Comprehension: Understanding and Responding: Narrative and Informational Chapters 7 & 8 Mod 5

Reading Chapters 7 and 8 was insightful in the breakdown of comprehension.  While the acts of comprehension are all areas that I am familiar with, the ABC model of anticipation, building and consolidation gave a more direct approach to teaching comprehension.  While I have used many of the strategies listed, I feel that I learned a more effective order of introduction those strategies.  I now understand the process of teaching comprehension so I can better plan my lessons to build upon one another.  I read the AdLit.org article, “Using Think Aloud to Improve Reading Comprehension,” and found a much more effective way to read aloud.  I have used modeling exclusively but had not thought of having the students write down the strategies I use to break down the text for understanding.  The article suggested a process of modeling, coached practice, and reflection to teach the students to apply the strategies instead of just modeling the strategies.  For those of you unfamiliar with the article, let me explain.  First I will model the think aloud process and have students write down strategies that they see me using to gain understanding.  Next they will share their observations and make a master list of strategies for the classroom.  The next phase is coached practice.  During this phase I will again read aloud but will randomly ask students what they are thinking during the reading to have them perform the “thinkaloud” part of the activity.  We will go to the list to see which strategy they employed in their answer/explanation.  Once the students have all completed the practiced think aloud, we will review the master list and find 2-3 strategies that no one has used to target practice.  Using a colored object to represent each of those 2-3 methods, students will be given an object and asked to use that particular strategy during the next read aloud.  Finally students will write a letter to a classmate (or me) explaining what they have learned and which practices they will now use that they had not used in the past.  I feel this is an excellent way to monitor comprehension progress while equipping students with actual methods of gaining comprehension that can be used across the content areas.

I also found the breakdown of informational text informative.  I have given students informational texts such as news articles but failed to teach the formatting of informational texts.  As a high school teacher I assume that students are familiar with newspapers, but often times they are not.  I like the idea of using reciprocal teaching for informational text so that the students can practice summarizing, clarifying, and explaining.  This method can also be used to show the different points of view or slants that accompany informational texts.

I would be interested in other adaptations that teachers are using to make basic comprehension strategies more effective. Please share here so that we may all benefit from your ideas and practices.

Helping Readers Build Fluency and Vocabulary-Chapter 6 Mod 4

As we read Chapter 6 Helping Readers Build Fluency and Vocabulary, I am thinking of ways to apply these ideas and concepts to the struggling readers in the high school setting.  I was pleased to see that my own ideas are supported by research.  Rasinski (2003) stated “teaching reading fluency should include modeling good oral reading, providing oral support for readers, offering plenty of practice, and encouraging fluency through phrasing” (p. 162).  As a reading intervention specialist, I believe that the opportunity to read, with available support, is vital to developing reading fluency and comprehension.  I really loved the strategy of having students create a Four-Way Response Chart for reading similar to the Frayer Vocabulary model found on page 165.  The idea of having students: 1. Recall an important quote (conscious of important theme or lesson)  2. Draw a picture of an important character or scene (interpretation of text)  3. Write or draw what the text made them think of (relate to their own lives) and 4. What they liked about the text (personal opinion) is a way to gauge fluency and comprehension, as well as foster an engagement or connection to the text.  I was also thrilled to watch the videocast resource The Word Wise and Content Rich as it offered confirmation that my “talking through the text” is a valid best practice that is effective to enhancing both fluency and vocabulary for my students.  I have used this to assist students in transferring the skills of pleasure reading to academic reading.  My reading class will begin a literature based reading in the next few weeks and I am pleased to know that this strategy will help build the skills necessary to be successful in their literature classes.  This chapter also reiterated the strategies we learned in the Emergent Reader chapter as ways to support student learning in all content areas.

Since my inquiry project is focused on student motivation in the methodology of teaching reading, these chapters offer valuable research-based methods to apply in my classroom.  I feel that one reason students are reluctant readers is because they are not fluent readers and many of these strategies will benefit both my research and my classes. One of the keys for sustained reading in Chapter 6 is allowing choice rather than assigned reading.  This is one of my strategies in my reading classes for 9^th graders and it will be interesting to see how this strategy works versus the required reading in their literature classes.  Once we integrate academic reading into our class reading/discussion activities I hope to see an improvement in the reading fluency and comprehension that will assist the students in their literature classes.  I will keep you all posted on the progress!

 

Emergent Literacy Chapters 4/5 Mod 3

As we read Chapter 4 Emergent Literacy and Chapter 5 Phonics and Word Knowledge, I am thinking of ways to apply these ideas and concepts to the struggling readers in the high school setting.  The article, “Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices” (2008), offers tried and true strategies that help struggling readers learn to comprehend the reading material assigned in their classes.  While textbook reading of science or history differs from literature class, students can be taught to apply the comprehension techniques to any content area reading assignment. 

In my reading intervention class, I began with allowing student choice to build an interest in reading. We are now ready to read a literature assignment using the strategies mentioned in the article.  I will read aloud (strategy) and ask questions as we read to clarify meaning and vocabulary (guided reading) to build confidence in the student’s abilities to read and comprehend, as well as to teach practical reading skills.  Modeling is one of the most effective strategies since the students are able to see the technique applied in a practical way.  I have also found some guided reading worksheets that are very useful.  These worksheets break down the literature read in the classroom by requiring students to read and answer questions as they read to teach/practice reading comprehension skills.  (I have attached a sample)

 http://www.slideshare.net/mikeyiz/most-dangerous-game-pdf-file?from_search=9#

 I have found that giving students time to read and complete the handout, then reviewing the handout as a class will further demonstrate the strategies that enable the students to become better readers.  Once students gain confidence and learn to summarize and paraphrase the words that they are reading, moving into actual practice in another content area will add tools to their toolbox of literacy.  

Social and Cultural Contexts for Learning Mod 2

One of the pressing issues is in education today is how to create culturally diverse classrooms.  Chapter 2 in All Children Read discusses ways to incorporate the social and cultural lives of students in creating a literate school/class culture that welcomes the differences in the student’s lives.  The main points that are addressed are learning about students and creating relationships, involving parents, and continuing professional development to broaden a teacher’s cultural awareness. Two of the most important ways, in my opinion, are providing reading options that are culturally relevant to the student population, and utilizing the funds of knowledge mentioned in the Learning Classroom video to embrace different ethnicities, as well as encouraging parental involvement.

All Children Read gives quite a few resources for finding culturally diverse literature.  It is important for students to have the opportunity to read and learn about people with whom they can identify.  Students appreciate the teacher who makes a personal connection and attempts to create a classroom environment where they feel valued.  Teachers can foster a cooperative and collaborative atmosphere by having students to educate classmates through book reviews and oral presentations as a way to promote a positive school climate, as well as to offer an equal education to all students. 

A fund of knowledge activity is another way to embrace the cultural differences while educating all students in mutually beneficial behaviors. By using the Family History Memoir Writing assignment mentioned in the Classroom Mosaic video, student learn about one another while also practicing research and writing skills.  The Family History project sounds like a great way to involve families and to encourage a community of learners between the school and home.  Students can incorporate their real lives into the classroom for appealing and interesting learning.

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Learning about Reading Mod 1

 One of the pressing issues is motivation of students, particularly readers in high school.  There is also a huge performance gap between ethnicities that needs to be more effectively addressed in the classroom.  Early interventions are in place, but somewhere along the transition from middle to high school, students lose the interventions, and the motivations to read. Family and community involvement is critical in all grade levels, but continued interaction between students and families in secondary education has the potential to increase learning and mastery of all subject content.  

One area tied to motivation is the methodology of teaching reading.  Teachers want to teach literature content and story, rather than the concepts.  The transition to the Common Core Standards is met with resistance from teachers due to misunderstanding and miscommunication.  Most English teachers want to teach stories that they themselves love, without grasping that teaching a love of language before concepts of audience, plot, theme, and characterization will cross content and curriculum lines.  Those students, who understand the beauty of language and the practicality of communication, will learn that mastery of word choice and sentence structure gives them power.  They will also gain the knowledge that the concepts learned will apply to any form of literature.  Teachers need to understand that teaching concepts rather than canons, especially using student chosen reading materials, will result in much greater success than if they learn the limited aspects of one work. By allowing students to branch out from the classics, they will expand their background knowledge and vocabulary more readily.  One of the articles in The English Journal, Vol. 102 No.2 from November 2012, “A Case for the Autistic Perspective in Young Adult Literature,” supports the idea of choice in reading material.  The article suggests that students will learn to accept and embrace others with varying disabilities, as well as give the student with disabilities a story to which they can relate if teachers are willing to introduce new texts.   Graphic novels and films are also discussed in articles that lobby for using student interest as a way to create an interest in learning that will go beyond the basic brush-over that takes place in most classrooms today. Student choice is a catalyst for motivation through the creation of reading material that addresses the issues that students face in their daily lives.  

One article, “Reframing Resistance in the English Classroom,” offers ways to encourage and engage reluctant learners by re-evaluating their resistance to create understanding that will disarm the fear of failure.  Students are resisting the traditional methods of teaching and rather than continuing to argue and attempting to coerce their cooperation, teachers need to open the discussion of critical literacy and find ways to affect change. If we remember that as student ourselves, classic literature of the cannon was something we were forced to read, so why do we questions the resistance of this generation of students.  Many English teachers fell in love with the classics as adults, not as teenagers, so it bear consideration that involving pop culture to teach how literature reflects society as an essential question.  

In my reading intervention class that targets struggling readers I plan to focus on personal interest (choice) and class discussion to engage the students.  I believe this strategy will offer assistance in creating motivated readers.  Today I had students read the book of their choice in the 20 minutes before lunch and had to wait on several students to finish a page or two before they wanted to put down their books.  I believe this method of teaching the love of reading before teaching the content or concepts will create a community of readers in my classroom.

Introducton

Hello.  My name is Janie Boyd.  I teach Reading and Writing at a local high school while attending GCSU as a graduate student seeking my M. Ed in Secondary Education.  This blog will serve as an assignment tool for my reading class, as well as a learning tool for my professional development. 
Happy Reading...I hope you find my posts interesting and engaging.