Reading & Writing Across the
Curriculum
Eisenhower High School
February 14, 2012
Agenda
I. Assessment of Prior Knowledge
II. Research about RAWAC note covers literacy component
III. Strategies & Applications
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Before, During and After Strategies
Think Alouds
Visualizing and Recording Mental Images
I.N.S.E.R.T. Method/Think Along Model numbering text write
something about text
Cornell Notes, Sentence Frames, Paragraph Frames
Anticipation Guides
RAFT (differentiation)
IV. Conclusion
1.
2.
3.
4.
Before, During and After Strategies
Free Write Before/After
Where do we go from here?
Commit to Try in Classroom
I. Assessment of Prior
Knowledge
Mac Moore
II. Research about
RAWAC
Deb Sidener
RAWAC Research
• The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an
initiative of the National Governor’s Association and
the Council of Chief State School Officers, have
refocused attention on reading and writing across
the curriculum.
• The research is clear: discipline-based instruction in
reading and writing enhances student achievement
in all subjects.
• Studies show that reading and writing across the
curriculum are essential to learning. Without
strategies for reading course material and
opportunities to write thoughtfully about it, students
have difficulty mastering concepts.
RAWAC Research
• These literacy practices are firmly linked with both
thinking and learning. Students who can read with
clear comprehension and write effectively about a
given subject matter will learn the material much
more thoroughly than those who do not.
• Reading and writing in science is not the same as
reading and writing in social studies or a technical
subject like drafting. This means that student
achievement can be enhanced by teachers who focus
on helping their students develop strategies for
reading and writing within their respective content
areas.
Brockton High School in Massachusetts
offers a compelling example of the powerfully positive effects
of RAWAC.
• The largest high school in the state, in 1999 its
test scores were very near the bottom in
Massachusetts, and three out of four students
dropped out.
• After the 1999 test scores were reported, a group
of teachers persuaded the administration to let
them develop a program that integrated “reading
and writing lessons into every class in all subjects,
even gym.”
Brockton High School in Massachusetts
offers a compelling example of the powerfully positive effects
of RAWAC.
• By 2001 student retention and test scores had
improved dramatically, and in 2009 and 2010
Brockton outscored 90% of Massachusetts
schools.
• Researchers have studied the Brockton turnaround, and it is clear that RAWAC played a
key role.
Eisenhower High School has
established Teams to begin
this work.
Reading
 Writing
 Speaking
 Reasoning
 SSR
1. Before, During and After
Reading Strategies
Diana Roth
Deb Sidener
Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
• BEFORE-READING activities should emphasize methods of merging reader,
text,BEFORE-READING
and content--enabling students
to set appropriate
reading purposes,
activities
should
emphasize
recall related prior knowledge, preview and predict what the text will be
about,
and selectof
reading
methodsreader,
to suit their
purposes
and
the text.
methods
merging
text,
and
content-Included
in these considerations
may beshould
readers' decisions
to expand their
AFTER-READING
activities
teach
students
background
knowledge
through
discussion,
exploration
of key
enabling
students
torelated
set appropriate
reading
DURING-READING
activities
should
enable
concepts,
or related
to review
theirreading.
understanding of text, relate new
•
•
purposes,
recall related
prior knowledge,
students
to
monitor
their
comprehension
through
ideas
to
their
background
knowledge,
revisit
the
DURING-READING
activities
should
enable
students
to
monitor
their
preview
and
predictand
what
the text will
be
about,
acomprehension
variety
of
strategies
experience
and
acquire
through
of strategies
and experience
text to clarify
anda variety
extend
meanings,
make and acquire
diverse
strategies
to improve
their
understanding
where necessary.
andfix-up
select
reading
methods
to suit
their
diverse
fix-up
strategies
to
improve
their
responsible interpretations and criticisms of ideas
purposes
and
the
text.
Included
in
these
understanding
where
necessary.
AFTER-READING
activities
should
teachthinking,
students to review
their
from
the
text,
revise
their
apply
the
understanding
of text, relate
newbe
ideas
to their background
knowledge,
considerations
may
readers'
decisions
to
revisit
the text to clarify
and extend
meanings,
make responsible
information
to other
texts
and disciplines,
and
interpretations
and criticisms
of ideas from
the text, revisethrough
their thinking,
expand their
background
knowledge
remember
crucial
learnings
for future
apply
the information
to other
texts and disciplines,
and application.
remember crucial
related
discussion,
learnings
for future
application.exploration of key concepts,
or related reading.
Strategies Placement
Before Reading
During Reading
Anticipation Guides
Anticipation
Guides
Anticipation
Guides
Concept Def. Maps
Concept Def. Maps
Concept Def. Maps
Think Alouds
Think Alouds
Think Alouds
Mental Images
Mental Images
Mental Images
After Reading
Cornell Notes
Cornell
Cornell
Notes
Notes
Think Along
Think Along
Think Along
RAFT
RAFT
RAFT
2. Think Alouds
Deb Sidener
What is a think-aloud?
Think-alouds help students understand the kind of
thinking required by a specific task. The teacher
models her thinking process by verbalizing her
thoughts as she reads, processes information, or
performs some learning task. Students see how the
teacher attempts to construct meaning for unfamiliar
vocabulary, engages in dialogue with the author, or
recognizes when she doesn’t comprehend and selects a
fix-up strategy that addresses a problem she is having.
Ineffective readers especially benefit from observing
what skilled readers think about while reading.
How to use it:
4. Coping strategies you can model include:
1.
3.
5. •Have
Explain
While
students
students
reading
work
read
with
is
this
a complex
partners
passage
to
2.
Select
athat
passage
toas read
Making predictions
or hypotheses
you read: aloud
"From what that
he's said so
far, I'll bet that the author is going to give some examples of poor eating
process
silently,
practice
read
that
"think-alouds"
involves
it aloud.thinking
Aswhen
you read,
reading
and sensecontains
habits." points that students might find
• Describing the mental pictures you "see": "When the author talks about
making;
verbalize
short
passages
the
your
skilled
thoughts,
of text.
reader's
Periodically
themind
questions
isrevisit
alive
difficult,
terms,
or
vegetablesunknown
I should include invocabulary
my diet, I can see our salad
bowl at home
filled with fresh, green spinach leaves."
with
you
this
develop,
strategy
questions
or
and
she
have
the
asks
students
process
herselfquestions
you
complete
in order
use to
ambiguous
Develop
• Demonstrating wording.
how you connect this
information with
prior knowledge:
"'Saturated fat'? I know I've heard that term before. I learned it last year
to
solve
theunderstand
assessment
comprehension
what
thatshe
follows
problems.
reads.
these
It iswhat
you
can
that
willso
show
when
weask
studiedyourself
nutrition."
• Creating analogies: "That description of clogged arteries sounds like traffic
helpful
metacomprehension
ifupyou
alter
theskills
tonebecome
of your
you
think
as
you
confront
clogging
the interstate
during rush hour."these
• Verbalizing obstacles and fix-up strategies: "Now what does 'angiogram'
voice,
second
sonature.
students
know when you are
problems
while
mean? Maybe
if I rereadreading.
that section, I'll get the meaning from the other
sentences around it: I know I can't skip it because it's in bold-faced print,
reading
and at what points you begin
so it must be important. If I still don't understand, I know I can ask the
teacher for help,"
and end thinking aloud.
•
•
•
•
1. Explain that reading is a complex process that involves thinking and sense-making; the
skilled reader's mind is alive with questions she asks herself in order to understand what she
reads.
2. Select a passage to read aloud that contains points that students might find difficult,
unknown vocabulary terms, or ambiguous wording. Develop questions you can ask yourself
that will show what you think as you confront these problems while reading.
3. While students read this passage silently, read it aloud. As you read, verbalize your
thoughts, the questions you develop, and the process you use to solve comprehension
problems. It is helpful if you alter the tone of your voice, so students know when you are
reading and at what points you begin and end thinking aloud.
4. Coping strategies you can model include:
–
–
–
–
–
•
Making predictions or hypotheses as you read: "From what he's said so far, I'll bet that the author is
going to give some examples of poor eating habits."
Describing the mental pictures you "see": "When the author talks about vegetables I should include
in my diet, I can see our salad bowl at home filled with fresh, green spinach leaves."
Demonstrating how you connect this information with prior knowledge: "'Saturated fat'? I know I've
heard that term before. I learned it last year when we studied nutrition."
Creating analogies: "That description of clogged arteries sounds like traffic clogging up the interstate
during rush hour."
Verbalizing obstacles and fix-up strategies: "Now what does 'angiogram' mean? Maybe if I reread
that section, I'll get the meaning from the other sentences around it: I know I can't skip it because it's
in bold-faced print, so it must be important. If I still don't understand, I know I can ask the teacher for
help,"
5. Have students work with partners to practice "think-alouds" when reading short passages
of text. Periodically revisit this strategy or have students complete the assessment that
follows so these metacomprehension skills become second nature.
Examples of Visual
Representations: Think-Aloud
Assessment
While I was reading, how
much did I use these
"think-aloud strategies?
Making and revising
predictions
Forming mental pictures
Connecting what I read
to what I already know
Creating analogies
Verbalizing confusing
points
Using fix-up strategies
Not much
A little
Most of
the time
All of the
time
Wrap-Up
• Video Clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02fFFjmp7Gc
• Follow-up Activity
Turn to a partner and talk about how you might
use a think-aloud in your classroom. If you have
used this strategy, please share your story.
3. Visualizing and
Recording Mental
Images
Chuck Force
http://michigan.gov/documents/mde/Writing_to_Learn_Mathematics_306722_7.pdf#page24
Prepare to Think
• What did you see?
• What does it mean?
• Think again….with the thought:
•
Pythagorean Theorem
• What did you see?
• What does it mean?
Prepare to Think
• What did you see?
• What does it mean?
• Think again….with the thought:
•
Compare and Contrast
• What did you see?
• What does it mean?
Activity
• Think of an image that could enhance the last
lesson (unit) you did.
• Think of an image that could enhance the next
lesson (unit) you will do.
4. I.N.S.E.R.T. Method
Think Along Model
Mac Moore
I.N.S.E.R.T. Method
X I thought differently
+ New & important information ! WOW
?? I don’t get it
* VERY important to remember
Create I.N.S.E.R.T Code
• OBJ: Students will read a selection on the
Bonus Army to describe the public's reaction
to Hoover's policies.
• 1) What did the Bonus Army want? B
• 2) What was the government's reaction to the
Bonus Army? G
• 3) What was the public's reaction to the Bonus
Army? P
Think Along
5. Cornell Notes,
Sentence Frames,
Paragraph Frames
Mac Moore
Cornell Notes
6. Anticipation
Guides
Mac Moore
7. RAFT
Teresa Lance
What is RAFT
What is RAFT?
 The RAFTs Technique (Santa, 1988) is a system
to help students understand their role as a
writer, the audience they will address, the
varied formats for writing, and the expected
content. It is an acronym that stands for:
Purpose
• Gives students a fresh way to think about approaching
their writing.
• It occupies a nice middle ground between standard, dry
essays and free-for-all creative writing. RAFTs combines
the best of both.
• It also can be the way to bring together students'
understanding of main ideas, organization, elaboration,
and coherence...in other words, the criteria by which
compositions are most commonly judged.
R.A.F.T
• Role of the Writer –
– Who are you as the writer? Are you Sir John A.
Macdonald? A warrior? A homeless person? An
auto mechanic? The endangered snail darter?
R.A.F.T
 Audience –
 To whom are you writing? Is your audience the
Canadian people? A friend? Your teacher? Readers
of a newspaper? A local bank?
R.A.F.T
 Format –
 What form will the writing take? Is it a letter? A
classified ad? A speech? A poem?
R.A.F.T
• Topic + strong Verb –
– What's the subject or the point of this piece? Is it
to persuade a goddess to spare your life? To plead
for a re-test? To call for stricter regulations on
logging?
Sample Raft
• Math
– Role-math professor
– Audience-a class of college students
– Form-10-minute speech with visual aids
– Topic-ratios
– Verb-defend your opinion
Samples continued…
• Math
– Role-an accountant
– Audience-his/her boss
– Form-a brochure
– Topic-graphing
– Verb-announce a new and important idea
Samples continued…
• Science
– Role-a veterinarian
– Audience-governor of your state
– Form-request for funding
– Topic-environmental issue
– Verb-predict one year of the future if things stay
the same
Samples continued…
• Social studies
– Role-a disabled veteran
– Audience-a wealthy group with money to give
away
– Form-letter of support
– Topic-civil rights
– Verb-inspire your audience to act now
website
•
http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/Writing_Across_Curriculum_RAFTS_Math.htm
V. Conclusion
Mac Moore
Before, During and After Strategies
Free Write Before/After
Where do we go from here?
Commit to Try in Classroom
Strategies Placement
Before Reading
During Reading
After Reading
Think Alouds
Mental Images
Mental Images
Mental Images
Think Along
Anticipation Guides
AnticipationGuides
Guides
Anticipation
Think Alouds
Think Alouds
Concept Def. Maps
Concept Def. Maps
Concept Def. Maps
Cornell Notes
Cornell
Cornell
Notes
Notes
Think Along
Think Along
RAFT
RAFT
RAFT
V. Conclusion
Mac Moore
Before, During and After Strategies
Free Write Before/After
Where do we go from here?
Commit to Try in Classroom
Resources
Sources: Common Core Standards Initiative (2010)
National Council of Teachers of English (2011)
The Achievement Gap Initiative (2009)
Brockton High School in Massachusetts
http://michigan.gov/documents/mde/Writing_to_Learn_Mathematics_306722_7.pdf#page24
RAFTs Technique (Santa, 1988)
http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/Writing_Across_Curriculum_RAFTS_Math.htm
Think Aloud YouTube Video:
http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html#axzz1m06MxvdX
Questions or Comments
54