Helping Your Students Understand the Textbook

1. Helping Your Students Understand the Textbook ~Comprehension Tools for Upper Grades J. Mulholland Reading Specialist, Jefferson County Schools

2. 26 = L. of the A. 7 = W. of the A.W. 1001 = A.N. 12 = S. of the Z. 54 = C. in a D. (with the J.) 9 = P. in the S.S. 88 = P.K. 13 = S. on the A.F. 32 = D.F. at which W.F. 18 = H. on a G.C. 200 = D. for P.G. in M. 90 = D. in a R.A. 8 = S. on a S.S. 3 = B.M.(S.H.T.R.) 4 = Q. in a G. 24 = H. in a D. 1 = W. on a U. 5 = D. in a Z.C. 57 = H.V. 11 = P. on a F.T. 1000 = W. that a P. is W. 29 = D. in F. in a L.Y. 4 = P. on a C. 40 = D. and N. of the G.F. Two Heads Are Better Than OneFlexibility and Creativity Test

3. Comprehension • Comprehension is understanding text using many strategies (conscious plans or procedures). • Comprehension is recognized today as an active, constructive process rather than a passive process of only answering questions generated by others.

4. Graphic Organizers • Essential to every lesson. • Students must learn to use Graphic Organizers by themselves. • Brain thinks graphically and visually. • Organization is key to understanding. • Presentation Books or Shutter Books as study tools. (Dinah Zike, K. Fulweiler)

5. What are Shutter Books or Presentation Books? • A three-dimensional, hands-on learning tool that can help children group facts together in categories for easier recall. • Enhances comprehension with a visual representation of connections. • Creative way for students to document units of study. • Alternate authentic assessment when combined with a rubric.

6. Why Use Presentation/Shutter Books? • Flexible and multi-level. • Reaches a different modality. • Appropriate for ELL, Gifted, Special needs children. • Allows the student to own the information. • Students are responsible for making decisions (What’s important here?) • Tangible (space-saving) project to share. • Fun. From www.dinahzike.com/

7. Types of Basic Shutter Books www.dinahzike.com 4 Door Drop Down Layer (Story Elements or Episodes) Concept Maps

8. Some Examples ( from Dinah Zike)

9. Alphabet Books to Present Content • A is for Armstrong. • From Space to Presidents and Beyond.

10. Story Structure Characters Middle Beginning End Goal Characters Middle Setting Goal Obstacle Setting

11. How Does Text Structure Differ from Story Structure? • Subject-specific vocabulary. • Need for increased, worldly background knowledge. • “Busy” Bold print, text boxes, graphs, charts, Chapter Headings, Italics, Colored text, etc • Where to start to read? • Process info from across curriculum areas. • No Beginning, Middle, End (Sequence) • No story elements. • Read slower. • Skim for information. • Substantiate within the text.

12. Explicitly pre-teach unfamiliar words important to comprehension. Lowers frustration Pre-teach less as year progresses. Teach where vocabulary is located in the text. (Colored text, text boxes, captions, glossary) Do NOT read connected text first! Vocabulary Instruction-Before Reading • RIVET • GTCW • WORD SORTS • SEMANTIC WEBS

13. Guess the Covered Word • The greater the pull of__________ the more something weighs on that planet. • Balls of ice and dust which travel around some planets are called ______________. • Clouds on Venus trap the sun’s heat, creating the _____________ _______________.

14. WORD SORTS

15. Context Structure Sound Reference Developed by Martha H. Ruddell Download the Wall Chart for your classroom. Vocabulary Instruction - CSSRDuring Reading

16. Vocabulary Instruction-After Reading • Ruddell’s Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy ((VSS) • 2-5 member teams that select new and important words from the text. • Vote for 5. Add to Vocabulary Wall. To Nominate a VSS Word: 1. Choose one new word from the text. 2. Tell where the word is in the text. 3. What the word means in the text. 4. Tell why this word was chosen.

17. Limited background knowledge. Lack of student motivation/interest. Unfamiliar text structure. (story elements) More complex and subject specific vocabulary. No transition words or connectors. Need to seek out additional information. Obstacles to Comprehension of Informational Text: ~adapted from Olson & Gee, 1991

18. Tap prior knowledge. Build background knowledge. Hands-on experiences before reading. Teacher Read-Alouds. Read for a purpose.(ERT) Provide supplementary materials. Encourage affective responses. Promote discussions. Connect reading and writing. Use Pre/During/After Reading activities. Suggestions to Foster Comprehension of Expository Text: ~adapted from Guillaume, 1998

19. Anticipation Guides(Agree/Disagree)Before/After • Target major concepts. • Include general concepts. • Activate student’s prior knowledge. • Challenge the child’s current thinking about the topic. • Foster the ability to make predictions and verify predictions in the text. • See Literacy Lane (Guided Reading) for Anticipation template and explanation.

20. Anticipation Guide (The Restless Earth)by Melvin Berger • Agree Statement Disagree • _________The Earth's crust has remained the unchanged ________ • for millions of years. • __________ Millions of years ago, the Earth was one giant ________ • continent. • _________ Plates are only found on large land masses _________ • such as continents. • _________ When volcanoes erupt, there is always a __________ • loud noise preceding the lava flow. • _________ When magma comes to the Earth's surface __________ • it is called lava. • 6. _______ Earthquakes are caused by breaking plates. _________ • 7. _______ Earthquakes rarely last more than one minute. _________ • 8. _______An earthquake only takes place on land. __________

21. Direct Reading- Thinking Activity(DR-TA) Best used with textbook chapters. • Chapter title -- brainstorm what the students know about the chapter. (web) • Write names of chapter headings and subheadings -- elaborate on the previous web. • Students now open books to the chapter and look over illustrations, headings and subheadings. Add additional info. Every students now makes a copy.

22. DR-TA (continued) • Children silently read targeted section and verify/modify web. • Guided by the teacher, children discuss pre -reading web and discuss additions and/or changes. Class reworks pre-reading brainstorming web. • Repeat steps 3-5 for each chapter section.

23. Concept Map with Subtopics

24. SQ3R

25. SQ3R

26. QAR - Question-Answer Relationships In the Book THINK & SEARCH RIGHT THERE Putting it together. Combine info from several places in text. Answers are found easily in one place. AUTHOR & ME ON MY OWN Background knowledge /experience + text Can be answered w/out text.Personal experience needed. In My Head

27. Stickies or Post-Its (Monitoring our Understanding) • K = What I already knew. • N = One new fact or word or concept that I learned. • Q = One question that I still have or something that I still do not understand.

28. Comprehension Strategies: • Monitoring understanding • Cooperative learning • Graphic organizers • Story structure/Story elements • Question answering • Question generating • Summarizing/Retelling ~National Reading Panel, 2000

29. Caution! • Over-simplified texts for lower grades may actually be more difficult to read. • To fit readability formulas: • Break down complex sentences • Eliminate connecting words and transitions • Vocabulary substitutions • Concept and text relationships become unclear

30. Where Have We Been Today? Three important points to remember. Something that I learned today that is “square” with my beliefs. A question still going around in my mind.