TIER 1 INSTRUCTION

In the Longmeadow Public Schools, Tier I instruction is characterized by a balanced approach. Balanced instruction is not a specific program or set of resources but rather a repertoire of effective pedagogical practices that include a balance of the following:

• Explicit teaching of skills and strategies used by proficient readers, writers, and problem-solvers

• Literature-rich classrooms where readers choose, read, and respond to authentic literature and informational text

• Whole class, small-group, and 1:1 instruction for all students

• Teacher-selected and student-selected texts, topics, problems, learning goals, and learning tools

In the elementary grades, Tier I approaches are highly structured while at the middle school level, instructional approaches are more dynamic. For example, the following components characterize balanced instruction in grades K-5: 

The Common Core Standards require regular practice with complex text, balanced engagement with both informational and literary texts, and reading comprehension substantiated by textual evidence. Proficiency in these intricate processes require explicit instruction and a significant volume of authentic reading practice. Some of this authentic practice will happen with a high level of explicit teacher guidance through mini-lessons, guided reading, strategy groups, and conferring. 

Simultaneously, educators must gradually release responsibility to students as they practice critical skills and strategies on their own during "independent reading." Independent reading follows the whole-class mini-lesson each day during Readers' Workshop. During the mini-lesson, the teacher explicitly models a skill or strategy he or she will ask the children to practice during independent reading that day. During the mini-lesson, the teacher will provide time for guided practice of the particular skill or strategy. For example, the teacher may say, "Turn and talk to your partner about one thick question and one thin question you have about the story." As the children practice the skill, the teacher will circulate to ensure the children understand. A mini-lesson will end with a phrase similar to, "Today during independent reading, I want you to try...as you read independently." 

Building a Classroom Library to Support Independent Reading

Students need a high volume of accessible text to sustain independent reading on a daily basis. The classroom library entices students to browse books by interest, genre, topic, series, author, and other categories. Only a very small percentage of the classroom library should be leveled, if at all, and leveling is only appropriate in the primary grades. The school bookroom, rather than the classroom library, provides leveled text selections for guided reading purposes. Independent reading should reflect student choice and students must learn to select "just-right" texts on their own with explicit instruction from the teacher. LPS literacy coaches can assist teachers in planning these explicit mini-lessons to successfully launch independent reading and just-right text selection. Contact your literacy coach to schedule an appointment.

Helping  Students Select Just-Right Texts with Anchor Charts Around the Classroom

The "five finger rule" is a simple strategy to help students self-select just-right texts. Modify this strategy for primary students who may be reading at levels where there is limited print on each page. 

Supporting Open Response and Short Answer Writing in Our Classrooms

Students may struggle to successfully tackle open response writing for a variety of reasons, including the following:

• • Students do not understand test question vocabulary, referred to as general academic vocabulary in the common core standards, including words like explain, describe, label, etc.

  • Students do not understand the expectations of each kind of test question.

  • Students do not support their responses with sufficient details.

  • Students do not use content vocabulary in their responses.

  • Students lack the stamina to successfully answer all kinds of questions.

We can help address these obstacles by providing regular, explicit modeling, instruction, and intervention for open response writing in our classrooms. Use the following released MCAS item resources, along with any other open response tools appropriate to your grade level, to assess open response writing once per week throughout the school year. These resources will be continually updated to include additional MCAS years as well as other resources used by our educators to support open response writing.

Our Teaching Methods for Open Response are Critical to Student Success

Students learn best with explicit modeling and guided practice. This is especially true for struggling learners. It is unlikely to see growth by "telling" students how to construct a more effective open response. Educators need to provide explicit modeling to "show" rather than "tell" how proficient open responses are crafted. This will likely require multiple "mini lessons" or whole-class instruction. A mini lesson series on open response might resemble the following: