PART+D+SECTION+A

Learning Targets Content Area/Skill/Sub-Skill: ELA/ Reading/ Comprehension/

The first document shows how a member of our Inquiry Team’s target population performed in Reading for Information and Understanding (13%) in October 2007, before the Inquiry Team was fully functional. While the second document shows how the same student performed, in the same ELA strand, in June 2008 (75%). This student was also a member part of our Case Study. To accelerate the student’s learning we put most emphasis on several strategies: Context Clues, Background Information and Note Taking.

Context clues • Read around the word • Students tried to use a synonym for unknown word • Concept word map • Vocabulary in context • Tried to identify root words • Visualization

These strategies succeeded with about 80% of Target students as measured by the ELA Winter/Spring Predictive assessments.

Background knowledge/ predicting/ making connections • KWL charts • Discussed topics in general so students had an idea of the topic • Gave students a synopsis of the story.

These strategies succeeded with about 80% of Target students as measured by the ELA Winter/Spring Predictive assessments.

Note taking • T-Charts • Graphic Organizers • Listening Activities • The five W's and H's

These strategies succeeded with about 80% of Target students as measured by the ELA Winter/Spring Predictive assessments.

The success of the Inquiry Team’s Target group took root with the school’s lower one-third---about 76% of students in lower one-third made at least one year growth. Our overarching goal would be to replicate the Inquiry Team’s Target population approach with the bottom two-thirds of the school.