Literacy Improvement Plan

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Pre-Assessment
• Vision
• Class Meeting & Culture
• Class Comprehension Action Plan
• Class Meeting
• Family/Adminstrator Involvement
• Wrap up

Generally speaking, most don't put literacy and Algebra together. As I started my adventure of teaching math this year, that was exactly what was needed the most. So how do we put reading skills and math together to meet the needs of the students?

Jerry John's Individual Reading Inventory (IRI) was used on one freshman student where the findings were not that the students couldn't read, but did not comprehend what they were reading. The class material was then analyzed which determined that most of the word problems in Algebra I were written at a 10th grade or higher reading level.

The Vision

• All students can use strategies to comprehend word problems in Algebra

To accomplish the Vision an action plan was created to emphasis comprehension of word problems in Algebra.

Action Plan

• Silent Read Problem
• Mark It Up
• Out Loud Read
• Try it Out
• Partner Shuffle
• Whole Group
• Practice
• Assess

When teaching students to connect what they read to math, I found that I had to teach some strategies to help them understand what the question was asking. First was to have students silent read the word problem to themselves.

Next, students need to be able to "Mark it Up." This strategy is to pull out the important information and write prior knowledge around the word phrases. For example, when the word "sum" appeared students would put an + sign above the word.

Next is to have students out-loud read to partners, which can help them hear missed information.

Rewriting important information is a strategy to help with comprehension of what the word problem is asking for. Students who rewrote important information doubled their chances of comprehending what the problem was asking for and increased their problem solving skills.

The next step of the Action plan is to "Work it Out!" Many students were not trying the problem in front of them. They would pretend read the problem and then stare at the sheet of paper. I then implemented this phase to force students to attempt it and to avoid the "I don't know what to do's"

According to "How the Brain Learns" having students work together can help students connect their learning and remember it longer. So, this influenced the next step which was to do a partner shuffle. Students would check work and comprehension of the problem with two other students to adjust, teach, explain and collaborate.

The next step of the Action plan is to model what should be done in the problem. This leads to whole group instruction while students check their own work.

After whole group instruction, students need time to practice the action plan combined with new mathematical material. Practice is an important step to improvement.

Last step in the Action plan is to assess. Sometimes that phrase alone, can feel like a four letter word for teachers but, assessing students is necessary to see growth or deficits as the action plan is continued. Through the work and problem solving skills, you can determine if the student understands the word problem and the concept.

Class Meeting

Class meeting is where the Action Plan starts each day. During the beginning of the year we discuss several times the needs of different types of learning. Class meeting is where we practice many of the aspects of learning such as proximity to new material, movement, individual and group learning. Class meeting is where data driven instruction can take place.

Class Meeting is also a time when interventions can take place. Response to Intervention strategies are data driven instruction strategies that are used for students who are are not meeting standards.

Class meeting is also where vocabulary is taught. Many times vocabulary in math is the reason is why students do not try. Vocabulary strategies are utilized for all units as well as improvement in comprehension. The best use of this was the "Word Wall" where students created sticky notes of vocabulary words and stuck it to an empty wall.

Family Involvement

Sometimes, getting families to be involved in a high school student's education can be easier said than done. One way I found that parents really latched on to was using the Remind App. This allowed me to text messages using a secure application to give reminders, even communicate with parents. It also allowed me to give a link to parents that described the Action Plan.

Administrator Involvement

Administrator involvement is so important when implementing reading comprehension plans into an Algebra I classroom. Communication with the administrators was the main key. If I sent out information to students or parents, the administrators reviewed it first. I found that if I brought the research and the plan to them it was easier to discuss what it looked like implemented.

Review/Wrap Up

The vision for Algebra I was that ALL students can use strategies to comprehend word problems. The Action Plan implemented these strategies through class meeting where data driven instruction is used to help students. Assessing students help to address students who are not meeting standards and allow interventions to be put into place. These interventions combined with family and administrator support help all students succeed.

The results of improvement are still early to judge, but, the increase in just attempting word problems without help has gone from less than 5% of students in a class to over 85% of the students in the class attempting the problem without help! To me, that is improvement already!

Literacy Improvement Plan