HS Literacy Cohort: Utilizing Literacy Strategies Across the Content Area

Brain warm up A student read four sonnets and five limericks.  How many lines of poetry were read?

Reflection Sheet What is your students biggest literacy problem? What are your goals/hope for literacy? What is “reading” What have you done already to aid comprehension in your class?

Goals for the study group Set up Group Norms Discuss Literacy Goals & Responsibilities Discuss Challenging Text & Literacy Strategies 4 Keys of Comprehension

Group Norms Maintain a positive attitude Listen to one another Value one another’s opinions Active Participation Try to get something out of each lesson

Democracy Matters Summarize the text. What reading challenges did you encounter? What did you do to make sense of the text?

Literacy Goals & Responsibilities Work on a personal goal Try literacy strategies in the classroom Share literacy strategies/progress with your department Contribute to the Literacy Newsletter Collaborate with the Lit Coach

How to Bartle Puzballs There are tork gooboos of puzballs, including laplies, mushos, and fushos. Even if you bartle the puzballs that tovo inny and onny of the pern, they do not grunto any lipples. In order to geemee a puzball that grunto lipples, you should bartle the fusho who has rackled the parshtootoos after her humply fluflu.   How many gooboos of puzballs are there?  What are laplies, mushos, and fushos? Even if you bartle the puzballs that tovo inny and onny of the pern, they will not what? How can you geemee a puzball that gruntos lipples?

Di Tri Berrese Summarize the text. What reading challenges did you encounter? What did you do to make sense of the text?

What makes text challenging Literacy Strategies

Research on Thinking Strategies Used by Proficient Readers Activate background knowledge & make connections between the new and the known information Monitor Comprehension - Employing fix-up strategies to repair confusion Self-Questioning the text to clarify ambiguity and deepen understanding Pearson et al. 1992 Tovani Text - Page 5

Research on Thinking Strategies Used by Proficient Readers Marking inferences from the text using background knowledge & clues from the text Determining importance in text to separate details from main ideas Using sensory images to enhance comprehension & visualize reading Synthesizing and extending thinking Pearson et al. 1992 Tovani Text - Page 5

Literacy Strategies A strategy is an intentional plan that is flexible and can be adapted to meet the demands of the situation. Strategies give readers options for thinking about text when reading words alone does produce meaning.

Why use literacy strategies?

Have you ever experienced A student who appears to understand every sentence and yet cannot answer a single question about the passage as a whole.

Have you ever experienced Students who appear to have the linguistic proficiency to deal with a text, but are unable to do so because they are approaching it in an inappropriate way

Have you ever experienced Students - “I didn’t understand the chapter.” Teacher – “What part of it?” Students – “All of it.”

Academic Genres: Subject Area Reading Math p.45 Business p.58 Foreign p. 68 Language English p.72 Using T-Chart Identify why a student might have difficulty comprehending the text List possible strategies to help

Where to start?

Gradual Release of Responsibility Teacher modeling I Do Guided Practice Collaborative learning We do Independent Practice Application of the Strategy You do Fisher & Frey, 2007

4 Keys to Comprehension Frame the Text “Activate Background Information” Set a Clear Purpose Provide a method to monitor comprehension or “hold on to thinking” Social discussion

Background Knowledge “Past experiences always influence new learning. What we know acts as a filter, helping us attend to those things that have meaning and discard those that don’t. When we read something new, we are much more likely to understand it if we see connections that make it relevant. When these connections are murky or unseen, reading comprehension gets cloudy.” (Kelly Gallagher Deeper Reading (2004)

The Procedure Write down what you think it means Read “The Procedure” silently Write down what you think it means

Give one – Get one Before/After Great for activating background information OR review Directions: Have students fold a piece of paper in half. Starting with the left column, students will list as many ideas as they can about a particular topic (2-3 minutes). Then students will circulate throughout room and exchange ideas. They will “give one” idea and then “take one” from their peers. (2-3 minutes) Discuss ideas as a group. *Optional – Have students write a summary using lists

Anticipation Guide Before/After An anticipation guide consists of a list of statements that are related to the topic of the text your students will be reading. While some of the statements may be clearly true or false, a good anticipation guide includes statements that provoke disagreement and challenge students’ beliefs about the topic. Before reading the text, students indicate for each statement whether they agree or disagree with it. Serve two primary purposes: Elicit students’ prior knowledge of the topic of the text. Set a purpose for reading. Agree Disagree _____ ______ 1. I would want to know if I carried the cancer gene. _____ ______ 2. Genetically predetermining the sex of a baby is immoral.

Possible Sentences before Purpose: To activate and evaluate student knowledge of a topic. Directions:  Generate a list of 10-12 words related to your lesson. These words should represent concepts that are both familiar and unfamiliar to students. Have students create 5 possible sentences “that might be found in the text” by using two words in each sentence until all words are gone. Share a few sentences on white board or smart board Read the text. Have students confirm, modify, or extend the sentences.

Possible Sentence – Example Chapter 2 AP Chem text Atoms Alkaline Periodic table Neutron Halogens Mass Nonmetals Elements Isotope Radioactivity Molecules Compound

Possible Sentence – Example Chapter 2 AP Chem text The alkaline atoms are in the first group of the periodic table. The halogens are nonmetals. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have the same atomic number but different atomic masses due to a different number of neutrons. (*reference – Chemistry Addison-Wesley) Atoms Alkaline Periodic table Neutron Halogens Mass Nonmetals Elements Isotope Radioactivity Molecules Compound

Text Structure A synthesis of research indicated all the following enhance reading comprehension: Well-presented physical text features Student awareness of text structure Explicit instruction in text structure/feature

How well does your students know your textbook (or classroom text)?

Do Not Assume

Do Not Assume

Active Literacy Classroom Making thinking visible model your own thinking and learning process and demonstrate how to construct meaning Think aloud – verbalizing the thoughts you have as you read, surfacing the inner conversation Text-coding – Leave tracks of thinking directly on the text; (questions, confusions, or thoughts, etc)

Previewing Text Structure Before Preview the Chapter – Headings, subheadings, diagrams/charts, captions, summary box Text Features – bold terms, color codes, italics Preview Unfamiliar Vocabulary Identify the type of writing structure – informational, cause/effect, problem-solution, directional, etc.

Missing Captions/Headings

Missing Captions/Headings Change is inevitable

Missing Headings/Captions before/after *Great for activating background knowledge or assessing meaning Students generate: captions for illustrations headings for text sections *Variation – Students can sketch diagrams or illustration from a caption

Using Charts Critically What does it say? What does it NOT say? http://www.usatoday.com/news/snapshot.htm

Have you check your own bookshelves lately?

Would you rather….. Go to your high school reunion a multimillionaire but 200 pounds overweight OR Go poor but in perfect shape?

Group Norms Maintain a positive attitude Listen to one another Value one another’s opinions Active Participation Try to get something out of each lesson

Common Questions/Themes Balance of modeling vs independent Knowing student reading levels Getting students to become active readers Motivation

3 Factors that Increase Readability Background Knowledge – The more background knowledge a reader has about a topic, the more difficult text he can read Interest & Motivation – If a reader has interest in the topic or is motivated to read the text, he will work harder to comprehend meaning Purpose – When a reader knows why he is reading something and knows what task is required for the text, he can better sift and sort information to determine what is important

Gradual Release of Responsibility Teacher modeling I Do Guided Practice Collaborative learning We do Independent Practice Application of the Strategy You do Fisher & Frey, 2007

Literacy Strategies A strategy is an intentional plan that is flexible and can be adapted to meet the demands of the situation. Strategies give readers options for thinking about text when reading words alone does produce meaning.

Chapter 5 “Why am I reading this?” 3 – Main Ideas 2 – Questions 1 – Statement that stands out

Setting a Purpose “The purpose readers set for themselves as they read affects comprehension in several ways. First, it determines the speed of the reading. If readers are scanning the phone book for a name, they can read very quickly. It they are reading a math word problem, they most likely read slowly to catch important information. Purpose also determines what the reader remembers. When readers have purpose, they tend to remember more of the text.” (Cris Tovani, Do I Have to Teach Reading? 2004)

Why do real writers write? Express & Reflect Inquire & Explore Inform & explain Analyze & Interpret Take a Stand Evaluate & Judge Propose a Solution Seek Common Ground Reading Rhetorically Bean, Chappell, and Gilliam

Why did the author write it? Purpose? Who was the author’s intended audience?

Holding on to Thinking “Mark Twain once said, ‘No one is smart enough to remember all that he knows.’ When I don’t have a way to hold my thinking while reading challenging texts, I often have trouble remembering or returning to my reading. No matter how hard I try to remember my thinking as I read, I forget it if I don’t have a way to make it permanent. I especially struggle to remember the reading if it is difficult or boring. I find that the same is true for my students.” (Cris Tovani, Do I Have to Teach Reading? 2004)

6 Reading Habits from Harvard When it comes to Marking the Text: “throw away the highlighter in favor of a pen or pencil. Highlighting can actually distract from the business of learning and dilute your comprehension. It only seems like an active reading strategy; in actual fact, it can lull you into a dangerous passivity.” http://hcl.harvard.edu/research/guides/lamont_handouts/int errogatingtexts.html

Note Taking During/After Double Journal Sticky Notes Learning Logs Sketches Cornell Notes Refer to Strategy Packet

Student Generated Graphic Organizers Great way for students to understand and organize textbook material. Useful for prewriting Types: Clustering Venn diagram Hierarchy Categorical Refer to strategy packet

3-2-1 During/After Directions: Have the students list the numbers 3, 2, 1 on their paper leaving lines between each number. Assign a specific writing prompt/task for each number. Prompts will vary according to the content. GENERIC example 3 – Observations you made while reading 2 –Two connections you made while reading 1 – Select one important quote from the text. SCIENCE example 3 – Identify at least three differences between acids and bases. 2 – List two uses of acids and two uses of bases. 1 – State one reason knowledge of acids and bases is important to people in our community?

Sketching Through Text During/After Students visualize the text and create pictorial representations to demonstrate comprehension: Cartoons, diagrams, doodles Ex – Demon in the Freezer Refer to Strategy Packet

(1 = very low - 10 = extremely well) Billiards Read the poem, “Billiards” Rate your comprehension of the poem on a scale of 1 to 10 (1 = very low - 10 = extremely well)

It says – I say – And so After This strategy helps the reader combine text information with prior knowledge to make inferences about the text. Great for guiding students to higher level thinking. Directions: The teacher models the four column chart. Questions can be generated by teacher, student, and/or class discussion. Students will complete the chart. Question It Says I Say And So (Read the Question) (Find information from the text that will help you answer the question) (Think about what you know about that information.) (combine what the text says with what you know to make an inference & answer the question)

Most Important Word after This strategy helps students determine importance, summarize, and make inferences & generalizations. PURPOSE - ASSESSMENT Directions: Write a key word on the board. Students are to explain why the key word would best describe the chapter using examples from the text. Chapter Example: Motion & Movement Why is friction a key word for discussing chapter 3? PURPOSE - STUDENT DISCUSSION Directions: In small groups or individually, students will pick one word that best describes the text AND will support their answers using evidence from the text. Format: 1. The most important word in this selection is ____ 2. List several reasons for choosing this word. (use the text as evidence) 3. Students will share word & defend selection Possible post discussion activity - ask students if they would change their word after listening to the other groups.

Reading Minute 3-4 times a week, share an interesting piece of reading. The reading selections are from variety of genres from various sources. Sometimes the activity is a springboard into the lesson and sometimes it is a quick 1-2 minute sharing of text. Sources Benefits News headlines Book blurbs/reviews Charts/graphs Cartoons/graphics Song lyrics/poetry Postcards Quotes/biographical Manuals Provides background knowledge Sparks high interest Encourages reading motivation Makes connections to the current world Exposes students to a wide genres of texts Increases awareness to surrounding texts Develops critical thinking

Math Cartoons http://www.pims.math.ca/pi/

Save the Last Word Read the passage on p.9, “No Easy Answers” silently Your purpose – Select a key sentence, phrase, and/or word from the passage

Literacy Goals & Responsibilities Work on a personal goal Try literacy strategies in the classroom Share literacy strategies/progress with your department Contribute to the Literacy Newsletter Collaborate with the Lit Coach

Obstacles?

4 Keys to Comprehension Frame the Text “Activate Background Information” Set a Clear Purpose Provide a method to monitor comprehension or “hold on to thinking” Social discussion

Instructional Purpose (What is Essential for Students to Know) What two places may cause students difficulty? What will you model that will help students negotiate the difficult parts? What do they need to do with the information they are reading? How will they hold their thinking while they read?

Written Conversation (Write Around) after Silent Discussion In pairs, students are instructed to write a response to a chapter, story, or nonfiction text Students will exchange their response and write back to one another. This exchange is repeated several times. VARIATION – Write Around – when student groups (4-5) pass around written responses

Written Conversation (Write Around) after Group Task Each member select one article to read Answer the following: Should the limit be changed? After 2-3 minutes, pass your written response to the person next to you. Read their response and write back to them.

Written Conversation (Write Around) after SKILLS Questioning Paraphrasing/Summarizing Citing evidence Synthesizing Reading Critically

Expectations

RAFT Role Audience Format Topic Geneticist Expecting Mother Heath Insurance agent Gene Audience Parent Doctor Baby Cancer Format Brochure Advertisement Dear Abby Letter Supreme Court Testimony Topic Do-It-Yourself Genetic Testing Genetic Screening DNA Decoding Gender Selection