Teaching Advanced Literacy Skills A Guide for Leaders in Linguistically Diverse Schools

In our knowledge-based society, K–8 students need to develop increasingly sophisticated skills to read, write, and speak for a wide variety of purposes and audiences. Including an extended case example from a linguistically diverse school (nearly 75% English learners), this book guides school leaders to design and implement advanced literacy instruction through four key shifts: strengthening the instructional core, giving data a central role, using a shared curriculum, and providing supportive and tailored professional development. Reproducible forms and templates facilitate planning and implementation of schoolwide initiatives. Purchasers get access to a webpage where they can download and print the reproducible materials in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

Nonie K. Lesaux, PhD, is the Juliana W. and William Foss Thompson Professor of Education and Society at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She leads a research program guided by the goal of increasing opportunities to learn for students from diverse linguistic, cultural, and economic backgrounds. Her work on reading development and instruction, and on using data to prevent reading difficulties, informs setting-level interventions and public policy at the national and state level. The practical applications of this work are featured in numerous publications, including the book Making Assessment Matter. Dr. Lesaux is a recipient of the William T. Grant Scholars Award and of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor given by the United States government to young professionals beginning their independent research careers.

Emily Phillips Galloway, MSEd, is a former middle school reading specialist and English language arts teacher. Currently completing her doctoral studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Ms. Phillips Galloway conducts research on the development of the language skills that support advanced literacy in struggling readers and in linguistically diverse adolescents.   In addition, she works with large, urban districts, school leaders, and educators to design literacy improvement efforts and assessment systems.

Sky H. Marietta, EdD, is the Curriculum and Instruction Specialist at Pine Mountain Settlement School, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving opportunities for children in Appalachia, and a research fellow at Berea College. Previously, she was a postdoctoral fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her work examines connections between language, culture, poverty, and reading achievement, with a special emphasis on rural populations and science literacy. A former elementary teacher, Dr. Marietta has worked with numerous teachers and districts on implementing efficient and informative literacy assessment systems. She is coauthor with Nonie K. Lesaux of Making Assessment Matter.

I. Advanced Literacies for the 21st Century
1. Rethinking Literacy and Its Leadership for the 21st Century
2. Defining Advanced Literacies
3. Defining Instructional Leadership for Advanced Literacies
II. Leading the Implementation of Four Key Site-Based Shifts for Progress
4. Revisiting and Strengthening the Instructional Core
5. Placing Data at the Core of the Literacy Improvement Effort
6. Using a Shared Curriculum or Platform to Support Daily Teaching and Learning
7. Leading the Implementation of Sustained Approaches to Staff Development
III. Moving Forward at a School Site
8. Bringing It All Together: Generating a Blueprint for Advanced Literacies Instruction
Conclusion: Leading Advanced Literacies Instruction
Appendix: A Leader’s Compendium of Tools
References
Index