READING STRATEGIES FOR THE CONTENT AREAS

Strategic Teaching

Office of Instruction March 2010

Word storm the title of this session at you table. There is a paper with letters at the top. Predict words that might appear in this session that begin with your letters. Then write a question this session might answer.

Content Literacy

Reading is focused by the domain of knowledge in which it is employed. To read well in any discipline is to think well in that discipline. Each discipline has a conceptual vocabulary. Each has a manner of statement. Each has structures through which it develops, applies and appraises its ideas.

Strategic Teaching

Provides opportunities for small group learning

Provides explicit instruction Time for feedback Think alouds Scaffolds instruction Models literacy strategies

Makes critical connections of literacy strategies Pre, during and post

strategies

Instructional

Practices

New Voices in Content

Get students to read and think like content specialists

Interacting with text Visualizing Making connections (with background knowledge) Inferring and predicting Generating and Answering Questioning Determining importance Interpreting vocabulary

Connecting reading, discussing and writing

Active Engagement

TWIRL (Harvey & Goudvis, 2005)

Talk Write Investigate Read Listen

Common Core: Standards for Reading, Writing, and Research

Grades 6 – College-and Career- Ready (CCR)

History/Social Studies and Science 10 CCR Standards define a foundational

core of reading skills and understanding Grade 6-CCR standards that form a progression

of skills that build on the core 10 CCR Standards define a foundational

core of writing skills and understandings Grade 6-CCR standards that form a progression

of skills that build on the core

Example: CCR for Writing in Social Studies and Science

CCR Writing Standard 6Perform short, focused research projects as well as more sustained research, demonstrating understanding of the material under investigation.

Grade 6-8 students are able to:Perform short, focused research projects that demonstrate understanding of the material under investigation and generate additional related questions for research.

Grade 9-10 students are able to:Demonstrate proficiency at performing short, focused research projects and more sustained research that demonstrate an increasing command of the subject under investigation.

Grade 11-CCR students are able to:Demonstrate proficiency at performing short, focused research projects and more sustained research that synthesize multiple authoritative sources on a subject.

Example: CCR for Reading in Social Studies

CCR Reading Standard 9Compare and contrast two or more texts to integrate information, build knowledge, or understand different approaches to similar themes or topics.

Grade 6-8 students are able to:Analyze the relationships between primary and secondary source documents.

Grade 9-10 students are able to:Compare and contrast presentations of the same topic in different media, and describe the differences in focus, organization, and depth.

Grade 11-CCR students are able to:Integrate information from diverse historical/social science sources into a coherent account of events, noting key discrepancies.

How do teachers become proficient in TWIRL in their classrooms?

The best model for becoming proficient with planning and implementing strategic lessons is when teachers work collaboratively within or across content areas to support one another to implement strategic teaching.

TAKE 5

Is this possible?

How can it happen in your schools?

What are the questions remaining?

Strategic Teaching

Provides opportunities for small group learning

Provides explicit instruction Time for feedback Think alouds Scaffolds instruction Models literacy strategies

Makes critical connections of literacy strategies Pre, during and post

strategies

Organizing your

school for good

Instructional

Practices

Before Reading Strategies

Teacher’s Purpose

Literacy Strategies

Examples for Content Areas

Before Reading

Prepare the students for learning by activating prior knowledge, building background, making predictions, introducing needed vocabulary, setting purposes for reading, encouraging students to generate questions, connecting reading and writing, and if needed, conducting an explicit lesson on a particular literacy strategy

•Activating prior knowledge

•Making predictions

•Previewing text

•Establishing a purpose for reading/learning

•Generating questions

•Five W’s and H•KWL Chart•Quick Writes•Anticipation Guides•Think Aloud•Affinity•Cloze•Semantic Map•Concept/ Definition Map•DR/TA•Venn Diagram•RAFT•Frayer Model•Word Sort•Open House

During Reading Strategies

Teacher’s Purpose

Literacy Strategies

Examples for Content Areas

During Reading

Engaging students with text, self-monitoring comprehension, using mental imagery, constructing graphic organizers, integrating new information with prior knowledge, summarizing text, verifying predictions and organizing concepts

•Engage with text•Verify and formulate predictions•Summarize text•Self-monitor text•Visualize•Integrate new information with background•Construct graphic organizers•Infer

•Frayer Model•Semantic Feature Analysis•Semantic mapping•Pairs Read•Learning Logs•Writing to learn•Structured Note-Taking•KWL Chart•One Question One Comment•Trouble Slips•I Don’t Understand Statements

After Reading Strategies

Teacher’s Purpose

Literacy Strategies

Examples for Content Areas

After Reading

Encouraging students to reflect on what they read, prompt students to evaluate predictions, examine questions that guided reading, require students to respond to text through discussion, require students to respond to text through writing, encourage retelling or summarizing, connect writing to reading

•Reflect on text•Evaluate predictions•Discuss questions •Respond to text in writing•Respond to text through discussion•Summarize•Retell•Connect writing and reading

•KWL Chart•Journaling•Three Index Card Discussion•Fortunately-Unfortunately•If-Then•Somebody Wanted But So•Exit Slips•Share One Get One

Literacy Starts with Teachers Offer teachers a manageable number of

new strategies. Move from workshop to classroom. Establish forums for teacher empowerment. Vary the formats used in staff development. Start with those who are most eager, and

then spread the learning.

Educational Leadership, March 2010

How are the literacy strategies taught through explicit instruction?

Teacher Responsibility

Student Responsibility

Focus Lesson

Guided Instruction

Collaboratively

Independently

I do it.

We do it.

We do it together.

We do it alone.

Flexible Grouping

Purposeful reordering of students into working groups to ensure that all students work with a wide variety of classmates and in a wide range of contexts during a relatively short span of class time

Allows teacher to “audition” each student in a variety of arrangements

This is a regular feature of a strategic teacher’s instructional planning

Small group learning-Lexiles

Reading Selection Length

Ease ofReading

Lexile

Fleming, T. 2006. “The Not-So-Hidden History.” Boys Life 96 (9): 44-47.

4 pgs. Easy 800

Fleming, T. 2006. “The Treaty That Rescued a Revolution.” Boys Life 96 (8): 40-45.

6 pgs. Easy 840

Calkins, V. 1993. “Radical Revolutionary Samuel Adams.” Cobblestone 14 (9): 20-22.

3 pgs. Average

1030

Rosenfeld, R., and N.M. Mattila. 2007. “Learning the Soldier’s Life.” Cobblestone 28 (8): 7-10.

4 pgs. Average

1070

Ferling, J. (2007). “100 Days That Shook the World.” Smithsonian 38 (4): 44-45.

9 pgs. Difficult

1190

Schwarz, F.D. (1999). “1774.” American Heritage 50 (3): 110-111.

2 pgs. Difficult

1390From MAS Ultra – School Edition –designed specifically for high school libraries

One Question – One Comment

Please write one question and one comment about reading strategies in the content areas on a note card.