Want to See an Integrated Literacy Day?

I’m a big proponent of integrated literacy instruction.  Why?  Well for starters, it just makes good sense.  It’s also very supported by research. And it helps make the reading-writing connection much more solidly for kids.  

As if all of these reasons weren’t enough, integrated literacy instruction is also a massive teacher time saver!

I’ve written about this topic several times before, so I won’t go into the why here (but click here for that).  Nor will I go into the biggest hurdle you’ll ever have–your mindset.  I talk about that here.  

In this post, I’m going to make an assumption that you understand how crucial it is to focus on reading and writing instruction.  I also assume, if you’re reading this post, that you know moving to a truly integrated approach to literacy is a mindset shift, and you’re ok with that and ready to embrace it.

I’m also going to assume that you’re tired of never feeling like you’re able to fit it all in. 

Tired of constantly moving to tomorrow what you couldn’t fit in today. 

Tired of kids not having enough time to apply what you’ve been teaching and the resulting less-than-ideal level of student work.

You’re ready to get off that yearly hamster wheel of frustration.  But you want to see how integrated literacy instruction looks.  

I totally get that.  It’s always so much clearer when we can see it.  So, I’m going to paint that picture for you here.  

Let’s walk through an integrated literacy day!

For context, I’m imagining a 120 minute ELA block, as that seems to be the average amount of time that people have.  In my pretend scenario, the literacy block is at the beginning of the day.  In in this pretend scenario, the topic of study in science is about inventions.  Because I believe in bringing content into literacy (and literacy into content), the read aloud chosen here a narrative about George Ferris, inventor of the Ferris Wheel.  This book also builds great background knowledge about the World’s Fair and includes some very science-y information like what a metal alloy is.   

Here’s the breakdown:

8:00  Attendance and lunch count is done, and your literacy block has started.  Because foundational skills should be taught explicitly and systematically, you closely follow your school’s phonics curriculum during this time.  

8:30 For reading, you want your students to determine character traits using evidence from the text.  Yesterday, you did an interactive read aloud using Mr. Ferris and His Wheel by Kathryn Gibbs Davis. The chosen read aloud is no accident. It’s always the springboard for the reading and writing lessons that follow for the week.  So today, you revisit that text, and show the page pictured here under the document camera. 

You reread the page to the class, then do a think aloud to point out that a couple of character traits are evident: ambitious, hard-working, and competitive.  You could talk about just one, two, or all three, showing the class what evidence within that paragraph supports the particular trait you’re naming.  On the smartboard projection, you might also underline the evidence for these traits.   

You’ve picked out two more pages to do this work so that you could continue the gradual release model with a “we do” and a “you do.”  This time, you’ve photocopied two pages of the book, back to back.  You reread one of the paragraphs aloud while kids follow along on their copy.  Then you ask partnerships to determine what character traits that section exemplifies, and to underline the text evidence that proves it.  

As kids work together, you move around the room, listening in to the conversations and jotting notes about who’s getting it and who’s not there yet.  Then you regroup and ask a few kids to share their thinking.  This conversation gives you more insight into their learning, and allows you to clarify anything that’s needed.  You also point out that George Ferris seems to be very competitive, as that trait has now shown up more than once.  

They seem good to go, so you ask them to turn their paper over and follow along as you read aloud the third paragraph taken from another page.  This time, you ask students to do the work on their own, naming the trait(s) that are evident in that section and underlining the text evidence that supports it.  You’ll collect this as a formative check so you will know whether this needs more whole group teaching, small group teaching, or if they’re ready for more.  You’ll quickly sort through these as your kids transition to independent work.

Then you say, “As readers, we just closely studied the words and actions of a character to determine what they’re like as people. The words we use to describe what someone is like are called character traits. Characters often have more than one trait.  Those traits show up again and again across the story, and those patterns are what helps readers understand what a character is like.  When we know what character traits a person has, whether it’s a real person like George Ferris, or a made up person in a fiction text, those traits help us better understand them.  We can count on those people acting in a certain way once we understand their traits.  Traits are not like feelings that change a lot. Traits are a way of being–how a character behaves. As you can see with George, he was a very competitive, determined, and ambitious person.  We saw his actions and his reactions prove that all throughout the text.”

“In your reading, be on the lookout for what a person or character is like–their traits–by paying close attention to their actions.  Once you start to see some patterns in their behavior, you can understand their traits.” 

Ok, here’s the magic part–the part where true integration happens

It’s now time to show how that exact same lesson applies to writing.

The kids are still right in front of you. No transition has occurred. You now connect the reading to the writing.

You might say, “Just like Kathryn Gibbs Davis helped us understand what George Ferris’s character traits were by giving examples of his actions and his reactions over and over in the book, as writers ourselves, we need to do the same for our readers.  We need to help the reader understand what our characters are like by showing examples throughout the story of our character showing that particular trait.  We need to show our character’s actions and reactions across the story.”

Then you turn to the model writing you’ve been creating the past few days, and think aloud again, this time as a writer.  You might, perhaps, have determined there is a young girl in your own story.  Because your story is already mid-draft at this point, you reread it, and point out that you have a clear example of that determination through character action at the beginning, but then you don’t really give the reader another one.  More action is definitely needed, because the reader needs to see a pattern.  So you think aloud here, painting the picture of what the character is doing, making sure to really show the trait of determination.  

Then you sum it up by reiterating the reading-writing connection.

You say something like “as readers, we need to pay close attention to the words the author uses to show what a character is like.  We watch for patterns of behavior as we come to know the character.  Those patterns of behavior are their character traits–their way of being.  And as writers, it’s our job to help our readers understand our characters’ traits.  It’s our job to really describe our character’s actions so that the reader can determine our characters’ traits.”

And then you release them to apply that work. 

They may decide to begin the independent work time with reading or they might start with writing.  If they’re reading, their goal is to pay attention to the character’s actions and reactions to determine traits.  Whether they do this work with their own book or an assigned text, you’ll collect their jots.  (An assigned text is MUCH easier for you to assess, but both can work very well). If they’re writing, they’re working to clearly describe character actions and reactions in a way that shows the traits the writer is aiming for. The work they’re doing in writing supports their work as readers.  It’s two sides of the same coin. 

And both lessons together would have taken just about 20-25 minutes. 

As they work, the teacher has about 50 minutes for conferring with kids and working with small groups.  Some groups will be predetermined, of course, but you also might gather an impromptu group quickly based on that quick informal formative check for understanding you collected during the lesson.  Conferring is especially important here, as it’s that 1:1 opportunity to provide clear and explicit feedback and next steps for the child.  It’s also the best pulse on kids’ understanding of the concept you just taught.

Because kids will need to work as both readers and writers, you might take a pause midway through the lesson to invite kids to switch from reading to writing or from writing to reading.  When they’re done with the expected work, they might choose to spend the rest of the time reading or writing, and might even do a little more of both!  

Then you wrap up the work time, gather them back to the meeting area, and share what you noticed or have a few kids share how it went when they applied the lesson to their own work.  This reiterates the lesson.

And for the rest of the literacy block…

After that, you use the remaining 20 minutes to bring out a grade level text that you’re using in science about an invention.  Because this is a complex grade level text, you decide that a shared reading would help your class better access it.  You spend roughly 20 minutes on the first read of this shared text, talking about important vocabulary for stronger comprehension. Tomorrow, this time might be used instead for an explicit grammar, conventions, or sentence writing lesson. The time is flexible based on student need.

This sample day is 120 minutes, as shown on the “Tuesday” picture at left.  It’s taken from my schedule guide, where I map out what a full week of integrated literacy instruction might look like in both a 90 and 120 day block.  In it, I also share tips for tailoring it even further to meet your specific needs. Click here to snag the guide!

So there you have it.  One example of a fully integrated reading-writing lesson. 

Once you get used to the structure of it, the lessons flow really naturally.  It will take a few practice tries because it is different from what we usually do, but it’s totally worth it!  For an in-depth understanding of the idea of combined lessons, I recommend Ellin Oliver-Keene’s The Literacy Studio. Although my approach is quite different, her book helped me gain a ton of insight into getting this model started.

Not only does an integrated approach save you a TON of time so you can more efficiently and effectively work with students in small groups and 1:1, but it shows kids that what we do as readers is the same thing we do as writers for readers.  When students do the work themselves as writers, they better learn to apply that same work as readers.  Again, two sides of the same coin.  One supports the other.  As experts Graham and Harris (2018) remind us, “There is clear and consistent evidence that writing instruction has some of the largest impacts on reading comprehension.”  

Was this post helpful? I’d love to hear from you!  And if you’d like a partner in getting started with integrated literacy instruction, I’m here!   I’m available for virtual coaching calls!  Simply email me at [email protected] or reach out for a call.

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Who is Coach from the Couch??  I’m Michelle, a 25-year veteran educator, currently a K-5 literacy coach.  I continue to learn alongside teachers in classrooms each and every day, and it’s my mission to support as many teachers as I can.  Because no one can do this work alone.

For another layer of support, consider joining my Facebook community–a safe environment (really–no blaming or shaming allowed!)  where you can ask questions, learn ideas, and share your thoughts among other literacy-loving educators!