Opening
Presented by Susan RobertsCarson-Newman CollegeTeacher Education Division
“Using the Four Blocks Model for Exemplary Literacy Instruction”
“Our obligation to America’s teachers is as clear and strong as our obligation to America’s children. Teachers deserve all the knowledge and support we can give them. And children deserve the quality education that comes from excellent teachers. This is their birthright.”
– First Lady Laura Bush
Mandate: No less than a “qualified teacher” in every public school classroom.
– Federal No Child Left Behind Law of 2002
Spotlight on Reading
“A Balanced Literacy Framework…Using Patricia Cunningham’s Four Blocks Literacy Model”
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children,
National Research CouncilSnow, Burns, and Griffin, 1998
n “Academic success, as defined by high school graduation, can be predicted with reasonable accuracy by knowing someone’s reading skill at the end of grade three. A person who is not at least a modestly skilled reader by the end of third grade is quite unlikely to graduate from high school.”
Teaching Approaches: 1950’s – 1960’s “Look, Say”
“Sight Reading”
Teaching Approaches: 1960’s – 1990’s “Phonics”
Teaching Approaches: 1990’s – 2000 “Whole Language”
Balanced Reading Diet
•To become good readers, students need a balanced reading diet. The different “food groups” of balanced reading instruction are: •Guided Reading •Self-Selected Reading •Writing•Working with Words
Cunningham and Allington, 1999
The “Big Five” Areas of Reading Development
Phonemic Awareness Vocabulary Phonics & Decoding Strategies Comprehension Strategies Fluency
Four Blocks Framework
The Four Blocks framework was developed by teachers who believe that to be successful in teaching all children to read and write, we have to do it all! Doing it all means incorporating daily the different approaches to beginning reading.
Working with Words Purpose: To ensure that children read, spell,
and use high-frequency words correctly, and that they learn the patterns necessary for decoding and spelling.
“In February of 2000, Time reported this trend in the vocabularies of typical 14-year-olds:
1950 - Vocabulary of 25,000 words1999 - Vocabulary of 10,000 words
Working With Words
Segment One (Ten Minutes) Word Wall
Segment Two (20 Minutes) Decoding and Spelling Activities
Making Words Guess the Covered Word Rounding Up the Rhymes Reading and Writing Rhymes Using Words You Know
Working withWords
WORD WALLS:
Tell students that one way to practice words is to say them aloud in a rhythmic chanting fashion. The brain responds to sound and rhythm.
Patricia Cunningham and Dorothy P. Hall, 1998
WORD WALLS:
Chant words, cheerleader style from the word wall. Emphasize the hard to spell words in our English language. (Illogical words but very high frequency)
Examples: braid, laid paid --- said tray, stray, pray --- they mend, tend, send --- friend
DON’T JUST HAVE A WORD WALL, DO A WORD WALL EVERYDAY!
Cunningham, Dottie Hall, 1998)
Chant It! Cheer It!
Guided Reading
Purpose: To build comprehension and fluency with reading, and to introduce students to a variety of literature.
Total Time: 30-40 minutes Segment One: Before Reading Segment Two: Reading:
Flexible Grouping: Paired (Partner), Individual, Small groups reading with the teacher, Three-ring circus, Book Club Groups
Teacher Coaching Segment Three: After Reading
Research: NCTE 2003
Teaching Comprehension in the Information Age
Informational text (nonfiction) presents different kinds of comprehension obstacles for younger readers.
Many young readers have trouble following the organizational structures of nonfiction text.
• (Reutzel and Cooter 2004)
Teaching Comprehension in the Information Age
More time in the primary grades devoted to teaching comprehension using informational (nonfiction) texts.
Research: Low socioeconomic children read informational
text 3.6 minutes / day on average.– (Pearson & Duke, 2002)
Modeled Reading According to Dr. Patricia Cunningham,
teachers need to read aloud daily from four types of text:
Fiction (Everybody Books) Non-Fiction Poetry Classics (Old Favorites)
Self-SelectedReading
Purpose: To build fluency in reading, to allow students to read and enjoy text that is appropriate to their own independent reading levels, and to build confidence in students as readers.
Total Time: 30-40 minutes Segment One: Teacher Read-Aloud Segment Two: Independent Reading
and Conferencing: Segment Three: Sharing
Advantages of the Four Blocks Framework
The model is considered “Best Practices”
The framework helps teachers maximize time on task and better organize the teaching / learning environment.
Active engagement of students alone makes a tremendous difference.
– Sigmon, 2001
Three Rules for Good Teaching
(Lola May)
Know your stuff!
Know whom you stuff!
Stuff them elegantly!