My guidebook will... Provide you with an explanation of the topic.

1. My guidebook will... • Provide you with an explanation of the topic. • Give you an example of how the topic is used in the classroom and/or curriculum. • Present information found in other research regarding the topic. • Give you an inside look of my mind when I think about the topic. • Offer you ideas as to how the topic can be used in my math classroom and/or curriculum.

2. So how does reading develop… Reading can be split into different stages. The stages begin when children are around 2 years old and people continuously progress through the stages their whole life. The following information is an overview of what the stages are and some examples of students in these stages...

3. Pre-School • Imitation of adults when it comes to reading and writing (they will hold books upright and turn pages left to right. They will scribble on pieces of paper pretending they are writing) • They can see what reading is, but they can not read yet. Often times they will see the pictures and invent stories demonstrating that they understand the concept of reading. • Example: As a child my dad would read me stories and he always did funny voices for the characters. He tells me that multiple times he would peak in my room and I would have the book out, talking in the funny voices, making up a story. I was trying to imitate him.

4. Stage 1 • Students spell by sound. They spell fone instead of phone, kacher instead of catcher. • They know how to correctly spell a few sight words. Some common sight words are their names and their family members' names, love, cat, dog, etc. • Their reading is slow and not automatic. • They begin to decode words. Along with this comes matching letters to sounds, and confusion of vowels) • Example: I played hangman with a couple of 6 year olds at the daycare I work at. They all chose names of their family members because they were sight words that they knew how correctly spell.

5. Stage 2 • Students spell by pattern. They recognize that certain sounds can be spelled using different letters. • Their reading speed and expressiveness increases. • They can concentrate more on the text. • Their decoding and word recognition has become more automatic • Example: I did not work at the daycare during the summer so many of the kids developed a lot while I was gone. One in particular is a girl who is in 3rd grade this year. She is very bright, and I have watched her learn to improve on reading throughout my time at the day care. This year she likes to read to her younger sister, and it comes so fluently for her. Also, she loves creating different voices and puts a lot of emotion into her stories. It is very apparent that her expressiveness has increased.

6. Stage 3 • Students can read to learn or read for information. • Their comprehension of the text has increased. They make inferences and demonstrate effective response. • They can also pick out the main ideas, details, and summarize what they read. • They begin to demonstrate predicting, sequencing, comparing, and drawing conclusions. • Example: I can remember creating book reports in the fourth grade. We were supposed to fold a piece of paper in half, and first draw a scene from the book on the front cover of our piece of paper. On the inside we were supposed to write the main characters, the setting, and the plot. On the back cover of the piece of paper we were supposed to write the conclusion. This activity provided our teacher with information regarding our abilities to comprehend the story and use the information in the story beyond just reading it.

7. Stage 4 • Students can respond to texts at all levels. • They can interpret the author's purpose of the text; they can see a hidden meaning. • They have mastered the content area vocab. • They understand figurative language. • Example: High school students are asked to find the theme and symbolism within the novels they read in English class. This task assesses the students ability to think more abstractly and complex about the text they have read.

8. How can these stages be used in the classroom? As seen in class, students' reading levels can span across 7-10 grade levels within one classroom. It is important for teachers to know and recognize the signs of a student fitting into a particular stage. If teachers can do that they can proceed to differentiate for those particular students who are struggling or who are excelling. • Teachers should assess students with pre-vocabulary to know how difficult particular readings might be. If a student does not know any of the vocabulary in a text they will lose motivation to read it because of the level of frustration they will gain. Often times, textbooks are written at a higher level than what students are currently at. • Teachers need to recognize the signs of a student being stuck in a particular phase. If a student does not master a particular skill in one of the lower stages they will not be able to move on in their development. It is important to figure out if that is the case for any of the students so that help can be given to get them back on track.

9. How will I use this information in my high school math classroom? • I want to prepare my students for college. Therefore, I need to help them learn how to read a math textbook. However, in order to do this I will need to gauge their vocabulary levels with the mathematical concepts. I will also need to teach them strategies of understanding and analyzing a math textbook because it is very different from reading a novel. • I need to understand the reading level of every student. While math is a lot of numbers, there are word problems involved as well. A student may be excellent at solving the equation; however, if they are not able to comprehend what the problem is asking them to do they will not succeed. While math involves many numbers, reading is a vital tool to understand the material. As a teacher it is my job to ensure that my students master the content in my class, and helping them in their reading development is one the key ways to fulfill my job.

10. Visual Literacy is...(according to Michelle Cochran) • Using imagery to establish literacy skills. • The visual comprehension process is completely different from the textual comprehension process, but it can help develop many literacy skills. • Using imagery helps develop literacy because students connect more with literacy if it is in a global context. • The use of images to develop literacy is beneficial because the visual system is so powerful. There are numerous things that individuals process visually and the process is occuring constantly. • Prior knowledge is key for literacy, and everyone has prior knowledge with images because they are constantly bombarded with images.

11. A Technique for Visual Literacy is Visual Thinking Strategies... • Helps to create different classroom dialogue • Gives students a voice • Builds off of the student's prior knowledge • Allows students to explain their thinking and provide reasons • Teaches students to dialogue in disagreement • Provides opportunities to critically think, analyze, and draw conclusions • Very student-centered, teacher is facilitator

12. My thoughts on Visual Thinking Strategies... • It is a great way to learn about students prior knowledge. The ways in which they draw conclusions can directly show what they know to be true or believe to be true. • It can be used as a tool to get students engaging with one another. Every image that is shown is complex, and there is no correct response to the image. Therefore the dialogue among the students can be endless. • In terms of literacy, it allows students to develop analytical skills that are beneficial in all forms of literacy. Students need to learn how to analyze what they are hearing, reading, and seeing in order to comprehend and make a response.

13. How can I use Visual Literacy in my math classroom... • Visual Literacy is important when solving real world problems. Students need to be able to look at a picture and determine what information they are being given and what they need to find. Or vice versa, when they are given a word problem and they are asked to depict a picture of what they are reading. • Visual Thinking Strategies would offer students practice in dialogue when there are multiple answers. Similarly, there are many ways to solve math problems and students will need to know how to interact with, understand, and contrast with their peers. • Specifically in geometry our brains are filled with geometric shapes 24/7. It is important to help students learn to process those images in a way that can benefit their math studies, and visual literacy techniques can help accomplish this.

14. Where can you find shapes in these pictures?!?

15. Visual Literacy in my Practicum • I have learned that often times students are not able to understand the math because they do not understand the vocabulary used in the question; however, when the vocabulary word is described in a picture format the students completely understand what to do. • Example: Multiple students did not understand what 7 squared meant; however, they knew how to solve 7^2. • Example: Multiple students have had difficulties adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. I taught them how to understand the problem by using a number line and they were able to answer the question with ease. • I think it is important to use visual literacy as a tool to connect vocabulary words with something more comprehendible or past knowledge. This way students can navigate back and forth between vocabulary words and picture descriptions. Both are very important in math, and students need help developing the connections.

16. Vocabulary • General vocabulary knowledge is the single best predictor for what a reader can understand • Vocabulary accounts for ½ of factors that influence reading comprehension DID YOU KNOW?!?

17. 7 words per day 7 words per day 7 words per day 7 words per day 7 words per day 7 words per day 7 words per day 7 words per day Students can remember 7 WORDS PER DAY Students can remember 35 WORDS PER WEEK Students can remember 1820 WORDS PER YEAR ***you are competing for their brains***

18. Vocabulary Building • Concentrate on 7 WORDS PER DAY • Students need 8-12 EXPOSURES • MULTIPLE contexts Tiers of Words Basic words: clock, baby, happy (learned indirectly) Mature vocabulary: absurd, industrious, fortunate Academic vocabulary: specialized (isotope, peninsula, quadratic equation) non-specialized (analyze, examine, observe)

19. How is vocabulary used in math??? Responses based on each individual’s practicum teacher • “Only referenced when talking about specific math terms” –Kyle Ryan (signs of academic vocabulary) • “My teacher uses it when starting a new topic” – Devin Syglensky (signs of academic vocabulary) • “It is used mainly for talking about math terms. One another time it was used to illustrate what a good student was” – Me (signs of academic vocabulary and possible mature vocabulary)

20. What does other research say??? • Use interactive vocabulary boards. “Teachers and students viewed the interactive vocabulary strategy as being beneficial in enhancing word learning in their content area” “Student word knowledge broadened and deepened during the interactive word wall instructional design” (Latham 2011). ((( My opinion ))) A word map would be beneficial in a math class. Especially root words such as geo, meter, poly, pop, sim, spect, struct, tract. It would help student understand what the words mean and not just memorize them.

21. What does other research say??? • Visual aids are beneficial for learning vocabulary. In a study, “students preferred the student-created vocabulary visuals. Using these visuals, students could draw on prior knowledge to create personal connections that were relevant to their own lives” (Miller 2011). ((( My opinion ))) Visual aids could help students recognize what different vocabulary words mean in a math class. If students see a picture of the word, their anxiety levels associated with that word can decrease. They will also help trigger reminders in later lessons.

22. In my math class I vow to… • Constantly help my students improve their vocabulary so they may excel in all of their classes. • Provide my students with 8-12 exposures to the vocabulary words that I want them to know. Students can only learn 7 words per day. • Ideas for exposure: interactive wall map, root word reminders, verbal reminders, key words of the day written on the board, ½ sheets with the vocabulary words and synonyms that they already know, wordle, visual note card creation, etc. • Focus the vocabulary words on mature words because students will use these words more often, and they will be more beneficial to interacting in the real world. • Provide my students with 8-12 exposures because students can only learn 35 words per week.

23. i LOVE this example

24. Students repeat words out loud Techniques for teaching math vocabulary NumberLineContest Bingo Math Word Problems with Highlighting Student developed word walls Fostering student explanation of the words Fun Questionnaire to incorporate vocab words Powerpoint vocab dictionaries Envelope Exploration with Vocab Words

25. Resources Latham, Kendall K. (2011). The effects of an interactive vocabulary strategy on teachers’ and students’ perceptions of world learning. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest. (3457905). Miller, Dana L. (2011). Visual approaches to vocabulary instruction; teacher and adolescent learner perceptions. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from Proquest. (3453607).