Chapman High School Literacy Team

Literacy Program Summary

1. When literacy instruction stops early, how can high school students learn the strategies to read increasingly difficult texts and to comprehend more abstract ideas?
2. It becomes even more critical that secondary content area teachers better understand and teach specific literacy strategies to help students read and extract meaning from the written material used to teach the course content.
3. A collaborative effort of administrators, faculty members, and other key individuals can achieve a successful adolescent literacy program that will lead to student success.
4. The principal must be viewed by the teachers as a role model of a reflective, lifelong learner and have their respect as knowledgeable in the area of adolescent literacy.

Chapman High School Literacy Team

Five Literacy Goals for Chapman High School

1. Read 25 books
2. Learn reading and writing strategies
3. Write in all classes
4. Heighten expectations in all classes
5. Enhance research process

Sustained Silent Reading Period

• 11:15 - 11:35 Everyone stops and reads during this 15 minute period
• Students choose what they want to read, not what someone assigns
• 100 pages constitute a book

SSR system is two-tiered:

1. Students are eligible for class incentives and prizes if administrators catch the whole class participating in SSR. The winning class for the school claims a huge stuffed panther to designate their status until the next awards are distributed.
2. Students work for individual incentives and prizes by reading books and filling out Panther Paws sheets answering questions about their books. Prizes have included trips to Barnes and Noble, free books, and free pizza.

FIVE READING STRATEGIES

1. Anticipation Guide
2. Cornell Note-taking
3. Frayer Model
4. GIST
5. RAFT