classroom demonstration: strategic processing program

Classroom Demonstration: Strategic Processing

Classroom Demonstration: Strategic Processing Program Transcript

JACQUI HOOK: Hello, I'm Jacqui Hook, educational video host for this virtual field experience. Today, I'll be speaking with Leigh-Ann Hildreth about a reading lesson she conducted with her third graders. We will focus specifically on how Leigh-Ann helps her students to be meta-cognitive about activating their prior knowledge or schema. Leigh-Ann, thank you for joining me today. LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: You're welcome. And thank you for having me.

JACQUI HOOK: We were in your classroom this morning as you are conducting a lesson with the whole class, modeling strategies for accessing schema and prior knowledge, and using that to connect with something new in the text. So now we have a chance to replay that video and take a look at how you were doing that with the kids.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Wonderful. Today we are going to continue to learn about what good readers do. And all year long so far we've been talking about what good readers do. Can anybody remember or think of something that good readers do?

And you're all good readers. So you just think of something that you do that helps you to be a good reader. Joey, what do good readers do?

STUDENT: Summarize.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yes! Good readers can summarize. They can tell what they've read. Good job. Arianna, what do good readers do?

STUDENT: Ask questions.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Good. Readers ask questions about the books that they're reading. Brandon, what do good readers do?

STUDENT: They make predictions.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. Good readers are always making predictions.

STUDENT: Alyssa, what do good readers do?

STUDENT: Predict.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yeah, that's right. Brandon was saying--

STUDENT: And they think about the story.

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LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And they think about the story. We always say that reading is thinking. So while you're reading, you're thinking about the story. That's right. Good job.

Thomas, what do good readers do?

STUDENT: They clarify.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: They clarify. When good readers are reading, they think about their mistakes. They think about the ways that they're getting tripped up. And they try to fix it up.

They don't just mow over what they're reading and not think about it. They fix up the mistakes they're making. If something doesn't make sense, we fix it up.

JACQUI HOOK: Now it's early in the year. And this is third grade. So these are kind of early third graders. And this is quite a long list that they're coming up with.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Well, up until this point, every day I've been asking them to come to the carpet for another reading lesson. And we're just adding to the list of what good readers do. And every day we're talking about what good readers do.

So today the lesson was mostly on schema. But before this, we've been doing predicting. There was a lesson on predicting and clarifying. And so I want them to see that there are a lot of things that good readers have to do while they're reading. And we're just going to continue to add to the list so that they can become better readers.

Well, today we're going to learn about something else that good readers do. And some of you-- hold on to that thought, OK, Jordan? Some of you do what I'm going to talk about today already.

I've seen you do it. As a matter of fact, this morning when Alyssa and I were working together in reading club, Alyssa was doing what we're going to learn how to do today. Today we're going to learn about schema and how schema helps us to understand the text. Does anybody have any idea what schema is?

JACQUI HOOK: Now schema is a big word.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yeah. I want them to use the terminology. Their kindergarten teachers, first grade, second grade teachers-- they come from different teachers. So I'm not really sure what their previous teachers have called it. It could've been prior knowledge, activating your schema, what you already know.



So I want them to call it schema. I want them to know it's schema. But I also try to intertwine the other terminology, so that they can put it in their minds and have a place to hold onto that information and collect it.

JACQUI HOOK: And do you find that they will pick up that vocabulary?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Oh, yeah. Today's lesson is on schema. And they're going to use this the rest of the year. This is what they do.

And then when people come into the classroom, reading aids, principals, they pick up on-- wow, they're using those words. And they're really impressed with it. They go home and they use them with their parents. Their parents are wondering what they are.

JACQUI HOOK: Um-hum.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: What do you think schema is? Joey, what's schema?

STUDENT: Something that you already know?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: You're right. Schema is what you already know. Sometimes teachers will say, what do you already know about bears, if you're learning about bears.

Or they might say what do you already know about Patricia Polacco, if you're doing an author study of Patricia Polacco. We call that schema or activating our prior knowledge-- the stuff we already know. And we're going to learn how that is going to help us be better readers today.

And the other night on my computer, I went online and I looked for some pictures that would help us learn about what schema is. And this is a picture of a person with a brain. And we all have brains, right?

STUDENTS: Right.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And so in our brains, our brains organize information. When you learn something new, your brain has a job. It has to organize that information and store it somewhere.

And that's how you remember things. You think about what you already know, that schema. And your brain-- I was trying to think of a way to think about how your brain stores information. And your brain uses like little file folders. Now there's not really file folders in your brain, right? But that's-- we can think of it like a file folder.

JACQUI HOOK: I just thought that was great, giving a visual like that.



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Well, I wanted to make sure that they had that visual. So in my mind, when I think of schema, that picture is exactly what I'm thinking about. So that's why I wanted to bring that to life for them.

And we really do. We store our new information-- we have to put it somewhere. So we usually-- our brains do organize information. And I just thought of the little folders.

I wasn't sure how much they would connect with that. Because not many kids organize their information into file folders. Teachers do that, or maybe somebody that works in an office. But I thought that might be something that they could connect with.

JACQUI HOOK: Well, it sure makes a very abstract concept a little more concrete.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And I think also that later the folder piece is going to help to make the connection. So when you learn new information, your brain takes it in and stores it in a little folder with other information. That's similar to that. So let me think of an example.

Today when we were reading a story about wolves in reading club, as you were--before we read the story, you were thinking what do I already know about wolves? So you had to pull forward that little folder that had information about wolves in it. And that way you could think of, what do I already know about wolves? Because that's going to help you understand the new information about wolves.

Well, today we're not going to talk about wolves. We're going to talk about the coral reef. And do you remember that great article that we read in National Geographic?

Remember, it was called Reef Rainbow. And we spent a lot of time on Reef Rainbow. And it was pretty amazing what happens down in the reef.

And we learned some things. And I'm going to show you how remembering that information that we learned about coral reefs and the Reef Rainbow is going to help us to read this new book, called Life in a Coral Reef. And I've prepared for everybody-- and you're going to get a chance to use this after we read this book. But everybody is going to get their own little file folder.

Why do you think I prepared file folders for everybody, Brandon?

STUDENT: Because it's like the schema.



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yeah, that's your schema. This is going to be where we're going to store information about coral reefs. And this is our schema folder.

JACQUI HOOK: That was great that you had the file folders, actual file folders, to go with that metaphor.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: I thought that possibly that would help them to make that connection. I could have just told them that they were going to just share their schema. But I thought if we actually put it into the folder, they can remember the actual placing of it in the folder and think about how they're placing information in their head.

JACQUI HOOK: Very creative idea to bring that abstract concept even more concrete for them.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And I put some little notes on here to remind us what we want to know about schema. Thinking about what you already know is called using your schema. We do that all the time.

I've seen you guys do that. Good readers use their schema-- stuff they already know-- to help them understand the text, the new information. And I'm going to show you how that works.

First of all, I have to fill my schema folder, my coral reef folder, with some things I already know about coral reefs. And maybe you can help me with this. I'm thinking about what I already know about coral reefs. And I'm going to put it on my stickies, and I'm going to stick them in my folder.

JACQUI HOOK: So what are you doing here?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Well, I'm definitely modeling for them what I want them to be able to do when they read a new text. I want them to automatically think about what do I already know. When they activate the schema, it's going to help to make predictions. It's going to help them draw conclusions, make inferences.

But I want them to see me do it. I know that they would be excited to do it with me. But I want them to see me do it so that they can see what it looks like when good readers do that.

JACQUI HOOK: So you're starting with the scaffolding that's going to result in them just being able to do this automatically, without a folder, without Post-its, eventually.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Right. Eventually the folder will not be there. And they'll just start to use their schema and activate their prior knowledge automatically,



like we do, or I do, when I read. I don't obviously use a folder. I do that automatically.

All right, you know what? I'm thinking that coral reefs-- one of the things I know about coral reefs is that they're colorful. So I'm going to write that they're colorful.

I'm going to stick that right on there. Coral reefs are colorful. Hmm, are you going to help me, Jordan?

STUDENT: They use their colors to attract fish?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Hmm, is that how they use, the coral reef, uses their colors? I think-- don't the colorful fish use the coral reef to blend in? Yeah, I think that the colorful fish that live in the coral reef use the colors of the coral reef to blend in.

And we know why they do that, right? They want to survive and protect themselves. What else, Thomas?

STUDENT: They can turn their colors on and off to warn predators not to come near them.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: We did learn that in that article that we read. I think I have it here. In the Reef Rainbow, we learned that some of the fish can turn their colors on and off. And I'm sure you're thinking right now of the things that you remember.

But before I ask you what you remember, you know what I was thinking? When I picked up this book for us to read today, I thought of something that I remember my cousin saying. My cousin's a marine biologist. He just went to school to become a marine biologist. He studies places like the coral reef.

JACQUI HOOK: So is there a reason why you mentioned this personal--

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Well, yeah, I do this a lot. I tell them a lot about me and my life. And I want them to see me making connections with the people that are around me. And so that they will do the same. I want them to share things about their life with me.

And so also that was deliberate, because I wanted them to see that we get our schema other places other than text. But, yeah, I do this a lot. We have a really great rapport, the class and I. And that's just something that helps us to connect with each other.



JACQUI HOOK: And I like that some of your schema is shared with them. You both read that article. And yet some of your schema is very personal and individual. I like the balance of that, that you brought out.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: It's hard for me. I could just think aloud and do it all myself. But I wanted them to be there with me. So I did want to pull their ideas in and let them share.

They were very excited that we were going to be reading this story about the coral reef. And I could see their hands in the air. And I wanted them to be a part of my thinking, too.

JACQUI HOOK: Yeah, and it's more interactive that way. And it just keeps them attending as well.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. And he was telling me-- and we didn't learn this in the National Geographic article-- but he was telling me that coral reefs are in danger. And I don't know why they're in danger. But I remember him telling me that they're in danger.

So that's my schema. That's what I already know about coral reefs. I know that they're in danger.

So I'm going to put coral reefs are in danger. And you know what else I was thinking? I know a little cartoon character that lives in a coral reef. Does anybody remember the character that I'm thinking about?

STUDENT: Nemo?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Nemo. I remember watching that movie, that Disney movie, with my daughters. And that Nemo-- didn't he live in a coral reef?

I'm going to put that down. That's part of my schema. Nemo lived in a coral reef.

JACQUI HOOK: I liked the way you said, I'm going to write that down, because that's part of my schema. And that's exactly the kind of language you want students to then take away and say to themselves. I'm going to write that down. That's my schema.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. And modeling for them what I want them to do. And that is my schema.

I don't know if it's going to help me read the coral reef. But I want them to put everything down. And then later they can weed out the information that they don't need that's not going to help them to understand the text better.



JACQUI HOOK: Well, in retrospect, might that have been something you could have said out loud to yourself as well? I'm not sure if it's going to relate to this book. But I'm going to put it down just in case.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. I didn't say that. I would love to-- that's something I'm going to definitely take a note on and do next time. But also what about if we have schema that we bring forward that's wrong?

What if we have a piece of information that is not right, and we put it on there? What's going to happen later when we read the text and then we realize that--hey, wait, that's not really how it is. Prior to teaching the lesson, I was hoping that I'd get to that. But I didn't in this lesson. And I kind of felt bad about that.

And maybe that's the next lesson. What do we do with schema that doesn't help us? How do we weed out our schema?

JACQUI HOOK: When you're using strategies to activate prior knowledge, part of the goal is to confront any misconceptions that the kids have.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. That's right. So initially it's like a brain drain-- just whatever schema you have, toss it on there. But then later, weed out and decide which ones are right on and which ones are not going to help us at all.

Didn't the animals in Shark Tale live in the coral reef, too?

STUDENTS: Yeah.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yeah, didn't they-- because they hid in the coral reef just like the fish used the colors to blend in so that the sharks wouldn't get them? So the animals in Shark Tale live in a coral reef.

When I start thinking about my schema, it makes me think of other schema I have on coral reef. Like when I thought about Nemo, it made me think about Shark Tale. So sometimes activating your prior knowledge about a topic, it kind of snowballs into like the next idea you have.

JACQUI HOOK: I thought that was a great point that you made.

STUDENT: Well, I knew that probably when they opened the folders to do it more on their own and activate their schema, some of them were just going to sit there. And I wanted them to realize that by just putting down one idea, it might help you think of your next idea and then your next idea. So I wanted to let them know that that's what good readers do.



And I was thinking, Jake, I just looked at you, and I thought you know what? You just brought in a piece of coral. And that's part of my schema. Part of my schema about coral reefs is that sometimes we can collect the coral from a coral reef.

And you actually brought in a piece of coral to the classroom. So coral comes from coral reefs. I know, you guys probably have a lot of schema yourself, too.

STUDENT: I read something once about core reefs like in my old reading club. And it had a little article about it. And we studied it for three days.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Excellent. And you know what you just made me think of? That our schema comes from different places. Sometimes our schema comes from the books we've read.

Sometimes our schema comes from the things that we've studied in school. Our schema can come from our cousins, or our relatives, that teach us new things. Our schema can come from the TV or the radio or our friends.

JACQUI HOOK: I think that just by the fact that you're saying this now, that now their minds are branching out into all of those places.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Right. And the students were so excited. You can see, right, with some of their hands in the air that they wanted to share their schema.

They were all now thinking about what they remember about schema. And Thomas was very excited. Because obviously-- I didn't know this he had learned about coral reefs previously. And he had a lot to share.

So sometimes we learn things from our friends. So schema doesn't have to just come from the books or the articles that we read. Schema comes from all over the place. All of our experiences help to build our schema.

And the more schema you have on a topic, the richer your schema is, the better it's going to help you to understand the new information that you encounter. So look all this schema we have. We already know a lot of information about coral reefs. Do you think we're going to learn anything new in this book?

STUDENT: Um-hum.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: You think we are? Well, let's find out. We're going to use what we already know. And this is just a little bit of it, just to show you that we have to pull forward our information that we already know about a topic. And this topic is coral reef.

So I have some of my information. I'm going to save it right here. And Tommy, you hold onto that thought. And we're going to start reading Life in a Coral Reef.



And as I'm reading, I'm going to see how my schema is helping me to understand the new information-- Life in a Coral Reef.

JACQUI HOOK: Is this book part of your reading program? Is it part of your science program or anything like that?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Actually, I knew that I wanted to teach schema. So I found a resource that was good for teaching schema. I didn't use this same book to teach schema last year, because we hadn't read the National Geographic article.

So because that came across my desk, and the kids, we read it together, I thought this is a great resource to use so that they can make connections. So I kind of staged it so that they would have some prior knowledge, and they could see me using that article which was fresh in their mind.

I knew the kids would be excited about this, because we read the article. And they love animals. And so you know fish, habitats--

JACQUI HOOK: I'm glad to hear that, that this text selection was definitely supporting your goals, your reading skills and strategies goals for your reading program that might be attached to a mandated series or some series that you've adopted. But you're bringing in supplemental text that just really-- that are very effective for these strategies.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. I picked this because I knew that it would be a good resource to teach schema.

JACQUI HOOK: It was definitely a great selection.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: A coral reef looks like a magical city under the sea. The stony structures of the reef look like towers, domes, caves, and even castles. More creatures make their home here than in any other underwater habitat.

And this says seaweed blenny, Christmas tree worm, and white-tipped reef shark. Fish, sea worms, sea slugs, crab, shrimp, and lobsters all find food and shelter in and on a coral reef. Large fish such as sharks swim around the reef looking for smaller fish and other animals to eat.

That makes me think Shark Tale, when the sharks are trying to get the little creatures in the reef. So I get that. I understand that. Because I have some background knowledge that is helping me to understand this.

JACQUI HOOK: So what are you doing now?



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Well, I'm trying to show them how my schema-- that scheme about Shark Tale during the pre-reading part of my lesson-- is now helping me to understand this new information. So I want them to see me doing that and think that aloud. So that when they go back to their seats and they read a text, that they'll also start making connections to their schema, to the new information.

And then what happens is you take that schema that you have and the new information, and then you can figure out the text. Or you can make connections. And you can do other things that great readers do.

Coral reefs grow in warm tropical seas that are shallow enough to let sunlight shine through. They build up slowly as the stony skeletons of millions of small animals, called coral polyps, pile up on top of each other. Hey, didn't we learn about polyps in the article we read?

STUDENTS: Um-hum.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Now this make sense. Those polyps-- they build up their skeletons. And when they die, they leave the part of the coral reef, the pretty part.

Right there, I was making a text-to-text connection. And we have dabbled a little bit in text-to-self and text-to-text connections. And that's why I'm doing this schema lesson. Because with their schema, if they strengthen their skill to use their schema, if they begin understanding that they're using their schema and how to use it, they can then begin to make these great connections.

So I would have loved to stop and talk about text-to-text connections. But I was just doing it and later when I teach that text-to-text lesson, I can refer back to this lesson and say, remember in Coral Reefs, when we made that text-to-text connection? And so I'm just thinking now that's going to be great when in two days I teach text-to-text connections.

JACQUI HOOK: That's great. So had you thought of that as you were reading? Or are you just thinking of it now as you view this?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: I'm just thinking of it now. I do that automatically. As I'm reading, I'm always modeling what good readers do. So whatever comes to my mind as I'm reading, I want to model it for them.

But right now, I'm thinking hey, that's going to be a good teaching point. When we move on, if I remember this part, I can even have that book there so that I could say, remember? We did this.

JACQUI HOOK: That's great.



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Most coral polyps look like soft, colorful pencil erasers. One end is a mouth surrounded by tiny arms called tentacles. The other end is attached to the reef. Many polyps live close together on a reef.

This must be a picture of a polyp. The polyp's color comes from tiny plants called algae. Do you remember when we learned about how algae gave the polyps their color--

STUDENTS: Um-hum.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: --that live inside their bodies? Now it's starting to make sense. I'm thinking about my schema. I'm thinking about what I already knew about coral reefs and polyps and algae, and it's helping me to understand what I'm reading here.

The algae use sunlight to make food. They help the coral polyps by sharing some of this food. A polyp takes chemicals from the water and grows a skeleton around itself. The skeleton looks like a stony cup around the lower part of the polyp.

When feeding the polyps spread out their tentacles to catch little plants and animals that float by. At other times, as shown in this photo, they squeeze into their skeletons. Each species or kind of polyp lives in a separate colony. The colonies grow into strange and spectacular forms.

So this must be just colonies of polyps right here that have formed. Can you see how these hard corals got their names? Lettuce corals-- does that makes sense?

STUDENTS: Yes.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Because it looks like lettuce. Bubble coral with the little shrimp guy in three. Pillar coral, sea whips, sea fans, soft tree coral and fern coral-- well, that makes sense. And now I'm thinking, remember my schema about Jacob bringing in his piece of coral?

I wonder if we're going to see a piece of coral that looks like Jacob's coral? That one was kind of white, right? It was whitish. And it had holes in it, I think. So I'm wondering if that's something we're going to see in here.

JACQUI HOOK: So I notice you made a big deal about that-- what you're wondering.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yeah, and even though this is a schema lesson, I'm still going to ask the students to do all those other good reading strategies that we've learned-- make predictions. I'm going to think aloud my wonders. Because this isn't just a schema lesson. This is a schema lesson, but I'm also doing all those



other things that good readers do. And I want to continue to model that for them, so that they don't forget about the first few things that we taught them.

JACQUI HOOK: Well, if you were teaching schema with a worksheet, it might be just the schema lesson. But if you're going to do a strategy lesson in a context of a meaningful text, all the other strategies are going to come into play.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And they build on each other. So each skill or strategy that we learn, the children build on that. And they begin to use them.

And as I model it, it may be the first time that I taught wondering about a text. If there were a few students who didn't pick up on it, if I continue to do it with each book I read aloud, they're going to start to internalize that and start to do it themselves And that's what I-- and then when I do see them doing that, I'm going to make a big deal about it.

JACQUI HOOK: And I imagine you do see that all the time.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: I do. And they do it at different levels and at different times. And I'm not going to teach the schema lesson, and when they go back to their seats, they're all going to be experts in schema. This is going to happen over and over for the entire year actually.

JACQUI HOOK: That's great.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Some corral is soft, colorful, and flexible. The lacy shapes bend and sway in the water. And this is what my cousin, the marine biologist, does.

He goes down underwater. And he studies the different areas of the reef. And I remember him telling me that you have to be real careful when you're down there not to break any of the coral.

JACQUI HOOK: So how much of this do you think they're taking from you in terms of you're modeling things they should be doing, versus they're just listening and interested?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Right. My goal is not for them to learn about coral reefs. I don't want them to walk away just knowing more about a coral reef.

I'm using this as an avenue to teach the skills and strategies. And I do do this. I continue to say, see? I'm using my schema.

I want to bring that forward. I want to call their attention to what I'm doing. If I don't do that, and I just think aloud-- if I just say, oh, yeah, my cousin's a marine



biologist, and he said-- I want to tell them what I'm doing. And I do that a lot. So I'm hoping that they pick up on it.

And then I know when-- during independent reading, I go around to each of the students. And I have them read to me. And whatever target skill we've worked on that day or that week, I check to see if they're using it in their independent reading.

So I kind of have a pretty good idea of which kids are using it and which ones aren't. And then of course, we need to-- the kids that I see that aren't actually using the skill, pull them over into a small group and re-teach the skill. And that is just the ongoing practice.

The sea cucumber is an animal that helps strengthen the reef. While looking for food, the sea cucumber takes in mud, which it spits out as fine sand. The sand fills cracks in the reef. Now that's new information.

I didn't have any schema about this. But you know what? Now, I'm learning this new information. And where's it going?

STUDENT: Into your--

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: It's going into my little file folder, where I'm going to try to organize all my coral reef information. And it's going to become new schema.

JACQUI HOOK: That's great that you had introduced that notion of the file folder. Because now you've got that whenever you need it.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And I'll continue to use that. Actually throughout the entire year, we will always talk about-- even in science and social studies. When we start a new topic, I'll say, what's our schema on butterflies?

We do a big unit on butterflies. What's your schema? OK, everybody, pull out that little folder. And so that will be something that will connect us all year long, when we think about that folder.

And that's why I do this lesson towards the beginning of the year. Because it's something that we're going to use all year long. You're always going to need your schema to help you understand new information. So the next time I read a book about coral reefs, I'll be able to use what I'm learning, the new information I'm learning, in the next text I read or in the next video I watch.

JACQUI HOOK: I'm impressed with the fact that here's this beautiful book-- these gorgeous photographs, compelling information. And you do, as you said a minute ago, you're really just focusing on your goal for the lesson. It's really about that schema. And it's really well done.



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: If this were a science lesson, where we were studying the coral reef, I would obviously stop, discuss more of the content. I would discuss the pictures. If this were a lesson on text structure, I would be talking more about the captions and what we can learn, and how they have little pictures on the side with extra information. Which information is part of the main idea or the focus of the book? Which information is just nice to know?

So this can be used in many different ways. But today, I want to focus on schema. So I don't want to get too far off topic. If I get into the pictures and the content too much, then I'm going to turn the kids off to what I want them to focus on.

JACQUI HOOK: Right. It's strategy instruction. It's really a nice example of that.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: The canals inside each sponge also provide shelter for a variety of reef creatures. If you could look inside a sponge, you'd be amazed. A scientist once counted 17,000 tiny worms, crabs, fish, and other animals living inside one large sponge. That's new information, too. I'm going to hold on to that information because that's pretty interesting.

JACQUI HOOK: I love that. You were modeling genuine interest and motivations.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Well, one of the other things that I'm careful about doing is using the same resource or text too many times. Or reading it too many times before I read it to the class. If I use a text over and over every year, there's going to be no excitement coming from me.

I'm going to just mow over some of the really interesting facts. So I had only read this text twice before I used it. So I could be genuinely excited about what I was reading. And I think that's important. Because if I'm not excited about it, they're not going to be excited about it.

JACQUI HOOK: And the thing that is coming loud and clear through this lesson is these students are getting so motivated, so ready to get their hands on that book or other books about this topic. You could just see it in their eyes.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: They were very, very engaged and interested in the selection.

STUDENT: That coral looks like Jacob's coral that he brought.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: It does. Jake, you know what? Could you get your coral?

Because that might help us to-- I mean, that's our schema. We've got to see that. It's in your desk. Your mom put it there.



That's part of our schema. And that's going to help us understand some of this information. I'll keep reading until Jake comes back.

JACQUI HOOK: That seemed very fortuitous that he happened to have coral. Did you tell him you were going to be reading this book? Or did he know?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: What happened was, we read the article, Reef Rainbow about the coral reef about two weeks ago. In that two weeks' time, his mom just happened to go to Florida and bring back a piece of coral. And so he was really excited to bring it in the classroom and share it.

And it just seemed like a good time to make Jake feel good about him being excited about what we're learning about and bringing in something to share with the class. And it actually was part of my schema. And I wanted them to know that it could be useful in understanding this text. And it did look a little bit like a sponge. So I think that was what we were getting at here.

Other animals called sea anemones also attach themselves to the reef. Do you see Nemo? Do you see Nemo? Yeah.

And remember, this was part of our schema. I get this. I understand this.

Because I remember Nemo hiding in the sea anemone. And that's where he was safe. And around their mouths are long waving tentacles that sting small fish or shrimp that drift by.

The tentacles then bring the food to the anemone's mouth. So that's why Nemo hid inside the sea anemone, because he was trying to stay safe. And he knew that other animals wouldn't come near the sea anemone, because they would get stung.

So that schema that I have, by watching Nemo, actually is helping me to understand the information in this book.

JACQUI HOOK: I love that, the way you modeled your inner thinking.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And I was thinking that they were probably thinking the same thing. Because we've all seen Nemo. And they do identify with the coral reef because of those movies. They have some information that they can call forward.

And yeah, I just thought that was a perfect text-to-movie connection. That if I showed them how you can do that, that they would maybe do that again in their own reading. Yes?

STUDENT: And there's like a lot of coral reef in the sea.



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. In certain spots of the sea, there's a lot of coral reef. So It's home to many animals. Remember they said that at the beginning, that many animals live in the coral reef?

Jake, do you want to hold that up so everybody can see that? That's pretty cool. And we were saying that your mom found that--

STUDENT: In the Atlantic Ocean off Florida.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And that's a piece of coral. And it's all white. Have we seen a piece like that yet?

I don't think we have. It has holes in it. Do you think animals used to live inside?

STUDENT: There's a big one over here.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Nice little place for an animal to live.

STUDENT: Yeah, and one over here.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And that's pretty interesting. OK, thanks.

STUDENT: There's a piece of shell stuck onto it right here. I wonder how that got there?

STUDENT: I wonder what that shiny one is?

JACQUI HOOK: I liked how you started to say, I wonder, and this boy next to Jake-- Thomas-- he was right there wondering out loud, too.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And actually, Thomas is a struggling reader. And he's not usually this verbal. But this obviously was exciting to him. And he was the one that had talked about he learned about coral reefs last year. So his hand was up the entire time.

And I know that he had some wonders. He had some things he wanted to share. And he was excited about the lesson.

JACQUI HOOK: I would imagine that when you spend so much time with prior knowledge in the classroom, it reveals where kids are coming from, what their interests are, what their prior experiences are, where they've had experiences with different things that you might not have known or you may not have had experience with.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: As we get to know the kids throughout the year, we figure out who the experts are in certain areas. And when we're reading



something, or doing something, or learning about something, I like to call on those kids to help us. And this'll be a great opportunity that we can start to say, yeah, what's your schema on that? Because I don't have a lot of schema on that.

Can you share some of your schema? Because that might help us to understand what we're learning right here. So it is really important to get to know your class, and what they're interested in. And now Thomas might be our coral reef expert.

OK, have a seat Jake. Thanks for bringing that over. We might need that again.

Small reef dwellers need ways to protect themselves against predators. Many are bright in color, making them hard to see against the reef's bright colors. Didn't we talk about that, about colorful fish use the colors of the coral reef to blend in? That was our schema. And that's going to help us to understand this information.

JACQUI HOOK: I like that you went back to the folder. Because you keep talking about our schema. But you kind of closed the folder and put it away. So it's kind of nice to have that in view again. And I know you're going to be assigning a task for them to actually create their folder.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: And then we'll use those folders throughout the year. Whenever we start a new topic, we'll use those to activate our prior knowledge. And then eventually scaffold them into not needing the folder. And then just doing it automatically.

Coral reefs around the world are home to millions of plants and animals. The plants and animals depend on the reef and on each other for survival. But the reefs themselves are in danger.

Oh, now, I'm going to-- when I'm reading this next part, I'm going to think about it. Because remember, I told you my cousin told me that the reefs were in danger. But I wasn't sure why.

So I'm predicting. I'm doing what good readers do. I'm predicting that they're probably going to tell me why the reefs are in danger now.

JACQUI HOOK: So you took time to do that strategy as well.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yeah, again, reinforcing some of the previous skills and strategies that I've taught. We've worked a lot on predicting. I wanted them to see me doing it in a real situation. And also that was part of my schema. So I'm using my schema also to set a purpose for my reading.

JACQUI HOOK: OK, great.



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Some of the dangers come from natural forces. Many others are caused by humans-- new schema for me to think about. Last page, and then you guys can ask questions and share your information.

The word is getting around. Coral reefs need to be saved from further destruction. Clean water, respect for our fellow creatures, and knowledge of this amazing habitat will go a long way towards saving the coral reefs.

STUDENT: What could you do to save the coral reef?

JACQUI HOOK: I love that question.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Who cares about schema? How are we going to save these coral reefs?

[LAUGHING]

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Yeah, that was great. And I had to answer it. I had to give her some validation that, you know what? We just read this book about coral reefs.

It's a great place. Animals live there. What are we going to do to save it?

So I think that not only are they taking away the lesson that I'm trying to teach about schema, but they're also eight-year-olds that are concerned about our world, and that this has some meaning to them.

JACQUI HOOK: And I wouldn't doubt that she's going to go get her hands on some books that can teach her what she can do.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: I've already collected a whole bunch of other coral reef books that I know they're going to be asking for. And that is for their independent reading. And I'll start the little spark. And they can go and make it into a fire.

JACQUI HOOK: Yeah. That's great.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: OK, hands down for a second. Because I know that you're really excited about coral reefs. And I know that you're itching to get more information about coral reefs. You have some questions.

So I have prepared for you a pretty cool book. And everybody's going to get their own folder. And inside here there are some stickies. What are you going to use the stickies for? Arianna, what did I use stickies for today to help me be a better reader?

STUDENT: You used it for our schema.



LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: For my schema. I want to put my schema in my little file folder. I want to activate my schema, bring it out, think about what I already know.

So when you go back to your seats, you're going to activate your prior knowledge. Think about what you already know. It's going to help you.

So with your little stickies, think about something you learned about coral reefs today, yesterday, when we read the article, something that you learned from a friend, or when you studied coral reefs before. Write the fact on the sticky note, and stick it in your folder. We're going to bring all that forward.

After you do that, I have another text for you to read about coral reefs. This is pretty interesting. And I'll tell you that some of the information is similar to what we already know, is similar to the book. But there is some new information, too, OK?

So as you're reading, I want you to think about your schema, think about what you already know, and think about the new information. And if you find new information that you want to remember, add it to your schema. That's something, if you want to remember it, add it in, OK?

JACQUI HOOK: So what was your purpose with this assignment?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Well, I wanted them to practice. I was doing the think aloud. I was doing the modeling. Now I wanted them to go ahead and try it on their own.

Knowing that some of the kids were still going to need that guided practice, I was thinking, OK, I'll send most of the kids back to their seats. The kids that I think can handle this on their own, I've seen them pretty much do this before anyways. But I could pull a small group over to the table and do some guided practice with the kids that I thought might have a hard time doing it on their own.

JACQUI HOOK: So you're expecting all of them to adopt this strategy and develop use of this strategy no matter what their reading levels or--

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right. They can use it in any level. I taught first grade.

I used to do a very similar lesson in first grade. First graders use schema. Second graders-- this is third grade.

And I think that every student at whatever level they're reading in third grade, they can use their schema to help them understand the text. And some it might



take them a little longer to understand why and how they're using it. But others will take it on and just start using it to their advantage.

JACQUI HOOK: And by differentiating your instruction that way-- taking the small group, doing some intensive work, letting the others kind of run with it-- you can get everybody up to the same place eventually.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: That's right.

JACQUI HOOK: Well, that was great. Just in conclusion, do you feel that you accomplished your goals for this lesson?

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: I do. And after watching the tape, it helps me to see where now I'm going to-- I wish I had this tape every day. I wish I could rewind every day's lesson. But now I know where I want to go.

I definitely want to use this same topic, this coral reef idea, to teach text-to-text connections. Because we use our schema to do that. So I'm excited that this is a nice little stepping stone to get us to making connections, also understanding author's purpose, and having the kids think critically about why did the author write this text.

And if we use our scheme and what's in front of us, we can make some inferences. So I am excited. I think that they have the schema part down. We can start using that word and start encouraging the kids to use their schema to help them. And I think that we have a good little place to move onto, also.

JACQUI HOOK: That's great. And your excitement is so motivating and inspiring to the kids and to me. I wish I could be there for that next lesson.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: Thank you.

JACQUI HOOK: So thank you so much, Leigh-Ann.

LEIGH-ANN HILDRETH: No problem. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Classroom Demonstration: Strategic Processing Additional Content Attribution

MUSIC: Creative Support Services Los Angeles, CA

Dimension Sound Effects Library Newnan, GA



Narrator Tracks Music Library Stevens Point, WI

Signature Music, Inc Chesterton, IN

Studio Cutz Music Library Carrollton, TX


classroom demonstration: strategic processing program

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