Rigor in Writing: 10 Literacy Coaching Tips in 10 Minutes
INTRODUCTION
During the summer of 2015 I was provided an opportunity to interview for a literacy coach position with my school district. As part of the interview process, each candidate was asked to complete a brief performance task. "The Baraboo School District," as stated by our superintendent, "is focused on guaranteeing individual student growth and success in the area of literacy." Candidates were asked to come to the interview prepared to share how we would coach teachers to increase rigor in their writing instruction to meet the demands of the English/Language Arts Common Core State Standards. Candidates were provided with 10 minutes to conduct a mini-professional development seminar. The following artifact is my mini-professional development seminar 10 Literacy Coaching Tips in 10 Minutes handout and the corresponding PowerPoint slide show.
STANDARDS
WI Teacher Standards:
Standard 1: Teachers know the subject they are teaching
Standard 6: Teachers communicate well
Standard 10: Teachers are connected with other teachers and the community.
IRA Standards:
IRA Standard 2: Candidates use instructional approaches, materials, and an integrated, comprehensive, balanced curriculum to support student learning in reading and writing.
IRA Standard 6: Candidates recognize the importance of, demonstrate, and facilitate professional learning and leadership as a career-long effort and responsibility.
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REFLECTION
I felt incredibly lucky that the selected topic for the performance task was increasing rigor in writing, as writing is my favorite subject to teach. The coaching tips came to mind easily as I perform each of these tips daily! I was worried, however, that trying to discuss 10 tips in 10 minutes would be biting off more than I could chew. Even though I did feel cramped for time, I felt that the handout was a nice addtional touch to the Power Point presentation which allowed the committee to follow along.
