Reading A Key to Success in the Social Studies Mr. Kevin Richins NBCT

Overview Introductions Purpose Factors Methods

Introductions Mr. Kevin Richins History & East Asian Studies BA MEd from WWU National Board Certified 6 years experience

Purpose Why teach reading? Too much to “cover” Vital skill We will not always be around to feed them the answer Social Studies Reading Specialized Varied

Factors The Text Readability Grade level Vocabulary Text Features The Reader Reading Level Lexile Grade level Skills

Levels of Understanding Independent level Instructional level Frustration level

Evaluating the Text Readability The overall difficulty or ease with which can be read by a given audience Concept Load How many new ideas or terms are there? Abstractness How concrete is the subject?

Evaluating the Text Format and Length of Text Graphic Aids Headings and Subheadings Print Size Length of Text Vocabulary New words bolded Syllabification Phonetic Spelling Defined in context

Evaluating the Text Fry Scale uide/fry/fry.html Flesch-Kincaid Built into MS Word. Do a word count. It will be listed on the statistics reported Test the readability of what you write… Lexile

Evaluating the Reader Reading level tests as part of standardized tests MAP testing Gives a grade level Quick tests San Diego Quick Test CLOZE Leaving out words in a text

Matching the Reader and the Text Content Informal Reading Inventory Select the best text you can Or just work with what you have been given Using your text find out what skills and abilities your students have An inventory of skills and abilities

What do Good Readers Do? For many educators they are already good readers and do things automatically Predict Ask Questions Make connections Change rate Have a conversation with the text Use imagery Seek out background information Have a plan is they get stuck

Reading Strategies Reading with purpose Vocabulary Introduction Reading Notebook Activities Concept Mapping Zooming in/out History Frame Venn Diagram Group Summarizing Historical Character Map K-W-L PLAN Making connections

Reading With Purpose Practice Read, “The House” Using your pen circle what is important Reread the story this time use a highlighter to highlight what would be important to a robber. Reread one last time and highlight with a different colored highlighter the things that would be important to a potential home buyer. How did establishing a purpose help you to know what was important? Are there things that could be important to both a robber and a potential home buyers?

Making Connections The brain remembers new information by connecting new data to already existing information. Focus on the conversation in your head Three types of connections Text to Self Connections Text to Text Connections Text to World Connections Use a double entry diary

Making Connections Practice Practice Select a magazine Read an article As you read record the page and a few words to show what you are connecting to on the left side of your notes On the right Indicate which type of connection. T–>S, T–>T, or T–>W Write out what the text is reminding you of

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