Consensus Activity

Hello and welcome to Adventures in Literacy Land!

 It's Pixie Anne from Growing Little Learners here today to share with you an idea to develop skills in 

This month has been manic and school finally ended on July 21st.  My class and I kept on working up until the very end and totally deserve our 6 week break!

There was no easing into the holidays for us and we even had a full on formal observation the Wednesday before school ended - not an ideal time as I am sure you can imagine but we just about survived...

We have been working a lot over the last term on our reasoning and questioning skills. I'm a teacher who likes to be in control so I have been training myself to take a step back and hand over more of that control to my little learners and make sure they worker harder in the classroom than I do... I certainly wouldn't say I'm there yet but my class have definitely become more independent and are now doing a lot more of the questioning than they were before and that has got to be a good thing, right?!

One of the activities we have done a few times now (and did for that dreaded observation) to practise these skills is a consensus activity. It only requires a piece of paper and a pencil and next to no preparation but really builds those speaking and listening, reasoning and questioning skills that are so important.

Here's how it works:

Linked to a topic you are studying, you pose a simple question. I did this activity with these questions last term:

What makes a great explorer? (linked to out history topic)

What makes a great artist? (at the start of arts week)

What makes a great sportsperson? (before sports day)

What makes a successful learner? (getting ready for moving on to our new class) 

With a large piece of paper with a circle in the middle, each child (groups of 4 work best) silently has a few minutes to jot down all their ideas in a corner of the paper - no rights or wrongs, anything goes!

What makes a great artist?

After they have had that time to think and make notes independently, I ring a bell or signal in some way that it's time to share. I find it works well when I appoint a group leader to make sure everyone has a chance to share their ideas and to lead the questioning as needed. I circulate and listen and encourage them to ask each other questions about the choices that have made. This is the time for lots of talk and listening to each other and I often step in to ask different children to tell me what ideas a different group member has shared to make sure they are actively listening at all times!

What makes a good learner?

Once the group have had a chance to chat and share all their ideas I tell them they have to decide on the 4 most important ideas and write those in the circle in the middle of the page. This is the part that really forces them to question each other, justify their ideas (if they want them in the circle) and work as a team.

Once this is done you can go a step further and ask them to rank these 1-4 or just have each group share their ideas with the class. 

It was at this point that I introduced a hand signal to the class (which we have since used in all lessons) to distinguish between those who just want to share an idea, and those who have listened carefully and have a question for the person who just shared e.g. Can you tell us a bit more about why being brave is so important? Can you think of an example when an explorer might need to be especially fit and strong? Do you think being well prepared is more important than being healthy? 

I was so impressed with the questions my 6 and 7 year olds were asking each other! After just a little modelling, they really embraced it and I was proud of the dialogue happening in my classroom! 

There are lots of ways to carry on - having a class survey on which is the most important and creating graphs or moving the speaking and listening into a writing activity and writing persuasively.

Another great thing about this type of activity is how it cuts down on teacher talk time. The lesson I did on successful learners was 80:20 led by the class. The consensus activity formed the input of the lessons - no lecture from me! They then wrote letters to the new teacher telling them what they thought would make them great learners in their new class. At the end they gave each other feedback on the letters written and we discussed any further ideas. I just facilitated and encouraged and gave a nudge in the right direction as needed. 

I am sure there are lots of other ways you could use this activity, especially with older children and I would love to hear your ideas so please leave a comment below!

That's all for today - I hope you're enjoying your break no matter what stage of it you are in!

Summer Reading: Chapter 7

Richard Allington and Anne McGill-Frazen end our Summer Reading book study with a chapter that sums up their findings from the different studies that were shared throughout the book.  So I wanted to take a moment to review some of the important points that I gleamed from this book:

First of all, I think it was made very clear that the amount of voluntary summer reading that occurs by students from different socio-economic levels is the biggest factor to the achievement gap that we see in our schools. It was also noted that books are just not as available to kids in low income families when compared to middle class families.  I work in a low socio-economic school and it is true.  My kids repeatedly tell me..."I don't have books at home."  So I work hard to get as many books in their hands as I can.  What actually occurs in the homes of my students is out of my control, but what can I DO that positively impacts the practices in the home?

This leads me to the next part of this chapter: the ideas.  Allington and McGill-Frazen summarize some of the positive practices that were shared throughout the book but they inserted a few more.  I appreciated this because it got my brain thinking about what I could actually DO to impact some change.  Here are a few of my favorite ideas:

*send books home over the summer

* open the school library 1 day a week

* students call in and read to the school voicemail

* meeting students at the local library to discuss books

I actually read part of this book as the year was wrapping up in May.  When I read about how 15 books were given to each student by self-selection, I decided to try it out.  

Here's what I did: 

I filled my guided reading table with books at a specific DRA range.  Called groups of students over and handed them a bag.  

 Each student filled their bag with 15 books that looked interesting to them.  I repeated this process with the different DRA ranges.  By the end, every first grader had a summer book bag filled with 15 books that they chose.  There was one problem: these were not as "high interest" as I would have liked, but it was the best I could do with a last minute decision.  I am excited to ask the students about their experiences with the summer book bags when school resumes.

The role of public libraries was also mentioned in this chapter but it was pointed out that they must read out to economically disadvantaged families because they are less likely to go to the library.  I have found this to be true.  The public library that my students visit does have a good reading program and offers many, many incentives for reading.  But I am not convinced that the students that need to go there and check out books actually are.  Then I read, "middle class children are more likely to be engaged in organized summer programs than children from low-income families."

What can I do to help change this?  Can I help to start new habits within my school families?

These questions led to another decision that was made this summer.  After a school-wide book study, it was decided that we would offer a "Readbox" twice a week at dismissal.  We are a walking school; therefore, our lot is filled with families at dismissal time.  This is a perfect opportunity to push reading at home and offer free books to be checked out.  If parents are not going to go to the library, we will bring a version of a library to them.

My teammates and I have collected a rolling bookshelf (to roll outside) that will be painted red, a banner, a stamp for the books, books (as high interest as possible--notice the Disney characters!), and the Book Retriever app to check the books in and out.

So every week this year, my teammate and I will stand outside encouraging families to rent books from our "Readbox."  My hope is that this will become routine for families.  If this becomes the case, I would like to continue the routine during the summer months.

Has this book led you to want to make any changes in your school this upcoming year?

We would love to hear about them!  Anytime someone shares an idea, it helps to stir more and more within the rest of us!! Thank you for reading along with us.  It has been a helpful, insightful, and worthwhile read.

OTHER SUMMER READING BOOK STUDY POSTS:

• FIVE REASONS POOR CHILDREN SUFFER MORE FROM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
• WHY I WILL NOT PICK MY STUDENTS' BOOKS FOR THEM ANYMORE
• MAKING SUMMER READING PERSONAL
• SUMMER READING: CHAPTER 7
• WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK? ~ A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SUMMER READING
• PREVENTING SUMMER READING LOSS: WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• SUMMER READING: GETTING BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS

Making Summer Reading Personal

Hello Royal Readers! This week we are discussing the book Summer Reading by Richard Allington and Anne Mc-Gill-Frazen. Yesterday, Andrea shared how one principal took her summer reading program on the road. You can read that post {here}. Today, we'll focus on chapter six.

Making Summer Reading Personal and Local

This chapter takes an in-depth look at one district's personal and local approach to summer reading.

Summer reading loss has the potential to become a huge problem for children and school districts. Consider that a child can lose up to three months reading achievement each summer, which can accumulate to a gap of nearly 2 years by the end of sixth grade.  Wow, as a reading teacher I find that terrifying!

A Summer Books Program

One district rallied together to find a solution to the summer reading loss problem.  Principals, reading specialists, special education teachers, and building staffs studied Allington's work and developed a plan.  Here's what they did:

• Created a student interest survey for students to complete. The first year of the program, they began with first grade, adding a grade each year until the program serviced first through fourth graders.
• Developed a list of books to purchase based on the student interest survey.  
• Negotiated the best prices with shipping included.
• Purchased a large quantity of books (roughly 20 per student).
• Invited student to "shop" for their summer books prior to the end of the school year. 
• Challenged students to read 1000 minutes over the summer and document their minutes.
• Provided incentives (treats, surprises, postcards, phone calls, and a hotline to hear a special message) to maintain motivation throughout the summer.  
• Held a community event, a mid-summer reading reunion, to exchange books for fresh reading material.
• Collected the books and calculated the minutes upon the start of the new school year.
• Assessed students reading levels.

Funding

I'm sure you are wondering how much this program cost. It was expensive, but the district had the mindset of "pay now or pay later".

So how did they pay for it?  They raised the money by writing grants, enlisting the help of their PTO, and forming community partnerships.

Local businesses sponsored the mid-summer reading reunions. For example "Burgers and Books" was sponsored by Bob's Big Boy, and Outback Steakhouse sponsored the "Go Outback and Read BBQ and Book Exchange". Local newspapers promoted and covered the events.

Results

Nearly 80% of children who participated in the summer books program maintained or grew over the first summer.

The program has expanded over four years to serve grades 1-4. The current fourth graders, who received the books for three consecutive summers, have had the highest degree of success.

The success with special education population was especially impressive.

The program has become wildly popular. The whole community gets involved, parents are educated on the importance of summer reading, students look forward to receiving the large bag of books, and the mid-summer book exchange continues to grow each year.

Question for Discussion

What elements of this summer reading program could be used to improve the program at your school?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.  

Stop back tomorrow as we conclude our Summer Reading book study with Chapter 7: Where Do We Go from Here?

OTHER SUMMER READING BOOK STUDY POSTS:

• FIVE REASONS POOR CHILDREN SUFFER MORE FROM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
• WHY I WILL NOT PICK MY STUDENTS' BOOKS FOR THEM ANYMORE
• MAKING SUMMER READING PERSONAL
• SUMMER READING: CHAPTER 7
• WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK? ~ A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SUMMER READING
• PREVENTING SUMMER READING LOSS: WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• SUMMER READING: GETTING BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS

What's in the Truck? ~ A Different Approach to Summer Reading

Hello, everyone!  It's Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars again with some more insight into summer reading through the book Summer Reading by Richard Allington.

Imagine this scene:

It's a hot July day, and kids in rural areas are outside playing and enjoying some fun with family.  This old truck comes up the road and stops right in front of their house.

They come running to it with excitement!

The teacher gets out of the truck and begins talking to the children and adults at the house about the books they read the past week.  After the children return their books from the week before, they choose five new books they can and would like to read for the next week.

Smiles light up everyone's face during this visit!

This is exactly what one high poverty rural county in Florida has done for many summers.  Their teachers work together to ensure that students have access to appropriate reading material by driving the "bookmobile" into these rural areas.  Before the children choose new books, the teacher surveys them about what they read, liked, and didn't like.  Then the students choose 5 new books to read for the next week.

What were the findings?

1.  Students who participated full time (7-10 weeks) showed the most progress.

2.  Though it didn't increase fluency or sight word knowledge, it did affect the self-concept of each child probably because they were able to choose their own books at the appropriate level.

3.  Comprehension scores of full time participants saw gains.

4.  Though students did not achieve on grade level gains by the end of the summer, they still made gains, which eliminated the "summer slide".

Is this effective?

Yes, it is effective to some extent!  There were some gains with this model, but there needs to be more intensive interventions to make significant gains in students in poverty.

Where do we go from here?

The school that started the program has continued to have weekly book visits but have also incorporated a one-on-one tutoring intervention.  This has been extremely effective, both economically and for the students.

How might this model suit your school?

Would your colleagues share in helping you with a project like this?

Let us know what you think in the comments below.  And join us again tomorrow as we continue our book study of Summer Reading:  Closing the Rich/Poor Reading Achievement Gap by Richard Allington.

OTHER SUMMER READING BOOK STUDY POSTS:

• FIVE REASONS POOR CHILDREN SUFFER MORE FROM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
• WHY I WILL NOT PICK MY STUDENTS' BOOKS FOR THEM ANYMORE
• MAKING SUMMER READING PERSONAL
• SUMMER READING: CHAPTER 7
• WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK? ~ A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SUMMER READING
• PREVENTING SUMMER READING LOSS: WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• SUMMER READING: GETTING BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS

Why I Will NOT Pick My Students' Books For Them Anymore

Yes, I am guilty, and I bet I'm not the only one. I confess that I am a teacher who has selected books for my students' independent reading. Not as a general practice, really, but in a pinch when a child needed a book and didn't have time to pick or when he/she picked one that was too easy or too difficult to read. In fact, I've probably done it multiple times. Ironically, this was a discussion I had with a few teacher friends and our librarian at the beginning of the summer *before* I read this book. We talked about whether students should be "locked into their level" or allowed to pick freely, even when a book is beyond them. So, where would you fall in this discussion? Do you allow students to take books that are too hard, or do you limit them to books in their range, or do you give them one of each? In chapter four of Summer Reading, we learn there are reasons why we need to allow students to make book choices for themselves, but guiding their decision making is perfectly fine, especially if the child isn't aware of book levels.

Think about this quote for a minute and reflect back to your experiences as a child. Hopefully you remember how exciting it was to go to the library to pick just what you wanted to read. Perhaps you have children of your own and can relate to this quote too.  Choosing what you want to read has power, and completing those books creates pride.

At the beginning of chapter four, Dr. Allington discusses how important it is that we as teachers learn about our students' interests and about books that match them in order to help guide students to make good choices. We can learn about our students' preferences through interest inventories, group discussions, and from watching what they choose during library visits. Talking with your students while they're reading the book also helps the teacher know whether the genre or topic is a good fit too.  

So what does the research show?  Dr. Allington shared a study of 300 Black students in a urban school with a high percentage of low income students. The students were allowed to "shop" for books at a book fair that they were allowed to take home for summer reading (and keep).  Each was allowed to pick fifteen books, and during the "shopping" experiene, the student conversations were recorded. The students were very excited, and interestingly, the most popular titles selected by the students were about pop artists, cartoon superheroes, about places they were familiar with, the Captain Underpants series, and believe it or not, nonfiction which is atypical from other studies. They chose books that "reflected media and mass marketing interests". 

Once the students had made their selections, they were interviewed about how choices were made. In the interviews, one young lady shared that she thought Hilary Duff was "cool and liked how she dressed."  She shared the reason she chose the book was that she wanted to learn more about her. Superheroes were also popular because a few had seen movies about Incredible Hulk and Spiderman, so they picked Captain Underpants and How to Draw Spiderman. Luckily, teachers will be glad to know that some students shared that they chose based on read alouds their teachers had read to them or books they'd talked about in class, books the teacher recommended, or because a friend or relative had read the title.

So how have you established a reading culture in your classroom?  Please share your teacher tested ideas for others to consider, and be sure to return tomorrow for chapter five.  Andrea will talk to you about "Taking to the Streets!"  Sounds like a chapter you won't want to miss!

OTHER SUMMER READING BOOK STUDY POSTS:

• FIVE REASONS POOR CHILDREN SUFFER MORE FROM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
• WHY I WILL NOT PICK MY STUDENTS' BOOKS FOR THEM ANYMORE
• MAKING SUMMER READING PERSONAL
• SUMMER READING: CHAPTER 7
• WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK? ~ A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SUMMER READING
• PREVENTING SUMMER READING LOSS: WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• SUMMER READING: GETTING BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS

Preventing Summer Reading Loss: What Really Works?

Hello Royal Readers! This week we are discussing the book Summer Reading by Richard Allington and Anne Mc-Gill-Frazen. Yesterday Andrea shared the what the research says about summer reading and economically disadvantaged children. You can read that post {here}. Today, we'll focus on chapter three.

What Have We Learned about Addressing Summer Reading Loss?

This chapter takes an in-depth look at summer reading programs and the potential they demonstrated in addressing summer reading loss. Each summer program was conducted as a study with a treatment group and a control group.

In the first study, students from high poverty elementary schools were invited to attend spring book fairs.

The project targeted books that students could read at their independent level (99% accuracy with phrasing and expression).

Additionally, the books fit into four broad categories: popular series, popular culture, culturally relevant, and curriculum relevant.

Children were given free rein to select the books they wanted to read during the summer.

Overall this program demonstrated that providing self-selected summer reading materials improves reading achievement.

Another study was conducted with summer school students.  One group of the students participated in a summer reading club for 30-60 minutes of the day while others did not.

The reading club participants gained more in reading levels, reading accuracy, and fluency than their counterparts.

In yet another study, books were mailed out to students weekly over the summer. Prior to the start of summer, one group of students participated lessons at school that modeled oral reading and comprehension strategies.

Results of the study showed that students in this group scored significantly higher than the control groups.

What Does It Mean?

The findings of these studies suggest that voluntary summer reading may help close the rich/poor reading achievement gap. By increasing the amount of voluntary reading children did over the summer months summer reading loss was eliminated and growth was made.

Discussion Question

How could information presented in this chapter be used to improve the summer reading program at your school?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.  

Stop back each day this week for additional information on Summer Reading: Closing the Rich/Poor Reading Achievement Gap.

OTHER SUMMER READING BOOK STUDY POSTS:

• FIVE REASONS POOR CHILDREN SUFFER MORE FROM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
• WHY I WILL NOT PICK MY STUDENTS' BOOKS FOR THEM ANYMORE
• MAKING SUMMER READING PERSONAL
• SUMMER READING: CHAPTER 7
• WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK? ~ A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SUMMER READING
• PREVENTING SUMMER READING LOSS: WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• SUMMER READING: GETTING BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS

Summer Reading ~ What the Research Says

Happy summer, everyone!  It's Andrea from Reading Toward the Stars!  Even though my summer is coming to a close, I am still enjoying every moment I can of it.

Yesterday, Carla shared reasons that children in poverty suffer more from reading loss over the summer from the book Summer Reading by Richard Allington.  You can read that post by clicking {here}.

Today I will focus on chapter 2, which shares research findings for interventions that brought some help with summer slide to students in poverty.

After using rigorous methods to find research that had already been conducted, they came up with these 8 categories for the outcomes.

1.  attitudes toward reading

2.  motivation to read

3.  reading behavior

4.  basic language skills

5.  emergent literacy skills

6.  reading performance

7.  writing performance

8.  general academic performance

The bottom line

So...

From all of the many research the authors dug through, they used the most rigorous ones to show their data.  They found what we all probably already know:

"Providing books and magazines to children - either by lending the materials to them or by giving them the materials to keep - improves their attitudes toward reading, the amount of reading that they do, their acquisition of basic literacy skills, and their reading performance."  (Allington, 2013)  

In the next few posts, find out how different studies in different schools worked for their communities and how the children fared with their summer reading.  I love some of the ideas and how the interventions worked for these communities, so you won't want to miss them!

How has your school handled summer reading?  

What are some things you can do to help prevent summer slide?

And don't forget to come back tomorrow and the rest of the week to read more!

OTHER SUMMER READING BOOK STUDY POSTS:

• FIVE REASONS POOR CHILDREN SUFFER MORE FROM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
• WHY I WILL NOT PICK MY STUDENTS' BOOKS FOR THEM ANYMORE
• MAKING SUMMER READING PERSONAL
• SUMMER READING: CHAPTER 7
• WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK? ~ A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SUMMER READING
• PREVENTING SUMMER READING LOSS: WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• SUMMER READING: GETTING BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS

Five Reasons Poor Children Suffer More from Summer Learning Loss

Did you notice the title of this post?  Well, it is probably no surprise to any of us that summer learning loss hurts poor children more than any others. In fact, we've had data for a very long time proving it, but why is it that we continue to have our poor children falling further and further behind when we know the reason why? We have remediation programs in place during the school year, and we offer many children summer school. We may even send home summer work for them. Even so, why can't we seem to get to the root cause of the issue and fix it? 

In chapter one of Summer Reading, Dr. Allington shares the data showing how and why the achievement gap between rich and poor widens every year children are in school.  So ponder this a second...

What reasons popped into your mind?  Perhaps you thought that the parents just don't take the time for reading?  Maybe you thought that the kids are too busy swimming and playing, or were you thinking that teachers just don't take the time to tell parents how important it is?  Well, one of the real issues is the fact that many children lack access to appropriate reading materials, and each year children go without, the further behind they get. Here's a brief recap of Allington's research.

1. Poor children get most of their reading material from school or classroom library collections (Lamme 1976) and schools serving large numbers of poor children have smaller, older, and less diverse school and classroom library collections (Allington, Guice, Michelson, Baker, and Li 1996, Duke, 2000; Neuman, 2009).  This means poor children have a much more restricted selection of books. It was also found that they have fewer visits to the library, and more restrictions on what can be taken home.

2. Beyond the school setting, wealthier children had a greater number of bookstores available to them (3:1), but even worse are the differences in books available for purchase 16,000 compared to 55 books. On every measure, researchers found a "gaping difference." 

3. Family income has been shown to be a quite powerful predictor of the number of age-appropriate children's books and magazines that are available in the home. 

4. Access is not the only cause of summer learning loss.  Children's efficacy beliefs are linked to academic performance including their experiences as more or less successful readers.  A history of less success with reading produces a lower sense of self-efficacy than a history of successful reading experiences. Poor readers are more likely to be assigned texts that are too hard, texts they read with little fluency, limited accuracy, and without comprehension. Therefore, poor readers are less motivated to read voluntarily.

5. Creating classroom environments where successful reading is the norm for all children means that a one-size-fits-all curriculum plan (with everyone reading the same book) cannot produce a consistent pattern of successful reading.  Children need books they can read accurately, fluently, and with understanding. (McGill-Franzen 1993) to feel successful, and successful school reading leads to greater motivation to read voluntarily. 

As we look for ways to get quality literature that matches student needs and interests into the children's hands and motivate the children to read them, we need to consider these key principles.  

• With your reading plans during the school year, ensure that all students are reading extensively during the school day.  
• A focus on the volume of reading is different from a focus on time allocated for reading instruction.  The majority of the reading block should be spent reading.
• Your reading plan should enhance students' desire to read voluntarily at night, on weekends, and during the summer.

• Program plans should make sure classroom book collections match the needs and interests of all students.
• Classroom libraries should include hundreds of titles at the appropriate level of difficulty.
• Programs should emphasize that students have books available for take home on weekends and throughout the summer.
• Finally, programs should help teachers develop skills in matching children and books. 

At the close of chapter one, Allington leaves the reader with an important note keeping these two principles in mind.  He says, "All children need consistent access to rich and explicit demonstrations of the thinking that proficient readers do before, during, and after reading, or expert instruction." It is during the independent practice that students use these skills and strategies and come to own them. Without regular successful reading practice, reading proficiency seems more difficult to achieve.

So, readers, we have plans to make, don't we?  Can we idly sit back and allow children who are at such a disadvantage continue to fall further and further behind, or are we going to make reading plans?  

Come back tomorrow to read about and share intervention plans that increase children's access to reading materials and that improve reading proficiency.

OTHER SUMMER READING BOOK STUDY POSTS:

• FIVE REASONS POOR CHILDREN SUFFER MORE FROM SUMMER LEARNING LOSS
• WHY I WILL NOT PICK MY STUDENTS' BOOKS FOR THEM ANYMORE
• MAKING SUMMER READING PERSONAL
• SUMMER READING: CHAPTER 7
• WHAT'S IN THE TRUCK? ~ A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO SUMMER READING
• PREVENTING SUMMER READING LOSS: WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• SUMMER READING: GETTING BOOKS IN THEIR HANDS