West Irondequoit High School Instructional Inquiry
An examination of literacy methods used in the 9-12 curriculum
By: Aaron Nobles SUNY Geneseo CURR 511 Dr. Peck
The School and The Research:
West Irondequoit is a suburban school district located in Monroe County in Western New York. The district graduates about 300-350 students per year and boasts a 2006-2010 cohort graduation rate of 92%. I was granted permission to do research on the literacy methods within the English department by the Principal, Patrick McCue. I conducted the research over a week long period interviewing (as a group) and observing teachers in their classrooms. The reason I chose to interview multiple teachers is because of the small amount of time each student spends in English class (42 minutes) is hardly enough to discuss a balanced literacy approach. Along with this, there is no actual class geared specifically towards literacy in the school. I also found my results to be better, and more rewarding when looking at the "big picture"of a department-wide literacy approach. The teachers I interviewed and observed taught various levels of English at the ninth through twelfth grade level. I would like to give a special thanks to Casey Nelan, Emily Woods, and Danielle Lutomski for their cooperation in allowing me to observe and interview them about literacy strategies they utilized in their classrooms.
I interviewed different teachers on their free periods during the school day. The teachers I interviewed all shared similar values in regards to reading and writing. The similarities came as a result of a standardized English department curriculum that lays out what a student needs to know in English classes from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The curriculum is further developed in English department meetings once a month where teachers come together and discuss department goals and changes to the curriculum. The most important goal and expectation of the entire department was to achieve a high passing rate on the English Language Arts exam. Other goals that had a direct relation to passing the ELA were: fostering a love of reading in all students and preparing students for the reading and writing necessary in a college classroom.
Classroom Texts:
The teachers I interviewed used a multitude of different texts and a rich classroom to support literacy education. Some of the novels used by the teachers were: Billy Budd by Herman Melville, Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alghieri, and An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusasbagenia. Each of these texts has its own distinct characteristics that addressed different ideas within a balanced literacy approach.
The play Billy Budd describes the life of an impressed sailor during the late 18th century in Europe. The play begins with the capture of a young sailor, Billy Budd, and his experiences aboard the British warship the HMS Indomitable. The play describes his time on the ship, and his relationships with other characters that eventually lead to his execution at the conclusion of the play. As a teacher, and former high school student I have never been a fan of reading plays, but this play seems to be an exception. Overall, most of the students seemed interested in this play; eagerly raising their hands at any chance to act during class. Acting is an excellent opportunity for the students in the class to further their understanding of the reading by actually performing what the text is describing.
An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusasbagenia is an autobiography written by a man who saved hundreds of lives during the Rwandan Genocide. The autobiography goes into detail about the experiences of man who used his hotel to protect the lives of both Hutus and Tutsis during the genocide that engulfed the entire country during 1994. This was a great reading because it aligned well with the Social Studies curriculum at the time that was also focusing on African history. In addition, there is an excellent film that follows along with the book entitled Hotel Rwanda. The combination of both text literacy and media literacy seems to be an excellent way to draw the interest of a secondary high school student and increase their knowledge of the text.
A teacher using paintings to enhance student understanding on Dante's Inferno
Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alghieri was written during the Italian Renaissance. The fictional text describes the experiences of Dante as he travels through the different circles of hell and learns many different lessons as a result of it. The classical writing style of this text is sometimes very difficult and requires a large amount of scaffolding by the teacher. However, the text seems to be worth going through the trouble of deciphering the old English because it is full of different literary techniques and beautiful uses of language that allow the reader to think critically, and perhaps gain some knowledge about writing throughout the story. The teacher who I observed also placed various images around the room to help the students visualize the world of Dante.
The circles of Hell in Dante's Inferno
Each of these novels were utilized in different ways in the different classrooms. I will discuss in further detail how they were utilized during the Literacy Methods section.
Literacy Methods:
The methods I encountered varied slightly by teacher, but each had the same overarching goal of preparing students with the skills necessary to pass the English Language Arts Regents exam that all students take at the end of 11th grade. The test must be passed for the student to graduate with a Regents Diploma. I created this section to give the reader an idea of the different methods utilized in a high school English class. For this section I will be dividing the methods into reading and writing and then further dividing into how whole group, small group and individual instruction were used.
Reading
A selection of books on display at the IHS Library
The reading strategies used by each of the teachers centered around the idea of improving comprehension. According to each of the teachers, students have little problem when it comes to reflecting on a particular reading, but struggle when it comes to actually comprehending and analyzing what the text is discussing. In order to improve comprehension teachers rely on a combination of whole group, small group, and individual instruction.
Whole Group:
The teacher uses whole group instruction to direct the class in larger concepts about a particular reading. An example of this was when students pointed out a particular literary element in a story. A good example of this was when I observed a teacher instructing her class about theme in the play Billy Budd. The theme being pointed out was good vs. evil, and after explaining to the students theme is defined as the “main idea” of a story she asked students to provide examples of good vs. evil that they have encountered in their life. The strategy seemed effective with the students as they were easily able to find examples of the theme throughout the play. Teachers also used whole group instruction to guide students through more difficult readings (like Shakespeare) with the use of different direct instruction methods like Power Point presentations and graphic organizers. These strategies seemed effective in giving students a framework before they began working in small groups or as individuals. Once working in small groups or as individuals students began applying what they learned in whole group instruction.
Small Group:
Small group instruction typically follows the introduction of a particular idea in whole group instruction. I will proceed explaining small group instruction with the previous example of literary elements in the play Billy Budd. After having various elements introduced to the students in whole group instruction, each group (3-4 students) was assigned a particular literary element to find in the play. Each group then had to search through Act II to find an example of the literary element, summarize it, and then share it with the class. The benefits of this activity were two-fold in that it built the student’s knowledge of a particular literary element, and it allowed them to build the knowledge necessary (comprehension) for the E.L.A. Regents exam. After further interviews with the teacher I discovered other small group instruction methods include discussions about particular chapters and work on guiding questions relating to the text they are reading in class.
The play Billy Budd, used by one the classes I worked with.
Individual:
Individual work time is when students accomplish most of their independent reading. Both whole group and small group instruction are used to scaffold the students reading of a text. When reading, students use a variety of active reading strategies such as: highlighting, post-it notes, and writing in the margins. Most students seem to actively use these strategies, but I am not sure as to how effective they are; further research would be necessary to discover this information. Students are usually given the bulk of a class period to read on " independent reading days," and the environment for reading seems very inviting. Students either read their own books at this time, or books assigned for class. Most of the teachers allow students to read in different areas of the room or in the hallways. Some rooms even have chairs that allow students to read comfortably.
Building effective reading skills are necessary for students at any level. Whether the student is entering the real world, or going to college effective reading skills are vital to any person who wishes to succeed after high school.
A list of books students have recommended to the class
Writing
Building writing skills is split into two different sections for teachers at West Irondequoit. These are “learning to write” i.e. learning how to actually write an essay and “writing to learn” or using writing to gain knowledge about a particular topic. Both of these strategies are used in whole group, small group and individual instruction. Similar to reading, writing is a cross-curricular skill that is necessary for student success in each of their subjects
Whole Group:
The focus of whole group instruction with writing focuses on developing skills for essay, paragraph and sentence organization. For larger essays, students are encouraged to create graphic organizers to help prove the thesis of their paper. The teacher typically models the type of graphic organizer they want their students to use for an essay, but also gives the students a choice in the type of organizer they would like to use. The teacher then instructs the students to use the guiding question packet to help them form their organizer and come up with a suitable thesis for their paper.
When instructing students on how to form paragraphs the teachers use a format known as C.E.I. (Claim, Evidence, and Interpretation). The first part is for students to create a claim or topic sentence for their particular paragraph. The next section, evidence, is where students are told to place the information they received from the reading into their paragraph. The final section, interpretation, is where students analyze the information, and relate it to their thesis. I found this to be a very useful way to organize paragraphs and is a method I plan to implement with my own students.
Creating effective sentences is another important skill teachers try to develop. When observing a class of seniors, a teacher used a large packet entitled: “Effective Sentence Patterns.” This packet was created by all of the teachers in the English department. The packet contains all sorts of guided activities that give students knowledge on simple topics like how to use compound sentences with a semi-colon; to more complex ones like how to use introductory subordinate clauses. Each of the sections is gone over, as the teacher provides instruction and gives students time to work on sample sentences. The packet also serves as an excellent writing tool for seniors who are about to enter college. Again similar to reading, whole group instruction is used in small amounts, and primarily for the activities the class will be doing in small group and individual instruction.
Small Group:
Small group instruction is where most of the “writing to learn” takes place. Once in small groups, students complete guided reading questions together or discuss main ideas in the text. Most of the guided reading questions serve a larger purpose for the class because they will often lead to an essay or exam on the reading. This makes it imperative for all students to have the questions completed. Most of the questions focus on key concepts within a particular story, and further scaffold a student who may be struggling with understanding the text. Students are also given time to discuss the answers to the questions before they actually record their answer. The guided reading packets is also collected at various times during the students reading to ensure they are completing the assignment correctly. Along with discussing answers to certain question, students discuss key concepts within a story during small group instruction. When students in a different class were reading An Ordinary Man, they were asked to discuss various times in the story where Paul put his life in danger to save others. Students came up with various ideas within their groups, but the most interesting explanations came when students were asked if they would do the same and why. Since they were in a small groups, students came up with some very interesting responses in regards to how they would act. The students then decided how they would act as a group and wrote a C.E.I. paragraph discussing their actions. This activity served as an excellent example of “writing to learn,” because it allowed students to actually put themselves in the shoes of a Rwandan citizen during the genocide.
The autobiography, An Ordinary Man used in class by one the teachers I observed.
Individual:
Individual writing time was where students accomplished most of their work on larger assignments. When students began work during individual time they were instructed to use what they learned in whole and small group instruction. By the time students began writing they had guided reading questions, a graphic organizer, model essays, different discussion responses from their small groups, a guide on how to write effective sentences, and notes on how to properly write a C.E.I. paragraph at their disposal. As I mentioned earlier, students in each of the classes responded to critical lenses, or prompts that often captured a larger theme from the story for their larger essays. It seemed students were very well prepared to write the essay. Sadly, I was not able to stay in the classrooms long enough to see the finished result. Luckily, one of the students I am tutoring is currently working on one the critical lenses for An Ordinary Man. Hopefully his results will give me further information about the effectiveness of the balanced literacy approach at Irondequoit High School.
Assessment and Projects:
Each grade level has its own assessments that occur at various times during the year. For this section I am going to focus on different types of assessments and projects that s student will encounter during their time at Irondequoit High School. These projects include: The New York State English Language Arts Assessment, The Evidence of Mastery Level Reading Option Project, and a Book Tour Scrapbook assignment.
The English Language Arts Regents Exam is required for any student who wishes to graduate from high school in New York State. As stated in previous sections, one of the major goals of the entire department is to achieve the maximum passing rate on this exam. The exam consists of different texts to which the student has to answer multiple-choice and short answer questions. The questions test the students reading comprehension and reading analysis skills. The test culminates with a critical lens where the student has to respond to a quote or an idea using the knowledge they have gained throughout their time in high school English. Despite the flak the Regents exam has taken recently, I believe they are necessary in seeing exactly what a student has gained from their time in secondary English.
The other, more exciting assessments I have chose to focus on are large projects. The first project is the Evidence of Mastery Reading Level Option Project. In this project, students are asked to choose a book of their choice, and analyze it. Options for analysis include ideas like: Creating a website (using Facebook or Wikis), casting the characters of the book in a Hollywood film, writing a job resume for a character in the book, creating a commercial, or writing an epilogue for the text. The possibilities for the assignment are endless; and students are given a choice in what they would like to do for the every part of the project. The greatest part about this assignment is it forces students to not only understand their reading, but to think critically and apply what they learned towards creating their project.
Possible books for the student's projects
Another project I found interesting was the Book Tour Scrapbook assignment. In this project students were allowed to choose their own book and then were told to create a scrapbook where the students copied the passages or pages that meant the most to them. Students were then asked to explain why the particular passage meant a lot to them. I found this project to be excellent for enhancing literacy because students related their books to their own lives. When I was interviewing the teacher about this particular assignment she told me (I am paraphrasing here), “I was tired of students just looking up books on Spark Notes and writing me papers about them, I wanted to create an assignment where students could actually become interested and personally relate to the books they read.” This assignment is great for all students and may draw a few students in who are not always interested in what the class may be reading at the time.
A page from the Scrapbook assignment
After looking at a few assessments from the secondary level I realized the key seems to be (with the exception of the Regents) to find a way to give students a choice in what they read and how they wish to analyze and reflect on their reading. This will not only lead to a large amount of student success on the project, but could end up fostering a love of reading (and possibly school) in students that could last a lifetime.
A book case loaded with books in a Social Studies classroom
Supplemental Literacy Instruction
In addition to a balanced literacy approach in all English classrooms at the high school there are additional supports to help students who struggle with reading and writing. The two additional supports are the English department center and the English support program.
Students who are enrolled in the English department center typically meet one period every other day. In order to become a part of this program a student must be recommended by their English teacher. Once in the center, students focus on work related to their English class under the direct supervision of one of the English teachers at the high school. This program is not designed for students with special needs, but rather serves as supplemental instruction for students who struggle with completing homework or just need some additional help in English.
The English support program is available for students who require additional help beyond the English department center. Typically, students who are enrolled in this program are at a reading and writing level well below their classmates. The students meet once every other day in a 2 to 1 environment, and work with a teacher on developing their reading and writing ability. The teachers in the program utilize the Wilson Language Training Program to support their instruction. The Wilson Language Training Program focuses on various aspects of reading difficulties, but specifically has programs designed for: word study, fluency, decoding, and comprehension. Each of these programs addresses different parts of literacy instruction and is available for all grade levels.
The supports available at Irondequoit High School provide additional instruction to the already literacy rich environment and further supplement a balanced literacy approach. http://www.wilsonlanguage.com/ (for more information)
Literacy in the Community:
There are a many opportunities for students at Irondequoit High School to pursue a balanced literacy lifestyle outside of the classroom. Clubs such as Rodequoit (the school newspaper) and Yearbook Club allow students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real life situations. Along with this, there are numerous libraries and places in the town where students can take out books, volunteer to help younger readers or even brush up on their music literacy skills.
The library in Irondequoit High School
Rodequoit and the Yearbook Club allow students to continue using their literacy education outside of the classroom and apply it to real life situations. Rodequoit is the school newspaper and it is published monthly by members of the Newspaper Club. The newspaper contains different types of articles ranging from critiques of events going on in school to a sports coverage. The newspaper seems like an excellent way to use their writing skills and express their opinions about what is going on in the world around them. The Yearbook Club is quite similar in this respect because students are allowed to create their own text. The Yearbook Club meets once a week as students prepare to create a book that tells the story of a school year. The club is an excellent opportunity for students to share their love of different types of literacies and create something all students will remember for years to come.
A copy of the student newspaper, Rodequoit
The local libraries present students with different opportunities to utilize what they learned in the classroom. The first library I will discuss is the newly renovated library in the high school. The library is located in the old courtyard of the high school and is open to the entire community. It serves as a great place where students come to read or catch up on some homework they forgot to complete at home. The library is home to many books and contains different places where students can read comfortably. The libraries in the community provide a place for students to help promote literacy in the town. Students are allowed to volunteer in a variety of programs such as the summer reading program for the younger students. In this program teens assist the younger reader pick books that are suitable for them to read over the summer. Along with this, many students at the school hold jobs in the library in a variety of positions.
A library in the Irondequoit community.
Besides the typical chances to use literacy in the community, there is also a variety of text students may encounter when they are outside of school. The town is filled with different restaurants, stores, and boutiques where advertisements are filled with different kinds of writing. The most popular student hang out, The Cooper Deli, has so much text on the window that it is nearly impossible to see inside of the building! The legendary House of Guitars is another store students often go into to buy the latest music, or to possibly take up learning an instrument. Music literacy plays an integral part in any community and the House of Guitars defineatly helps make Irondequoit one of the must musically artistic towns I have ever seen. Another great part about Irondequoit, is that the town (with the exception of the Ridge Road area) has been able to hold onto a sort of Main Street America feeling because there is very little large chain stores taking a lot of space (i.e. Henrietta).
The House of Guitars which has been part of the Irondequoit community for over 45 years
The chances for students at Irondequoit High School to utilize literacy outside of the classroom are many, and further display how literacy is not just simply a school approach, but a community one as well.
A comfy place to read in the IHS Library
Coaching and Suggestions
After our discussion, I took on the position of a coach and presented different ways to improve up their literacy education. These suggestions included a summer reading program and horizontal alignment with other courses
The addition of a summer reading program seemed to be the easiest addition to implement. After I made the suggestion, the teachers I interviewed began discussing how AP courses already assigned summer projects. We also discussed how students have done summer reading projects from kindergarten through eighth grade. The addition of a summer reading program could possibly increase the students reading ability and could possibly reduce the amount of knowledge that is lost over the summer.
Horizontal alignment is when all classes are related. This is a difficult task at the secondary level because of the different classes and schedules both teachers and students have. When successfully implemented, the teachers I interviewed noticed the success of allowing students to relate different courses to each other. The easiest courses to relate were English and Social Studies; the most difficult courses to relate were: English with Science and English with Math. If teachers were able to somehow overcome the difficulties of aligning these different courses, literacy instruction could be achieved in all courses offered at the high school.
Reflection:
After reviewing the literacy instruction methods within the English department at Irondequoit High School I feel that I have gained new ideas for ways to approach literacy in my own classroom. I really enjoyed the activities that allowed students to make choices in the texts they would like to read. These activities are excellent in getting students involved in their learning, and would be a great addition to any classroom environment. I also enjoyed activities that forced students to think critically and discuss different texts. My inquiry into the literacy studies at Irondequoit High School enhanced my knowledge on how a balanced literacy approach can be implemented into a high school setting.
The Neodaondaquat, the school yearbook that is created annually by the Yearbook Club
West Irondequoit High School Instructional Inquiry
An examination of literacy methods used in the 9-12 curriculum
By: Aaron Nobles
SUNY Geneseo
CURR 511
Dr. Peck
The School and The Research:
West Irondequoit is a suburban school district located in Monroe County in Western New York. The district graduates about 300-350 students per year and boasts a 2006-2010 cohort graduation rate of 92%. I was granted permission to do research on the literacy methods within the English department by the Principal, Patrick McCue. I conducted the research over a week long period interviewing (as a group) and observing teachers in their classrooms. The reason I chose to interview multiple teachers is because of the small amount of time each student spends in English class (42 minutes) is hardly enough to discuss a balanced literacy approach. Along with this, there is no actual class geared specifically towards literacy in the school. I also found my results to be better, and more rewarding when looking at the "big picture"of a department-wide literacy approach. The teachers I interviewed and observed taught various levels of English at the ninth through twelfth grade level. I would like to give a special thanks to Casey Nelan, Emily Woods, and Danielle Lutomski for their cooperation in allowing me to observe and interview them about literacy strategies they utilized in their classrooms.
www.westirondequoit.org (for more information)
The Interviews (Goals and Expectations):
I interviewed different teachers on their free periods during the school day. The teachers I interviewed all shared similar values in regards to reading and writing. The similarities came as a result of a standardized English department curriculum that lays out what a student needs to know in English classes from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The curriculum is further developed in English department meetings once a month where teachers come together and discuss department goals and changes to the curriculum. The most important goal and expectation of the entire department was to achieve a high passing rate on the English Language Arts exam. Other goals that had a direct relation to passing the ELA were: fostering a love of reading in all students and preparing students for the reading and writing necessary in a college classroom.
Classroom Texts:
The teachers I interviewed used a multitude of different texts and a rich classroom to support literacy education. Some of the novels used by the teachers were: Billy Budd by Herman Melville, Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alghieri, and An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusasbagenia. Each of these texts has its own distinct characteristics that addressed different ideas within a balanced literacy approach.
The play Billy Budd describes the life of an impressed sailor during the late 18th century in Europe. The play begins with the capture of a young sailor, Billy Budd, and his experiences aboard the British warship the HMS Indomitable. The play describes his time on the ship, and his relationships with other characters that eventually lead to his execution at the conclusion of the play. As a teacher, and former high school student I have never been a fan of reading plays, but this play seems to be an exception. Overall, most of the students seemed interested in this play; eagerly raising their hands at any chance to act during class. Acting is an excellent opportunity for the students in the class to further their understanding of the reading by actually performing what the text is describing.
An Ordinary Man by Paul Rusasbagenia is an autobiography written by a man who saved hundreds of lives during the Rwandan Genocide. The autobiography goes into detail about the experiences of man who used his hotel to protect the lives of both Hutus and Tutsis during the genocide that engulfed the entire country during 1994. This was a great reading because it aligned well with the Social Studies curriculum at the time that was also focusing on African history. In addition, there is an excellent film that follows along with the book entitled Hotel Rwanda. The combination of both text literacy and media literacy seems to be an excellent way to draw the interest of a secondary high school student and increase their knowledge of the text.
Dante’s Inferno by Dante Alghieri was written during the Italian Renaissance. The fictional text describes the experiences of Dante as he travels through the different circles of hell and learns many different lessons as a result of it. The classical writing style of this text is sometimes very difficult and requires a large amount of scaffolding by the teacher. However, the text seems to be worth going through the trouble of deciphering the old English because it is full of different literary techniques and beautiful uses of language that allow the reader to think critically, and perhaps gain some knowledge about writing throughout the story. The teacher who I observed also placed various images around the room to help the students visualize the world of Dante.
Each of these novels were utilized in different ways in the different classrooms. I will discuss in further detail how they were utilized during the Literacy Methods section.
Literacy Methods:
The methods I encountered varied slightly by teacher, but each had the same overarching goal of preparing students with the skills necessary to pass the English Language Arts Regents exam that all students take at the end of 11th grade. The test must be passed for the student to graduate with a Regents Diploma. I created this section to give the reader an idea of the different methods utilized in a high school English class. For this section I will be dividing the methods into reading and writing and then further dividing into how whole group, small group and individual instruction were used.
Reading
The reading strategies used by each of the teachers centered around the idea of improving comprehension. According to each of the teachers, students have little problem when it comes to reflecting on a particular reading, but struggle when it comes to actually comprehending and analyzing what the text is discussing. In order to improve comprehension teachers rely on a combination of whole group, small group, and individual instruction.
Whole Group:
The teacher uses whole group instruction to direct the class in larger concepts about a particular reading. An example of this was when students pointed out a particular literary element in a story. A good example of this was when I observed a teacher instructing her class about theme in the play Billy Budd. The theme being pointed out was good vs. evil, and after explaining to the students theme is defined as the “main idea” of a story she asked students to provide examples of good vs. evil that they have encountered in their life. The strategy seemed effective with the students as they were easily able to find examples of the theme throughout the play. Teachers also used whole group instruction to guide students through more difficult readings (like Shakespeare) with the use of different direct instruction methods like Power Point presentations and graphic organizers. These strategies seemed effective in giving students a framework before they began working in small groups or as individuals. Once working in small groups or as individuals students began applying what they learned in whole group instruction.
Small Group:
Small group instruction typically follows the introduction of a particular idea in whole group instruction. I will proceed explaining small group instruction with the previous example of literary elements in the play Billy Budd. After having various elements introduced to the students in whole group instruction, each group (3-4 students) was assigned a particular literary element to find in the play. Each group then had to search through Act II to find an example of the literary element, summarize it, and then share it with the class. The benefits of this activity were two-fold in that it built the student’s knowledge of a particular literary element, and it allowed them to build the knowledge necessary (comprehension) for the E.L.A. Regents exam. After further interviews with the teacher I discovered other small group instruction methods include discussions about particular chapters and work on guiding questions relating to the text they are reading in class.
Individual:
Individual work time is when students accomplish most of their independent reading. Both whole group and small group instruction are used to scaffold the students reading of a text. When reading, students use a variety of active reading strategies such as: highlighting, post-it notes, and writing in the margins. Most students seem to actively use these strategies, but I am not sure as to how effective they are; further research would be necessary to discover this information. Students are usually given the bulk of a class period to read on " independent reading days," and the environment for reading seems very inviting. Students either read their own books at this time, or books assigned for class. Most of the teachers allow students to read in different areas of the room or in the hallways. Some rooms even have chairs that allow students to read comfortably.
Building effective reading skills are necessary for students at any level. Whether the student is entering the real world, or going to college effective reading skills are vital to any person who wishes to succeed after high school.
Writing
Building writing skills is split into two different sections for teachers at West Irondequoit. These are “learning to write” i.e. learning how to actually write an essay and “writing to learn” or using writing to gain knowledge about a particular topic. Both of these strategies are used in whole group, small group and individual instruction. Similar to reading, writing is a cross-curricular skill that is necessary for student success in each of their subjects
Whole Group:
The focus of whole group instruction with writing focuses on developing skills for essay, paragraph and sentence organization. For larger essays, students are encouraged to create graphic organizers to help prove the thesis of their paper. The teacher typically models the type of graphic organizer they want their students to use for an essay, but also gives the students a choice in the type of organizer they would like to use. The teacher then instructs the students to use the guiding question packet to help them form their organizer and come up with a suitable thesis for their paper.
When instructing students on how to form paragraphs the teachers use a format known as C.E.I. (Claim, Evidence, and Interpretation). The first part is for students to create a claim or topic sentence for their particular paragraph. The next section, evidence, is where students are told to place the information they received from the reading into their paragraph. The final section, interpretation, is where students analyze the information, and relate it to their thesis. I found this to be a very useful way to organize paragraphs and is a method I plan to implement with my own students.
Creating effective sentences is another important skill teachers try to develop. When observing a class of seniors, a teacher used a large packet entitled: “Effective Sentence Patterns.” This packet was created by all of the teachers in the English department. The packet contains all sorts of guided activities that give students knowledge on simple topics like how to use compound sentences with a semi-colon; to more complex ones like how to use introductory subordinate clauses. Each of the sections is gone over, as the teacher provides instruction and gives students time to work on sample sentences. The packet also serves as an excellent writing tool for seniors who are about to enter college. Again similar to reading, whole group instruction is used in small amounts, and primarily for the activities the class will be doing in small group and individual instruction.
Small Group:
Small group instruction is where most of the “writing to learn” takes place. Once in small groups, students complete guided reading questions together or discuss main ideas in the text. Most of the guided reading questions serve a larger purpose for the class because they will often lead to an essay or exam on the reading. This makes it imperative for all students to have the questions completed. Most of the questions focus on key concepts within a particular story, and further scaffold a student who may be struggling with understanding the text. Students are also given time to discuss the answers to the questions before they actually record their answer. The guided reading packets is also collected at various times during the students reading to ensure they are completing the assignment correctly. Along with discussing answers to certain question, students discuss key concepts within a story during small group instruction. When students in a different class were reading An Ordinary Man, they were asked to discuss various times in the story where Paul put his life in danger to save others. Students came up with various ideas within their groups, but the most interesting explanations came when students were asked if they would do the same and why. Since they were in a small groups, students came up with some very interesting responses in regards to how they would act. The students then decided how they would act as a group and wrote a C.E.I. paragraph discussing their actions. This activity served as an excellent example of “writing to learn,” because it allowed students to actually put themselves in the shoes of a Rwandan citizen during the genocide.
Individual:
Individual writing time was where students accomplished most of their work on larger assignments. When students began work during individual time they were instructed to use what they learned in whole and small group instruction. By the time students began writing they had guided reading questions, a graphic organizer, model essays, different discussion responses from their small groups, a guide on how to write effective sentences, and notes on how to properly write a C.E.I. paragraph at their disposal. As I mentioned earlier, students in each of the classes responded to critical lenses, or prompts that often captured a larger theme from the story for their larger essays. It seemed students were very well prepared to write the essay. Sadly, I was not able to stay in the classrooms long enough to see the finished result. Luckily, one of the students I am tutoring is currently working on one the critical lenses for An Ordinary Man. Hopefully his results will give me further information about the effectiveness of the balanced literacy approach at Irondequoit High School.
Assessment and Projects:
Each grade level has its own assessments that occur at various times during the year. For this section I am going to focus on different types of assessments and projects that s student will encounter during their time at Irondequoit High School. These projects include: The New York State English Language Arts Assessment, The Evidence of Mastery Level Reading Option Project, and a Book Tour Scrapbook assignment.
The English Language Arts Regents Exam is required for any student who wishes to graduate from high school in New York State. As stated in previous sections, one of the major goals of the entire department is to achieve the maximum passing rate on this exam. The exam consists of different texts to which the student has to answer multiple-choice and short answer questions. The questions test the students reading comprehension and reading analysis skills. The test culminates with a critical lens where the student has to respond to a quote or an idea using the knowledge they have gained throughout their time in high school English. Despite the flak the Regents exam has taken recently, I believe they are necessary in seeing exactly what a student has gained from their time in secondary English.
The other, more exciting assessments I have chose to focus on are large projects. The first project is the Evidence of Mastery Reading Level Option Project. In this project, students are asked to choose a book of their choice, and analyze it. Options for analysis include ideas like: Creating a website (using Facebook or Wikis), casting the characters of the book in a Hollywood film, writing a job resume for a character in the book, creating a commercial, or writing an epilogue for the text. The possibilities for the assignment are endless; and students are given a choice in what they would like to do for the every part of the project. The greatest part about this assignment is it forces students to not only understand their reading, but to think critically and apply what they learned towards creating their project.
Another project I found interesting was the Book Tour Scrapbook assignment. In this project students were allowed to choose their own book and then were told to create a scrapbook where the students copied the passages or pages that meant the most to them. Students were then asked to explain why the particular passage meant a lot to them. I found this project to be excellent for enhancing literacy because students related their books to their own lives. When I was interviewing the teacher about this particular assignment she told me (I am paraphrasing here), “I was tired of students just looking up books on Spark Notes and writing me papers about them, I wanted to create an assignment where students could actually become interested and personally relate to the books they read.” This assignment is great for all students and may draw a few students in who are not always interested in what the class may be reading at the time.
After looking at a few assessments from the secondary level I realized the key seems to be (with the exception of the Regents) to find a way to give students a choice in what they read and how they wish to analyze and reflect on their reading. This will not only lead to a large amount of student success on the project, but could end up fostering a love of reading (and possibly school) in students that could last a lifetime.
Supplemental Literacy Instruction
In addition to a balanced literacy approach in all English classrooms at the high school there are additional supports to help students who struggle with reading and writing. The two additional supports are the English department center and the English support program.
Students who are enrolled in the English department center typically meet one period every other day. In order to become a part of this program a student must be recommended by their English teacher. Once in the center, students focus on work related to their English class under the direct supervision of one of the English teachers at the high school. This program is not designed for students with special needs, but rather serves as supplemental instruction for students who struggle with completing homework or just need some additional help in English.
The English support program is available for students who require additional help beyond the English department center. Typically, students who are enrolled in this program are at a reading and writing level well below their classmates. The students meet once every other day in a 2 to 1 environment, and work with a teacher on developing their reading and writing ability. The teachers in the program utilize the Wilson Language Training Program to support their instruction. The Wilson Language Training Program focuses on various aspects of reading difficulties, but specifically has programs designed for: word study, fluency, decoding, and comprehension. Each of these programs addresses different parts of literacy instruction and is available for all grade levels.
The supports available at Irondequoit High School provide additional instruction to the already literacy rich environment and further supplement a balanced literacy approach.
http://www.wilsonlanguage.com/ (for more information)
Literacy in the Community:
There are a many opportunities for students at Irondequoit High School to pursue a balanced literacy lifestyle outside of the classroom. Clubs such as Rodequoit (the school newspaper) and Yearbook Club allow students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it to real life situations. Along with this, there are numerous libraries and places in the town where students can take out books, volunteer to help younger readers or even brush up on their music literacy skills.
Rodequoit and the Yearbook Club allow students to continue using their literacy education outside of the classroom and apply it to real life situations. Rodequoit is the school newspaper and it is published monthly by members of the Newspaper Club. The newspaper contains different types of articles ranging from critiques of events going on in school to a sports coverage. The newspaper seems like an excellent way to use their writing skills and express their opinions about what is going on in the world around them. The Yearbook Club is quite similar in this respect because students are allowed to create their own text. The Yearbook Club meets once a week as students prepare to create a book that tells the story of a school year. The club is an excellent opportunity for students to share their love of different types of literacies and create something all students will remember for years to come.
The local libraries present students with different opportunities to utilize what they learned in the classroom. The first library I will discuss is the newly renovated library in the high school. The library is located in the old courtyard of the high school and is open to the entire community. It serves as a great place where students come to read or catch up on some homework they forgot to complete at home. The library is home to many books and contains different places where students can read comfortably. The libraries in the community provide a place for students to help promote literacy in the town. Students are allowed to volunteer in a variety of programs such as the summer reading program for the younger students. In this program teens assist the younger reader pick books that are suitable for them to read over the summer. Along with this, many students at the school hold jobs in the library in a variety of positions.
Besides the typical chances to use literacy in the community, there is also a variety of text students may encounter when they are outside of school. The town is filled with different restaurants, stores, and boutiques where advertisements are filled with different kinds of writing. The most popular student hang out, The Cooper Deli, has so much text on the window that it is nearly impossible to see inside of the building! The legendary House of Guitars is another store students often go into to buy the latest music, or to possibly take up learning an instrument. Music literacy plays an integral part in any community and the House of Guitars defineatly helps make Irondequoit one of the must musically artistic towns I have ever seen. Another great part about Irondequoit, is that the town (with the exception of the Ridge Road area) has been able to hold onto a sort of Main Street America feeling because there is very little large chain stores taking a lot of space (i.e. Henrietta).
The chances for students at Irondequoit High School to utilize literacy outside of the classroom are many, and further display how literacy is not just simply a school approach, but a community one as well.Coaching and Suggestions
After our discussion, I took on the position of a coach and presented different ways to improve up their literacy education. These suggestions included a summer reading program and horizontal alignment with other courses
The addition of a summer reading program seemed to be the easiest addition to implement. After I made the suggestion, the teachers I interviewed began discussing how AP courses already assigned summer projects. We also discussed how students have done summer reading projects from kindergarten through eighth grade. The addition of a summer reading program could possibly increase the students reading ability and could possibly reduce the amount of knowledge that is lost over the summer.
Horizontal alignment is when all classes are related. This is a difficult task at the secondary level because of the different classes and schedules both teachers and students have. When successfully implemented, the teachers I interviewed noticed the success of allowing students to relate different courses to each other. The easiest courses to relate were English and Social Studies; the most difficult courses to relate were: English with Science and English with Math. If teachers were able to somehow overcome the difficulties of aligning these different courses, literacy instruction could be achieved in all courses offered at the high school.
Reflection:
After reviewing the literacy instruction methods within the English department at Irondequoit High School I feel that I have gained new ideas for ways to approach literacy in my own classroom. I really enjoyed the activities that allowed students to make choices in the texts they would like to read. These activities are excellent in getting students involved in their learning, and would be a great addition to any classroom environment. I also enjoyed activities that forced students to think critically and discuss different texts. My inquiry into the literacy studies at Irondequoit High School enhanced my knowledge on how a balanced literacy approach can be implemented into a high school setting.