Margaret & Dabney

Literacy Plan
Literacy Needs
Elko Middle School, located in Henrico County, is under the leadership of Cheri Guempel. Elko
consists of three grade levels (6
th
, 7
th
, and 8
th
). 65% of the 850 students are on free or reduced
lunch. There is 1 principal, 3 assistant principals, 3 school counselors, 13 special education
teachers, and 48 general education teachers. Based on the Student Performance by Question
report for the 2012-2013 school year, there is a clear need for an intense focus on nonfiction
comprehension. Specifically, the sixth graders struggled with drawing conclusions (41-59%),
identifying facts and opinions (44-57%), identifying which question is answered in a given
paragraph (39%), identifying organizational structure (35%), and identifying supporting details
(15%). The percentages shown indicate the number of students who answered the correlating
questions correctly. This data shows that the students at Elko are having trouble with reading
nonfiction text and analyzing the text to answer questions. Identifying supporting details was the
lowest reporting category. The students at Elko lack the ability to apply the skills they have
learned in the classroom to nonfiction texts. This is evident when you compare the supporting
details report for fictional texts (60%) to nonfiction texts (15%). There is an obvious need for
nonfiction support at Elko Middle School. Students have the ability to read and comprehend
fictional texts but are unable to show the same strengths when tested on nonfiction texts. One
reason for this may be socioeconomics and students home lives. Most students are not
exposed to nonfiction texts at home. The students at Elko need to be introduced to a literacy
plan that is focused on high interest nonfiction.
Possible Solutions
One possible solution is to have the English and Reading teachers focus more on nonfiction text
in the classroom. The science, social studies, and math teachers need to share what they are
teaching in their classrooms, so that the English and Reading teachers can focus on those
topics. For example, if the science teacher is working on their weather unit, then the English
teacher can pull nonfiction text to read about in their class. This will not only give the students
more exposure to nonfiction text, but also the content taught in the core classes. I suggest that
during teacher work week, the science, social studies, and math teachers give a pacing guide
with vocabulary words to the English and Reading teachers. That way when lesson plans are
being created they can pull in material to support the other teachers.
To make sure the nonfiction skills are being taught, the teachers need to have a common set of
strategies they will use to support understanding nonfiction text. There should be a mini training
session given by us that will allow the teachers to come up with some anchor lessons that will
work well with each strategy or skill the students are weak in. The anchor lessons need to focus
on text structure, graphics, organization of material, drawing conclusion, fact and opinion, and
finding answers to questions. These lessons should also be shared with the other core
teachers for them to use as well.
Another solution is to purchase the web based program, Achieve 3000, for each student and
English & Reading teacher. This web based program differentiates instruction using nonfiction
content, which allows all readers the opportunity to read material on their level. The teachers
can assign the articles that the students read which can be based off what is being taught in the
other core classes. This will not only help with exposing students to more nonfiction but it will
increase their reading skills as well. According to Achieve 3000, Students reading two or
more years below grade level at the beginning of the school year made gains of nearly triple the
expected growth norms an average Lexile gain of 116 points effectively closing the gap for
most of the struggling readers. There is a cost for the program, but we could write a proposal
for a grant to cover the cost of the program.
One more solution is to have a book room full of nonfiction text. In our current book room we
have a good number of novel studies, but most are out dated and not used. If we could again,
focus on the topics that are taught in the core classes, the English and Reading teachers could
pull these and use them in their classrooms. We will write a grant to fund the money that will be
needed to support this project and reach out to local organizations that would be willing to help.
For example, we would contact The Science Museum and see if they had any material they
could donate to the school.
Solution
Achieve 3000 is an online based program that focuses on nonfiction text that adjust to
individualized levels of reading for each student. This is ideal for students at Elko Middle School
because of the one-to-one student laptop ratio. Core teachers will be able to locate articles that
are pertinent to that teachers subject or lesson being taught.
This solution was chosen based on the student Performance by Question Report for the 2012-
2013 school year. The data report showed a serve need for nonfiction text understanding. By
implementing this solution students will be exposed to high interest content specific nonfiction
texts in all core subjects. Achieve 3000 gives students one-on-one instruction, at their level
and stretching them with complex text so they can reach their maximum potential and meet their
needs.
All core teachers and students will have the ability to access and use all of Achieve 3000s
resources. Teachers will assign content specific articles based on each students reading
ability. The students will login and will read the article independently and complete the specific
tasks assigned. Tasks may include multiple choice questions, fill-in graphic organizers, answer
open ended questions, etc.
A representative from Achieve 3000 will provide a hands on training in August to all staff
members at Elko Middle School. Each department will have the opportunity to meet and
generate ideas on ways they can use this in their own classroom/lessons. Then each
department will share their ideas to the group and from there we will establish a list of ideas to
put into action. We will also ask that each department bring a copy of their pacing guide for the
year to share with the Literacy teachers to have. This will allow the Literacy teachers to
incorporate different subject matters into their reading/writing classroom.
Monday Tues./Wed. Thurs./Fri.
Read article and Word Study
students will keep and
maintain a personal journal of
their vocabulary words. The
students will use pictures,
sentences, synonyms, and
antonyms for each word.
Read article &
comprehension questions
Students will read article for
meaning and understanding
by answering questions and
graphic organizers.
Thought Question students
will answer an opened ended
question to display their
understanding of the topic the
read.
**Literacy teachers will also teach mini-lessons on specific reading and writing skills.**
To begin in the spring of 2014, the literacy plan will be presented to the literacy department
chair and literacy administrator. The plan will then be offered to the principal and literacy
specialist for approval. From there we will begin staff professional development training during
teacher work week for the fall 2014-2015 school year.
The literacy teachers will conduct a pre-assessment the first week of school to obtain students
reading levels. Their performance report will be entered on SchoolSpace, a website where all
teachers have access to the information. Teachers will then set-up their classes electronically
and assign articles based on the students independent reading level. Updated reports will be
sent monthly. In the spring of 2015 students will complete the post assessment to show growth
throughout the year.
Professional Development Plan
Achieve 3000 is a digital program dedicated to nonfiction texts across all content areas. It will
be used as a whole school program to increase comprehension. Specific vocabulary and
reading skills will be practiced through word study and mini-lessons taught in the literacy
classrooms. The ideas is to not only focus on the reading skills but to also reinforce what is
being taught in the core subject areas.
Training will take place from 9-12 on Thursday, August 28, 2014 in the school library. The first
hour will focus on the representative from Achieve giving a virtual tour and explaining all the all
of the resources Achieve has to offer. The second hour each department will meet to discuss
ideas of implementing Achieve in the classroom. The last hour, staff will reconvene to share
and collaborate ways to use Achieve in the classroom. From there, we will take all ideas
presented, create a Google Doc and share it with the staff. This will allow for teachers to leave
feedback on what ideas worked and didnt. They could also add new ideas they come up with
to share with their peers. This information will give us constant data throughout the year. Each
teacher will leave with Anchor lessons provided by Achieve that can be expanded on throughout
the year. Copies of Subjects Matter: Every Teachers Guide to Content-Area Reading, by
Harvery Smokey Daniels & Steven Zemelman and Hi-Lo Nonfiction Passages for Struggling
Readers: Grades 6-8, by Scholastic Teaching Resources will be available in the library for
teachers who wish to learn more about the importance of using nonfiction in the classroom. In
addition to the books, Achieve has their own training and support section that provides an
abundance of online videos, webinars, and tutorials for each teacher to use.
In order to motivate staff of the recent change, we will show and explain a Virginia Case Study
completed by Achieve. The case study gives multiple statistics and examples of student growth
while using the Achieve program. There are different incentive programs set-up within Achieve
such as BizBucks, games, and weekly prizes. Last, but certainly, not least, our main focus is to
increase student ACHIEVEment while keeping teacher workloads at a minimum. All
assignments, incentives, and student growth on Achieve will be graded and sorted
electronically.
Short term support will be provided through answering questions, modeling lessons, providing
feedback, and assisting with the creation of classes online. Long term support will be provided
through the distribution of monthly student and school progress reports. Study groups will be
offered once a month based on teacher interest in different components Achieve has to offer.
Timeline for Implementation
Date Assessment/Monitor Plan
Thursday August 28
th
Staff development with Achieve representative
and departments.
Frist two weeks of school
(Sept. 2-12)
Literacy teachers will administer the Pre-
Assessment on Achieve in order to obtain students
independent reading levels.
Tuesday October 7
th
Discuss monthly progress reports during staff
meeting. Address any concerns teachers are
having.
Thursday October 9
th
Monthly study group (based on teacher interest)
Tuesday November 4
th
Discuss monthly progress reports during staff
meeting. Address any concerns teachers are
having.
Thursday November 5
th
Monthly study group (based on teacher interest)
Tuesday December 2
nd
Discuss monthly progress reports during staff
meeting. Address any concerns teachers are
having.
Thursday December 4
th
Monthly study group
Tuesday February 3
rd
Discuss monthly progress reports during staff
meeting. Address any concerns teachers are
having.
Thursday February 5
th
Monthly study group.
Tuesday March 3
rd
Discuss monthly progress reports during staff
meeting. Address any concerns teachers are
having.
Thursday March 5
th
Monthly study group.
Tuesday April 7
th
Discuss monthly progress reports during staff
meeting. Address any concerns teachers are
having.
Thursday April 9
th
Monthly study group. Help teachers prepare for
giving the post assessment.
Week of April 27
th
-May 1
st
Teachers will administer the post assessment to
show student growth.
Week of June 8
th
-12
th
Teachers and students will complete a
questionnaire to determine the strengths and
weaknesses of the program. We would like to gain
understanding of what works best and what can
be improved for the following school year.
**Potential problems may include snow days, testing schedules, and technology issues. These problems
will be addressed as quickly as possible and the schedule above may be affected.