Bringing together leading experts, this book presents the principles of effective literacy leadership and describes proven methods for improving instruction, assessment, and schoolwide professional development. The book shows how all school staff--including reading specialists and coaches, administrators, teachers, and special educators--can play an active role in nurturing a culture of collaboration and promoting student achievement. Best practices are identified for creating strong elementary and secondary literacy programs, differentiating instruction, supporting English language learners, utilizing technology, building home-school partnerships, and much more. User-friendly features include case examples, guiding questions, and engagement activities in each chapter.
This authoritative text and practitioner resource has now been extensively revised and expanded with 70% new material covering new topics and standards in literacy leadership. Prominent experts present research-based methods for improving instruction, assessment, and professional learning experiences in PreK–12. The distinct roles of teachers, reading/literacy specialists, literacy coaches, special educators, and principals are explored, with an emphasis on fostering a culture of collaboration. Chapters highlight the standards that apply to each component of a schoolwide literacy program, give examples of what they look like in schools, and share implications for classroom practice and professional learning. Pedagogical features include guiding questions, case examples, vignettes, engagement activities, and annotated resources for further learning. New to This Edition *Now copublished with the International Literacy Association (ILA) and grounded in ILA's updated Standards 2017; expanded grade range includes PreK. *Chapters on new topics: writing instruction, sustaining schoolwide improvements, and collaborative leadership. *New chapters on core topics: the principal’s role, assessment, middle and high school literacy programs, special education, and culturally responsive instruction. *Vignettes from leaders in diverse roles, “Think About This” questions for discussion/reflection, and end-of-chapter annotated resources.
Literacy is a skill for all time, for all people. It is an integral part of our lives, whether we are students or adult professionals. Giving all educators the breadth of knowledge and practical tools that help students strengthen their literacy skills is the focus of Read, Write, Lead. Drawing on her experience as a mentor teacher, reading specialist, instructional coach, and staff developer, author Regie Routman offers time-tested advice on how to develop a schoolwide learning culture that leads to more effective reading and writing across the curriculum. She explains how every school—including yours—can: implement instructional practices that lead to better engagement and achievement in reading and writing for all students, from kindergarten through high school, including second-language and struggling learners; build Professional Literacy Communities of educators working together to create sustainable school change through professional learning based on shared beliefs; reduce the need for intervention through daily practices that ensure success, even for our most vulnerable learners; and embed the language of productive feedback in responsive instruction, conferences, and observations in order to accelerate learning for students, teachers, and leaders. In their own voices, teachers, principals, literacy specialists, and students offer real-life examples of changes that led to dramatic improvement in literacy skills and—perhaps just as important--increased joy in teaching and learning. Scattered throughout the book are “Quick Wins”--ideas and actions that can yield positive, affirming results while tackling the tough work of long-term change.
Bringing together prominent scholars, this book shows how 21st-century research and theory can inform everyday instructional practices in early childhood classrooms (PreK-3). Coverage includes foundational topics such as alphabet learning, phonological awareness, oral language development, and learning to write, as well as cutting-edge topics such as digital literacy, informational texts, and response to intervention. Every chapter features guiding questions; an overview of ideas and findings on the topic at hand; specific suggestions for improving instruction, assessment, and/or the classroom environment; and an engrossing example of the practices in action.
This authoritative text and practitioner resource has now been extensively revised and expanded with 70% new material covering new topics and standards in literacy leadership. Prominent experts present research-based methods for improving instruction, assessment, and professional learning experiences in PreK–12. The distinct roles of teachers, reading/literacy specialists, literacy coaches, special educators, and principals are explored, with an emphasis on fostering a culture of collaboration. Chapters highlight the standards that apply to each component of a schoolwide literacy program, give examples of what they look like in schools, and share implications for classroom practice and professional learning. Pedagogical features include guiding questions, case examples, vignettes, engagement activities, and annotated resources for further learning. New to This Edition *Now copublished with the International Literacy Association (ILA) and grounded in ILA's updated Standards 2017; expanded grade range includes PreK. *Chapters on new topics: writing instruction, sustaining schoolwide improvements, and collaborative leadership. *New chapters on core topics: the principal’s role, assessment, middle and high school literacy programs, special education, and culturally responsive instruction. *Vignettes from leaders in diverse roles, “Think About This” questions for discussion/reflection, and end-of-chapter annotated resources.
Assessment literacy leads to improved outcomes for all Do you know how to ensure teachers have the knowledge and skill to use assessment data to improve student learning? Do you know the influence that student involvement in assessments has on motivation and learning? This book guides you and your leadership team through 10 assessment literacy goals with practical content, how-to's, success indicators, and activities to extend and process learning. You will come away understanding the attributes of comprehensive and balanced assessment systems, the necessity for clear academic achievement targets, and why assessment quality is essential. In addition to providing rubrics, processes, and practical tools that work across all grade levels and subject areas, this book shows you how to: · Work with staff to integrate formative assessment and sound grading practices · Communicate with all members of the school community about student learning · Protect students and teachers by avoiding unethical and inappropriate assessment use · Use student assessment information to improve and inform instruction · Develop assessment policies that support quality assessment practice
In Responsive Literacy Coaching, Cheryl Dozier draws on twenty-four years of experience as an elementary classroom teacher and teacher educator to present both a theoretical framework and practical tools to enact responsive literacy coaching. Through thoughtful and purposeful coaching, teachers learn effective ways to improve literacy instruction and student achievement. The range of tools offered in the text invite customization based on the reader's specific instructional context. This framework empowers literacy coaches and teachers through conversation, sustained engagement, and reflective analysis. Dozier argues that at its best, literacy coaching is responsive, collegial, thoughtful, thought-provoking, deliberate, reflective, and transferable. In this book she invites readers to enter into a coaching dialogue, through:vignettes that bring coaching interactions to life;prompts to engage both teachers and students;occasions for collaborative reflection; frequently-asked questions. As literacy tasks are documented and analyzed, coaching interactions logged and categorized, and assessment scores scrutinized, Dozier cautions coaches to avoid being so caught up in the doing of coaching that one forgets the purpose behind it. In this book she provides an occasion for them to step back, and ask, what is the goal of literacy coaching? What kind of literacy environments and experiences are we creating for our schools and our students? What is possible as we engage in transformative literacy practices? While the tools offered in this book do not provide a "quick fix," they foster critical thinking and sustained inquiry that leads to positive change for both teachers and students.
Directly linked with overall student achievement, graduation rates, and success in higher education, literacy is essential for reaching academic goals in a school or county. Adolescent literacy has become the focus of many school improvement efforts to meet the needs of secondary and high school students. Without the requisite expertise in literacy, administrators and other school leaders charged with literacy improvement initiatives need a systemic and sustained approach for improving student literacy and learning. Taking the Lead on Adolescent Literacy presents a concrete, user-friendly, and practical guide to developing, implementing, and monitoring a schoolwide or county-wide literacy action plan. Readers will find rubrics, tools, and processes developed and field-tested by the authors over more than 10 years of close work with schools across the country.
Practical suggestions and guidance for helping school district literacy leaders achieve growth and development in themselves, their students, the school culture, and the profession in general. An invaluable tool for current and aspiring literacy leaders, this resource presents clear guidelines for fostering collaboration among colleagues, improving teacher effectiveness by involving teachers as learners, and engaging teachers in planning for their own growth and development. Included are contributions from classroom teachers across grade levels, literacy coaches and reading specialists working in school districts, representatives from outside agencies, teacher educators, administrators, and parents in both urban and rural school settings. Their experiences, coupled with the examples that the authors provide from their work with teachers, bring the ideas to life for readers. To further the connection between the ideas and real life, the authors include interviews with an elementary education and literacy leader, a secondary education and high school literacy leader, and a literacy leadership team, all speaking out on the issues involved in effective literacy leadership. Each chapter also includes Common Core State Standards Connections, Response to Intervention Connections, and discussions of how ethical literacy leaders face and solve problems.
"Every student deserves a great teacher, not by chance, but by design" — Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, & John Hattie What if someone slipped you a piece of paper listing the literacy practices that ensure students demonstrate more than a year’s worth of learning for a year spent in school? Would you keep the paper or throw it away? We think you’d keep it. And that’s precisely why acclaimed educators Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and John Hattie wrote Visible Learning for Literacy. They know teachers will want to apply Hattie’s head-turning synthesis of more than 15 years of research involving millions of students, which he used to identify the instructional routines that have the biggest impact on student learning. These practices are "visible" for teachers and students to see, because their purpose has been made clear, they are implemented at the right moment in a student’s learning, and their effect is tangible. Yes, the "aha" moments made visible by design. With their trademark clarity and command of the research, and dozens of classroom scenarios to make it all replicable, these authors apply Hattie’s research, and show you: How to use the right approach at the right time, so that you can more intentionally design classroom experiences that hit the surface, deep, and transfer phases of learning, and more expertly see when a student is ready to dive from surface to deep. Which routines are most effective at specific phases of learning, including word sorts, concept mapping, close reading, annotating, discussion, formative assessment, feedback, collaborative learning, reciprocal teaching, and many more. Why the 8 mind frames for teachers apply so well to curriculum planning and can inspire you to be a change agent in students’ lives—and part of a faculty that embraces the idea that visible teaching is a continual evaluation of one’s impact on student’s learning. "Teachers, it’s time we embrace the evidence, update our classrooms, and impact student learning in wildly positive ways," say Doug, Nancy, and John. So let’s see Visible Learning for Literacy for what it is: the book that renews our teaching and reminds us of our influence, just in time.
