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.