First of a 3 part series to support intermediate classroom teachers and resource teachers in teaching reading to diverse groups of students.

1. Intermediate Literacy
Quesnel
Nov. 27, 2015
Slideshare.net/fayebrownlie/
quesnel/intermediate

2. Learning Intentions:
• I have a beAer understanding of the big pieces
of intermediate literacy and can recognize
them in my work with students.
• I am feeling beAer equipped to deal with
diversity in my class.
• I have a plan to try something that is different
for me in teaching literacy.

3. The teeter totter
kids
kids curriculum

4. Big Ideas
– Teaching counts!
• Our instrucIonal choices impact significantly on
student learning
• We teach responsively
– All kids can learn and we know enough
collectively to teach all kids!
• An unwavering belief that everyone has the right to be
included socially, emoIonally, and intellectually

5. Big Ideas
– Engage the learners!
• If you are not engaged, you can’t be learning.
– Provide access for all!
• Low floor, high ceiling

6. We CAN teach all our kids to read.
• Struggling readers need to read MORE than
non-struggling readers to close the gap.
• Struggling readers need to form a mental
model of what readers do when reading.
• Struggling readers need to read for meaning
and joy ☺
• Struggling readers do NOT need worksheets,
scripted programs, or more skills pracIce.

7. Reading Theory and Practice
-the mental model

8. Building Reading Strategies
• Reading is always about understanding.
• What strategies did you use to make sense of
this text?
• Compare your strategies with those of your
partner.

10. IEP

11. • An evaluaIon of the policy of incenIves and
earned privileges (IEP) in prisons in England
and Wales found mainly negaIve effects on
prisoner behaviour and percepIons of fairness
and relaIonships with staff.
• “IEP Revisited: Fairness, DiscreIon, and the Quality of Prison
Life” – Liebling, 2008

12. This is My Rock
- David McCord
This is my rock
And here I run
To steal the secret of the sun;
This is my rock
And here come I
Before the night has swept the sky
This is my rock,
This is the place
I meet the evening face to face.

13. Graphic Novels

14. Reading is understanding.
Reading is making sense in
disciplines.

15. M – meaning
Does this make sense?
S – language structure
Does this sound right?
V – visual informaIon
Does this look right?

16. • Early reading intervenIon – oden assesses using
‘constrained skills’, skills that comprise a finite
body of knowledge (phonemic awareness,
phonics) – easy to measure (Paris,2005)
• Later reading intervenIon – assess
‘unconstrained skills’, vocabulary and
comprehension which conInue to improve across
a lifeIme (Paris, 2005)
• In Fisher, Frey, Lapp, 2011

17. Frameworks for Learning
It’s All about Thinking (English, Humanities, Social Studies) –
Brownlie & Schnellert, 2009
It’s All about Thinking (Math, Science)– Brownlie, Fullerton,
Schnellert, 2011

18. Universal Design for Learning
MulIple means:
-to tap into background knowledge, to acIvate
prior knowledge, to increase engagement and
moIvaIon
-to acquire the informaIon and knowledge to
process new ideas and informaIon
-to express what they know.
Rose & Meyer, 2002

19. Backwards Design
• What important ideas and enduring
understandings do you want the students to
know?
• What thinking strategies will students need to
demonstrate these understandings?
McTighe & Wiggins, 2001

20. • How do we help every student to
become a beAer reader?

21. Choice

22. Collaboration

23. Challenge

24. Respect

25. Access
not accommodate or adapt

26. Differentiation

27. Background knowledge has a greater impact on
being able to read a text than anything else.
-Doug Fisher, Richard Allington

28. “Know thy impact.”
Visible Learning for Teachers
Maximizing Impact on Learning
John Haje, 2012
Is what you are doing,
getting you what you want?

29. Encouraging Literate Conversations
• The post-it note explosion☺
– The author used exquisite language.
– The author created strong emoIon in you!
– You have a clear image.
– You have a quesIon.
– What happened causes you to say “Wow!”
– You have found phrase you want to use.
– From Student Diversity, 2nd ed.

30. • Image Words
• QuesIons EmoIons/feelings

31. How can I help my students develop more
depth in their responses? They are writing
with no voice when I ask them to imagine
themselves as a demi-god in the novel.

32. Students need:
• to ‘be’ a character
• support in ‘becoming’ that character
• to use specific detail and precise vocabulary to
support their interpretaIon
• choice
• pracIce
• to develop models of ‘what works’
• a chance to revise their work

33. The Plan
• Review scene from novel
• Review criteria for powerful journey response
• Brainstorm who you could be in this scene
• 4 minute write, using ‘I’
• Writers’ mumble
• Stand if you can share…
• What can you change/add/revise?
• Share your wriIng with a partner

39. Volcano Surfing Sequence

40. Intensive Vocabulary Building
Before During A-er
acIve
cinder cone
erupted
steep slopes
billowing
crater
degree
angle

42. • Ader making the tough climb to the top,
volcano surfers put on ___________________
clothing – including ___________ goggles and
someImes _____________ jumpsuits – to
keep out all the ash.

43. • Ader making the tough climb to the top,
volcano surfers put on
p___________________ clothing – including
p___________ goggles and someImes
o_____________ jumpsuits – to keep out all
the ash.

44. • Ader making the tough climb to the top,
volcano surfers put on pro_________(3 syllables, root
word, keep you safe) clothing – including p______
(material) goggles and someImes o______ (colour)
jumpsuits – to keep out all the ash.

45. Why is volcano surfing risky?
• Read with the quesIon in mind.
• Answer the quesIon, with a partner, orally.
• Answer the quesIon in wriIng, using as many of
the key terms from the text as possible. Can you
give 3 reasons? 4?
• In Crazy Challenges – Jill Eggleton
• Key Links Literacy

48. Creating an Inquiry Classroom
- increasing engagement and
thinking
• With Angela Curle, grade 5/6
• Lakeview Elementary, Quesnel

49. Goal: create curiosity and
questioning, deepen thinking
• Model ‘noIce’, ‘think’, ‘quesIon’ with a picture
• Students, in groups of 3, ‘noIce’, ‘think’,
‘quesIon’ with another picture
• Students move to add on to a 2nd picture
• Model ‘explode the sentence’
• Students, in groups of 3, ‘explode the sentence’
• Begin to read the text. NoIce engagement and
thinking.

60. Dear Mrs. La Rue,
How could you do this to me? This is a PRISON,
not a school. You should see the other dogs.
They are BAD DOGS, Mrs. La Rue! I do not fit
in. Even the journey here was a horror.

63. Resources
• Assessment & Instruc7on of ESL Learners – Brownlie, Feniak,
& McCarthy, 2004
• Grand Conversa7ons, ThoughAul Responses – a unique
approach to literature circles – Brownlie, 2005
• Student Diversity, 2nd ed. – Brownlie, Feniak & Schnellert,
2006
• Reading and Responding, gr. 4,5,&6 – Brownlie & Jeroski,
2006
• It’s All about Thinking – collabora7ng to support all learners
(in English, Social Studies and Humani7es) – Brownlie &
Schnellert, 2009
• It’s All about Thinking – collabora7ng to support all learners
(in Math and Science) - Brownlie, Fullerton & Schnellert, 2011
• Learning in Safe Schools, 2nd ed – Brownlie & King, Oct., 2011