The More We Read…

This year, our school reading goal is to increase the percentage of students who are considered proficient on the reading section of the Iowa Assessments. We are doing several things to meet this goal. One way we are working toward our goal is by having a school-wide intervention plan in place. This means that every student meets with a teacher every day for a reading group; and students that are working below grade level meet with a teacher for an additional, skill-based group. In addition to our intervention plan, teachers from all grade levels meet weekly for literacy data teams. During these data team meetings, teachers work to collaboratively plan instruction based on the Common Core standards for literacy. Teachers also use this time to create common formative assessments, and then use the data from these assessments to guide their instruction. Finally, another way we are working towards our goal is by integrating visual arts into our literacy instruction through the use of Visual Thinking Strategies. Visual Thinking Strategies can be used to help students build background knowledge around a topic in order to understand a text or to help students build critical thinking skills that they can use to meet comprehension standards. By implementing a school-wide intervention plan, meeting for literacy data teams, and working to integrate arts into literacy, we are hoping to see an increase in students that are proficient readers!