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Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

The last decade has seen a renewed focus on improving the content writing skills of middle and high school students. A new Educator’s Practice Guide was just published in November, 2016 by the IES (Institute of Education Sciences) titled Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively. This report presents writing instruction recommendations aligned with several earlier research reports including Writing Next (2007) and Writing to Read (2010). The authors of the report (Steve Graham and colleagues) organized their recommendations into three sections. Similar to reading instruction where the focus after grade 4 shifts from learning to read to reading to learn, the focus for writing instruction also shifts from learning to write to writing to learn. As students move through grades 6 to 12, the need grows to learn to write specifically for different content areas (i.e., disciplinary writing). This opening paragraph from the introduction of the new report sums up the important role of writing.

Joan Sedita | February 7, 2017 | 1 Comment

Teaching Reading for Understanding

In the November/December 2016 issue of Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Goldman, Snow and Vaughn present the results of a three-year adolescent literacy project that focused on three projects that examined content literacy instructional approaches. While each project had its own model of building comprehension, all were successful in improving student outcomes. Three common practices to support content literacy instructional practices are: engaged reading, small and whole group work, and knowledge building. The findings of the study support a continuing body of research that supports the teaching, modeling, and practice of content literacy instructional strategies that are embedded in the disciplinary classroom using subject-area text. This is foundational underpinning of all Keys to Literacy professional development!

Joan Sedita | January 17, 2017 | 0 Comments

Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL), often associated with using technology to improve accessibility for all learners, applies that principle to the classroom. However, the instructional design choices available can often include low-tech solutions. Small-group instruction and graphic organizers provide flexible options in addition to the tech-savvy internet hyperlinks and text to speech translators. UDL has much more to do with how a teacher thinks about his or her students’ learning than it does with using iPads, YouTube, or Google Docs to create a final product.

0030319 | December 20, 2016 | 0 Comments

Teacher Expertise Matters Most

Earlier this year I read a piece in The Economist titled "Teaching the Teachers" that addressed this research finding about what works best in successful schools: Many factors shape a child’s success, but in schools nothing matters as much as the quality of teaching....

Joan Sedita | November 30, 2016 | 2 Comments

What is MTSS?

Over the past few years, a number of state-level departments of education have developed requirements for adoption of MTSS by school districts, as well as resources to help schools implement MTSS. As I work with districts to develop literacy plans, I am often asked to explain MTSS and how Keys to Literacy professional development support an MTSS literacy instruction model.

Joan Sedita | November 16, 2016 | 1 Comment

Free Online Course: Content Literacy Instruction

I recently learned of a free online professional development course available called “Reading and Writing in the Disciplines”. It was produced by WGBH Educational Foundation and made available by the Annenberg Foundation. It can be accessed for free at the website Annenberg Learner: Teacher Resources for Professional Development Across the Curriculum....

Joan Sedita | November 1, 2016 | 0 Comments

Using PLC Time to Support Literacy Instruction

The idea of improving schools by developing professional learning communities (PLCs) has been in vogue since the early 2000’s. Rick DeFour, sometimes referred to as the godfather of PLC, has long noted that some educators use the term PLC to describe any kind of meeting, or as he put it “every imaginable combination of individuals with an interest in education”...

Joan Sedita | September 27, 2016 | 1 Comment

Textbooks and What Really Matters

Recently we at Keys to Literacy engaged in a discussion around whether or not our professional development could be referred to as an instructional “program.” As a new employee, I found the conversation valuable for a number of reasons. We had to really think about what constituted a program. We talked about how we were similar and what our perceived differences were to other professional development companies....

0030319 | September 6, 2016 | 0 Comments

The Language and Literacy Connection

I have recently been developing modified versions of Keys to Literacy’s professional development for instructional practices of comprehension, vocabulary, and writing skills to focus on how these practices can be used to meet the needs of English Language Learners and students with a reading disability. This work has reminded me that language skills are tightly connected to learning literacy skills, and that weak English language skills are often the reason why many students struggle with reading and writing...

Joan Sedita | August 23, 2016 | 0 Comments

Building Community

It’s summer and I am cleaning out my office; organizing files, restocking the paper clips and staples, filling the recycling bin. Nostalgically looking through a folder of handouts for a writers’ workshop I conducted many years ago, I laser focused on the words of one page in particular. It outlined the grading criteria for my writing classes – how to evaluate the product and, always more importantly for me, how to evaluate the process of writing....

Becky DeSmith | August 9, 2016 | 0 Comments

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