Following is the weekly series of literacy information the Adolescent Literacy Task Force would like to share with you. The weekly series of literacy suggestions are based on "best practices" in the areas of reading and writing. The series is sent via e-mail to all HSTW principals to share with staff members. The summaries and attachments are taken from the SREB publication, Literacy Across the Curriculum. If you have questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to e-mail Ruth Mitchell at rmitchell@hstw.org. To view or print the information for each week click on the subject for that week. This page will be updated with each weekly mailing. Initiatives At A Glance » MMGW Framework » MMGW Goals » Literacy Series E-mail week # 1 Five Literacy Goals October 4, 2004 School must commit to an across-the-curriculum emphasis on literacy to see significant improvements in reading, writing, and oral communications. Use the following five literacy goals to involve every class and all teachers in a literacy campaign. Starting with week 2 of the emails, a focus will be placed on writing practices that enhance student performance. Please share with the appropriate staff members. E-mail week # 2 What and How Much Writing Should Students Do October 19, 2004 Did you know that HSTW assessments show that only 43 percent of teachers assigned more than two writings per month? Only 20 percent of students stated they had to write ideas in a journal or notebook about new ideas learned in school. This attachment will give you guidelines for what type and how much writing students should be doing. E-mail week # 3 Three Types of Writing for Every Classroom October 26, 2004 Writing is about thinking and effective writing comes from clear thinking. Teachers can help students become clearer thinkers through writing exercises. But how much should students write? What should they write? How do we score it? The attached "Three Types of Writing for Every Classroom" is a quick reference guide. Each of these will be described in future emails. E-mail week # 4 Writing to Learn Activities November 2, 2004 Writing to learn activities hone students' thinking skills by encouraging them to connect personally with content taught, to raise questions, to make connections with other learning experiences and to capture their own thoughts during a variety of learning experiences. E-mail week #5 Writing to Demonstrate Learning Activities November 10, 2004 Students who said they completed short writing assignments at least once a week that were graded had reading scores 31 points higher than those who were never required to complete such assignments. However only 27 percent of students surveyed said they were required to complete writing assignments for a grade that often. Writing to Demonstrate Learning Activities will demonstrate some suggestions for short writing assignments. E-mail week #6 Tips for Students for Writing to Demonstrate Learning Activities November 16, 2004 To be successful, students need to practice across the curriculum in all forms of writing to demonstrate learning. Students need instruction and should be given models of what they have been asked to write. Tips for Students for Writing to Demonstrate Learning Activities will demonstrate some suggestions to students to help with the writing process. E-mail week #7 Types of Authentic Writing Activities November 30, 2004 Authentic writing instruction prepares students to communicate with a variety of audiences, for a variety of purposes, using a variety of real-world forms. We are preparing students to write in an assortment of future personal and business situations. Types of Authentic Writing Activities has many examples of real-world forms of authentic writing. E-mail week #8 What Can Administrators Do Now To Enhance Writing Instruction? December 7, 2004 By now, you are overwelmed and wondering where to start. You can start small and build. Here are some suggestions on what you, as an administrator can do NOW to enhance writing instruction. E-mail week #9 What Can Teachers Do Now to Enhance Writing Instruction December 14, 2004 How do you get your teachers excited and "on board" with improving your writing across the curriculum? Here are ideas teachers can use NOW to enhance writing instruction. By making writing a priority, everyone suceeds! E-mail week #10 Guidlines to Student Writing January 10, 2005 "All students must learn how to conduct research that will allow them to make connections, draw conclusions and present their findings in a variety of ways." Students must be able to do both formal and less formal research pieces. Research assignments take teacher and student time and effort. However, students should be constantly involved in research across the curriculum. They need to understand that the activities that constitute research are on-going and not an activity that occurs only when writing a formal research paper. Educators must provide on-going opportunities for students to read, observe, listen, discuss or reflect on topics of genuine interest to them. E-mail week #11 Steps to Writing a Formal Research Paper January 18, 2005 Basic instruction about the process of writing a research paper should take place in Language Arts/English class. Students should write a research paper every year, beginning with middle school. Once students are acquainted with the process, teachers in other content areas can expect students to be able to follow the process in their classes also. All staff members need to be very familiar with the adopted research model. E-mail week #12 Assignment Suggestions in Content Areas January 25, 2005 The goal for the majority of student assignments involving research should be to develop authentic pieces, such as editorials, letters, speeches and feature articles. These forms should be taught in language arts/English classes. Once students are familiar with these forms they can use this knowledge to develop these pieces in other content areas. Content area teachers may introduce students to other authentic forms, such as proposals, scientific journal articles and brochures. These suggestions are broken down by specific content areas and can be used to encourage staff to be creative in their assignments. E-mail week #13 The Administrator’s Role with Staff January 31, 2005 A few ideas for the administrators role, regarding writing-to-learn, and writing-to-demonstrate. E-mail week #14 Set School-wide Reading Goals February 7, 2005 Students who read more than four hours a week outside class on average performed 21 points higher than their peers who read less than 30 minutes a week. The more frequent readers scored in the proficient range on the 2002 HSTW assessment. These strategies describe action plans to raise student achievement in your building. This attachment addresses the strategy: Set school-wide reading goals. Suggestions include setting a goal of 10-12 books annually in the middle grades and a goal of 25 for high schools. E-mail week #15 Developing Reading Lists February 14, 2005 Many teachers may not be familiar with appropriate reading materials to use in teaching their courses. As teachers develop reading lists, they may need to consult other sources. Two important principles to follow in developing a list are to look for titles that are directly related to key concepts taught in the course and to assure that lists are long enough to allow for different student interests and for varying reading levels in the class. Here are some suggestions for developing reading lists. E-mail week #16 Tips for Success February 22, 2005 The National Center for Education Statistics reports that "Research has shown that reading ability is positively correlated with the extent to which students read recreationally." Several studies indicate that students who engage in Sustained Silent Reading (SSR) improve in both reading achievement and attitude toward reading. The kind of wide reading that occurs during this time broadens students' background knowledge, providing them with a better base from which to relate to their subject area texts. Studies show that benefits continue beyond the school years, with adults who participated in a SSR program reading more than other adults and thus entering the workforce at higher levels. Tips for success: Administrators must model reading pleasure books daily in a classroom moving around the building. Schedule changes cannot eliminate the SSR. Sharing of reading materials with daily announcements can be very powerful. E-mail week #17 Create Activities to Motivate Students February 28, 2005 Engage members of the literacy committee and other faculty and community supporters in creative thinking about ways to focus much greater attention on reading and make it a more exciting undertaking. Here are some ideas to motivate students to read.