My school has been a literacy collaborative school for several years. We are aligned with Purdue University rather than Ohio State but the Purdue instructors were trained at Ohio State. Literacy Collaborative is based on best practices. As programs go, I think it is one of the least restrictive because the teacher has the freedom to choose the materials to use in implementing the components of balanced literacy. The only difficulty that I have is finding the time to do all the things I know should be done within the day. The components are the same as those found in all the reading programs that we previewed last year: guided reading, shared reading, interactive read aloud, independent reading, shared writing, interactive writing, guided writing and independent writing. The coaching part of the framework is wonderful! The Literacy Coordinator does a year of training at the university and then trains the teachers in her building. The first year we received 40 hours of training and the two following years were 20 hours. It's the best professional development our system has ever had. Besides the training, the LC works with you in the classroom doing model lessons or coaching you on your lessons. We are free to choose how to structure our day. I do the Daily 5, some teachers use an agenda format, others do learning stations, and a few do a readers' workshop. All do Writers' Workshop daily. The Reading Recovery piece is a lifesaver for the most struggling first graders. I've been teaching for 31 years and have seen a lot of programs come and go. This is the one that makes the most sense to me. My students all know they are readers and writers because they are working at their level. We did adopted a basal series last year, Treasures by MacMillan, but I only use it within the components of balanced literacy and literacy collaborative framework. I guess the only problem I could see with the program is having someone as the LC or coach who has difficulty working with others. Just my two cents! Patti _________________________________________________________________ Climb to the top of the charts! Play Star Shuffle: the word scramble challenge with star power. http://club.live.com/star_shuffle.aspx?icid=starshuffle_wlmailtextlink_oct _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list Mosaic@literacyworkshop.org To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
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