We’re All Reading Teachers!

Meg.Litts@swsc.org

Shift in Reading• In grades Pre-K – 3, students are

learning to read.• After 3rd grade, students are reading to

learn.

Hence, NCLB placing such great importance on students reading at grade level by third grade.

Connection to State Assessments

The NASSP Bulletin (Barton, 1997) reported that 35% of all achievement test errors were fundamental reading errors.

Two Primary Issues:

Vocabulary

&

Comprehension

Did you know . . . There are more than 540,000 words in the English language . . .

. . . about five times as many as during Shakespeare’s time.

Vocabulary• Specialized: Specific to content• Academic: Terms or phrases used in

curriculum, assessment, and instruction • High Frequency: Used daily (Dolch,

Fry)• Embellishments: Add interest and

depth to writing or speaking

Small Group Activity• What are some of the specialized

vocabulary terms students need to know in your class/content area?

Academic Vocabulary

Examples from CurriculumArliss find 27 clovers. Then he finds 16 more

clovers. How many clovers does Arliss find in all?

Kiku has 56 rocks. She gives Albert 38 rocks. How many more rocks does Kiku have than Albert?

Examples from AssessmentsLin wants to buy a $17 video game. She has $8.

How much more money does Lin need to buy the video game?

Sam has 8 pop tabs in his pockets as he leaves school. He picks up 7 more along the way. How many did he have when he gets home?

Examples from Instruction

“Find the sum.”

“Add.”

“Combine.”

Examples from Instruction

“Main Idea”

“Topic Sentence”

“Thesis Statement”

Across the Content AreasSolution

Language Arts:

Math:

Science:

Vocabulary Strategies

Word Walls— Academic & Specialized

Marzano’s Six Step Process—New Terms

Student word lists— Academic, Specialized, & Embellishments

Marzano’s Six Steps:Student Vocabulary Notebooks

1. Provide a description, explanation, or example of new term.

2. Have students restate in own words in notebook.

3. Students construct picture, symbol, or graphic representation. [also Hill & Flynn (2006), Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners]

Marzano’s Six Steps cont’d.4. Students periodically engage in activities that

help them add to their knowledge of terms in their notebooks.

5. Periodically ask students to discuss terms with one another.

6. Involve students periodically in games that allow them to play with the terms.

Activity What are some academic terms you

use regularly in your classroom curriculum, instruction, or

assessment?How do they compare across grade

levels or classrooms?

Comprehension: Strategies that Work

• Identifying Similarities and Differences• Summarizing and Note taking• Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition• Homework and Practice• Nonlinguistic Representation• Cooperative Learning• Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback• Generating and Testing Hypotheses• Cues, Questions, & Advance Organizers

Effect of Instructional StrategiesCategory Ave Effect Size Percentile Gain

Identifying similarities and differences 1.61 45%

Summarizing and note taking 1.00 34%

Reinforcing effort and providing recognition .80 29%

Homework and practice .77 28%

Nonlinguistic representations .75 27%

Cooperative learning .73 27%

Setting goals and providing feedback .61 23%

Generating and testing hypotheses .61 23%

Activating prior knowledge .59 22%

Nonlinguistic Representations• Graphic organizers• Pictures/pictographs• Mental pictures• Concrete representations• Kinesthetic activity

Activity Where can you include

nonlinguistic strategies into your classroom instruction

for reading, engaging with text, or vocabulary?

ReferencesBeers, S., & Howell, L. (2005). Reading Strategies for

the Content Areas: Vols. 1 & 2. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Hill, J. D., & Flynn, K. M. (2006). Classroom Instruction that Works with English Language Learners. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Jacobs, H. H. (2006). Active Literacy Across the Curriculum. Larchmont, NY: Eye on Education.

Marzano, R. J., & Pickering, D. J. (2005). Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher’s Manual. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Silver, H. F., Strong, R. W., & Perinin, M. J. (2007). The Strategic Teacher: Selecting the Right Research-Based Strategy for Every Lesson. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.