Planning Accountable Independent Reading

CLP Program and Independent Reading Developing student ability to become independent readers and thinkers is a central objective of the CLP Program. The program’s activities and materials are designed to provide a coherent approach for students and teachers for all reading throughout the year, from analysis of core classroom texts to the reading of student-selected texts outside of class. The materials in OE Literacy Toolbox have been intentionally designed to support students in their independent reading, while providing teachers with an accountability system to monitor and evaluate student progress.

Over the course of the year, students will read independently when engaging with:

• CLP core anchor texts and text sets
• CLP core unit extended texts located in each unit’s Text Table
• Locally chosen CLP extension texts (topically aligned or not)
• Locally chosen texts for free and accountable independent reading

Accountable Independent Reading with the OE Literacy Toolbox

When extending independent reading beyond the activities of the core units, teachers can frame and monitor student reading with handouts and tools from the OE Literacy Toolbox. Teachers may assign or students may choose any tool, handout, checklist or rubric from the toolbox to guide independent reading. Below are specific strategies for using some of the many materials.

Guiding Questions Handout

The Guiding Question Handout is a central resource for independent reading. The Guiding Questions have been intentionally crafted to drive readers to focus on textual details associated with central aspects of texts (i.e., Language, Ideas, Perspective and Structure). As with the Program’s core instructional sequences, teachers can assign students specific questions to focus their reading. For example, if students are independently researching perspectives on a unit’s social issue, teachers might assign a guiding question linked to authorial perspective.

At different stages throughout the year, teachers might have students choose their own guiding questions from the handout based on their own personal interests and purposes for selecting a text.

Questioning Path Tool

Using one of the many models in the CLP core units as references, teachers can use Questioning Path Tools to provide students with Guiding Questions from the Guiding Questions Handout and text-specific questions. Students can provide brief responses to these questions to help them understand the text and demonstrate comprehension. If they are ready, students might fill in their own Questioning Path Tool(s) by choosing pertinent questions from the Guiding Questions Handout and crafting their own text-specific questions.

Supporting and Forming EBC Tools

Using the Supporting EBC Tool, students can demonstrate their ability to identify pertinent supporting evidence for a teacher-provided claim. Using the Forming EBC Tool, students demonstrate the ability to arrive at their own conclusions about a text by using a guiding question that leads to relevant details about which they write their claim. The tool allows teachers to monitor and evaluate student thinking throughout this process.

Students may further demonstrate comprehension by writing a short essay that stems from their tools.

Potential Sources Tool

Students, in particular while researching a topic, use the Potential Sources Tool to provide evidence of their search for pertinent resources. The tool allows students to demonstrate a basic understanding of each text, and their assessment of its credibility and usefulness for their research.

Delineating Arguments Tool

Students use the Delineating Arguments Tool to demonstrate their understanding of an author’s perspective and position on an issue, and claims and supporting evidence.

Written Evidence-Based Claims

Students write short paragraphs or essays in response to student or teacher-selected Guiding Questions from the Guiding Questions Handout and elaborate a claim they have come to about the text.

CLP Checklists and Rubrics

Teachers and students use the checklists and rubrics from the CLP core units to evaluate and monitor products as result of independent reading exercises. For example, when writing a written EBC on a text, students and teachers might use theStudent Making EBC Literacy Skills Checklist or Making EBC Literacy Skills Rubric to evaluate student work.

Developing a Year-long Independent Reading Plan

In conjunction with the Year-Long Instructional Planner, teachers can develop a plan that details independent reading requirements for the year. Consider the following Guiding Questions to help plan for independent reading throughout the year:

• What types of additional texts will students be required to independently read?
• How many texts will I choose and how many will be chosen by the students?
• With which units will I assign topically-aligned texts for independent readingoutside of class?
• How will I schedule/sequence student reading outside of class of texts of their own choice?
• Which tools will students use and submit for guiding and monitoring their reading?
• At what intervals will students submit tools from their additional readingoutside of class?