Lit Circle Implementation: Prime Time for Differentiation

Dr. Beth Scanlon, NBCTReading Coach

Cypress Creek High School

Think-Pair-Share

Differentiation: What’s on your mind?

Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Comprehension

Teachers (Allington, R., 2007, 279)

1. Take time to understand their use of strategies while reading.

2. Incorporate comprehension into daily, weekly, & monthly plans & lessons

3. Ask students to apply strategies in a wide variety of texts---genres, topics, & levels

4. Vary the size of instructional groups

5. Gradually transfer responsibility for strategy application to students

6. Ask students to demonstrate strategy use in a variety of ways---2 column notes, Venn diagrams, skits, sketches, timelines

7. Understand why they teach strategies and how strategy instruction fits into the overall goals for teaching reading and content

Large Group Instruction• Introduce a new

strategy• Introduce an old

strategy with a new genre

• Demonstrate a proficient use of a strategy with a think-aloud

Small Group Instruction• Provide more intensive practice

for students who need it

• Challenge students who have quickly picked up a strategy using more difficult texts

• Discuss the books

• Focus on strategy use

One-to-One Conferences• Review individual student data & set

goals• Check student understanding &

application of a strategy• Provide intensive strategy

instruction for students who need it• Push a student to use a specific strategy more deeply

Guided Reading• Reinforce strategies

• Introduce new strategies

• Help students make connections between texts and the work of readers

• Allows the teacher to carefully observe students as readers

Allen, J. (2000). Yellow Brick Roads. York, ME. Stenhouse Publishers.

Effective Readers

• Activate Background Knowledge• Question Text• Draw Conclusions• Make Inferences• Monitor Comprehension• Make Connections• Set a purpose for reading• Use text features

Planning for Differentiation

• Identify your students’ needs as individuals, small groups, or the collective

• Determine how to introduce or reinforce the strategy

• Plan small group work or literature circles in which students can work or read independently

• Find appropriate texts

Word Attack PracticeObjective: To help students practice

what to do when they come to a word they don’t know.

Steps: 1. Silently read your text. 2. Annotate or chunk the text

while\after you are reading 3. Highlight any unknown

wordsExit Slip: What did you learn about how

to strategically figure out an unknown word’s meaning while reading today?

Let’s Do: Fishbowl

What do you notice?

What are my other students

doing?

Your Turn

• Divide into groups of four• Read your assignment

card• Read your text• Practice the strategy• Debrief as a whole class

Supports for Teachers

• Service Learning Students – Lit Leaders

• Volunteers (College Students Needing Observation Hours\Service Learning)

• Audio Support• Reading Coach• Reading Portal Material• Edge Re-teach Material• Mini-Lessons for Literature

Circles by Harvey Daniels

Exit Slip

What questions do you still have?

References

Allen, J. (2000). Yellow Brick Roads. Stenhouse Publishers: York.

Allington, R. (2007). Effective teachers, effective instruction. In K. Beers, R. Probst, & L. Rief (Eds.), Adolescent literacy: Turning practice into promise (pp. 273-288). Portsmouth, NH:

Heinemann.