Transitions from the Beginning

1. Transitions from the Beginning Developing Academic Readiness From the Start Presenters: Sharon Wallar Susy Oldham

2. Roll Call • Who do we have representing us? • TESOL Academy • What do you think Academic Readiness is?

3. What’s in a name? dictionary.com • Transitions:movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another • From the Beginning: an act of entering upon an action or state • Developing: to bring out the capabilities or possibilities of • Academic Readiness: Preparing students to engage and succeed in interactive and experiential learning inside and outside the classroom. http://www.vpstudents.ubc.ca/strategic.cfm?go=goals,academic • Skills: theability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc.,todosomethingwell • From the Start: tobegin or set out, as on a journey oractivity.

4. Strategies and Skills Students Need to be Successful

5. The Yardman The yardman comes every two weeks. The yardman’s name is Byron. He drives a gray pick-up truck. The truck is a Ford. It is about 15 years old, but it runs well. It doesn’t burn oil, and it gets decent gas mileage. In the back of Byron’s truck are a leaf blower, a rake, a lawn mower, a hedge trimmer and a shovel. He uses the leaf blower to blow leaves and dirt from the back of the building out to the front of the building. Then he rakes up the leaves into a bag. He blows the dirt out into the street. He cuts the lawn with his lawn mower. He trims the hedge. He uses the leaf blower to blow the dirt off each Welcome mat that lies in front of each apartment door. Then Byron puts the bag of leaves, the grass trimmings and the hedge clippings into a wheelbarrow. He pushes the wheelbarrow to the back of the building, where he uses his big shovel to empty the wheelbarrow contents into the big dumpster. It takes Byron about two hours to do this work. When Byron is done, he goes half a block up the street to the house on the corner. There he does the same work again. The above passage is based on a passage from http://www.eslfast.com/

6. Strategies for Effective Reading and Listening • 1. Making predictions and confirming predictions SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review Survey: Skim passage for gist – main idea Question: Person: 1st, 2nd,3rd Setting: Time and place Type of writing: Narrative, Expository, Descriptive, or Persuasive Authors purpose: Informational, evoke emotion, persuade Read to answer questions: Scan for specific answers to questions What’s a yardman? What does _____ mean? Recite to remember: Answer questions aloud in own words Review: By looking over notes and questioning self PQRST: Preview, Question, Read, Self-recitation, Test

7. 2. Intended meaning and attitudes Infer- reader Cultural differences (schema) may impede understanding “Yardman” Imply-author Author’s implications may not be evident “He blows the dirt….”

8. 3. Use fixing strategies when comprehension is blocked; use a variety of clues (linguistic, contextual, background knowledge) to infer the meaning of unknown words and sentences Spelling conventions, Semantics, Syntax Example from passage: a rake (noun), he rakes (verb)

9. Tasks to Build Organizing and Note-Taking Skills • Sorting Tasks • Using graphic organizer, such as Venn Diagrams or flow charts • Concept mapping and the use of matrices • Know-What-Learn (KWL) charts • Guided note-taking • Cornell Notes

10. Cornell Notes 1. Record: During the lecture, use the note taking column to record the lecture using telegraphic sentences. 2. Questions: As soon after class as possible, formulate questions based on the notes in the right-hand column. Writing questions helps to clarify meanings, reveal relationships, establish continuity, and strengthen memory. Also, the writing of questions sets up a perfect stage for exam-studying later. 3. Recite: Cover the notetaking column with a sheet of paper. Then, looking at the questions or cue-words in the question and cue column only, say aloud, in your own words, the answers to the questions, facts, or ideas indicated by the cue-words. 4. Reflect: Reflect on the material by asking yourself questions, for example: “What’s the significance of these facts? What principle are they based on? How can I apply them? How do they fit in with what I already know? What’s beyond them? 5. Review: Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing all your previous notes. If you do, you’ll retain a great deal for current use, as well as, for the exam. Summary http://lsc.sas.cornell.edu/Sidebars/Study_Skills_Resources/cornellsystem.pdf

12. Venn Diagram

13. Skills that Promote Critical Thinking • www.cal.org/caelanetwork CAELA Network Brief - April 2010 • Remember – Make it relate to the student.

14. Identifying Assumptions: • We use our own personal perspective in making assumptions. In the classroom we can broaden thinking by listening to the assumptions of others. Who employs a yardman? Who pays for the services?

15. Organizing – Methods to use: Note-taking Graphic organizers • Categorizing – Break up ideas in the passage. Tools – power, manual, etc.

16. Interpreting – understanding the significance of data and to clarify its meaning • Inquiring – asking questions

17. Analyzing - breaking information down and recombining it in different ways and evaluating – judging the worth, credibility or strength of accounts

18. Decision-making – does the information make sense? • Problem-solving - creating an argument through logical steps. What’s the problem in the story? Do we know the specifics?

19. Something Interesting • Interesting website http://www.thoughtfullearning.com/resources/what-are-learning-skills

20. Now You Try • Choose a note-taking strategy to create an activity for your students. • Work in groups of 3 to 6. • You need a host, a scribe, and a presenter.

21. Report Out • Let’s hear from your groups.

22. Questions • How will you use what you’ve learned today? • Do you have any questions? • Thank you!!