“Why would I?”
I was talking to a teacher who is a few years into her career and encouraging her to register for our state reading conference when she asked me this question.
“What do you mean?”
“Why would I go and learn about other practices when I just have to come back here and do this? she asked, pointing to her spiral-bound teacher’s guide of our new literacy curriculum.
“That is the what,” I said. “It is not the how or the why.”
And it is the how and the why that matters most when it comes to teaching and learning. As someone who takes classes, attends conferences, and reads professional books and articles, I know this to be true. However, in the era of shiny resources, standardized tests and mandated curricula, both new and veteran teachers alike are questioning their role and their practice.
That is why I designed the course, Architects of Understanding: Building Blocks of Comprehension Instruction.
This course is based on my belief that the best way to learn more about instructional practices is through those same practices. In this case, that means after completing the three self-paced modules, you will better understand the design of whole-group reading instruction by experiencing it yourself and then immediately applying that to plan for your students.
This course immerses participants in the critical attributes of comprehension instruction, including spiral and content-based design, close and shared reading, writing about texts and topics, and vocabulary instruction. We then engage in a process to unpack and set goals for a smooth launch of your next unit or module.
Let’s take a closer look at the content:
Spiral Learning
Whether your curricular plans spiral targets within or across units or even grade levels, helping students to see that their use of strategies and application of skills is dependent on the text, not the time of year, is a game-changer. In our first year of implementation of our literacy curriculum we heard students say things like “Hey! That’s just like what we did when we read Pete the Cat!” Notice: They were able to lean on previous experience as we worked to transfer to the next texts and topics in the series. This is the goal of a spiral design.
Content-Based Design
Also referred to as knowledge-building, curating a text set that teaches about a topic is another game-changing design element. We’ve always known that students can often access texts at advanced levels when they are interested in the topic or if they have a deep well of knowledge about it. This is the purpose behind the content-based design of our curricular resources, helping students to access grade-level (and above) texts by supporting them with the vocabulary and context that makes the topic come alive and connect to and build upon what they already know.
Close Reading
Read it. Read it again. And again. It is no surprise that when we reread a text (just like rewatching a movie) we see things we missed the first time. Close reading gives us a chance to ratchet up student learning; as the text and topic become more and more familiar, we can press into strategies that require more and more critical thinking. This practice is a pillar of both comprehension and writing instruction, as we closely study the choices an author makes to convey their message and then apply this to our developing understanding of the topic and the way texts work.
Shared Reading
The practice of shared reading is one that I find to most often be taken for granted. What keeps shared reading from turning into a read aloud? What keeps students engaged in the print work and meaning making? How can we leverage the gradual release of responsibility to keep students at the edge of their learning? These are all facets of shared reading that are enhanced when we first experience the power of the practice ourselves.
Writing About Texts and Topics
This component of comprehension instruction is perhaps the most near and dear to my heart. Along with close reading, writing to construct our understanding of a text is one of the highest leverage practices we can engage in. This sort of provisional writing precedes the sort of constructed response tasks we often use to assess students’ ability to demonstrate their understanding. To be sure, both have their place in our literacy workshops, but when, where, how and why matters.
Vocabulary Instruction
Connected to the design of content-based (or knowledge building) curricula, the explicit teaching of vocabulary helps our students to develop skills that allow them to expand what they learn from text. It is impossible for us to teach all the words that students will encounter. If, instead, we teach them how to learn about words from a text, we set them up for a lifetime of learning.
Planning as Intellectual Preparation
Whether you are planning your own unit or unpacking a curricular resource, the process you’ll engage in for planning ensures you are intellectually prepared for teaching and learning from the big picture down to the daily details. The goal: to understand and apply the design elements so that you can focus on student responses and results.
To do this, we’ll borrow the 4Ts from EL Education and explore the topic, texts, tasks, and targets at both the unit and day-to-day levels of instruction. You’ll walk away with a deep understanding of the arc of your unit or module and will set a goal for yourself that ensures that your students are not the only ones who will benefit from your instruction.
Whether you are new to a resource, looking for a deeper connection, or planning your own units, each of the three self-paced modules in this course is sure to connect you beyond the what of comprehension instruction to the how and the why that matters most!
Want to attend? Click here to register. (Use code SUMMER24 and register by May 14, 2024 to get 25% off at checkout.)
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Taken courses with me before? Share your experience below in the comments.
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