R EADING IN S OCIAL S TUDIES Reading and reasoning in the Social Studies

G ATES OF OPPORTUNITY : Foreign Languages English Social Studies Math Science “Reading don’t Fix No Chevy’s”

T ODAY ’ S AGENDA = YOUR TOP THREE COMPREHENSION MOTIVATION VOCABULARY These components of reading are interconnected and mutually supportive These components of reading can be addressed in a social studies classroom without interrupting or displacing content instruction

S CHEDULE 1. Overview of the components of literacy 2. What makes secondary texts difficult? (60) Identifying and designing instruction for specific text demands 15minute break 3. Motivation – what and how (15) The role of science teachers in motivating reading throughout the day 4. Vocabulary (45) Principles for retention and application

C YCLES OF READING GROWTH Engagement in reading Confidence reading Time spent reading Decoding practice Vocabulary exposure Fluency practice Comprehension practice

C YCLES OF R EADING F AILURE Less engagement in reading Less confidence reading Less time spent reading Less decoding practice Less vocabulary exposure Less fluency practice Less comprehension practice

R ESEARCH ON STRUGGLING READERS SHOWS OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN … TIME matters PRACTICE matters “HIGH-SUCCESS” reading experiences matter There has to be a time each day that students can read something they CAN read and WANT to read. Independent reading on a student’s independent level allows reading to become a self-extending process, and a cycle of growth.

S TRONG READERS W EAK READERS Spend more time reading Apply habits (skills and strategies) of good readers Are confident Enjoy and therefore voluntarily engage in reading Spend less time reading Have less developed reading habits Are less motivated to read Have less confidence Have less practice building reading skills or applying reading strategies

TIME SPENT READING

MORE EFFECTIVE TEACHERS routinely had children reading for forty to forty-five minutes of each hour allocated to reading instruction. In LESS EFFECTIVE TEACHERS’ classrooms, the time allocated was the same but these teachers often spent fifteen to twenty minutes preparing children to read, and twenty to twenty-five minutes after reading had the children engaged in a variety of follow-up activities. Thus, in the less effective classrooms, the children typically read for only fifteen to twenty minutes of each hour of time allocated to reading lessons and in some classrooms children read even less! Allington & Johnston Exemplary 4 th grade studies (2001)

TIME SPENT READING

C YCLES OF R EADING engagement in reading confidence reading TIME SPENT reading decoding PRACTICE vocabulary EXPOSURE fluency PRACTICE comprehension PRACTICE

C OMPREHENSION IS A MEANING - MAKING, MESSAGE - GETTING PROCESS Reading is an interaction

A TALE OF THREE COACHES …

C OMPREHENSION IS A MEANING - MAKING, MESSAGE - GETTING PROCESS

O UR FOCUS : T HE ACTIVITY What do you do to make meaning out of a difficult passage? Watch yourself as a reader How Ask yourself – what do I know? How do I know it? What am I doing to fix what I don’t know? Why cognitive apprenticeship Model complex invisible skills

H OW DO I KNOW WHAT I KNOW ? W HAT AM I DOING TO UNDERSTAND ? “Batsmen & Bowlers” The Batsmen were merciless against the Bowlers. The Bowlers placed their men in slips and covers. But to no avail. The Batsmen hit one four after another along with an occasional six. Not once did their balls hit their stumps or get caught.

O UR READING STRATEGIES

R EADING IS THINKING … Predict Connect Infer Visualize Question Summarize We all do this all the time, but need to be reminded/guided to do it (“think”) while we read.

M ETA - COGNITIVE S TRATEGIES : MAKING THE INVISIBLE V ISIBLE If you asked the average proficient reader what she does when reading, she might simply say, “I read.” But upon further investigation she would find that she unconsciously processes and problem-solves as she reads, almost like a reflect. We teach our brains to adjust to the different demands of various types of texts, which helps us read an income tax form just as successfully as we read a novel. We may not enjoy both text equally, but we can read each effectively and strategically.” -From The Right To Literacy in Secondary Schools

W HAT DOES READING COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION LOOK LIKE ? Middle and high school classes nation-wide are often instruction-free in an “ASSIGN-ASSESS” cycle. When students do not understand what they read we often say… “read it again” “think about it” “try again”

T HESE NON - INSTRUCTIONAL PROMPTS MAY BE FOLLOWED BY … “ really think about it” “you’re not trying” … lack of comprehension looks like laziness or stupidity without a scientific perspective on what we are literally asking readers to do in order to make meaning from a text.

Toward a scientific view of reading comprehension as an active meaning-making process We ASSIGN and ASSESS without teaching because reading comprehension is: Complex Invisible Obvious to us as expert readers At your tables – please develop at least 3 examples and 3 non-examples of instruction for comprehension to share with the larger group.

H OW DO WE TEACH STRATEGIES ? MODEL – PROMPT - GUIDE Gradual release of responsibility= I do, We do, You do. Show me Help me Watch me!

But what if my Gradual release of responsibility Gradual release in English/Language Arts “I do” (model)Read Aloud/Think Aloud “We do” (prompt)Shared/Guided reading “You do” (guide)Independent reading W HAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE ?

W HAT IF MY CLASS ISN ’ T SET UP LIKE THIS ? modelI doRead aloudIntro to new material 5min-2 weeks promptWe do Shared/Guided Reading Guided practice 10min-2 weeks guideYou do Independent Reading Independent Practice 15min-4 weeks This cycle can be part of a single lesson or it can characterize an entire unit with several lessons of modeling, several of guiding and several days where students apply what they’ve watched and practiced to the text on their own.

U SING YOUR SAMPLE TEST ITEMS Working with your tables, select a question and note which strategy you gravitate towards. Discuss at your tables how you might “think aloud” about your use of this strategy for that question NOTE: any strategy could be used with any question, but some are more likely to be helpful than others

M AKING THE INVISIBLE VISIBLE … PRACTICE THINKING ALOUD. 1. Select a passage that resembles a text your students might encounter. 2. Use a running-sheet and/or post-it notes to record what you would say in a think-aloud. 3. Read the assessment questions and see whether there is an additional spot where you would need to demonstrate your thinking in order to have an answer to that question in mind. Things to mark : places you apply a strategy, ways you problem-solve to understand

RAND READING STUDY GROUP MODEL OF READING COMPREHENSION

T EXT D EMANDS Vary by content Vary by text Our job is to identify the specific demands of individual texts and proactively support the meaning-making process for that text This helps us systematically decide what/how to think-aloud (“I do”), how to guide students (“we do”) and what to assess (“you do”) when we check student understanding.

S ORT AND D ISCUSS Sort your leveled passages by difficulty Decide with your table what changes (gets more difficult, disappears, etc.) as the difficulty increases Underlying Question: What makes secondary texts difficult?

Vocabulary : technical or figurative language Background knowledge : some texts assume more or less of this. Organization/Format : (some texts have a clear introduction for each chapter with key points laid out. Math texts often begin with formulas, then explain them. Engagement Level : some texts are loved by middle school students, others by high school students, and some are hated by all.

P ICK A ‘ TEXT ’ FROM THE PRACTICE TEST AT YOUR TABLE Outline what students would need to know in order to understand it in terms of: Vocabulary Background knowledge Organization/Format Engagement Level Which areas will students need your support?

“M Y MANDATORY TEXTS ARE TOO HARD !” WHAT ABOUT LEVELS ? Texts are leveled in two ways: Quantitative: word/syllable count formula Qualitative: teacher opinion, comparison with benchmarks If you want to level a text yourself: Listen to a low/high/average reader and count how many words on a page they don’t know (look for at least 95% accuracy)

1) S ET A P URPOSE 2) T HINK A LOUD Setting a purpose for reading tells students what to look out for and offers a reason to be engaged Lifts the burden of decoding everything Encourages kids to think as they read See “Jeff’s Coded Text”

D ISCUSS AT YOUR TABLES In what ways is comprehension instruction already in action in your classroom? What are the benefits? What are the downsides? What are the considerations for teachers getting ready to incorporate such strategies?

D URING R EADING S TRATEGIES … H OW DO I MAKE SURE THEY ’ RE READING? Note-taking Annotating Stop and jot Double-Entry journals Post-it notes Literature circles/book group structured discussions

T EXTBOOKS : M AP THE P AGE (see handout)

T EXTBOOK T ECHNIQUES : I’ M THRILD Title Heading Read first paragraph Illustration Last paragraph Discussion questions

SQ3R: S URVEY ! Q UESTION ! R EAD ! R ECITE ! R EVIEW ! Survey Ask Questions based on the survey Read to answers your questions Recite What you know Review your notes

A NNOTATE Choose a set of symbols to “code” the text. Examples: People, places, dates Parts of speech Vocab and unfamiliar words Subjects and actions (who and what)

S TOP AND J OT Draw pictures and jot key words in the margins after each sentence or paragraph depending on density and difficulty of the text. A scaffold may be to have better readers do very close readings (stopping more frequently) on a dense text which lower readers are just getting the gist. Conversely, lower readers may have to stop more frequently on a text that is more within their reach.

D OUBLE - ENTRY JOURNALS What’s in the TEXTWhat’s in my HEAD

J IGSAW : HTTP :// WWW. JIGSAW. ORG / OVERVIEW. HTM Groups are each assigned one aspect of a topic, or one section of a passage to become experts about. One person from each group gets together to share out their expert area with a group of experts from all different groups Each student leaves with expert notes on all aspects of the topic.

I NTEGRATING WRITING … Allows students to process information Put “literary” thoughts or their own thoughts into words Reinforces vocabulary in a different mode (reading/writing) Reading and writing are reciprocal

RAFT: TEACHER SETS RAFT, STUDENTS WRITE ACCORDINGLY Role: a glacier Audience: congress Format: letter/ Topic: global warming

RAFT EXAMPLES : Create a personal ad atoms advertising who they would want to make ionic or covalent bonds with. You are Barack Obama’s speechwriter and you have been asked to prepare a speech explaining your vision for democracy in America. You are a blade of grass in Gettysburg field and a dying soldier falls down next to you. What do you say to him?

O NE -M INUTE P APERS Index card or scrap of paper, or Limited space of the card forces students to focus Lowers levels of writing anxiety Summarize, question, reiterate, support or counter a thesis or argument, or to apply new information to new circumstances Gives students practice putting their scientific knowledge into words

W AIT ! What about phonics and fluency in middle and high school???

phenomenologyphenomenology ph-enomenolog-y phen-o-men-ol-o-gy phenomen-ology Word Study from pre-K-graduate school…

I NTEGRATING WORD STUDY WITHOUT “ STOPPING EVERYTHING ” As you come to words, make a habit of vis uall y showing the roots, pre fixes and suffixes. Put mean ing ful root words on the word wall and add them to the vocabulary you practice and quiz Think aloud about how you approach long, complex words – show them how your scientist brain handles science words. Teach the “chunks” and how to “chunk a word” as part of your vocabulary instruction.