Reading to Learn
Vocabulary
There are better ways for students to learn vocabulary than to memorize a list of words and write definitions. We want to immerse our students in experiences that will teach them new words in multiple ways.
Some ways we teach vocabulary are through Graphic Organizers, Morphology, Context, Word Relationships, and Extending our students Interest in Vocabulary.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Graphic organizers can be incredibly helpful. They provide a visual representation of the relationship among words.
Examples of graphic organizers are:
word walls
logos/pictomaps
semantic maps
word maps
semantic feature analysis
MORPHOLOGY
Morphology is the study of word formations that include compound words, contractions, prefixes, and suffixes.
(Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations)
CONTEXT
In teaching our students we must remember that as our students read they should learn how to pick up on context clues to help them learn a word or words that they may not know. We must be conscious that their life experiences may limit them in how they interpret a certain passage, or sentence they may be reading. Teachers also are limited to the way they teach context based on their own life experiences.
WORD RELATIONSHIPS
Teachers need to teach the many different word relationships to students. Some of the different word relationships are: Antonyms, Figurative Language, Homophones (homonyms), Homographs, Multiple Meanings, and Synonyms.
When teachers teach the different relationships between words the students should be able to look up words on the internet and in the dictionary and comprehend the material they are reading.
EXTENDING AN INTEREST IN VOCABULARY
Teaching and learning vocabulary is an ongoing activity. There are many activities that can help students continue to learn vocabulary.
Some activities are:
Actual Experiences, Reading, Writing, and Vicarious Experiences. Using all of these activities to teach our students will help provide a more diverse lesson plan.
Vocabulary
There are better ways for students to learn vocabulary than to memorize a list of words and write definitions. We want to immerse our students in experiences that will teach them new words in multiple ways.
Some ways we teach vocabulary are through Graphic Organizers, Morphology, Context, Word Relationships, and Extending our students Interest in Vocabulary.
GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
Graphic organizers can be incredibly helpful. They provide a visual representation of the relationship among words.
Examples of graphic organizers are:
word walls
logos/pictomaps
semantic maps
word maps
semantic feature analysis
MORPHOLOGY
Morphology is the study of word formations that include compound words, contractions, prefixes, and suffixes.
(Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations)
CONTEXT
In teaching our students we must remember that as our students read they should learn how to pick up on context clues to help them learn a word or words that they may not know. We must be conscious that their life experiences may limit them in how they interpret a certain passage, or sentence they may be reading. Teachers also are limited to the way they teach context based on their own life experiences.
WORD RELATIONSHIPS
Teachers need to teach the many different word relationships to students. Some of the different word relationships are: Antonyms, Figurative Language, Homophones (homonyms), Homographs, Multiple Meanings, and Synonyms.
When teachers teach the different relationships between words the students should be able to look up words on the internet and in the dictionary and comprehend the material they are reading.
EXTENDING AN INTEREST IN VOCABULARY
Teaching and learning vocabulary is an ongoing activity. There are many activities that can help students continue to learn vocabulary.
Some activities are:
Actual Experiences, Reading, Writing, and Vicarious Experiences. Using all of these activities to teach our students will help provide a more diverse lesson plan.
The above video is from:
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/home.html
http://www.readingquest.org/strat/home.html
Fluency
Fluency is the ability to decode words automatically, group them meaningfully, and also read with expression. We need to teach using major fluency strategies, know fluency miscues, and decrease faulty habits. As you saw in the previous video, fluency was used as the "bridge" linking vocabulary and text comprehension.
Fluency is the ability to decode words automatically, group them meaningfully, and also read with expression. We need to teach using major fluency strategies, know fluency miscues, and decrease faulty habits. As you saw in the previous video, fluency was used as the "bridge" linking vocabulary and text comprehension.
Antiphonal reading - groups of students reading selection or text in unison. Similar to choral reading except selection is divided into parts for different groups.
Choral reading - students reading together in unison.
Echo reading - fluency is modeled. Students immediately echo a phase read by a skilled reader.
Paired reading - a capable reader and a student who is having difficulty reading materials written at an instructional level are paired or partnered together.
Radio reading - one student is the announcer and the other students read a selection or part of a story out loud. Other students or the radio audience do not have books open.
Readers' theater - students practice reading a script or parts. after practicing they present it without memorizing it.
Repeated reading -students practice reading a selection until it is read with zero miscues.
Tape-assisted reading - students read along in their books as they listen to an audiotape recording of their book by a fluent reader.
Choral reading - students reading together in unison.
Echo reading - fluency is modeled. Students immediately echo a phase read by a skilled reader.
Paired reading - a capable reader and a student who is having difficulty reading materials written at an instructional level are paired or partnered together.
Radio reading - one student is the announcer and the other students read a selection or part of a story out loud. Other students or the radio audience do not have books open.
Readers' theater - students practice reading a script or parts. after practicing they present it without memorizing it.
Repeated reading -students practice reading a selection until it is read with zero miscues.
Tape-assisted reading - students read along in their books as they listen to an audiotape recording of their book by a fluent reader.
Miscues - oral reading responses that are different from the printed text. We can observe fluency miscues because they are oral and they provide a means of describing a student’s oral reading behavior. The fluency miscues are:
Insertion - the addition of one or more words during the oral reading of printed material. Sometimes called additions.
Non-pronunciation - known as teacher assistance, aid, or teacher pronunciations. The student does not pronounce the word. Instead, the student waits for the teacher to pronounce it.
Omission - leaving out one or more words during the oral reading of printed materials. Students may skip or leave out a whole word, a group of words, or part of a word.
Repetition - saying a word, phrase, or sentence two or more times during oral reading.
Reversal - misreading or miswriting letters, words, or numbers by changing their direction.
Substitutions - replacing one or more words with an incorrect word or words during the oral reading of printed materials.
Insertion - the addition of one or more words during the oral reading of printed material. Sometimes called additions.
Non-pronunciation - known as teacher assistance, aid, or teacher pronunciations. The student does not pronounce the word. Instead, the student waits for the teacher to pronounce it.
Omission - leaving out one or more words during the oral reading of printed materials. Students may skip or leave out a whole word, a group of words, or part of a word.
Repetition - saying a word, phrase, or sentence two or more times during oral reading.
Reversal - misreading or miswriting letters, words, or numbers by changing their direction.
Substitutions - replacing one or more words with an incorrect word or words during the oral reading of printed materials.
Faulty habits - symptoms of reading problems that may interfere with fluency, reading rate and comprehension.
Finger pointing - use of a finger to keep place while reading either silently or orally.
Head movement - unnecessary side-to-side movement of the head for students with no physical problem using both eyes.
Subvocalization and lip movement - whispering or mumbling of words. the physical movement of lips may not be apparent during subvocalization.
DECREASING FAULTY HABITS
Finger pointing - use of a finger to keep place while reading either silently or orally.
Head movement - unnecessary side-to-side movement of the head for students with no physical problem using both eyes.
Subvocalization and lip movement - whispering or mumbling of words. the physical movement of lips may not be apparent during subvocalization.
DECREASING FAULTY HABITS
Text Comprehension
The main purpose of reading is comprehension. Comprehension is the interaction with the text and constructing meaning to the printed symbols. We need to teach our students to understand the communication between the author and the author’s readers. It is important to remember that students may verbalize the words but not comprehend the meaning of those words or understand the author’s message.
Structure/Strategies for Teaching Comprehension
PREPARING STUDENTS TO READ
If we believe reading begins before a student picks up a book (Tompkins 2003, Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations) we need to help the students activate prior knowledge, set a purpose for our reading, preview the reading, and predict what may happen.
There are several strategies to help prepare our students to read they are:
Reading aloud, Think Sheet, Probable passages, Anticipation guide, List-group-label-predict, K-W-L, Brainstorming. All of these activities should be used to prepare our students to read.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES
Researchers have identified that students’ awareness of text structure or organizational structure positively affects comprehension.
(Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations)
The organizational structures are: Comparison/contrast, Cause-effect, Details or facts, Listing, Main idea, Sequence and following directions, Shared reading, and summarizing and story structure.
QUESTIONING STRUCTURES
Questioning structures are used to help students ask questions and form connections between their existing background experiences and text.
By using questioning structures we are also trying to increase the quality of our students’ interaction with the text.
Questioning structures are: Inquiry charts, Question-answer relationships, Questioning the author,
Reciprocal teaching ReQuest, and Think-alouds.
TEACHING STRUCTURES
Teaching structures are simply an organized structure or plan for teaching reading.
They provide steps to help students activate prior knowledge, establish background, engage in purposeful silent or oral reading and extend learning. (Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations)
Common Teaching Structures used are: Directed reading activities, Directed reading-thinking activities, and guided reading procedures.
The main purpose of reading is comprehension. Comprehension is the interaction with the text and constructing meaning to the printed symbols. We need to teach our students to understand the communication between the author and the author’s readers. It is important to remember that students may verbalize the words but not comprehend the meaning of those words or understand the author’s message.
Structure/Strategies for Teaching Comprehension
PREPARING STUDENTS TO READ
If we believe reading begins before a student picks up a book (Tompkins 2003, Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations) we need to help the students activate prior knowledge, set a purpose for our reading, preview the reading, and predict what may happen.
There are several strategies to help prepare our students to read they are:
Reading aloud, Think Sheet, Probable passages, Anticipation guide, List-group-label-predict, K-W-L, Brainstorming. All of these activities should be used to prepare our students to read.
ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES
Researchers have identified that students’ awareness of text structure or organizational structure positively affects comprehension.
(Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations)
The organizational structures are: Comparison/contrast, Cause-effect, Details or facts, Listing, Main idea, Sequence and following directions, Shared reading, and summarizing and story structure.
QUESTIONING STRUCTURES
Questioning structures are used to help students ask questions and form connections between their existing background experiences and text.
By using questioning structures we are also trying to increase the quality of our students’ interaction with the text.
Questioning structures are: Inquiry charts, Question-answer relationships, Questioning the author,
Reciprocal teaching ReQuest, and Think-alouds.
TEACHING STRUCTURES
Teaching structures are simply an organized structure or plan for teaching reading.
They provide steps to help students activate prior knowledge, establish background, engage in purposeful silent or oral reading and extend learning. (Source: Literacy for Diverse Populations)
Common Teaching Structures used are: Directed reading activities, Directed reading-thinking activities, and guided reading procedures.
Extra:
Websites for Fluency/Reading Information:
http://www.tisforteaching.com/2012/07/student-interest-and-reading.html?m=1
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/tapping-into-the-potential-of-video-games-and-uninhibited-play-for-learning-education/
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/5-surefire-strategies-developing-reading-fluency
http://www.weareteachers.com/community/blogs/weareteachersblog/blog-wat/2013/09/25/fluency-comprehension-and-guided-reading-making-it-work-in-the-classroom
Websites for Fluency/Reading Information:
http://www.tisforteaching.com/2012/07/student-interest-and-reading.html?m=1
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/04/tapping-into-the-potential-of-video-games-and-uninhibited-play-for-learning-education/
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/5-surefire-strategies-developing-reading-fluency
http://www.weareteachers.com/community/blogs/weareteachersblog/blog-wat/2013/09/25/fluency-comprehension-and-guided-reading-making-it-work-in-the-classroom