Session I

Inquiry Based Interventions to Support Literacy

Jill Jones, Dr. Dennis Davis, Nermin Vehabovic (NCSU)
Mar 19 2018

Sample of ‘Discover Reading’ Book- “My Name is Sangoel”

Reading with embedded conversation (reciprocal teaching) - Mind Movie, etc.

Why? Exposure to complex media w/ opportunities for conversations among students to

check for comprehension

Inquiry Modules- 8-10 modules on various topics:

Read 4-5 books on a general topic (Strange Animals, Space Junk) as they read and learn they
record their learning to share with their families once the sessions are done.

Focus areas : decoding and comprehension (different protocols for each areas, w/ fluency
help embedded)

Instructional Segments: Word workshop, breaking words, reading with expression, discovery
reading, word flash
Instructional segments are aligned with students needs determined by:
Informal decoding inventory
Elementary spelling inventory
Fluency inventory

Word Workshop- systematic word instruction

Breaking Words
Building Words
Sorting Words
Writing Words

This is usually done 1-1 in a tutoring session. How could we scale this for small group
instruction in the classroom? (one approach is to identify multiple students who need help
with the same skill)

Breaking words: Focuses on structural analysis of multisyllabic words

1. Read the word
2. Identify syllable junctures- count and then mark on the paper
3. Say each syllable and read them together
4. Cut the word up and reassemble the word
5. Student writes the word
6. Add prefixes and suffixes for new words

Session II
Behavior must be taught to empower every student
Rusty May
Behavior must be taught like every other skill/content we teach

Teachers spend 5-9 hours per week managing low-level behavior challenges in the classroom

The number one teachers leave the profession is lack of control…(hmmmmm???)

Challenges in the classroom...

Little to no training
Overly invested- Who they are
The Lie- Good Teachers do more
Microlevel relationships- 1-1 micromanagement
Putting out fires- repeated requests
Stressful- emotionally exhausting
Takes responsibility
Lose self-awareness

Time to Teach
1. Self control- how do teachers respond to daily challenges in the classroom? How do
teachers react to challenging situations? (what do teachers do when students push
buttons?
2. Classroom ecology- am I using my classroom as a tool for behavior success?
3. Teach to expectations- think about the pet-peeve you have and how to manage those;
create processes to manage behavior
4. Refocus- give students a choice and honor their choice
5. Unconditional positive regard- work on the behavior not the student

Do you believe…
1. Caring is key- students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you
care. - Madeline Hunter
a. Punishment alone does not change behavior
b. Help your students develop appropriate behavior
c. Research is clear: if kids know you value them as human beings they will work
harder and challenge less.
2. Conflict is an essential part of growing up
a. “Do you care enough about me to let me know what is right and what is wrong?”
b. Executive functions of the brain to don’t fully develop until age 25
i. Carol Dwek- The Growth Mindset
3. Good behavior can be taught
4. Behavior can be changed
a. How are we helping students deal with their behaviors? (ie- anger)
5. Good discipline must be timely

Conflict is inevitable.
Combat is optional.

How we react is key.

Self control…
~Don’t take the debate bait- “the opinion of a 13 year old is simply that”
 ~Chaos is captivating. (Think of an accident and the ‘onlooker delays’.) Calm is
contagious and silence is powerful.
~Avoid power struggles
~Diffusers- “This is stupid….”......”probably so….” and moving on with the lesson.
*I’m sorry
*probably so
*nevertheless
*I understand

Using the room as a learning and teaching tool…

1. Lighting, color, music, smell(Scentsy! :) )- Too much color may be overwhelming for
students- especially young boys or students with ADHD (think about glares and how
they may impact students) Smells can be calming, especially light scents that are used
consistently (not a different smell every day)
2. Where have I placed by desks or tables?
3. Where do I stand to deliver my teacher-directed information?
4. Where are the windows?
5. Where are my ‘membership loops’?
6. What are the existing traffic patterns?

Primary influences on student behavior

50’s- home, church, school, peers, television
80’s- home, peers, television, school, church
90’s- peers, television, home/media, school, church
2000’s- media, internet, computers, movies, cable TV

Don’t they know….

...how to walk in the halls?
...ask for help?
…use the restroom?
...throw away trash?
...sharpen their pencil?

No, they don’t.

They must be taught with Direct instruction- the things that are most important to the teacher
must be taught and managed
I do, you do, we do.

Thoughts to ponder….
~What did kids experience before they were dropped off in the morning? Last night?
Over the weekend? Are we helping them deal with that before jumping into the content for the
day?
~Are we addressing trauma in the classrooms and counselors office? 50% of students
come to school with trauma. Trauma is either ‘Fight or Flight’ and magnified by feelings of
insecurity. We need our kids to feel safe.
~Is this something I can deal with now, or something that can wait and handle it during
their favorite time of the day
~find what works in YOUR classroom (but make sure it works)
~have writing prompts that ask teachers to share information about themselves
~building rapport- good things happen when you take time to get to know the students
Discipline vs. Punishment
If a child can’t read...we teach.
If a child can’t compute… we teach.
If a child can’t spell…. We teach.
If a child can’t behave… we punish.

This isn’t a problem we can push down the roads- the prison system isn’t working….

The purpose of discipline is to teach responsibility rather than invoke a punishment.

Common mistakes of discipline…

Making in punitive
Inconsistency
Failure to give on start-up request
Giving too many requests
Rewarding behavior

Reward effort not behavior

Read the book Drive: The Surprising Truth About what Motivates Us, there are 7 drawbacks to
extrinsic rewards

The art of a prompt

● Questions
● Statement
● Gesture
● Modeling
● Physical
● Behavioral momentum

Invitation vs. command

● Start up vs. shut down

When faced with undesirable behavior---Focus on the teaching

Ask yourself:
Can I still teach
Can the student still learn
Can the students around them still learn

YES
Keep the teaching train moving

NO
Prompt the behavior
Give them a choice- honor the choice
Teach the behavior

Teachers actions in their classrooms have twice the impact on student achievement as do
school policies regarding curriculum and other external factors
Schooltoolstv.com
#K12writingprompt rustymayinc@gmail.com
Rustymayinc.com

Session #3
Reading and Math go together like PB&J
Mar 19 2:30-3:30

Counting books, concept books, informational books, poetry books, story books

Build prior knowledge- introduce the meaning of multiplication (definition symbol, relevance)
communicate mathematical ideas, connect skip counting, arrays, repeated addition and
multiplication

build mathematical vocabulary, rows columns etc.

make a mathematical connection

Math Interactive Read alouds

Teachers responsibilities vs. students responsibilities (see slideshow)

The man who walked between the towers- use a variety of colors to denote math or literacy
Stop and jot- working on a conversion on p. 10

Hershey bar fractions

Use a dice with specific questions to give variety and change things ups

You can make up smaller problems to use with lower grades (example- if Philipe walked 4 feet
and then 6 feet, how far would he go?)

Reference a text multiple times

Read a wide variety of texts Planning small group instruction using math texts
Step 1 Select the text you want to use
Step 2 Determine the purpose (teach, remediate, extend)
Step 3 How will they work with text?
Step 4 Select math activity aligned with standard/common core

Chrysanthemum
Purpose: Remediation
Small group

Standard 2MD8
Have students calculate the value of chrysanthemums name and their own name to practice

Chickens on the Move (Math Matters)

Making Math the Story (Scholastic w/ lesson plans)
Writing for ID’s…. Writing for jobs…. Writing just for fun… writing for assessment

Word Splash or a graffiti wall

Annie Fetter - the math forum

Have students look a photo and “Notice and Wonder” about a photo (picture with chinese
lanterns)
Nat Geo photo of the day
Brainstorm
Forgetht question
Think-write-pair-share
Are we done noticing and wondering yet?

Estimation 180… photo a day

Have students WRITE their thoughts first, before discussing.
http://mathforum.org/blogs/annie/

http://www.familymathnight.com/

write -discuss-write

Take the question off- give them a problem, and then give them the question at the end. Doug
LeMov (TLAC)

At the lantern fest in Charlotte, 475 lanterns were released. 296 flew straight above our heads,
the rest of the lanterns flew out of sight. How many lanterns flew out of sight?

Have students come up with a plan, discuss with their partner, revise the writing with a new
plan, and then solve the equation
Follow with a gallery walk-- sort of like musical chairs- a compliment and a question; repeat as
many times as needed

Session 5
Putting the Interactions in Interactive Read Aloud
Mar 19 3:45-4:45

Look at Balanced Literacy

Interactive read alouds are strategic and there are specific stopping points for students to
discuss, write, act out, etc.

Fontas and Pinnell- the new guided reading uses whole class interactive read aloud as the
main focus

Best Practices
Student Center- challenging, authentic, experiential, holistic

Cognitive- reflective, constructivist, developmental, expressive

Interactive- democratic, collaborative, sociable

Ooptimal Learning Model

Dependence ------> Independence

It is a lot like riding a bike…. Dont provide too many scaffolds- let them ‘ride’ when they are
ready

How to make informational texts a little more interactive

Face to face series

Use read aloud interactions to model

Provide students with tools to help them make their own meaning

Choose texts to support the long term understanding as well as the immediate teaching goal

Honor and encourage diverse student responses - try hard not to repeat students answers or
the directions. They get used to listening for the just the teachers voice.

Provide time for students to consider what they’re taking away from what they read

Planning
Types of interactions
Turn and talk
Stop and jot
Stop and sketch
Stop and act

Resources to guide/prompts
State standards
Continuum of literacy learning
Prompting guides
Professional texts