Literacy Plan

Caroline Crane, Brittany Herndon, and Cassidy Taber

Longwood University
Read 680: Developing Literacy Leaders
Section​ ​1: Literacy​ ​Need

Contextual​ ​Factors

The data that we analyzed was from an anonymous source. We were able to look at the

Reading SOL scores over three grades and determine the need based solely on the scores. By not

knowing what school system the scores are from, we were able to exclude socio-economic

factors. Instead, we focused on data that was below 70% accurate. We have a unbiased viewpoint

of the data because of our lack of knowledge on the school system.

Description of Need

This report shows third, fourth, and fifth grade students in this school are having

difficulty with comprehension and detail oriented tasks within comprehension. In third grade, the

details within passage scored 44%. Fourth grade received a 68% on author’s purpose within

passages, while fifth grade scored a 62% on the ability to understand organization patterns of

text. The overall mean scaled score for the Comprehension of Printed Materials category was

under 40.

Analysis of Data used to Determine the Need

To determine a literacy need for the school, we focused on the scores from the third,

fourth, and fifth grade Reading SOL scores, specifically those under the Comprehension

category. In all three grades, we targeted problem areas that were below 70%. In third grade,

identifying details s​ cored 44% and​ identifying characters​ scored 58%. These are key parts of

understanding passage readings. In fourth grade, ​identifying author’s purpose​ scored 68% and
69% on two different accounts. Fifth grade, which had higher scores than the lower grades, had

only one problem area under 70%, ​organization patterns of texts. ​ All areas fall under the

comprehension category and should be an area where classroom teachers and reading specialist

look to expand instruction on.

Section 2: Teacher Design Plan

Comprehension strategies in the upper grades is a need for the students of this data set.

These students are no longer learning to read but they are reading to learn. Therefore,

understanding what they read has never been more important. The data shows that these students

struggle significantly with this skill in particular. In our literacy plan, we have come up with

strategies for teachers to implement in their classroom instruction to help their students in the

upper elementary grades better perform in the area of reading comprehension.

Comprehension in Guided Reading

In our literacy plan, we have come up with strategies for comprehension that would best

fit into guided reading lessons. First we put an emphasis on teachers incorporating summarizing

strategies. To begin, teachers should introduce summarizing by instructing students to use the

outline model of “somebody wanted...but so...then”. This gives students an easy way to plug in

the plot of the story and helps them keep their summary to a minimum. Teachers should then
focus on teaching students the most essential parts of a story to summarize. This instruction

would be great as students practice in the beginning with short passages and then move on to

leveled books to summarize. We then move from the idea of summarizing to a more formulaic

version of summarizing. We will urge teachers to introduce graphic organizers to the students

once they have mastered the early foundation of summarizing that was just introduced in the

literacy plan. All graphic organizers will be for different story structures to help students easily

summarize and add the author’s purpose along with the summarization.

Section 3: The Solution

Description of Solution

This teacher designed plan is a mix of reading comprehension and hands on literacy

activities designed for whole or small group instruction, depending on teacher preference and

what works best for each individual class. The plan is also a base plan for third, fourth, and fifth

grades and can be varied based on the grade level. Each class will be working on

comprehension, so students will be reading as whole group or in small groups, based on the

teachers choice. Then literacy activities(pulled from Serravallo's “The Reading Strategies

Book”)

can either be whole group or small group, as well. The students are reading to work on

comprehension skills, making connections, identifying important details, and seeing the story

through the authors eyes.

Justification

This literacy plan is designed based on the literacy needs that are common throughout the

third, fourth, and fifth grades and best practices reading strategies to help create skilled readers
from ​The Reading Strategies Book, ​ by Jennifer Serravallo. Students will be able to summarize

text, identify important details, and identify the author's purpose all in fiction and nonfiction

texts. Students will also be learning how to use graphic organizers to fulfill these activities to

help support their need to be able to read graphic organizers. This is an interactive plan that

gives students skills to self-monitor through organizational and detail oriented strategies, that

will enhance reading comprehension.

Supplementary Materials

Teacher Choice Grouping:​ This plan is not very strict in its implementation therefore

teachers have the choice of how they wish to pursue the plan from the start and then the reading

specialist can make suggestions if the results are not proving successful. This means a teacher

could choose to have the literacy block in a whole group format( students read reading

independently, teacher read aloud, independent activities) or in station format ( recommended).

The station format will allow teachers to have a station for each step of the activities, for

example a reading station where students may read independently or with the teacher as a group,

then an activity station where they will work on the skill the teacher has chosen to focus on, then

a final station where the students could be hands on and put together the work and the reading to

create a final product.

Portfolios: ​As teachers and students work together to become more skilled readers

through this hands on activities students will also be creating a portfolio (folder) of their works,

so that the students can see all their hard work and also have references to the skills they have

been obtaining. This portfolio will also help the teacher and reading specialist see where some

changes need to be made in the implementation or if a students is struggling or thriving.

 Process of Implementation

To implement this instructional plan teachers, reading specialist, and members of the

literacy team will be reviewing data from the VA SOL scores of the previous year. Sections

below 70% on the SOL subcategories will be considered categories that need to be addressed in

the new literacy plan, as anything below a 70% would not be passing. Each grade level team

will meet with the reading specialist and literacy team during a professional development session

designed around the subcategories that students struggled in. Following professional

development the grade level teachers will be able to decide how they would like to incorporate

strategies discussed at the professional development session, meaning the teacher can decide if

whole group or small group instruction would work best for intervention with their students.

One this process begins in the 2nd week of the 9 week period the reading specialist and/or the

literacy team will have weekly check ins with the grade level teacher to take a look at student

portfolios, have an unscheduled observation, or a one on one with the teacher to see what the

teacher may need help with, whether it be improving instruction or trying to implement new

strategies.

Section 4: Professional Development Plan

Description of Plan, Supplementary Materials, and Training

In the first week of this plan the reading specialist will meet with each one of the grade

level teams;third, fourth, and fifth grade. During these meeting each team will have a mini

professional development session. To start the professional development we will start by

discussing our highs and lows to transition into the more dense part of the meeting. The teams

will then move into the discussion with the team about why they are at the meeting and why it is

important. We will then have the grade level teams partner up( or small groups, depending on

how many teacher we have) and will have a random strategy from ​The Reading Strategies Book

to evaluate and make a mini plan of how they would incorporate that strategy into their

classrooms. Then after the strategies activity the reading specialist and literacy team will

describe this plan and have all the strategies from ​The Reading Strategies Book, ​that center

around the areas where the student struggled, into a website or webpage available to all the

teachers with the strategy and description.

After the grade level professional development sessions are complete teachers will begin

implementing these new strategies into their curriculum, that way they teachers don’t have to

change what they are teaching, but only incorporate more strategies that will assist students to

become more skilled readers. Throughout the nine week reading specialist and/or literacy team

members will be having unscheduled observations into the classrooms, just to observe and

provide constructive feedback and act as a resource for the grade level teachers. Throughout the

nine weeks reading specialist and/ or literacy team members will also be taking a look at student

portfolios to help the teacher monitor student progress, then at the end of the nine weeks there

will be a benchmark assessment for student. Following the benchmark there will be a

reassessment of the plan based of the data and teacher suggestions.

Motivation for Change

Current instructional strategies are not addressing student literacy needs and are not

helping students become skilled readers. The students need to be given more hands on strategies
to help them in their comprehension of complex texts. By working with students on their

comprehension skills in identifying details, summarizing, as well as seeing the reading from the

authors point of view students will be more readily prepared to take on difficult text. Students

will then have a toolbox full of strategies to assist them in their readings not only in their

classroom readings, but throughout the rest of their literacy journey. This plan will not teach

students what to think or teach students to the test, but give students the tools they need to take

on any reading.

Role Before, During, and After Implementation

During professional development the reading specialist/literacy team will be the

facilitators of the session. The implementation of this plan is solely strategy based, the

curriculum is not changing, therefore the reading specialist/literacy team will be available for

classroom modeling, to assist in making student goals, assist in creating classroom objectives,

and will also be assisting in progress monitoring. The reading specialist will also be coming in

and out of classrooms for informal observations to provide feedback for teachers.
 Section 5: Timeline for Implementation

Which
Students are
Being
Considered for
Weeks 1-3 Weeks 3-6 Week 6-9
Remediation?
Students performing ❖ PD session is held to ❖ Teachers will ❖ Teachers will start
below 70% in introduce literacy plan​, start teaching the teaching the
reading struggling data, and adjusted adjusted
comprehension. brainstorm solutions instruction after instruction per
as a staff. meeting #1 with meeting #2.
❖ Teachers collect work Reading ❖ OBSERVATION
samples of students Specialist(s). #2:
based on reading ❖ OBSERVATION Reading Specialist
comprehension #1: will team teach
solutions. Reading comprehension
❖ MEETING #1: Specialist(s) will strategies with
Reading specialist(s) observe the teachers.
will look over work teacher in ❖ Benchmark is
sample with teachers implementing the given to students
and discuss what is adjusted ❖ MEETING #3:
going well, what can instruction Teacher and
be improved, and discussed in Reading
make plans to adjust meeting #1. Specialist(s) talk
instruction ❖ MEETING #2: about the progress
accordingly. Teacher and made over the last
Reading 9 weeks with the
Specialist(s) will literacy plan based
debrief about off of experience
observation. and benchmark
Instruction will be scores.
adjusted as
needed.
 Assessment Plan

Students will be monitored daily on guided reading comprehension strategies and on

basic retells of reading content weekly. Students will also be taking a benchmark assessment at
the end of the 9 weeks where comprehension will be an assessment component. This
benchmark assessment will be compared to the benchmark students completed the previous
nine weeks and will be analyzed for growth in the comprehension area.