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One Pager Rubric
One Pagers Sample
Reading Tug O'War
Overview
This unit is designed to immerse teacher candidates in the contentious issues of reading instruction. In the unit, participants will explore the issues in the historical "Reading Wars," consider the arguments for structured literacy, critical literacy and the balanced literacy approach to teaching reading and explore the impact of bilingualism on reading instruction.
Unit 1 Introduction to the Reading Tug O'War
The Contentious Issue of the Teaching of Reading
Reading is the core of all education. Reading is how we become empowered to interact with the literate world. However, the literacy rates across the globe are shockingly below proficient, the USA Nation's Report Card clearly indicates that reading proficiency is declining too. Cultural bias in reading instruction is rampant, as is evident in the disproportionate identification of English learners in special education, and, perhaps most concerning are the numbers of illiterate among the prison population. The effective teaching of reading is an issue of equity and access. Developing teachers need to be engaged in the multi-faceted discussion of how to effectively teach reading. They must establish their own well informed positions on the teaching of reading as they are positioned to do good, change the way reading is taught and improve literacy in schools and the nation.
Introduction to the unit:
This unit is designed to immerse teacher candidates in the contentious issues of reading instruction. In the unit, participants will explore the issues in the historical "Reading Wars," consider the arguments for structured literacy, critical literacy and the balanced literacy approach to teaching reading and explore the impact of bilingualism on reading instruction.
Audience: The intended audience of this course is adults, particularly candidates in teacher education programs seeking to become effective elementary, secondary, and special education teachers.
Length of course: 10-15 hours of asynchronous learning
Unit-level outcomes:
While engaging with this unit, learners will:
Unit 1 Reading Tug o‘War
- Analyze the issues in the historical “Reading Wars” including balanced literacy and the Science of Reading.
- Explore what is meant by critical literacy and examine the importance of bilingualism in literacy instruction.
- Develop a position statement on your approach to teaching reading effectively and equitably.
Unit 2 Let the Standards Guide You
- Consider the standards guiding the field of reading instruction
- CA ELA/ELD Common Core Standards
- IDA Knowledge and Content Standards
- TT Social Justice Standards
- Identify 2-3 standards to guide an integrated early literacy lesson
Unit 3 Design and Develop an Integrated Literacy Lesson
- Design a standards based unit that integrates a full range of literacy instruction approaches, including explicit structured literacy instruction and critical literacy
- integrate experiential and culturally relevant learning designed to disrupt the commonplace and engage L-12 students in multiple viewpoints
- Develop the materials to support your lesson
Technology requirements:
- Computer and internet access
- Any relevant assistive technolgy software to make the unit accessible (ex: text to speech)
The Different Sides of the Tug O'War
Objectives-Unit 1 Reading Tug o‘War
- Analyze the issues in the historical “Reading Wars” including balanced literacy and the Science of Reading.
- Explore what is meant by critical literacy and examine the importance of bilingualism in literacy instruction.
- Develop a one-pager position statement on your approach to teaching reading effectively and equitably.
Content
- Read Chapter 6, The Reading Wars, in The Inside, Outside, and Upside Downs of Children's Literature: From Poets and Pop-ups to Princesses and Porridge by Jenifer Jasinski Schneider
- Explore the statistics that reveal how students in the US perform in reading by reviewing the infographic Results from the 2019 Mathematics and Reading Assessments, which is linked in Unit 1 resources
- Consider the issues
- What is the Science of Reading?
- Balanced Literacy: NCTE Position Statement: Instructional Foundations
- Critical Literacy: A Brief Video on Critical Literacy
- Critical Literacy in the schools: Tackling Tough Issues in First Grade
- Advantages of Bilingualism: Reshaping the mind: The benefits of bilingualism
- The Richness of Bi/Multilingual Students’ Linguistic Repertoires
Additional Reading & Viewing
- NAEP Report Cards, a detailed collection of student performance in several academic areas
- Our World in Data
- The 7 Deadly Errors of Teaching Reading
- Watch the YouTube video Critical Literacy: Children as Changemakers, powerful examples of critical literacy
- Watch the You Tube video Reading Wars: Phonics vs. Whole Words , evidence that the explicit phonics instruction is more effective for the geralization of decoding than learning to read by examining whole words in context reading
- Watch the You Tube video What Teachers Should Know About the Science of Reading
- Reconsidering the Evidence That Systematic Phonics Is More Effective Than Alternative Methods of Reading Instruction, by Jeffery S. Bowers, a challenge to the Science of Reading
- Disrupting Instructional Paradigms By Embracing Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, a webinar by the International Literacy Association
- Benefits of Foreign Language
- Bilingualism and Executive Function
- Bringing Bilingualism to the Center of Guided Reading Instruction
Citations
National Center for Education Statistics., National Assessment of Educational Progress (Project), Educational Testing Service., & United States. (2019). NAEP the nation's report card. Washington, D.C: National Center for Education Statistics, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Dept. of Education.
Schneider, Jenifer Jasinski, (2016). The Reading Wars. In The Inside, Outside, and Upside Downs of Children's Literature: From Poets and Pop-ups to Princesses and Porridge (p. 159-198). http://dx.doi.org/10.5038/9780977674411.ch6
Unit 1 Activity: Design a 1-pager illustrating your position the teaching of reading
Now is the time to create a 1-pager that illustrates your position on the teaching of reading. This will require that you synthesize all of the information you explored in Unit 1, and focus on the most essential points for you.
If you are unfamiliar with a 1-pager, you might spend some time examining what this is. It is essentially a series of notations and illustrations, all produced on 1 page, that reflect your position.
Submit your 1-pager to your instructor.
Unit 2 Let the Standards Guide You
Take a deep dive into the standards. You can expect this process to take 3-4 hours.
- Consider the standards guiding the field of reading instruction
Identify 2-3 standards to guide an integrated early literacy lesson that includes your informed position on literacy.
Additional Resources:
Unit 3 Look at sample lesson plans and resources
Objectives: Unit 3 Design and Develop an Integrated Literacy Lesson
- Design a standards based unit that integrates a full range of literacy instruction approaches, including explicit structured literacy and critical literacy
- You should select a mentor text to inspire your lesson
- Integrate experiential and culturally relevant learning designed to disrupt the commonplace and engage K-12 students in multiple viewpoints
- Develop the materials to support your lesson
In this unit you will explore a variety of sample lesson plans. Each of these lessons has a distinct perspective, some integrate multiple approaches to reading, others focus one one aspect. As you explore these lessons consider how you can create a lesson that integrates all of what you value in the teaching of reading.
Consider Sample Lesson Plans
- Critical Literacy: Looking at Race and Racial Identity Through Critical Literacy in Children’s Books
- Critical Literacy: Seeing Multiple Perspectives: An Introductory Critical Literacy Lesson
- Racial Identity: Sharing Our Colors: Writing Poetry
- Structured Literacy Lesson
- Balanced Literacy: Phonics in Context
Additional Resources:
Unit 3 Design a Lesson Plan
Provide teacher candidates with a lesson plan template, time to develop the lessonand formative feedback as they develop the lesson.
Provide the rubric based on your course.
Design a Lesson Plan
Consider all that you have read about the teaching of reading. It is a contentious issue and some would assert that educators must choose one side or the other of the Reading Tug O'War.
Think about the sample lesson plans and your own position. You will now develop a lesson plan for early readers, grades K-2. In your lesson plan you will integrate components of multiple aspects of the teaching of reading. You may use the template from your instructor. Submit this assignment to your instructor.