Problem: In a group of learners, 85% of the population was severely underperforming on summative and benchmark assessments as the site mandated reading curriculum was not meeting the needs of the learners.
Solution: To modify the curriculum, I created instructional guides for my team that met the needs of our learners. In each instructional guide I differentiated instruction by gradually releasing learner support as necessary. In each guide I described step-by-step how to explicitly model content delivery and instruction to the whole group of learners and then repeat the process with the group of learners. When learners linked off to complete the task or assignment individually, one group of severely underperforming learners was then explicitly re-taught the content and worked closely with a facilitator who gradually released his/her support as necessary.
I also modified the deliverables in this unit by using particular pages of Sara Rosenthal’s “Reading and Writing Workshop Workbook” which included helpful visual aids such as graphic organizers, infographics and checklists.
Result: This instructional unit was successful as demonstrated by 99% of all learners achieving Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in which learner achievement is defined as at least one year’s growth (progress) in reading or an increase in 4 or more reading levels by end of year.
Below is a sample of the modified curriculum which consists of quarterly units of study. Each unit then divided into four parts or learning modules which delivers content in 5 sessions. The instructional outline and guides below are from Part 1 of Unit 3. This instructional guide is adapted from “Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grade 5” by Lucy Calkins.
