Alabama Reading Initiative
2011-2012
Session 1
Parameters:
1. All participants - no observers.
2. Use time wisely.
3. Stay focused. Please keep
sidebar conversations to a
minimum.
4. Respect others’ opinions.
5. Set cell phones and other
electronic devices on vibrate or
silent.
2
PICK the shape you find most appealing.
Consider both form and color.
How do we ….
Teach our kids to read,
 Expand their reading power,
 Ensure they’re college and career ready,
 “Do” RtI,

With more kids and no $
AND
Keep Our Sanity?
Equip ARI teams to use instructional
strategies including formative
assessment to help students
develop critical thinking skills and
help administrators and teachers
use Response to Instruction (RtI) to
increase student learning.
Use data to
identify student
needs
Communicate
information to
other
stakeholders
Monitor and
assess
implementation
Examine studies
and research
Continually
• Revisit
• Reflect
• Revise
Collaboratively
experiment with
new teaching
practices
Engage in
rigorous
reflection
Use research
and
professional
wisdom to
make good
choices
Study instructional strategies including
formative assessment that will
enhance student learning.
Select effective research based
instructional strategies and resources
to apply to your school.
Plan implementation of research
based instructional strategies with
your team.
Outcome: You will be able to make
connections to your current practices,
activity levels in the brain, and three
areas of focus (student discussion,
writing, and questioning).
Before: Instructional Strategies
Brainstorm
During: Think-Pair-Share; Mini-Lecture;
Think-Write-Pair-Share
After: Closed Sort
Individually list some strategies,
methods, practices, tools, etc.,
that you (teachers and coaches)
currently use in your instruction
and (administrators) that you
use in PD or observe in
classrooms.
toys
Hearing Words
Seeing Words
Speaking Words
Generating Words
Hearing Words
Seeing Words
Speaking Words
Generating Words
Transverse Section — Writing Words
from
The Dana
Sourcebook
of Words
Brain Science
Transverse
Section
— Writing
 Are
students at EVERY grade level
reading, writing, investigating,
talking, and listening during core
reading instruction? During content
area instruction?
 How will you turn this information
around to the teachers at your
school?
 Do we “practice what we preach”?
Do our PD sessions, coaching
sessions, and classrooms include
these “best practices” as well?
Think-Write-Pair-Share
Think
of your role (coach, teacher,
administrator).
What are YOUR next steps in
making this happen?
Write your response on a card.
Share your thoughts with your
team.
After: Closed Sort
At your table, take the sticky
notes you brainstormed
earlier and sort them into
the following categories:
 Student
discussion
 Writing
 Questioning
Consider this: How rigorous are your strategies?
Outcome: You will be able to make connections
to your current practices, activity levels in the
brain, and three areas of focus (student
discussion, writing, and questioning).
Before: Instructional Strategies Brainstorm

Purposes: activate prior knowledge
During: Think-Pair-Share; Mini-Lecture; ThinkWrite-Pair-Share

Purposes: engage with lesson; discuss content;
integrate new information with prior knowledge;
make connections
After: Closed Sort

Purposes: categorize; make connections
How
do we ….
Teach our kids to read,
 Expand their reading power,
 Ensure they’re college and career
ready,
 “Do” RtI,
With more kids and no $
AND
Keep Our Sanity?

The purpose of
Alabama’s Action
Plan for Literacy is to
provide a framework
for action by defining
the expectations that
support literacy
development for
learners from Birth
through Grade 12.
Outcome: You will be able to identify key
information about student discussion,
writing, and questioning. You will also
be able to plan next steps for
implementing/sharing a strategy set at
your school.
Before: Think-Pair-Share
During: Pass It On with modified
Backwards Note-taking
After: Plan It!
Development of a Reader and Writer
Speaking
System
of
Meaning
Writing
System
of
Language
Comprehending
System
of
Print
Reading
Before: Think-Pair-Share
Look at the Conceptual Framework, the anchor piece
of the ARI. What parts would you label as the “whats”,
and what parts would you label as the “hows”?22
Standards
Based
Curriculum
Collaborative
Leadership
Assessment
Skillful
Readers
Professional
Development
Instruction
&
Intervention
Today we are going to study
instructional strategies that can
strengthen beginning reading,
expand reading power, and
ensure our students are college
and career ready.
Student Discussion
Writing
Questioning
Pass It On
Work
in groups of 3
Read the quote
Respond to the prompt in writing
Talk as a group
Chart 3 important things to note
about student discussion
Tips
Engage EVERY student
 Time the discussion
 Model student talk
 Provide a stem
 Walk, listen, and note

Pass It On
Work
in groups of 3
Read the quote
Respond to the prompt in writing
Talk as a group
Chart 3 important things to note
about student writing
Student Discussion
Writing
Questioning
Tips
Incorporate writing daily
 Use long and short writing tasks
Write for different purposes and
audiences
 Analyze student writing
Display student writing

Pass It On
Work
in groups of 3
Read the quote
Respond to the prompt in writing
Talk as a group
Chart 3 important things to note
about questioning
Student Discussion
Writing
Questioning
Tips
Formulate questions as a part of the
lesson planning process
 Assign questions to students
 Ask the question – allow wait time for
all to think - then call on student
 Vary levels of questioning
 Encourage student-generated
questions

As a team, select the one focus
strategy set that will take the
most effort to implement.
Now, think about the one that
will most benefit your students.
Think about:
 The
strategy set you just selected
 Additional research to learn more about it
 Who else on your staff should be
involved?
 Resources you will need for
implementation
 Your immediate next steps with this
strategy
 Schedule time to repeat this process to
implement the other two strategy sets
Outcome: You will be able to identify key
information about student discussion, writing, and
questioning. You will also be able to plan next
steps for implementing/sharing a strategy set at
your school.
Before: Think-Pair-Share

Purposes: activate prior knowledge
During: Pass It On

Purposes: engage with text; respond in writing;
discuss content; integrate new information with
prior knowledge; make connections; organize
information
After: Plan It!

Purposes: make connections; plan next steps
Outcomes: You will be able to analyze a
lesson and student responses through the
lenses of student engagement and formative
assessment; identify key words/terms
related to formative assessment; analyze
lesson through an RtI lens; plan next steps
for implementation at your school.
Before: Take a Trip! T-Chart
During: Video Lesson Reflection on Graphic
Organizer; Sample This!; Think-Pair-Share
After: Plan It!
Take a Trip!
T-Chart
Teacher
Student
___________
Before:
Course:
Date:
COS standard(s):
Lesson objectives with daily student outcomes:
Outcome:
Lesson Phases:
Before Strategy/Engage
________________________
During: Video
Reflection
Graphic
Organizer
Student Engagement /Look Fors
Activate PK; build BK;
answer/generate essential
questions; make predictions;
discuss essential vocabulary;
establish purpose for lesson;
Other ___________________
Read, Write, Talk, Listen, and Investigate
During Strategy/Explore, Explain
__________________________
Interact with content; verify and
formulate predictions; selfmonitor comprehension;
construct graphic organizers;
summarize content; use mental
imagery; integrate new
information with PK;
answer/generate essential
questions
Other __________________
Read, Write, Talk, Listen, and Investigate
Let’s look at some
instructional
strategies in a
classroom.
After Strategy/Explain, Extend
__________________________
Reflect on content of lesson;
evaluate predictions; examine
essential questions; justify,
deliberate, and evaluate
conclusions of self and others;
retell or summarize;
demonstrate proper use and
understanding of vocabulary;
answer/generate essential
questions
Other ___________________
Read, Write, Talk, Listen, and Investigate
Student Assessment Reflection:
What were students able to do?
Which students need additional instruction?
How will tomorrow’s lesson be adjusted to meet their needs?
Assess/Evaluate
Let’s look at
student
work samples.
How do we ….
Teach our kids to read,
 Expand their reading power,
 Ensure they’re college and career
ready,

“Do” RtI,

With more kids and no $
AND
Keep Our Sanity?
 Go
back to your notes on the lesson plan and
note where and how RtI principles were used
in the lesson. Justify your thinking with your
team.
 Which students might you discuss at a grade
level or problem solving team meeting? Why?
 From your team discussion of these social
studies samples, what implications can be
made concerning other content areas?
 What steps do you need to take to meet
students’ literacy needs across the
curriculum?
After:
RtI IS …
 Using
targeted instructional strategies to teach ALL
students-Tier 1
 Formatively assessing students throughout the
lesson and after the lesson –Tiers 1, 2, and 3
 Determining how content area intervention needs
of students will be met- Tier 2
 Reinforcing the Tier 3 intervention in the content
areas.
 Collecting documentation (student work
samples/anecdotal notes) that yield “real time”
data for immediate adjustments AND inform
further intervention decisions.
Select a class at your school to be a
practice site where you will
implement the strategies you have
worked with today.
Student
Discussion
Writing
Questioning
1. Revisit the content
As a team, plan a practice lesson using these
strategy sets.
Decide who will teach the lesson and who
will observe.
2. Reflect
student work samples
 notes from the lesson
3. Revise the instruction
BRING BACK YOUR LESSON OBSERVATIONS.
Outcomes: You will be able to analyze a lesson and
student responses through the lenses of student
engagement and formative assessment; identify key
words/terms related to formative assessment;
analyze lesson through an RtI lens; plan next steps
for implementation at your school.
Before: Take a Trip! T-Chart

Purposes: activate prior knowledge
During: Video Lesson Reflection on Graphic
Organizer; Sample This!; Think-Pair-Share
(formative assessment quotes & RtI)

Purposes: engage with video; respond in writing; discuss
content; organize information; make connections
After: Plan It!

Purposes: make connections; plan next steps
STI-PD
Web registration:
SDEARI1003
Please
complete the 10question survey by October 21st:
https://www.surveymonkey.com
/s/W8PSN6H
 Carol
Belcher, team leader:
cbelcher@alsde.edu
 Rhonda
Ayers, regional staff:
rayers@alsde.edu
 Sandy Cauley, regional staff:
scauley@alsde.edu
 Daphne Cook, regional staff:
dcook@alsde.edu
 Cindy Klages, regional staff:
cklages@alsde.edu
 Erin Scott, regional staff:
 escott@alsde.edu