Reading: What Works!
Presentation by:
Jennifer Melton, Language Arts Teacher
Whitney Raney, Language Arts Teacher
Sarah Nevitt, Library Media Specialist
Stuart Pepper Middle School
Brandenburg, Kentucky
*Meade County*
Background Information
 The School:
 Grades: 7 & 8
 Location: A rural area, located approximately 15 minutes
from Fort Knox and about 30 miles from Louisville.
 Student enrollment: averages 800.
 Staff includes: 1 principal, 2 assistant principals, 2
guidance counselors, 1 youth service center coordinator, 1
library media specialist, 46 certified teachers, 12
classified support staff, 2 secretarial and 3 custodial
staff.
Student Body Information
The Demographics:
• 91% White Ethnicity
• 2% Black or African American Ethnicity
• 3% Hispanic/Latino Ethnicity
• <1% American Indian or Alaska Native Ethnicity
• <1% Asian Ethnicity
• 3% Two or more races Ethnicities
• 10% Special Education Population
• 47.95% Free and Reduced Lunch Population
• 9% Gifted and Talented Population
Student Course List
The 6 Period Day:
•
Core subjects include: Math (Pre-Algebra or
Algebra) , Language Arts, Science (7th grade); and
Math (Pre-Algebra, Algebra, or Geometry),
Language Arts, Social Studies (8th grade).
•
Additional Courses May Include: Health/P.E., Tech
Ed, Chorus, Band, Art, Enrichment, CCR, Social
Studies (7th), Independent Study Science (for high
school credit), Mandarin Chinese, Yearbook
[Courses may be on 9, 12, or 18 week rotations].
Meeting The Standards
CATS
KPREP
testing/ Core Content 4.1
/ Common Core State
Standards
PLC
The Professional Learning Community
 Professional Resources:
Antonetti, J. & Garver, J. (2012). Look 2 learning: A new focus for
classroom walkthrough. Retrieved from
http://colleaguesoncall.com/look2learning.html
Babbage, K. J. (2002). Extreme teaching. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield Education.
Barth, R., DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., Eason-Watkins, B., Fullan,
M., …Stiggins, R. (2005). On common ground: The power of
professional learning communities. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2006). Learning by
doing. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
Stiggins, R., Arter, J., Chappuis, J., & Chappuis, S. (2006). Classroom
assessment for student learning: Doing it right—using it well.
Portland, OR: Educational Testing Service.
PLC
Philosophy in Action within the
school
Learning Teams/Professional
Reading and Conversations
School Visits
Classroom Observations
PLC
Philosophy in Action within
Language Arts Department
Common Planning
Common Curriculum
Common Testing
Team Effort/Contributions
Reading in a PLC
Philosophy in Action School-wide
Book-in-hand policy
Accelerated Reader incentives
Reading across the curriculum
The Language Arts Department
Plan of Action

“The Big Idea”
Pacing Calendar

IA Plan
– Interim Assessment
 weekly lesson plans
* Learning Checks
# Daily activities
Pacing Calendar
Learning Chunk #1
Reading
Genres
Prose fiction/nonfiction (RL 7.9, RI 7.2, RI7.3)
Drama (RL 7.3, RL7.4, RL 7.5)
Poetry(RL 7.4, RL7.5)
Literary Elements (RL 7.2, RL 7.3, RL 7.6)
Text Structure (RI 7.5)
Main idea/details (RI 7.2/7.3)
Fact/Opinion(RI7.10)
Writing
Informational Piece (W7.2)
Organization (W7.2, 7.9 a-b)
Sentences/paragraphs (W 7.3, W 7.4)
Ideas (W7.4, W7.5)
Language:
Clauses-sentence structure -independent/
dependent clauses (L7.1)
Dialogue (L7.2)
Punctuation/Capitalization (L7.2, W7.3)
Spelling(L7.2, L7.4) (commonly misspelled words)
Learning Chunk #2
Reading
Genres
Prose fiction/ nonfiction (RL 7.9, RI 7.2
This is only part of the pacing calendar for the
year. This helps us to focus on connecting
standards/lessons/
Poetry(RL 7.4, RL7.5) Main idea/details
(RI7.2/7.3)
Literary Elements (RL 7.2, RL 7.3, RL 7.4)
Context clues-root/prefix/ suffix/
synonyms/antonyms (L7.4)
Writing
Narrative-(poem/story) (W7.3)
Language:
Modifiers
Adjectives (L 7.2)
Commas (L 7.2)
Context clues root/ prefix/ suffix/ synonyms/
antonyms (L7.4)
Spelling-words with prefix/suffix (L7.2, L7.4)
IA Plan
MC
Item
Standard
1
RL4
Figurative language-personification
2
RL 1
Read closely determine meaning of word/formulate inferences
3
RL 1
Read closely determine meaning of word/phrase
4
RL 4
Poetic devices-symbolism
5
RL 4/L 5
6
RL 2
Theme
7
RL 4
Tone
8
RL 9
Genre-structure
9
RL 3
Elements of a story interact/affect other elements (plot)
10
RL 3
Elements of a story interact/affect other elements (setting)
11
RL 6
Point of view
RL 9
Learning Target
Connotation/ meaning of word
13
RI 5
Compare/contrast portrayal of time in fiction and historical
account (poem/fiction excerpt)
Organization structure
14
RI 1
Read closely and find answers
15
RI 1
Read closely and find answers
16
L2
Conventions-comma usage
17
L2
modifier
18
L2
Dialogue
19
RL 4
20
RL/RI 9
12
Figure of speech/simile
Compare/contrast two passages-theme
Interim Assessment



Mirrored from KPREP structure Part B
Variety of texts (The IA example is
based on poetry, prose fiction, prose
non-fiction)
Pretest and Post test are the same.
Sample Questions
From “The Village Blacksmith”
____
2. What conclusion can you draw about the blacksmith from
the details in these lines (lines 13-14) from “The Village Blacksmith”?
Week in, week out, from morn till night, / You can hear his bellows
blow.
a. He likes to work at night.
b. He works hard.
c. He gets up early.
d. He ignores his family.
____
4. What does the “Paradise” in the following lines (lines
31-32) symbolize?
“It sounds to him like her mother’s voice, /Singing in
Paradise!”
a. Earth
b. in the clouds
c. Heaven
d. an island
Sample Questions
From The Long Winter
____
8. This passage is best described as historical fiction because it
a. Illustrates how family members
along
c. Has fictional elements like plot, get
setting, and characters
b. Includes realistic dialogue
d. Describes events that happened
during a real period in history
____12. How are the two passages, “The Village Blacksmith” and “The Long
Winter” similar?
a.
They both have a young girl as
the main character
c. They both suggest that work is
more difficult in summer
b.
They both show a family that
believes in hard work
d. Both are contemporary/realistic
fiction
Sample Questions
Constructed Response & Extended
Response
19. Constructed
Response
Identify a simile from
the poem, “The
Village Blacksmith.”
Explain what this
figure of speech is
comparing.
20. Extended Response
A. Define theme.
B. Determine a common
theme for the reading
passages “The Village
Blacksmith” and “The
Long Winter.”
Support and explain
your response with two
key events from the text
that contributes to the
theme.
Weekly Lesson Plans
Week 3 October 15-19
Reading Selection:
IA Focus: RL/RI 7.5 genres-structure RL 7.3 elements of a story /poem RL 7.2theme W7.4 W7.5 L7.1
Reading: Poetry –“The Highwayman”, “The Cremation of Sam McGee”,
Writing: Brainstorm ideas for poem/Journal
Language: word choice (imagery)
Day 1 FAB Four
Review poetry terms/Lesson 7 Crosswalk book-figurative language
Read “The Highwayman”
Day 2 FAB Four
Watch video “The Highwayman”
Compare Contrast-media/written text
Exit slip-compare contrast mood/tone/setting between the two forms
(teacher choice)
Day 3 FAB Four
Listen to “The Cremation of Sam McGee” (Johnny Cash version)
Watch Youtube movie
Clock Partner Activity- move about room answering the questionscirculate to hear discussion
Day 4 FAB Four
Continue partner activity
Day 5 FAB four(Explore Review)
Weekly learning checkPoetry
Orchard-Writing and
Media Literacy 7
Poetree Cafe
A Day in a SPMS Language
Arts Classroom

Class Structure
– FAB FOUR (timed)
– Lesson/Activity
– Closure
***Following weekly lesson plans in
packet
Sample FAB Four
A Dream Within A Dream
by Edgar Allan Poe
1 Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avowYou are not wrong, who deem
5 That my days have been a dream;
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
10 All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
15 Grains of the golden sandHow few! yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep- while I weep!
O God! can I not grasp
20 Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
“A Dream Within A Dream” by Edgar Allan
Poe
1. Identify the rhyme scheme of this poem.
2. What is an example of personification in
the poem?
3. Identify repetition in the poem.
4. What is an example of an abstract term
in the poem?
Lesson




Previously read aloud “The Highwayman”
– Analyze poem
View video to compare and contrast written
form to media.
TeacherTube - The Highwayman
Think-pair-share
– How does the music enhance the mood of
the poem?
– Did viewing the video change your
perception of the setting?
– Explain which version you liked best.
Why?
Closure
Exit slip compare contrast mood/tone/setting
between the two forms (teacher choice)
CCR
CCR is a college readiness transition
course which focuses on a framework of
content and concepts aligned with the
revised Kentucky Core Academic
Standards and aligned with college and
career readiness standards.
English Language Arts Transitional Courses
CCR
Key Components:
• All students have CCR
– English
– reading
– math
• The PLC philosophy is maintained
– common lesson plans
– common assessment
CCR
Class Structure
• CCR is structured into four units or modules
over a nine week time period.
• The modules incorporate lessons or activities
that can be found in the English Language
Arts Transitional Courses for EXPLORE.
• Two skills are reviewed each week.
CCR
Class Structure
• Daily journal
• One to two activities on the targeted
skill
• Pre-test and Post-test