Reading Comprehension - Courtney

It’s safe to say that every school has its pillars – staff that do so much heavy lifting that the place would fall apart without them.  Courtney O’Connor is an Irving pillar – a main support who widens and enlightens our path forward.  I was reminded of the many ways she contributes with her excellent presentation this week on reading.  One of my take aways from Courtney’s presentation on Tues - while we are becoming familiar with Jan Richardson’s framework, we know that reading is so much more than recognizing words on a page.  And, we know that even the most accomplished reading researchers are discovering and exploring techniques that unlock the ways that authors of fiction use to build good stories.  Courtney is good at putting “meat on the bones” – inviting us to look deeper and broader at what Kylene Beers & Robert Probst call the Book, Head, Heart Framework.

To walk a mile in Courtney’s shoes one would be covering some of the following bases – and, there’s more, but she makes important contributions in the following ways:
  • Leading professional developments on best practices
  • Leading ELA planning with every grade
  • Providing reading intervention to 4th and 5th graders
  • Leading MTSS meetings for 4th and 5th grade
  • Launching the Jan Richardson Template at Irving
  • Contributing member of all Irving’s leadership teams
  • Writing the 2nd grade ELA curriculum
  • Coaching teachers
  • Mentoring new teachers
Keep up the great work, Courtney – all of us learn so much from you.  And, when we learn, our students are likely to be the beneficiaries of our learning.

A wonderful resource that is getting rave reviews from many of our colleagues is Notice and Note by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst. Attached is a chart that spells out the “Signposts” that they suggest we teach to our students; the chart is dry, but the explanation of the signposts in this book is an eye opener.

Let me know if you are interested, and I’ll get you a copy.


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