Reading in the Content Area

1. Reading in the Content Area Shared Reading Vocabulary Alternative Texts Presenter Debra Massey, Program Developer and Training Specialist North East Florida Educational Consortium

2. Readers may be divided into four classes: • Sponges, who absorb all that they read and return it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtied. • Sand-glasses, who retain nothing and are content to get through a book for the sake of getting through the time. • 3. Tea-bags, who retain merely the dregs of what they read. • 4. Diamonds, equally rare and valuable, who profit by what they read, and enable others to profit by it also. •          ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge

3. Question for Discussion • What does a struggling reader look like in your classroom? • Is there a “profile”? • How do you know a student doesn’t understand the content?

4. Truth About Struggling Readers There is no single template for the struggling reader. Anyone can struggle with reading given the right text. The struggle isn’t the issue. The real issue is what the reader does when the text gets tough.

5. One of the great tragedies of contemporary education is not so much that many students leave school unable to read and write, but that others graduate with an antipathy to reading..despite the abilities they might have. Aliteracy

6. Independent Readers Dependent Readers Independent VS Dependent • Figure out what’s confusing them • Set goals for getting through the reading • Use many strategies for getting through the text • Know how to make the mostly invisible process of comprehension visible • STOP • Appeal to the teacher • Read on through • Keep the mostly invisible • process of comprehension • at the invisible level

7. …Be An Independent Reader Confidences Readers Need • Cognitive Confidence Allows Students to… • Comprehend texts • Monitor their understanding • Determine meaning of words • Read with fluency • Social and Emotional Confidence Allows Students to… • Be willing and active participants in a community of learners • Read for enjoyment and information • Have a positive attitude toward reading and other readers • Text Confidence Allows Students to… • Develop the stamina to continue reading difficult texts • Find authors and genre that interest them

8. Independent readers use many strategies for getting through the text and knows how to make the mostly invisible process of comprehension visible. Strategies to build Cognitive Confidence: Before – During – After Reading Explicit Vocabulary Instruction Questioning the Author Use of Alternative Texts and Materials

9. Before Reading Activating Prior Knowledge Schema What is it? How do we explain it? How can we activate it? How can we get students to build it? Rock Hip Hop Classical Beatles Country RAP MUSIC

10. How do we explain it? Classic Rock Soft Rock Heavy Metal Hard Rock Rock

11. ZZ Top Eric Clapton Jefferson Starship SCHEMA 3 Dog Night Classic Rock

12. KANDINSKY

13. Wassily Kandinsky • Russian • Artist • 1866- 1944 • Influenced by Music

17. Prior Knowledge - How do we activate it? Front Loading Meaning – Using KWL(G) “Problems for Oceans”

18. Prior Knowledge - How do we activate it? Front Loading Meaning – We Think Statements • Decide what phrases, sentences, or single words you want to place on index cards related to the content you’re introducing. Use multiple phrases and statements. • Distribute the cards or let students draw a card. • Discuss their card with as many other classmates as possible, how might these cards be related, speculate on what these cards, collectively might be about. • The group the students together to discuss what they all heard from others and create a group “WE THINK” statement to share with the class. • Make sure you ask them to explain how they reached their predictions about the statement.

19. Bombing - Japan Starvation “He buried his head in his arms and cried, beating the desk top with his fists.” Animals in a zoo Cages broken-dangerous animals escape Faithful / Trusting

20. We think that this text is about the bombing of Japan and how the zoo was affected by the bombing. We think that some of the animals escaped and had to be killed.

21. Faithful Elephants A story of animals, people and war. By Yukio Tsuchiya ISBN: 0-395-86137-3

22. High Frequency Words are Critical Of the 600,000 plus words in English: 13 words account for over 25% of the words in print. a, and, for, he, is in, it, of that, the, to was, you 100 words account for approximately 50%. The Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary contains 220 words (no nouns), was generated over 40 years ago, and accounts for 50% of the words found in textbooks today.

23. Front Loading Meaning – Questioning the Vocabulary Directions: First, read the words at the bottom silently or together. After you read each one, write the words from the bottom in the column that best describes what you know about each one. Waste – corrosion - deliquescence – preclosure – repository – brine – facilitate sodium chloride – geochemical – seepage – thermal – tunnels - capillary

24. Many dependent readers think of comprehension only as answering questions correctly after reading. That’s too late. Pre-reading strategies help struggling readers do what good readers do…think all throughout the reading process, not just at the conclusion.

25. During Reading Making Sense of the Information Information What is it? How do we decide what’s important? How do we organize it? How can we get students to build it?

26. Information/Content – What do we do with it? Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING!

27. Rose Blanche A Story of the Holocaust By Roberto Innocenti ISBN: 1-56846-189-5

28. Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING! As you model think alouds to students, remind them that what you’re also doing is trying to predict what might happen, what important points are, to tell themselves… “I need to reread that section.” The purpose of this activity is to help students understand that this is what is happening inside the head of an independent reader as they move through the text. It’s like having a conversation in your mind.

29. Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING! As you model think alouds to students, remind them that what you’re also doing is trying to predict what might happen, what important points are, to tell themselves… “I need to reread that section.” The purpose of this activity is to help students understand that this is what is happening inside the head of an independent reader as they move through the text. It’s like having a conversation in your mind.

30. Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING! Did you know that it takes 4 – 8 weeks of consistently using a strategy before students will internalize it and use it independently?

31. They can manipulate their stickies on top of their desk to organize their thoughts. They can place their stickies on the page that they read that generated the thought. Provide or require students to have sticky note pads. Have them do their “think alouds” on their sticky notes. Have them go through math and science texts with a sticky pad. As they read or work, have them write down words they don’t know. Have them write down confusing chapters, paragraphs or pages. They can get in groups with students who have “same” stickies. Information/Content – What do we do with it? Power Stickies – Note Taking is an Art Form

32. Logographic Cues – They convey meaning.

33. Logographic Cues – Students can design their own to help them visualize their understanding of the text. I need to re-read this section with someone else. Important fact or idea. Come back and read again. What does this word mean? Add it to my vocabulary list. I have a question about his sentence, paragraph, or word. W ?

34. Logographic Cues – Students can design their own to help them visualize their understanding of the text. He was in a precarious position as he balanced on the edge of the cliff. • Precarious • “The Land that Time Forgot” • p. 151 • Unstable • Unsteady • Unsure

35. Information/Content – What do we do with it? Building Vocabulary as you read with Book Marks Mark the bold Excellent for students to use while they read their content area texts. As students come across a boldfaced word, they record that word on the front of the bookmark. They turn it over to the back and write what that term means in their own words. • Marking Time • Take notes chronologically. • This is great for: • Sequence of events in reading • Timelines in history • Steps in math • Processes in science. Question Mark These bookmarks are for students to record their questions as they read. Make sure they put the page number by the question so they can revisit that part of the text to see what caused the question. Mark my words A bookmark for recording interesting, unusual words, or words critical to understanding while you read. Every five or ten days spend ten minutes reviewing what words students have recorded. Chart them, put them up, discuss what they mean.

36. Mark My Words Mark My Words Mark My Words

37. Marking Time First – Then – Next – After that – Furthermore – Then – Next – Finally – Marking Time First – Then – Next – After that – Furthermore – Then – Next – Finally – Marking Time First – Then – Next – After that – Furthermore – Then – Next – Finally -

38. ? ? ? Page ____ Page ____ Page ____ ? ? ? Page ____ Page ____ Page ____ ? ? ? Page ____ Page ____ Page ____ ? ? ? Page ____ Page ____ Page ____ ? ? ? Page ____ Page ____ Page ____ Question Mark Question Mark Question Mark

39. Mark the BOLD Mark the BOLD Mark the BOLD • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________ • _________________

40. Okay, that’s all very nice, but……….. What do I do with students who lack word recognition skills? Teach them… CHUNKING LONG/SHORT VOWEL SOUNDS PREFIXES / SUFFIXES / ROOT WORDS QUICK ASSESS / REVIEW RECORDS TEACH DERIVATIONAL CONSTANCY What do I do with students who aren’t successful with the strategies because they are so far behind?

41. Working with adolescents who have difficulty with word recognition is difficult even on good days, beyond frustrating on bad days. ~ Kyleen Beers (When Kids Can’t Read) • Give them opportunities to read at their instructional and independent levels. • Give them repeated chances to hear us read aloud while they follow along. • Come to terms with the fact that your goal is not to improve word recognition with the text but to focus on what you CAN do with that text. • Struggling readers can glean a large majority of content information from rich and frequent discussion about the content.

42. Don’t Water Down Curriculum High school students aren’t stupid and they know when you’ve lowered your expectations for them. Communicate your high expectations and your belief that they can achieve beyond other’s expectations for their performance. Shared or Partner Reading Teacher reads aloud some sections, stopping to direct note taking through modeling or think alouds. Have students jigsaw reading and use a shared note taking system. Use alternatives to the text. Have students keep double entry journals. Allow for more time to internalize content. Encourage students to take risks.

43. After Reading Assessing Student Understanding Assessing What is it? How do we decide what’s important? What could it look like? How can we get the most out the content?

44. Assessing Student Understanding Begin with the end in mind. • Letterman’s Top Ten: What 10 key pieces of information do you want students to know after this unit of study is over? • Know your student’s abilities before you plan, include some of the strategies that will help struggling readers. Plan from the beginning to use possible alternative methods of assessment for some students. Evaluate your grading policy / procedure and communicate it clearly. • How are you assigning value to the work? • Don’t assign value to factors not directly related to the top ten. For example: 20% of the grade will come from keeping your folder in order. Are you assessing content knowledge or organizational skills. Let those types of items be separate and unrelated to the content. Perhaps bonus points are given instead of punitive points taken.

45. Assessing Student Understanding Break free from paper and pencil! • Use Venn diagrams comparing two points or pieces of information. • Allow students to use notes. Is it about memorization skills or application of knowledge? (This encourages good note taking.) • Have a debate. Ask students to choose a side and defend it with evidence from their studies. • Science debates on process and conclusions • Historical points of view • Best possible mathematical approaches to solving mathematical problems. • Narrative writing on lessons learned from this unit of study. Have students include examples and evidence. • Pop quiz – Jeopardy style games. • Don’t wait until the unit is over. Use sticky notes yourself to make ongoing observations of students.

46. Assessing Student Understanding Power of Student Self Evaluation Have students evaluate their own understanding either individually or in group discussions. Students who feel they are not processing enough information to select either a 4 or 5, should be allowed more time with the content. Self Evaluation / Quick Check Couldn’t explain any of this information to anyone else I could recall the top ten facts from this unit of study w/ help. I could explain this unit of study to someone else with full details. 1 3 5

47. Assessing Student Understanding Revisiting the “L” from the KWL

49. Contact Information Debra Massey Program Developer and Training Specialist North East Florida Educational Consortium 3841 Reid Street Palatka, FL 32177 386-329-4885 Masseyd@nefec.org