ch. 8

Chapter 8

Why is writing important?

Writing helps a student think critically about a subject and produce something that displays their understanding.

“Writing is a true complement to reading when it enables students to clarify and think critically about concepts they encounter in reading.” (p.215)

“Writing requires abstract thinking, synthesis, and the ability and skill to apply several discrete skills.” (p.214)

On –demand writing is writing according to a given prompt.  It is often for high-stakes testing.

Authentic writing is writing for a purpose that expands beyond the classroom.  Authentic writing engages the student and grabs their attention.  Blogs, wikis, and brochures for local museums are all examples of authentic writing.

What is the reading-writing connection?

This is when students write about what they are going to read about.  Then the students read and write about what they read.  This allows students to make connections and clarify anything they were confused about.

Cognitive strategies are categorized as rehearsal strategies, elaboration strategies, organizational strategies, and comprehension-monitoring strategies.

Emergent literacy is early reading and writing and can contain inventive spelling and pictures.

Process writing is where the student follows precise steps to create a final piece of writing.

Rubrics- instruments for assessment

*They also provide focus, direction, and clarification for the student.  They help the student understand what will make a piece of writing successful.

Computers can help students in the writing process.

Writing and the Par Framework

Preparation:  cubing, brain writing, quick write, free write, student-generated questions

Assistance:  learning logs, written conversation, annotations, poetry, cinquain, first-person summary

Reflection:  guided writing procedure, content-focused drama, collaborative writing, C3B4Me, Gist, short statements, graded reflective writing

Source:  
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co

chpt 6

What is a multimodal platform?
Live chats
Texting
Email
Internet
Paper Sources
Interaction

Textbooks cannot stand alone.  Students need to be introduced to an array of media.  Textbooks cannot offer all the information students need.  They are usually grade and subject specific.

Read-alongs require the teacher to read an excerpt with the students.

During a read-aloud, the teacher simply reads to the students.

Trade books are books that are considered for general use, such as books from the library.

The readability of a book can affect a student's comprehension and learning.  Readability is how suited a book is for a reader.  For example, the content of the book must be clearly expressed and suited for the reader's ability.  A readability formula is used to determine the difficulty of the reading material.

The independent reading level is the level of material a student can read with 90% or more comprehension.

Cloze can be used to determine a student's comprehension and learning at the "closure" of a lesson.

Cooperative learning- jigsaws, three-step interviews

Source: 
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co

Blog 6: Supporting Diverse Learners in Content Classrooms

Diverse learners are those students who might be at risk for academic failure and who need special understanding and attention.  This can include students who are Esl, have special needs, come from a low socio-economic status, etc.  Students who have higher incidence disabilities are those students who have special needs that are more common and seen often in the schools.  Lower incidence disabilities refers to disabilities that are less common in the schools, such as multiple impairments, autism, and health impairments.

What is IDEA?
The law which upholds the standards of special education.
All children have the right to a free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment.

Teaching Students with Special Needs
1.  Differentiated instruction: varied learning contents, contexts, and modes of assessment to meet the individual needs of each student
2.  UDL:  theoretical framework designed to guide the development of curricula that are flexible and supportive of all students (multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement)

At risk students are students in danger of dropping out of school because of low achievement.

Resilient students are those who bounce back and succeed at school, despite hardships

Factors Influencing Resilient Students at Risk
1. encouragement
2. high expectations
3. support system
4. recognition
5. accomplishment

Guidelines for Working with Students from Low-Socioeconomic Backgrounds
1. Be sensitive to the conditions that influence these students' behavior and achievement
2. Be aware of the effect of poor nutrition and health on learning
3. Take action to improve students' lives for the better

When working with students with low self-esteem, focus on their strengths.  Give these students opportunities to read material that is within their reading level.  Offer these students cooperative learning opportunities.

When working with Esl, remember that language is learned through incidental learning and is learned best in a relaxed atmosphere!

Strategies for Struggling Readers!
1. REQUEST
2. Mystery clue game
3. text mapping
4.  Analogies
5.  LEA
6.  Concept formation study guides
7.  Embedded questions
8.  Interactive notebooks

I work with Autism Spectrum students through SECEP.  We use a lot of concept mapping and LEAs to better understand what we are reading.  We help our students by using a lot of visuals.

Final copy of lesson plan

PAR Lesson Plan:  Special Education (5^th grade):  The Parts of a Plan

This lesson plan has been adapted for a very low performing fifth grader on the Autism Spectrum.

Written Purpose:  Students will understand the parts of a plant and their very basic functions.

Detailed Objectives:  *SWBAT complete a chart labeling the parts of a plant.

                                    *SWBAT identify the basic needs of plants.

                                    *SWBAT identify the functions of plant parts.

                                    *SWBAT decipher plant parts from their needs.

Life Processes and Living Systems (VAAP goal)

5S-LPS 1         The student will investigate and understand basic plant anatomy and life processes.  Key concepts include

a)       The structures of typical plants and the function  of each structure

*equivalent to SOL 4.4

Strategies/ Activities

Preparation

1.      KWL chart-  The chart allows students to tap into their prior knowledge.  It allows teachers to evaluate what students already know before building upon it.

This chart will be completed on the white board as a class.  The teacher will ask students what they know about plants.  Teacher will write these statements under the “K” on the chart.  Then the teacher will ask students what they would like to know about plants and list that under the “W” on the chart.  The “L” will be filled in after students are finished learning the information.

2.      Anticipation guide-  The guide allows students to access their prior knowledge and become engaged in the reading and what they will be learning.

 Students will be given the following chart to complete.  Teacher will read each statement and students will write a check mark if the statement is true.  After the lesson, the students will revisit the chart and determine if they were correct in their prior thinking.

Before (√ if correct)	Statement	After (Mark yes/no) Was I right?
	Plants are green.
	Plants need water.
	Plants have leaves.
	Plants have legs.
	Plants have roots.

Assistance

1.       Read-Aloud/ Vocabulary Instruction-  The read-aloud helps students understand and properly read the words in the book.  Reading-aloud helps keep students engaged and the teacher can point out specific vocabulary words to grab students’ attention.

Teacher reads the book Plants aloud with a small group of students.  Teacher points out important vocabulary words and has the students touch the correlating picture.  (e.g. roots, stem, leaves, flower).  When the book is finished students will complete a vocabulary worksheet (a graphic organizer).  Students cut out the pictures of the plant parts and glue them on the worksheet with the corresponding word.

 

2.      Semantic map-  Semantic mapping helps students remember text, as well as create connections.

After reading the book, students will fill in the semantic map.  Visuals with the word will be provided to fill in the blanks.  The main heading will be plants.  The sub-headings are parts and needs.  Then the students put the corresponding pictures under the correct heading.

Reflection

1.        Repeated Readings and Text Lookbacks-  Helps students improve oral reading, comprehension, fluency, and make more connections.

Students will reread the book Plants in pairs.

            2.       About/ Point Study Sheet-  Helps students connect supporting points to the main idea.  This helps students reflect on what they read.

                   Students will complete an about/point study sheet orally and as a class.  The teacher will guide the students and help them find the main ideas:  plants parts, plant needs, and functions.  Then the teacher will ask the class what goes under these headings.

            3.      Students will also go back and complete the “L” portion of their KWL and complete their anticipation guide.

Evaluation:

Students will complete a test. The first part of the test will have a picture of a plant.  Students will have to label the main parts using a word bank .  The second part of the test will have a list of things a plant needs or doesn’t need and students will have to put a check next to the needs.  The third part of the test will have students match each part of a plant with its corresponding function.  Teacher will be allowed to read the test and assist students with directions. Teacher will grade and evaluate on correctness.

Source:  Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. (2011). Reading to learn in the content areas. (8th ed. ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Pub Co.

 

 

 

Midterm Question

I would like to further discuss critical literacy on page 115.  What are the best strategies to teach this?

Lesson Plan: Parts of a Plant (adapted for elementary sped)

VA ASOL:

4.4             The student will investigate and understand basic plant anatomy and life processes. Key concepts include

a)   the structures of typical plants and the function of each structure;

b)   processes and structures involved with plant reproduction;

c)   photosynthesis; and

d)   adaptations allow plants to satisfy life needs and respond to the environment.

*get copy of VA Asol from school and refine

*SWBAT complete a chart labeling the parts of a plant.
*SWBAT identify the basic needs of plants.

Written Purpose:
Within fourth grade science, students must understand the parts of a plant and their basic needs.

Preparations


To assess students' prior knowledge we will complete a KWL chart as a class.  We will discuss what we know about plants such as what they are, what they need to survive, and their parts.

We will also prepare for the topic by completing a graphic organizer of a basic plant with labels pointing to the basic parts such as roots, leaf, stem, seed, and flower.  All students will be given the same organizer and will independently label.

We will complete a guided reading assignment using an adapted book about plant parts.  It is a basic SECEP book with minimal words and visuals.

Plant Book- an adapted book created by teacher (will be attached in a word document)
Basically it is a book with the same sentence starter, "Plants have ...".  Each sentence will end with a particular part of the plant such as, stem, leaves, roots, flower, and seeds.  Each page will have a corresponding visual.

**2 Instructional Strategies per stage

Assistance

VOCABULARY ACTIVITY
I will add in a vocabulary component during the assistance phase.  After we have read the book as a class, we will complete a graphic organizer.  Students will complete a worksheet that has pictures of the parts of the plants and the corresponding "vocabulary" words.  Students will cut out the words and match them to the pictures.  Teacher will model this and then students will complete.

*I am not finished.  I still need the R and two instructional strategies for the assistance and reflection.

Key words p.193-200

see Jenna's post

Chapter 7: Vocabulary

Content-specific vocabulary relates to the terms that are specific to a certain discipline, such as biology or math.  Students must understand these terms because some words can have various meanings across different subjects, such as the word scale.  What is a scale in science compared to what is a scale in music?  "Academic vocabulary encompasses a set of terms often found among expository texts and formal presentations or speeches but which is not unique to any content or academic discipline."  (Reading to Learn, p. 169)  This type of vocaubulary includes words such as analyze, significant, function, etc.  If children don't understand these words, it impedes their learning.

Word knowledge is important to reading comprehension.  Word knowledge can be attributed to a reader's own experiences.  The textbook describes an experience involving taking a plane.  A young child might relate this to playing with a plane, while an older student might associate this experience with an airport. 

Reading to Learn in the Content Areas describes the stages of word knowledges.
5 Facets of the Intricate Nature of Word Knowledge
1.  Incrementality:  levels of word knowledge develop over time
2.  Polysemy:  multiple meanings for a  word
3.  Multidimentionality:  many different types of knowledge to be learned about a word, including meaning, connotation, denotation, etc.
4.  Interrelatedness:  connections are made between or among words
5.  Heterogeneity:  word type, purpose, and prior knowledge influence word knowledge required

Incidental vocabulary develops through basic life experiences, such as conversation, word play, exposure to media, and reading.  I work for SECEP with children who have autism and we definetly encourages and promote this development.  After all, language development is a major characteristic of autism.  We constantly talk to the children, play with them, and read with them.

I really enjoyed the section on vocabulary instruction for children with learning disabilities because of the population I work with.  I think it is important that the book mentioned educators need to limit the number of words for study to those that are most important.  The book mentioned using visuals, semantic maps, and field trips.  We use vocabulary maps when we read books at SECEP.  Our students match the picture to the vocabulary word.  I think this is a very good strategy for visual learners. 

I thought the word inventory was good for teaching vocabulary before having students read.  Students assess their own prior knowledge and then teachers instruct properly based on this information.  Some other types of graphic organizers that can be used to teach vocabulary are semantic maps, word maps, and concept maps.

I really liked the examples of possible sentences students could write to define a word on page 184 and how it compared to good sentences.  Often when students do not understand the assigned vocabulary they make up poor sentences or make up irrelevant sentences.  I found this to be very true of younger children.  When assigned word study, they will just write a sentence in order to finish the assignment; however, the sentence displays no understanding of the meaning. 

Teachers should discuss the use of context clues to assist students in their reading.  Often these are imbedded in the text to assist students with unfamiliar vocabulary.  These include:
1.  Definitions
2.  Signal words
3.  Direct explanations
4.  Synonyms
5.  Antonyms
6.  Inferences

Teachers can also be creative in the ways they teach vocabulary.  While the dictionary is a good tool and teachers should teach skills involved in dictionary utilization, nobody wants to define words all day!  It is boring!  I really liked the idea of word bingo and the use of analogies.  I think teaching analogies is very important because it is on alot of apptitude tests students will encounter throughout their educational experience.

Do you know of any other creative ways to teach vocabulary?

Source:
Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co

Learning through Reflection

True learning takes place when students have a chance to reflect on what they have read or the assignment.  Reflection is the third stage of PAR.  Reflection helps a student comprehend beyond the literal level.  Teachers usually have to help students develop this skill because it does not develop naturally for most students.    Reflection helps students become autonomous learners.  Autonomours learners are self-regulated.  Students can strengthen this skill by comprehension monitoring.  Comprehension monitoring is a way to keep a mental track of one's own learning. 

There are three important skills to emphasize during reflection.  These are communication skills, critical thinking, and critical literacy.

                           Steps to Problem Solving/ Critical Thinking
                 
                         1.  Gather ideas and information
                         2.  Define the problem
                         3.  Form tentative conclusions
                         4.  Test conclusions
                         5.  Make a decision

Teachers need to teach this process to help their students develop critical thinking skills.  Teachers can help students with this process through the use of activities such as study guides and group-and-label techniques. 

What is critical literacy?  It is analytical reading.  Using primary sources can be a great tool to use to teach this skill.  Students should question the author's reason for writing and their stance on a particular topic.  This helps the student become an informed reader. 

Cooperative learning is important  to refelective learning.  Students can learn from one another and pose different view points.  Cooperative learning is different from group work.  Rules need to be established before hand and each member needs to be active in the learning.  Cooperative learning is effective because the strategies fall into one of the following categories of learning strategies:

1. Rehearsal strategies
2. Elaboration strategies
3. Organizational strategies
4. Comprehension-monitoring stategies
5. Affective strategies

There are three phases of cooperative learning.  They are individual phases, group work, and teacher-led discussion.  Students can use brainstorming and post-graphic organizers to assist in reflective reading.  Teachers can help students make connections by using double-entry journals, a rallytable, paired reading, three-step interview, reflective guides, think-alouds, etc.  I found the rallytable to be interesting and never had used it before, never as a student or teacher.  For a rallytable, an open-ended question is asked of the students.  The students pair up and pass a paper back and forth.  Each time the student gets the paper, they write an answer until the teacher says times up.  Then the teams share their answers and compare them to the other groups.  Teams can actually use their answers to create graphic organizers to catergorize their answers.  Then it becomes like a double reflective idea.

Has anyone else ever used the rallytable?  What was your experience like?

Source:

Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co

Blog 3

The textbook discusses mapping as a good way to help students improve their comprehension while reading.  Mapping helps students understand main ideas and supporting details.  "A computer-assisted concept mapping strategy had significant benefit for reading of low-achieving students." (Reading to Learn, p. 83)  There are many computer programs out there available to help our students create these maps.  Students can even use basic programs, like Microsoft Word.  I found this to be very interesting because I work in special ed and we are always creating webs, flow charts, and other cocept maps to organize details.  Even my students who have difficult with fine motor skills and have difficulty writing can easily create maps now.

What is constructivism?
"It is a way for students to make sense of their learning by developing a knowledge base or constructing their own purposes for reading a selection and developing tasks on their own that demonstrate their learning." (Reading to Learn, p.85)  This theory requires students to learn by using higher thinking skills.  I like this theory because this is the way we ultimately want to students to be able to learn; however, I don't feel it will be applicable to my field because my population needs much more guidance.

The textbook points out that the authors usually organize the text by separating it into meaningful sections.  I think this is important for teachers to point out to their students, especially those younger students.  This organization is especially true for textbooks, like science and history.  This can help students make better use of their textbooks and be more successful in the class.  The DR-TA can help students understand this concept of organization.  "The key aspect of the DR-TA is predicting outcomes." (Reading to Learn, p.87)  Examples of DR-TA's are Prediction Guides and KWL Charts.

What are some strategies for comprehending text structure?
The textbook suggests using a mystery game, pattern guides, cause-and-effect study guides, and a similarities and differences map.  For comparing and contrasting two things, I often like to use a venn diagram.  I feel it is visually easier for students to understand.  In SECEP, we use visuals to create venn diagrams.  I think the mystery clue game is a fun and interesting way to capture the students' attention.  In the textbook, it was used for a french lesson.  I think it would be good to use in a history class.

Do you have any suggestions for good DR-TA's students could use?

Source:

Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co

Ch. 2 and 3: Teaching in the Affective Domain and Preparation for Learning

As educators, we need to teach in the affective domain.  We need to get our students involved and interested in the literature we are reading.  We want to appeal to their feelings and obtain some type of emotional response.  When I was in middle school, I had a teacher who motivated our class to read and got us thinking in an affective manner.  During history, she had us read Anne Frank's diary.  We really felt like we were there during that time period.  I remember being angry, sad, and scared just like the character.  I was really focused on the literature and the book reinforced what we were learning about the war and Holocaust.  The teacher had created many activities to tie the book into what we were learning.  She had us think critically and even re-enact parts of the diary to appeal to our creative sides. 

Teaching in the affective domain made me think about a movie I recently watched.  Has anybody seen The Freedom Writers?  The teacher used books that were on her students' reading level and that were relatable to their lives.  Then she could use the book to teach grammar, syntax, vocabulary, etc.  She was even able to encourage her students to write about their own stories! 

Affective  teaching is all about the students learning.  You want to choose good literature to motivate them.  Good teachers determine their students' prior knowledge before assigning reading and either provide good background information to the students to help prepare them or build upon the knowledge they already have.   KWL charts are excellent ways to do this.  Students can brainstorm and create webs.  You could even do it in a less formal way such as a class discussion or debate!  I found this to be especially crucial in areas like history.  I seem to always be lagging in that area when I was in school!  Background information is crucial to helping create the setting and really getting an understanding of the issues facing characters at that time. 

Technology can be a good way to prepare students and help appeal to their emotions.  You could show an educational film directed at the topic you are about to embark on reading.  You could also have students play an educational "game" online to get them in the right mindset.  Schooltube and networks like PBS, WHRO, and Discovery are all excellent educational resources.  PAR really provides an excellent framework for all we want to accomplish with our reading and lesson plans.  Prepare, teach, and then assess the learning.  Build your lesson plans around these key areas.  When you are teaching, its good to keep the students on topic and engaged.  Graphic organizers such as fill in the blank notes really help keep students engaged and "up to par!"  What a pun!

Source

Richardson, J. S., Morgan, R. F., & Fleener, C. 2012. Reading to learn in the content areas. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co

Blog 1

“The Challenge of Content Area Literacy”

We need to teach students to read to learn.  This means teaching students how to read a variety of texts over all disciplines.  Elementary schools don’t have such a deficit in this area because the teacher usually is responsible for teaching all subjects.  Elementary school teachers usually integrate subjects.  However, once students reach the secondary levels, those teachers are so pressed on time and the obligation to teach a certain curriculum in a short amount of time that they stop teaching reading and learning strategies.  They stick to simply teaching that information.  These teachers also consider themselves experts of their discipline, and begin to only teach the facts.  Children from decades back used to spend more time reading for pleasure than kids today.  When children enjoy what they are reading, they become engaged and motivated.  Children today spend a lot of time learning from digital media.  We need to find ways to tie literature in when children are playing on the computer or ipad.  I definitely feel this is a wonderful idea.  I found STAR Fall to be a wonderful website to help early learners learn to read and understand phonics.  Science teachers can pull from scientific journals and educational magazines, for example.  This article points out that we can help students relate to the text by helping them access prior knowledge and relate previous experiences.  We can help children understand non-fiction by helping them determine the point of the piece, as well as the text structure and organization.  Graphic organizers and KWL charts are good ways to help children remain engaged during a reading.

“Making Reading Relevant for All Adolescence”

Not enough time is set aside during the school day for students to read books that are related to their interests.  High-stakes testing has made it difficult to allot any additional time to leisurely reading.  This has had a negative effect on students.  Students who read for enjoyment usually perform better academically and perform higher on tests.  As teachers we can incorporate modern, young literature into the daily curriculum.  Many modern pieces of literature still have the same premise as other older, classic works.  The premise of Romeo and Juliet is the theme of many teenage novels.  Teachers can encourage extended learning by having students compare and contrast related pieces.  I found this to be especially true based on my own experiences in high school.  I found many pieces by Shakespeare to be written in a type of jargon I could not understand.  It would have been much easier to understand if I could have read a book based on the same premise in modern literature.  I could have accessed prior knowledge and have better understood what Shakespeare had written.

 

Sources

Bean, T. W. (2002). Making reading relevant for adolescents. Educational Leadership,

34-37.

D’Arcangelo, M. (2002). The challenge of content-area reading: A conversation with

Donna Ogle. Educational Leadership. 12-15.