Literacy Practice: Promoting Content Area Reading

Designed by Brenda Stephenson The University of Tennessee

At the end of this presentation students should:

 Define the concepts for promoting reading comprehension through content area reading materials.

 Identify ways of using content area reading materials to promote reading comprehension in the classroom.

 List materials and resources available to accomplish this practice.

Content Area Reading

…refers to the reading the arts.

in the challenge of academic areas such as science, social studies, mathematics, literature, and

Content Area Reading



Scaffolding

provides a systematic approach to address the challenges of Content Area Reading.

Content Area Reading:

Scaffolding

 instructional technique using teacher modeling to introduce the desired learning strategy or task, then gradually shifts responsibility to the students  Scaffolding Graph

Content Area Reading:

Scaffolding

 supports students before , during , and after they read.  enables students to accomplish what is normally beyond their abilities .  provides enough help so students can succeed with a task that otherwise would be impossible .

(Graves & Graves, 1994)

Video Clip

 Biology Content Video

Content Area Reading:

Scaffolding

Temporary Task-oriented Support to extend reach Steps to Teaching: • Preparation • Assistance • Reflection •

Teacher

Analyzes

Text

Prior to Lesson  Assesses Readability  Modifies text if necessary  Identifies Key Vocabulary & Concepts  Identifies Expository Text Structures  Identifies Relation to Prior Knowledge

Teacher Text:

Readability

 Prepare students to read the material by considering readability factors  interest & motivation of the reader  legibility of the print & illustrations  complexity in relation to the reading ability of the reader of words and sentences

Teacher Text:

Readability

Analyze Word & Sentence Complexity  run a readability analysis at intervention central.org using the OKAPl! Reading Probe Generator  use Microsoft Word spell & grammar check with the readability tool option turned ‘on’

Teacher Student:

Reading Level

Assess Student Reading Levels:  Running Records – – readinga-z.com

Tutorial  Informal Reading Inventories

Teacher Text:

Modify

If…  Text Level is higher than Instructional Level Then…  Paraphrase (rewrite) Many textbooks now have companion readers/study guides developed specifically as content area reading supplements. These are often ordered by schools for the ELL students. Check. It will save you a lot of time and work!

Teacher Text:

Vocabulary

Limit the number of words introduced…  Choose words – critical to understanding the main ideas – not likely to be learned independently

Teacher Text:

Text Structures Analyze Word & Sentence Complexity

Researchers have found that instruction in expository text structure positive effect on recall and comprehension.

has a (Armbruster, Anderson, & Ostertag, 1987; Roller & Schreimer, 1985; Taylor & Beach, 1984).

Science     

Teacher Text:

Text Structures

Patterns problem-solving classification experimental cause and effect definition/explanation Social Studies      chronological events definition/ explanation cause and effect compare/contrast question & answer

Math    

Teacher Text:

Text Structures

Patterns key words graphic relationships evidence & reasoning symbolic relationships & operations Literature  character development  settings  plot  moral & message  symbolism  genre

Student Text:

Skills

Literacy Skills needed in content areas are:  Identifying the main idea  Locating facts specific details and  Organizing mentally material  Vocabulary comprehension  Adjusting Reading Rate Focus &  Summarizing

Graphic Organizer Video

 Content Writing Clip

Content Reading: Teacher Text Teaching Student

 Before Reading • Building Vocabulary • Activating Prior Knowledge • Setting a Purpose • Previewing • Brainstorming • Predicting •  During Reading • Scanning • Visualizing • Context Clues • Inferring • Questioning • Clarifying •  After Reading • Summarizing • Drawing Conclusions • Reflecting • Critical Thinking • Review • Synthesis • Writing to Learn •

Content Reading:

Teaching

 Teach Strategies Using: – Established programs & techniques which  address before, during, after  utilize graphic organizers  provide modeling of desired skills  offer styles variety to address varying learning

Content Reading: Techniques

(More links from Reading Quest Charts!) Check out the Print     Writing to Learn Directed Reading Activity (DRA) Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) Guided Reading Procedure (GRP)   SQR3 Listen-Read-Discuss (L-R-D)

Content Reading: Techniques

(Click the links below for information from Reading Quest on each strategy. Check out the Print Charts!)  ABC brainstorm  history frames  carousel  inquiry chart  clock buddies  K - W - L  column notes  opinion-proof  power thinking  comparison contrast

Content Reading: Techniques

(More links from Reading Quest Charts!) Check out the Print  questioning the author  RAFT papers  reciprocal teaching  underlining  semantic feature   analysis story maps  summarizing  thesis-proof  think-pair-share

Content Reading: Techniques

(More links from Reading Quest )  3-minute pause  3 - 2 – 1   venn diagrams word maps  QARs (Links to other successful programs & techniques)  word splash  word sorts  anticipation guide

Materials and Media

 http://www.timetabler.com/reading.html

 http://www.gopdg.com/plainlanguage/readability.html

 http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr2grap.htm

Bibliography

 Mora, Jill Kerper. “Content Area Reading for English Language Learners” March 16, 2006. http://coe.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/ContentReadMM/ >  “Reading in the Content Areas: Strategies for Success” March 21, 2006.

http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/12  “Literacy Strategies” March 21, 2006 http://www.litandlearn.lpb.org/strategies.html