Massachusetts Early Literacy
and Learning Conference
Early Literacy and Learning Action Plan
(ELLAP) – Inaugural Conference
January 13, 2016
Marlborough
Housekeeping Items
Severe shellfish and nut allergies
Schedule for day
Lunch concession or local restaurants (please
refer to restaurant list provided)
Evaluation
PDPs
Schedule of upcoming meetings
Login for wireless Internet (january/january)
Personal belongings are your responsibility
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Resources
Within the next few weeks, resources for this
initiative will be posted here:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/candi
Also, please refer to the Boston Public School’s
Web site:
 http://bpsearlychildhood.weebly.com/curriculum-guides.html
 http://bpsearlychildhood.weebly.com/focus-on-k2.html
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
Background Information
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
Massachusetts’ K-12 Literacy
Vision
Every student will experience
purposeful engagement in learning
that draws on thinking, reading,
writing, speaking and listening
across the content areas in order to
prepare them for college, career
and civic life.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Early Literacy
and Learning Vision
Learning through an integrated curricula
approach and developmentally appropriate
project-based experiences, students’
individualized needs are consistently
considered as they experience a respectful,
engaging and empowering culture, which
enables them to become self-directed learners,
critical readers, writers, thinkers, and
collaborative workers.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 1: A strong culture of a
learning community exists in the
classroom.
Positive, safe, respectful climate
Student collaboration
Classroom workshop model
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 2: Each student is
empowered to learn and work
with others and has opportunities
for choice and an authentic voice
in their learning.
Students think critically and creatively.
Students are given choices.
Students have an authentic voice.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 2: Each student is empowered to
learn and work with others and has
opportunities for choice and an authentic
voice in their learning.
“You can either have your learner’s
attention
or they can be creating meaning….
but never both at the same time.”
“Learners have to learn to create
meaning for themselves.”
Eric Jensen
Brain-Based Learning, p. 196
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 3: Foundational literacy
practices are intentionally interwoven
within authentic meaningful contexts.
When integrated thematic classroom
learning connects students through
authentic life-related content,
students tend to be more fully engaged;
they deepen their conceptual knowledge,
and they double the amount of information
learned, as indicated by research.
Barto, 2015; Grigorenko, 2007; Erlaurer, 2003; Given, 2002; Bower, 1973, 1981
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 3: Foundational literacy practices
are intentionally interwoven within
authentic meaningful contexts.
Four Questions:
1. What can we integrate in purposeful ways?
2. Why is it important for students to know it
and how can we help students make
meaningful connections in the real world to
this new learning?
3. How can we engage students in authentic
learning?
4. How do we want students to show us their
learning through a performance-based
application?
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 4: Each student actively engages in
meaningful ways to understand, retain and
integrate new learning.
Educators have learned from cognitive science and brainbased research that learning environments which stimulate
or “feed the brain” have a positive impact on learning and
on students’ reading levels.
“Active participation supports the
development of each child’s ways of
thinking, talking, knowing and acting.”
Grigorenko, 2007; Erlauer, 2003; Jenson, 1998
Literacy for Young Children: A Guide for Early
Childhood Education, p.16
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 4: Each student actively engages in
meaningful ways to understand, retain and
integrate new learning.
Active student engagement fulfills the
naturally curious mind, builds confidence
and increases student efficacy,
strengthens oral language vocabulary and
skills, and deepens students’ conceptual
understandings.
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Engel, 2011; von Stunn, et al, 2011; Medina, 2008,
LeDoux, 1996; Squire, 1992; Matthews and
Bulbulian, 1976
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 4: Each student actively engages in
meaningful ways to understand, retain and
integrate new learning.
Three strong elements educators use to
create and elevate meaning:
Emotion
Patterns
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Relevance
Robert Sylwester, A Celebration of Neurons- An Educator’s Guide to the Human Brain
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
Massachusetts’ Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Principle 5: Each student’s progress in literacy skills,
concepts and strategies is monitored and adjusted so that
instructional decisions are timely and appropriately
accommodate student differences and needs.
Teachers who use ongoing assessment to individualize instruction
may reduce the school readiness gap for young students at risk,
deliver more effective instruction, and have students who achieve
better outcomes.
Akers, L.,et al,2015; Fuchs, Lynns., et al, 199; Al Otaiba, Stephen, et al, 2011
Students who were taught by teachers who used assessment for
learning achieved in six or seven months what would otherwise take
a year; these improvements appeared to be consistent across
countries-Canada, England, Israel, Portugal and the United States;
these gains even held up on externally mandated standardized tests.
Black and William, 1998; William, Lee, Harrison and Black, 2004
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Five Principles of Early Literacy and Learning
Review
1.
A strong culture of a learning community exists in the classroom.
2.
Each student is empowered to learn and work with others and has
opportunities for choice and authentic voice in their learning.
3.
Foundational literacy practices are intentionally interwoven within
authentic meaningful contexts.
4.
Each student actively engages in meaningful ways to understand,
retain and integrate new learning.
5.
Each students’ progress in literacy skills, concepts and strategies is
monitored and adjusted so that instructional decisions are timely and
appropriately accommodate student differences and needs.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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Feedback Appreciated
PDP Summary
30 hours if you attend 2 conferences and 2 regional PLN meetings
Intensive Training
Questions/Contact Info
Please e-mail Alice Barton at:
abarton@doe.mass.edu and she will respond
to your questions/concerns.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education
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