CUI 4500 Instruction
October 20, 2012:
Semantics and vocabulary instruction; Syntax and
grammar instruction; review of reading
instructional approaches; Basal Reading programs
and Readers Workshop
Skilled Comprehender
2 domains
Printed Word
recognition
x
Language
Comprehension
Topics Within the Study of
Comprehension
words
Reading
Comprehension
phrases
sentences and inter-sentence
connections
integration with knowledge
of self and the world
metacognitive
strategies
paragraph and discourse
structure
Vocabulary
Scarborough’s “Rope” Model
Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.
Warm-Up: Off the Top of Your Head
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
About how many words are listed in The Oxford English
Dictionary, the most complete lexicon of the English
language?
About how many words does an average college-educated
adult recognize the meanings of while reading?
About how many word meanings does an average secondgrader know?
About how many new word meanings does a typical
intermediate student learn to recognize every year?
About how many new words do you think you learn every
year?
(answers on the following slide)
Warm-Up: Off the Top of Your Head
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Words listed in The Oxford English Dictionary? About 290,500
Words recognized by the average college-educated adult?
50,000–80,000
Word meanings an average second-grader knows? 5,000–6,000
Word meanings a typical intermediate student learns to
recognize every year? Between 2,000 and 3,000
New words you learn every year? It depends on how much you
read!
Defining “Vocabulary”
• What vocabulary is:
– Knowledge of and memory
for word meanings.
• What vocabulary is not:
– Words that students can name
or read in print.
Vocabulary and Verbal Intelligence

Vocabulary is the best single measure of verbal
intelligence on the Stanford-Binet or Wechsler IQ tests.

Teaching vocabulary improves

both verbal IQ and

reading comprehension.


(Stahl & Nagy, 2006)
What Does It Mean to Know a Word?
• Words have:
– phonological form (sounds, syllables)
– morphological form (meaningful parts)
– spelling patterns (orthographic form)
– meanings and meaning networks
– syntactic roles
– linguistic history (etymological features)
Words Broaden Our Thinking
The more vocabulary we know and use, the more precise we
can be in our thinking and communication!
Enjoyment of art is magnified
when we reflect on a work’s
theme, composition, perspective,
palette, texture, style, medium,
and technique.
What Do Children Need to Learn?
Grade 1
800+
per year
Grade 2
800+
per year
Grade 3
2,000–
3,000
per year
Grade 4+
2,000–
3,000
per year
2
new words
per day
2
new words
per day
6–8
new words
per day
6–8
new words
per day
… and this is based on 365 days of the year! Double these rates if your students are learning
vocabulary only when in school.
How the Gap in Word Knowledge
Grows
6,000
This gap remains wide!
5,000
Lowest 25
percent of
students
4,000
3,000
Average
students
2,000
1,000
0
End of pre-K
End of K
End of grade 1
End of grade 2
(after Biemiller, 1999, 2005)
Causes of the Vocabulary Gap?
1. Low socioeconomic status or environments with little
language support.
2. The Matthew Effect—lack of exposure to grade-level
print materials.
Meaningful Differences
Words children
heard (in millions)
by age 4:
50
40
30
20
10
(Hart & Risley, 1995)
Low
SES
Middle
SES
High
SES
Meaningful Differences
• By age 3, spoken vocabularies of children from
professional families were larger than the vocabulary
used by the parents in poor families.
• By age 3, vocabulary was strongly related to reading
comprehension scores in third grade.
• By age 3, the amount of talking in the home had a
strong relationship to later vocabulary, spoken language
abilities, and IQ.
(Hart & Risley, 1995)
Marzano Meta-Analysis of Vocabulary Instruction
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
83
50
No
vocabulary
instruction
Direct vocabulary
instruction on words
related to content
(effect size = .97)
Marzano, Robert J. (2004) Building background knowledge for academic
achievement: Research on what works in School.
Three Ways Children Build Word Knowledge
1. Incidental encounters with words, most likely through
reading and/or in a “rich-language” environment
2. Direct, planned, explicit teaching of selected words
3. Fostering of word consciousness that enables students to
learn words on their own
Vocabulary
Incidental learning
Implicit and Incidental Word-Learning Processes
1.
Listening to the language of others.
2.
Being read to by a family member or adult.
3.
Reading independently.
Example of Low Verbal Parent
 Mother #1:
(child seated in a grocery cart)
“Sit still.”
(child reaches toward an avocado)
“Keep your hands to yourself.”
(Special thanks to Phyllis Hunter, reading consultant from Texas, for her dramatization of
these styles at a Reading First meeting.)
Example of Average Verbal Parent
 Mother #2:
(child seated in a grocery cart)
“What should we have for dinner? See anything good, honey? We
haven’t had carrots for a while.”
(child reaches toward an avocado)
“Put that back, now.”
Example of High Verbal Parent

Mother #3:
(child seated in a grocery cart)
“Oh, what do we see here? Organic avocado? Do you know
what organic means, sweetie? It’s when the farmer says she
doesn’t put any pesticides on the plants. What’s a pesticide? It’s
something that kills pests. Pests are insects that eat up the
green leaves on the top of the plant. The plant needs the green
leaves for all that green chlorophyll that goes into that yummy
green mushy stuff we make guacamole with. Guacamole? That’s
a Spanish word!”
Child says, “Mommy, you talk too much!”
Modeling the Use of
“Ten-Dollar” Words
• Pair up with a partner.
• Rephrase the provided statements and questions with more interesting
language.
• Be ready to share your results while we view the following slide.
1
Modeling the Use of “Ten-Dollar” Words
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Class, please line up!
Rico is out sick today.
Shelly and Gail did a really nice job on their partner work today.
Sean, remember to raise your hand.
Class, get ready for your spelling test.
What was your favorite part of the story we just read?
OK, who broke this pencil?
Listening to the Language of Others:
Teaching Tips
1.
Introduce new words as you discuss a shared experience.
2.
Elaborate on what the child has said.
3.
Confirm and clarify the child’s attempts to use new words.
4.
Deliberately use unusual words in conversation.
Read-Alouds
• Until approximately grade 7 or 8, students understand more complex
text when it is read aloud to them.*
• High school students also benefit from read-alouds; we need more
research to prove it!
• Students who have not learned to decode grade-level text should be
read to at their listening comprehension level.
(*Biemiller, 1999)
Web Sources for Read-Alouds
 The Children’s Laureate
 www.greatbookstoreadaloud.co.uk
 Read-Aloud Handbook (Jim Trelease)
 www.trelease-on-reading.com
 Read Aloud America (Recommended Book List)
 http://www.readaloudamerica.org/booklist.htm
p. 24
Vocabulary
Direct instruction
Direct Instruction
 Systematic Instruction - Systematic instruction is a method of
teaching where the same set of procedures is used over and
over on a continuous basis to teach the same information or a
specific skill.
 Research has shown that when teaching students with
disabilities, precise and repeated instruction of the same
material/skill leads to quicker mastery of the material/skill.
Direct Instruction
 Systems for teaching vocabulary will help a child
to own the vocabulary
 The systems should have multiple exposures to
critical vocabulary
Number of Repetitions (with corrective feedback) needed for students to
internalize a concept or operation at MASTERY LEVEL
8-12 for Gifted Students
25-35 for Average Students
1400 or more for “naive” students
- Englemann, Siegfried
Direct Instruction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pronounce the word, write it, and read it. Examine
spelling.
Tell students what the new word means, using a
student friendly definition.
Say more about the word, and use it several times in
examples of use.
Ask students questions about the word’s meaning.
Elicit word use by students.
Ebbers, S., & Carroll,L. (2009)
Daily oral vocabulary exercise
Direct Instruction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Provide description, explanation or example
Ask students to restate in own words
Ask students to construct a picture
Engage students in activities that helps them add to
their knowledge
Ask students of discuss with one anther
Involve students in games that allow them to play
with the terms
Marrzano, Robert J & Pickering
Debra J. (2005) Building
Academic Vocabulary
Direction Instruction
1. Pronounce the word, write it, and read it. Examine
spelling.
2. Tell students what the new word means, using a student friendly
definition.
3. Say more about the word, and use it several times in
of use.
4. Ask students questions about the word’s meaning.
5. Elicit word use by students.
Moats, L . (200) The Mighty
Word: Buidling Vocabulary and
Oral Langauge
examples
Direct Instruction
Say the word
Students Echo the
Word
Listen for
mispronunciation
Correct
mispronunciation
Introduction
Give a definition and
use in a sentence
Direction Instruction
Syllables
Count
Line
Spell
Identify
Syllable Types
Manipulative
Spelling
Direct Instruction
Redefine with
Visuals
Direct Instruction
Have Fun
with the
Word
Direct Instruction
Word Origin
Direction Instruction
www.dictionary.com will often provide
quotes using the word.
Present the words in up to 6 different
contextual ways
Google search with the word in “ “ with the
word Cartoon might generate a comic using
the word.
Generate highly visual or imaginative
contextual examples
Context
-definition
-appositive definition
-Synonym
Antonym
-Example
-General
Direct Instruction
Type
Description
Signal Words or
Punctuation
Definition
The author provides a direct definition Is, are , means , refers to
Appositive Definition
A word or phrase that defines or
explains the unfamiliar
or
Commas
Synonym
Use of another words or phrase that is
similar
also, as, identical, like, likewise,
resembling, same similarly, too
Antonym
Use of another word or phrase that
means the opposite
but, however, in contrast,
instead of, on the other hand,
though, unlike
Example
Use of examples of the unknown
word
for example, for instance, like,
such as
General
Use of non specific clues and usually
with many sentences
Direct Instruction
I went for a
trek . My
sister calls it
a hike.
In tennis
love
means
zero
points.
Exercise
equipment like
treadmills and
weights are too
expensive. I got
my jump rope for
$2.00.
I play for the
offence not
the defense.
I ran in a
marathon,
a 26 mile,
race, in 3
hours.
Today we are
going to read
about canines
such as wolves
and foxes.
Direct Instruction
Student
Verbalizes
Direction Instruction
Synonyms , Antonyms, Word Origin
Synonym: Disclose
Antonym: Hide
Origin: Latin
dīvulgāre- to
spread
4 Square
Definition
-to make known
-reveal
-tell
Divulge
Harry would
never divulge
something told to
him in secret.
Context
Picture
Direct Instruction
*
0cr
e l vt
^
Spelling
• Mark the syllables with an asterisk
• Indicate the syllable types
• Put a carrot over any schwa
ay
• Underline diagraphs and long vowel sounds
a2
• Indicate the 2,3,4,5,6th sound
e 2 • Indicate the silent e job
• Put a box around anything strange

Direct Instruction
c
r
o
c
2
i n*f o r* m a* t i o n
Direct Instruction
c
c
e
c o n* t i n* u e
2
Say, echo,
listen,
correct,
define and
put in
sentence
SLIMSY
SLIM
Closed Syllable
SY
Open Syllable
SLIMSY means flimsy; frail
SLIMSY
SLIM
+
Flimsy
=
Slimsy
Slimsy is an Americanism that came into common use in
the 1830s and early 1840s.
SLIMSY
"Nice girl . . ." he mused, "but sort of thin and slimsy and
delicate, not robust and hearty like the kind of girl you
ought to have on a farm."
-- Bess Streeter Aldrich, A White Flying Bird
The coat was a slimsy bit of dark silk, with a glister in it;
and the hat was the thinnest straw, the brim curling a
little in the wind.
-- Max Brand, Storm on the Range
Slimsy
The girl is
slimsy. My
mom says
she is frail.
Slimsy
means thin
and frail.
That is a very
slimsy pencil. I
like my big fat
one.
The cat is
defiantly not
slimsy, she is
very fat.
The slimsy,
very frail,
gentleman crept
along the road
with is crooked
cane.
Once upon a time a
slimsy princess was so
slim and frail, the king
thought she might blow
away in the wind.
SLIMSY
with your shoulder partner,
create a highly visual
sentence using the word
slimsy
Slimsy
Synonyms , Antonyms, Word Origin
Synonym: Frail, thin
Antonym: fat, chunky
Origin: Portmanteau;
Americanism
of 1800’s
Definition
-Slim and frail;
flimsy
Slimsy
The slimsy little
girl fell down after
being slightly pushed
by her friend.
Context
Picture
Say, echo,
listen,
correct,
define and
put in
sentence
filiopietistic
fil
Closed
Syllable
i
Open
Syllable
o
pi
e
Open
Open
Syllable Syllable
Schwa
tis
tic
Closed Closed
Syllable Syllable
FILIOPIETISTIC reverence of forebears or
tradition, especially if carried to excess
filiopietistic
FILIOPIETISTIC
Latin Roots
Filio means brotherly
Piet means piety
-istic noun related to a verb- becomes an adjective
filiopietistic
The popular historical narratives of the many
immigrant groups may indeed be filiopietistic in
the exaggerated and often shrilly made claims for
their important contributions to the making of the
country of their choice.
-- Orm Øverland, immigrant Minds, American Identities
In a filiopietistic age it would be difficult to
find a more filiopietistic man — toward his
own father, the founders, and the past
generally — than Edward Everett.
-- Paul A. Varg, Edward Evertt: The Intellectual in the Turmoil of
Politics
filiopietistic
with your shoulder partner,
create a highly visual
sentence using the word
filiopietistic
filiopietistic
Synonyms , Antonyms, Word Origin
Synonym: None
Antonym: None
Origin: Latin combination of filio
(brotherly), piet
(piety) and
istic- adjective
filiopietistic
Definition
-reverence of
forebears or
tradition,
especially
if carried to
excess
The filiopietistic
Civil War
reenactment actors fought
with gusto.
Context
Picture
filiopietistic
c
o o o
3
ǝ
c
c
f i l*i*o*p i*e*t i s*t i c
Vocabulary
Word consciousness
Some Fun With New Words
 Do you know the meanings of the next three words?
1. jonesing (v)
a. grooving to music
b. hankering for something
c. using street slang
d. being obsequious
(From Word Power, Reader’s Digest, Nov. 2003, pp. 43–44.)
Some Fun With New Words
1. jonesing (v)
a. grooving to music
b. hankering for something
c. using street slang
d. being obsequious
Some Fun With New Words
2. tank (v)
a. fill up with gas
b. fail spectacularly
c. go scuba diving
d. frequent a pub
Some Fun With New Words
2. tank (v)
a. fill up with gas
b. fail spectacularly
c. go scuba-diving
d. frequent a pub
Some Fun With New Words
3. shooz (n)
a. idiom for flip-flops
b. concerns
c. motorcycle boots
d. rare gemstones
Some Fun With New Words
3. shooz (n)
a. idiom for flip-flops
b. concerns
c. motorcycle boots
d. rare gemstones
2007 Word of the Year
Locavore
A person who seeks out locally produced food.
(chosen by The Oxford American Dictionary)
2006 Word of the Year
Pluto
To “pluto” is to demote or devalue someone or something,
much like what happened to the former planet.
(according to the American Dialect Society)
2005 Word of the Year
Truthiness
The quality of stating concepts one wishes or believes to be
true, rather than the facts.
Truthy, not facty.
(according to the American Dialect Society)
Topics Within the Study of
Comprehension
words
Reading
Comprehension
phrases
sentences and inter-sentence
connections
integration with knowledge
of self and the world
metacognitive
strategies
paragraph and discourse
structure
Sentence Comprehension
 Syntax:
 The system of language that specifies how words, phrases, and
clauses can be sequenced. The grammatical role of words in
sentences.
 Syntax must be understood in order to comprehend the surface code and
its correspondence with the underlying text base.
Syntax Comprehension
Long Term
Memory
Text Base
(meaning behind words)
Goal:
Working
Memory
Surface Code
(words, sentences)
Mental Model
Sentence density
Sentence Density
proposition = an idea unit
 Sentences that are dense, or that have many propositions, can
be difficult for students to comprehend.
 Consider the sentence on the following slide.
Consider This Sentence
“Then one of the officers rode up and gave the word for the men to
mount, and in a second every man was in his saddle, and every horse
stood expecting the touch of the rein, or the pressure of his rider’s heels,
all animated, all eager; but still we had been trained so well that, except
by the champing of our bits, and the restive tossing of our heads from
time to time, it could not be said that we stirred.”
(From Sewell, A. [1955]. Black Beauty.
Racine, WI: Western Printing, p.192)
Parts of speech
Quick Quiz on Parts of Speech
Example
How it expresses meaning
Question it
answers
person, place, thing
what or who
substitutes for a noun
what or who
action word
is doing what
describing word
what kind, how many
how an action is done
in what way
preposition
relationship of a substantive word
to a verb, adjective, or noun
how, when, where
conjunction
joins dependent and independent
clauses
why, wherefore
noun
pronoun
verb
adjective
adverb
Quick Quiz on Parts of Speech
Example
noun
pronoun
preacher,
valley, table
How it expresses
meaning
person, place, thing
he, she, it, their substitutes for a noun
Question it
answers
what or who
what or who
action word
is doing what
describing word
what kind, how
many
how an action is done
in what way
with, from, to,
before
relationship of a substantive word
to a verb, adjective, or noun
how, when, where
and, because,
although
joins dependent and independent
clauses
why, wherefore
verb
think, be, do
adjective
orange,
miniscule
adverb
heedlessly
preposition
conjunction
Phrases and clauses
What’s the Difference?
Phrases
Any group of words that are part of
a sentence and work together.
noun phrase — the old lady
verb phrase — spoke softly
prepositional phrase — to her care-giver
Clauses
Dependent:
A group of words that contains a
subject and a predicate but does
not express a complete thought.
Independent: A group of words
that contains a subject and a
predicate that does express a
complete thought.
Phrases and Clauses
Phrases
Dependent Clauses
in the atmosphere
through the haze
the red car
galloped quickly
between the two
slices of bread
on the peninsula
inside the fire station
after the children left the
room
unless the boat docks on
time
whenever the two meet
if we get there in time
while she was preoccupied
Independent Clauses
Most teenagers have a
curfew.
Slowly the balloon
descended.
Jim studied for hours.
It was challenging to
meet the deadline.
Sentence types
Simple Sentence
… one single, independent clause with a subject and
predicate.
 Examples with single subjects and predicates:
 The girl loved her lizard.
 Wolves howl at the moon.
 Dogs are descended from wolves.
p. 40
Compound Sentences
Examples with compound (more than one) subjects, objects, and
predicates:
SIMPLE SENTENCES
Compound subject
Our hero and his friends trudged on.
Compound predicate
Jerry hung up his coat, strode down the hall, and
marched boldly into the room.
Compound object
There he found some ink, a pen, some paper,
and directions for filling out the form.
Elaborated subject
Our bold, intrepid hero trudged on.
Elaborated predicate
Jerry strode down the hall, into the room, and up
to the platform where he began to give his
speech.
Appositive
Stuart, a shy character, spoke quietly.
Compound Sentence
… two or more independent clauses linked by a
coordinating conjunction.
Conjunction Causation
and
because,
of, or,
in order
that, so
Reversal or
Contradiction
Time
Sequence
but, or, although,
then, now,
however,
next, finally,
nevertheless,
as soon as,
even though, yet, before, since,
regardless of
until,
whenever,
while, when
Conditionality
either–or
if–then
unless
since
Complex Sentence Structures
… dependent clause(s) is attached to an independent clause.
COMPLEX SENTENCES
Subordinate clause
When I was home alone, I locked
all the doors to the house.
Participial phrase
Knowing that he was right all
along, the candidate stuck to his
position.
Relative clause
The residents who welcomed new
neighbors were friendly.
Infinitive phrase
To feel as if one cannot keep up
produces anxiety.
Adjectives or participles
Exhausted and bleeding, the
soldier pleaded for help.
Types of Sentences
Each morning, cows are released into the field.
Simple
They know it’s important to rest because tomorrow will be another day.
Compound
As she rode her bicycle down the street, Mrs. Brown was chased by a terrier.
Complex
Hippos can close their mouths and hold their breath for about ten minutes.
Simple
In deep water, they like to sink to the bottom.
Simple
That way, a hippo can still breathe, see, and hear when most of its head is hidden under the
water.
Complex
Punctuation
Punctuation Matters!
 How do these two sentences differ?
 I’ve finally decided to cheer up, everybody!
 I’ve finally decided to cheer up everybody!
or
 Slow, children crossing.
 Slow children crossing.
From Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: Why Commas Really
DO Make a Difference! (Truss, 2006)
1/28/2007
Look at the difference between this sentence…
102
From Eats, Shoots, and Leaves: Why Commas Really
DO Make a Difference! (Truss, 2006)
…and this sentence!
• A professor wrote these words on the board and directed
the students to punctuate:
Woman without her man is nothing
 The men wrote:
Woman, without her man, is nothing.
 The women wrote:
Woman: without her, man is nothing.
Topics Within the Study of
Comprehension
words
Reading
Comprehension
phrases
sentences and inter-sentence
connections
integration with knowledge
of self and the world
metacognitive
strategies
paragraph and discourse
structure
Coherence
 Text Coherence:
 The result of cohesion in the text.
 It is clear, and makes sense as a whole.
 Mental Coherence:
 In the reader’s mind, are the meanings clear?
 Local coherence = surface and text levels. Also refers to relations
between adjacent sentences
 Macro or global coherence = surface, text, and mental model. Also
refers to whether the sentences are related to an overall theme.
Cain pg. 52
Text Cohesion
 A text is cohesive when the ideas hang together in a meaningful and
sentence
sentence
sentence
sentence
organized manner.
Cohesive Devices: Reference,
Substitution, Ties, and Ellipsis
Devices that bind ideas together in a text are like the clothesline!
 Reference is the use of one word to refer to
something already mentioned.
 Pronouns are in this category.
 Sue and I met her brother at the show. We
were on time.
 He, however, was late getting there and
we missed the first scene.
 Called anaphors (Cain’s book)
Cohesive Devices: Reference,
Substitution, Ties, and Ellipsis
Devices that bind ideas together in a text are like the clothesline!
 Substitution is renaming something already
mentioned; not a pronoun.
 The verbal capacity of a reader also
determines comprehension.
 Verbal reasoning can be improved with
practice
Cohesive Devices: Reference,
Substitution, Ties, and Ellipsis
Devices that bind ideas together in a text are like the clothesline!
 Lexical Cohesion is a repetition of key ideas.
 The mother dog meets all of the puppies’
needs herself. Her body provides warmth,
safety, food, and companionship.
 The mother dog provides everything. She is
the sole caretaker for about 8 weeks of the
puppies’ lives.
Cohesive Devices: Reference,
Substitution, Ties, and Ellipsis
Devices that bind ideas together in a text are like the clothesline!
 Ellipsis is reference that is implied, not
stated.
 I asked her to be prepared for the trip.
 She said that she would [be prepared].
Marking Cohesive Ties
“Fire Is Fearsome”
 Mark with arrows or other symbols the ways in which words and
phrases refer to each other in this passage.
For example:
“The heated air above a fire rises in a pillar of
smoke and burnt gases, pulling fresh air in
from the sides to replace it. Firefighters use
this fact when they “fight fire with fire.”
(Anderson, Stone, & Burton,
1978)
• We will check your work on the following slide.
Marking Cohesive Ties
(Anderson, Stone, & Burton, 1978)
These relationships are confusing! Be “on the lookout” to help students through
the confusion.
Inferences
Why Did She Do This?
A Reader’s Goal: Mental Model
Hmmm …
this text is not coherent.
Long Term
Memory
Text Base
(meaning behind words)
Goal:
Working
Memory
Surface Code
(words, sentences)
Mental Model
Guess I will have to fill
in the gaps!
Two General Types of Inferences
Gap-filling inferences:
 Fill in gaps in the surface
text.
 Also called “necessary
inferences” in Cain’s book
(required to establish links
between parts of text and
to make sense of the text as
a whole)
Bridging inferences:
 Connect the text meanings
with your prior knowledge.
 Also called “elaborative
inferences” in Cain’s book
(an inference that enriches
a person’s representation of
the meaning of a text, but is
not strictly necessary to
ensure comprehension)
Making Inferences
How Inferences Can Go Wrong:
 Insufficient prior knowledge
 Incomplete or inaccurate inferences made.
 Erroneous inferences
 Inaccurate information becomes part of student’s mental model,
further undermining comprehension in the future.
 Concrete or fragmented thinking
 Can’t understand the idea structure.
Read Between the Lines . . . .
“No, Honey, I don’t want you to spend a lot of
money on my birthday present. Just having
you for a husband is the only gift I need. In
fact, I’ll just drive my old, rusty bucket of
bolts down to the mall and buy myself a little
present. And if the poor old car doesn't break
down, I’ll be back soon.”
(from www.rhlschool.com)
Practice With Inferences
 Read this passage:
Most insects lay their eggs and leave them. Treehoppers,
however, are better mothers. After laying eggs, the mother
treehopper guards them. Lizards, birds, and grasshoppers
are likely to go hungry around a treehopper nest, where
the mother will stand on her hind legs and spread her
wings to look as scary as possible.
What is a treehopper?
Is This What You Had in Mind?
Treehopper
Words
“Treehoppers, however, are better mothers.”
Treehoppers are
insects
Treehoppers are
not like most
insects
Are better mothers than
other insects who leave
their eggs
Text Base (underlying meanings)
Less-Skilled Readers . . .
 Younger or low-ability, low-knowledge readers may only bridge ideas
between adjacent sentences while more-skilled readers will make
connections between multiple sentences or links with implied
organizational structures.
 Skilled readers make more inferences than poor comprehenders.
 Less-skilled readers who are poor at inferencing are less likely to:
 incorporate general knowledge
 connect sentences
 answer questions that tap into knowledge base ….
(Oakhill & Yuill, 1996)
Discourse Structure
Scarborough’s “Rope” Model
Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.
Literacy Knowledge
 Discourse: chunks of language larger than a sentence
 Discourse comprehension: creation of an integrated, coherent
internal representation of the text’s meaning (your mental model)
Organized Thinking Is Recalled
Long Term
Memory
Text Base
(meaning behind words)
Goal:
Working
Memory
Surface Code
(words, sentences)
Mental Model
Narrative: An Aesop’s Fable
(The Nurse and the Wolf)
“Be quiet now,” said an old nurse with a child sitting on her lap. “If you make that
noise again, I will throw you to the wolf.”
Now it chanced that a wolf was passing close under the window as this was said.
So he crouched down by the side of the house and waited. “I am in good luck today,”
thought he.
“It is sure to cry soon, and a daintier morsel I haven’t had for many a long day.” So
he waited, and he waited, till at last the child began to cry, and the wolf came
forward before the window, and looked up to the nurse, wagging its tail. But all the
nurse did was to shut down the window and call for help, and the dogs of the house
came rushing out.
“Ah,” said the wolf, as he galloped away.
Moral of the story:
Enemies’ promises were made to be broken.
Story Grammar

Characters

Setting

Problem or initiating event

Character’s response to
problem

Attempt(s) to solve the problem

Climax and resolution
Expository Text Structures
Informative, nonfiction text that puts out ideas.
ex = Latin prefix meaning “out of ”
pos = Latin root meaning “to put”
Topics Within the Study of
Comprehension
The Teacher’s Role
Reading
Comprehension
words
phrases
integration with knowledge
of self and the world
metacognitive
strategies
sentences and intersentence connections
paragraph and discourse
structure
Enable students to dig for meaning.
A Reader’s Goal: Mental Model
Long Term
Memory
Text Base
(meaning behind words)
Goal:
Working
Memory
Surface Code
(words, sentences)
Mental Model
Metacognitive Strategies
I’m not following this; I better
reread more closely … and find
out what that word means ….
Guiding Inference-Making
“So, why did that third pig
escape the wolf that time? Would
the wolf have fooled you?”
Strategies That Work (NRP)
 Monitoring one’s own comprehension
 Using graphic and semantic organizers
 Generating questions
 Using mental imagery
 Summarizing
 Answering questions
Willingham’s Analysis of the NRP
 Strategy instruction can be effective.
 Strategies that have not been studied thoroughly may still be of some
benefit … results are inconclusive.
 Brief instruction may be sufficient; amount of practice needed will
vary.
 Instruction in strategies is most effective for grades 3 or 4 and beyond.
(Willingham, 2006–07)
Queries During Reading
Let’s take a minute to
address how queries can
assist in your “during
reading” portion of a lesson.
Queries
 Previously, questions were asked of students during reading for the
purpose of assessing student knowledge.
 Now, we want to ask questions in order to guide students as they try to
construct meaning from the text.
 This is a skill learned through practice!
During Reading
 Pose queries at critical junctures in text.
 Model the thoughts and questions of an inquiring reader by thinking
aloud.
 Teach students to: (a) ask for clarification; (b) summarize; (c)
anticipate; and (d) ask questions of the author as they read.
 Visualize or construct a mental image of settings, events, and concepts.
Examples of Queries
 What do you think the author is trying to tell us?
 How do you know?
 Why do you think the character said that?
 What have we learned about this so far?
 Was that part clear to you?
 Were you surprised here? Why?
 What problem is the person trying to solve?
Review Terms and update your
definitions
 linguistic
 narrative
 context
 idiom
 background knowledge
 figurative language
 discourse
 schema
 situation model
 coherence
 surface processing
 compound sentence
 expository
 inference
 genre
 propositions
 anagram
Blueprint for Reading
Comprehension- I DO
Summary of main
idea or
understanding that
students will take
away from the
reading
Preparation/Purpos
e for treading
(shared with
students (and
introduction to
content.
Challenges in the
text itself (e.g.
incoherent parts,
complex sentences,
idioms.)
Key Vocabulary and
background
information
necessary to preteach
Segment the text. Identify
points at which you will stop
and ask questions.)
Formulate queries at critical
text junctures that will
promote coherent
representation of text
meanings in students’ minds.
After-reading activities to:
Deepen or clarify text meanings;
Extend connections beyond the text;
Connect back to the original purpose
for the reading;
Informally assess students
comprehension
Blueprint for Reading
Comprehension- I DO
Summary of main
idea or
understanding that
students will take
away from the
reading
Preparation/Purpos
e for treading
(shared with
students (and
introduction to
content.
Challenges in the
text itself (e.g.
incoherent parts,
complex sentences,
idioms.)
Key Vocabulary and
background
information
necessary to preteach
Segment the text. Identify
points at which you will stop
and ask questions.)
Formulate queries at critical
text junctures that will
promote coherent
representation of text
meanings in students’ minds.
After-reading activities to:
Deepen or clarify text meanings;
Extend connections beyond the text;
Connect back to the original purpose
for the reading;
Informally assess students
comprehension
Guided reading
What is guided reading?
 …structured, practical way of matching reading instruction
to the diverse individual readers in the classroom.
 “[A] teacher works with an individual student or convenes a
small group of students to listen to them read and provide
specific support that helps them use strategies to decode and
comprehend text.”
Guided vs Basal Reading
Focus on skills and strategies for independence
in reading leveled text
Focus is on skills and strategies to read the
selections of the basal text at grade level
Variety of responses to reading
Certain response to reading
Flexible reading groups
Everyone reading same materials at same time
unless the basal has differentiation build in
Incorporated in all subject areas
Reading is separate from other subjects unless
the basal is a part of a comprehensive
curriculum
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading is not choral reading, round robin
reading, or popcorn reading.
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading is a form of small group
instruction where students read a new text at their
own pace following a well planned, supportive
introduction.
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading is a time for students to practice,
in a new text, those skills and strategies previously
taught in a familiar text, and for the teacher to
provide further support and instruction.
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading occurs for 10-15 minutes with an
individual or in a small group setting. Students at
the lowest level meet daily.
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading has (a) planned, specific
instructional purpose(s) with explicitly identified
teaching points.
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading instruction is differentiated
according to the needs of the group of students and
for prompting of individual students.
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading instruction uses a variety of texts
at an instructional level (90-94% accuracy).
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading instruction provides the initial
reading experience with a new text. This new text
becomes a familiar text for the student to read
again independently.
Principals of Guided Reading
Guided Reading should have a balanced of the
instructional time be used for fiction and
nonfiction time.
Types of Guided Reading
Fountas and Pinnell
Reciprocal Teaching
Literature Circles
4 Blocks
Collaborative Strategic Reading
Guided Reading
… is how we put it all together…
Leveled text
Lexile
 A Lexile measure is defined as "the numeric representation
of an individual’s reading ability or a text’s readability (or
difficulty), followed by an “L” (Lexile)"[
 The Lexile scale runs from below 0L (Lexile) to above
2000L. Scores 0L and below are reported as BR (Beginning
Reader) and scores above 2000L are reported as HL (High
Level).
Example of Lexile
Title
Author
Lexile
The Cat in the Hat
Dr. Seuss
260L
Clifford the Small Red Puppy
Norman Bridwell
330L
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle
460L
The Giving Tree
Charlotte'sWeb
Twilight (novel)
Shel Silverstein
E. B. White
Stephenie Meyer
530L
680L
720L
Where theWild Things Are
Maurice Sendak
740L
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's
Stone
J. K. Rowling
880L
A Tale of Two Cities
The Hobbit
Gone with theWind
Charles Dickens
J. R. R. Tolkien
Margaret Mitchell
990L
1000L
1100L
A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking
1290L
Problems with Lexile
 Children are steered away from text they might be interested
in for text they are suppose to be able to read
 There are flaws in the rating
 Twilight is 720 (4th grade)
 The Liberty Mouse- Picture book is 830 (5th grade level)
Determine a Lexile
http://www.lexile.com/fab/
Fountas and Pinnell Levels
Using general descriptions of important characteristics that
define levels of books.
Early Emergent Books
 Consistent placement of print on each page
 Illustrations provide high support
 Natural language structure
 Some high frequency words
 One/two lines of print
 Predictable, repetitive sentence pattern with one/two word
changes
aa
A
B
C
D
Later Emergent Books
 Some punctuation conventions
 Illustrations provide high support
 Repeated sentence pattern every few pages
 Print in various positions on the page
 Varied sentence patterns
 Multiple lines of print
 Familiar objects and experiences
 Simple story line
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
Progressing Levels
 Varied placement of print on page
 Natural language structures
 Variety of simple sentences and lengths
 Multiple lines of print
 More punctuation conventions
 Some repetitive sentence patterns
 Illustrations provide moderate to high support
 Variety of punctuation and fonts
 Longer stories
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
Transitional Levels
 Conventional story
 Varied sentence patterns
 More print on page
 Some literary language
 Variety of literature selections
 Illustrations provide some support
 More varied punctuation and fonts
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
Fluent Levels







Some challenging vocabulary
Literary terms and language
Extended story lines
Variety of simple and complex sentences
Longer literature selections
Fewer illustrations
More print on a page
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
What Level? Danny and the Dinosaur
What Level? Cam Jansen
What Level? Greedy Cat
What Level? Ms. Wishy Washy
What Level? Cat and Mouse
Assignments for Next Class:
October 23, 2012
Assignments Due:
•Exit Slip
•Linguistics Test Part Two
Readings for Oct 23, 2012
The Next Step in Guided Reading Chapter 2-6