Balanced Literacy in Secondary Classrooms? Yes! The results are rapid and students are engaged.
Embracing a balanced literacy approach in secondary ELA classrooms is essential to both acceleration & remediation. A corner stone of balanced literacy is small group instruction. There are a variety of methods teachers can use to group students in secondary classrooms. For example, common assessment data or reading levels can be used to group students for small group instruction. Students can be grouped for small group writing conferences as well. Writing conferences allow for personalized instruction and genuine feedback without "making the paper bleed" with traditional teacher-driven corrections. Following the writing workshop model in secondary classrooms maximizes learning time, ensures instructional minutes are protected allowing for critical components of balanced literacy such as mini-lessons, modeled writing, mentor text and shared reading.
Check out this video for ideas.
https://youtu.be/tnHbo9ZdbWc
@drkendrastrange
Great comments on twitter responding to this article- middle school teachers especially. So exciting.
ReplyDeleteDr Kendra Strange
Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting.
ReplyDeleteDr. Kendra Strange Shaffer
Do you have any suggestions for fitting in small group instruction in a high school English class. We only have 45 minutes a day. Thanks
ReplyDeleteTara
Absolutely. The key is to limit your direct reach piece to no more than 15 minutes. This is why it's called a mini lesson. This is the portion of the lesson that the learning standard is taught directly to students. Then use the last portion of your period for small group instruction and writing/reading conferences. It helps save time to use one anchor text for both reading standards and writing standards. Hope this helps.
ReplyDeleteKendr Strange
It's also a great idea to have a double blocked English period in the schedule. It never hurts to talk to your administrator who makes the master schedule and ask if you can have more time.
ReplyDeleteKendra Strange
great suggestions!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes.
Kendra Strange
Small group instruction is key to driving student achievement! Excellent read! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely... even in secondary.
ReplyDeleteThanks reading and commenting
Kendra