SCHOLASTIC LITERACY
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predictability was a strength of the program—both for teachers and students. Some related comments included: [Students] learned what to expect and know what that looks and feels like. I enjoy that it provides me with the opportunity to dig deeper as well as the many activities that it provides me. It was so easy to step into this curriculum. I enjoy the reading strategies and how we implement them in the read alouds, as well as how well the graphic organizers blend with the text we read. I like the detailed plans and strategies in place for the teachers to implement. Overall, teachers found Scholastic Literacy to be valuable in shaping the classroom routine—creating expectations for student learning and helping teachers to organize and implement their lessons with structure. Weaknesses Survey and focus group respondents highlighted areas of Scholastic Literacy that they felt were weak. With regard to the program structure, several respondents felt that there is too much “passivity” and not enough active learning taking place. This can be summed up in one teacher’s comment: “There needs to be more of an ‘I think/do,’ ‘we do,’ ‘you do’ approach. Teachers are doing all of the talking and students are passive learners.” This is more of a general comment than a specific pinpointing of a program weakness, but it was echoed by others. Perhaps the most commonly identified weakness of Scholastic Literacy has to do with the graphic organizers. For many teachers, there was a lot of confusion for how to use the graphic organizers effectively, especially for lower grades. According to one teacher: “I hate the graphic organizers for the little ones … they are so far from developmentally appropriate. … My students are 5 years old and not able to sit down to complete [it].” Other grievances with the graphic organizer included: [Students] don’t like doing the graphic organizer on their own. Some kids seem to get it—for others, it seems to be a struggle. That’s where the group work comes in. Sometimes skill doesn’t align with the graphic organizer. The graphic organizers are too repetitive and boring every week.
© Johns Hopkins University, 2023
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