fifth book posting
received a sticker and the
student chose a book to take
home and keep. When they
reached their star there was a
reading related reward tailored to
that student and then we moved
their star farther up the wall.
These first graders read so many
books they had to start a second
column!

Building on Success
0 An all-school reading wall will celebrate

students reading achievement and provide a

visual representation of their growth as
readers.
0 It will allow teachers to establish their own
individual systems for introducing books and
assessing student comprehension.
0 Most of all, it will remind all who see it of the
goal to read more, more, more!

Reading

To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the
miseries of life.
--W. Somerset Maugham

All School Reading Wall

0 Students will create a large bar graph in a public space
to visually chart the books read each month by all
students in the school.
0 Small forms for recording book information will be
provided to each classroom. Forms will include such
information as: title, author, readers name and grade,
and a brief response to the book.
0 Each genre will have a different color form so all
students become familiar with a wide variety of
reading material and are encouraged to try different
genres.

Sample Reading
Wall
Columns could be different
colors with the months labeled
at the top and a large overarching banner title.

Monthly Benchmarks
We can report each month on the number of books read and
set a higher goal for the next month. Teachers can use the
chart to help students set individual, class, and grade-level
goals.

Sample Book Post

Book Posts can be color-coded by genre and available in each
classroom, the office, and in the library. Teachers can devise
their own system for determining that the book has actually
been read.

Motivating Factors
0 Each month the class and the student who read the

most (pages or books) could be recognized with a

BookWorld gift certificate or other reading related
reward.
0 Or, students names are put in a drawing every time
they complete a book. Names are drawn every month
for a new book of their choice or a book certificate.
0 Genre Goals could be set to try to read as many
historical fiction and non-fiction books during Black
History Month in February or poetry during Aprils
National Poetry Month

Writing
Students reading
comprehension is
improved by having
them increase how
often they produce
their own texts.
(Writing to Read, 2010)

Writers
Workshop
0 Teachers could choose

a week to do a schoolwide writers workshop

0 Published student
works could be
showcased at the
Family Literacy Night
for parents and friends.

Guest Author
I will contact area writers about being a guest author or
having a Skype conference to model their writing process.
Fees might be shared with Ashland Public School.

Duluth Area Children's Authors

0 Margi Preus (Shadow on the Mountain)
http://www.margipreus.com/margipreus.com/Ma
rgi_Preus_-_Books.html
0 Chris Monroe (Monkey with a Tool Belt)
http://www.minnpost.com/books/2012/06/cartoon
ist-chris-monroe-writing-inspiration-and-dulu
th
0 Lisa Lunge-Larsen (The Troll With No Heart in
His Body and Other Tales of Trolls from
Norway)http://www.liselungelarsen.com/

Speaking
Speaking and listening skills should be fostered through
discussions and also through presentations. (Davis, 2012)

0 Students at OLL are paired with cross-age

buddies for a variety of activities throughout

the year. Last year, we had a read-aloud time
when buddies sat in the halls and classrooms
and read to each other for about 45 minutes.
0 This year I would like to set a goal of doing
this at least once a month, but twice would
be better!
0 This gives the older students the chance to
shine and the younger students an
opportunity to show off their talents in a oneon-one setting.

Table Talk
I will type up conversation starters to put at
the lunch tables. These laminated reusable
cards will contain silly and thought provoking
questions and will change periodically. For lists
of questions see Kids Activities Blog: 99
Conversation Starters.
https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=
1jrGCi79oR6Yz5yOJCmi6FL1H2YYHsdBROWaVgzW
SN18

Book Commercials
0 Book commercials are advertisements short, impromptu

0
0

testimonials from students about the books that they have

read and enjoyed (The Book Whisperer, 137)
Using the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model (Best
Practice, p. 40) I will model several book commercials in
September for classes and/or on morning announcements.
Teachers can follow up with the guided practice and
independent practice parts of the GRR model.
Beginning in October, students who have created and
rehearsed their own commercials in their classes will give
their book talks during announcements, for their classes, or
for other grades.
Student book talks could be video taped to be shown at the
second annual Family Literacy Night to Take the Thinking
Public (Essential Elements of a Balanced Literacy Program)

Listening
There is no such thing as too much read aloud (Armstrong,
2014)

Share read aloud

research with
teachers and parents.

I will invite guest

readers to come and
read aloud to classes.
0 Grandma Goose (story hour at the

0 Best Ever Literacy Survival

Tips: 72 Lessons You Cant

Live Without (Oczkus,
2012)
0 The Book Whisperer (Miller,
2009)
0 Jim Treleases Read Aloud
Handbook (especially for
parents)

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

library)
Parents and Grandparents
Firefighters
Policemen
Principal
Custodian
Father Paul and Father Ed
Mayor
Me

Challenges
0 To keep my plan simple and manageable.

Implementation and maintenance must not

cut into my Title I instruction time and I must
remember that I am a part-time employee.
0 To win the support of the new principal. My
priorities might not be hers.
0 I am not in a position to coach OLL staff
about instructional practices. I can only share
useful resources and hope for teacher
participation.

2 Annual
Family Literacy Night
nd

0 To highlight reading, writing, listening,

and speaking instead of just reading.

0 To make this years event more of a showcase
for students work
0 Show video clips of book commercials
0 Student Authors reading their own works
0 Walls filled with student writing
0 Invite the newspaper to cover the event

What we have loved

Others have loved
And we will teach them how
--William Wordsworth
Children need to learn to love reading. Then
they will learn to read well. The ideas in this
plan are not revolutionary or dramatic but they
might meet with resistance. If OLL will
embrace these beginning steps toward a
balanced literacy plan, I know that at least
some students will read more, write more,
speak, and listen more. And at least a few will
learn to love to read.

I think that would

have made
Teddy Roosevelt
pretty happy!