Rockin'+Readers

** October 11, 2010 **
 * Professional Learning Communities In-Service **

** 1. **** SMART Goal ** ( ** S ** pecific, ** M ** easurable, ** A ** ttainable, ** R ** ealistic, and ** T ** imely):

Fifty percent of the sixth grade will show a marked improvement in reading comprehension of independently chosen reading material.

**2.** **Rationale:** Many sixth grade students express a love of reading but do not demonstrate in-depth comprehension of chosen reading materials. Teachers are going to design and teach a unit on independent reading. At the conclusion of the independent reading unit, sixth grade Language Arts teachers will review formative and summative assessments during curriculum meetings.

** 3. ****Action Plan**
 * **Activity** || **Person Responsible** || **Timeline** || **Outcome** ||
 * Design independent reading unit || Michele Lloyd || 4 weeks || Lessons designed for implementation ||
 * Teach unit lessons || Committee || Second marking period || Formative and summative assessments ||
 * Formative and summative assessments || Committee || Third marking period || Evaluate students’ progress ||

**4.** **Group Member Names:** Kelly Berkowitz, Barbara Scharp, Michele Lloyd, and Dawn Blanos

**5.** **Which Middle School goal does this impact?** Goals 1, 2, and 3

__ Notes: December 20, 2010 __
Our group name is the "Rockin' Readers" and I've attached a copy of the PLC worksheet that we've completed. We've designed an independent reading unit that we're currently working on.

__**Evaluation:**__
 * ==== The formative assessments provided a scattered picture of students' performance. While many students did well, an equal amount of students performed poorly. ====
 * ==== When asked for mastery of information on a summative assessment, students were unable to demonstrate proficiency of the skill. ====
 * ==== Many students who performed well on formative assessments were unable to demonstrate proficiency on summative assessments. ====


 * __Recommendations:__**
 * ==== Independent reading should be an adjunct to direct skills instruction in appropriate literature. ====
 * ==== Independent reading should be an extension of literature within the classroom. ====
 * ==== Students reading independently appear to be reading superficially; therefore guidance is needed to lead them to deeper understanding of literature. ====
 * ==== Students need further instruction on finding textual evidence to support reading comprehension. ====
 * ==== Encourage students to choose books that will enhance their demonstration of in-depth comprehension. ====