Texts are arguably the most important tool that we as teachers have at hand. In order for these texts to be useful in educating students, students must be able to effectively study them. Teaching students various strategies not only increases the amount of information they are receiving from your lesson, but also provides them with excellent lifelong skills that will be useful both in future classes and in life after graduating.
The most fundamental building block of understanding how to read and use a text is understanding text structure. Knowing the functions of certain text elements and how they interact with one another is key when trying to make connections between pieces of important information in the text. External text structure refers to things such as the table of contents, appendix, headings, graphs, charts, illustration, title page, etc. Literacy of these elements allows a student to easily identify information, sort it by importance, and connect it; these elements become great tools when reading, especially if the concepts are complicated. Internal text structures are not as overtly stated. Searching for text patterns, which are the "different types of logical connections among important and less important ideas in informational material,"allows students to more effectively find relationships and identify significant information (Mraz, Vacca & Vacca 320). Searching description for the major facts, putting facts or events into sequence, comparing and contrasting facts, people, or concepts, identifying cause and effect factors, and recognizing the development from problem to solution, are all important text patterns to use when reading texts.
Once a student has a grasp on text structures and how the relationships within them are significant, they can focus more on the actual facts and ideas a text presents. A good way to do this is by using graphic organizers, which are visual represenations that help students "comprehend and retain textually important information" (Mraz et al., 324). This study strategy lets students take charge of their own learning by organizing concepts by importance and relationship. These are great for visual learners in a language arts class. They allow students to break down dense texts into manageable skeletons that highlight the most important concepts. A comparison-and-contrast matrix shows similarities and difference in a text, and could be used to compare two characters in order to explore how an author uses characterization. A problem-and-solution outline and series-of-events chain both could be used to sequence events in order to explore plot structure and analyze how events work together. Semantic (cognitive) mapping is a visual "web" that connects main concepts to smaller ideas and inferences, would be a great way to overview an entire unit, e.g., connecting a series of books and their concepts during a slave narrative unit.
Two other important studying strategies are writing summaries and taking notes. Writing a summary of a text is a good way to make sure that all main points are understood. Reiterating these into one's own words creates a more personal connection between student and text, therefore promoting memory of the various concepts. Taking notes operates the same way, only notes use a more concrete structure as opposed to the free-flowing words of a summary. A few common examples of these include T-notes and Cornell notes. Different note styles can have unique benefits based on the structure of the topic that is being discussed and the personal comprehension/preference of the individual student.
Scaffolding these various strategies into your classroom has so many benefits. However, they all must be implemented carefully, providing plenty of support for students. With this help, they can gain a full understanding of how these strategies work and how to use them effectively. The extra review required to do these will promote better memory, analyzing and reiterating into one's own words will spark interest, creating a organizer of some kind allows students to easily reflect back on information in the future - all of which foster a deeper understanding, creating a more deep and meaningful learning experience.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Write to Learn Reflection
Write to learn activities seek to enhance students' understanding, interest, and comprehension of the current material. The "write to learn" activity that I presented was unsent letters. Below is the handout used in my write to learn demonstration. It gives information about the benefits of using unsent letters in general, as well as instructions as it applied to my specific content area activity.
The most difficult part of preparing this activity was finding a poem that worked well. As a teacher implementing this strategy, it would be obvious which texts would work well and which would not; i.e., texts with no characters may not be the ideal, while ones with lots of characters and conflict would be much easier for students to write a response to. Luckily, I was able to find a Shakespearean poem that had two distinct characters: the author (the lover), and the recipient (the loved); and that was also short enough for them to more or less read in five minutes.
I believe the activity went well because they all seemed to enjoy the fact that they could write a letter as one of the characters. The somewhat scandalous content also helped gather interest from the class. I feel that there would be a similar response in my actual classroom of high school English students, and I think that they would be excited to get to express their point of view in a more casual way.
I also believe that the class grasped the benefits of the unsent letter, since they experienced the interest and more deep comprehension of the text that the my content area students would. I hope that my explanation of the activity, the facilitation of it, and the instructions I provided on the handout allowed them to understand how to do this activity, and how to use and modify it for their own classroom.
If I had to do this again, hopefully I would have more time. In a lesson, this activity would be done after plenty of group discussion and classroom time exploring and analyzing the text, but that was not done here. The purpose of this activity is to allow the student a fuller understanding of the emotions of characters in the text, and to explore the nuances of conflict through a personal lens - but this cannot be done without having a decent amount of time to let it marinade. Also, I would have liked to provide the students with an example that I wrote to help them connect with me and to inspire them. With more time, I would have either had them share with a partner, with the class, or turn them in for me to read. These letters provide a great opportunity for students to express their opinions, thus allowing teachers to get to know them better.
The most difficult part of preparing this activity was finding a poem that worked well. As a teacher implementing this strategy, it would be obvious which texts would work well and which would not; i.e., texts with no characters may not be the ideal, while ones with lots of characters and conflict would be much easier for students to write a response to. Luckily, I was able to find a Shakespearean poem that had two distinct characters: the author (the lover), and the recipient (the loved); and that was also short enough for them to more or less read in five minutes.
I believe the activity went well because they all seemed to enjoy the fact that they could write a letter as one of the characters. The somewhat scandalous content also helped gather interest from the class. I feel that there would be a similar response in my actual classroom of high school English students, and I think that they would be excited to get to express their point of view in a more casual way.
I also believe that the class grasped the benefits of the unsent letter, since they experienced the interest and more deep comprehension of the text that the my content area students would. I hope that my explanation of the activity, the facilitation of it, and the instructions I provided on the handout allowed them to understand how to do this activity, and how to use and modify it for their own classroom.
If I had to do this again, hopefully I would have more time. In a lesson, this activity would be done after plenty of group discussion and classroom time exploring and analyzing the text, but that was not done here. The purpose of this activity is to allow the student a fuller understanding of the emotions of characters in the text, and to explore the nuances of conflict through a personal lens - but this cannot be done without having a decent amount of time to let it marinade. Also, I would have liked to provide the students with an example that I wrote to help them connect with me and to inspire them. With more time, I would have either had them share with a partner, with the class, or turn them in for me to read. These letters provide a great opportunity for students to express their opinions, thus allowing teachers to get to know them better.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Increase Interest and Motivation
So the scenario is that you are a newly licensed teacher, eager to start teaching your very first class at your very first school. You spent hours crafting out the perfect unit, full of exciting things you want your class to experience. It will not take you long to realize that there are students that will simply not be willing to learn, no matter how enthralling you personally believe the subject to be. This raises the age-old question: how do I capture my students interest and make them care?
In attempt to answer this, you will need to examine your class. Who is it that is doing well, and who is it that does not seem engaged? Time and time again, it will be those students that are confident in their academic abilities that are motivated and trying, and those that do not have confidence that are not doing as well. This feeling of confidence is known as self-efficacy, and it directly correlates with the amount of effort a student puts into his or her work. What this means for an English teacher is that those students that are struggling with skills such as reading typically have a lower level of self-efficacy, and therefore are less motivated to read any of the material that is assigned. To combat this, teachers must take measures to increase motivation.
A good way to increase a student's motivation is to make sure that the text is relevant to his or her life, activating the student's prior knowledge. When a student feels as though he know what is going on and he can make meaningful connections to a text and himself, self-efficacy is raised, as well as his motivation. The three important ways to activating prior knowledge include arousing curiosity, generating questions, and making predictions.
Arousing curiosity "gives students the chance to consider what they already know about the material to be read" (Mraz, Vacca & Vacca, 2011, p. 173). A curious student is more likely to put effort in their work so as to satisfy their curiosity; they are self-motivated by this drive for knowledge rather than by an extrinsic reward. Using imagery to help students visualize the text, having students make story impressions, and establishing problematic perspectives for students to explore are all good ways to arouse curiosity.
Making predictions requires students to access and utilize their prior knowledge (hence why they are called "educated guesses"). A good way to facilitate prediction making is by creating an anticipation guide. If I were to create one for a novel I was going to teach, I would give the class a series of statements related to the book and have them decide whether or not they believed each one to be true/false or likely/unlikely.
Generating questions about the content not only arouses curiosity, but is a good way to activate prior knowledge; in order to ask a question, the student must first reference what they already know about the topic. Forming questions gives students an internal purpose to read, greatly increasing their motivation.
Using these strategies to activate prior knowledge is an excellent way to increase motivation and self-efficacy in your students. Once there is interest established in the student, he or she will be motivated to learn more. Arousing curiosity and having students make predictions and generate questions about a topic is how you make students care.
In attempt to answer this, you will need to examine your class. Who is it that is doing well, and who is it that does not seem engaged? Time and time again, it will be those students that are confident in their academic abilities that are motivated and trying, and those that do not have confidence that are not doing as well. This feeling of confidence is known as self-efficacy, and it directly correlates with the amount of effort a student puts into his or her work. What this means for an English teacher is that those students that are struggling with skills such as reading typically have a lower level of self-efficacy, and therefore are less motivated to read any of the material that is assigned. To combat this, teachers must take measures to increase motivation.
A good way to increase a student's motivation is to make sure that the text is relevant to his or her life, activating the student's prior knowledge. When a student feels as though he know what is going on and he can make meaningful connections to a text and himself, self-efficacy is raised, as well as his motivation. The three important ways to activating prior knowledge include arousing curiosity, generating questions, and making predictions.
Arousing curiosity "gives students the chance to consider what they already know about the material to be read" (Mraz, Vacca & Vacca, 2011, p. 173). A curious student is more likely to put effort in their work so as to satisfy their curiosity; they are self-motivated by this drive for knowledge rather than by an extrinsic reward. Using imagery to help students visualize the text, having students make story impressions, and establishing problematic perspectives for students to explore are all good ways to arouse curiosity.
Making predictions requires students to access and utilize their prior knowledge (hence why they are called "educated guesses"). A good way to facilitate prediction making is by creating an anticipation guide. If I were to create one for a novel I was going to teach, I would give the class a series of statements related to the book and have them decide whether or not they believed each one to be true/false or likely/unlikely.
Generating questions about the content not only arouses curiosity, but is a good way to activate prior knowledge; in order to ask a question, the student must first reference what they already know about the topic. Forming questions gives students an internal purpose to read, greatly increasing their motivation.
Using these strategies to activate prior knowledge is an excellent way to increase motivation and self-efficacy in your students. Once there is interest established in the student, he or she will be motivated to learn more. Arousing curiosity and having students make predictions and generate questions about a topic is how you make students care.
Friday, March 8, 2013
B-D-A Instruction in Language Arts
Planning a lesson to effectively teach your class is possibly the most important thing a teacher has to do. This particular chapter of Content Area Reading discusses the importance of B-D-A instructional framework, which is an strategy to help support literacy Before, During, and After reading. Giving students activities to do in these three strategies is a way to be sure they are supported throughout the reading process in order to get the most information out of it. As an English teacher, this is an especially important thing to think about since most learning in the field is done by reading, and without properly facilitating it, the students may not absorb the lesson at all.
Before-reading activities are meant to give background knowledge, motivate readers, and introduce them to concepts and vocabulary. If I were teaching a novel to a high school English class, I wouldn't just give them the books and have them start reading, I would first make sure that they were aware of what things we were trying to get out of the book. Watching a short video about the author's life is a good way to introduce them to whatever themes the book will be centering, and spark their interest in the novel. They will also need to know literary elements in order to grasp the main concepts.
During-reading activities are designed to make sure students are supported and not missing important parts of the text. This is especially significant when reading something as long as a novel. It would be very beneficial to have the class do these activities at certain points in the novel. Having them meet with a partner or as a class to discuss things will make sure everyone is on the right track and will also help by creating a forum to supplement ideas. For readers that are not as advanced, using a study guide is a stricter way to guide them through the reading and provides support even when you are not there to answer questions.
After-reading activities help students make connections with the book and expand on concepts and ideas. In an English classroom, one of the most important discussions happens after everyone has finished reading the book. At that point, there is a collection of knowledge that the whole group has absorbed and it needs to be sorted out and connected. Allowing the students time to do a free write will help them get some of their thoughts in order. A whole group discussion then gives students the opportunity to create a collective of knowledge and different opinions. It is essential to do activities that support different learning styles at this point, because it is the point at which all of the lesson's important aspects synthesize. This could mean having students write a reflection, make a collage, preform a skit - anything to make sure that they are grasping all of the important things before moving on to the next unit.
Trade Books to Interest and Educate Students
I did not know it until I read the chapters, but trade books are definitely the kind of texts I would like to use in my classroom. While sometimes it might be helpful to read a textbook description of an author's life or about how different literary elements work together, most learning will come from actually experiencing the elements in play inside a text.
A trade book would be an excellent way to introduce my students to a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and the like to teach a wide array of topics. If I could find a trade book that had multiple literary example pieces, I could strategically assign students to a certain one based on his or her reading skill level. Then, all of the students would be able to discuss a specific theme or element without having to struggle with just the reading aspect of it; I would be able to scaffold literacy skills while simultaneously having them learn a curriculum standard. I could use this approach to let them select a text that is suited to their interests or skill level - i.e. one student chooses a novel about the Revolutionary War, while another chooses a Shakespearean play, then they both must explore the texts looking for symbolism. It is also a great opportunity to include community-building and cooperative learning into my classroom by having students with similar interests read the same book and form a sort of book club to explore elements. I could then use things like a discussion forum such as Blackboard as a way to incorporate the technology that interests students and to allow a collaborative discussion.
The trade book approach also allows for a way to uniquely assess and support their learning. If my students are all reading different texts, I can assign them a write to learn as a way to consolidate, expand, or explore their thoughts. Because each student is reading something different, an ungraded and relatively unstructured assignment would be an excellent way to learn something about their specific text by approaching it from a fresh perspective. Write to learn is also a great way to improve writing and analytical skills (which is a big portion of my job).
Reader response is the perfect way to assess students that are all reading different texts. At the beginning of the unit (say, theme) I would tell give them background knowledge on theme, and eventually a set of texts to choose on that have very strong themes I know the students could learn a lot from. After a certain amount of time of them reading with special focus on theme, I would ask for a reading response about how theme is present in their novel. There are other interesting questions I could ask to address things like racism, culture, etc., such as "how does your theme connect to current issues of race in society?" This covers content area (literature), specific standards (theme), practices skills (analyzing and writing), critical issues (race), and is gives me and my students an opportunity to get to know them/selves (personal opinion). The combination of letting my students choose something that is important to them and asking them to write reflective pieces will allow me to connect with my students and understand their personal learning style better.
A trade book would be an excellent way to introduce my students to a wide variety of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and the like to teach a wide array of topics. If I could find a trade book that had multiple literary example pieces, I could strategically assign students to a certain one based on his or her reading skill level. Then, all of the students would be able to discuss a specific theme or element without having to struggle with just the reading aspect of it; I would be able to scaffold literacy skills while simultaneously having them learn a curriculum standard. I could use this approach to let them select a text that is suited to their interests or skill level - i.e. one student chooses a novel about the Revolutionary War, while another chooses a Shakespearean play, then they both must explore the texts looking for symbolism. It is also a great opportunity to include community-building and cooperative learning into my classroom by having students with similar interests read the same book and form a sort of book club to explore elements. I could then use things like a discussion forum such as Blackboard as a way to incorporate the technology that interests students and to allow a collaborative discussion.
The trade book approach also allows for a way to uniquely assess and support their learning. If my students are all reading different texts, I can assign them a write to learn as a way to consolidate, expand, or explore their thoughts. Because each student is reading something different, an ungraded and relatively unstructured assignment would be an excellent way to learn something about their specific text by approaching it from a fresh perspective. Write to learn is also a great way to improve writing and analytical skills (which is a big portion of my job).
Reader response is the perfect way to assess students that are all reading different texts. At the beginning of the unit (say, theme) I would tell give them background knowledge on theme, and eventually a set of texts to choose on that have very strong themes I know the students could learn a lot from. After a certain amount of time of them reading with special focus on theme, I would ask for a reading response about how theme is present in their novel. There are other interesting questions I could ask to address things like racism, culture, etc., such as "how does your theme connect to current issues of race in society?" This covers content area (literature), specific standards (theme), practices skills (analyzing and writing), critical issues (race), and is gives me and my students an opportunity to get to know them/selves (personal opinion). The combination of letting my students choose something that is important to them and asking them to write reflective pieces will allow me to connect with my students and understand their personal learning style better.
What are the most comprehensive methods for assessing students in my content area?
All operations need a way to measure their output to know if they are reaching their goals, and schools are no different. The goal of a school is to make sure students are acquiring knowledge, and this presents a bit of a challenge to measure the school's success in doing this. Right now, our nation uses high-stakes testing to do this. But is this the best way?
There are many concerns with high-stakes testing: students have different learning styles that do not allow them to express their knowledge on a test like that, it restricts classroom exploration from the required curriculum and many students do poorly on tests because they are not literate to the point where they can comprehend the test.
An alternative to this high-stakes testing is through authentic assessment, which is a highly personal strategy where the teacher decides whether or not the student is meeting a certain set of standards. This is a good approach because a teacher is already adapting everything in their classroom to meet the unique needs of students, so who better to know how best to assess a student's learning?
As a future English teacher, it was important to me to know how to assess students' learning in ways other than a test; multiple choice tests and the like cannot capture the complexities of something as dense as a novel. After going through chapter four of Content Area Reading, I found a few strategies I really liked.
The first one I really liked was the portfolio assessment. Students gather work from throughout the class and present it in a portfolio to show his or her unique talents and weaknesses, the progression of skill level from the start of the term to the end, and allows them to display a wide variety of trials not just a one shot hit-or-miss like a test. This also gives them a sense of accomplishment in their work, and the teacher gets to see what they are proud of.
I also liked the checklists and interviews methods. I think it would be very helpful for a student to sit down with a teacher and conference about how their writing is going, their different strengths and weaknesses, and their learning goals. A formal self-assessment with different categories for them to reflect on is also a good way to help them self-monitor and lead them in the right direction towards what they should be achieving.
There are many concerns with high-stakes testing: students have different learning styles that do not allow them to express their knowledge on a test like that, it restricts classroom exploration from the required curriculum and many students do poorly on tests because they are not literate to the point where they can comprehend the test.
An alternative to this high-stakes testing is through authentic assessment, which is a highly personal strategy where the teacher decides whether or not the student is meeting a certain set of standards. This is a good approach because a teacher is already adapting everything in their classroom to meet the unique needs of students, so who better to know how best to assess a student's learning?
As a future English teacher, it was important to me to know how to assess students' learning in ways other than a test; multiple choice tests and the like cannot capture the complexities of something as dense as a novel. After going through chapter four of Content Area Reading, I found a few strategies I really liked.
The first one I really liked was the portfolio assessment. Students gather work from throughout the class and present it in a portfolio to show his or her unique talents and weaknesses, the progression of skill level from the start of the term to the end, and allows them to display a wide variety of trials not just a one shot hit-or-miss like a test. This also gives them a sense of accomplishment in their work, and the teacher gets to see what they are proud of.
I also liked the checklists and interviews methods. I think it would be very helpful for a student to sit down with a teacher and conference about how their writing is going, their different strengths and weaknesses, and their learning goals. A formal self-assessment with different categories for them to reflect on is also a good way to help them self-monitor and lead them in the right direction towards what they should be achieving.
Thursday, March 7, 2013
Literacy is a Requirement of Literature
In our society, people are reading more than ever before, yet there is not really much of an increase in how literate we are. As an aspiring English teacher, these issues of literacy both in reading and writing hit close to home: it is my actual job description to make sure that kids are learning to be literate.
Due to the high stakes testing culture that is here is a lot of pressure placed on teachers to make their students meet standards in their content area. Luckily for myself, it is in good practice to make sure that students understand different types of texts (novel, poem, essay...) and how they are used, what their elements are, and how to read them. Once students have a grasp on these, all of the great themes and messages that are in the pages of a text are unlocked.
However, it becomes less simple when a student is not reading or writing at the standard grade level. When a student gets to a certain point in their academic career, they stop learning to read and start reading to learn. If they are not reading or writing at an appropriate level by that point, they will start to fall behind in other concepts as well: without reading at the class' level, literary elements are nearly impossible to identify, writing is weak and fragmented, and assigned novels are frustrating and meaningless.
To combat this issue, teachers need to make it a personal responsibility to alter their lesson plan, spend more time with struggling students, and especially implement elements of the Reading Next "Effective Adolescent Literacy Programs." For a detailed list (pp. 12-3) and more information on the topic, visit http://www.all4ed.org/files/ReadingNext.pdf [PDF Format].
Due to the high stakes testing culture that is here is a lot of pressure placed on teachers to make their students meet standards in their content area. Luckily for myself, it is in good practice to make sure that students understand different types of texts (novel, poem, essay...) and how they are used, what their elements are, and how to read them. Once students have a grasp on these, all of the great themes and messages that are in the pages of a text are unlocked.
However, it becomes less simple when a student is not reading or writing at the standard grade level. When a student gets to a certain point in their academic career, they stop learning to read and start reading to learn. If they are not reading or writing at an appropriate level by that point, they will start to fall behind in other concepts as well: without reading at the class' level, literary elements are nearly impossible to identify, writing is weak and fragmented, and assigned novels are frustrating and meaningless.
To combat this issue, teachers need to make it a personal responsibility to alter their lesson plan, spend more time with struggling students, and especially implement elements of the Reading Next "Effective Adolescent Literacy Programs." For a detailed list (pp. 12-3) and more information on the topic, visit http://www.all4ed.org/files/ReadingNext.pdf [PDF Format].
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