Second Chance at Literacy Learning

Second Chance (Grades 6-12) is professional development for teachers in secondary schools. The challenge of providing support for teachers and curriculum alignment has much in common with the Extended Literacy Learning project for the upper elementary grades, but there are unique differences. Second Chance takes into consideration the differences in the school schedule and the types of subject matter courses offered in Grades 6-12. Second Chance is designed for teachers of language arts, reading, other content areas, ESL, resource or special education. Teachers may be prepared in any content field but it is useful if they have at least one course assigned in teaching English or reading. The goal is to promote best classroom practices for reading and writing as well as small group intervention for struggling readers in secondary classrooms to meet state
and district standards.

Second Chance parallels the work in CELL and ExLL where the importance of intensive professional development for teachers has been demonstrated. Second Chance includes an emphasis on the use of a balanced reading and writing curriculum framework supported by the scientific research in the field. This framework is compatible with any materials used in a school and incorporates aspects of many currently used best practices from school districts.

The Second Chance framework includes an emphasis on the needs of the struggling reader and the importance of balancing phonological skills with the direct instruction of comprehension. The framework elements are adjusted to focus on the needs in secondary content classrooms. Reading aloud and shared reading are used to expand concept development and model language structure. Direct reading instruction includes successful methods modified for the secondary level including small group reading, reciprocal teaching and literature circles/book clubs. Independent reading is incorporated for extended practice and increased attention is given to comprehension, fluency, higher-order thinking skills, and motivation. Direct instruction in writing is focused on the accurate construction of text and effective spelling for on-demand writing tasks. Independent writing encourages creativity and expression and the ability to write for different genres and purposes. The framework also incorporates oral presentation which formalizes the process of sharing ideas and reporting information.

The primary focus is to give teachers intensive professional development and new ways to ensure that each secondary child who is a struggling reader has a Second Chance at Literacy Learning.