Teaching Reading in Content Area

Purpose CTE stresses teaching practical application of academic skills Reading is basic life and career skill Reading comprehension skills help students become independent, life- long learners

Experiences Leading to Higher Reading Scores Reading assigned books outside of class Reading 3+ hours per week outside of class Writing one or two major research papers Completing short writing assignments frequently Making several oral presentations Reading technical materials frequently

Your Role Create appropriate environment Be sensitive Make students aware of need Motivate students through interests Assess students’ reading needs Know what is required for entry level jobs Identify students with possible problems Know whether students can handle your materials

Your Role (cont.) Extend Adapt reading skills to more difficult, technical material Develop Teaching new, unique skills required in your area Diagrams

Fusing Reading with Content Incorporate instruction into lessons More effective if can apply right away Learn content and how to learn the content

Occupational Requirements Review occupational analyses Word recognition Reading comprehension Utilize your experiences Written notes about work assignments Safety signs

Individual Assessment Observe performance in classroom Inability or reluctance to read aloud Failure to complete assignments that require reading Inability to spell or write Inability to follow directions Inability to read chalkboard, bulletin board, posters Inability to locate information in manual or catalog

Individual Assessment If a student has problems, Use results of standardized reading achievement test Have reading specialist perform individual reading assessment Conduct own assessment Word recognition exercises Comprehension exercises

Ability to Handle Instructional Materials Compare student reading level to those of materials Cloze procedure Select samples from your materials Delete every fifth word Evaluate scores 70% and above – independent reader 40% to 70% - instructional level 40% and below – frustration level

Components Pre-reading activities Create interest and motivate students During-reading activities Guide reading and comprehension process Post-reading activities Aid in comprehension Review what was read

Pre-Reading Tactic 1 Anticipation Guides Select reading material & determine major ideas Write ideas in short, clear statements Put in format that will make students anticipate and predict what will be read (e.g., True/False) Include brainstorming section Discuss predictions Assign reading Compare and contrast predictions with reading

Pre-Reading Tactic 2 Vocabulary Development through Puzzles Crossword Puzzle Include word bank Encourage students to fill in without dictionary Word Search Circle the word and then define it May want them to use it in a sentence

Pre-Reading Tactic 3 K-W-L What do you Know? Brainstorm about topic before reading What do you Want to learn? Determine what students want to learn about the topic What did you Learn? Students identify what they learned May also identify what they still want to learn

Pre-Reading Tactic 4 Expanding My Mind Similar to K-W-L I already know... My classmates shared with me... And I learned when I read about it... And then when we talked about it, I learned even more...

Pre-Reading Tactic 5 My Final Answer Identify a question students should answer while reading Have students summarize answer and support Pair up students to share answer and support Summarize new learning from conversation Share in small groups and summarize new learning

During Reading Tactic 1 Re-Quest Read section of text with students Students question teacher about passage Teacher questions students Next segment is read & process is repeated When enough has been read to make predictions, teacher asks prediction questions. What do you think the rest is about? Why? Did you find that information in the text? What information led you to that conclusion? Students read remaining and discussion follows

During-Reading Tactic 2 SQ3R Survey – look at title, headings, graphs, summaries Question – turn headings into questions Read – read text following a heading Recite – recite answer to question Review – review entire chapter by outlining main points (come from headings, main ideas, key words)

During-Reading Tactic 3 Know/Don’t Know Students take notes while reading, stop occasionally to note questions, and then reflect Three columns Column 1: Write what they didn’t know but learned Column 2: Write what still don’t understand Column 3: What thought knew but discovered was wrong

During-Reading Tactic 4 My Personal Vocabulary Identify vocabulary word Use context or dictionary to define word Copy sentence from text in which word appears Identify clues to word’s meaning from text Draw picture or visual represenation of meaning

During-Reading Tactic 5 Putting It Together Write main points from reading in left column Combine first two into one statement, then the next two, and so on After the original points are combined, have students combine the first two into one statement and continue Keep combining until they have one single summary statement Share summary statements

Post-Reading Tactic 1 Graphic Organizers Create several together until students get the hang of it Several forms to choose from Venn Diagram Spider Map Web Chain Mind Map Sequential Thinking Model Job Search Cover LetterResumeInterview

Post-Reading Tactic 2 Summarizing Choose text Have students summarize while looking at text Discuss ways authors signal importance Introductory statements, topic sentences, summary statements, underlining, italics, repetition Students write summary to show they understand text

Post-Reading Tactic 3 2 x 2 Thinking Identify three most important things from text Pair up and share, then decide on three from pair Two pairs meet and share and decide on three Must provide reasons for choices Groups share choices and reasons with class

Post-Reading Tactic 4 Roll the Dice Provide groups of four with four subtopics Write subtopics in left-hand column of paper First group member selects a topic and rolls die Number on die indicates how many statements must be made about topic, rest of group writes them down Continue process until all four subtopics have been covered Allow time for all groups to share comments with class

Post-Reading Tactic 5 If Once Is Good, Twice is Even Better! Write down everything they remember from reading Reread the information with goal of adding to list Talk with peer about reading and write down new learnings Discuss process: second reading should give them a deeper and broader understanding and talking with a peer should trigger additional learning

Improvement Strategies Teach technical vocabulary Provide practical reading knowledge & tips Use reading games Introduce reading assignments Supplement reading assignments Individualize reading help Provide practice and reinforcement

Teach Technical Vocabulary (new, essential, and specialized) Definitions – oral or written; glossary Context – need to be taught how to use this Examples – provide examples of how used Common equivalents – common terms Real objects, models, pictures – show the object Demonstrations – show the action or procedure

Rules for Introducing Vocabulary Present word orally and in writing Helps fix sound and spelling in mind Teach the meaning Ensure everyone understands Use the word as often as possible Ask questions requiring its use Devise some permanent, visible reminder Label objects, post vocabulary list, create posters

Context Clues Definition – means, is, called, termed Examples – like, such as, for example Modifiers – often predicate adjectives Restatement – that is, in other words, what this means, to put it another way Inference – reading between the lines Connections – repetition of key words or use of connecting words indicate comparison/contrast

Context Clues Exercises Select sample sentences from reading Copy sentences and highlight word to define Design procedure to guide students Identify any signal words Point out clue section of sentence Analyze clue section to identify possible meanings List possible meanings from which students can select

Structural Analysis Root – base or fundamental part of word Prefix – comes before root Suffix – comes after root Transported – port=to carry, trans=across, ed=past Transportation = ation=noun; act of transporting

Structural Analysis Exercise Provide a list of prefixes, roots, and suffixes along with their definitions Provide a list of terms using the prefixes, roots, and suffixes provided Have students write literal translations Have students look up word and write dictionary definition Compare literal and actual definitions

Oral Vocabulary Instruction Discussions may lead students to organize knowledge Write word on board (traction) Have students find root word List other words students come up with that contain root (attract, detract, extract, contract) Have students analyze meanings of words

Practical Reading Knowledge & Tips Point out clues about what is important New vocabulary may be underlined or in bold New vocabulary may be found in margin List of new vocabulary may be found at beginning or end of chapter Mention other devices for highlighting key points Introduction or summary sections Chapter titles and subheadings

Practical Reading Knowledge & Tips Reading process Point to what they read as they read Underline important points in materials Preview skimming Provides framework for organizing information Rapid reading of material to pick out important points Read carefully, absorbing the information

Use Reading Games Crossword puzzle - practice vocabulary Word search - word recognition and spelling Can have students match terms with definitions first Word maze – no list provided, find words on own Word scramble – word recognition and spelling Can have puzzle using numbers to go with it Directions game – begin with one word and follow directions to end with another word Analogies – two pairs of words with similar relationships

Introduce Reading Assignments What they are reading Broad, general picture of particular topic or detailed treatment of one point Retain main points and important details or lots of minor details Why they are reading the assignment How does it fit into what they are learning How does it fit into the world of work

Supplement Reading Assignments Audiotapes – listen while reading Videotape process described in reading Illustrations of what they are reading Vocabulary sections – present definitions and illustrations of new and important vocabulary Flash cards – vocabulary, vocabulary plus pictures, pictures on front and vocabulary on back Peer teaching – pair stronger & weaker readers

Individualize Reading Help Do not require students to perform additional activities that are not needed Group students with similar abilities together and provide them with supplemental materials Make sure it doesn’t seem like more work

Provide Practice & Reinforcement Provide reading materials on students’ interests Encourage students to use comprehension activities at end of chapter Add written notes or questions to end of reading assignment to help students focus

Resources Beers, S., & Howell, L. (2003). Reading strategies for the content areas. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Beers, S., & Howell, L. (2005). Reading strategies for the content areas: Volume II. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Canary, A. J. (2001). The importance of reading in family and consumer sciences. Ellensburg, WA: Family and Consumer Sciences Education Association. Roe, B. D., Stoodt, B. D., & Burns, P. C. (1983). Secondary school reading instruction: The content areas. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.