©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2015, All Rights Reserved, Page 1

The New Essentials of Literacy Instruction

Presented by: Maria Walther 1st Grade Teacher Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary 2700 Stonebridge Blvd. Aurora, IL 60502 (630) 375-3244 www.mariawalther.com Twitter: @mariapwalther maria_walther@ipsd.org

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2015, All Rights Reserved, Page 2

Streamline Literacy Instruction

Where will I find the time?

• Connect reading, writing, thinking, listening, and speaking instruction.

How will I support striving readers to comprehend complex texts?

• Engage in comprehension conversations.

“Children in the early grades—particularly kindergarten through grade 3—benefit from participating in rich, structured conversations with an adult in response to written texts that are read aloud, orally and comparing and contrasting as well as analyzing and synthesizing” (CCSS, p. 27).

• Read complex texts closely from both the reader’s and the writer’s point of view.

How will I maintain a 50/50 balance of literary and informational texts?

• Infuse content-rich nonfiction throughout the curriculum.

It’s Essential: Read Aloud

Krall, D. (2015). Sick Simon. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Maclear, K. (2015). The good little book. (M. Arbona, Illus.). Canada: Tundra.

Murphy, B. (2015). Ready for school, Murphy? New York: Disney/Hyperion.

Robinson, M. (2014). There’s a lion in my cornflakes. (J. Field, Illus.). New York: Bloomsbury.

It’s Essential: Develop Text Sets

Spiders

FICTION INFORMATIONAL

Aaaarrgghh! Spider by Lydia Monks I’m Trying to Love Spiders by Bethany Barton

Anansi the Spider by Gerald McDermott Nic Bishop Spiders by Nic Bishop

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin Spiders Are Not Insects by Allan Fowler

The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle Spinning Spiders by Melvin Berger

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2015, All Rights Reserved, Page 3

Oviparous Animals

FICTION INFORMATIONAL

Hunwick’s Egg by Mem Fox Chickens Aren’t the Only Ones by Ruth Heller

Little Grunt and the Big Egg by Tomie dePaola The Chicken or the Egg by Allan Fowler

The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett An Egg is Quiet by Dianna Aston

The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci

It’s Essential: Support Independent Reading

Torrey, R. (2015). Ally-saurus & the first day of school. New York: Sterling.

It’s Essential: Engage in Collaborative Conversations

Mini-Lesson found on pages 52-53 of Month-by-Month Reading Instruction for the Differentiated Classroom (Walther & Phillips, 2012)

Also see Blog Post by Lois Bridges: The Having of Grand Conversations http://frizzleblog.scholastic.com/post/having-grand-conversations

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2015, All Rights Reserved, Page 4

It’s Essential: Facilitate Comprehension Conversations

Connect, Compare, and Contrast—Nonfiction Narrative and Biography Applegate, K. (2014). Ivan: The remarkable true story of a shopping mall gorilla. (G. B. Karas, Illus.). New York: Clarion. The touching tale of Ivan, a western lowland gorilla, who was captured and held captive for 27 years at the B & I Circus Store in Tacoma, Washington until 1994 when he was moved to Zoo Atlanta. Teaching Ideas: Compare and Contrast with Winnie: The True Story of the Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh (Walker, 2015) and Christian the Lion (Bourke & Rendall, 2009) Walker, S. M. (2015). Winnie: The true story of the bear who inspired Winnie-the-Pooh. (J. D. Voss, Illus.). New York: Holt. World War I soldier and veterinarian, Henry Colebourn, adopts a baby bear and brings her to training camp in Quebec and then to England. Once in England, Henry is called to battle, so he takes Winnie to the London Zoo where a young boy named Christopher Robin meets her and the rest is history! Teaching Ideas: Writing Genres—Nonfiction Narrative; Compare and Contrast with Ivan: The Remarkable True Story of the Shopping Mall Gorilla (Applegate, 2014) and Christian the Lion (Bourke & Rendall, 2009)

It’s Essential: Use Mentor Texts to Read Aloud Like a Writer

What to look for . . .

• Various Text Structures

• Sensory Language

• Creative Conventions

• Repetition

• Word Play

• Onomatopoeia

• Interjections

• Illustration Techniques

What to say. . . Source: Choice Words by Peter H. Johnston (Stenhouse, 2004)

“Oh, I love that line!” “Did anyone notice *any interesting words? *any new punctuation? *any new ways of arranging

the words on the page? “Are there any favorite words or phrases, or ones you wish you had written?” “Why would an author do something like that?” “How else could the author have done that?” “Why did the author choose that word?”

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2015, All Rights Reserved, Page 5

Byrne, R. (2014). This book just ate my dog! New York: Holt. Byrne, R. (2015). We’re in the wrong book. New York: Holt. Dotlich, R. K. (2015). One day, the end: Short, very short, shorter-than-ever stories. (F. Koehler, Illus.). Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills.

It’s Essential: Encourage Reading Response

Averbeck, J. (2015). One word from Sophia. (Y. Ismail, Illus.). New York: Atheneum. Sophia desperately wants a pet giraffe and presents her arguments (along with pie charts and graphs) to her family. The author has included a humorous, and informative, glossary at the end of the book leading to further discussion about the wonderful world of words. Teaching Ideas: Vocabulary—Introduce Glossary; Argument/Persuasive Writing

Read, Think, and Respond Book *Student Response Pages found on CD in Month-by-Month Reading Instruction for the Differentiated Classroom (Walther & Phillips, 2012)

Fiction Response Ideas • Write a riddle about your favorite character (p. 110) • Summarize the story by creating a book blurb (p. 126) • Compare and contrast the character and yourself (p. 102) • Create a character web (p. 124) • Invent a different title for the book and explain your thinking Nonfiction Response Ideas • Record your schema before reading and your new learning after reading (p. 110) • Write a true-or-false quiz for your classmates • Draw and label a diagram

©Dr. Maria P. Walther, 2015, All Rights Reserved, Page 6

A Few Professional Books That Have Shaped My Thinking Atwell, N. (2007). The Reading Zone: How to Help Kids Become Skilled, Passionate, Habitual, Critical Readers. Scholastic. Biggs-Tucker, K., & Tucker, B. (2015). Transforming Literacy Teaching in the Era of Higher Standards, 3-5. Scholastic. Fuhler, C. J., & Walther, M. P. (2007). Literature Is Back! Using the Best Books for Teaching Readers and Writers Across Genres. Scholastic. Johnston, P. H. (2004). Choice Words: How Our Language Affects Children’s Learning. Stenhouse. Johnston, P. H. (2012). Opening Minds: Using Language to Change Lives. Stenhouse. Keene, E. O. (2012). Talk About Understanding: Rethinking Classroom Talk to Enhance Comprehension. Heinemann. Miller, D. (2013). Reading With Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades (2nd ed.). Stenhouse. Nichols, M. (2009) Expanding Comprehension With Multigenre Text Sets. Scholastic. Ray, K. W., & Cleaveland, L. B. (2004). About the Authors: Writing Workshop with our Youngest Writers. Heinemann. Richardson, J. (2009). The Next Step in Guided Reading. Scholastic. Richardson, J., & Walther, M. (2013). Next Step Guided Reading Assessment. Scholastic. Routman, R. (2005). Writing Essentials. Heinemann. Spandel, V. (2007). Creating Young Writers (2nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon. Taberski, S. (2011). Comprehension From The Ground Up. Heinemann. Walther, M. P. (2015). Transforming Literacy Teaching in the Era of Higher Standards, K-2. Scholastic. Walther, M. P., & Fuhler, C. J. (2010). Teaching Struggling Readers With Poetry. New York: Scholastic. Walther, M. P. & Phillips, K. A. (2009). Month-by-Month Trait-Based Writing Instruction. Scholastic. Walther, M. P., & Phillips, K. A. (2012). Month-by-Month Reading Instruction for the Differentiated Classroom. Scholastic.