Reading and Writing in the Content Area

Day 1

Do NowPlease complete the “Anticipation Guide” in the “Do Now” Link on the Wiki Site.

Do Now• After completing the

Anticipation Guide, click on the Discussion Link and post a reflection by 5:00 p.m.

• Respond to 2 other learners by 6:30 p.m.

Anticipation Guide• An anticipation guide is a comprehension

strategy that is used before reading to activate students' prior knowledge and build curiosity about a new topic. Before reading, students listen to or read several statements about key concepts presented in the text; they're often structured as a series of statements with which the students can choose to agree or disagree. Anticipation guides stimulate students' interest in a topic and set a purpose for reading.

Course Overview• Please review the Syllabus (click on the Syllabus

link on the Right Side of the home page) – read carefully and pay attention to the assignments and requirements for completion of this course.

• Once you have read the syllabus, go to the Discussion Link on the Syllabus page and acknowledge that you have read and understand the requirements.

• Also, include any questions you have about the course and requirements in the discussion section.

Strategies Notebook• Developing an understanding for

appropriate literacy strategies in your content area is important

• Literacy Strategies notebook will be a part of your portfolio

• Keep track of the appropriate uses of the strategies

I Was a Teenage Illiterate• Go to the Link “Session 1 Readings

and Assignments”• Read the article “I Was a Teenage

Illiterate”• Complete the Reading Guide while

reading the article• Complete a reflection in the

Discussion Area in the Day 1 Assignments Page by 8:00 p.m.

• Respond to 1 other learner by 9:00 p.m.

Reading Guide• Reading guides are aids that prompt readers to

comprehend as they read assigned text. • Develops comprehension abilities at three levels:

literal, inferential, and applied (ideas that have application beyond the text).

• They can also help students to recognize major concepts, supporting details and organizational patterns within text.

• Guides help students comprehend text that is more difficult than they could comprehend through independent reading.

Reading History Activity• What’s your reading history?

• Complete assignment and post to the Wiki page “Session 1 Assignment Submission”

What is Literacy?

Read through the following slides to prepare for Session 2

Literacy Defined• The ability to read and write at an

adequate level of proficiency that is necessary for communication

• How well adults can use printed and written information to function in society, to achieve their goals, and to develop their knowledge and potential is the definition of literacy crafted by a panel of experts for the National Adult Literacy Survey.

Definition of Literacy Expands

• As society becomes more technologically advanced, the quantity and types of written materials are growing. Adults are expected to use information from these materials in new and more complex ways and to maintain and enhance their literacy skills through lifelong learning activities.

2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress

• 85% of poor 4th graders in predominantly low-income schools are failing to reach “proficient” levels.

• 90 % of low-income black students in high-poverty schools were not reading at grade level by fourth grade.

• 82 % of Hispanic students in schools with low or moderate rates of families living in poverty did not read at grade level.

Being Literate• Literacy skills are critical not only for

the personal achievement of individuals, but also for the social and economic development of each nation. These skills are no longer linked to a single threshold that separates the literate from the non-literate.

Literacy and the Pursuit of Happiness

• While it may be difficult to gauge the degree to which literacy has an impact on an individual’s overall happiness, one can easily infer that an increase in literacy will lead to the improvement of an individual’s life and the development of societies.

The Paradox of Education• Two-thirds of students who cannot

read proficiently by the end of the 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare.

• Over 70% of prison inmates cannot read above the fourth grade.

• Fourth grade is when children typically begin reading to learn, as opposed to learning to read.

Functional Illiteracy• A functionally illiterate person can

read and possibly write simple sentences with a limited vocabulary, but cannot read or write well enough to deal with the everyday requirements of life in his own society.

Functional Illiteracy• The causes of high levels of illiteracy

are typically intergenerational. If the parents are incapable of reading or writing with any degree of proficiency, then they are unable to assist in their children’s education.

Functional Illiteracy• “An adult non-reader may have left

school early, may have had physical or emotional disability, may have been ineffectual teachers or simply may have been unready to learn at the time reading instruction began.” (“The Three Kinds of Literacy,” Ronald Nash, Ph. D., 1999).

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• Studies indicate that children are

frequently placed in special education because of their low reading level.

Learning to Read vs.

Reading to Learn

Continue to read for Session 2

English Language Arts Standards

• After third grade, students are no longer taught the reading process

• At this point, students are expected to be fluent readers

• 4 – 12 grade standards focus on reading and writing for learning purposes

Content Area Literacy• Students need to be able to read and

understand expository texts. • These texts are characterized by their

factual information.• Information is often conveyed using

multisyllabic technical words. • Text is usually structured (i.e. they may

rely on cause/effect, compare-contrast, or sequencing)

Stages of Reading Development

0 •Pre-reading

1 •Initial Reading

2 •Confirmation, Fluency, Ungluing from Print

3 •Reading for Learning the New

4 •Multiple Viewpoints

5 •Construction and Reconstruction

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Reading Development• Phonemic awareness• Phonics• Fluency• Vocabulary• Comprehension

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Reading Development• Phonemic Awareness – The ability to

hear and manipulate sounds• Phonics – The ability to sound out

words• Fluency – Automatic recall of how the

printed words sound

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Reading Development• Vocabulary – Knowledge of a variety

of words’ meanings and correct placement in sentences

• Comprehension – Understanding the text; bringing meaning to the author’s words

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Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experiences of Children in America

• Hart-Risley’s study selected 42 families from professional, working class and poverty level homes

• Each had a 6-month old child• Tracked every word spoken to the

infants

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30 Million Word Gap• Every word classified n-v-adj. Etc.• Every communication classified as a

question, affirmation or negative• 23 million bytes of information in all

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• By the age of 4:

• Children of professionals exposed to 45 million words

• Children of working class families 22 million words

• Children in the poverty class 13 million words

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Factors that make a difference in achievement

Socioeconomic statusTeacher capabilityInstructional leadershipA foundation of initial success in any

endeavorLanguage/vocabulary/concept

development

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USA Today says…• If a child comes from an

economically deprived home with a mom who has a poor vocabulary, by age 3, his fate just may be sealed. He will possibly never catch up in school and have lifelong struggles with learning, a new study shows.

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Early Vocabulary• The most accurate predictors of

school success are the level of vocabulary a kindergartner has.

• Experts believe that in order for a child to reach school ready to learn to read, he or she should have had 1,000 books read to them by the time they are 5 years old.

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Vocabulary• Good readers learn words by

hundreds and thousands. Many students who are five to six years of age know between 2,500 to 5,000 words.

• During the primary or early school years, students are estimated to learn around 3,000 words every year.

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Vocabulary• In order to accomplish that, every

day students must learn what eight new words mean. In grades 3-9, there are more than 88,000 distinct word families in the printed English materials students will encounter.

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Do the differences last?• Princeton study of SAT scores

compared against income• One formula holds true• $5,000 = 20 points• This is a longitudinal 60 year study• Very few exceptions

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Another significant study• 1986 University of Illinois• 155 fifth grade readers• Same superintendent• Same principal• Same teachers• Same 900 hours in school

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Reading outside schools• Readers in 90th percentile read 37

minutes per day• Readers in 50th percentile read 11

minutes per day• Lowest readers averaged 1 minute

per day

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Differences in reading times

• 36 minutes difference x 365 days• Which equals 219 hours• Which equals 2 ¼ million words• Thus, the Matthew effect

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Homework - Wiki DiscussionGo to the Link “Session 1 Homework”Post an answer to the following

questions by Friday, June 24th at 4:30 p.m.

• Does experiential background make a difference in students learning to read?

• Does the teacher make a difference?Respond to at least 2 other learners by

Tuesday, June 28th by 4:30 p.m.

Homework• Read Chapter 10 of Teach Like a

Champion and complete 5 Double Entry Journal entries.

• Bring to class (June 28) types of reading materials (besides textbooks) that would be appropriate for your subject area and interesting to students.