Chapter Fourteen Kylene Beers' book, When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do is entitled "Finding the Right Book." The chapter focuses primarily on knowledge and tips to help teachers find book for their students. However, the more important information in the chapter may be the bits that have application on how students can learn to find book for themselves.
Beginning on page 290, Beers outlines seven strategies for "Selling the Book to Students." They are all helpful and effective strategies, some of which I have already attempted in my classrooms, but I think one of the most powerful long-term is covered on page 292: "Suggestion #4: Take Students to Your School Library."
Beers references a survey she had conducted of english teachers to determine how frequently they were taking students to school libraries. As might be expected, she was dismayed to learn that none of the sixty-four had. The common excuse, with which I'm sure any teacher can sympathize, was, "I'm too busy teaching students how to read to waste precious time watching them wander aimlessly in a library." This is an understandable dilemma; class-time is such a valuable resource to most teachers, that an activity such as a library visit that may not have immediately observable benefits would seem to be time ill-spent.
Beers counters this line of thought with a few choice lines that have implications beyond the classroom. She writes,"If we don't take all students, but particularly reluctant and struggling readers, to the library on a regular basis, then chances are that when they leave school, being a regular library patron will not be part of their routine. Public libraries are a major equalizing factor in this nation, so how can we afford not to take students to the library?"
This is a statement that has huge implications for the power of a visit to a school library. However, by that same line of thinking, a visit to the public library outside of school can have even greater impact, particularly for teachers working in urban environments. The New York City Public Library system is an absolutely tremendous resource with which every NYCDOE employee should become acquanited. The range of services and programs designed to cater to adolescents are enough that a well-organized and well-orquestrte class visit to a library close to a student's neighborhood can make a student much more likely to return to that library.
Urban adolescents are tremendously complex people, with tremendously complex needs. However, sometimes the things that they need to be happy and healthy are actually relatively simple. For certain students, the realization that there exists a place in their neighborhood where they go at most hours of the day, that is quiet with comfortable chairs, provides access to the internet, and will even provide them with entertainment that they can even take home for free in the form of books, dvd's and music is a realization that could serve as a game-changer in terms of the range of healthy and safe options for them outside of school hours.
I conducted a public library trip this past year with my eight grade ELA class and couldn't have been happier with the results. It was a week or so into a research project in order to complete a culminating project on a self-selected historical topic. Students had been searching through books I had provided through our school library to create an outline of the research paper they would eventually have to write. I had held off on providing internet access, knowing that when given the opportunity to Google, many students would disdain the laborious process of searching for and selecting an appropriate book, using the index to determine to appropriate page to begin their reading and then searching through several pages of text for helpful information. However, after a week of working with the provided texts, many students were finding that they were generating more questions than answers. They needed more information and more resources. It was time to provide them with exactly what they needed courtesy of the New York City Public Library.
The library trip began with a short explanation of the Dewey Decimal system, a system with most students had no familiarity with, and which continued to prove mysterious for most without a bit of adult assistance. However, in order to get credit for the trip, students were required to independantly use the decimal system to locate at least one book on their topic. Whether or not they chose to check that book out was their choice, but I wanted my student to have experience with the process of using a public library to get more information about a topic of interest.
Some students were indeed wandering aimlessly. Some quickly took to goofing off on the Internet. Some simply collapsed onto a couch. But everyone found at least one book on their topic, and the fact that they now knew there was a safe place in their neighborhood where they could find books, wander aimlessly, goof off on the Internet and collapse on couches made the trip, in my opinion, hugely worthwhile.
Every teacher is charged with the task of providing students with resources to improve their thinking. For many teachers in urban environments, the charge extends into providing students with resources to improve their lives. A class trip to the public library may provide either of those things to every student, but if it results in even one student returning to that library in the future, for whatever reason, it is time well-spent.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Literary 'Levels': Legit as Lexiles (Laughable or Laudable?)
The thirteenth chapter of Kylene Beers' book, When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do, is entitled "Creating the Confidence to Respond." In truth, though, that title does not do justice to a chapter that covers a vast expanse of knowledge and tools to help build students' confidence to not only respond, but also to read successfully and develop a lifelong relationship with reading.
One section that I believe was invaluable for educators trying to make decision about appropriate texts, for both whole-class study as well as independent reading. Beers explains the stages of literary development as outlined by Margaret Early and Robert Carlsen, who came to the conclusion that each reader must pass through five distinct phases before reaching the higher levels of literary understanding and appreciation. Understanding the focus of readers at each stage, as well as what is important to them, can be a huge step toward helping struggling and reluctant readers. The stages and implications are outlined on pages 274 and 275 of Beers' book.
The first stage is what is referred to as the "subconscious stage." This stage is typically of students from grades three through seven, and during this stage, children are "absorbed in the plot." However, students cannot often articulate why they did or did not enjoy a text, as "their attachment to the text and to the enjoyment of reading is at the subconscious level." During this stage, students most value engaging plots.
During the second stage, which typically takes place from grades seven through nine, children read in order to "experience the plot or conflict or setting vicariously." Because students are attempting to experience second-hand the events of the book, relatable and likable characters are of value to students during this phase.
The third stage typically takes place early in the high school years. Readers in this stage seek out "books with characters that mirror or reflect their own concerns," due in part to the adolescent tendency towards an "intense preoccupation with themselves." Character continues to be of value to these readers, but there is now a renewed emphasis on conflict.
The fourth stage is typical for later him school students, and is marked by an interest in books that address "life's bigger issues," such as "right and wrong, retribution, forgiveness, love, hate, envy [and] selfishness." It would therefore follow that discussions of theme in literature plays a bigger role in during this stage.
The final stage is one that is typically only attained at the college level, and often is never reached. This is the level in which "the focus is not on the character or plot or even theme but on the author's choice and arrangement of words." The examination of literary devices becomes important to readers who have reached this stage.
I believe that an analysis of the literary 'stages' at which students are relating to literature is a tool just as valuable as a lexile score or interest survey. It is just one more facet of the complex task of finding literature that is appropriate for students at multiple developmental levels.
One section that I believe was invaluable for educators trying to make decision about appropriate texts, for both whole-class study as well as independent reading. Beers explains the stages of literary development as outlined by Margaret Early and Robert Carlsen, who came to the conclusion that each reader must pass through five distinct phases before reaching the higher levels of literary understanding and appreciation. Understanding the focus of readers at each stage, as well as what is important to them, can be a huge step toward helping struggling and reluctant readers. The stages and implications are outlined on pages 274 and 275 of Beers' book.
The first stage is what is referred to as the "subconscious stage." This stage is typically of students from grades three through seven, and during this stage, children are "absorbed in the plot." However, students cannot often articulate why they did or did not enjoy a text, as "their attachment to the text and to the enjoyment of reading is at the subconscious level." During this stage, students most value engaging plots.
During the second stage, which typically takes place from grades seven through nine, children read in order to "experience the plot or conflict or setting vicariously." Because students are attempting to experience second-hand the events of the book, relatable and likable characters are of value to students during this phase.
The third stage typically takes place early in the high school years. Readers in this stage seek out "books with characters that mirror or reflect their own concerns," due in part to the adolescent tendency towards an "intense preoccupation with themselves." Character continues to be of value to these readers, but there is now a renewed emphasis on conflict.
The fourth stage is typical for later him school students, and is marked by an interest in books that address "life's bigger issues," such as "right and wrong, retribution, forgiveness, love, hate, envy [and] selfishness." It would therefore follow that discussions of theme in literature plays a bigger role in during this stage.
The final stage is one that is typically only attained at the college level, and often is never reached. This is the level in which "the focus is not on the character or plot or even theme but on the author's choice and arrangement of words." The examination of literary devices becomes important to readers who have reached this stage.
I believe that an analysis of the literary 'stages' at which students are relating to literature is a tool just as valuable as a lexile score or interest survey. It is just one more facet of the complex task of finding literature that is appropriate for students at multiple developmental levels.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Journals of the Double-Entry Variety
Beers discusses the value of using double-entry journal as a way of constructing meaning for struggling readers. She states that they are a "powerful way to take notes and respond at the same time" (p. 127). She doesn't discuss them in much detail but describes it as a strategy "in helping dependent readers understand how to construct meaning during reading" (p. 127). Having used this strategy as a student, I agree with Beer's inclusion of this strategy in her chapter on constructing meaning. In my experience, double-entry journals have functioned as a non-threatening way to respond to the text, functioning similarly to a directed free-write, but less daunting, in that the length is still somewhat short.
This strategy can manifest itself in different forms, particularly lending itself to a very student-centered way of response. To begin with, this strategy could be used in the English classroom through scaffolding throughout the year. It could begin with students selecting quotes from the text that they found confusing, and explaining what they may not have understood about the text. This would allow the teacher to see what sort of struggles the students are facing with their reading. The teacher could then build upon this skill and ask students to focus on specific areas of the text, whether it be areas of description, dialogue, symbolism, etc. and build upon the students understanding of these aspects of the text.
Another variation that could be used once students are familiar with the structure could be incorporating double-entry journals into read-alouds. The teacher could read aloud and have pre-selected passages that she wants the students to respond to. While reading aloud, the teacher could stop after reading the passage and ask students to respond. This could be done on a worksheet prepared by the teacher containing the quotes on one side of the page.
Students could also be challenged to respond to quotes in only one word. Once the word was selected students could share their words and see if any words were common among the group. This could provide an opportunity to group students based on the words chosen and have them work together in a group to further explain their responses and hear other students' perspectives.
This strategy can manifest itself in different forms, particularly lending itself to a very student-centered way of response. To begin with, this strategy could be used in the English classroom through scaffolding throughout the year. It could begin with students selecting quotes from the text that they found confusing, and explaining what they may not have understood about the text. This would allow the teacher to see what sort of struggles the students are facing with their reading. The teacher could then build upon this skill and ask students to focus on specific areas of the text, whether it be areas of description, dialogue, symbolism, etc. and build upon the students understanding of these aspects of the text.
Another variation that could be used once students are familiar with the structure could be incorporating double-entry journals into read-alouds. The teacher could read aloud and have pre-selected passages that she wants the students to respond to. While reading aloud, the teacher could stop after reading the passage and ask students to respond. This could be done on a worksheet prepared by the teacher containing the quotes on one side of the page.
Students could also be challenged to respond to quotes in only one word. Once the word was selected students could share their words and see if any words were common among the group. This could provide an opportunity to group students based on the words chosen and have them work together in a group to further explain their responses and hear other students' perspectives.
The Many Types of Bookmarks
I had never thought of using a bookmark as a learning tool,
until I read chapter 7 in Kylene Beers’ book “When Kids Can’t Read.” In this
chapter Beers explains how she and a few middle school teachers turned the
everyday bookmark into a learning tool for struggling readers. As Beers points
out “everyone knows what a bookmark is—even dependent readers.” (130). So why
not use something so familiar as a reading comprehension tool?
Beers created quite a few different types of bookmarks. The
first is called a “Mark My Words” bookmark, and it focuses on building
vocabulary (131). This bookmark offers a
place for students to write unfamiliar words, directly on the bookmark as they
read (131). I think this is a great way to make a note of unfamiliar words
because it doesn’t require the student to exert a lot of effort or break from reading the text. You don’t
have to go and turn to a dictionary, or ask for help; just jot down the word. A
lot of times, even proficient readers will skip over an unfamiliar word without
looking it up or even making a note of it because that takes too much effort.
But, if a student has a bookmark right there in their hand, it doesn’t take
much effort to quickly make note of the unfamiliar word.
The second bookmark Beers created is the “Marking Time”
bookmark (132). Students “use these bookmarks to mark how the setting changes
as the book or short story progresses.” The template she has designed for this
bookmark asks for a page number and gives a small box for students to write a
short sentence (311). I think that having just a small space to write how the
setting changes would be great for struggling readers. It’s not a daunting
task, the teacher is just asking them to jot down a sentence when they notice
something.
Similar skills are reinforced through Beers’ “Question Mark”
bookmark, in which students write down any questions that come up as they read,
and the “Mark who?” bookmark, in which students make quick notes about
characters (132).
Using these bookmarks seems like an excellent way to begin to
teach students how to annotate and notice their thinking, without overwhelming
or boring them. Writing on a bookmark is a little more fun and creative than writing in a
notebook. And because students have such a small space to write notes, they are
less likely to be overwhelmed, and can practice making quick comments.
Ding-a-Lings and Vigilance to Reduce Put Downs
In chapter 13 of Kylene Beers’ book “When Kids Can’t Read,”
Beers discuses the problem of unconfident students avoiding participation in class
discussions. This can be a particular problem for struggling readers, whose inability
has most likely created a lack of confidence. Beers explains, “If reading
problems continue to grow throughout the elementary school years, students
reach a point where the effort they must exert to find even minimal success
with reading is not worth the embarrassment they face in process.” (259-260).
In short, for struggling readers participating in class discussion is a lot of
risk for little gain. It is the teacher’s job to create an environment that
lowers that risk.
Beers believes that one way to lower that risk is to ban
negative or judgmental comments between peers. And while that seems like an
ideal solution, how are teachers supposed to actually accomplish that?
Beers offers one strategy to minimize peer to peer put downs
that I found particularly interesting. She tells an anecdote of a teacher who
rang a bell every time someone acted like a “ding-a-ling” by insulting another
student’s work (266-267). Students earned rewards if the could go a full class
period, week, or month without hearing that bell ring (267). I was skeptical
when I first read this strategy. It seems a bit gimmicky, and perhaps more
appropriate for an elementary school classroom.
However, in Beers’ example, the ding-a-ling strategy worked
(277). It didn’t work because students wanted the prizes or gave into to the
gimmick, but rather, it worked because “the bell was … annoying.” (277). The
teacher was vigilant and never missed an opportunity to ring that bell. “Every
time, every single time, there was a hint of ding-a-ling behavior, she rang the
bell.” (277). So it wasn’t the gimmick that got kids to stop being negative, it
was the fact that the gimmick was unwavering. The students learned they were
not going to get away with put downs of any sort because the teacher was always
watching and always reacting.
Beers explains that whatever strategy you take to avoid put
downs, “the most important thing you can do is be vigilant.” So, I would
conclude that the ding-a-ling strategy alone does not reduce put downs. There
must also be determination on the part of the teacher. The ding-a-ling strategy
combined with vigilance will reduce put downs.
The Many Uses of Read Alouds
One of the constant modelling strategies that shows up throughout When Kids Can't Read by Kylene Beers is the teacher read aloud. The wide possibilities that exist when a teacher reads aloud to his or her students makes it an easy and fun way to model almost any new strategy.
In the realm of comprehension, it can be valuable for a teacher to model their thinking as they read aloud. What questions pop up as you read? What connections are you making, to either yourself, the outside world, or to something else you've read or seen? How are you making inferences based on the text. These are all things than many students need to see modeled. Engaging read alouds are also great ways for students to gain background knowledge, which helps in their overall comprehension and knowledge about the world. At the elementary level, we have started prompting students to take notes during read alouds, and this ensures that students engage in what they are learning about.
In fluency instruction, it is valuable for students to see models of fluent reading. The beauty of a read aloud with fluency as a goal is that you can work in echo reading or choral reading. You can focus on things like intonation, or the way one reads dialogue, or uses punctuation. One key instructional strategy which I saw regarding fluency instruction is to remind your students to "transfer what they've been doing with oral reading to their silent reading" (219).
I like to use echo reading when I teach vocabulary in a read aloud. Often, the most interesting words are also the most fun or the most difficult to pronounce for students. If you ask them to say a new word, they'll almost always comply. You can also work on vocabulary instruction during read alouds by simply talking about new words that come up, or by defining them before doing the read aloud.
Because there are so many great things you can do with a read aloud, it can become a bit tempting to do too much at once. When Beers says that reading teachers must have a good read aloud program, she's simply stating the importance of pre-reading your read alouds, and pick them for specific purposes. Just focus on one strategy at a time, and let kids practice the things you've modeled soon after seeing you model it.
In the realm of comprehension, it can be valuable for a teacher to model their thinking as they read aloud. What questions pop up as you read? What connections are you making, to either yourself, the outside world, or to something else you've read or seen? How are you making inferences based on the text. These are all things than many students need to see modeled. Engaging read alouds are also great ways for students to gain background knowledge, which helps in their overall comprehension and knowledge about the world. At the elementary level, we have started prompting students to take notes during read alouds, and this ensures that students engage in what they are learning about.
In fluency instruction, it is valuable for students to see models of fluent reading. The beauty of a read aloud with fluency as a goal is that you can work in echo reading or choral reading. You can focus on things like intonation, or the way one reads dialogue, or uses punctuation. One key instructional strategy which I saw regarding fluency instruction is to remind your students to "transfer what they've been doing with oral reading to their silent reading" (219).
I like to use echo reading when I teach vocabulary in a read aloud. Often, the most interesting words are also the most fun or the most difficult to pronounce for students. If you ask them to say a new word, they'll almost always comply. You can also work on vocabulary instruction during read alouds by simply talking about new words that come up, or by defining them before doing the read aloud.
Because there are so many great things you can do with a read aloud, it can become a bit tempting to do too much at once. When Beers says that reading teachers must have a good read aloud program, she's simply stating the importance of pre-reading your read alouds, and pick them for specific purposes. Just focus on one strategy at a time, and let kids practice the things you've modeled soon after seeing you model it.
Selling Books
I jumped ahead a bit looking for a good topic but the notion of “selling books to students” struck me as something I wish I had known more about during my recent student-teaching placement. Kylene Beers discusses methods of selling books to reluctant readers on page 290 and, while it may seem almost crass, like we’re fooling our students into reading, I experienced similar situations with students who either had 1. just finished a book, loved it and didn’t want to read another, 2. were constantly disappointed by the “lack of action” in books, 3. claimed there was nothing good around to read. And on and on and on; there were many excuses and many times when I found myself thrusting The Giver into a students mistrusting hands, insisting “you’ll really like it.”
Beers writes about seven “book-selling” strategies. Some are rather obvious, like read-alouds for students who won’t read on their own, the “read and tease” mentioned before by Tovani and creating class field trips to the school’s presumably seldom-used library. I really liked Beers’ suggestions regarding the “Good Books Box” and her reading conferences. The Good Books Box serves to limit the choices that sometimes overwhelm students; it is a box filled with “just-right” books that work for students who actually prefer to be pointed in a direction. “Until you are comfortable with authors, genres and interests, it’s hard to find a good book. We need to narrow that choice for students,” writes Beers on page 295.
Another useful strategy and one that I always thought about during my placement was “Suggestion #7: Talk About the Authors.” I love to hear the background stories behind pieces of art, from The Beatles’ tumultuous White Album sessions to Sylvia Plath’s struggles with depression to the Francis Ford Coppola’s problematic Apocalypse Now shoot. Hooking students in with similar stories is, for some reason, often an ignored strategy but, if reading is a conversation with an author, wouldn’t our students like to know who’s on the other end of the phone and what kind of person he or she might be? Authors are often nameless, faceless entities to students and that’s a shame. Beers’ reading conferences about which authors are students’ favorites might help those of them who need the inside story to be excited by literature.
Works Cited
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003. Print.
Beers writes about seven “book-selling” strategies. Some are rather obvious, like read-alouds for students who won’t read on their own, the “read and tease” mentioned before by Tovani and creating class field trips to the school’s presumably seldom-used library. I really liked Beers’ suggestions regarding the “Good Books Box” and her reading conferences. The Good Books Box serves to limit the choices that sometimes overwhelm students; it is a box filled with “just-right” books that work for students who actually prefer to be pointed in a direction. “Until you are comfortable with authors, genres and interests, it’s hard to find a good book. We need to narrow that choice for students,” writes Beers on page 295.
Another useful strategy and one that I always thought about during my placement was “Suggestion #7: Talk About the Authors.” I love to hear the background stories behind pieces of art, from The Beatles’ tumultuous White Album sessions to Sylvia Plath’s struggles with depression to the Francis Ford Coppola’s problematic Apocalypse Now shoot. Hooking students in with similar stories is, for some reason, often an ignored strategy but, if reading is a conversation with an author, wouldn’t our students like to know who’s on the other end of the phone and what kind of person he or she might be? Authors are often nameless, faceless entities to students and that’s a shame. Beers’ reading conferences about which authors are students’ favorites might help those of them who need the inside story to be excited by literature.
Works Cited
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003. Print.
Reformulation
Works Cited
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003. Print.
In play or screenwriting, adaptation is a source of great consternation. Did the writers get this or that detail from the novel/comic/stand-up act/song/historical document correct? Did they incorprate everything the original piece of art had or did the not incorporate enough? Did they add anything? Should they have? All this is to say, there's a great deal of complex thought that goes into taking a subject text and reformulating it as a different kind of text. In Kylene Beers' reformulation technique, students are able to learn from performing these complex processes and by, hopefully, reformulating the texts they read into formats that are easier for them to use (websites, audiobooks, poems and the like).
“…reformulations encourage students to talk about the original texts. In addition, reformulations encourage students to identify main ideas, cause and effect relationships, themes, and main characters while sequencing, generalizing and making inferences,” writes Beers on page 160. Reformulation is great because it works so many educational “muscles” at the same time. Students who would be discouraged or overwhelmed by too many questions will do the same amount of work they would have done otherwise but will be able to focus their energies on a task that feels creative rather than regurgitative. Reformulation is also frequently used as a group activity and brings with it all of the benefits of group work in that students who aren’t normally heard suddenly have to speak up, knowledge is shared and different perspectives are given equal footing. Additionally, the organizational skills of pulling off working group-work are applied to story structure and retelling skills.
“As the students worked through their reformulations, they returned to the text, reread portions, argued over meanings, questioned whether something was important or not, and listened to each other’s interpretations… Eventually, students begin to see how form influences the message” (Beers 162). Reformulation is perfect for students who are mentally capable of deep text analysis but encounter superficial differences on the way there.
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003. Print.
In play or screenwriting, adaptation is a source of great consternation. Did the writers get this or that detail from the novel/comic/stand-up act/song/historical document correct? Did they incorprate everything the original piece of art had or did the not incorporate enough? Did they add anything? Should they have? All this is to say, there's a great deal of complex thought that goes into taking a subject text and reformulating it as a different kind of text. In Kylene Beers' reformulation technique, students are able to learn from performing these complex processes and by, hopefully, reformulating the texts they read into formats that are easier for them to use (websites, audiobooks, poems and the like).
“…reformulations encourage students to talk about the original texts. In addition, reformulations encourage students to identify main ideas, cause and effect relationships, themes, and main characters while sequencing, generalizing and making inferences,” writes Beers on page 160. Reformulation is great because it works so many educational “muscles” at the same time. Students who would be discouraged or overwhelmed by too many questions will do the same amount of work they would have done otherwise but will be able to focus their energies on a task that feels creative rather than regurgitative. Reformulation is also frequently used as a group activity and brings with it all of the benefits of group work in that students who aren’t normally heard suddenly have to speak up, knowledge is shared and different perspectives are given equal footing. Additionally, the organizational skills of pulling off working group-work are applied to story structure and retelling skills.
“As the students worked through their reformulations, they returned to the text, reread portions, argued over meanings, questioned whether something was important or not, and listened to each other’s interpretations… Eventually, students begin to see how form influences the message” (Beers 162). Reformulation is perfect for students who are mentally capable of deep text analysis but encounter superficial differences on the way there.
The Stuff That Happens - Using Retellings
On page 152 of When Kids Can't Read, Kylene Beers introduces the "Retellings" technique, an "oral summary of a text based on a set of story elements, such as setting, main characters, and conflicts" (Beers 152). The strategy is deceptively simple: can a given reader recount clearly and accurately what happened in a recently-completed text? Struggling students, like Amelia from Beers' class, often cannot properly introduce the information they try to express, get caught up in the exciting details of a story without properly establishing setting, conflict, etc. and present the story out of order. A student's method of retelling a story is a window into his or her actual reading of the story; if the story emerges jumbled and unintelligible during a retelling, it can be safely assumed that it is jumbled and unintelligible in that student's mind as well.
Retellings are a good way to notice insufficiencies in student reading at the beginning of a school-year but are also skills that students can improve and be assessed on throughout the year. Amelia, for instance, had improved her retelling skills markedly by February. Beers provides an example of Amelia's growth on page 153 and the difference is surprising. "Amelia stops to provide an introduction for the listener... she remembers to give us the setting... Amelia thinks to provide the characters' names purposefully instead of in a haphazard approach..." writes Beers of the student's progress (153).
Retelling provides guidelines for students who need blanks to fill in asked to take a great deal of information and make sense of all of it. It helps them split stories into chunks that can be more easily analyzed, rather than try to grapple with the whole of it all at once. Additionally, retelling provides teachers wit valuable information about how their students think. "Now her teacher knows that Amelia can absorb information; she just has trouble processing that information in a way that lets her share it meaningfully with others" (154). Amelia did the work, she just needed some "traffic signs" instructing her where to go with it.
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003.
Print.
Retellings are a good way to notice insufficiencies in student reading at the beginning of a school-year but are also skills that students can improve and be assessed on throughout the year. Amelia, for instance, had improved her retelling skills markedly by February. Beers provides an example of Amelia's growth on page 153 and the difference is surprising. "Amelia stops to provide an introduction for the listener... she remembers to give us the setting... Amelia thinks to provide the characters' names purposefully instead of in a haphazard approach..." writes Beers of the student's progress (153).
Retelling provides guidelines for students who need blanks to fill in asked to take a great deal of information and make sense of all of it. It helps them split stories into chunks that can be more easily analyzed, rather than try to grapple with the whole of it all at once. Additionally, retelling provides teachers wit valuable information about how their students think. "Now her teacher knows that Amelia can absorb information; she just has trouble processing that information in a way that lets her share it meaningfully with others" (154). Amelia did the work, she just needed some "traffic signs" instructing her where to go with it.
Works Cited
Logographic Cues For Vocab Words
In her book “When Kids Can’ Read,” Kylene Beers address the issue of building vocabulary for struggling readers. She admits that traditional vocabulary instruction is not particularly effective, and it is something of a drag—for both students and teachers. She sums up traditional vocab word instruction when she writes, “On Monday, teacher gives students the vocabulary words; during the week, students memorize definitions of vocabulary words; on Friday, teacher gives test on vocabulary words; on Friday afternoon, students forget definitions of vocabulary words.” (176). This is how I learned vocabulary. I remember it as a tough slog, but something that had to be done.
I never really thought there was another way to learn vocab other than pounding through it, but Beers offers other approaches that focus more on fun and critical thinking than rote memorization. She has found vocabulary instruction methods that allow students to “learn the words, use the words, and remember the words" without relying on boring repetitive methods (179).
Of her vocab instruction strategies, I found the Logographic Cue Cards to be my favorite. In this strategy, students make their own logographic of each vocabulary word, “on one side of the card, students write the vocabulary word; on the other side, they write the definition and draw a logograph that suggests the meaning of the word.” (195). I’m so found of this idea because it requires students to really think about the word, internalize it, and come up with their own definition that is unique to them. Of course, they write the actual definition on the back of the card, but they also have to come up with a picture to draw; which means they can’t just memorize the sentences that define the vocab word, they have to figure out what it actually means to them and then express that in an image.
I also think that adding a visual element to a word’s definition will be an incredible memory aid. Not only will the students have the visual memory, but they will have the memory of thinking about and creating the actual drawing.
As Beers concludes, “Logographics act as a powerful scaffold to comprehension for some students. As students decide what symbol would best represent an idea in the text, they are encouraged to think critically about what they are reading.” (195). Not to mention—drawing a picture is a lot more fun than rote memorization.
Teaching Phrasing and Intonation Directly and through Dramatic Activities
“It’s one thing to model fluent
reading and another to directly teach students how to use correct phrasing and
intonation.” (Beers, 2003, p. 216) As
Beers mentions in her chapter on Fluency and Automaticity, the way you read a
text can make a big difference in how you interpret that text. As an actor, I can certainly attest to
that. I remember my very own
introduction to the subtleties of language in storytelling. It was during an acting exercise in middle
school. In the exercise, students were paired
off and asked to perform an improvisational scene using one very simple,
non-punctuated sentence as the opening line.
I remember being taken aback by the broad spectrum of possible
interpretations. Each set of kids seemed
to insert their own punctuation, intonation, and individual background into
this simple sentence, creating six completely different stories.
Beers
(2003) suggests presenting a sentence like “You read the book” (p. 216) to the
students, asking them to read the sentence four different ways, stressing a
different word in the sentence each time.
After that she suggests presenting the same sentence with three
different punctuation marks and again having the students read them out loud,
followed by a discussion about the sentence and its many potential
meanings. While I find this work extremely
relevant, I think it would be a lot more engaging for the students if the
strategy were moved on to its feet for some hands-on practice. I love finding opportunities to incorporate
dramatic activities into the English classroom, and teaching the importance of phrasing
and intonation while reading leaves the door wide open for this type of
work. In my classroom, I would consider
combining Beers’ instructions with the experience I had, asking the students to
explore these sentences in the form of a short dialogue in pairs. In this way, students will gain a clear
understanding of the significance of phrasing and intonation in the single
sentence, as well as how that one sentence can affect the context of the rest
of a story.
Reference List:
Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Can't Read: What
Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Somebody Wanted But So
Story summary is a tough thing to teach. How do you get students to pick out the most important story elements, or the right amount of story elements to include in a summary? As Kylene Beers states in When Kids Can't Read, students "either offer nothing or restate everything in the story" (145). In my brief experience with 3rd graders, they often retell everything, and the only guidance I've been able to offer has been: "Remember, a summary is shorter than a retell. Just tell the most important parts of the story in a few sentences."
"Somebody Wanted But So," is a strategy that helps illuminate exactly what needs to be in a summary. This is a strategy that is geared towards traditional narrative structure. Narratives almost always follow the same pattern of having a protagonist ("somebody") who is has some conflict, is trying to get something or fulfill some need ("wanted"). Something, or many things get in their way ("but"), and somehow they overcome their obstacle(s) or come to some resolution ("so"). Beers offers this in a graphic organizer format, where students can fill out each of those 4 major story elements, and then use their answer to craft a summary, in either written or spoken form.
What I like about this strategy is that it is so adaptable. You can change around the labels, using any story language you want to use about those 4 major elements (i.e. "main character," instead of "somebody," "conflict" instead of "but"). It's a great way to break down the common pattern of stories so that students can tackle summaries proficiently. You can use it as a handout, have students write it into their notebook, put it as a chart on your wall, or as individualized cards for students who need that scaffold.
"Somebody Wanted But So," is a strategy that helps illuminate exactly what needs to be in a summary. This is a strategy that is geared towards traditional narrative structure. Narratives almost always follow the same pattern of having a protagonist ("somebody") who is has some conflict, is trying to get something or fulfill some need ("wanted"). Something, or many things get in their way ("but"), and somehow they overcome their obstacle(s) or come to some resolution ("so"). Beers offers this in a graphic organizer format, where students can fill out each of those 4 major story elements, and then use their answer to craft a summary, in either written or spoken form.
What I like about this strategy is that it is so adaptable. You can change around the labels, using any story language you want to use about those 4 major elements (i.e. "main character," instead of "somebody," "conflict" instead of "but"). It's a great way to break down the common pattern of stories so that students can tackle summaries proficiently. You can use it as a handout, have students write it into their notebook, put it as a chart on your wall, or as individualized cards for students who need that scaffold.
Creating a Good Books Box
In Chapter 14 of Kylene Beers’ (2003) When Kids Can’t Read, Beers focuses on several strategies for
helping students find the right book. In
the fifth suggestion, Beers describes an encounter she had while attempting to
assist a student in the library. The
student lamented that teachers always say the library is full of good books,
but the students do not know how to find them.
The student compared the library to a large department store, where it
is difficult to find what you need. She
mentioned that she prefers to shop at The Limited, because the selection is
indeed limited, narrowed down, making it easier to find something “good”. With this in mind, Beers (2003) decided to
create a Good Books Box, with a small selection of excellent books.
I love this idea! Joining a new world or activity, whether that
is a sport, a school, a club, or even the world of reading, can be intimidating
and overwhelming. There is always a lot
of new information to learn, it is often difficult to find exactly what you need,
and you do not yet trust your own instincts in this new field or
environment. It may not be immediately
obvious that a student could feel about the library the way we feel on our
first day at a new job, but if they are a struggling reader, this may very well
be the case. Narrowing things down in
the form of a Good Books Box makes the reading world seem less vast, and
therefore more accessible to hesitant readers.
Also, considering how
much of life comes down to self-fulfilling prophecy, the Good Books Box is also
a great way to start students out with the right frame of mind when beginning a
new book. Knowing their books came from
the Good Books Box, students will likely be more invested in the story, and
remain more open minded as they read.
I definitely want to
have a Good Books Box in my classroom.
What a simple, but brilliant strategy!
Reference List:
Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Can't Read: What
Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Aesthetic
and Efferent Stances Toward Reading
It
is important to note the difference of aesthetic and efferent reading stances
when attempting to turn students into lifelong readers. On the most basic level efferent reading
often encompasses the goal of gaining information from the text. Readers who employ this stance are often only
interested in answering the assigned questions about the text. On the other hand, aesthetic reading allows
the reader to live through the text. An
example of this is being able to sympathize and feel for the characters in a
text. This is not to say that one
reading stance is better than the other; both stances should be seen as being
on a continuum. Most proficient readers employ
the use of both stances, because they both have their place in the learning
process. Beers asserts that, “by
contrast, struggling readers, as well as reluctant readers, often lack this
stance versatility…this is particularly a problem when students are reading
fiction and literary nonfiction in their language arts classes” (Beers
269). Thus, it is the job of the
educator to encourage aesthetic responses from our students.
Beers
notes that is it is important to let your students know that reading is about
much more than answering questions. In
order for our students to be truly engaged teachers have to conscious to set up
the learning process in a way that gets students personally involved in the
text. Framing the questions in a way
that elicits reflection and personal response is a much better way to elicit engagement
than assigning questions that are simply text based. Beers confirms that once the questioning is
revamped to fit the varied needs of the struggling reader, that they will eventually
be able to better utilize the full continuum of reading stances.
Works Cited
Do Not
Tolerate Put-Downs
Many
teachers feel that eliminating peer-to-peer putdowns in their classrooms is an
impossible task. These putdowns do not always
have to be verbal, “smirks, rolled eyes, and hushed laughing can do as much
damage as words do” (Beers 266). Some
educators feel that dealing with this behavior is a necessary evil that they
just have to deal with; however, I refuse to accept that. I feel that in order to teach someone you
must first earn their trust, because opening yourself up to learning means
allowing yourself to be vulnerable. As an educator it is my job to assure
that no matter what my student’s skill level is, to instill in them a sense of
confidence; allowing them to do their best both inside and outside of the
classroom. If I allowed negative behavior to undermine that trust, I would
essentially be forfeiting the prior progress that was being made in my class.
The
relationship that is built between the teachers and student cannot be overlooked
as an integral part of the learning process.
Beers supports this notion by asserting that, “When children are belittled
by their peers, something happens that is hurtful almost beyond repair. When it
happens in front of an adult, an adult who is supposed to care, and the adult
does nothing, then the damage is even greater” (Beers 266). Beers suggests that apart from setting
classroom rules and setting guidelines, that the most crucial thing that a
teachers can do in this situation is to be vigilant. It is important that
teachers recognize peer-to-peer put-downs as an intolerable distraction, and as
something that has the potential to halt the learning process.
Works Cited
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Identifying
a Struggling Reader
The theme of the section entitled “So Who Is a Struggling
Reader?” deals with the recognition of a student who is struggling in the
classroom. Most teachers generally
assumed that a struggling reader takes the form of a student who seems distracted
and disinterested in what is going on in the classroom. The body language is described as being
turned away from the front of the room, with heads down or arms crossed. However, the struggling reader can come in
many forms, such as the popular kid in class or the new foreign exchange
student who has the language barrier keeping her from attaining academic
success. Beers asserts that, “we cannot make the struggling reader fit one mold
or expect one pattern to suffice for all students” (Beers 14). Furthermore,
this formulates the idea in the minds of new age teachers about how to reach
their students from a different perspective if they recognize them to be a
struggling reader.
I felt that this part of the text
directly related to me because I was able to glean a different perspective of who
the struggling reader is. I often made the mistake of focusing mainly on the struggling
students were the troublemakers of the class, attempting to throw off the focus
of the other students in the classroom.
I understand that there are some students that are overlooked because
they fit the stereotypical mold of being a model student in the eyes of the
teacher and his/her peers. I can now
recognize the need to not only assess the body language of the student but to
also pay attention to the quality of his/her work in order to ensure that every
child receives the proper attention, regardless of their physical disposition.
Works Cited
Probable Passage - Vocabulary, Comprehension, and Engagement
I am always interested in teaching strategies that function on multiple
levels, particularly involving the too often forgotten element of engagement. Learning is meant to be interesting. So is reading. Finding ways to engage and excite our struggling
readers is just as important as assisting them with their actual reading. Probable Passage is one of those gold-mine
strategies that incorporate vocabulary, comprehension, and engagement in one pre-reading
activity. It also provides a great opportunity
for post-reading discussion.
Probable Passage is
pre-reading strategy where the teacher creates a list of key words from the
chosen text, presents them to the students, ensures that students understand
what the words mean, and asks them to arrange the words according to their
probable role in the text (characters, setting, problem, outcomes, etc). Beers (2003) created a Probable Passage
worksheet, displayed in Figure 6.3 (p. 88) of When Kids Can’t Read. Once
the students have placed the words in their probable categories, they are asked
to use the words to compose a prediction statement describing what the text
they are about to read might be about.
As I mentioned earlier, the Probable Passage strategy creates
the opportunity for several things to happen.
First, the students are introduced to key terms they are likely to
encounter and need to know when reading the text. For struggling or reluctant readers, this
head start can be extremely beneficial.
Secondly, the students are compelled to consider characters, setting,
conflict, resolutions, and potential causal relationships all before ever
opening the text. In this way, students
are reminded what they should be paying attention to while reading, while forcing
them to make their own connections and predictions about what might happen in
the text. This is where engagement comes
into play. There is something about
guessing games that appeals to even the most apathetic of students. Activities like these help to pique the
students’ interest and motivate them to do the reading in order to discover
what actually happened and if their predictions were accurate. In this way, students are given an opportunity
to be invested in their reading, while simultaneously feeling prepared for
it. I really like the idea of comparing
their Probable Passages to the story after reading in the form of a class discussion. Beers (2003) suggests asking questions such
as: “How did your predictions differ from what happened in the story? Now that
you’ve read the story, in what categories would the author place the key words?”
(p. 93) I can really see how this would
help to extend and solidify meaning for our readers, and I think given the
nature of the activity, the students will want to make the comparisons, which
is certainly the best part.
Reference List:
Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Can't Read: What
Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Final Word
The Final word protocol
is a good way to get students to listen to one another and to focus
conversation. “ The purpose of the Final Word Protocol is to expand the interpretation
of one or more texts by encouraging the emergence of a variety of interest,
view points, and voices”(32). The final word protocol seems a lot easier than
it actually is, this protocol is very structured in the sense that it has very
strict time constraints and everyone in the group has a role. There are four
steps to the protocol.
1.
“Presentation.
Presenter number one presents the passage he or she has identified, reading
aloud and having people follow along on their copies. The presenter speaks for
2 to 3 minutes uninterrupted about it” (3)
Step one seems lot easier
than it is, for some student s 2 to 3 minutes is not enough, while for others 2
to 3 minutes is way too much. Another
difficult factor in the presentation part of the protocol is some students may
find themselves wanting to interrupt the presenter and give their own opinions
and interpretations of the text.
2.
“Reflecting
back. Each listener in turn has 1 uninterrupted minute to “reflect back” on
what the presenter has said. The facilitator has explained that reflecting back
means exploring the presenter’s interpretation of the passage, not adding one’s
own interpretation. A listener might begin , “From what you said, I can see
that you are concerned about…”” (3)
This in my opinion is
the most difficult part of the protocol. The listeners are not giving their
opinion, agreeing or disagreeing with the presenter, they are just showing that
they were listening and that they understood the point the presenter was
making.
3.
Final
word/ Repeat. “ The round ends with a 1-minute
uninterrupted time for the presenter to react to what has just been said,” (3) and
then the process repeats until all members of the group have had the
opportunity to be the presenter.
4.
“Written
reflection. Following the rounds, the facilitator
asks everyone to write for 5 minutes about what they have learned from the
rounds about the text(s) as a whole”(3).
This last part of the
protocol holds every member of the group accountable. I also like this last
step because if the teacher collects the reflections, he or she will have an
idea of what the students talked about and what they gained from the text. The teacher
can use this to see if a majority of the students understood the text and
decide whether it is time to move on or review as a class.
KWL Chart
KWL charts are
something I remember using when I was in elementary school, so it was nice to
know that some of the old methods are still being put to use today.
“What
I Know, What I Want to learn, What I Learned
(Olge, 1986) provides a framework that helps readers access their knowledge about
a topic before they read, consider what they want to learn, and then record
what they have learned once they finish reading” (Beers, 2003).
I really like this strategy
because it is something that is very easy to do an it can be used in any class
room before any lesson. I also believe that this is a very engaging strategy, most kids always want to prove what they know and the KWL chart gives them an oppotunity to do this. I know from my experience working with younger kids, they always want to know why or how come, and the KWL chart also gives them the oportunity to ask their questions.
When my elementary school teachers used this strategy, most of the time they would have the students create KWL charts in groups, after creating our charts we would either present them to the class on a huge post it, or the entire class would express their ideas to create a class KWL chart. I like the picture Beers inserts in the text of the KWL chart because it shows that this can actually be a take home project or maybe even used as a summative assessment. This can even be used as a prereading or guided reading activity to be done individually for older students. Overall, I think this is a great and timeless strategy. It can be used anywhere by anyone.
When my elementary school teachers used this strategy, most of the time they would have the students create KWL charts in groups, after creating our charts we would either present them to the class on a huge post it, or the entire class would express their ideas to create a class KWL chart. I like the picture Beers inserts in the text of the KWL chart because it shows that this can actually be a take home project or maybe even used as a summative assessment. This can even be used as a prereading or guided reading activity to be done individually for older students. Overall, I think this is a great and timeless strategy. It can be used anywhere by anyone.
Building Inferential Confidence (They Already Do It!)
In Kylene Beers' book, "When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do," the fifth chapter is all dedicated to helping students with the process of making inferences. Making inferences is something that many teachers struggle with teaching because it is a process that most of us have developed subconsciously. Our early exposure to literacy caused us to develop skills that are now automatic so long ago that we forget there was ever a time when they did not exist.
Since students who struggle with reading are often spending so much cognitive energy decoding, expending cognitive energy even looking for opportunities to make inferences id not ingrained. We must therefore train our students to seek out opportunities for inferencing in written text. The figures on pages 63 through 65 are hugely helpful in this area. I especially like figure 5.3, which has been labeled very concisely, Comments teachers can make to help students make certain types of inferences. This is an invaluable list for teachers, but I believe can also be a helpful tool for students. By giving students this list, either on a bookmark, on a handout or displayed on the wall, students are getting explicit hints about how to analyze a text for subtextual meaning. This list will be incredibly helpful for students who do not have competence with this practice.
However, just as important as competence with a burgeoning skill is confidence with that skill. This may actually be easier than you think. Students who struggle to make inferences in written text are often masters at making inferences in other situations, whether that be in a movie, picture, or even in real life. Making inferences about the antecedent for a pronoun, for example, is a skill students practice effectively every time they have a conversation. Understanding characters relationships to one another is a basic social skill that students practice every day. Helping students to realize that the inferential skills are skills many of them already have mastered in other contexts can be a huge step forward in making inferences in texts.
There are several ways we can do this. In Cris Tovani's book, "Do I Really Have To Teach Reading," she details an account of using a photograph to make inferences. In addition, I have often used short film clips to generate inferences. Pixar short films are great for this. They are high-engagement, require no background knowledge, and are over in 3-5 minutes, eliminating the problem of students whining, "Can we just finish the movie?" Transcribing actual conversations by actual students in the classroom to then draw inferences from can also be hugely engaging, as would filming short sequences of student interactions, whether play-acted or genuine. All of these are viable options to generate an attitude of fun and engagement surrounding a skill that students often find challenging, while also cultivating their own expertise to build confidence in a fundamental literary skill.
Since students who struggle with reading are often spending so much cognitive energy decoding, expending cognitive energy even looking for opportunities to make inferences id not ingrained. We must therefore train our students to seek out opportunities for inferencing in written text. The figures on pages 63 through 65 are hugely helpful in this area. I especially like figure 5.3, which has been labeled very concisely, Comments teachers can make to help students make certain types of inferences. This is an invaluable list for teachers, but I believe can also be a helpful tool for students. By giving students this list, either on a bookmark, on a handout or displayed on the wall, students are getting explicit hints about how to analyze a text for subtextual meaning. This list will be incredibly helpful for students who do not have competence with this practice.
However, just as important as competence with a burgeoning skill is confidence with that skill. This may actually be easier than you think. Students who struggle to make inferences in written text are often masters at making inferences in other situations, whether that be in a movie, picture, or even in real life. Making inferences about the antecedent for a pronoun, for example, is a skill students practice effectively every time they have a conversation. Understanding characters relationships to one another is a basic social skill that students practice every day. Helping students to realize that the inferential skills are skills many of them already have mastered in other contexts can be a huge step forward in making inferences in texts.
There are several ways we can do this. In Cris Tovani's book, "Do I Really Have To Teach Reading," she details an account of using a photograph to make inferences. In addition, I have often used short film clips to generate inferences. Pixar short films are great for this. They are high-engagement, require no background knowledge, and are over in 3-5 minutes, eliminating the problem of students whining, "Can we just finish the movie?" Transcribing actual conversations by actual students in the classroom to then draw inferences from can also be hugely engaging, as would filming short sequences of student interactions, whether play-acted or genuine. All of these are viable options to generate an attitude of fun and engagement surrounding a skill that students often find challenging, while also cultivating their own expertise to build confidence in a fundamental literary skill.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Logographic Cues: Helping Comprehension Without Hindering Fluency
I think kids are good at creating remembering shorthand,
especially in today’s digital world.
For instance, “TTYL” when typing it to a friend means “Talk to you
later” and “YOLO” even when spoken aloud means “you only live once.” I’m surprised, then, that that upon
first reading about logographic cues in Kylene Beer’s When Kids Can’t Read, I was skeptical that they would be effective.
A logographic cue is a “visual symbol” – created by students
– that they are able to “insert into texts as they read to become ‘signposts’
that show them the direction the text is taking” (Beers 129). I was doubtful that they would work as
well as sticky notes in keeping a student engaged in a text. Would students think that memorizing a
visual system is an annoyance?
Would students remember the cues they created? It was actually during my reading of my book club text, What Video Games Have To Teach Us About
Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee that I began to realize just how
visual kids are. Kids love video
games – and video games are made up of many visual cues (amongst other things)
that help kids to navigate through various world and levels. It certainly seems plausible that using
visual cues could be effectively transferred to aiding in unlocking the meaning
of a text.
It took me longer to grasp why logographic cues might
sometimes preferred over sticky notes or double entry diaries and other
during-reading comprehension strategies.
The realization came while reading about fluency. Fluency is “the ability to read
smoothly and easily at a good pace with good phrasing and expression” (Beers
205). How could kids work on
reading smoothly, and at a good pace, if I as their teacher was constantly
asking them to stop and record a question, personal connection, or prediction
in the middle of their reading?
While I still would argue that this is quite valuable – I think it’s
equally important to give students a strategy to maintain comprehension while
working on fluency. The
logographic cues seems like the perfect strategy since it only requires the
student to make a quick note in the margins of the text – a question mark for
example – to allow them to remember to go back to that particular section. “Logographic cues are designed to offer
readers a high-utility message in a minimum amount of space” (Beers 129). While I agree, I would also say it
delivers this message in a minimum amount of time -- making it a perfect way to
advance during-reading comprehension without hindering fluency.
Works Cited
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003.
Print.
Vocabulary Trees: Making Vocabulary Visible and Holding Kids Accountable
I considered myself a decent reader in high school. I read fluently for the most part, but
I struggled with pronouncing new words and figuring out their meaning. It was not until I was a freshman at college
and signing up for a required language class (I chose Beginning Latin) that I
realized the importance of roots in deducing the meaning of a word. Suddenly I saw how the word “magnus” –
meaning “large, great” in Latin – could help unlock the meaning of English words
such as magnificent.
I like the approach of vocabulary trees in teaching students
about roots and how they play a role in “how words work” (Beers 188). I think that the vocabulary trees are
effective because (1) The trees allow students to take charge of their own
vocabulary (2) The trees provide a visual representation.
I think it can be hard to make vocabulary exciting. Perhaps this uncertainty on how to
engage students in building their vocabulary leads many a teacher to resort to
the standard Friday vocabulary tests.
Kylene Beers argues that a good panacea to this dilemma is the
vocabulary tree. After the teacher
provides a root word for a student to write in the trunk of the tree, the
students then choose other words that share this same root to create branches
of the tree. The way in which
students define these branch words adds yet another layer of accountability to
the tree. “Students define the
word and copy a sentence that uses it.
This could be a sentence they heard, one they read, or one they said
themselves” (Beers 189). This method
keeps students on alert – making them identify throughout the week other words sharing
the root word of their vocabulary tree from a variety of different sources. The process also links a student’s
vocabulary with the real word and shows him how words are used in context.
As the tree grows it provides a real visual representation
of how many words are interconnected.
“It’s a nice way of making this concept very concrete to students who
often need those tangible connections” (Beers 190). More than making visual the concept being taught, it also
makes visual the progress a student makes. As students add more words, it becomes a visual trophy of
sorts. The bigger the tree gets
the more words a student knows. The
vocabulary tree becomes a reminder of how much a student has accomplished –
helping him to learn and feel good about himself in the process.
Works Cited
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2003.
Print.
Most Important Word
The strategy I claimed in class today is Most Important Word from Chapter 8: "Extending Meaning: After-Reading Strategies."Most Important Word involves having students choose what they believe is the most important word from a piece of text. After choosing the word, students need to defend their choice in a class debate. This strategy can be left fairly unstructured for independent readers who are able to decipher the main idea of a text and cite supporting evidence. For dependent or struggling readers, Beers provides a Most Important Word worksheet as these students may need a more structured approach to unpacking the text and developing an argument. A student example of the worksheet is found on page 174 and the blank worksheet can be found in Appendix F. Beers (2003) explains the literary elements that are explored on the worksheet: "With this form, students consider how the word affects the characters, conflict, plot, and setting. From that, they use this word to help them formulate a theme statement." (p.175)
I chose this strategy because I think it could be very useful in a poetry lesson. Teaching poetry is still something that slightly intimidates me, so I'm always looking for useful classroom strategies. Diction is important in any text, but is especially crucial in analyzing poetry. Most Important Word could be an excellent strategy to teach students about the usefulness of considering diction to understand a poem. Students would choose a word form the poem and then explain how this one word impacts the characters, setting, plot, conflict, and theme of the poem. It would be important to explain to students that there is not one correct answer for this exercise. They should simply choose the word that they believe best illuminates the meaning of the poem and then defend their choice considering the elements listed on the worksheet.
Finally, I wanted to share a way that I thought of to take this strategy one step further. Class debates are an excellent activity to scaffold argument writing and to practice persuasive discourse. Many students, however, need a lesson on persuasive language before they can successfully partake in a debate or write a persuasive essay. I'm thinking specifically about ELLs. As I've mentioned in class, I am especially interested in ELLs. My Scoop It project revolves around how teachers can help ELLs to meet the Common Core Standards. The resources I've found so far all recommend incorporating mini language lessons into a larger content lesson whenever possible. Most Important Word is an excellent opportunity to give a short lesson about persuasive language. The teacher could model such sentences as: "I believe the most important word is...," I chose this word because...," "My claim is supported with the following evidence...," "This line is evidence of...". This is a quick lesson that could be left up on the Smart Board or classroom wall for students to reference when they defend their words in speech or writing. Depending on the grade level, all students, not just ELLs, would benefit from such language instruction.
Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Can't Read What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
I chose this strategy because I think it could be very useful in a poetry lesson. Teaching poetry is still something that slightly intimidates me, so I'm always looking for useful classroom strategies. Diction is important in any text, but is especially crucial in analyzing poetry. Most Important Word could be an excellent strategy to teach students about the usefulness of considering diction to understand a poem. Students would choose a word form the poem and then explain how this one word impacts the characters, setting, plot, conflict, and theme of the poem. It would be important to explain to students that there is not one correct answer for this exercise. They should simply choose the word that they believe best illuminates the meaning of the poem and then defend their choice considering the elements listed on the worksheet.
Finally, I wanted to share a way that I thought of to take this strategy one step further. Class debates are an excellent activity to scaffold argument writing and to practice persuasive discourse. Many students, however, need a lesson on persuasive language before they can successfully partake in a debate or write a persuasive essay. I'm thinking specifically about ELLs. As I've mentioned in class, I am especially interested in ELLs. My Scoop It project revolves around how teachers can help ELLs to meet the Common Core Standards. The resources I've found so far all recommend incorporating mini language lessons into a larger content lesson whenever possible. Most Important Word is an excellent opportunity to give a short lesson about persuasive language. The teacher could model such sentences as: "I believe the most important word is...," I chose this word because...," "My claim is supported with the following evidence...," "This line is evidence of...". This is a quick lesson that could be left up on the Smart Board or classroom wall for students to reference when they defend their words in speech or writing. Depending on the grade level, all students, not just ELLs, would benefit from such language instruction.
Beers, K. (2003). When Kids Can't Read What Teachers Can Do. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Think Aloud Reading Strategies
So much of teaching reading is, as we've discussed in class, making the invisible visible. Beers explores a strategy in teaching skills for engaging with the text through "think-alouds". This strategy of explaining the thinking process that occurs during reading helps students understand how actively engaged they should be in order to achieve meaningful comprehension. It also, as Beers (2003) points out, "not only helps the teacher understand why or how a student is having difficulty with a text but also allows the student to analyze how he is thinking about his reading" (p. 119). This can help an instructor identify patterns and better understand what the issues with reading may be, whether on the individual or class-wide level.
In terms of practice, think-alouds can be executed in variations, allowing for options with student response. One possibility of the think aloud could take shape in free-writing. The teacher would have scaffolding the process and explained expectations of these think alouds, but students could then have the opportunity to free-write about the associations they are making, the questions they have, etc. Students could then optionally share their writing aloud with a partner. This variation allows for concrete writing of one's own thoughts instead of just speaking aloud to a recorder. An extension would be to take down a list of connections, questions, inferences, predictions from the class on the board. Students would see the variety and extensiveness of a personal response to text, demonstrating the range of responses to texts as well as commonalities. Student could then visually catalogue their peers' relationships with the text as in comparison to their own and begin to understand what may be personal about reading and what may be universal about reading, not to mention these difference as they directly relate to the specific text they are working with. They are also physically creating their "internal text" - something essential to the reading process.
Another helpful strategy in think-alouds might be to provide photocopies of the text the class is working with and allow students to write directly on the text. This could be a way to transfer, visually, the internal text onto the pages of the actual text they are reading by physically putting their thoughts onto the page. This action would function to make this thinking process, something invisible, into written words on a page, therefore visible. The more and more these students use these strategies, Beers (2003) states, "that internal dialogue with the text becomes more natural, proving to students the connection between reading and thinking" (p. 123).
I wonder about a "popcorn" function of think-alouds, having students read a text aloud using the reading strategy of "popcorn" to distribute the reading responsibility to the class. The teacher could write on the board the "think-aloud" of each student on a copy of the text. This would keep readers engaged by the "popcorn" rotation as well as asking them to pay attention to the "reading voice" and the "reaction voice". Could this work? Or is it too ambitious? How much scaffolding would it require? Would students actually gain anything from the content they are reading, or should it be done with a text that is not necessarily essential to their learning (i.e. a magazine article, or something more fun)?
In terms of practice, think-alouds can be executed in variations, allowing for options with student response. One possibility of the think aloud could take shape in free-writing. The teacher would have scaffolding the process and explained expectations of these think alouds, but students could then have the opportunity to free-write about the associations they are making, the questions they have, etc. Students could then optionally share their writing aloud with a partner. This variation allows for concrete writing of one's own thoughts instead of just speaking aloud to a recorder. An extension would be to take down a list of connections, questions, inferences, predictions from the class on the board. Students would see the variety and extensiveness of a personal response to text, demonstrating the range of responses to texts as well as commonalities. Student could then visually catalogue their peers' relationships with the text as in comparison to their own and begin to understand what may be personal about reading and what may be universal about reading, not to mention these difference as they directly relate to the specific text they are working with. They are also physically creating their "internal text" - something essential to the reading process.
Another helpful strategy in think-alouds might be to provide photocopies of the text the class is working with and allow students to write directly on the text. This could be a way to transfer, visually, the internal text onto the pages of the actual text they are reading by physically putting their thoughts onto the page. This action would function to make this thinking process, something invisible, into written words on a page, therefore visible. The more and more these students use these strategies, Beers (2003) states, "that internal dialogue with the text becomes more natural, proving to students the connection between reading and thinking" (p. 123).
I wonder about a "popcorn" function of think-alouds, having students read a text aloud using the reading strategy of "popcorn" to distribute the reading responsibility to the class. The teacher could write on the board the "think-aloud" of each student on a copy of the text. This would keep readers engaged by the "popcorn" rotation as well as asking them to pay attention to the "reading voice" and the "reaction voice". Could this work? Or is it too ambitious? How much scaffolding would it require? Would students actually gain anything from the content they are reading, or should it be done with a text that is not necessarily essential to their learning (i.e. a magazine article, or something more fun)?
Character Bulletin Board
Because struggling and dependent readers often think good readers just naturally know how to read well, the use of a Character Bulletin Board in one's classroom seems like a good way to have all students on an equal playing field. "Making character bulletin boards gives students quick references to characters as they read a novel" (Beers, 2003, p. 134). I think having these board, and continually working on them, during the reading of a text is a good way for students to think deeper and more critically about a text and characters' actions. This strategy might work best for complex, intense texts, such as Of Mice and Men or To Kill A Mockingbird. Often, texts do not explicitly state why a character did or said a certain thing and it is up to the reader to make inferences. The character bulletin board is a great tool for students to remember specific quotes the character has said, changes they have gone through throughout the story, and past actions.
"Students' comprehension is improved while they read if they have texts or classroom materials that help them visualize the plots and characters" (Beers, 2003, p. 134). This strategy not only allows students to see the characters, but also provides time to discuss the text during reading. As we have discussed in class, teachers should not wait until a book is finished to talk about it. There should be continuous talk about the text. Using the character bulletin boards, students are able to see characteristics of each character and also create new meaning for the text and see the story through specific characters' points of view.
I think the teacher should model this strategy before students participate. This strategy could be implemented in a variety of ways: partners, small groups, whole-class, individual, etc. There could be specific guidelines for students as they are creating their board: physical characteristics, personality, important quotes, reoccurring themes of the characters, and many more. With the teacher's model as a guide, students will have many resources to complete this board successfully and enhance their understanding of the text.
"Students' comprehension is improved while they read if they have texts or classroom materials that help them visualize the plots and characters" (Beers, 2003, p. 134). This strategy not only allows students to see the characters, but also provides time to discuss the text during reading. As we have discussed in class, teachers should not wait until a book is finished to talk about it. There should be continuous talk about the text. Using the character bulletin boards, students are able to see characteristics of each character and also create new meaning for the text and see the story through specific characters' points of view.
I think the teacher should model this strategy before students participate. This strategy could be implemented in a variety of ways: partners, small groups, whole-class, individual, etc. There could be specific guidelines for students as they are creating their board: physical characteristics, personality, important quotes, reoccurring themes of the characters, and many more. With the teacher's model as a guide, students will have many resources to complete this board successfully and enhance their understanding of the text.
Save The Last Word For Me
"Dependent readers are often reluctant to offer their opinions because they anticipate being wrong" (Beers, 2003, p. 172). Save the Last Word for Me is a great strategy to hear everyone's voice and reaction to a text, especially students who are quiet or do not often participate for a variety of reasons. Students are to choose a passage that they like and write it down along with a rationale of their passage choice. Students are then put into small groups. In my opinion, this seems like a good opportunity for very diverse, heterogeneous groups. Perhaps to familiarize students with this activity, though, they should begin in homogeneous groups. Each student has a chance to share their passage and then the remaining group members explain why they liked or disliked the passage. The "round" ends with the student who read the passage with their rationale, and hence has the "last word" on the subject.
I think this activity is a great way to hear everyone's opinions about a text the whole class is reading. However, I would be cautious of grouping certain students together. I have mentioned that heterogeneous groups seem like they would work best for this activity, but if I have extremely shy and self-conscious students, I will take that into consideration when grouping. I suppose I could call this "smart grouping," where it's not completely random and has a conscious effort by me to place everyone in a group that supports them. Another idea for grouping this activity could be static grouping for each text we read together. Therefore, students are comfortable with their group before offering their opinion and listening to their group members' opinions about what they liked.
Because the prompt for this activity is something that each student personally likes and the purpose is to get dependent or struggling readers talking, I would consider changing the purpose or prompt. I say this because I am still thinking of each students' confidence. They may not want to hear why another student dislikes the passage they chose. I might simply change the prompt to: "Find a passage that was interesting to you" or like Joe uses: "Find any 'bumps' in the text." Students will still be required to have a rationale, but this method seems less vulnerable.
I think this activity is a great way to hear everyone's opinions about a text the whole class is reading. However, I would be cautious of grouping certain students together. I have mentioned that heterogeneous groups seem like they would work best for this activity, but if I have extremely shy and self-conscious students, I will take that into consideration when grouping. I suppose I could call this "smart grouping," where it's not completely random and has a conscious effort by me to place everyone in a group that supports them. Another idea for grouping this activity could be static grouping for each text we read together. Therefore, students are comfortable with their group before offering their opinion and listening to their group members' opinions about what they liked.
Because the prompt for this activity is something that each student personally likes and the purpose is to get dependent or struggling readers talking, I would consider changing the purpose or prompt. I say this because I am still thinking of each students' confidence. They may not want to hear why another student dislikes the passage they chose. I might simply change the prompt to: "Find a passage that was interesting to you" or like Joe uses: "Find any 'bumps' in the text." Students will still be required to have a rationale, but this method seems less vulnerable.
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