EIGHT SCENARIOS ILLUSTRATING THE ADOLESCENT LITERACY WALK-THROUGH FOR PRINCIPALS Advanced word Reading study instruction fluency Vocabulary and Discussion of content knowledge reading content Comprehension Instructional strategies materials Intervention Motivation and protocols engagement EIGHT SCENARIOS ILLUSTRATING THE ADOLESCENT LITERACY WALK-THROUGH FOR PRINCIPALS Marcia L. Kosanovich Network of Educators Debra H. Miller Florida Center for Reading Research Florida State University This publication was created for the Center on Instruction by the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University. The Center on Instruction is operated by RMC Research Corporation in partnership with the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University; Instructional Research Group; the Texas Institute for Measurement, Evaluation, and Statistics at the University of Houston; and The Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk at The University of Texas at Austin. The contents of this document were developed under cooperative agreement S283B050034 with the U.S. Department of Education. However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. Editorial, design, and production services provided by RMC Research Corporation. Preferred citation: Kosanovich, M.L. & Miller, D. H. (2010). Eight scenarios illustrating the adolescent literacy walk-through for principals. Portsmouth, NH: RMC Research Corporation, Center on Instruction. The Center on Instruction and the U.S. Department of Education retain sole copyright and ownership of this product. However, the product may be downloaded for free from the Center’s website. 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CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 8 SCENARIO A For use with the template for grades 4–5 classrooms Grade 4 example 10 SCENARIO B For use with the template for grades 4–5 classrooms Grade 5 example 12 SCENARIO C For use with the template for grades 6–12 content-area classrooms Grade 6 example 14 SCENARIO D For use with the template for grades 6–12 content-area classrooms Grade 7 example 16 SCENARIO E For use with the template for grades 6–12 content-area classrooms Grade 8 example 20 SCENARIO F For use with the template for grades 6–12 content-area classrooms Grade 12 example 24 SCENARIO G For use with the template for grades 6–12 reading intervention classrooms Grade 7 example 26 SCENARIO H For use with the template for grades 6–12 reading intervention classrooms Grade 9 example INTRODUCTION This document provides professional development material that supplements the Center on Instruction publication Adolescent Literacy Walk-Through for Principals: A Guide for Instructional Leaders, or ALWP. Emerging from a request from the field for illustrations of the concepts in the ALWP, the scenarios herein illustrate adolescent literacy instruction for fourth and fifth grade classrooms, content-area classrooms in grades 6-12, and reading intervention classrooms in grades 6-12. In addition to the scenarios, this document contains a brief summary of the walk-through itself, an orientation to the scenarios, and suggestions for how to use them. The ALWP The ALWP supports technical assistance providers in their work with states to improve educational policy and practice in adolescent literacy. It offers guidance on using a principal reading walk-through as part of effective literacy leadership practice. The ALWP helps principals monitor and support adolescent literacy instruction more effectively. School leaders can use the ALWP to monitor literacy instruction in late elementary school, content-area classes in middle and high school, and reading intervention groups or classes. The information gathered through the ALWP contributes to the planning and implementation of ongoing professional development to support effective literacy instruction in individual classrooms and across grade levels and subject areas. In frequent, short walk-throughs, principals gather information that can be used to encourage focused, reflective, and collaborative adult learning. School communities can more effectively establish a common language for quality instruction, and principals are better able to communicate their expectations. Classroom walk-throughs help establish a clear, consistent rationale for the principal’s visits. Principals and teachers generate information that supports and extends teacher learning as a means to increase student achievement. Walk-throughs promote discussion that encourages responsibility, teachers’ readiness to reflect, and their motivation to continuously improve their practice. 1 The ALWP contains: • a brief history of the classroom walk-through (CWT), a tool that has been widely used to improve instruction, • examples of CWT models, • a review of the challenges in using walk-throughs effectively, • our concept of a principal’s walk-through for adolescent literacy instruction (grades 4–12), including a section for reading interventions in grades 6–12, and • sample ALWP templates for states, districts, and schools. The ALWP offers templates for three contexts: classrooms in grades 4–5, content-area classrooms in grades 6–12, and reading intervention classrooms in grades 6–12. Each template contains categories of indicators that apply to the three types of classrooms. Some categories of indicators of effective literacy practices are the same across templates. The categories of Vocabulary and Content Knowledge Instruction, Comprehension Strategy Instruction, Discussion of Reading Content, and Motivation and Engagement appear in all three templates. The grades 4–5 and grades 6–12 reading intervention templates also contain Advanced Word Study Instruction and Reading Fluency Instruction categories. The grades 6–12 reading intervention template contains two additional categories: Intervention Protocols and Instructional Materials. Each category contains effective literacy instruction indicators relevant to that category (e.g., teaches domain specific vocabulary and provides opportunities for student collaboration in discussion and assignments). An orientation to the scenarios These eight classroom scenarios illustrate what instructional leaders might observe as they conduct classroom walk-throughs using the ALWP templates. The scenarios do not provide deep investigation into classroom instruction; rather, they depict what might be seen in a five- to seven-minute classroom visit. A more complete sense of the nature of instruction will develop through several visits over time. The scenarios are intentionally brief because principal visits are typically brief and do not provide extended information about the context of the classroom. Each scenario illustrates at least one category of indicators from a template (e.g., Comprehension Strategy Instruction). 2 The scenarios illustrate instruction in each of the eight indicator categories in the templates. There is one scenario for each of the unique categories for the grades 4–5 and grades 6–12 reading intervention templates, and one scenario for English/language arts, math, science, and history/social studies classes in grades 6–12 that address the categories contained in all three templates. The chart below summarizes the general descriptors of each scenario. Template Scenario Grade Subject Category of indicators Grades 4–5 A 4 Reading Advanced Word Study Instruction Grades 4–5 B 5 Reading Reading Fluency Instruction Grades 6-12 C 6 Math Vocabulary and Content Knowledge content area Instruction Grades 6-12 D 7 English/LA Discussion of Reading Content content area Comprehension Strategy Instruction Motivation and Engagement Grades 6-12 E 8 Science Comprehension Strategy Instruction content area Motivation and Engagement Grades 6-12 F 12 SS/ Vocabulary and Content Knowledge content area Government Instruction Motivation and Engagement Grades 6-12 G 7 Reading Instructional Materials reading intervention Grades 6-12 H 9 Reading Intervention Protocol reading Instructional Materials intervention Motivation & Engagement Each scenario is labeled with a letter, the classroom template used for the scenario, and the grade level it depicts (e.g., Scenario A, For use with the template for Grades 4–5 classrooms, Grade 4 example). The page after the scenario lists the indicators that the principal would refer to on the template and a brief explanation of how the scenario demonstrates the indicator. 3 Ways to use the scenarios This document does not provide the comprehensive professional development one would need to build knowledge about, and support, the implementation of a principal walk-through plan. Nor does it address the many issues that arise when putting walk-throughs into operation—important considerations such as how to interpret observations that do not represent the complete instructional sequence, communicating with teachers after an observation, walk-through scheduling, and orientating faculty members to the walk-through process. Instead, the scenarios serve as extended examples of the concepts in Adolescent Literacy Walk-Through for Principals: A Guide for Instructional Leaders.Consider them tools to be used in a presentation or professional development activity (a study group session, for example) as practical illustrations of how the principal can use the template in a five- to seven- minute classroom visit. The scenarios can be used in different settings. Ideally, they will be used in professional development sessions with principals and other instructional leaders to acquaint them with the ALWP templates and prepare them for observing academic literacy instruction. In a structured professional development setting, the participants might: • Work in pairs or small groups of four or five. Each group reads the scenario and uses the template found in the ALWP document to determine which indicators the scenario depicts. • Identify which indicators they selected, citing evidence within the scenario. • Check their work by looking at the next page and reviewing the indicators intended to be described by the scenario. Discussion about the indicators would follow. The scenarios may also be used by instructional leaders working in small groups to support each other in the consistent application of the ALWP templates as they conduct their walk-throughs. In a collaborative setting focused on improving agreement among observers, instructional leaders might: • Work in small groups to read the ALWP document, review the templates, and read the scenarios. 4