Reading Comprehension: The Key to Academic Achievement Presenter: Amy Benjamin Guide to Handouts: Part One: Reading in My Class 1-1: Reading Profile Pie Chart 1-2: Anyone can be a challenged reader 1-3: “Academic flash phrases” Part Two: Strategies and Processes 2-1: “This is your brain on reading” 2-2: Four Gears of Reading 2-3: Text Pattern array Part Three: A Teacher’s Guide to Durable Vocabulary Knowledge 3-1: Summary of the research in best practice 3-2, 3: The Academic Word List (AWL) 3-4-6: Word components 3-7: Graphic organizers for content area vocabulary 3-8: Sample morphology chart and morphology kit 3-9: Blank morphology chart for classroom use 3-10: Five ways to process a vocabulary list for durable learning 3-11: Graphic organizer for vocabulary learning Part Four: Circuit Training for Academic Reading Fitness 4-1-3: A model for embedding reading instruction in all classes Part Five: 99 Ways to Improve Your Students’ Reading Comprehension 5-1-4: A list of specific, research-based, implementable ideas You may access today’s visuals at www.amybenjamin.com (Recent Presentations)

The visuals in today’s presentation are available at: www.AmyBenjamin.com/media.html

WHAT? WHY? HOW? What are the reading requirements of your class? Textbook Handouts Websites Workbook Supplemental articles Directions Tests Notes on the board And? WHAT? WHY? HOW? Why do students need to read in your class? Introduction to information Review and reinforcement Directions Supplemental information And?

What are the reading requirements of your class? Represent, in a pie chart, the kinds of reading that students are expected to do in your class. Share with a colleague. Main Textbook Handouts Websites Workbook Supplemental articles Directions Tests Notes on the board And?

Anyone can be a challenged reader: The amount of distributions from net investment income and net realized capital gains is determined in accordance with federal income tax regulations, which may differ from generally accepted accounting principles. These “book/tax” differences are either considered temporary or permanent in nature. Key differences are the treatment of short-term capital gains, foreign currency transactions, organization costs and other temporary differences. To the extent that these differences are permanent in nature, such amounts are reclassified within the capital accounts based on their federal tax-basis treatment; temporary differences do not require reclassifications. To the extent distributions exceed net investment income and/or/net realized capital gains for tax purposes, they are reported as distributions of paid-in capital. Semi-Annual Report for a Mutual Fund

Stumbling blocks in this text:

What would you have to do to understand* this text? Consult outside source Break it down into comprehensible parts Establish purpose Sub-summarize: Diagram Take notes Talk it out Look for context clues based on background knowledge Rereading Visualizing Trying to find examples Set up the text so that its appearance and organization on the page is helpful numbered lists; bullets, spaces *Understand: Be able to use it for its intended purpose Be able to explain it in my own words

Word Wall for “Flash Phrases” amount of distributions net investment income net realized capital gains federal income tax regulations generally accepted accounting principles. “book/tax” differences short-term capital gains foreign currency transactions organization costs capital accounts federal tax-basis treatment reclassification distributions of paid-in capital

Information processing (reading comprehension) is domain-specific:

Coming UP: Strategies and Processes “Circuit Training for Academic Reading Fitness” Vocabulary Intensive 99 Ways…

Reading Samples: You have four pages of the kind of text that students read in school. How do reading skills differ for processing information in these texts? What kinds of reading skills would be necessary for each one? What background knowledge would be necessary for comprehension? Characterize the vocabulary in each one.

With your group, devise a “before reading” mini-lesson that would help Students read any of the four content area text samples.

Read and React: You have an editorial written by Howard Gardner. Please read it. What ideas that Gardner posits are worthy of further thought and discussion?

Golden Oldies: Volume I SQ3R Survey Read Question Recite Review 15 15

Golden Oldies: Volume II KWL 1.Summoning prior knowledge 2.Establishing a purpose; asking questions prior to reading 3.Summarizing how the new learning relates to existing knowledge 16 16