A Principal's Guide to Literacy Instruction is a new book in the series Tools for Teaching Literacy, edited by Donna Ogle and Camille Blachowicz. The series includes grade‐specific titles which serve as a resource for newer teachers and books on key literacy topics that span all grades. Beers, Beers, and Smith provide a summary of current best practices for principals so that “the entire professional team can study literacy together” (p. vii). Each chapter in the book provides part of the “recipe” for a quality literacy program. This book is intended to provide support for principals to help create a “commonality of purpose” (p. viii) as they lead schools that wish to be “more effective in their literacy efforts” (p. viii).
Each chapter in this book focusses on an “essential element” for strong literacy leadership (p. ix). Chapter 1 presents the six key principles of literacy instruction. Chapter 2 hones in on methods to create a culture of literacy within a school. Sustainable professional development strategies are presented in Chapter 3. Several methods of assessment are presented in Chapter 4. The necessity to involve families and the community in partnership with schools is addressed in Chapter 5. Chapter 6, the last chapter of the book, provides ways to assess the needs and strengths of the elementary school teachers participating in the literacy instructional strategies. Each chapter is full of real‐world examples that can be put into practice immediately – everything from student work to teacher worksheets to sample literacy assessments. Each chapter contains a “Resources” section wherein the authors list print or other media that can aid the principal striving to implement a sound literacy program.
The first chapter begins with the key principals of good literacy instruction: first, the necessity to understand the developmental stages of literacy; second, the importance of balanced instruction that addresses phonemic awareness, vocabulary study, word study, fluency, and comprehension; third, the importance of offering literacy experiences across the curriculum – not just in reading class; fourth, meaningful literacy activities; fifth, the important role of discussion and oral language in the literacy classroom; and finally, the need to celebrate the diversity of all students and staff within the school (p. 2). A thorough description of the stages or phases of literacy development is presented, as well as a detailed list of language arts development benchmarks. These developmental benchmarks are presented in a simple table that could quickly benefit the teacher when attempting to identify the stage of literacy development for a particular student. The authors clearly define balanced literacy as “merg[ing] the ideas of whole language and skills‐based instruction” (p. 8).
Proponents of balanced literacy programs do not fall into either the camp of phonics or whole language; rather, the value of both approaches is noted. The authors believe that the balanced literacy teacher will also provide intentional skills instruction, to include phonemic awareness in the early grades. Word recognition skills should be incorporated into reading lessons, whether by teaching phonics, teaching analogies, or teaching instant word recognition. Several sample activities for building fluency are presented, to include repeated reading, choral reading, student‐adult reading, peer reading, tape‐assisted reading, or readers’ theater. The authors also suggest that comprehension instruction should begin in the early grades, providing a brief description of reciprocal teaching and transactional strategies. A strong argument for integrating literacy across all curriculum areas is presented, as well as the challenges teachers may face when dealing with nonfiction writing. The authors introduce the topic of the school literacy team in this chapter, with further discussion in Chapter 2. The importance of a “real discussion” (p. 33), where students do not simply respond to the teacher's repeated inquiries, but instead offer multiple points of view, is outlined. The chapter ends with a discussion on diversity and the importance of celebrating individual differences among students, staff, and the community.
Chapter 2 begins with a brief discussion of school culture and climate, sharing findings from recent studies of the most frequently mentioned characteristics of effective schools. Seven characteristics of effective schools that are culture‐ or climate based are listed, as well as five key organizational characteristics often found in highly effective schools (p. 38). Following is a discussion of the four components many educators view as part of school climate: the physical environment, the social environment, the affective environment, and the academic environment. A general description of each is presented, as well as some helpful tips for how to create the ideal environment for a literacy‐based culture. It is essential that the principal “walks the talk” (p. 43) and sets an example in all of these areas. The principal faces the difficult task of juggling a “smorgasbord of issues” (p. 44), but must always remain committed to improving the climate of literacy in the community and school. In order to provide exemplary leadership to the school, the principal should become familiar with the nine areas of content knowledge necessary to provide literacy leadership as outlined by the Children's Literacy Initiative in 2001 (p. 47). The authors provide a sample building walk‐through assessment of the physical, social/affective, and academic environment, as well as several examples for creating “a physical environment that shows that literacy is valued and supported in the school” (p. 50), “a social and affective environment [that] should promote a sense of community” (p. 51), and several methods of building and maintaining an academic environment.
Further, the authors tout the necessity for a school literacy team composed of many stakeholder groups. The literacy team should review current data relating to literacy, develop a list of students and staff who may need assistance (via remediation or professional development, accordingly), and then present their findings to the entire learning community. Based on feedback, the authors recommend that the committee then modify the recommendations and oversee the implementation and monitoring of the plan. The authors also suggest providing blocked literacy periods, protecting instructional time, providing common planning and collaborative time for teachers, supporting literacy across all content areas, building the supply of trade books in the school, supporting professional development, and spreading enthusiasm for literacy throughout the community – creating a “palpable” (p. 60) climate of literacy within the school.
In the third chapter of the book – “Building a professional development program” (p. 63), the authors present a strong rationale for providing professional development – it is “our most challenging, and enormous, responsibility as educators to teach our children to read” (p. 65). Since the “gift of literacy remains the single most important common thread to instruction at every level” (p. 65), instructors should “weave” literacy into all aspects of their daily instruction. Such a large undertaking requires “continuous and focused training” (p. 65) to help students succeed. The authors outline essential elements in developing the foundation of a comprehensive professional development program in literacy – determining resources, reviewing the current research, building consensus among all stakeholders, and conducting a needs assessment. Immediately following are the key elements that should be found within a professional development program – providing for individual differences within staff and students, finding time for the professional development (preferably job‐embedded and built into the master schedule), developing a budget, capitalizing on master teachers or staff members, examining the role of the literacy coach, coordinating all available resources (including volunteers and parents), and planning for the monitoring and evaluation of the professional development program. The authors stress that the literacy professional development program should not “concentrate around a quick fix” (p. 85), but should be ongoing and sustainable. A continuous, consistent professional development program should “take on a life of its own as it provides a continuous well‐spring of learning for the faculty” (p. 87).
Chapter 4 opens with a discussion of the conundrum facing educators today – how to balance the high‐stakes assessment required by NCLB legislation (2001) with authentic assessments to make sure our students become successful readers and writers. The authors discuss the national literacy standards and assessment as outlined by the International Reading Association (IRA), National Association for Education of Young Children (NAEYC), and the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE). A partial list of the IRA/NAEYC benchmarks is presented to provide evidence that literacy skills should be taught in a developmentally appropriate manner (p. 97). The authors provide a brief description of standardized norm‐referenced literacy assessments vs standards‐based criterion‐referenced assessments. Other, more authentic, methods of assessment are provided along with exemplars, which is the focus of this section of the chapter. Descriptions and examples are provided for authentic assessments such as anecdotal records; checklists; measuring interest, attitude, and motivation; conducting assessment conferences; portfolio assessments; assessment rubrics; self‐reflections; running record reading assessments; informal reading inventories; and “read and retells” (p. 114) to measure comprehension. The pros and cons of assessment timing are discussed – beginning of the school year versus mid‐year vs the end of the year – while also providing an argument for continuous progress monitoring.
Chapter 5, “Reaching out to families,” focusses on the partnership that should exist to indicate a “sharing of information, resources, and skills” (p. 127). The authors present a brief summary of current research supporting home‐school and school‐community partnerships. The concept of a “circle of influence” is developed by the authors; parents, the community, and schools work together to form the foundation of the successful literacy program. Developing an action plan with a team of varied stakeholders is the first priority of creating a successful partnership. A detailed sample action plan is presented. The authors encourage principals not to “reinvent the wheel” and examine existing literacy partnership programs available to use as a starting‐off point – Luggage for Learning, Partners in Print, and Early Years Literacy Program are presented as examples. Communication of the partner‐selected program is key – sample communication tools are presented as visuals, as well as a lengthy list of communication modes. A sample agenda for the “first meeting” (p. 138) for the literacy program is provided, stressing the importance of providing just enough detail to inform, but not so much to overwhelm. A spiral framework is encouraged, one that will avoid fragmentation and “extend student learning each year” (p. 139). The developmental stages of literacy are again stressed in this chapter; the authors provide seven pages of home activities that parents can do with their emerging reader. These activities model the spiral framework discussed earlier in the chapter. The principal is encouraged to utilize technology for the “digital natives” (p. 150) of today's youth. The chapter ends with the urge to recognize the diversity within the school community and to pay special attention to English language learners (ELLs).
Any program striving for improvement should have in place an evaluation system – Chapter 6, “Knowing your staff,” provides a framework for teacher evaluation that is not “one‐size‐fits‐all” (p. 155). First, the authors present background information regarding the education reform movement – A Nation at Risk (1983), Goals 2000 (2000), and No Child Left Behind (2001). This background information, combined with current research demonstrates that “effective teaching provides an invaluable key to improving education” (p. 160) and that effective and systematic evaluation are essential to ensure effective teaching is occurring. The authors briefly discuss the four major standards that all personnel evaluation standards should meet as defined by the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. Principals are often required to utilize the district‐ or state‐mandated evaluation systems, but the authors urge that principals consider developing a supplemental evaluation system that focusses on the literacy program adopted by the school. This supplemental system should “[define] what good literacy is and clearly delineate the desired performance measures for staff” (p. 161). The authors suggest the principal call together a committee and provide them with “a charge” (p. 163) that will keep them focussed and motivated. A sample planning process is provided. The evaluation committee should also create a list of performance indicators and “look‐fors” (p. 165) that vary with the position being evaluated. In order to paint a comprehensive picture of the literacy program implementation, principals should consider collecting several different types of data. The authors describe and provide sample forms for walk‐throughs, data talks, client student, parent, and teacher) surveys, self‐evaluations, peer evaluations, and portfolios.
A Principal's Guide to Literacy Instruction is an excellent addition to the Tools for Teaching Literacy series. Practitioners will value the frequent examples of authentic works that are easy to replicate in the field. District‐level leadership will also benefit from this book and its discussion of best practices in literacy. The strategies presented in this book provide a framework for reform that can be used across content areas if implemented with fidelity. Congratulations to the editors for another practical, yet research‐based overview of trending topics in literacy instruction!
