Reading in the
Content Area
Presenter
Debra Massey, Program Developer and Training Specialist
North East Florida Educational Consortium
Readers may be divided into four classes:
1. Sponges, who absorb all that they read and return it in
nearly the same state, only a little dirtied.
2. Sand-glasses, who retain nothing and are content to get
through a book for the sake of getting through the time.
3. Tea-bags, who retain merely the dregs of what they read.
4. Diamonds, equally rare and valuable, who profit by
what they read, and enable others to profit by it also.
~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Question for Discussion
1. What does a struggling reader look
like in your classroom?
2. Is there a “profile”?
3. How do you know a student doesn’t
understand the content?
Truth About Struggling Readers
There is no single template for the
struggling reader.
Anyone can struggle with reading given
the right text.
The struggle isn’t the issue.
The real issue is what the reader does
when the text gets tough.
One of the great tragedies
of contemporary
education is not so
much that many
students leave school
unable to read and
write, but that others
graduate with an
antipathy to
reading..despite the
abilities they might
have.
Aliteracy
Independent VS Dependent
Independent Readers
•Figure out what’s confusing
them
•Set goals for getting
through the reading
•Use many strategies for
getting through the text
•Know how to make the
mostly invisible process of
comprehension visible
Dependent Readers
•STOP
•Appeal to the teacher
•Read on through
•Keep the mostly invisible
process of comprehension
at the invisible level
Confidences Readers Need
Social and Emotional
Confidence Allows
Students to…
• Be willing and active
participants in a
community of learners
Cognitive Confidence Allows Students to…
• Comprehend texts
• Monitor their understanding
• Determine meaning of words
• Read with fluency
• Read for enjoyment
and information
• Have a positive
attitude toward reading
and other readers
…Be An Independent Reader
Text Confidence Allows Students to…
• Develop the stamina to continue reading difficult texts
•Find authors and genre that interest them
Independent readers use many strategies for getting
through the text and knows how to make the mostly
invisible process of comprehension visible.
Strategies to build Cognitive
Confidence:
Before – During – After Reading
Explicit Vocabulary Instruction
Questioning the Author
Use of Alternative Texts and
Materials
Before Reading
Activating Prior Knowledge
Schema
What is it?
Rock
Hip Hop
Classical
Beatles
Country
RAP
How do we explain it?
How can we activate it?
How can we get students to build it?
How do we explain it?
Classic Rock
Soft Rock
Heavy Metal
Hard Rock
ZZ Top
Eric Clapton
Jefferson
Starship
3 Dog Night
SCHEMA
KANDINSKY
Wassily Kandinsky
•Russian
•Artist
•1866- 1944
•Influenced by Music
Prior Knowledge - How do we activate it?
Front Loading Meaning – Using KWL(G)
“Problems for Oceans”
What We Know
What We Want to Know
Pollution is
rampant.
What is the pollution doing
to the sea life?
Oil Spills are
occurring
threatening sea
life.
Why do they spill oil on the
oceans? How is it cleaned
up?
Global Warming
Ice caps are
melting and temp.
getting higher in
some oceans.
How is the warming of the
northern oceans affecting
migration patterns of
marine life?
Where Do I GO to
find the answers?
Prior Knowledge - How do we activate it?
Front Loading Meaning – We Think Statements
1. Decide what phrases, sentences, or single words you want
to place on index cards related to the content you’re
introducing. Use multiple phrases and statements.
2. Distribute the cards or let students draw a card.
3. Discuss their card with as many other classmates as
possible, how might these cards be related, speculate on
what these cards, collectively might be about.
4. The group the students together to discuss what they all
heard from others and create a group “WE THINK”
statement to share with the class.
5. Make sure you ask them to explain how they reached their
predictions about the statement.
Bombing - Japan
Starvation
Animals in a zoo
“He buried his head in
his arms and cried,
beating the desk top
with his fists.”
Cages brokendangerous animals
escape
Faithful / Trusting
We think that this text is about
the bombing of Japan and how
the zoo was affected by the
bombing.
We think that some of the animals
escaped and had to be killed.
Faithful Elephants
A story of animals, people
and war.
By
Yukio Tsuchiya
ISBN: 0-395-86137-3
High Frequency Words are Critical
Of the 600,000 plus words in English:
13 words account for over 25% of the words in print.
a, and, for, he, is in, it, of that, the, to was, you
100 words account for approximately 50%.
The Dolch Basic Sight Vocabulary contains
220 words (no nouns), was generated over 40 years
ago, and accounts for 50% of the words
found in textbooks today.
Front Loading Meaning – Questioning the Vocabulary
Directions: First, read the words at the bottom silently or together. After you read
each one, write the words from the bottom in the column that best describes what
you know about each one.
Don’t know
at All
Have seen
or heard –
don’t know
meaning.
I think I
know the
meaning.
I know a
meaning.
Waste – corrosion - deliquescence – preclosure – repository – brine – facilitate
sodium chloride – geochemical – seepage – thermal – tunnels - capillary
Many dependent readers think of
comprehension only as answering
questions correctly after reading.
That’s too late.
Pre-reading strategies help struggling
readers do what good readers do…think
all throughout the reading process, not
just at the conclusion.
During Reading
Making Sense of the Information
Information
What is it?
How do we decide what’s important?
How do we organize it?
How can we get students to build it?
Information/Content – What do we do with it?
Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING!
TEXT
“Think Alouds”
“My name is Rose Blanche. I live in a small
town in Germany with narrow streets, old
fountains and tall houses with pigeons on the
roofs. One day the first truck arrived and many
men left. They were dressed as soldiers. Winter
was beginning. “
How old is Rose? I think one of the big wars
was with Germany? Aren’t they also called
Nazis? From the picture, Rose is holding a flag
with a swastika. Is her family a Nazi family? Are
the soldiers volunteering or forced to serve?
“The trucks are fun to watch. We stand in the
doorway as they pass. We don ‘t know where
they’re going. One day a little boy jumped from
the back of a truck and tried to run away but the
mayor stopped him. “
I think I know where they’re taking the people in
the trucks. I think they’re Jews and they’re
going to concentration camps. I wonder if the
soldiers would have shot the boy if the mayor
hadn’t stopped him?
“Suddenly, electric barbed wire stopped me.
Behind it were children standing still. I didn’t
know any of them. The youngest said they were
hungry. I handed them a piece of bread through
the pointed wire. “
The people behind the wire look sick. What’s
the yellow star on their shirts? What did they do
wrong? Why are they hungry? I wonder why
nobody stopped Rose from being so close to the
wire?
Rose Blanche
A Story of the Holocaust
By
Roberto Innocenti
ISBN: 1-56846-189-5
Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING!
As you model think alouds to students, remind them that
what you’re also doing is trying to predict what might
happen, what important points are, to tell themselves…
“I need to reread that section.”
The purpose of this activity is to help students understand
that this is what is happening inside the head of an
independent reader as they move through the text.
It’s like having a conversation in your mind.
Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING!
As you model think alouds to students, remind them that
what you’re also doing is trying to predict what might
happen, what important points are, to tell themselves…
“I need to reread that section.”
The purpose of this activity is to help students understand
that this is what is happening inside the head of an
independent reader as they move through the text.
It’s like having a conversation in your mind.
Think Aloud – requires lots MODELING!
Did you know that it
takes 4 – 8 weeks
of consistently
using a strategy
before students
will internalize it
and use
it independently?
Information/Content – What do we do with it?
Power Stickies – Note Taking is an Art Form
Provide or
require students
to have sticky
note pads.
Have them do
their “think
alouds” on their
sticky notes.
They can
manipulate their
stickies on top of
their desk to
organize their
thoughts.
They can place
their stickies on
the page that
they read that
generated the
thought.
Have them go
through math
and science texts
with a sticky
pad.
As they read or
work, have them
write down
words they don’t
know.
Have them write
down confusing
chapters,
paragraphs or
pages.
They can get in
groups with
students who
have “same”
stickies.
Logographic Cues – They convey meaning.
Logographic Cues – Students can design their own to
help them visualize their understanding of the text.
I need to re-read
this section with
someone else.
Important fact
or idea.
Come
back and
read
again.
W
What does this
word mean?
Add it to my
vocabulary list.
I have a question
about his sentence,
paragraph, or word.
?
Logographic Cues – Students can design their own to
help them visualize their understanding of the text.
He was in a precarious position
as he balanced on the edge of the
cliff.
Precarious
“The Land that Time Forgot”
p. 151
•Unstable
•Unsteady
•Unsure
Information/Content – What do we do with it?
Building Vocabulary as you read with Book Marks
Marking Time
Mark my words
A bookmark for
recording
interesting,
unusual words, or
words critical to
understanding
while you read.
Every five or ten
days spend ten
minutes reviewing
what words
students have
recorded. Chart
them, put them
up, discuss what
they mean.
Take notes
chronologically.
This is great for:
•Sequence of
events in reading
•Timelines in
history
• Steps in math
• Processes in
science.
Mark the bold
Question Mark
These
bookmarks are
for students to
record their
questions as
they read.
Make sure they
put the page
number by the
question so they
can revisit that
part of the text
to see what
caused the
question.
Excellent for
students to use
while they read
their content
area texts. As
students come
across a
boldfaced word,
they record that
word on the front
of the bookmark.
They turn it over
to the back and
write what that
term means in
their own words.
Mark My Words
Mark My Words
Mark My Words
Marking Time
Marking Time
Marking Time
First –
First –
First –
Then –
Then –
Then –
Next –
Next –
Next –
After that –
After that –
After that –
Furthermore –
Furthermore –
Furthermore –
Then –
Then –
Then –
Next –
Next –
Next –
Finally –
Finally –
Finally -
Question Mark
Question Mark
?
?
?
Page ____
Page ____
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
Page ____
Page ____
Page ____
Page ____
?
Page ____
Page ____
Page ____
?
Page ____
Page ____
Page ____
?
Question Mark
Page ____
?
Page ____
Page ____
Mark the BOLD
Mark the BOLD
Mark the BOLD
1.
_________________
1.
_________________
1.
_________________
2.
_________________
2.
_________________
2.
_________________
3.
_________________
3.
_________________
3.
_________________
4.
_________________
4.
_________________
4.
_________________
5.
_________________
5.
_________________
5.
_________________
6.
_________________
6.
_________________
6.
_________________
7.
_________________
7.
_________________
7.
_________________
8.
_________________
8.
_________________
8.
_________________
9.
_________________
9.
_________________
9.
_________________
10. _________________
10. _________________
10. _________________
Okay, that’s all very nice, but………..
What do I do with students who lack word
recognition skills?
Teach them…
CHUNKING
LONG/SHORT VOWEL SOUNDS
PREFIXES / SUFFIXES / ROOT WORDS
QUICK ASSESS / REVIEW RECORDS
TEACH DERIVATIONAL CONSTANCY
What do I do with students who aren’t
successful with the strategies because they are
so far behind?
Working with adolescents who have difficulty with word
recognition is difficult even on good days, beyond frustrating on
bad days. ~ Kyleen Beers (When Kids Can’t Read)
•Give them opportunities to read at their
instructional and independent levels.
•Give them repeated chances to hear us read
aloud while they follow along.
•Come to terms with the fact that your goal is
not to improve word recognition with the text
but to focus on what you CAN do with that text.
•Struggling readers can glean a large majority
of content information from rich and frequent
discussion about the content.
Don’t Water Down Curriculum
High school students aren’t stupid and they know when you’ve
lowered your expectations for them.
Communicate your high expectations and your belief that they can
achieve beyond other’s expectations for their performance.
Shared or
Partner
Reading
Have
students
keep double
entry
journals.
Teacher reads aloud some sections,
stopping to direct note taking through
modeling or think alouds.
Have students
jigsaw reading
and use a
shared note
taking system.
Encourage students to
take risks.
Use
alternatives to
the text.
Allow for more
time to internalize
content.
After Reading
Assessing Student Understanding
Assessing
What is it?
How do we decide what’s important?
What could it look like?
How can we get the most out the
content?
Assessing Student Understanding
Begin with the end in mind.
1.
Letterman’s Top Ten: What 10 key pieces of information do you
want students to know after this unit of study is over?
2.
Know your student’s abilities before you plan, include some of the
strategies that will help struggling readers. Plan from the beginning
to use possible alternative methods of assessment for some
students.
Evaluate your grading policy / procedure and
communicate it clearly.
1.
How are you assigning value to the work?
2.
Don’t assign value to factors not directly related to the top ten. For
example: 20% of the grade will come from keeping your folder in
order. Are you assessing content knowledge or organizational
skills. Let those types of items be separate and unrelated to the
content. Perhaps bonus points are given instead of punitive points
taken.
Assessing Student Understanding
Break free from paper and pencil!
1.
Use Venn diagrams comparing two points or pieces of information.
2.
Allow students to use notes. Is it about memorization skills or
application of knowledge? (This encourages good note taking.)
3.
Have a debate. Ask students to choose a side and defend it with
evidence from their studies.
•
Science debates on process and conclusions
•
Historical points of view
•
Best possible mathematical approaches to solving mathematical
problems.
4.
Narrative writing on lessons learned from this unit of study. Have
students include examples and evidence.
5.
Pop quiz – Jeopardy style games.
6.
Don’t wait until the unit is over. Use sticky notes yourself to make
ongoing observations of students.
Assessing Student Understanding
Power of Student Self Evaluation
Have students evaluate their own understanding either
individually or in group discussions. Students who feel they are
not processing enough information to select either a 4 or 5,
should be allowed more time with the content.
Self Evaluation / Quick Check
Couldn’t
explain any of
this
information to
anyone else
I could recall
the top ten facts
from this unit of
study w/ help.
I could explain
this unit of
study to
someone else
with full details.
1
3
5
Assessing Student Understanding
Revisiting the “L” from the KWL
What We Know
What We Want to Know
(Guided by your Top Ten)
Pollution is
rampant.
What is the pollution doing
to the sea life?
Oil Spills are
occurring
threatening sea
life.
Why do they spill oil on the
oceans? How is it cleaned
up?
Global Warming
Ice caps are
melting and temp.
getting higher in
some oceans.
How is the warming of the
northern oceans affecting
migration patterns of
marine life?
What I learned!
What I Learned…
Example…
Contact Information
Debra Massey
Program Developer and Training Specialist
North East Florida Educational Consortium
3841 Reid Street
Palatka, FL 32177
386-329-4885
Masseyd@nefec.org