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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Bildung
- Sprache: Englisch
When our students enter middle and high school, the saying goes that they stop learning to read and start reading to learn. Then why is literacy still a struggle for so many of our students? The reality is that elementary school isn't designed to prepare students for Othello and Song of Solomon: so what do we do? Love and Literacy steps into the classrooms of extraordinary teachers who have guided students to the highest levels of literacy. There is magic in their teaching, but that magic is replicable. It starts with a simple premise: kids fall in love with texts when they understand them, and that understanding comes from the right knowledge and/or the right strategy at the right time. Love and Literacy dissects the moves of successful teachers and schools and leaves you with the tools to make these your own: * Research-based best practices in facilitating discourse, building curriculum, guiding student comprehension and analysis, creating a class culture where literacy thrives, and more * Video clips of middle and high school teachers implementing these practices * An online, print-ready Reading and Writing Handbook that places every tool at your fingertips to implement effectively * Discussion questions for your own professional learning or book study group Great reading is more than just liking books: it's having the knowledge, skill, and desire to experience any text in all its fullness. Love and Literacy guides you to create environments where students can build the will and wherewithal to truly fall in love with literacy.
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Seitenzahl: 450
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Online Content
HOW TO ACCESS
PRINT-READY MATERIALS
VIDEOS
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
About Uncommon Schools
Introduction: The Call to Love
NOTES
Part 1: What's My Dream for Kids?
Chapter 1: Build a Complexity Curriculum
DEFINING THE DREAM
DEFINING COMPLEXITY
CONCLUSION
NOTES
Chapter 2: What Does It Mean to “Get It”?
UNDERSTANDING COMPLEX TEXTS
BUILD BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE
READ FOR ANALYSIS
NOTES
Part 1: Conclusion
NOTE
Part 2: What Will I See When Students “Get It”?
Chapter 3: Make It Visible
SET THE BAR WITH AN EXEMPLAR
TEACH STUDENTS TO TALK TO THEIR TEXTS
GENERATE A WRITTEN RESPONSE
CONCLUSION
NOTES
Chapter 4: Look for It
MAKE INDEPENDENT PRACTICE A HABIT
PEN IN HAND—GIVE QUICK FEEDBACK
COLLECT DATA ON THE TREND AND ACT ON IT
NOTES
Part 2: Conclusion
Part 3: What Will I Hear When Students “Get It”?
Chapter 5: Set the Stage for Discourse
DEFINE DISCOURSE
GET READY TO LISTEN
FIND THE PRODUCTIVE STRUGGLE
ACTIVATE OR DROP KNOWLEDGE
LAUNCH THE DISCOURSE CYCLE
MAXIMIZE STUDENT TALK
CONCLUSION
NOTES
Chapter 6: Build Habits of Discourse
BUILD HABITS OF DISCOURSE 101—CREATE CONVERSATION
BUILD HABITS OF DISCOURSE 201—DEEPEN DISCOURSE
STAMP THE LEARNING
CASE STUDY: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
NOTES
Part 3: Conclusion
Part 4 How Do I Build It?
Chapter 7: How Do I Create a Culture Where Reading Thrives?
EXPAND THEIR WORLD: READ BROADLY AND OFTEN
CALL THEM HOME: REMIND STUDENTS OF READING'S GIFTS
CALL THEM HOME: CENTER STUDENT VOICE
CONCLUSION
NOTES
Chapter 8: How Do I Get Started?
ASSESS THE STATE OF LITERACY IN YOUR CLASSROOM
START WITH THE HIGHEST LEVERAGE AREA
MAKE AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
BREAKING IT DOWN: THE ROLLOUT
SCRIPT THE ROLLOUT
CREATE A YEAR-LONG IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
CONCLUSION
NOTES
Chapter 9: Frequently Asked Questions
NOTES
Part 4: Conclusion: There and Back Again
Closing: The Call to Love
NOTE
Discussion Guide
PART 1: WHAT'S MY DREAM FOR KIDS?
PART 2: WHAT WILL I SEE WHEN STUDENTS “GET IT”?
PART 3: WHAT WILL I HEAR WHEN STUDENTS “GET IT”?
PART 4: HOW DO I CREATE A CULTURE WHERE READING THRIVES?
NOTES
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Illustrations
Chapter 1
Figure 1.1 The ACT's report helped reveal complexity as a major culprit behi...
Chapter 2
Figure 2.1
Figure 2.2 An illustration of Matthew writing. Researchers often talk about ...
Figure 2.3 In Greek mythology, the blind giant Orion carried Cedalion on his...
Figure 2.4
Figure 2.5
Figure 2.6
Figure 2.7
Figure 2.8
Chapter 3
Figure 3.1 Mallory Grossman has a technique that allows her to remediate stu...
Figure 3.2 Medieval manicule: annotation was a bit more artful in the Middle...
Figure 3.3 Highlighting everything rarely reveals anything.
Figure 3.4
Figure 3.5
Figure 3.6
Figure 3.7
Figure 3.8 MR. CUF is our mnemonic for author's craft techniques. (See Chapt...
Figure 3.9
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 During work time, occasionally swivel to check that students are ...
Figure 4.2 A monitoring pathway sample showing Mallory's seating chart
Figure 4.3 A monitoring pathway sample for a U-shaped classroom
Figure 4.4 Nina Blalock plans to monitor in laps so she can effectively part...
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1
Figure 5.2 This poster was designed to provide a fast reference for the lite...
Figure 5.3 Creating word walls can be a simple as listing key terminology or...
Figure 5.4 Michelle prompts students to use what they know to tackle a new t...
Figure 5.5
Chapter 6
Figure 6.1 Hadley prompts students to push for sophistication in their analy...
Chapter 7
Figure 7.1 Space Mountain is remembered for the thrills, not the lines.
Figure 7.2 Rebecca Lord Gomez's 8th-grade English classroom at Vailsburg Mid...
Figure 7.3 When MK or Zachary needs to refresh students on their analysis, a...
Figure 7.4 This bulletin board physically highlights student analysis, so th...
Figure 7.5 Odysseus and the Sirens, eponymous vase of the Siren Painter, ca....
Part 1
Figure P1.1 The Cheshire Cat tells Alice that if she doesn't care where she'...
Part 3
Figure P2.1 Angela knows that when students “get” it, she can see it in thei...
Part 7
Figure P4.1 Students at Clinton Hill Middle School always have an independen...
Guide
Cover Page
Table of Contents
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Praise for Love and Literacy
“If you believe—as I do—that understanding literature is not a destination but rather a lifelong journey, this book will resonate deeply. Along with practical protocols for supporting young readers on the path to comprehension, the authors offer a model curriculum that ‘whispers what the world is and what it might become.’ Pedagogy by readers for readers.”
—Carol Jago is a longtime English teacher and past president of the National Council of Teachers of English. She is the author of many books for teachers including The Book in Question: Why and How Reading Is in Crisis.
“What's not to love? A resource for encouraging students to engage in productive conversations about texts? This highly readable and practical guide shows you how to make this a reality in your classroom.”
—Douglas Fisher & Nancy Frey, San Diego State University
“Love and Literacy gives teachers accessible, practical guidance they may be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. The authors explain how educators can ensure students have the background knowledge they need to understand complex literature without simultaneously depriving them of the opportunity for ‘productive struggle’—one of the trickiest of all pedagogical balancing acts.”
—Natalie Wexler, author of The Knowledge Gap: The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System—and How to Fix It, and coauthor of The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subjects and Grades
“One of the most powerful reminders in Love and Literacy is ‘Text is claim: the heart of any writing is the statement it makes.’ Bambrick-Santoyo and Chiger begin by speaking persuasively of the claims that teachers and schools make by simply choosing one text over another, arguing that we must try to be inclusive and wide-ranging in designing our literacy curriculum so that all voices may be heard. They then examine teaching practices, to help us think about how we might encourage readers to examine the claims they find in the texts they read, so that they might become the more responsible citizens our democracy so desperately needs.”
—Robert E. Probst, Professor Emeritus of English Education, Georgia State University
“This book is about many things, but centrally it's about operationalizing the latest cognitive science to promote active and informed teaching, at the point of learner need and struggle, to help learners grow as readers of literature. This text is a gift that will help you to consciously use many powerful tools of guided inquiry to get more done, and to do it with more efficiency, engagement, and joy.”
—Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Distinguished Professor of Literacy at Boise State University, Author of Planning Powerful Instruction
“I could not put down this book once I started reading it. This book gives a road map to school leaders and teachers on how to ignite the love of reading for all students. It makes the invisible work of teaching reading into actionable and visible strategies. For too long, it has seemed like a mystery on how to create lifelong readers—this book provides the answers.”
—Celeste Douglas, Community Superintendent, District 18, Brooklyn, New York
“For teachers who want to get their students to love reading, this book has the solution. Love and Literacy teaches you literacy learning strategies, gives you space to reflect on your practice, and coaches you with written and visual examples. It truly expands and diversifies your thinking about how to approach literacy instruction. If you are preparing secondary English teachers, this book should be on your syllabus.”
—Ayanna Taylor, Clinical Assistant Professor of English Education, NYU Steinhardt
“If people ‘fall in love with what they know how to do,’ then educators will fall deeply in love with reading instruction once armed with the strategies in Love and Literacy. I have long been a fan of Paul's work because of his keen ability to demystify what works in schools by making successful strategies accessible to all of us. Together with literacy expert Steve Chiger, they have managed to pull back the wizard's curtain of reading instruction and show us that, in fact, we can teach reading to secondary students if we just learn, name, and practice the right moves.”
—Jenn David-Lang, Editor, THE MAIN IDEA
“This book is a love story. It's about the love of literature and literacy to be sure but even more it's about loving our students as learners. It's about recognizing their potential and being committed to doing all that we can to help them realize it. But it does more than provide a powerful call about how things could be. It is filled with ideas about how to make it so.”
—Michael W. Smith, Professor, Department of Teaching & Learning, College of Education and Human Development, Temple University
“In our best English classrooms, the flywheels of love and literacy seem to spin effortlessly. In this book, the writers break down incrementally the steps educators can take to set those wheels in motion. The aim is clear: that all our children understand themselves and the world more keenly through the diverse literature they study and the rigour with which they study it. And more: that for them, literacy becomes ‘a way of happening, a mouth.’”
—Mark Gregory, Regional Director, Ark Schools, UK
“Students come to love the texts they read when they have had a meaningful interaction with significant ideas. The authors of Love and Literacy challenge educators to create those meaningful interactions through an examination of their own core beliefs about pedagogy and literature.”
—Allan A. De Fina, PhD, Professor of Literacy Education and former Dean of the College of Education, New Jersey City University
“Bambrick-Santoyo partners with Stephen Chiger to do what he does best: create a compelling vision of instructional excellence (complete with videos!) and deliver the practical tools to bring it to life. Love and Literacy is a must read for any secondary educator who is committed to building a literacy program grounded in research, relevance, and—most importantly—love.”
—Leah Peters, Vice President of Academics, DSST Public Schools
“Bambrick-Santoyo's work has truly impacted my leadership. The work of school transformation is messy and tough to manipulate, but books like Love and Literacygive clear, actionable steps that I can use immediately. The vision of what is possible in reading is most compelling and for that I'm most grateful.”
—Anetra Cheatham, Chief Innovation Officer, Beaumont ISD
“Love & Literacy is a jam-packed toolbox of instructional moves and models that is not just about tricks to get students to read and understand a text. It's a practical guide to reshape the academic culture within your literacy classroom in ways that transform students into lasting, lifelong lovers of literature with a reverence for the power of the words of others and their own voice.”
—Michael Bateman, Instructional Leader (Denver, CO)
LOVE & LITERACY
A Practical Guide for Grades 5–12 to Finding the Magic in Literature
Paul Bambrick-Santoyo
Stephen Chiger
Copyright © 2021 by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and Stephen Chiger. All rights reserved.
Videos © 2021 by Uncommon Schools. All rights reserved.
Jossey-BassA Wiley Imprint111 River St, Hoboken, NJ 07030www.josseybass.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, phone +1 978 750 8400, fax +1 978 750 4470, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, phone + 1 201 748 6011, fax +1 201 748 6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: Although the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is Available:
ISBN 978-111-9751-656 (Paperback)ISBN 978-111-9751-670 (ePDF)ISBN 978-111-9751-663 (ePub)
Cover Design: WileyCover Image: © David Malan/Getty Images
“The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge… . Neither love without knowledge nor knowledge without love can produce a good life.”
—Bertrand Russell
“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
—Toni Morrison
Online Content
HOW TO ACCESS
This book is supplemented with videos and print-ready materials. Visit the link for additional content, found at http://www.wiley.com/go/lal. The password is the first word of the introduction, “students.” (Only fitting as they are the reason for this book!)
PRINT-READY MATERIALS
These resources are included in the online Reading and Writing Handbook:
Resource
Description
Resources for Curriculum Complexity
Guiding questions to build a complexity curriculum and a sample book list.
Text Selection Criteria
Sample Books List, Grades 5–12
Resources for Reading and Analyzing Texts
Key handouts to support reading for meaning.
Claim: Reading and Annotating Non-Narrative Text
Theme: Reading and Annotating Narrative Text
Poetry: Reading and Annotating Language and Structure
Analyzing Author's Craft: MR. CUF
Resources for Writing About Texts
Key handouts to support writing about fiction and nonfiction.
Writing Literary Analysis: NEZZ
Writing Non-Literary Analysis: NEZZ
Writing Conference Guidance
Resources for Monitoring Student Work
Strategies to maximize instruction during student work time.
Sample Seating Charts for Monitoring
Guidance for Classroom Monitoring
Sample Monitoring Key
Guidance for Feedback During Monitoring
Resources for Planning and Facilitating Discourse
Compilation of the habits of discourse and handouts to plan and assess student discourse.
Habits of Discourse 101: Create Conversation
Habits of Discourse 201: Deepen Discourse
Academic Discourse Rubric
Discourse Planning Template
Discourse Planning Example
Literary Discourse: One-Pager
Literacy Discourse: One-Pager with Remote Teaching Adaptations
Resources to Build Classroom Culture
Useful handouts to plan for moments of celebration and design a classroom space that instructs and inspires.
Ideas for Whole-School Peak Literacy Moments
Classroom Signage That Teaches
Classroom Signage Gallery
Resources for Self-Assessment
Self-assessment tool to determine the state of literacy in your classroom.
Love and Literacy
Implementation Rubric
Love and Literacy
Rubric Areas, Organized by Priority
Resources for Planning and Rollout
Key handouts for rollout: tips, templates and sample lesson plans.
Classroom Habits Rollout Guidance
Classroom Habits Planning Template
Sample Rollout Plan: Independent Practice
Sample Rollout Plan: Independent Practice and Reading for Claim
Weekly Implementation Rollout Template
Yearly Implementation Rollout Template
Sample Rollout Script: Monitor Independent Practice Expectations
Sample Rollout Script: Reading for Claim
Sample Rollout Script: Revoice
VIDEOS
Introduction
Clip
Technique
Description
Where Referenced in the Book
1
Student-led Discourse
“…Do you think she's giving in to her sexual desire? Or is it that she is really oppressed?”
Beth Verrilli's students debate Offred's autonomy in
The Handmaid's Tale
.
p. 1
What's My Dream for Kids? (Part 1)
Clip
Technique
Description
Where Referenced in the Book
2
Zoom In—Middle School
“…Why would she choose the color red?”
Allison Metz's students seek meaning in color imagery by unpacking language.
p. 85
3
Zoom In/Out—High School
“…he takes his uncle's gun and puts it inside of his pants, which is a replacement of his phallus.”
Mike Taubman's students analyze phallocentrism by investigating word choice and an author's purpose.
p. 88
4
Zoom In/Out—Middle School
“…Why is Rich using this diction?”
Vy Graham's students unpack poetic language using replicable, discrete steps.
p. 89
5
Zoom In—Student Writing
“…’should’ indicates that you have a choice, but ‘must’ means that you don't.”
Danny Murray's students apply what they know about analysis to give feedback to a peer's writing.
p. 90
What Will I See When Students “Get It”? (Part 2)
Clip
Technique
Description
Where Referenced in the Book
6
What-to-Do Directions
“…You have two passages to read and a prompt at the bottom.”
Julia Dutcher sets students up for independent practice with clear, precise instructions.
p. 132
7
Monitoring—Go Lap by Lap
“…I'm coming around to look for…”
Nina Blalock monitors student work by announcing precise points of focus as she goes.
p. 137
8
Build Meaning Through Discourse
“…Turn to you partner. Whose response is stronger and why?”
Angela Thomas bridges a comprehension gap she uncovered while monitoring.
p. 141
What Will I Hear When Students “Get It”? (Part 3)
Clip
Technique
Description
Where Referenced in the Book
9
Frontload Background Knowledge
“…In seventh grade, you studied poetry. So how do poets utilize structure to communicate their meaning?”
Michelle Wallace activates prior knowledge by linking learning across years.
p. 160
10
Frontload Background Knowledge
“…What kinds of language and structure do we need to look for when we read poetry?”
Hadley Westman activates background knowledge to launch her lesson.
p. 160
11
Drop Knowledge
“…The first time you'd open [the books] and read them, you had to cut open the pages. How does this add to the evidence?”
Sarah Schrag introduces new knowledge to complicate analysis.
p. 162
12
Connect to Strategy
“…Think back. How did we know that the pearl was a symbol?”
Vy Graham activates strategy knowledge to clarify confusion.
p. 162
13
Connect to Background Knowledge
“…When we read bell hooks’s reading…”
Rilwan, a student, enriches analytical discourse by linking it to outside scholarship.
p. 163
14
Start with a Broad, High-Rigor Question
“…What does Douglass want his audience to feel and how is he creating that feeling?”
Vy Graham invites students to lead analysis by launching with a broad, rigorous prompt.
p. 167
15
Leverage Universal Prompts
“…Build on that.”
Matthew McCluskey minimizes teacher talk with short, specific prompts.
p. 173
16
Habits of Discourse 101—Create Conversation
“…Jahne, you go first.”
Eric Diamon's students use the habits of discourse to foster conversation.
p. 178
17
Habits of Discourse 201—Revoice
“…Bangale is saying [x]. Am I interpreting what you're saying correctly, Bangale?”
Danny Murray's students revoice each other's ideas to advance discourse and check their own understanding.
p. 182
18
Habits of Discourse 201—Problematize
“…I'd like to play devil's advocate.”
Danny Murray and his student John invigorate discourse by posing alternative interpretations.
p. 185
19
Habits of Discourse 201—Sophisticate (Zoom In and Out)
“…So what's [the author] trying to connect here?”
Hadley Westman guides students toward greater complexity by prompting students to analyze word choice.
p. 188
20
Habits of Discourse 201—Sophisticate (Narrow the Focus)
“…Go back to somewhere between 45 and 48 and see if you see anything that complicates that picture.”
Sarah Schrag directs attention toward a pivotal section of the text without tipping her hand.
p. 189
21
Stamp the Learning
“…Can you tell us what our key learning is here?”
Matthew McCluskey asks students to underscore what's most important in the day's lesson.
p. 192
How Do I Build It? (Part 4)
Clip
Technique
Description
Where Referenced in the Book
22
Savor the Text
“…We just read a really intense part of the text. [Let's] stop for a second and enjoy that moment.”
Reggie McCrimmon reads aloud to help his students experience the power and joy of language.
p. 226
23
Make It Personal
“…If you were living during this time…where would you have landed?”
Julie Miller's students pick sides in a historical debate.
p. 227
24
Roll Out a Habit
“…When we talk about poetry and speak about a narrator, we always refer to the narrator as the speaker.”
Vy Graham rolls out a new habit to reinforce precision in language.
p. 249
Acknowledgments
It all began with a brief interaction at the end of a workshop—and a lasting impression of the desire to serve students better. That began a more than decade-long journey that included countless hours of teaching, observing, coaching, and learning.
Love & Literacy is the latest destination, and it hums with the voices of the teachers and leaders who have traveled with us on this path—those who encouraged us, those who challenged us, and everyone in between.
First and foremost, we want to thank Beth Verrilli, whose example and mentorship were a beacon for this work. Alongside Beth stands an army of literacy leaders we've had the privilege to work with and learn from. At a curriculum level, we'd like to thank the visionary leaders who helped develop and drive this work across so many classrooms: Christine Algozo, Liz Anderson, Kelly Dowling, Christy Lundy, Sarah Nager, Erin Michels, Amy Parsons, and Kathryn Perkins. Shoulder to shoulder stands a list of teachers whose names would stretch for pages. We'd like to highlight a few who have invited us into their classrooms to learn and coach, whose videos appear not only in this book but whose work lives on in all our trainings: Maja Almquist, Maya Bhattacharjee, Nina Blalock, Melika Butcher, Eric Diamon, Erin Dillane, Aisha Douglas, Julia Dutcher, Megan Fernando, Beth Garcia, Sean Gavin, Grace Ghazzawi, Rebecca Lord Gomez, Vy Graham, Mallory Grossman, Nikki Jones, Alonte Johnson, Hailey Karcher, Ashley LaGrassa, Amy Lehrian, Lee Marcus, Matthew McCluskey, Reggie McCrimmon, Allison Metz, Julie Miller, Danny Murray, Laura Palumbo, MK Pope, Gentaro Ramadhan, Rue Ratray, Sean Reap, Courtney Richardson, Zachary Roach, Sarah Schrag, Mike Taubman, Gabriela Tejedor, Angela Thomas, Alex Toole, Michelle Wallace, Hadley Westman, and Ulrica White. That list should include the wonderful Taylor Martin and Lauren Isabel, who coordinate and coach teacher filming across our organization. Added to these names are the scores of lesson planners who turned these ideas into a rich middle and high school experience. Each one of you dramatically shaped our thinking about what was possible for a literacy program—not just because you believed in a dream, but because you had the skill and commitment to make it a reality.
We would also like to thank every teacher, professor, mentor, friend, and family member who pushed or nurtured us. It's an admittedly long list, and we are both the better for it.
We owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to Doug Lemov, Erica Woolway, Colleen Driggs, and the whole Teach Like a Champion team—a group of educators who have pushed the national conversation around literacy, pedagogy, and coaching in ways that have inspired an entire generation of teachers. It's an honor to call you colleagues and partners in this work.
Morayo Faleyimu and Aly Ross were the truest of writing partners. They organized ideas, trimmed sesquipedalian passages, and shaped our drafts until they gleamed like polished stones. Your partnership made writing this text a complete joy.
Paul would like to thank his family: Gaby (25 years of love and counting), Ana (our sunshine), Maria (our rock), and Nico (our joy). From reading together everything from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe to The Hunger Games to Stamped from the Beginning, books have brought us closer together and allowed use to share the story of our lives. Keep reading—and teaching us how to live.
Steve would like to thank his parents, who taught him the magic of reading and raised him to seek the wonder in this world. He also sends limitless gratitude to his wife Charell, the love of his life. As a child, she saw herself in Julie of the Wolves and it helped her find her path: one that somehow led to a bespectacled literacy nerd who never knew his days could feel so full. May this book help others find their way, too.
Many thanks to our Wiley editors, Kezia Endsley, Amy Fandrei, Pete Gaughan, and Donna J. Weinson, who helped shepherd this book from draft to reality. Thanks to those who gave feedback to all or part of this draft: Liz Anderson, Charell Chiger, Meg Donhauser, Kim Marshall, Laura McKay, Amy Parsons, Kathryn Perkins, Jennifer Serravallo, Maria Smith, and Hadley Westman. This book is so much better for your support.
We appreciate the thoughtful leadership of Brett Peiser, Julie Jackson, and Michael Ambriz, who supported and encouraged this work; Juliana Worrell, whose expertise and passion for literacy drive so much of the work at our schools; and our team of incredible school leaders, people whose commitment to literacy has allowed their schools to become places where kids can fall in love with reading.
Finally, we'd like to close by thanking the ultimate heroes of this book: every English teacher we've worked with over the years. In the words of poet Antonio Machado, “We make the road by walking it.” Thank you for carving this road for our students. It leads, as you've taught us, to someplace truly beautiful.
About the Authors
Paul Bambrick-Santoyo is the founder and dean of the Leverage Leadership Institute, creating proof points of excellence in urban schools worldwide, as well as Chief Schools Officer for Uncommon Schools. Author of multiple books, including Great Habits, Great Readers; Driven by Data 2.0; Leverage Leadership 2.0; Get Better Faster; and A Principal Manager's Guide to Leverage Leadership 2.0, Bambrick-Santoyo has trained over 30,000 school leaders worldwide in instructional leadership, including at multiple schools that have gone on to become the highest-gaining or highest-achieving schools in their districts, states, and/or countries. Prior to these roles, Bambrick-Santoyo cofounded the Relay National Principal Academy Fellowship and led North Star Academies in Newark, New Jersey, whose academic results rank among the highest in urban schools in the nation.
Stephen Chiger is a director of literacy for Uncommon Schools. Combined with his work with the Relay Graduate School of Education and Uncommon's Impact program, he has trained thousands of educators in literacy instruction. Chiger taught high school English and journalism for more than a decade in New Jersey. He served as president of the Garden State Scholastic Press Association and was named 2015 Educator of the Year by the New Jersey Council of Teachers of English. As a literacy director, Chiger led Uncommon's Newark middle and high schools to outperform their non–economically disadvantaged counterparts on state and national assessments. He holds a B.A. in English from Lafayette College, an M.S.J. in journalism from Northwestern University, and an Ed.M. in Educational Leadership from Columbia University. He can be found online at stevechiger.com.
About Uncommon Schools
At Uncommon Schools, our mission is to start and manage outstanding urban public schools that close the achievement gap and prepare students from low-income communities to graduate from college. For twenty years, through trial, error, and adjustment, we have learned countless lessons about what works in classrooms. Not surprisingly, we have found that success in the classroom is closely linked to our ability to hire, develop, and retain great teachers and leaders. That has prompted us to invest heavily in training educators and building systems that help leaders to lead, teachers to teach, and students to learn. We are passionate about finding new ways for our scholars to learn more today than they did yesterday, and to do so, we work hard to ensure that every minute matters.
We know that many educators, schools, and school systems are interested in the same things we are interested in—practical solutions for classrooms and schools that work, that can be performed at scale, and that are accessible to anyone. We are fortunate to have had the opportunity to observe and learn from outstanding educators—both within our schools and from across the United States—who help all students achieve at high levels. Watching these educators at work has allowed us to identify, codify, and film concrete and practical findings about great instruction. We have been excited to share these findings in such books as Driven by Data, Leverage Leadership, Great Habits, Great Readers, Teach Like a Champion (and the companion Field Guide), and Practice Perfect.
We thank Paul Bambrick-Santoyo and Stephen Chiger for their tireless and insightful efforts to support teachers everywhere with strong, practical insights like those found in Love and Literacy. We hope our efforts to share what we have learned will help you, your students, and our collective communities.
Brett Peiser
Chief Executive Officer
Uncommon Schools
Uncommon Schools is a nonprofit network of 57 urban public charter schools that prepare more than 22,000 K–12 students in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts to graduate from college. A CREDO study found that for low-income students who attend Uncommon Schools, Uncommon “completely cancel[s] out the negative effect associated with being a student in poverty.” Uncommon Schools was also named the winner of the national Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools for demonstrating “the most outstanding overall student performance and improvement in the nation in recent years while reducing achievement gaps for low-income students and students of color.” To learn more about how Uncommon Schools is changing history, please visit us at uncommonschools.org.
Introduction: The Call to Love
Students in Beth Verrilli's 12th-grade English class are engaged in a passionate debate. They're discussing Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, a dystopian novel in which a religious faction has overthrown the US government and stripped women of their rights. In this scene, Offred, the female protagonist, has been taken to a secret party by a character called “the Commander.” Here is a video of the class discussion:
WATCH Clip 1: Beth Verrilli—Students Discuss The Handmaid's Tale
http://www.wiley.com/go/lal
The dialogue is transcribed below. What do you notice about the way students speak about The Handmaid's Tale? (The transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.)
Sample Class Discussion
The Handmaid's Tale
Nathalia: A lesson that society needs to learn is that there is a power struggle between male and female, as we can see through Offred and the Commander, or the Commander and Serena Joy. Society, like the other group was saying, is reflected in this, and the women need to have a voice and need to stand up.
Steve: I want to disagree with that point, looking at Hammer's last paragraph. There's a circle of passivity and helplessness. I don't think there is a power struggle. Women accept this inferior role in society and give in to the sexual desires of men… If we look on page 171, it shows how despite the fact [Offred] had a bandaged mouth and blind eyes and had to rub off the makeup, she liked it, she liked getting dressed up. She liked having a man choose her outfit and take her to such a place where her body was on display….
Layla: I don't agree. I don't think this part goes with what you're saying. Don't you think that the only reason that she liked it is that she didn't have it [getting dressed up, wearing makeup] in such a long time? She's restricted to wearing that white hat on her head.
Jamie: I would argue that—no. Before Gilead, before [Offred] was married to Luke, she was Luke's mistress….
Nathalia: I disagree with that. What about the passage when she's having sex with the commander? Do you think she's giving in to her sexual desire? Or is it that she really is oppressed? She said she had to fake it…
Steve: I don't think there is sexual desire here. There is a task that society has given her, and she has to do it. She's following the rules of the authority, and the authority in this society is the dominant gender. What I was getting at was this black-market aspect. That men aren't supposed to have women on display, but they do it, and women like Offred still enjoy it.
Nathalia: I mean they're oppressed—they don't have another choice. If they show their true feelings, they're going to get killed.
Something powerful is at work here. Without prompting, students jump right to the heart of a moving, resonant text and go at its big ideas. Citing both the novel and scholars, they build arguments and defend their stances with passion and confidence. They treat each other as intellectual equals, and everyone speaks. This discourse is theirs, and the ideas it sparks are richly provocative.
To us, this is what love in a literacy classroom looks like: a love for the conversation, love for the text, and love for the ideas they both spark. When that includes all students, magic happens.
But love like this is not a simple act. In a typical classroom anywhere in the world, there will be some (or many) students who will struggle. They will come to class without a love of reading. They might also have significant learning deficits from previous years. Add to that the natural socioemotional state of middle and high school students, and you have a recipe for potential malaise and a lack of deep learning. Small divides in what students are able to do become large gaps, and these can mark the beginning of life-changing inequity. You may be familiar with the sobering statistics that attest to these gaps, both on the national level and between groups of students:
On the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 12th-grade reading scores have been flat for more than a decade and have declined since its 1992 inception. As of 2015, only 37% of 12th graders performed at or above the proficiency level. And in 2019, the 8th-grade average score decreased by 3 points, with most students earning a “basic” score in reading comprehension.
1
Inequitable outcomes still persist or have even grown for low-income and non-white students. In 2015, for example, the 12th-grade gap in literacy between white and Black students was greater than it was in 1992.
2
On the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (or PISA, NAEP's international cousin), US reading achievement ranked as average among its peer group.
3
You've also likely experienced the challenge in responding. States tried to raise the bar by moving to a common set of rigorous standards. This set of national expectations was almost immediately mired in politics, pushback, and a leadership vacuum that left most attempts at implementation hobbled at best. A few years later, the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and violence against Black Americans laid bare further inequities in our system, exposing to all the precarious ground on which all of our classrooms—not just English—stood.4 It's in this aftermath that we write to you.
Faced with this world, what can we do? We choose to follow the lead of outstanding teachers who have blazed a trail for all of us.
Think back to The Handmaid's Tale discussion. There was one voice we never heard—Beth's. Although she set the stage, it was her students who stole the show.
How did she do it? Beth's story—and that of the many other teachers throughout this book—shows us that English teachers don't need to choose between relishing the joy of literature and academic achievement.
Beth taught in Newark, New Jersey, for years. Her students, who are predominantly low-income Black and Latino, have had to scale the north face of history on their way to achieving academic success.5 Determined to knock down as many barriers for them as possible, in 2005 Beth began teaching AP English to a small cohort of 13 students. None of them passed.
Undeterred, Beth resolved to do better—and she did. By 2015, her pass rate had soared to more than 80%, even as her cohort size nearly quadrupled. Something had changed for Beth over the intervening years. You could see it in her students and in her results: real, replicable teaching moves were producing the magic of authentic engagement and measurable achievement.
Although Beth's story is remarkable, she is not alone.6 We've had the privilege to observe outstanding English teachers leading classrooms across the country, and we're excited to honor their work in this book. They show us the luminous power of an English class at its best. The study of English orbits the great, human urge to shape meaning from the void: to say something beautiful and true and whole. When we do, the words we read, write, and speak become incantation, just like the magic we heard in Beth's classroom.7 What we saw students say and do didn't happen by chance. Beth set the stage for it by making choices and moves that were purposeful, practical, and most importantly for teachers—replicable.
Core Idea
There's real magic in the teaching of literature—and that magic is replicable.
Paul, along with Aja Settles and Juliana Worrell, first addressed this idea in their book Great Habits, Great Readers, which focused on elementary school reading instruction. Love & Literacy takes the story into middle and high school, where our quest to get students to fall in love with reading meets the crucible of adolescence. During these years, our students' sense of self is perhaps at its most vulnerable. They need the nurturing power of stories—and a bit of classroom wizardry—more than ever.
While there is no shortage of guidance on English instruction, there is less support on its execution. Love & Literacy aims to fill that void. You may find some of these practices familiar, while others may be new. Try what strikes you as valuable. Ultimately, know that although we discuss the practices in broad categories by chapter, they are designed to work in tandem. Every piece is part of a larger jigsaw puzzle. When we link them together, the full possibility of English class becomes clear.
THE MOVES BEHIND THE MAGIC
Over the past decades, cognitive science research has become far more accessible to the interested public, and technology has allowed us to observe, film, and share good teaching like never before. In Love & Literacy, we share the concrete tools that teachers like Beth use to create replicable magic, including the day-by-day details that build the practices behind repeated success. Our students—and yours—deserve no less.
A “PRACTICAL GUIDE”: WHAT YOU'LL FIND IN THE BOOK
The pages that follow are a concrete, step-by-step guide to building the lifelong reader in every student. Part 1 (What's My Dream for Kids?) defines the bar for lasting literacy success. Part 2 (What Will I See When Students Get It?) shows us what to look for during student reading and writing if we want to see them deeply engage with texts. Part 3 (What Will I Hear When Students Get It?) focuses on student talk and what it takes to make discourse a primary driver of learning. Part 4 (How Do I Build It?) begins with a chapter-long deep dive into the creation of a culture of literacy; it names the habits and moves necessary to build a classroom where students are encouraged to think boldly and share openly. It then helps you apply those tools to your classroom: it provides a pathway to assess your current practices, identify gaps, and build a plan to close them. To help in that journey, this book also includes additional sections: a list of frequently asked questions and a discussion guide that can be used for self- or professional development. Finally, we offer an online appendix, a full Reading and Writing Handbook, which compiles all the teaching resources mentioned in Chapters 1–8 in printable form.
TURNING ON THE LIGHT: SEE IT, NAME IT, AND DO IT
When Paul first started working with school leaders 20 years ago, the most common refrain after a training session was, “I'll believe it when I see it.” This struck a chord: in so many other disciplines—physical fitness, medicine, music, etc.—we find mentors or models that we can follow as we get better. The web has accelerated that access—you can learn to cook, build a retaining wall, or fix a car, simply by watching a video online. Yet in the teaching profession we are often on our own, hopefully learning from a colleague down the hall, but given few opportunities to see a model in action.
See It, Name It, and Do It is the framework Paul utilized for Leverage Leadership 2.0 to give guidance to the power of apprenticeship: see a model of excellence in clear detail; name the characteristics that make that model effective; and do those actions repeatedly—first behind the scenes in extensive practice sessions and then daily in the classroom.
Love & Literacy follows this same framework: we present powerful teaching in action (see it), describe the guiding principles (name it), then talk about how to bring it into your own practice (do it). Here is what it will look like.
SEE IT: VIDEOS AND WORK SAMPLES
Videos
Our videos come from real classrooms. Each one captures authentic classroom interactions between teachers and students. Video clips are indicated by this symbol.
WATCH Clip 1: Beth Verrilli—Students Discuss The Handmaid's Tale
We use video because seeing teaching and learning in action is far more powerful than reading about it. Whenever possible, we recommend viewing each clip before reading the accompanying transcript and text. Although we strive to include the most meaningful aspects within the written description, watching those “aha” moments as they unfold is an experience unto itself.
Work Samples and Tools
Good teaching doesn't just happen—it's something teachers prepare for. To that end, we'll also show you the planning that teachers did to prepare for their classes: annotated lesson plans, tools to use in the classroom, etc.
Samples of Teacher Work
What is Fariña's message? How does figurative language bring that alive?
Exemplar Response: Fariña mourns the loss of innocent lives at the hands of the KKK. He chooses a “falcon” to symbolize the KKK murders because it is a predator that kills smaller animals. The KKK members prey on the innocent souls of the 16th Street Church. This symbol illustrates the violent and murderous nature of the crime that the KKK committed against the little girls.
On-Track
Partially There
Amma Briceyda Tyla Andrew
Kymani Joshua Alonna Paola
Lap 1: overall message
Lap 2: falcon zoom in
Lap 3: falcon zoom out
NAME IT: CORE IDEAS AND ONE-PAGERS
Seeing best practices is one thing. Naming them is another. Although there are multiple ways to describe the same technique, if we all use different terms it will be difficult to work together to get better. We use consistent language throughout the text to make it easier to collaborate and share knowledge.
Core Ideas
These are the key ideas of each section. They simplify complex ideas or strategies into concise, sticky phrases.
Core Idea
There's real magic in the teaching of literature—and that magic is replicable.
Key Takeaways
At the end of each major part, a box will recap the core ideas we've discussed. Use it as a quick refresher or as a thumbnail to help preview some of the section's contents:
Key Takeaways
To check that students get it, see if they can write it. Write first, talk second.
You can't correct what you don't detect.
You raise the bar when you spar with an exemplar.
Stop and Jot
This book is an interactive experience. Use the stop and jot boxes to record your thoughts.
One-Pagers
Through observations, working groups, and teacher-created exemplars, we've compiled a collection of “one-pagers” (brief guides) that describe or illustrate key aspects of instruction. These are printer friendly and easy to carry around with you when teaching or planning for instruction. Here is a snippet from the Habits 201 discourse guide:
Excerpt—Habits of Discourse 201
201 HABITS—MAKE IT MEANINGFUL
Core Habit
Ideal Student Actions
Teacher Talk Moves
Problematize
Name or provoke debate:
“It sounds like we're divided between X and Y. I think…”
Name contradictions: “Rene and Gabriel have opposite readings of X. I think…”
Play devil's advocate:
“I'm going to play devil's advocate here. I think…”
Name or provoke the debate:
“Some of you say X. Some of you say Y. What do you think?”
Name contradictions:
“These two ideas are contradictory. How can we make sense of this?”
Play devil's advocate:
“Allow me to play devil's advocate. I actually think…”
or
“Who can play devil's advocate?”
Sophisticate
Zoom in & out:
“I want to focus on X”, “X is important because… .”, “Y creates or makes Z in the text.”
Dive deeper into the text:
“Let's turn to page XX. Does it support or challenge our theory?”
Apply within different or new context/perspective:
“What do you think ___ would think about X?
Give a hypothetical:
“What if…”
Zoom in:
“What connotations does this diction have?”
Zoom out:
“So What?” “What's the consequence of that choice?”
Narrow the focus:
“Given what you've said, what do you make of pages…?”
Feign ignorance:
“I don't understand. I was thinking…”
Apply within different or new context/perspective:
“What would ___ think about this?”
Give a hypothetical:
“What if…”
Reading and Writing Handbook
We want this book to live on for you and your students long after you've finished reading it. To help you use the materials we've described, you'll find a Reading and Writing Handbook in the online appendix that consolidates all these guides into one place. The handbook includes teacher- and student-facing resources that you can use in class—everything from student reference sheets to classroom signage. We've organized it by chapter to make it easier to bring to life any new ideas you have after reading.
DO IT: MATERIALS TO MAKE IT HAPPEN
With all these resources in hand, all that's left is to plan how to make it happen. A comprehensive self-evaluation sets priorities, while our adaptable planning documents and teaching scripts provide a structure for rolling out new habits or skills and maintaining them.
Self-Assessment
At the end of each major section, a self-assessment guides you through a reflection of your own school/classroom: What are the strengths and what are the areas to improve? All the habits and skills introduced in the chapter are listed within the box alongside a rubric score (the score is weighted according to the importance of that criterion in the context of the whole chapter). Score yourself at the end of each chapter to help prioritize your next steps. (In Chapter 8, we combine these self-assessments into a comprehensive evaluation to look at your class/school as a whole.)
Self-Assessment Sample—Part 1
Part 1: What's my dream for kids?
Create a Complexity Curriculum:
My curriculum deliberately sequences texts so they increase in quantitative, qualitative, and task complexity over time. Across the year, students read a diverse set of perspectives, genres, and experiences, including those far different from their own experience.
Build Background Knowledge:
From my teaching, students receive the schema necessary to access texts.
Read for Claim:
My students find the claims and sub-claims in narrative and non-narrative texts.
Read for Analysis:
My students use consistent methodologies (e.g., MR. CUF, NEZZ) to analyze, discuss, and write about author's craft.
______/12 ______/8 ______/6 ______/6
Score:
______/32
Planning for Action
Once you've evaluated where you stand, you are ready to take action. Found at the end of each major part, this section helps you choose the most helpful resources included in the chapter and provides space to plan for potential modifications or adaptations.
Planning for Action Sample—Part 2
Planning for Action
What resources from this chapter will you use to adjust your instruction? (you can find print-ready versions in the online materials):
Poetry: Reading and Annotating Language and Structure
Sample Seating Charts for Monitoring
How will you modify these resources to meet the needs of your class(es)?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
Action
Date
WHO SHOULD USE THIS BOOK AND HOW?
This book is for everyone who teaches literacy or coaches/influences its instruction. Our primary audience, then, is middle school and high school English teachers. Yet literacy instruction is one of the most important activities in any child's education, which means we are all—to one degree or another—literacy teachers. With that “big tent” in mind, this book is also designed to be useful to instructional coaches, department chairs, principals, curriculum directors, central office leadership, and any other staff who can affect the quality of learning for our students. Depending on your role, we recommend a few different pathways for reading this book:
New Teachers:
If you are near the beginning of your teaching journey, welcome! We are excited to have you join this fellowship. For you, we recommend beginning with
Chapter 1
, as a quality curriculum is the foundation for strong English instruction. From there, you could either continue in order or skip ahead to
Chapter 7
, which discusses classroom culture. If you skip ahead, also stop by
Chapter 4
to read the section “Make Independent Practice a Habit.” You'll need to have these components in place before you'll be able to introduce student annotation (
Chapter 3
) or discourse (
Chapters 5
and
6
).
Chapter 8
