--- REPRINT OF ARTICLE ---
Published in The Daily Home Newspaper in Talladega, Alabama
January 2005

LITERACY ON THE MOVE
IN TALLADEGA, ALABAMA PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Fifth graders in Talequa Curry's class at Stemley Elementary School use words like "genre" and "schema," and "simile" and "personification."

They look for inference in what they read, and for synthesis and resolution.

Seated on the floor in front of their teacher Tuesday morning, the children listened as Curry read aloud parts of the book "Encounter."

It isn't long before Curry stops reading and asks the children if they have memories of their own that a passage in the book about hearing thunder reminds them of.

" It reminds me of a dream I had once," Curry tells the class. "And I'm thinking maybe something is going to happen in the story, something bad."

Curry read a few more sentences to the class, and stops again.

" What do you think," she asks. "I'm wondering what would make the people in the story think the visitors they see coming don't have feet?"

Curry stops reading again, and tells the children it's time for them to write their thoughts down, and she takes a break for a couple of minutes.

When class resumes, Curry asks the students if anyone has any schema regarding the book.

" I already know she writes in different genres," one child says.

Then Curry asks if there's anything in the book the children can visualize.

" Any synthesis? What about predictions? What do you think the author's message is?" Curry asks.

Curry is giving a demonstration lesson for teachers visiting Stemley Elementary, on that involves new teaching strategies they're learned through the Talladega County School's association with Cornerstone, a national literacy initiative.

Five years ago, the school system partnered with the Philadelphia-based program through a four-year literacy grant the system received.

At that time, four teachers, two principals and a few others in the school system were the only ones involved. Just two schools were associated with Cornerstone, Stemley and Sycamore Elementary Schools.

Since then, Cornerstone strategies and methods have reached outside the two initial schools and into classrooms in other schools.

Tuesday was a teaching day at Stemley, now called a "Lab School" because of its role with Cornerstone. Teachers at the initial two schools who have learned the strategies have passed them along to other educators.

And that's one of the goals for the program, said Nancy Cotter, assistant superintendent for Talladega County Schools.

" That's what's so powerful," Cotter said. "When these teachers have the opportunity for coaching and modeling. It's a relationship, and together they can go so much further than they can go alone."

Shared leadership along with asking children to learn "deep structure" strategies are two big components of the Cornerstone initiative.

Teaching deep structure elements such as the meaning of text and making inferences and determining importance in what is read add to the surface structure elements of word recognition and letter sounds and language structure skills.

The initiative encourages children to write about what they read from the kindergarten level on. Children are also given time to listen to each other's thoughts on what they read or write.

" It brings together all the facets of language into a connected state," Cotter said. "The reading, writing, listening and speaking are all a part of it."

Before Cornerstone, Cotter said the school system tended to be more inclined to teach the surface structure strategies.

" But, you have to have the nuts and bolts, too," she said.

The atmosphere for learning is also a little different with Cornerstone. One of the first changes made in the school system was in classroom design for kindergarten through second grade.

Gone were the rigid rows of straight backed chairs and tables. Teachers made room for comfortable reading areas, added softer lighting and as many books and as much printed material as they could in their classrooms.

Tuesday's sessions were held for teachers from B.B.Comer Elementary and Munford Elementary School, where teachers are in the process of joining the initiative. There were also 15 teachers from Chattanooga, Tenn. Attending to learn about Cornerstone.

After morning demonstrations, teachers gathered together again to discuss what they'd seen.

Dr. Dorothy Wright, coordinator for federal programs and elementary coordinator, said watching Curry's demonstration almost brought tears to her eyes.

" What she's getting those children to do, it gives them closure to their lesson," Wright said.

Wright also noted how the children in the class were engaged in the lesson and were interested in what their teacher said.

Another teacher noted Curry's use of the children's own writing in teaching.

" I could tell they're worked very hard," another teacher said. "It was teaching them as readers and as writers."

Another teacher commented on how the children seemed to "have ownership" of their classroom.

" Everywhere I looked there was something for them to refer to and to learn from," she said.

Eventually, Cornerstone strategies will be incorporated into all six of the system's elementary schools, Cotter said.

Last year, both Stemley Elementary and Sycamore School gained Foundation School status from Cornerstone, meaning the schools had reached a competency level for being teaching schools for other educators.