Reading Sage

"The Dyslexic Reading Teacher Sean Taylor" Literacy for me was almost an unrealized unattainable dream! As a dyslexic learner I was unable to read, write, or decode words as a child, p,d,b and q were all the same letter. Many classroom teachers assumed I would never read or write due to the severity of my dyslexia and this made me feel worthless. I am a dyslexic reading teacher that has built a reputation for finding innovative ways "FREE" to teach reading to all students!

Monday, December 30, 2013

Informational | Expository Reading Passages

Common Core Informational (Expository) Reading Passages | Reading Passages with Reading Comprehension Questions

High School Informational (Expository) Reading Passages Grade 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade free printable CCSS ELA reading passages | Use the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Grade Informational (Expository) Reading Passages below to prepare students for CCSS ELA reading comprehension questions.

Jim Crow laws | High School Informational (Expository) Reading Fluency Passage | High School Reading Level Grade 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th

The Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws enacted between 1876 and 1965 in the United States at the state and local level. They mandated de jure (separating) racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy, with, starting in 1890, a "separate but equal" status for African Americans. The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. De jure segregation mainly applied to the Southern United States. While Northern segregation was generally de facto, there were patterns of segregation in housing enforced by covenants, bank lending practices, and job discrimination, including discriminatory union practices for decades. CWPM 122

Some examples of Jim Crow laws are the segregation of public schools, public places, and public transportation, and the segregation of restrooms, restaurants, and drinking fountains for whites and blacks. The U.S. military was also segregated. CWPM 160

These Jim Crow Laws followed the 1800–1866 Black Codes, which had previously restricted the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans with no pretense of equality. State-sponsored school segregation was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education. Generally, the remaining Jim Crow laws were overruled by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. CWPM 230

What year did the Jim Crow Laws cease?
Did northern states practice de facto racism?
What year was public school segregation declared unconstitutional?

Socratic questions

How are today’s schools more equitable or less equitable with desegregation?
Today more children go to segregated schools than 40 years ago, Why?

High School Reading Passages Common Core

High School Common Core Reading Passages Grade 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade free printable CCSS ELA reading passages | Use the Common Core 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Grade Reading Passages below to prepare students for CCSS ELA reading comprehension questions.

Grade Level Reading Passage Fluency Goals High School 225-245 Correct Words Per Minute (CWPM)

Invertebrates High School Reading Fluency Passage | High School Reading Level Grade 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th

Invertebrates are animal species that do not possess or develop a vertebral column, derived from the notochord. This in effect includes all animals apart from the subphylum Vertebrata. Familiar examples of invertebrates include insects, worms, clams, crabs, octopus, snails, and starfish. Taxonomically speaking, "invertebrate" is no more than a term of convenience. The overwhelming majority of animal species are invertebrates, because only about 4% of animal species include a vertebral column in their anatomy. In other words all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata (fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) are regarded as invertebrates. Furthermore, many individual invertebrate taxa have a greater number and variety of species than the entire subphylum of Vertebrata. In fact some of the so-called invertebrata, such as the Chaetognatha and Hemichordata, are more closely related to the Chordata than to other invertebrate phyla. CWPM 140

The trait that is common to all invertebrates is the absence of a vertebral column: this creates a distinction between invertebrates and vertebrates. The distinction is one of convenience only; it is not based on any clear biologically homologous trait, any more than the common trait of having wings functionally unites insects, bats, and birds, or than not having wings unites tortoises, snails and sponges. Being animals, invertebrates are heterotrophs, and require sustenance in the form of the consumption of other organisms. With a few exceptions, such as the Porifera, invertebrates generally have bodies composed of differentiated tissues. There is also typically a digestive chamber with one or two openings to the exterior. CWPM 255

The word "invertebrate" derives from a prefixed form of the Latin word vertebra. Vertebra means a joint in general and sometimes specifically a joint from the spinal column of a vertebrate. In turn the jointed aspect of vertebra derived from the concept of turning, expressed in the root verto or vorto, to turn. Coupled with the prefix in-, meaning "not" or "without", the word conveys the meaning: "those that lack vertebrae (spine)".CWPM 349

More Sample Reading Fluency Drills all grades

The Story of Doctor Dolittle
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
Treasure Island
Snow-White and Rose-Red
Alice in Wonderland
The Story that Wouldn’t be Told
The Wind in the Willows
The legend of Sleepy Hallow
Macavity the Mystery Cat
Under the Lilacs
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Special Sounds
Hurry with my Food and Drink, Boy!
John Carter of Mars 6th Grade Fluency Drill With DOK Questions

Fluency Drills By Grade Level
Fluency Drills: 6th Grade
Fluency Drills: 5th Grade
Fluency Drills: 4th Grade
Fluency Drills: 3rd Grade
Fluency Drills: 2nd Grade

Grade Level Fluency Drills K-5 | Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading

"Mr Taylor who annually starts with a class of fourth graders, 2/3 of whom are below grade level, and ends the year with most of the class at and above grade level. He gets results by emphasizing reading and writing, and holds students responsible for the work assigned. All the students read the same challenging books, stories and poems; they spend a lot of time on vocabulary, take notes, identify the main chapter idea and write a chapter summary every day. They read about six challenging books a year...Fortunately for his students, he puts them first and is determined that every student will make at least one year of progress in his class. Some students make spectacular gains in reading, writing or math. The average student this past year made about three years academic progress....His Title I students perform as well as students in the nearby "rich" area with all top-rated schools." Robert Cherba

6th Grade Reading Passages Common Core

6th, 7th and 8th Grade free printable CCSS ELA reading passages | Use the Common Core 6th, 7th and 8th Grade Reading Passages below to prepare students for CCSS ELA reading comprehension questions.

Grade Level Reading Passage Fluency Goals 6th Grade 200 Correct Words Per Minute (CWPM) 7th Grade 225 CWPM

The War of 1812 Reading Fluency Passage | Reading Level Grade 6th and 7th

The War of 1812 was a 32-month military conflict between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its Indian allies. The outcome resolved many issues which remained from the American War of Independence, but involved no boundary changes. The United States declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions brought about by Britain's continuing war with France, the impressment of American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, British support of American Indian tribes against American expansion, outrage over insults to national honor after humiliations on the high seas, and possible American interest in annexing British North American territory (part of modern day Canada) which had been denied to them in the settlement ending the American Revolutionary War. CWPM 131

With the majority of its army and naval forces tied down in Europe fighting the Napoleonic Wars until 1814, the British at first used a defensive strategy, repelling multiple American invasions of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. The Americans gained control over Lake Erie in 1813, seized parts of western Ontario, and ended the prospect of an Indian confederacy and an independent Indian state in the Midwest under British sponsorship. In September 1814, a British force invaded and occupied eastern Maine. This territory, along with parts of Michigan and Wisconsin, were seized and held by the British and their Indian allies for the duration of the war. In the southwest, General Andrew Jackson destroyed the military strength of the Creek nation at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1814 on April 6, the British adopted a more aggressive strategy, sending in three large invasion armies. The British victory at the Battle of Bladensburg in August 1814 allowed them to capture and burn Washington, D.C, but they were repulsed in an attempt to take Baltimore. American victories in September 1814 repulsed the British invasion of New York, and the British suffered a major defeat at New Orleans in January 1815. CWPM 340

The war was fought in three principal theatres. Firstly, at sea, warships and privateers of each side attacked the other's merchant ships, while the British blockaded the Atlantic coast of the United States and mounted large-scale raids in the later stages of the war. Secondly, both land and naval battles were fought on the American–Canadian frontier, which ran along the Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence River and the northern end of Lake Champlain. Thirdly, the American South and Gulf Coast also saw major land battles in which the American forces defeated Britain's Indian allies and a British invasion force at New Orleans. Some invasions or counter strikes were unsuccessful, while others successfully attacked enemy objectives and took possession of opposition territory. At the end of the war both sides signed the Treaty of Ghent, and all parties returned occupied land to its pre war owner. CWPM 489

In the United States, late victories over invading British armies at the battles of Plattsburg, Baltimore (inspiring their national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner"), and New Orleans produced a sense of euphoria over a "second war of independence" against Britain. Peace brought an "Era of Good Feelings" to the U.S. in which partisan animosity nearly vanished. CWPM 546

What is the main idea of the reading passage (why was the war fought?)
Why do you think the American declared war and how did the war change American history?

More Sample Reading Fluency Drills all grades
The Story of Doctor Dolittle
The Straw, the Coal, and the Bean
Treasure Island
Snow-White and Rose-Red
Alice in Wonderland
The Story that Wouldn’t be Told
The Wind in the Willows
The legend of Sleepy Hallow
Macavity the Mystery Cat
Under the Lilacs
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Special Sounds
Hurry with my Food and Drink, Boy!
John Carter of Mars 6th Grade Fluency Drill With DOK Questions

Fluency Drills By Grade Level
Fluency Drills: 6th Grade
Fluency Drills: 5th Grade
Fluency Drills: 4th Grade
Fluency Drills: 3rd Grade
Fluency Drills: 2nd Grade

Grade Level Fluency Drills K-5 | Florida Assessments for Instruction in Reading

4th Grade Reading Passages Common Core

Use the Free printable Common Core 4th and 5th Grade Reading Passages below to prepare students for CCSS ELA reading comprehension questions.

Grade Level Reading Passage Fluency Goals 4th Grade 180 Correct Words Per Minute (CWPM) 5th Grade 195 CWPM

Apollo 11 Reading Fluency Passage | Reading Level Grade 4 and 5

Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first humans on the Moon, Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, on July 20, 1969, at 20:18 UTC. Armstrong became the first to step onto the lunar surface six hours later on July 21 at 02:56 UTC. Armstrong spent about two and a half hours outside the spacecraft, Aldrin slightly less, and together they collected 47.5 pounds (21.5 kg) of lunar material for return to Earth. A third member of the mission, Michael Collins, piloted the command spacecraft alone in lunar orbit until Armstrong and Aldrin returned to it just under a day later for the trip back to Earth. CWPM 100

Launched by a Saturn V rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida, on July 16, Apollo 11 was the fifth manned mission of NASA's Apollo program. The Apollo spacecraft had three parts: a Command Module with a cabin for the three astronauts, and the only part that landed back on Earth; a Service Module, which supported the Command Module with propulsion, electrical power, oxygen, and water; and a Lunar Module for landing on the Moon. After being sent toward the Moon by the Saturn V's upper stage, the astronauts separated the spacecraft from it and traveled for three days until they entered into lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin then moved into the Lunar Module and landed in the Sea of Tranquility. They stayed a total of about 21½ hours on the lunar surface. After lifting off in the upper part of the Lunar Module and rejoining Collins in the Command Module, they returned to Earth and landed in the Pacific Ocean on July 24. WCPM 276

Broadcast on live TV to a world-wide audience, Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface and described the event as "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Apollo 11 effectively ended the Space Race and fulfilled a national goal proposed in 1961 by the late

President John F. Kennedy in a speech before the United States Congress, "before this decade is out, of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth." CWPM 355

What is the main idea of the reading passage?

Why do you think they proposed a Space Race and how did Apollo 11 end it?

Monday, December 23, 2013

Finnish School Schedule

The Finnish Primary School Day Is Shorter and Packed with "Käsityö"!

Käsityö Brain Break!!
Students love learning when they own
their education, the American top down system
can Kill this love of learning!

A basic Finnish education starts at the age 7, and they do not select students on the basis of academic achievement, aptitude or socioeconomic status yet they are the world’s leader in happy people and amazing student outcomes! Why??? 75 Minutes of Recces Minimum per Day, Educational Play, High Quality Arts Education, Ethics/Religion Classes, Old-world Handicrafts Education (Käsityö), School Equity not Accountability, Cooperative Learning, Peer to Peer Leadership, Creativity and Student Owned Learning!

A primary schedule from a basic public school in Finland.

1st Grade Schedule (7-8 year olds)
Rajakyla Elementary, Vantaa Finland

Time	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
8:00- 8:45	Language arts	World Religion		Handicraft Käsityö
8:45- 9:30	Math	Language arts	Language arts	Math	Music
9:30- 10:00	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess
10:00- 10:45	Language arts	Physical Education	Art or Käsityö	Language arts	Language arts
10:45- 11:30	Handicraft Käsityö	Science	Art or Käsityö	Science	Physical Education
11:30- 12:15	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess
12:15- 1:00		Math	Language arts	Religion
	Dismissal	Dismissal	Dismissal	Dismissal	Dismissal

"Finland’s experience shows that it is possible to achieve excellence by focusing not on competition, but on cooperation, and not on choice, but on equity.”

"All of the factors that are behind the Finnish success seem to be the opposite of what is taking place in the United States and much of the rest of the world, where competition, test-based accountability, standardization, and privatization seem to dominate.”

"Instead of competition, Finland decided on cooperation and mutual help as a matter of policy. Students are rarely tested. Instead, they teach each other in class. Each student gets personal attention until he is on par with the other students. This attitude extends to the teachers and schools as well:

“One of the ways that teachers improve is by learning from other teachers. Schools improve when they learn from other schools. Isolation is the enemy of all improvement.” Pasi Sahlberg

Finnish Lessons

" Less testing, more learning”
“More creativity, less standardization”
“Prevention, not repair”
“Children must play”

The Finnish Lessons Keynote Power Point

Finnish Students are TOP in the world for Arts Enrichment, Recess, Käsityö and yes TEST Success! I ask a group of Finnish teachers, Pasi Sahlberg, and Finnish school administrators, “how and why do your students do so well on the Pisa Test, when primary students go to school for half days, and spend what seems like most of their day at recess, art, music or handicraft classes "käsityö"? The simple and short answer was, “Students get more done during the academic time because they own their learning, they learn to be industrious, are energized about learning, emotionally and academically engaged, truly motivated, and very excited to be at school learning amazing fun things. WOW, I was struck at the mindfulness and the wisdom of the answer. We will send our children to what is essentially test prep academies, and take out, and or reduce enrichment when students are at risk, and replace it with intensive TEST prep disguised as a scientifically researched quality curriculum.

Here is a typical 1st-grade school schedule for Rajakyla Elementary School in Vantaa, Finland:

Monday - Thursday: 8:00 - 8:10 - Arrival and m=Morning Assembly Ercises 8:10 - 9:00 - Lesson 1 (Math) 9:00 - 9:15 - Snack time and Recess 9:15 - 10:00 - Lesson 2 (Finnish Language) 10:00 - 10:15 - Break and recess 10:15 - 11:00 - Lesson 3 (Science, Music, Religion, Ethics, Art, or Physical Education) 11:00 - 11:45 - Lesson 4 (Finnish Language) 11:45 - 12:30 - Lunch break 12:30 - 1:15 - Lesson 5 (Math, Handicraft, Science, Music ) 1:15 - 1:30 - Most Kids Go Home 1:30 - 2:15 - Lesson 6 (Enrichment) 2:15 - 2:30 - Afternoon snack 2:30 - 3:15 - Lesson 7 (Enrichment)

Friday: 8:00 - 8:10 - Arrival and morning exercises 8:10 - 9:00 - Lesson 1 (Math) 9:00 - 9:15 - Snack time Recess 9:15 - 10:00 - Lesson 2 (Finnish Language) 10:00 - 10:15 - Break and Resess 10:15 - 11:00 - Lesson 3 (Science, Music, Art, or Physical Education) 11:00 - 11:45 - Lesson 4 (English Language) 11:45 - 12:30 - Lunch break 12:30 - 1:15 - Lesson 5 (Math) 1:15 - 1:30 - School Day is done 1:30 - 2:15 - Lesson 6 (Enrichment, Music, Social Studies, Ethics, or Environmental Education) 2:15 - 2:30 - Afternoon snack 2:30 - 3:15 - Lesson 7 (Free time or optional activities)

It's worth noting that schedules can vary from school to school, and even from class to class. However, this should give you a general idea of what a 1st-grade school schedule in Finland might look like.

Educational sloyd's "Käsityö" purpose is formative in its design, and it is thought that the benefits of learning handicrafts "Käsityö" in a public school setting builds character and resilience in children! Educational Sloyd develops self reliance, encourages moral behavior, improves judgment, perseverance, an understanding of quality, encourages students to internalize high standards, develops greater intelligence and industriousness.

"Some aver that a course of scientific training in handicraft gives a boy or girl a new zeal for school work to such an extent that the progress of such a pupil is not only equal, but often exceeds, that of pupils whose attention is concentrated on a literary curriculum. If this is true, even to the extent a pupil under these conditions holds his own, he has the additional advantage of having learnt to use his hands, and his education as a result is "all sided." It has been said that "the true aim of education is the development of all the powers of man to the culminating point of action: and this power in the concrete--the power to do some useful thing for man--this must be the last analysis of educational truth" The Pedagogy of Educational Handicraft by T.W. Berry:1909

Students in US schools are revolting because we have turned schools into testing factories!

Some FUN Facts about a Finnish Education!

The Finnish elementary school schedules change every day, they start about 8-9 AM and schedule a 45-minute lesson that is followed always by 15 minutes of recces
15 minutes of unstructured recess every hour is required by law
Primary student receive 25 lessons every week
25-35% of the daily lessons are enrichment
Finnish teachers are addressed by their first names
Elementary students have early out every day
Intermediate students start learning English and at least one more language
Student in Finland have only one Mandatory test at the age of 16!
Classes in the primary grade are usually always combo classes K-1, 2-3, 4-5!
Kids are not usually ability grouped or given special education labels, they are big fans of Kagan Cooperative Learning and sticky learning.
Kids that struggle academically get any and all of the help they need without being tabled, 85% of all kids in Finland get corrective or compensatory services. In their academic career
Classes and lessons are usually taught by two educators! Team teaching and collaborative teaching!
All teachers collaborate and develop curriculum in house. They rarely purchase published curriculum.
Käsityö "educative/formative handicraft" is mandatory for all students!
70% of Finnish students go to college! Yes it is FREE!
Finnish students really get 75 minutes of recess a day! 15 minutes every hour.
Finnish teachers are master teachers that are given complete autonomy to make educational decisions to meet the needs of their students! They have a minimum of a Research Masters degree.
Students start basic/comprehensive school at the age of seven!
All student participate in weekly Religion or Moral and Ethics classes!
All students learn multiple languages!
All yes all principals teach weekly lessons to multiple classes to stay current and connected!
They have almost no administration for even the largest school systems.
Finnish schools do not have dedicated school transportation systems they use the municipal city buses for getting kids to and from school. Big money savings!
Finnish schools especially middle and high school do not have any vast multi-sports complexes. They use the land and the money to build central sports complexes and parks that are open to all citizens. Big money savings!
Finnish students love school and thrive in part to the academic culture that has grown over the years!

A primary schedule from a basic public school in Finland.

1st Grade Schedule (7-8 year olds)
Rajakyla Elementary, Vantaa Finland

Time	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri
8:00- 8:45	Language arts	World Religion		Handicraft Käsityö
8:45- 9:30	Math	Language arts	Language arts	Math	Music
9:30- 10:00	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess	Recess
10:00- 10:45	Language arts	Physical Education	Art or Käsityö	Language arts	Language arts
10:45- 11:30	Handicraft Käsityö	Science	Art or Käsityö	Science	Physical Education
11:30- 12:15	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess	Lunch and Recess
12:15- 1:00		Math	Language arts	Religion
	Dismissal	Dismissal	Dismissal	Dismissal	Dismissal

My Adaptation of a Finnish School Schedule!

Finland’s 75/25 Rule for Educators and Teaching!

Finnish students spend 25-30% or more of their school day enjoying enrichment activities.

Imagine giving students 25% of their instructional day to whatever fascinates them personally; will they build a passion for learning and succeed? Finland uses the 75/25 rule for building emotional intelligence, academic fidelity and loyalty, creating a culture of learning innovation, cultivating creative imaginative students, and acknowledging the creativity and productivity of working on self guided passions. Most Finnish students are in a band or musical group even the primary students.

The 75/25 Rule can be used as the foundation of a flipped classroom, front loaded instruction 25%, and student work/collaboration 75%.

Food For Thought on the 75–25 rule

90% of students success comes from intrinsic lead interest 10% of success comes from teacher lead instruction and studying
90% of students academic knowledge comes from 10% of the time spent on academic learning
80% of lessons are unproductive (meeting the needs of all students) 20% of lessons are productive
70% of students need differentiation (pacing, higher or lower level) 20% of students are on instructional level
90% of classroom behavior problems come from 10% of students (academic and social and emotional)

Students in Finland are consistently ranked at the Top in Math and Science achievement! Why, because they focus on educational equity and enrichment, not ranking, labeling, accountability or competition!

Finland amazingly rejected the "Accountability Movement" 20 years ago and decided to develop a teacher-student centered learning model. They do not administer standardized or criterion referenced test! Teachers are free to make students learning the priority! Teachers are trusted and bad public policy is STOPPED!

We will never "cure bad schools", we can only change bad public policy that feeds a lack of equity! We need to cure the Global Education Reform Movement! THE GERM!

Finland rejected the "GERM: Global Education Reform Movement" corporate lead model of education and empowered teachers to make educational decisions. NOW Finland has one of the best educational systems in the world!

The Message: Teachers in Finland have the freedom to do what they see is in the best interest of the child!

How to Teach Dyslexic Students to Read the Finnish Way!

Teach Dyslexic Students to Read the Finnish Way!

How do you teach dyslexic students to read, that can’t use phonics or just seem unreachable? Most teachers will try anything once, reading software, boxed reading interventions, resource help. special education services or sadly they just assume after trying, some students will never learn to read!They are beyond any help if the Software and Special Education programs fail. My own bad memories learning to read, and 14 years of experience have shown me that, there are no students beyond help!

One of the Finnish methods is put a really good book in the dyslexics students hand, and read with them for a very long time. We are talking about two or three hours a day, five days a week, for many months! You may say, I can’t justify that, or my schedule is only 45 minutes a day with the student, my school won’t allow that, but what is really important, the student learning to read! Learning to read always trumps the schedules and the rules, that is the Finnish way. Give students the time they need to learn to become sight readers. The Finnish way is do what ever works without worrying about rules or schedules. The only real secret to this method, is spending a very long time on task reading great books, and the student must track each word with their finger as their partners read to them to speed the process of becoming a sight reader. Teachers and staff can hand over the read-athon to students and just keep up the marathon of reading. I have used this with students that everyone gave up on, the method has never failed. The students of course go to specials, participate in all enrichment activities, have snacks, go to recess but all academic time is spent reading books with a partner, books like Hatchet or The Giver for my sixth grade boys. The students also play lots of board games, I make copies of all the rules and read them with the students having them track each word with their fingers or a book mark. The best methods are try everything and never give up! Sean

Reading Topics