Student Achievement Model
Literacy
Student Achievement Model
www.hisd.k12.mi.us
(989) 269-6406
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Let’s Try It! Teaching
Root Words and Affixes
1
Intervention Corner Road to the Code
2
Step Up to Writing
Strategy Spotlight EITHER OR
3
Changes to MEAP and
MME Cut Scores
4
Diagnostic Decoding
Survey Clarification
4
Calendar and Contact
Information
“I like a teacher who
gives you something to
take home to think
about besides
homework.” ~Lily
Tomlin as "Edith Ann"
March, 2011
Issue 11
Let’s Try It: Teaching Root Words and Affixes
Beginning in kindergarten we teach students that s added to the end of the
word cat means more than one cat; continuing up through high school we
teach that the root cogn means know and adding –ition means the act of
knowing. Whenever we teach the meaning, spelling, and pronunciation of
root words and affixes, we increase learning – not just at that moment but
every time those word parts appear in front of students in the future.
What should be taught at each grade level? The Common Core State
Standards identify specific ELA skills, including roots and affixes. See the ELA
CCSS and ELA Appendix A at http://www.hisd.k12.mi.us/SAM/Literacy.html
What do highly-effective teachers do? Regardless of the subject they teach,
they select several key words and build a brief word study lesson into their
instruction.
Word Study Steps:
1. Identify words that contain more than one morphological(meaning)
unit. Ex. recital
2. Write the words on the board, document camera, or overhead.
3. Break each word into syllables, students repeat out loud. Ex. re-cit-al
4. Mark the prefixes and suffixes. Ex. re-cit-al
5. Teach the meaning of each word part and how each part contributes to
the overall meaning. Ex. re = again; cit (from cite) = to summon; al =
act of; the act of telling from memory
6. Find “word cousins” – words that share a word part, and teach how
they are related. Ex. citation = summons, written notice to appear
7. Ensure that students record their work in a notebook that is referenced
and edited throughout the year.
Road to the Code
Looking for a way to help your young students with early literacy skills?
Kindergarten and first grade students who need extra help on phonological
awareness skills can benefit from working with an interventionist in small
groups of four or five children. The lessons run 15 to 20 minutes, four times
per week, and are scripted. Research shows good results.
Overall, this is an easy-to-implement program for increasing the phonological
awareness skills of young children. Cost is approximately $50. This program
is available for loan from the HISD. Nicole Kohaif, school psychologist for the
HISD, is a certified trainer. Contact Nicole at [email protected] to set
up training for your school or plan to attend a PD session this summer at
the HISD.
Intervention Corner
SAM Literacy
Page 2
Step Up to Writing Strategy Spotlight
Either-Or for Persuasive Writing (Strategy 9-1 in the Step Up Manual, Tool 9-1b)
Persuasive writing is powerful, but students sometimes struggle to find an “angle”
from which to approach it. Step Up to Writing offers several techniques for persuading
the reader or listener. One strategy is to select an idea from the acronym EITHER OR
to start your topic sentence or to introduce a big idea.
J.O.T.
Just One to
Three words,
rather than a
sentence.
When
brainstorming
and planning,
it is more
efficient to
use single
words and
phrases.
Students are
far more
likely to
revise a plan
that was
jotted down,
as opposed to
written in
complete
sentences.
Can your students identify which strategy is being utilized in ads and commercials?
Can they identify what strategy is being used by other writers? Can they plan for and
write a persuasive composition using one or two of these starters?
E – Everyone is doing this or buying this! Our school should increase the length of
winter break. Other schools in the region have already done so.
I – Intelligent people agree with this!
Doctors agree: smoking is dangerous.
T – This is good for you or someone you know!
Lunch programs that serve healthy
foods have students and staff that feel better.
H – Happiness:
Do this to be happy! A relaxing vacation will give you wonderful
memories to last a lifetime.
E – Entitled:
Everyone is entitled to this. It’s their right. Students should be allowed
to participate in sports regardless of their grades.
R – Reason: Many good reasons prove this is so! The evidence supporting the safety
of seatbelts is overwhelming.
O – Opposing point of view is wrong, the facts disprove their position.
While some
think the war was inevitable, history proves it could have been avoided.
R – Responsibility:
This is an important responsibility. All members of our society
have an obligation to vote in the upcoming election.
“Intensive and skillful instruction in basic wordreading skills can have significant impact on the
comprehension ability of students in fifth grade
and beyond" (Torgeson, J., Houston, D., Rissman, L., & Decker, S., 2007)
Page 3
SAM Writing
Cut Scores for MEAP and MME to Change
Beginning in the year 2014-15, Michigan students in Grades 3-8 and 11 will
take a NEW end-of-year test. This assessment will address the new
Common Core State Standards for math and ELA and, by all accounts, will
be a much more rigorous test than the current MEAP and MME.
“I've come to the
frightening conclusion
that I am the decisive
element in the
classroom. It's my
daily mood that
makes the weather.
As a teacher, I
possess a tremendous
power to make a
child's life miserable
or joyous. I can be a
tool of torture or an
instrument of
inspiration. I can
humiliate or humor,
hurt or heal. In all
situations, it is my
response that decides
whether a crisis will
be escalated or deescalated and a child
humanized or
de-humanized.”
~ Dr. Haim Ginott,
teacher, child
psychologist, and
psychotherapist
The Michigan Board of Education has recently taken steps to help schools
prepare for the new assessment. Currently, Michigan has some of the
lowest proficiency cut scores (the lowest score a student can get and still
be considered proficient) in the United States. In the fall of 2011, the cut
scores at each grade level are expected to increase significantly to be more
closely aligned with other states. The goal is to give schools about four
years to adjust teaching to meet the new Common Core State Standards, as
measured by the new assessment.
What do these new ELA cut scores mean for SAM schools? When applied to
data from the last test administered, our reading proficiency rates drop
dramatically, as shown in the graph below. Across the state of Michigan, it
is projected that 66% of all schools will NOT make AYP next year because of
this change.
Jennifer Trusock, HISD Consultant, has created reports in Data Director to
show which of your students, who were assessed in the fall of 2010 and
were proficient, WOULD NOT have gotten a MEAP proficient score with the
proposed cut scores. Similar reports for spring 2010 MME scores are being
created as well. Studying the error patterns of students who would no
longer be proficient will help schools determine instructional needs. If you
do not know how to access these reports, talk to your principal or contact
Jenni at [email protected] to find out who your data person is so you
can be informed.
For more information, visit http://www.hisd.k12.mi.us/SAM/main.html.
Click Literacy and look under the Curriculum column.
Want YOUR staff to dig deeper into the Common Core State Standards?
Wish you had a facilitator or guide?
Sign up for CCSS Professional Development opportunities offered through the
HISD this summer, or invite us to come to your school for a PD day! We’re
happy to help! Contact a member of the planning team listed on page 4 of
this newsletter for further information.
SAM Literacy
Page 4
Diagnostic Decoding Surveys
At the March Teacher Leader Training we learned how to use the Beginning and
Advanced Diagnostic Decoding Survey. Several teachers indicated they would not be
able to use the DDS because of cost, the grade level they teach, or time required.
Please allow us to clarify:
“Now, that’s
worth saving
up for!”
•
Teachers can use the FREE version to assess the decoding skills of as many students
as they would like. FREE is a great price, especially when what you get is valuable!
•
No diagnostic measure is intended to be administered to all students. Test only
the students you are concerned about.
•
The DDS is appropriate for students in grades Kindergarten through high school who
appear to be struggling with reading. It will identify the specific decoding
concepts that need to be explicitly taught.
•
It takes about 5 minutes to administer, plus scoring time, and can be done while
the rest of your class is reading or working on an assignment.
This summer, the HISD will repeat the Diagnostic Decoding Survey training. If you
think it would be valuable to have your Special Education, Paraprofessional, and Title
1 staff trained, please share this information with them. The flyers will be posted on
the HISD website under Professional Development, View Our Brochures, by May 2011.
Small-Group Instruction Within General Education Classes
Teachers who have asked for help grouping students for instruction can check out the revised tools on our
SAM Literacy website, Assessment Column, Reading Sorting Sheets. Unless your students all have very
similar skills and none are lacking in reading foundational skills or are so advanced that they need
enrichment, you need to be providing differentiated or small-group instruction for part of your day.
The first step is to assess your students and group them logically based on the instruction they need. The
sorting sheets will help teachers form logical groups. Next, you will need to carefully select the
programs or strategies that align with student needs and teach with integrity and intensity. Finally, data
is needed to determine if adequate progress is being made and if changes to instruction are needed. The
forms are stamped DRAFT for a reason – if you have suggestions for improving the usefulness of the
sorting sheets, please pass them on to a member of the SAM Literacy Team.
SAM Literacy Team
1299 S. Thomas Road, Bad Axe, MI 48413
Phone:
(989) 269-6406
Mark your Calendar!
Fax:
(989) 269-9218
E-mail:
Peggy Randall - [email protected]
Nicole Kohaif - [email protected]
Heather Miles - [email protected]
Erica Karg - [email protected]
Art Godin - [email protected]
Karen Currie - [email protected]
Early Childhood Representative:
Ellen Yaroch-Nolan – [email protected]
5/2-13/11
5/17/11
Universal Screening Window
3 p.m. deadline to submit your
data
Proofread carefully to see if you
any words out.
~ Author Unknown