Using the content-focused Coaching®
Model to Support Early childhood
Literacy and Language Development
How to Teach a Rigorous
Comprehension Unit
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• “One of the central goals of an early
childhood program is the
development of young children’s
speaking, listening and oral
language skills”
•
Supporting Oral Language, Vocabulary and
Concept Development through Rich Text Discussion and
Related Learning Opportunities, Text Talk Unit Overview
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Intended Learning
• Learn how the Core Issues can be used as an
instructional planning tool
• Understand the structure of a read aloud that is
rigorous for young children
• Analyze how a lesson assists children’s oral language
development and their understanding of text
• Consider the preparation necessary to teach such a
rigorous read aloud lesson
• Consider the preparation necessary to teach a
rigorous read aloud unit.
• Consider the implications of this framework for our
practice.
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Facilitating the Text Talk Book Discussion
The lesson plans are quite straight forward in identifying
•where to stop reading
•what questions to ask at each stopping point
•what ideas are intended to be developed from children’s
discussion of each question
•Where to have them turn and talk about an idea
•When to show the illustration
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The Focus of This Approach
• Have children pay close attention to language rather
than illustrations
• Make sense of complex text
• Use talk as a vehicle for consolidating and
communicating
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Scaffolding Learning
• Ask another child to repeat what the first child said so
everyone can hear what idea again.
• Follow-up questions may be necessary to help a child
say more about his or her idea.
• Allow much longer wait times for children to gather
their thoughts and put words to them.
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Task: Understanding the text
Part I
1.
•
As individuals: Read the text Geraldine’s Blanket, by Holly Keller, with
the questions below in mind. Number the pages in the lesson.
In Table Groups: Select a Facilitator and Recorder. The Recorder
should chart the ideas that are generated by the participants. Discuss
the text in response to the following guiding questions:
• Why might this text have been chosen as a read aloud for
preschoolers? (CI#17)
• What ideas should children include when summarizing the gist of
the story? What should they know about the characters, the story
problem, and how that problem was resolved?(CI#1)
• What difficulties, misunderstandings, or misconceptions might
various groups of child (e.g., English learners from different
linguistic and cultural backgrounds) have about this story?(CI#3)
• What prerequisite knowledge do children need to understand this
story? How might a teacher address these needs? (CI#17)
Be prepared for a whole group discussion of the text
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Understanding the Lesson Design for the Text
Part II
Individually, read through the lesson plan for the text
Geraldine’s Blanket.
With others at your table, use your knowledge of the
text Talk Lesson approach to analyze the lesson plan,
using the questions below:
•What ideas are being developed from the questions at each
stopping point?
•What misconceptions might children have at each point?
•What follow-up responses might a teacher have?
•Why might these picture have been chosen to show?
Whole group discussion: What are the implications of this
lesson plan for teacher planning?
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Summary Points: What Do I Need to Know
• Lesson plans include a set of ideas that you hope to
elicit from the discussion
• Ideas are not intended to be the only right answers
and children are not expected to use these exact
words in expressing their ideas
• Ideas are provided as a guide to help you craft followup questions that will encourage children to think
about the important ideas in the texts.
• Vocabulary words and phrases that might be
unfamiliar to the children may need to be explained or
demonstrated to assist the children’s understanding
and discussion of the the central ideas in the text.
•
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Summary Points: How does the lesson provide
support for English Learners
• Students learn new information in manageable segments, which
are sequenced to build on existing knowledge of language and
genre
• Students revisit new learning a number of times
• Each time with a new purpose and using a scaffold appropriate to
the purpose and the text
• Students first read to get the gist (literal comprehension)
• Only after students have comprehended the text’s big ideas and
information that they read the text again for a new purpose.
• Student’s development of spoken academic language is fostered
through routines of discussion.
• Accountable Talk® Moves and Functions Tool in the the
Instructional Tools section of the set of lessons help scaffold
student’s comprehension.
• Students are given multiple opportunities to practice using the
language in purposeful ways with effective feedback.
•
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Summary Points (continued)
• Students are often asked to share in pairs (Turn
and Talk) before being invited to share with the
large group.
• Students practice and gain confidence sharing their
responses with one or two students before doing
so with the whole group.
•
•
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Summary Points: How is Vocabulary Study
Supported
• Each lesson plan includes stopping points during the reading of
the text for vocabulary explanations or demonstrations
• Explaining these words as they are encountered in the text rather
than explaining them prior to reading
• Additional unknown words in the text are probably unfamiliar to
young children but which are not related to the central ideas of
the text and so, are not singled out for explanation.
• There may be other words or phrases, however, which are
essential to the text comprehension and are unfamiliar to your
particular group of children. You will want to explain those words
and phrases, addition to the words and phrases identified in the
lesson plan.
• Lesson plans include suggestions for ways to embed new
vocabulary throughout the classroom, as well as ways to create
opportunities for children to use vocabulary and new concepts
throughout the day.
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• “One of the features of these Text
Talk book discussions is to assist
children in developing their ability
to think about and connect ideas
both within and across texts.”
•
Text Talk Unit Overview
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Thinking Beyond One Text
Unit Planning
• Lessons and tasks are sequential, building knowledge
and skill as the lessons progress
• Lessons are to be implemented in chronological order
• Tasks begin with the whole group, will provide time to
think and talk with a partner
• Apply their learning during independent practice
(Center Time)
• Each text in a unit takes about one week to complete
• Each set of books has been carefully chosen to reflect
central ideas related to each theme
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• Logical connections among the ideas can be made
across the set.
• The book characters across all the theme sets have
been chosen to represent a diversity of cultures,
races, genders, and abilities
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Studying a Rigorous Comprehension Unit (Text
Talk)
Task 2
• Individually, read the Unit Overview “Supporting Oral
Language, Vocabulary and Concept Development
Through Rich Text Discussions and Related Learning
Opportunities.”
• Highlight ideas that you find particularly interesting. Be
prepared to share one of these ideas with the whole
group.
• Underline ideas about which you have questions or
concerns. Listen for answers to these questions as we
move through this task. Be prepared to raise unanswered
questions or concerns at the end.
• Be prepared to share a few ideas from your table.
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Studying a Rigorous Comprehension Unit
• As a whole group, we will connect the description of each
unit component in the Unit Overview with that same section in
the Unit Plan itself.
• Then, with a partner, use the Unit Overview and the Unit Plan
to study the component to which you have been assigned and
prepare to explain it to the whole group, both in general terms
and specifically related to this unit.
• What is in this section?
• What is the purpose of this section?
• What does this section require of the teacher?
• What materials are needed in this section?
• How are these materials to be used?
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Studying a Rigorous Comprehension Unit
• As a whole group, we will become familiar with each
component of the unit as we listen to each
partnership’s presentation. We will address any
unanswered questions or concerns.
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Summary Points: Understand the Unit Design
• The central goal of these unit are to develop young children’s
speaking, listening and oral language skills.
• These units will assist you in preparing your children for rich text
discussions around high-quality trade books, in planning and
facilitating discussions.
• The unit designers recognize that teachers know their children
best and are encouraged to consider important implementation
questions before you begin the lessons.
• These discussions are designed assist children in developing
their ability to think about and connect ideas both within and
across texts.
• Lesson plans are straight forward and should be followed as
written
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Summary Points: Understand the Unit Plan
The Unit Plan has the following components:
•Overview Table
•Prepare and Support the Rigorous Comprehension
Discussions
•Facilitate the Text Discussions
•Support Concept/Vocabulary Development
•Link Reading Writing, Speaking, and Listening
•Celebrate Children’s Learning
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Summary Points: Understand the Unit Plan
The Unit Plan
•Explains how to prepare and support the rigorous
comprehension discussions.
•Gives specific suggestions for supporting Tier II
Vocabulary Words by embedding concepts and
vocabulary throughout the room and across the day and
week.
•Describes the big ideas across the set of books.
•Provides ways to celebrate children’s learning.
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Part II: Understand the Unit Lesson Plans
With a partner, study the lesson plans provided.
(Geraldine’s Blanket, Owen and Peter’s Chair)
–How do these lesson plans enact the features of the
Text Talk approach?
–Identify at least two ways these lesson plans assist
children to make links across the texts. Be prepared to
share your examples with others at your table.
As a whole group, we will discuss:
–What will be the value for children of listening to and
discussing texts that are linked in this way?
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Reflection
1.
What was new learning for you today about
developing ideas across a set of books? What did
you learn about sequencing texts?
2.
What will be the value added to children’s learning
through engaging them in rigorous comprehension
units.
3.
Explain how the Text Talk Units align with your
curriculum themes and how the Text Talk Units will
be integrated within the classroom.
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