11 September 2007
Literacy In Studio School
In Studio School an individualized literacy learning program will be developed for each student. Students will be thoroughly assessed in each of the components of reading (phonics, comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary) and writing (grammar and mechanics, content or ideas, critical thinking, organization, etc.) using variety of diagnostic assessment tools. A comprehensive, reading inventory (Cooter, Flynt, & Cooter, 2006) will assess components of reading such as word attack, comprehension, and fluency. Vocabulary will be assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Dunn & Dunn, 2007) and a measure of oral reading fluency in terms of words read per minute will be taken. Writing samples will be assessed using the rubrics which assess the 6+1 Traits of Writing (Culham, 2003). Orthographic knowledge will be assessed using the Upper Level Spelling Inventory (Bear, Invernizzi, Templeton, & Johnston, 2004). The results of these assessments will be used to group and re-group students in order to work on specific skills and strategies. Scholastic’s, Inc. Read 180 program is one computerized assessment example which offers a comprehensive system of individualized and small-group instruction matching instructional materials, activities, and interventions based on thorough student assessment. Using tools such as Read 180, teachers will target instruction to support the specific skills students are lacking.
Research has increasingly shown the importance of providing students with readable texts (Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998). Struggling students are all too often given texts which are too difficult to read, especially during traditional text-book based instruction during which all students read the same thing at the same time. During the literacy block of the Studio School day, students will be matched to appropriate texts using Lexile measures. In a collaboration between Metametrix and the Mississippi Department of education, students reading levels are measured annually on the Mississippi Curriculum Test and can be measured periodically using progress monitoring assessments (in development). These tests provide a Lexile measure, an indicator of the difficulty of texts which students are able to read with sufficient accuracy and comprehension. Metametrix maintains a vast database of books, articles, short stories, and other texts which have been ranked with Lexile measures which indicate the relative reading difficulty of each text. Lexile measures and reading level scores allow teachers to match students with readable texts. Once students are matched with readable texts, the Studio Schools literacy block will focus on increasing opportunity to read during the school days. Research has shown that extended opportunities for engaged reading of both narrative and informational text during the school day is related to achievement gains in reading comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency (Allington, 2001; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1998).
In particular, the literacy block will focus on providing extended opportunity to read (and write) texts related to the studio based cases and design problems presented during the afternoon block. This type of reading instruction will focus on extending literacy skills through extended, relevant study of texts related to content instruction, and instruction in the literacy practices related to the particular texts needed for content area learning, in what is known as concept-oriented literacy instruction (Wigfield, Guthrie, & Perencevich, 2004). Proficient readers use different literacy skills for each genre and type of text that they read. For example, proficient readers read novels and literature from start to finish, but might read expository texts or web pages in non-linear manner, accessing only the information necessary to solve a particular problem or answer a specific question. Each discipline has its own unique set of discipline-specific texts. The literacy block will help students to acquire a wide range of literacy skills specific to each discipline. For example, during a unit on forest resources, students might be taught about the structures of scientific research articles, how to use abstracts to determine the relevance of given research, and the features of effective persuasive letters. Later, during a unit on engineering, students might be taught how to read blue prints and how to use advertising techniques to write brochures marketing their designs. To support this learning, students will be taught to use databases such as EBSCOhost and Student Research Center to search for readable texts. These databases allow students to search for journal reports, newspaper and magazine articles, literary texts, and other materials at particular Lexile reading levels. In that way, students who are working on the same general topic can find readable texts at their individual level to support their learning and inquiry.
The work of the National Writing Project, a federally funded initiative to improve writing achievement, has shown the importance of engaging students in regular, sustained writing for real audiences beyond the classroom (Project & Nagin, 2006). An audience for writing provides a reason to learn Standard English mechanics and grammar, to revise work for organization and clarity, and to communicate clearly and concisely. Each studio based learning unit of study will include writing or communicating with an outside audience. Students will be expected to write persuasive letters to real audiences (e.g. the Environmental Protection Agency, local and regional newspapers, etc.), or to give presentations to local boards (e.g. the Rotary Club, or middle school students). The literacy block will support students in the drafting, revising, and sharing of their sol-related compositions. Teachers will carefully assess and analyze student’s drafts and final products to determine strengths and weaknesses in writing, and use that assessment and analysis to develop targeted skill and strategy instruction in spelling, grammar, mechanics, and composition.
In particular, the literacy block will focus on higher-order reading comprehension. Students must be able to move beyond literal comprehension and to become critical, thoughtful readers. Comprehension instruction focuses on reading and understanding the author’s message, and moves beyond comprehension to support students in making connections across texts, to evaluate texts’ applicability to particular problems and design cases, and to engage in critical reading of texts in order to judge the author’s purpose and bias in order to gauge a texts’ believability. The literacy instruction period will focus on well-researched comprehension strategies (e.g. making connections, visualization, asking questions (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000)) and critical literacy instruction (Lankshear & McClaren, 1993).