School-Based Study Groups
Year 2
Georgia Reading First
This year’s study groups will feature 5 texts that focus attention on the ways that research in
phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension informs instruction in
kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, and intervention settings. In order to make
these study groups work, individual grade-level teams must have time to read and discuss and to
prepare to share. In addition, whole-staff time must be provided so that each grade level can
present to the staff.
Here are the books that you will need. Chart paper will also be helpful.
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 1 of 20
Kindergarten Team
Study Group #2: Basic Organizational and Instructional
Strategies
After reading and discussing two chapters in McGee and Morrow
(2005) Teaching literacy in kindergarten we will ask you to
present to the whole group. Remember that it is your job to
teach them this information about kindergarten.
Read Chapter 2: Preparing the Environment for Literacy
Instruction in Kindergarten
1.
To what extent has Reading First changed the classroom
environment in kindergarten?
2.
Are there any specific changes in the use of print in the
classroom since the advent of Reading First?
3.
How and why are classroom library books organized?
4.
What center activities are used to build comprehension?
5.
How are children rotating through centers?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 2 of 20
6.
How are children borrowing books for home use?
7.
How do your classroom libraries compare in terms of genre
diversity (pp. 29-30)?
8.
How do you choose and organize manipulatives for use in
your word study center?
9.
To what extent do you use centers and dramatic play as
described on pages 33 and 34 to support learning outside
of the reading block? Why would this not be appropriate
for use inside the instructional block?
10. How do you model and manage children’s work in centers?
11. To what extent can you make specific improvements in the
physical environment?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 3 of 20
12. Read the description of kindergarten environments in
action. What preschool literacy skills would children need
to run a new office? To what extent do entering children
in your school have these skills?
13. To what extent does your whole-group, small-group, and
intervention schedule allow for movement for your
children?
14. What strategies do you use to move children through the
instructional routines?
Read Chapter 4: Whole-Group Literacy Instruction
1.
Why are interactive read alouds important?
2.
Why are shared reading techniques important?
3.
How does the description of interactive read alouds
compare with the models provided in GARF?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 4 of 20
4.
How are book introductions for narratives and information
texts similar and different?
5.
What are comprehension strategies? To what extent are
teachers modeling them? To what extent do you see your
kindergarten children using them?
6.
When should we use prediction?
7.
Why should we plan to repeat the interactive read aloud?
8.
How could you use interactive read alouds to implement
your science and social studies standards?
9.
How are shared reading texts different from interactive
read aloud texts?
10. How does fingerpoint reading develop?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 5 of 20
11. How is shared reading built into your whole-group
instruction?
12. To what extent are alphabet books included in your
resources for shared reading?
13. In what ways is language play incorporated in your shared
reading?
14. How do you teach concepts of print during shared reading?
15. How is fingerpoint reading different from conventional
reading?
16. What is shared writing? How does it develop alphabet
knowledge?
17. What is kid writing? How could it be integrated into your
literacy block?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 6 of 20
First Grade Team
Study Group #2: Basic Organizational and Instructional
Strategies
After reading three chapter in Tyner’s Small-group reading
instruction , we will ask you to present to the whole group.
Remember that it is your job to teach them this information as it
is related to first grade readers.
Read Chapter 3: Instructional Strategies in the Small-Group
Differentiated Reading Model
1.
How is Tyner’s model different from the model used in
Reading Recovery?
2.
Why does the model include repeated reading?
3.
Why is the reading oral rather than silent?
4.
What is the basic difference between word bank activities
and word study activities?
5.
Review the scope and sequence on page 38. To what
extent is it similar to the scope and sequence in your core?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 7 of 20
6.
How is reading linked with writing in Tyner’s model?
7.
Review the criteria for selecting and leveling books at the
top of page 41. To what extent do the texts you use for
needs-based work in first grade consistent with these
criteria?
8.
Why are the teacher-assigned tasks (p. 42) not
appropriate for the Reading First block?
9.
Which of the literacy centers are appropriate for the
Reading First block?
10. What would be the benefit of assigning follow-up activities
from needs-based groups (p. 48)?
Read Chapter 4: Stage 1: Emergent Reader
1.
What do emergent readers need to learn in order to
progress?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 8 of 20
2.
What specific skills do emergent readers gain by rereading
predictable text?
3.
Why do we use echo reading with emergent readers?
4.
To what extent would Figure 15 be useful to guide needsbased work? What would you have to add or adapt?
5.
How could the list of 100 most frequent words be useful
for planning needs-based time?
6.
How could children practice high-frequency words in
centers?
7.
What strategies can we use to enhance letter knowledge
for emergent readers?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 9 of 20
8.
What is spell check for emergent readers? How would it
be useful during needs-based time?
9.
Why would teachers use cut up sentences with emergent
readers?
10. What does a reader need to know and be able to do to
progress from emergent to beginning reading?
Read Chapter 5: Stage 2: Beginning Reader
1.
To what extent would the lesson plan in Figure 20 be
useful for planning needs-based time? What would you
have to change or adapt?
2.
Why would partner reading be more productive than round
robin reading?
3.
To what extent are you building automaticity with high
frequency words as in the word bank activities?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 10 of 20
4.
Would “Beat the Clock” be a useful center activity for
you? How would you choose words?
5.
Why would picture sorting be a useful activity? How would
DIBELS data be useful in choosing this activity for needsbased instruction?
6.
How could initial sound concentration be useful in a
center?
7.
What is initial sound spell check? When would it be
useful?
8.
What do students need to know and be able to do to move
past the beginning stage?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 11 of 20
Second Grade Team
Study Group #2: Basic Organizational and Instructional
Strategies
After reading and discussing two chapters in Paratore and
McCormack’s (2005) Teaching literacy in second grade we will ask
you to present to the whole group. Remember that it is your job
to teach them this information about second grade.
Read Chapter 3: Setting up the Classroom Environment for
Literacy
1.
What are the most important considerations in setting up
a second grade literacy environment?
2.
How has Reading First improved your classroom library?
3.
How is your classroom library organized?
4.
How do you provide students with access to choice reading
at home?
5.
How could you improve the quality of your classroom
library?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 12 of 20
6.
How do you ensure that your literacy centers are
evidence-based, accessible, and connected to your
instruction?
7.
How do you move children through centers?
8.
Why are teacher read alouds important in the second
grade classroom?
9.
To what extent is shared reading a part of your literacy
block?
10. To what extent is choral reading used in your core
instruction?
11. How and why do you use partner reading?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 13 of 20
12. Are there ways to incorporate sustained silent reading into
the second grade day? Explain them.
13. When would reader’s theater be appropriate in your
literacy block?
14. When do children engage in peer discussion in your second
grade classroom?
15. How is your second grade needs-based instruction
different from typical guided reading?
16. How and when do you teach writing during the second
grade day?
Read Chapter 4: Getting to Know Your Students
1.
How is the question “have my children learned what I have
taught today” different from the questions that we
answer through the use of DIBELS probes?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 14 of 20
2.
To what extent are your classroom literacy assessments
significant, efficient, and pragmatic?
3.
What do you know about second graders’ interests? How
could you find out more?
4.
How could a metacognitive interview be useful to you?
5.
How does the Yopp Singer test compare to the DIBELS
PSF test? Would either be useful to you in understanding
second graders’ achievement?
6.
How are running records similar to and different from
DIBELS probes? IN our schools what tools do we have for
measureing word-level knowledge?
7.
Without your support, how would your second graders
score on an oral reading assessment with their basal
passage? What are the implications of that?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 15 of 20
8.
What reading behaviors would you like to document
through anecdotal notes?
9.
Would it be helpful to you to assess vocabulary breadth?
Why or why not?
10. Would it be helpful to you to assess vocabulary usage?
Why or why not?
11. Would it be helpful to you to assess vocabulary items
taught through read alouds? Why or why not?
12. Would it be helpful to you to assess oral retelling? Why or
why not?
13. Would it be helpful to you to collect anecdotal records of
comprehensions strategy use during read alouds? Why or
why not?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 16 of 20
14. How might you build in study self assessment in your
literacy centers? Why or why not?
15. Given the cognitive model for reading assessment, what
could be included in a second grade RF literacy portfolio?
How could a portfolio be useful? Why or why not?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 17 of 20
Third Grade Team
Study Group #2: Basic Organizational and Instructional
Strategies
After reading and discussing two sections in McKenna’s Help for
struggling readers, we will ask you to present to the whole group.
Remember that it is your job to teach them this information as it
relates to third graders.
Read Section 3, Vocabulary Strategies
1.
From the guided principles of teaching vocabulary, which
are most important for third grade instruction?
2.
What is Feature Analysis? To what extent is it useful in
your instruction?
3.
Which types of graphic organizers are included in your
core materials? How are they used?
4.
How can semantic maps be used as a prereading strategy?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 18 of 20
5.
What is a semantic scale? How could you use one to build
vocabulary knowledge?
6.
How could you use vocabulary clusters to group and review
words?
Read Section 6, Other Comprehension Strategies
1.
Review the comprehension skills (p. 115) targeted at the
literal, inferential, and critical levels. Which are included
in your core scope and sequence for comprehension
development?
2.
What is a walk-through? When would it be useful?
3.
To what extent are think alouds part of your instruction?
4.
How could you include explicit instruction in creation of
visual images?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 19 of 20
5.
Are there opportunities to use Guided Notes or Reading
Guides in your curriculum? How could they be used in
third grade literacy centers?
6.
What is reciprocal teaching? How could it be used in third
grade literacy centers?
7.
What is GRITS? How could it be used in third grade
content area instruction?
8.
Which of the summarization strategies would be most
useful in the third grade curriculum? Why?
Walpole and McKenna
Study Group Materials, Page 20 of 20