On January 29^th, Whiteside teachers came together to “dive in” (our pro-d theme) to specific reading comprehension strategies.

Led by local teacher leaders and our teacher consultant, Ms. Bourne, teachers learned about a variety of common comprehension strategies that align with our own district’s Pillars of Literacy program. The Pillars of Literacy provide our teachers with a framework of lesson and unit plans, assessment techniques, and daily instructional routines that will assist in build fundamental literacy skills in our students.

Our teacher librarian, Ms. Tsougrianis, then provided information on and learning about resources our library holds to assist teaching specific reading strategies. These resources included picture books that directly connect with specific strategies; for example, Two Bad Ants to teach inferencing. She also shared professional resources, like Adrienne Gear’s Reading Power, that provide instructional routines and lessons on each comprehension strategy.

Our K/1 teacher, Mme David-Harel provided examples of assessment practices that can inform and guide our reading instruction.

After our initial learning, teachers grouped themselves around specific strategies. They reviewed district-supported resources and collaborated to:

• develop sequenced lessons to target that strategy in their classrooms.
• create activities to build comprehension.
• formulate assessment practices that will help determine specific understanding of that strategy and how it builds comprehension.

We will continue to expand our “reading toolkits” to provide instruction that will help our Wolfpack identify and name specific strategies that strengthen their reading comprehension.