Non-Fiction+Reading+Strategies

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=**2011-2012**= =**Non-Fiction Reading Strategies**=
 * Professional Learning Communities**

Students will demonstrate improved proficiency in their reading of non-fiction.
 * 1. **** SMART Goal ** ( ** S ** pecific, ** M ** easurable, ** A ** ttainable, ** R ** ealistic, and ** T ** imely):

Based upon teacher observations and students' test scores, 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students experience difficulty with reading non-fiction.
 * 2. **** Rationale: **


 * 3. **** Action Plan **
 * **Activity** || **Person Responsible** || **Timeline** || **Outcome** ||
 * Choose and administer pre-assessment from Read for Real series. || All || October to December of 2011 || Student weakness are identified (Pre-Assessment Observation)/Baseline Scores are established ||
 * Identify non-fiction reading strategies to be taught using the Read for Real series in all three grades. || All || December 2011 to January 2012 || Strategies necessary to improve students weaknesses will be found and will be implemented. ||
 * Introduce and apply non-fiction reading strategies in conjunction with learning assessments for all grades. || All || January to May 2012 ||  ||
 * Post-assessment from Read For Real Series || All || May 2012 ||  ||


 * 4. **** Group Members Names: **

Charlene Molnar, Mike Walsh, Carmel Spelman, Melissa Fitch, Laura Heller, and Bob Medina


 * 5. ** ** Which Middle School goal does this impact? **

GOAL #2

**6. "At your leisure" meeting updates:**

**December 2011** The group met to finalize the pre-test selections and process. The assessment will be given next week. Our next meeting will be dedicated to analyzing the data collected during the pre-test in order to determine the skills which need to be addressed with the students.


 * January 2012 **

Teachers administered the baseline test. The scantron machine is broken. We began grading the tests by hand. Meanwhile, we identified the key skills for each test question. Once tests are graded, we will identify areas in need of remediation.
 * recall
 * main idea/supporting details
 * vocabulary
 * organizational elements
 * application
 * analysis
 * synthesis
 * evaluation

**February 2012**
We worked on identifying areas in need of remediation for 6th grade. In the meantime, the 8th grade teachers identified general test-taking and reading strategies to help improve NJ ASK scores. Some test-taking strategies:
 * read the questions first
 * titles/subtitles=MAIN IDEA
 * underline key words in questions
 * read with pen/pencil in hand
 * eliminate wrong answers
 * refer back to passage
 * make graphic organizer when comparing two texts

March 2012


 * Identified areas for remediation
 * pulled mini-lessons from core content standards

April 2012


 * reviewed test-taking skills
 * implemented mini-lessons