Literacy Unit

As discussed in the "Literacy Committee" blog post, I feel our school is in need of some literacy structure. Having a K-8 literacy program that is established and structured to specifically meet the literacy needs of our students would be monumentally valuable for our students who struggle with literacy. This is an example of a Literacy Lesson that can be used within every content area and can be adjusted to be used at any grade level, K-8, within our school. As we hopefully proceed with the steps towards starting a literacy committee to organize a literacy program, this can be a place to start so that our kids are able to build their literacy skills in all content areas, and build upon them from grade level to grade level. The lesson builds skills in reading and writing as well as listening and speaking.

Lesson Title:

Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening

Overview:

This lesson would allow teachers of all grade levels and content areas to understand how to use reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills all within the same lesson to be able to allow students to grow in all areas.

Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.1
Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Objectives/ Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to support their writing and speaking with material from a text.

Students will be able to understand the ideas supported in the text, and the ideas spoken by their peers.

Materials, Resources and Technology:

            The teacher will provide the class with the text. “Relevant text refers to supplemental reading materials that serve to enhance and reinforce students’ content knowledge” (Ming, 2012, p. 217).

Instructional Procedures:

            Students will read the material with guided oral reading. According to Twymon (2015), The National Reading Panel concluded, “guided, repeated oral reading had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a range of grade levels” (p. 2).

After reading the material, students will work with a partner to discuss the reading. They will share ideas and thoughts about the material and how it relates to the class. They may reread the text, and also build off of each other’s knowledge and ideas.

After partner discussion, students will write individually as directed by the teacher. This can be answering specific questions, a worksheet of some sort, summarizing, or whatever writing activity that would meet the needs of the lesson, grade level, and content area.

After writing, students will share their work with small groups. According to Ming (2012), “When students are deliberately placed into groups, the teacher accounts for students’ ability levels, their personal characteristics, and the task that is expected of them as they work with group members” (p. 216). As they work with their small groups they are sharing ideas and building off one another with speaking and listening skills. Within these small groups students will also be gathering information to share with the whole class. Working in small groups is a way to allow students to gain confidence in what they will share, and also get assistance and feedback from other members of their group.

As the class goes into a whole class discussion on the subject, the teacher becomes a facilitator and the students are in charge of presenting their knowledge and information. This type of discussion “puts the student, not the teacher, at the center of developing meaning from the readings” (Smith & Foley, 2009, p. 478). Students will use sentence frames and pre-taught conversational language to engage in discussion with each other to build upon ideas and get deeper into the meaning of the reading.

            Lastly, students will write a reflection piece on their learning and the process they underwent. The teacher can design the reflection to whatever direction it needed to go for that lesson and material.

Student Groupings:

            Students were in many different groups throughout the lesson. They spent time working individually, working with a partner, working in small groups, and working as a whole class. The variety of groupings serves many different purposes.

Presentation:

            Students will present their material in different ways. They will present their individual work to their small groups to get feedback as well as share their ideas. They will present their main thoughts and ideas to the whole class in the form of a class discussion. They will also present their reflection to their teacher in the form of a written reflection.

Assessment/Evaluation:

            Students will be assessed in many different forms throughout this lesson. The teacher will use observational assessments for the reading process as well as the small group work. The individual writing assignment or worksheet will be a written assessment, along with the summative reflection piece. The discussion will also be an assessment for the students speaking and communication skills, as well as being able to include relevant content material in the discussion. 

Twymon, P. (Course Lecturer). (2015). Strengthening Literacy: Module 3 [Video]. American College of Education. Retrieved from http://ace.edu

Ming, K. (2012). 10 content-area literacy strategies for art, mathematics, music, and physical education. The Clearing House, 85(6), 213-220.

Smith, L. A., & Foley, M. (2009). Partners in a human enterprise: Harkness teaching in the history classroom. The History Teacher, 42(4), 477-496.