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In Spring 2008, the Clinton Public School Foundation gave $5,000 (five grants of $1000 each) to teachers from kindergarten through fourth grade for classroom materials to help implement the Literacy First teaching model. In Fall 2008, an additional grant of $664 dollars was awarded to create Listening Centers at Southwest Elementary as part of the Literacy First program.
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LITERACY FIRST
Clinton Public Schools operate in a six-year cycle of evaluating each area of the curriculum, and last year reading came under the microscope. “We’re always looking at ways we can improve,” explained Assistant Superintendent Linda Thomas. “Reading test scores with our younger students were quite good, but we were finding that progress wasn’t continuing in the upper grades.”
Up to third grade, students are learning to read;
after third grade, students are reading to learn.
Guided by this educational tenet, CPS officials looked to the Literacy First model of teaching reading, and decided to implement the program with kindergarten through fourth grade students. Literacy First is a research-based, highly organized and structured way of teaching that focuses on specific instruction on the various skills needed to become a fluent reader.
One-on-one teacher assessments are given to each student to identify what, if any, specific skills are missing or deficient. These assessments are ongoing, so that each student’s progress is tracked throughout the school year, and difficulties with particular skills identified and addressed immediately. “We are very excited about the fact that our instruction is now truly assessment driven,” reported Southwest Elementary principal Pauleta Hunter. “Based on the Literacy First Assessments we are able to meet the individual needs of students through small group instruction called flex groups. By meeting students where they are, we are experiencing more success with keeping students fully engaged in their learning.”
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| Southwest Elementary flex group with teacher Marilou Schantz. |
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Flex groups and pairs work on specific tasks, such as word study, writing, and fluency. To facilitate this type of learning, Literacy Centers have been created in each classroom so that the students can rotate from one type of task to the next with ease.
The process has not been without stress. “Change is always a challenge and the time element has given us the most concern,” explained Hunter. “Many after school hours have been spent on preparation of lessons and making centers.”
Adding to the challenge was the need for items necessary for flex group instruction and the learning centers, according to Hunter. “Extra money is needed for materials and manipulatives….also, for leveled books in each classroom for the students to read during independent reading time.”
This approach also required an overhaul of school schedules. “Literacy First recommends a two-hour uninterrupted reading block…talk about a scheduling nightmare,” laughed Thomas.
However, the results seem to be worth it at the end of the first year of implementation. “We have seen so much success with our students,” said Hunter. “Struggling readers are reading, students who are good readers are moving on to more difficult text and high achieving students are actually being challenged! Smiling faces are everywhere!”
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| Southwest Elementary students at a Listening Center. |
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| According to Thomas, it takes three years to fully implement the Literacy First model. “There have been growing pains, but I feel very positive about what will result from the use of this approach.”
Hunter agreed, sharing the following story. “One particularly moving event happened with a 3rd grade student who has not been able to read much in the past. The class had been working a fluency piece (Reader’s Theater play) to perform in front of the class. This student stood in front of the class, with a paper in front of his face, and read his part of the play all the while smiling from ear to ear. It certainly brought tears to the eyes of the adults who were watching!”
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