Literacy Classrooms That Soar

"For more than fifteen years the authors have been conducting research and professional development in school districts across the United States. This work has shown that the SOAR Teaching Frames for Literacy provide a unique approach to planning, implementing, and elevating instruction that drives improvement in teaching and learning. One distinguishing aspect of the SOAR work is the focus on the high-impact teaching practices that research identifies as key to student learning. A second distinguishing aspect is that the practices are presented and unpacked within the context of teaching frames. Each teaching frame is designed to help educators understand and implement the high-impact practice that drives student learning, while simultaneously enacting a set of dynamic instructional moves in support of the high-impact practice and taking the foundational planning steps needed to do this well. Detailed instructional strategies are provided as a way to help teachers understand how to implement and continuously improve these practices. A third distinguishing aspect of the work is that the teaching frames provide a common language and a set of tools to foster teacher-to-teacher and coach-to-teacher collaboration that supports professional learning and growth across schools and districts. Principals, coaches, and teachers who have participated in SOAR professional learning report that the teaching frames provide them with a lens for continued professional learning and growth"--