REFERENCE & RESEARCH

Strategies to Boost Reading Comprehension and Student Achievement

Presented by Susan Atlas

October 13, 2009

THE FCAT, ACT, AND SAT TESTS A STUDENT’S ABILITY TO APPLY VARIOUS SKILLS TO THE READING PROCESS.

Reading Skills

Cluster 1:Words and Phrases

in Context

Cluster 2:Main Idea, Plot,

Purpose, andAuthor’s Tone

Cluster 3:Comparisons &

Cause/Effect

Cluster 4:

Reference and Research

CLUSTER 4: REFERENCE AND RESEARCH Student locates, gathers, analyzes and

evaluates written information for a variety of purposes including research projects, real-world tasks, and self-improvement.

Analyzes the validity and reliability of primary source information and uses the information appropriately.

Synthesizes information from multiple sources to draw conclusions.

REFERENCE AND RESEARCH:GATHERING, ANALYZING, AND EVALUATING INFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES On the FCAT, SAT, and ACT, students

will be asked questions about the validity and reliability of an author’s claims in a passage.

For instance, what makes a particular author qualified to write about a subject? What does the author use to support the main points of the essay? (For instance, does the author use personal opinions, common knowledge, or expert opinions?)

WHAT DON’T STUDENTS KNOW?

Here are some areas that are challenging our students…

84% of students in the state of Florida failed the synthesizing question

This year there will be more questions requiring synthesis.

These questions require students to: synthesize information between two different texts, or two passages within the same selection or between two entirely different passages of different genres (e.g., an informational passage and a poem, a passage and a chart, a passage and a graph, etc.

Multiple choice synthesis questions are getting longer and more complex

CLUSTER 4: REFERENCE AND RESEARCH – GATHERING, ANALYZING, AND EVALUATING INFORMATION FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES CONT’D.Source Primary or Secondary Type of Information Questions to ask

about the Source

Almanac Secondary Facts, statistics, dates, & current events.

Is it up to date?

Atlas Secondary Maps, geographical information

Is it current and accurate?

Autobiography Primary An account of a person’s life written by that person

Is it authentic?

Diary Primary A personal record of events or reflections.

Why is this record important? Do the observations seem accurate?

Encyclopedia Secondary information arranged alphabetically.

Is it current and complete?

Newspaper Both Daily publication containing news & ads.

Is the writing objective or biased? Are the quotes authentic?

Speech Primary An oral presentation. Is the content fact or opinion?

Textbook Secondary Contains subject-area info. for school use.

Is it up to date? Does it represent facts or opinions?

World Wide Web Both System of connected documents.

Is it objective? Is the site linked to a legitimate source?

Literary Work Primary Original work of literature. Is this an accurate version or edition?

ACCORDING TO THE STATE OF FLORIDA, WHAT SHOULD OUR STUDENTS BE ABLE TO DO?BENCHMARKS:

LA.A.2.3.5 The student locates, organizes, and interprets written information for a variety of purposes, including classroom research, collaborative decision-making, and performing a school or real-world task.

LA.A.2.3.6 Uses a variety of reference materials, including indexes, magazines, newspapers, journals and tools, including card catalogs and computer catalogs, to gather information for research projects.

LA.A.2.3.7 Synthesizes and separates collected information into useful components using a variety of techniques, such as source cards, note cards, spreadsheets and outlines.

 

WHAT DO THE STUDENTS SEE?

RESEARCH AND REFERENCE QUESTION STEMS:

What would you infer from the information presented in two sources (charts, maps and graphs)?

  Read/refer to the caption (map, chart, graph,

footnote) on page_______.  Based on the map on page __________, which

__________ is directly (North, South, East or West) of ______________?

  According to a given chart, which _______ has the

most/least _______?

WHAT DO THE STUDENTS SEE?SHORT & EXTENDED RESPONSES IN

REFERENCE & RESEARCH

SR: Explain what the chart tells you about __________. Include details and information from the text to support your answer.

ER: Based on the text and picture, describe what you would see if ___________. Include details and information from the text to support your answer.

ER: Based on the information in the text and the map, explain the difference between the (situation) in _________ and _________. Include details and information from the text to support your answer.

ER: According to all the given information, which __________ would be the best ___________? Support your answer with details and information from the given text and charts.

SUCCESSFUL STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO…

Read the entire text Make the connection between character

quotations and author text *Validate a quotation Determine the voice or tone of the passage Judge the worth of the author and his/her

information

*Students could select an appropriate quotation, but they could not explain in their own words what an author meant.

UNSUCCESSFUL STUDENTS HAVE THE GREATEST DIFFICULTY WITH:

Addressing all parts of the test question (Teach students that if the question has two parts, their answer must address both parts.)

Reading all of the answer choices before selecting one

Choosing distractors that have a superficial connection to the quotation

Evaluating answer choices containing two adjectives

WHAT’S A TEACHER TO DO?

Know the benchmarks. If you don’t know them, you can’t teach them.

Provide students with additional practice in using strategies

for: determining the validity of information in a passage recognizing faulty arguments or potential author bias discriminating between evidence and opinion identifying the author’s purpose (No, it is NOT to inform, persuade, or entertain.)

Students who have difficulty with this benchmark tend to fall back on personal experience rather than on the text.

Substantial changes in teacher practices, classroom instruction, and assessment produce improved student performance (Jackson & Davis, 2000; Wenglinksy, 2000).

Clear Academic Focus Learning goals that are performance based

contribute to increased student learning by focusing instruction on targeted outcomes (Brophy & Good, 1986; Cotton, 2000).

Learning goals based on standards and measured periodically are most effective for student learning (Black & William, 1998, a synthesis of 250

articles).

The Southern Regional Educational Board (SREB) report, Raising the Bar (SREB, 2001a), reports effective teacher practices as: presenting challenging requirements, giving students actual examples of high quality student

work sharing the assessment criteria by indicating the

amount and quality of work needed to earn an A or B.  

Task orientation where class is businesslike with emphasis on completing work has been associated with higher achievement (Lee & Smith, 1993).

Teaching Strategies Establishing high standards and expressing a willingness to

help students achieve them (Phillips, 1997; Southern Regional Education Board

SREB, 2001a, 2001b). Implementing assessments to measure progress toward

goals and to inform practice (Teachers learn more if they assess their teaching and the students’ learning and use it to change instruction. ) Black & William, 1998; Darling-Hammond, Ancess, & Falk, 1995; Stiggins, 2002)

Promoting critical thinking and higher order thinking (McLaughlin

& Talbert, 1993). Teachers who are able to discern students’ level of thinking and use it to construct knowledge help them to develop a better understanding of content (Darling-Hammond, 1996).

WHAT WORKS?

Promoting student engagement with a task orientation (Waxman & Huang, 1996). Student involvement is increased by using effective questioning techniques (Cotton, 2000).

High levels of professional development result in higher achievement. Professional development needs to be greater than 16 hours annually (Southern Regional Education Board SREB, 2001b).

FOLLOW-UP FOR IN-SERVICE CREDIT

Be sure you have received the ½ sheet for the IF follow-up activity.

Compose two questions, one multiple choice and one either short or extended response from your current unit of instruction and from the textbook you use daily. Be sure it reflects the demands on critical thinking as defined by the Florida standards for “Reference and Research.”

Return it to my mailbox by October 20, 2009. Thank you.