0. Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum
Content Area Reading
Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum
Richard T. Vacca, Jo Anne L. Vacca, Maryann Mraz
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest
Chapter 6
Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

2. Organizing Principle
Activating prior knowledge and generating interest create an instructional context in which students will read with purpose and anticipation.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

3. Frame of Mind
Why do prereading strategies that activate prior knowledge and raise interest in the subject prepare students to approach text reading in a critical frame of mind?
How can meaningful learning be achieved with content area reading?
What are the relationships among curiosity arousal, conceptual conflict, and motivation?
How and why does a prediction strategy such as use of an anticipation guide facilitate reading comprehension?
Why is it important for content area teachers to develop a self-efficacy for teaching reading in their subject area?
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

4. Self-Efficacy
Self-efficacy refers to an “I can” belief in self that leads to a sense of competence.
Not concerned with skills and strategies
Focuses on students’ estimations of their ability to apply skills and strategies
Supports teacher effectiveness
Interrelated with motivation
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

5. Motivation
Student motivation to read typically declines by middle school.
Student motivation increases when students perceive the texts as relevant to their own lives and when they feel that they are capable of generating credible responses to their reading.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

6. Supporting Student Motivation
Make connections between the text and students’ own lives.
Help students understand that they are capable of generating credible responses.
Note students’ curiosity and imagination.
Understand students’ backgrounds, prior knowledge, and interests.
Set clear goals and expectations for a reading.
Provide a variety of reading materials.
Allow students a choice in selecting texts.
Provide opportunities for students to interact with one another about shared reading experiences.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

7. With a partner discuss
Why before-reading strategies that activate prior knowledge and raise interest in a subject are useful to readers.
Book title, #e Author Name
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

8. Arousing Curiosity Creating Story Impressions
Establishing Problematic Perspectives
Guided Imagery
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

9. Creating Story Impressions
Introduce the strategy.
Use large newsprint, a transparency, or a chalkboard to show students the story chain.
Read the clues together, and explain how the arrows link one clue to another in a logical order.
Demonstrate how to write a story.
Invite the students to read the actual story silently, or initiate a shared reading experience.
For subsequent stories, use story impressions to have students write individual story predictions.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

10. Establishing Problematic Perspectives
Teachers provide time to discuss the problem, raise questions, and seek solutions before reading.
Teachers assign the reading materials that will help lead to resolution and conceptual development.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

11. Guided Imagery
Builds an experience base for inquiry, discussion, and group work
Explores and stretches concepts
Solves and clarifies problems
Explores history and the future
Explores other lands and worlds
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

12. Making Predictions Anticipation guides
Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, and Confirm (IEPC)
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

13. With a partner
 What are some instructional strategies that engage students in making predictions about a text they are going to read.
Book title, #e Author Name
© 2013 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

14. Anticipation Guides: Guidelines
Analyze the material to be read.
Write ideas in short, clear, declarative statements.
Put statements in a format that elicits anticipation and prediction.
Discuss the students’ predictions and anticipations before they read the text selection.
Assign the text selection.
Contrast the readers’ predictions with the author’s intended meaning.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

15. Imagine, Elaborate, Predict, and Confirm (IEPC)
Select a text passage that contains content appropriate for developing imagery.
Have students imagine a scene for the text they are going to read.
Once they’ve heard initial responses from their classmates, have students elaborate on their initial visualizations.
Have students use their initial and elaborated images to make predictions about what they are going to read.
During and after reading, encourage students to confirm or modify their predictions based upon their reading of the text.
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

16. Active Comprehension Ask questions that beget questions in return.
Arouses interest and curiosity
Draws learners into the material
Content Area Reading, 11e Vacca, Vacca, Mraz
© 2014 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.