MADISON METROPOliTAN SCHOOl DISTRICT - School Information ...

Appendix B
6th Grade Core Reading Instruction
Sixth grade is an important year for students as they transition from elementary to middle school.
lnstructionally, students this age are 'expected to read material that is increasingly complex. In order to
develop these more advanced skills, explicit reading instruction is necessary.
The MMSD 2010-2011 literacy program evaluation revealed a lack of systematic professional
development to support sixth grade reading instruction. Additionally, there was an inconsistency in the
resources and materials available. The evaluation also identified inequitable access to sixth grade core
reading classes across middle schools, ranging from 0 to 50 minutes daily.
To addresses these critical findings, one focus during the 2011-2012 school year has been to improve
and align sixth grade core reading instruction across all middle schools. This was accomplished through
targeted professional development and adding consistent instructional resources. Additionally, equitable
daily minutes of instruction will begin in the fall of the 2012-2013 school year. Following is a description
of these actions.
First, systematic professional development was provided to all sixth grade teachers of reading, inclusive
of regular education, special education, English as a Second Language, Bilingual Resource, and
Developmental Bilingual Education teachers. All teachers were asked to attend an initial core session
during the first semester, and then given a choice between three workshops to attend during the second
semester. Additionally, each middle school was provided opportunities for curricular collaboration within
building-based teams to apply their learning to their instruction
The one day core professional development session established expectations for sixth grade reading
instruction. These expectations included consistent instructional strategies for comprehension, fluency,
vocabulary, and word study in a Readers' Workshop model. This model allows teachers to meet the
needs of a range of readers through engaging and differentiated instruction using mini-lessons for
whole/small group, text discussion groups, and conferencing.
During the second semester, teachers selected from three one-day sessions according to their diverse
professional needs. Workshops included: Effective Strategies for Students Reading Below Grade Level,
Implementing a Readers' Workshop, and Using Reading Assessments to Inform Instruction. In each
session teachers honed their understanding and practice of effective strategies, structures, and
assessment for sixth grade reading instruction.
This professional development will be sustained through repeated offerings of the core session and three
workshops during the summer months. This professional development will be offered in the fall to any
new hires. Teachers have also been given access to Moodie, a Virtual Learning Environment containing
professional development resources from the sessions, links to relevant websites, and curricular
materials.
The second issue addressed was the inconsistency in the resources and materials available. Teachers
and schools were provided with professional texts, model units and supplementary materials, and
differentiated student novels/books. These materials are listed below.
Professional Resources: The following professional resources have been provided to teachers and
schools to support sixth grade core reading instruction:
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• Mini-Lessons for Literature Circles
• Do-able Differentiation