All teachers want their students to be able to participate in class discussions, to talk confidently and with conviction about a topic, and to share their insights and perceptions about that topic. When teachers take the time to introduce, define and demonstrate how to use the seven essential literacy skills, students are able to apply them to their own reading. They are able to break down those complex phrases and inferences to make meaning.
Clearing the Path for Developing Learners with Peg Grafwallner
Clearing the Path for Developing Learners: Essential Literacy Skills to Support Achievement in Every Content Area is a book that came about after educators in Peg’s district began breaking down what essential literacy skills made their appears in standards, curriculum, and other areas. While I’ll let her talk more about these seven essential skills, I will say that Peg was recently a guest speaker for my Curriculum and Instructional Leadership course discussing these very skills. I think you will find a lot of applications in what Peg is discussing along with the usefulness her new book can provide districts.
After you listen to today's episode, go to www.escottengland.com and click on the Podcast tab at the top to find today's episode page and read more about Peg.
Productive Struggle with Peg Grafwallner
Productive struggle is something that we should all encounter, but moreover, productive struggle is something that we should all embrace. Afterall, when we experience productive struggle that means we are making grounds at getting to our goal. My guest today, Peg Grafwallner, would agree. Peg is the author of Not Yet…And That’s OK: How Productive Struggle Fosters Student Learning. She joins us today to talk more about the not yet mindset and the productive struggle including strategies in how to boost student engagement and learning.
Adolescent Literacy Series - #7 of 7: Delineate and Evaluate an Argument
Every day, in every classroom, students are expected to understand and analyze arguments. However, this work requires students to possess and practice explicit communication skills that some have not adequately developed. To be successful 21st century learners and professionals, students must be able to understand that not all information is reliable; in addition, they must be able to determine credible sources, conduct research, and think critically about texts. Delineating and evaluating arguments is a vital skill students require in academics and beyond.
Adolescent Literacy Series - #6 of 7: Inference
The value of being able to infer – to apply inferences when reading – is necessary in the classroom and beyond. By giving students adequate practice in the classroom, teachers support them to move toward automaticity, which they’ll need to transfer the skill to diverse contexts beyond academic learning.
Adolescent Literacy Series - #5 of 7: Compare and Contrast
One might contend that the foundational skill of compare and contrast is a challenging skill for some children to master and, as a result, we should hold off teaching it until a certain age or a certain grade level. However, we know that when skills are introduced at an early level – even in the most basic formats – we are providing that background knowledge that becomes so necessary later in our students’ academic careers.
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Adolescent Literacy Series - #4 of 7: Cause, Effect, Solution and Outcome
The foundational skill of cause and effect focuses on connections that students are able to make between the results and what caused those results. Teaching cause and effect can open up the conversation to more than just the consequence of the reason; it can inspire our students to learn more about issues they care about. Think about tackling a school issue or a social justice issue and giving your students the chance to learn more about the causes and effects of those issues making that opportunity even more real, relevant, and relatable.
What Productive Struggle Looks Like When Students Use Technology
In this episode, educator and author, Peg Grafwallner, joins to unpack the term productive struggle and what this can look like in every content area – from ELA to PE. You’ll also hear about Peg’s book, Ready to Learn, and how teachers can model productive struggle throughout the day, including with technology, to set up students for success.
Adolescent Literacy Series - #3 of 7: Vocabulary
Vocabulary is the key to understanding what we want our students to know and be able to do; without it, our students are unlikely to comprehend the complex content in front of them. We know academic vocabulary is the mainstay of the classroom experience and what it has to offer.
Language That Encourages Learning
I recently observed a teacher introducing an upcoming heart rate lab by telling the students how “easy” the lab would be. She reiterated her point several times, explaining that they would “get it right away” and “really, this is so easy,” with extra verbal and physical emphasis on “so.”
As I listened to the words she chose, I was struck by the immense weight of those words…
Making Sure Students’ Struggles Are Productive
While we know every learning challenge is an empowering opportunity to grow, we also know that message might sometimes be lost on our students. Those learning challenges can cause some students to become frustrated and shut down from the learning.
Adolescent Literacy Series - #2 of 7: Main Idea, Details and Summary
Besides academic vocabulary, I cannot think of a cross-curricular skill that is most often used in the classroom, in college, and in the world of work. Finding the main idea is paramount to understanding any piece of communication. According to Kelly Roell from ThoughtCo. (2019), “Finding the main idea of a paragraph or longer passage of text is one of the most important reading skills to master, along with concepts like making an inference, finding the author's purpose, or understanding vocabulary words in context.” Consider this, locating the main idea begins the discussion about the what and without that what there wouldn’t be a need to move toward the supporting details, or toward more discussion!
Adolescent Literacy Series - #1 of 7: Annotation and Personal Inquiry
We want our students to interact with text in a personal way; to make inquiries and comments that demonstrate their learning in a way that makes sense to them. To comprehend text, one must deconstruct the text. That deconstruction begins with explicit directions from the teacher on how to read the text and make meaning from it.
Adolescent Literacy Series - Introduction: The Seven Proficiencies
In 2014, I became an Academic Coach at Ronald W. Reagan College Preparatory high school in Milwaukee. The position was relatively new to RRHS, so I had the opportunity to make it my own. My principal, however, was clear on one specific component of my position: raise ACT reading scores. I had some background in the ACT College and Career Reading, Writing and English standards as an ACT test preparation teacher for those subjects; but, to help our students in moving beyond Reagan’s current score, I knew I needed to immerse myself in the ACT skills.
The Practical Classroom
In my most recent book, Not Yet…And That’s Ok: How Productive Struggle Fosters Student Learning, I explain the mindset of the Not Yet approach as an opportunity for teachers to create an authentic classroom experience where students value setbacks and obstacles as ways to grow, learn, and develop. Instead of allowing failure to define the student, the not-yet approach creates opportunities to normalize development and empowers students to realize learning takes time and that mastery isn’t the end of their growth.
How I Learned in My Summer Vacation
Years ago, it wasn’t unusual for the teacher to assign the usual “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” essay to welcome back students to the classroom. Teachers Pay Teachers (a website I would never recommend) has nearly 458 activities that incorporate the “summer vacation” theme. There are thousands of “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” images available on Google for teachers to download, print, and give to their students. “How I Spent My Summer Vacation” appears to be a part of an academic rite of summer passage.
Ready to Learn: The FRAME Model for Optimizing Student Success
Rita Platt over at Middle Web reviews Ready to Learn: The FRAME Model for Optimizing Student Success.
Are You Asking Questions, or Teaching Inquiry?
Asking questions—good questions—is, arguably, the basis for a curious, passionate classroom. There is no way to explain that feeling when a classroom is erupting in enthusiastic discussion. It is magical, both for the teacher and for the students.
However, asking questions and teaching inquiry are often misconstrued as the same thing. If I’m asking thought-provoking, open-ended questions, I must be teaching inquiry. Not necessarily.
The More You Know
Introduction
Spring cleaning had recently descended upon our basement and it was time to purge. I began with my daughter’s bin of elementary school work. As I read each worksheet and admired each drawing, I couldn’t help but remember how far we had come.
We adopted Ani from a Bulgarian orphanage when she was five years, 11 months. She weighed 23 pounds. She had never learned to chew or sip. She had never taken a bath or had her hair washed. She had never brushed her teeth. She had never been comforted, rocked or held. She didn’t know Bulgarian, but “spoke” infantile babble. She didn’t understand how to play with toys. She was a little lost soul, but one with a magnetic smile and unwavering spirit.
“Other Health Impaired Issues” Diagnosis
Upon bringing Ani home, we requested special education tests be administered. The tests confirmed what we had initially suspected – Ani was diagnosed as cognitively impaired. However, the school psychologist felt Ani did not warrant the autism label and she was given a 504 diagnosis – “other health impaired issues.”
As Ani began her academic career, her speech teacher, a neighbor of mine, gave us the best advice for supporting her new life – “Give her experiences, as many as possible. Get her in the community. Take her everywhere you go.” We followed that advice. Ani attended nearly all of her brother’s hockey and football games. She went with my husband to the liquor store and car wash; she went with me to the grocery store and Target. She went where we went.
Her teachers’ focus was helping Ani to communicate. In the bin were dozens of “completed” worksheets; often black outlines of ordinary household objects, common foods, and everyday clothing with Ani’s recognizable scrawl underneath the picture. The goal was to have Ani cut out the object or food or clothing, glue it on another sheet of paper and label it. Her teacher’s note often said that Ani grew “tired” after cutting, gluing and labeling. For a little girl who had been rocking her life away, this was a lot of physical, mental and emotional work.
Prior Knowledge
As I was sorting through the bin deciding what to keep and what to toss, I saw a green piece of construction paper with the same recognizable process – cut, glue, label. However, these pictures were much more complicated. There was a picture of a lily pad, a tadpole, and cattails, and other water-themed black outlines. The teacher’s note began, “Ani matched these these words, then she identified the pictures. She had trouble looking past the first few letters when matching, and she also had some trouble identifying some of the pictures.”
This was a second grade assignment, so Ani had been with us, in the United States, for about three years. I wondered how many typical students living in the United States their entire lives would be able to identify those items? Nearly 18 years later, I realize now how shortsighted that assignment was.
Ani had no prior knowledge of “lily pad,” “tadpole,” or “cattails.” Growing up in an orphanage severely limited her most basic experiences. In addition, we were focusing on the most essential vocabulary to help her communicate her needs and feelings.
We know the value of prior knowledge. The 1988 iconic baseball study by Recht and Leslie (1988) explained that “children with greater knowledge of baseball recalled more than did children with less knowledge” (p. 18). When Ani’s classroom teacher explained that Ani didn’t seem to understand the book they read about dogs; I agreed. We had a cat. When Ani couldn’t comprehend a story about soccer, I concurred. Her brother played hockey and football.
In our case, all of Ani’s teachers (classroom teacher, special education teacher, occupational therapist, and speech teacher) knew her background and lack of experiences. We didn’t hide it; in fact, we shared it with the community. We wanted our neighbors to know Ani and her many talents. We also knew our family could be a strong educational advocate for inclusion, patience, and empathy.
Then and Now
As an Instructional Coach and Reading Specialist with nearly 27 years in education; I collaborate with teachers, but no longer have a classroom of my own. As I looked at Ani’s work again, I realized what I could have done better to really get to know my students and what Ani’s teachers could now do for their students.
I always asked my students to write a Dear Teacher letter at the start of the year. I recommend teachers create something similar for their students. This early communication might help a student feel comfortable right away by sharing their background..
I usually sent home to family members a Family Survey for more information. I encourage teachers to craft something like this for their students. Of course, it doesn’t have to be so in-depth; maybe five questions for each category is enough.
While I met with my students individually, we usually met to discuss their essay corrections. Now, I would structure those conferencing opportunities with more purpose and I encourage teachers to have those in-depth meetings for all student work.
I would have communicated with students’ families more often. Even though I sent emails and made phone calls, I realize now, it’s wasn’t enough. I remind teachers that I will gladly do whatever I can to give them the time to make phone calls or craft emails.
While I threw away many worksheets that day, I did not throw away Ani’s particular assignment. In fact, it is hanging in my office as a reminder of the critical importance of getting to know our students, their backgrounds and their experiences.
Teacher, Coach and Everything In Between
But, the single most important thing I remembered throughout these first several weeks was the critical importance of selling myself and my product. I was not in classrooms to tell teachers what to do; on the contrary, I was observing to learn how to support them and the important work they did. I needed to be still; to learn what they needed without maybe having the ability to exactly define it.
