Reading in the Content Area604 P

Session 4

Bringing Students and

Texts Together

Involves plans and practices that result in active student engagement and collaboration

Activity

• Think of the ideal classroom

• In small groups of 3 or 4, on paper design a classroom that would encourage active learning and stimulate student socialization

• Select a “spokeperson”

• Be prepared to share with others

Classroom Context

• bulletin boards reflect themes or topics

• the classroom layout affects types of interactions

• invites thinking, reading, writing, speaking, listening, and sharing

• encourage socialization

• encourages interactive learning

Learning Environments

Text Lessons

Thematic Unit

•All students are reading the same text

•Lessons provide structure

•Departure from an exclusive focus on the text

•Central themes and frees students to pursue questions that intrigue or puzzle them

Core Text Lesson

• Instructional Framework

Before reading

During reading

After reading

before reading …activities that….

•motivate the student

•build/activate prior knowledge

• introduce key concepts/vocabulary

• develop metacognitive awareness

(graphic organizers..KWL..)

•help students interact with the most

important ideas in the text

•lead students to an understanding

of the important concepts

(scaffolding using reading guides)

during reading…activities should

•clarify and elaborate on ideas

encountered in the text using

writing activities, discussions

etc..

after reading …activities should..

•provides a set of experiences designed to

move students from preparation to

interaction with the text to extension and

elaboration of the concepts in the material

under study.

Instructional Plan

In Summary…….

Thematic Units• Organize instruction around a theme with objectives, activities, print and non-print resources, and inquiry experiences

• Can be for a single discipline or interdisciplinary - integrating two or more content areas

A Thematic Unit includes...• a title that reflects the theme or topic

• the major concepts to be learned

• the texts, information sources and literature (trade books) to be studied

• instructional activities w/emphasis on inquiry/research

• provisions for evaluating what students have learned (assessment)

Inquiry/Research Focus

• searching for ideas• gathering and sifting information• finding a focus• rethinking and revising

Students engage in the following activities:

pg. 248 - procedures..

Multiple Texts in Thematic Units

•Trade Books

•CD ROM texts

•CD ROM resources

•Internet resources

p.251 Brozo & Tomlinson

Collaborative Interactions

• Foster collaboration (a life skill)• Develop student self-esteem in the process of

learning• Develop positive group relationships• Enhance academic achievement• Facilitate active participation

Jigsaw Groups

Student Teams Achievement Divisions

Learning CirclesGroup Investigation

Group Retellings

Vocabulary and Concepts

Chapter 5

… means giving students multiple opportunities to learn how words are conceptually related to one another in the material they are studying

Teaching words.. Vocabulary related to their content area

Concepts• learned through direct, purposeful experiences

• create mental images .. grouped by common features or criteria

• do not stand alone... are bound by a hierarchy of relationships

Making Connections w/Graphic Organizers • a chart that visually represents concepts and their

relationships to other concepts (activates prior knowledge)

Birds

Land Birds Water Birds

Ostrich Emu

Penguin

Pelican

MAMMALSWhere

mammals may live

On land

In the water

In the trees

Warm blooded

Babies born live

(not in eggs) Have backbones

Characteristics

Full definition

Vertebrate animals which secrete milk to feed their young.

Horses

Humans

Dogs

Specific examples

Graphic Organizer Sample

Constructing Graphic Organizers

• analyze the vocabulary

• arrange the list of words to show the relationships

• evaluate the organizers .. Does it do what it is suppose to do?

• model for students

• relate new information where it seems appropriate

Activating What Students Know About Words

• Word exploration• Brainstorming• List-Group-Label• Semantic Word Maps• Word Sorts• Knowledge Ratings

Word Explorationa writing to learn strategy

… writing quickly and spontaneously about the word..drawing prior knowledge from their schema

… students share… teacher makes connections between students “ideas” and the actual concept

Brainstorming… students generate what they know about a subject

Two basic steps

-- teacher identifies key concept

-- students work in small groups to generate words related to concept

List-Group-Label… uses lists of words from brainstorming

… students divide into groups and discuss the words dividing the words into “categories”

… students make predictions about the content to be studied

Semantic Word Maps… used to visually show the relationships among words

... Teacher/student decide on concept

… relalted terms and phrases are added

… teacher models the creation several times for students.. students create their own

Word Sorts… students classify words into categories based on prior knowledge from lists provided by teacher

… promotes inductive reasoning; students must search for meanings and discover relationships in order to categorize them

Knowledge Ratings… students analyze what they know about a topic

... chart is created with vocabulary words in a survey like form and students are asked to analyze the words

Reinforcing/Extending Vocabulary Knowledge and Concepts

• Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA)• Categorizing Activities• Concept Circles• Context-Definition Related Activities

Semantic Feature Analysis (SFA)

… establishes a relationship between student’s prior knowledge and words that are conceptually related to one another

…SFA grid..topic or category written across top; features or properties written down the left side;students respond Y or N to indicate association exists.

Categorization Activities…determine relationships among technical terms

… students given four to six words per grouping and asked to do something with them

cross out what doesn’t belong….cicle what goes together..etc...

Concept Circles…help students relate words conceptually one to another

Philadelphia July 4, 1776

bells ring people cheer

What was the event?

Concept and Definition Related

•Modified Cloze Passages (p. 286)

200 - 500 word text ; leave out words..

•OPIN (p.287)

groups of three; sentences to each; complete sentences; convince others;

•Magic Squares (p.288)

two columns; one content;one definition;numbers add up to “magic”number

Websites• http://www.inspiration.com -Inspiration Software

Site

• www.reading.org -- IRA website

• www.teachingK-8.com -- Ideabook for teachers

• http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/index.html

• http://www.randomhouse.com/features/rhwebsters/ -vocabulary

•http://www.marcopolo-education.org

•http://www.internet4classrooms.com/on-line_powerpoint.htm

--tutorial to learn PowerPoint

•http://www.teachertimesavers.com/

•http://syndicate.com/ - vocabulary

•http://www.vocabulary.com/? – vocabulary

•http://www.word-detective.com/ -vocabulary