Content Area Literacy Cindy Smith & Andrea Hnatiuk GSSD Coaches

* What is Literacy?

* Why do students have difficulty reading academic texts?

* “The need to guide adolescents to advanced stages of literacy is not necessarily the result of any teaching or learning failure in the preschool or primary years; rather, it is a necessary next step in normal reading development.” * -McCombs et al., 2005, pp. 2-3 as cited in Buehl, D. (2011)

* Basic Literacy * Intermediate Literacy * Discipline Literacy

* Big Question!

* Activity: In subject-alike groups, create a graphic organizer if how literacy is evident in your subject area: * Use the graphic organizer provided

Literacy Expressive Receptive Speak Write Repres ent Read View Listen

Buehl, 2011

Graffiti

* “I have a rain barrel that is 2 metres high, and has a diameter of 1.2 metres. How much water will it hold?”

* All too often, it is assumed that symbolic representation is the only way to communicate mathematically. The more flexible students are in using a variety of representations to explain and work with the mathematics being learned, the deeper students’ understanding becomes.

* It is estimated that a high school student’s working vocabulary weighs in around 40,000 words -Stahl and Nagy, 2006 * Vocabulary is an important factor in academic success. -Short & Fitzsimmmons, 2007

* Means teaching the origins of words, the meaning of prefixes and suffixes * Ex: Poly = “many”. Polygon, polynomial, polydactyly, polyester, etc. * Saves time, because learners aren’t just memorizing words, they are understanding how words work * Helps students make connections to prior knowledge and across curriculum and subjects

Effective Classroom Strategies 18

Effective Classroom Strategies 19 Identifying similarities and differences Summarizing and note taking Reinforcing effort and providing recognition Homework and practice Nonlinguistic representations Cooperative learning Setting objectives and providing feedback Generating and testing hypotheses Questions, cues and organizers

Effective Classroom Strategies 20 oBased on current research ometa-analysis of 2,455 studies pertaining to instructional practices oIncludes latest knowledge, technology and procedures oResearch continues through McRel oSuccessful across student populations oApplies across content areas and grade levels

Effective Classroom Strategies 21 CategoryAve. Effect Size Percentile Gain # of Studies Identifying similarities and differences Summarizing and note taking Reinforcing effort and providing recognition Homework and practice Nonlinguistic representations Cooperative learning Setting objectives and providing feedback Generating and testing hypotheses Questions, cues and organizers

Effective Classroom Strategies 22 2% 16% 50% 84% 98% 99.9%

Effective Classroom Strategies 23 * Effect Size is a unit of measure used with meta- analysis that expresses the increase or decrease in student achievement * Cohen simplified the range of effect sizes * Small: 0.20 to 0.49 * Medium: 0.50 to 0.79 * Large: 0.80 and above

Effective Classroom Strategies 24 * Summarizing and Note taking (ES 1.00)

Effective Classroom Strategies 25  Requires that students distill information into a concise, synthesized form and focus on important points.  Research emphasizes the importance of breaking down the process of summarizing into a structure that can be easily understood by students.  Verbatim note taking is the least effective note-taking technique  Students should be encouraged to revisit and revise their notes after initial recording them.  They should use different formats and make notes as complete as possible.

Effective Classroom Strategies 26 * Both require students to distill information into a concise, synthesized form. * Effective learners are able to sift through a great deal of information, identify what is important and then synthesize and restate the information.

Effective Classroom Strategies 27 Steps for Rule-Based Summarizing 1.Delete trivial material that is unnecessary to understanding. 2.Delete redundant material. 3.Substitute super-ordinate terms for more specific terms (e.g., use fish for rainbow trout, salmon, and halibut). 4.Select a topic sentence or invent one if it is missing. Steps in Rule-Based Summarizing for Younger Students 1.Take out material that is not important to your understanding. 2.Take out words that repeat information 3.Replace a list of things with a word that describes the things in the list (e.g., use trees for elm, oak, and maple). 4.Find a topic sentence. If you cannot find a topic sentence, make one up.

Effective Classroom Strategies 28 Summarizing is “procedural knowledge.” If students are expected to become proficient in procedural knowledge, they need to be able to “practice.” Mastering a skill or process requires a fair amount of focused practice. Practice sessions initially should be spaced very closely together. Over time, the intervals between sessions can be increased. Students also need feedback on their efforts. While practicing, students should adapt and shape what they have learned.

Effective Classroom Strategies 29 4 The student identifies the main pattern running through the information along with minor patterns. 3 The student identifies the main pattern running through the information. 2 The student addresses some of the features of the main pattern running through the information but excludes some critical aspects. 1 The student does not address the main pattern running through the information. 0 Not enough information to make a judgment.

Effective Classroom Strategies 30

Effective Classroom Strategies 31 * Concept webs * Flow charts * Venn Diagrams * Teacher-prepared guided notes * Cloze notes * Cornell Notes

* Understanding Vocabulary, Scholastic Understanding Vocabulary * Literature Review Literature Review * GSSD Content Area Literacy GSSD Content Area Literacy

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