RUBY PAYNE TEACHING
STRATEGIES
Research-Based Strategies: Narrowing the
Achievement Gap for Under-Resourced Learners
VOCABULARY – LET’S THINK ABOUT ONE
REASON YOUR STUDENTS MAY HAVE
ISSUES WITH IT…
Number of words
exposed to
Economic
group
13 million words
Welfare
26 million words
Working class
45 million words
Professional
FOSTERING STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
What can teachers do to foster student
engagement and create positive peer culture?
“When working with kids who come from difficult
backgrounds … you’ve really got to understand
these kids. You’ve got to understand what they don’t
understand and what their misunderstandings are,
and you’ve got to have the confidence to say, ‘If
these children tell me what they are thinking, I can
clear up any confusions that they have.’”
–Ronald Ferguson
Recent Research on the Achievement Gap with Ronald Ferguson. Harvard Education Letter. November/December 2006.
www.edletter.org/current/ferguson.shtml
3
RUBY’S RESPONSE TO THIS
More than 80% of kids in any classroom say they
plan to do their best all year long—if you ask
them in the fall.
 We need to give teachers the learning
experiences that help them reach and teach some
of the kids they are struggling to understand if
we want kids to persist and do their best work all
year.

What does this have
to do with
vocabulary and our
kids??
WHAT IS CONTENT COMPREHENSION?
We want more than just “understanding”
information, content comprehension is also
understanding content so we may “manipulate”
it.
 Applying content comprehension to Language
Arts:

Purpose – to study how structure and language are
 Structures – genres, (poetry, drama, etc.)
 Patterns – units of study
 Processes – reading, writing, speaking, filmmaking
and listening.

SO WHAT???
An expert teacher is always going to help his/her
students understand the relationship between
these processes.
 Once a student has accomplished content
comprehension, the teacher then may spend the
bulk of the time teaching the use and
manipulation of the content
 Then this leads to higher order questioning and
learning.


Instead of asking “what color was the girl’s dress”
you can ask “What specific techniques did the writer
use to make the reader feel empathetic toward the
girl?”
MENTAL MODELS
Research shows children from poverty do not
understand the “abstract”.
 When mental models are directly taught,
abstract information can be learned much more
quickly and retained because the mind has a way
to contain or hold it.

One of the most important mental model for time is
PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE.
 Helps with cause, effect, consequence and sequence
 How do we do this? Allow the student to sketch
his/her understanding of a story, concept, vocabulary
word or what they think about a person or idea.

Mental Model
Beginning
Learner
•Sensory-based,
situated learning
•Tied to what is
already known
Skilled
Learner
What: Vocabulary/content
Why: The purpose of the
information
How: Process/steps
•Abstract
respresentational
world – formal
schooling
•Expertise
WHEN A GREAT DISCREPANCY EXISTS BETWEEN THE WAY THE
LEARNER CREATES UNDERSTANDING AND THE WAY THE EXPERT
COMMUNICATES UNDERSTANDING, FAILURE RESULTS.
MENTAL MODEL
FOR PERSUASIVE
TECHNIQUE
ASKING QUESTIONS



Many of our students speak in a “Casual Register”
and they also do not know how to ask questions.
To do any task, one must be able to go inside the head
and ask questions and if they cannot ask questions,
then they cannot retrieve information in a systematic
way. (And of course this can lead to escalation!)
Ways to teach students to ask questions:
Play “Jeopardy” – this exercise involves the student
forming the answer in the form of a question
 For young students teach them to start questions with
who, what, when, where, which or how
 Have students write their own questions in multiple-choice
answers
 Always have students explain why the wrong answers on a
MC test are wrong.

TRIED AND TRUE:

Instead of having the students answer questions
at the end of the chapter, have the students ask
their own questions from the chapter.
Research shows that if by the end of the 2nd grade, a
student cannot ask questions, it could impact his/her
reading.
 If a student cannot ask questions with purpose it will
be difficult for him/her to raise the reading level past
the 3rd grade.
 Keep in mind, in poverty, sometimes if kids ask
questions, they get slapped!
 Studies show that by students asking questions as a
part of learning, scores will go up!

WRITING A MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
Writing Multiple-Choice Questions
Question:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Three Rules:
1.
One wrong-answer choice must be funny
2.
Only one answer choice can be right
3.
May not use “all of the above,” “non of the
above”, etc.

STRATEGY
SCIENCE
QUESTION/
WRITING
STEMS
How for the Student
Question Stem
Defining and
describing
Knowledge
• What is (are) ...
• Where is (are) ...
• Which is (are) ...
• How is (are) ...
Comprehension
• What conclusions can you draw from ...
• What observations did you make?
Application
• Why does ... work?
• Sketch your mental model of ...
Analysis
• Explain how ...
Synthesis
• How could you explain ... to your friend?
• Design a model of ... to represent ...
• Write a letter to ... giving a summary of ...
• What facts can you compile about ...
• Rewrite the definition of ... in your own words.
Evaluation
• Describe the importance of ...
STRATEGY
SCIENCE
QUESTION/
WRITING
STEMS
(continued)
How for the Student
Question Stem
Representing data
and interpreting
representations
Knowledge
• Describe what happens when ...
Comprehension
• Describe what happens when ...
• Construct a model to explain your data ...
Application
• How could you organize your data to help you draw your
conclusion?
• How could you change the process/procedure to
increase/decrease the ...
Analysis
• How can you sort the parts of ...
• What order can you place the data in to make them easier
to interpret?
Synthesis
• How could you compile the data/facts for ...
• What plan do you have for collecting your data?
• What format will you use to represent your data?
Evaluation
• What data will you use to evaluate ...
• How could you verify the interpretation of your
graph/table/map?
• What is your interpretation of your data?
STRATEGY
QUESTION STEMS FOR
FIFTH- AND NINTH-GRADE READING
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Adapted from TAKS
(Texas Assessment
of Knowledge and
Skills)
In paragraph _____, what does _____ mean?
Paragraph _____ is mainly about _____.
From the article, the reader can tell …
From the passage, the reader can tell …
From the paragraph, the reader can tell …
From what the reader learns about _____, which statement
does not make sense?
7. How does _____ feel?
8. Why is it important …
9. Which of these is the best summary of the selection?
10. Look at this web (flow chart, graph, charts, etc.). Which
detail belongs in the empty space?
11. An idea present in both selections is …
12. One way these selections are alike is …
13. One way these selections are different is …
14. Paragraph _____ is important because it helps the reader
understand …
15. The reader can tell when _____, he/she will probably …
16. How does _____ feel?
STRATEGY
QUESTION STEMS FOR
FIFTH- AND NINTH-GRADE READING
(continued)
Adapted from TAKS
(Texas Assessment
of Knowledge and
Skills)
17. In paragraph _____, why is _____ sad? (happy, confused,
angry, etc.)
18. What is this article mainly about?
19. What can the reader tell about _____ from information in
this article?
20. The author builds suspense by …
21. One way this story resembles a fable is that …
22. In paragraph _____, the author uses the word _____ to
emphasize _____.
23. Which of the following words is a synonym (antonym) for the
word _____ in paragraph _____?
24. What is the overall theme expressed in this article?
25. Which of the following sentences from the article explains
the author’s primary conflict?
26. The audience that would probably relate most to the article’s
central message would be …
27. Why …
28. How ...
STRATEGY
Developed by
Connie Abernathy
SOCIAL STUDIES QUESTION STEM STARTERS
Elementary (K–4)
1. What does the map (chart, drawing, timeline,
graph) illustrate?
2. Which statement BEST explains (summarizes)
_____?
3. What was the main cause of _____?
4. One advantage of _____ is _____.
5. The primary function (purpose, goal, objective) of
_____ is _____.
6. Which of the following were consequences of
_____?
7. What is the BEST definition of _____?
8. Which of these is a past (current) trend in _____?
9. Approximately when did _____ occur?
10. Which date is associated with _____?
11. Which of these statements explains how _____?
12. What is an example of _____?
13. Which of these would be the BEST solution to
_____?
STRATEGY
SOCIAL STUDIES QUESTION STEM STARTERS
Secondary (Grades 5–12)
1. How are different ways of life determined by
location?
2. How do/did _____ adapt to their environment?
3. How are/were the roles of the _____ different from
the _____?
4. What circumstances led to changes in the lives of
_____?
5. What would happen to the _____ civilization if
_____?
6. How are the _____ and the _____ similar and
different?
7. What connects the grouping?
8. What was the response by _____ to the _____?
9. How did the actions of _____ conflict with _____?
10. How did the _____ feel about _____?
11. What is the correct sequence for the events?
Developed by
Connie Abernathy
STRATEGIES
Students ask questions, open ended, multiple
choice, on content at least 2 times a week.
 Use the stems to create the questions.
 Use the outline to create multiple choice
questions
 Always have students identify why answers are
wrong

HOW DOES THIS HELP OUR STUDENTS?
This is working toward students asking more and
more complex questions. This can help them in
the future to resolve conflict and plan.
 This evolves into self-talk and being able to
create order and process. “… first I need to do
this, next…”

READING NON-FICTION
It has been found that when individuals do not
have a systematic way to do anything they miss
up to 50% of the data.
 This could be an issue when reading non-fiction!!

Activity:
 Use the “Reading Strategies” with “The Wonder
of Mughal Agra” and label the article.
 Answer the questions
 Did this help you with your comprehension??
 Of course… design your own process!
STRATEGY
READING STRATEGIES
ANOTHER STRATEGY… LET’S GO BOXING!!
The local high school is putting on the play “West
Side Story”. Mrs. Falbo bought 9 adult tickets
and 5 children’s tickets for the recital. The total
she paid was $67. Mrs. Ustinov bought 7 adult
tickets and paid $38.50. How much does each
type of ticket cost?
A) adult = $7.44; children’s = $13.40
B) adult = $5.50; children’s = $3.50
C) adult = $6.59; children’s = $7.70
D) adult = $3.50; children’s = $5.50
E) adult = $13.40; children’s = $47.44
STRATEGY
PROBLEMSOLVING
PROCESS
Source: Judy Sain, Daily Math
Skills Review
SKETCHING FOR VOCABULARY
If a student cannot sketch a word, they likely do
not know it
 Idea:

Divide the paper into two columns
 Write a word in the first column and then draw a
picture or a visual representation of the word.
 This creates a very fast way to teach vocabulary.


(I used to do this but with a graphic organizer)
STRATEGY
Different
EXAMPLES OF
SKETCHING
I saw an isosceles
triangle in my
refrigerator.
I often see a
scalene triangle
on Kenny’s face.
Vertices
TOASTIES
The Cereal of
Winners!
Adapted from materials
by Cathy Fields
My friend the
rhombus is known as
the
“Dancing Wonder.”
I found four vertices
on a box of cereal.
STRATEGY
To help students pass the state assessment, a teacher did the following
and was very successful. All of her students took a mock test in math.
Then they scored their own papers. They made this grid:
Questions I got
right and could get
right again.
Questions I did or
did not do correctly
but am not sure
how to do.
Questions where I
had no clue.
•In the top row, for each category, students wrote the numbers of the test questions and the
objective it went with.
•Then they identified strategies that could be used with each objective. As they went through
the questions, in the second row of boxes, they identified where they would put it, e.g., “no
clue” got moved to “I know I could get it right.”
HOW CAN THIS HELP?
After the students assess the questions missed,
they can go back and count how many questions
were in each category
 Then have them take a similar test and the goal,
of course, is that they would do better!
 Also… this would be most useful in working with
GED prep questions from the texts.
 This is considered “Self-Advocacy” for a student
to have more control over what s/he missed on a
test.

STRATEGY
PLAN AND LABEL IN MATH
STUDENTS PLAN THEIR OWN GRADES
When you plan, you “keep the end in mind”.
 Planning can help to control impulsivity
 When students plan their grade and review it
weekly, their academics can improve.

ENGLISH III—MAKING THE GRADE
1. What work have I done well in my English
class?
a.
b.
c.
d.
2. What work have I done poorly in my English
class?
a.
b.
c.
d.
3. I was/was not satisfied with my grade in
English III last semester.
1st _____ 2nd _____ 3rd _____ Exam _____
Average _____
STRATEGY
ENGLISH III—MAKING THE GRADE
(CONTINUED)
4. What grade do I realistically believe that I
can earn this semester in
English III?
5. What will I do in my English class to earn
that grade?
a.
b.
c.
STRATEGY
SPRING SEMESTER
Fourth Grading Period
I want to earn ______.
Daily 10%
Quiz 30%
Test 60%
Fifth Grading Period
I want to earn ______.
Daily 10%
Quiz 30%
Test 60%
Sixth Grading Period
I want to earn ______.
Daily 10%
Quiz 30%
Test 60%
I am/am not satisfied with my grade in English III this semester.
1st _____
2nd _____
3rd _____
Exam _____
Average _____
THINK ABOUT HOW THIS COULD
BE MODIFIED TO BE USED IN
CONCERT WITH THE POINT
SYSTEM ALREADY IN PLACE?
FIVE MODELS FOR SORTING
Students will get much higher comprehension if
they use a technique for sorting.
 In nonfiction, there are basically five kinds of
text and each of the following icons give a student
a quick memory tool.






Descriptive/Topical
Sequence/How-to
Story Structure
Compare and Contrast
Persuasive Reasons
STRATEGY
Descriptive or topical
is the hand.
•Use each finger to
sort topics or
descriptive details.
DESCRIPTIVE/TOPICAL
STRATEGY
Anything sequential is the
ladder.
•Label sequential
steps on a ladder
SEQUENCE/HOW-TO
STRATEGY
STORY STRUCTURE
What you sort for and remember in a
piece of fiction are the people, the
beginning, the middle, the end, the
episode, the problem, the goal, the
setting. Use the car as a model for
sorting and remembering.
Middle
Characters
End
Beginning
Problem
Goal
Setting
STRATEGY
Some text is by
"compare and contrast“;
it is the T-shape; it has
two sides.
COMPARE/CONTRAST
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES
CAUSE/EFFECT
STRATEGY
Persuasive: If you use a
hamburger, the top bun
is the person's position.
Each one of those
pieces of meat is a piece
of support. The bottom
bun is a conclusion.
PERSUASIVE REASONS
KNOWLEDGE RATINGS
•Using a graph like the one below, have students list the words in the first column to
be studied. They evaluate their knowledge level of each word and check the
appropriate box. If they have some idea of the meaning, they write in their guess.
• Following discussion or study, they write the definition in their own words. This
activity is particularly useful in helping students develop metacognitive (being able to
think about one’s own thinking) awareness.
Example:
Word
saline
Know
Think
I
know
Have
heard
X
GUESS
A liquid for
contact
lenses
DEFINITION
A salt
solution
macula
a spot or blotch,
especially on
one's skin
torsade
a twisted cord
PICTURE IT!!

•
•
•
•
With each new story/reading, assign each student
one vocabulary word. Students must:
Find the word in the story/reading and record the
page number (see form below).
Find the word in the dictionary and record the
pronunciation, number of syllables, part of
speech, and definition used in the story.
Create a picture of the word (on the form on the
next page) to represent the word.
Present the word to the class using the definition
and picture.
STRATEGY
PICTURE IT
Activity:
WHAT CAN WE DO TO GET KIDS TO
READ??
You already have AR, how is this being used?
 Pick topical content areas. (handout)
 Ideas…???

THIS IS JUST A SMALL GLIMPSE OF THE
POTENTIAL!!!