The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: The Writing Process
Title: “Writing Steps: A Recursive and Individual Experience.” Bonnie Mary Warne. English Journal (May 2008), 23 -27. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Summary: OK, we know that the writing process includes brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. But is that all there is to the writing process? This teacher used those terms as a general summary of the process, but she also encouraged students to formulate what really happened while they were engaging in those steps.
For example, one student spent considerable time thinking and composing after he had brainstormed but before writing. Students also recognized that the steps were not isolated, nor necessarily effective, in the order that they were listed. They kept returning to steps in the process, i.e., recursive. As a result, students understood better how they really went about writing successfully.
Comment: There’s the ideal world and the real world of writing. I’m reminded of a father who told me his son achieved B’s and C’s when he followed the steps in writing I had taught him, but when he dashed off an assignment on the morning it was due, he earned A’s. OUCH! Moral: encourage students to try to understand their real writing processes. RayS.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
English as a Second Language
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: A Teaching Problem
Title: “Creating International Communities to Support English Language Learners in the Classroom.” Judith Rance-Roney. English Journal (May 2008), 17-22. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
The Problem: “Earlier in my career, I taught in a large suburban district in New Jersey. In my junior class, side by side in the front row sat Tu and Phan, two Vietnamese brothers whom I estimated knew a few hundred words other than ‘Hello, how are you?’ I thumbed through my minutely planned unit on Beowulf and early English and I felt like crying. How would I teach Beowulf to these brothers who were struggling to learn the basics of English grammar and vocabulary? How could I teach the new language of early English to my ‘regular’ students while teaching ‘real’ English to these young men? I was an English teacher and I was stumped. I know that more and more teachers are facing these questions.” p. 17.
Summary: The author worked to bring the class together to help each other. She gives several techniques—the “jump-start” in which she gave the brothers preview material before teaching the unit [Not a bad idea for regulars students. RayS.] and a project in which the students shared cultural differences and similarities, but essentially it was the spirit of helpfulness on the part of everyone in the classroom that worked.
Comment: I remember working in a school that was emphasizing individualizing instruction. One of our teachers was making amazing progress in individualizing her instruction. When I asked her about the secret to her success, she said, "The more you try it, the more you find ways of doing it." RayS.
Topic: A Teaching Problem
Title: “Creating International Communities to Support English Language Learners in the Classroom.” Judith Rance-Roney. English Journal (May 2008), 17-22. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
The Problem: “Earlier in my career, I taught in a large suburban district in New Jersey. In my junior class, side by side in the front row sat Tu and Phan, two Vietnamese brothers whom I estimated knew a few hundred words other than ‘Hello, how are you?’ I thumbed through my minutely planned unit on Beowulf and early English and I felt like crying. How would I teach Beowulf to these brothers who were struggling to learn the basics of English grammar and vocabulary? How could I teach the new language of early English to my ‘regular’ students while teaching ‘real’ English to these young men? I was an English teacher and I was stumped. I know that more and more teachers are facing these questions.” p. 17.
Summary: The author worked to bring the class together to help each other. She gives several techniques—the “jump-start” in which she gave the brothers preview material before teaching the unit [Not a bad idea for regulars students. RayS.] and a project in which the students shared cultural differences and similarities, but essentially it was the spirit of helpfulness on the part of everyone in the classroom that worked.
Comment: I remember working in a school that was emphasizing individualizing instruction. One of our teachers was making amazing progress in individualizing her instruction. When I asked her about the secret to her success, she said, "The more you try it, the more you find ways of doing it." RayS.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Expectations
Title: “Making Conversation.” Robert Gardner. English Journal (May 2008), 15-16. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Summary: At a party, a college teacher bewails the quality of student writing he sees. High school teacher asks, “Did you tell them what you expect?” He replies, “Shouldn’t they know how to write?”
Comment: It’s hard not to laugh at that response. If students don’t know what is expected, how will they be able to produce what the teacher wants? Teachers, especially writing teachers, differ in what they expect and students are often caught in the middle.
Good to remind ourselves to explain what we expect to our students, especially in writing.
‘Nuff said. One of those forgotten pieces of common sense about teaching that causes problems for students. RayS.
Topic: Expectations
Title: “Making Conversation.” Robert Gardner. English Journal (May 2008), 15-16. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE).
Summary: At a party, a college teacher bewails the quality of student writing he sees. High school teacher asks, “Did you tell them what you expect?” He replies, “Shouldn’t they know how to write?”
Comment: It’s hard not to laugh at that response. If students don’t know what is expected, how will they be able to produce what the teacher wants? Teachers, especially writing teachers, differ in what they expect and students are often caught in the middle.
Good to remind ourselves to explain what we expect to our students, especially in writing.
‘Nuff said. One of those forgotten pieces of common sense about teaching that causes problems for students. RayS.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
"Scaffolding"
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: “Scaffolding”
Title: “Using Scaffolding Techniques to Teach a Social Studies Lesson about Buddha to Sixth-Graders.” James Stephen Vacca. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), 852-858. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Comment: For me, “scaffolding” in the classroom is a metaphor for what I used to call “preparation for learning.” The teacher prepares students for reading assignments by building background information on the topic of the assignment, by pre-teaching unfamiliar vocabulary from the assignment and by helping them establish a purpose for reading. In writing, the teacher pre-teaches the skill to be applied in the writing assignment. In a previous “Update,” I noted that the word “scaffolding” was being used to describe preparation for learning, had become the latest buzz-word in education and that nobody was defining it. The author of this article has defined the word and I share with my readers his definition. RayS.
Quote: “When a contractor is constructing a new building, scaffolding is placed on the outside to give the builder access to the emerging structure as it is being created. Once the building is able to support itself, the builder removes the scaffolding. [I think the author is confusing the first and second definitions of “scaffold,”(1) access to heights and (2)supporting structure. RayS.] In the same way that builders provide essential but temporary support, teachers need to provide temporary support that will help students to develop new understandings, new concepts, and new abilities. As students develop control of these abilities, teachers need to withdraw support and provide for further help only for extended or new tasks, understandings and concepts.”
Comment: I still think “preparation for learning” is a clearer way to describe what a teacher does when supporting students’ learning, as in the Directed Reading Assignment. I challenge the author or the editors of professional education journals to ask regular classroom teachers to explain the word “scaffolding” when referring to learning in the classroom. I hate jargon! RayS.
Topic: “Scaffolding”
Title: “Using Scaffolding Techniques to Teach a Social Studies Lesson about Buddha to Sixth-Graders.” James Stephen Vacca. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), 852-858. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Comment: For me, “scaffolding” in the classroom is a metaphor for what I used to call “preparation for learning.” The teacher prepares students for reading assignments by building background information on the topic of the assignment, by pre-teaching unfamiliar vocabulary from the assignment and by helping them establish a purpose for reading. In writing, the teacher pre-teaches the skill to be applied in the writing assignment. In a previous “Update,” I noted that the word “scaffolding” was being used to describe preparation for learning, had become the latest buzz-word in education and that nobody was defining it. The author of this article has defined the word and I share with my readers his definition. RayS.
Quote: “When a contractor is constructing a new building, scaffolding is placed on the outside to give the builder access to the emerging structure as it is being created. Once the building is able to support itself, the builder removes the scaffolding. [I think the author is confusing the first and second definitions of “scaffold,”(1) access to heights and (2)supporting structure. RayS.] In the same way that builders provide essential but temporary support, teachers need to provide temporary support that will help students to develop new understandings, new concepts, and new abilities. As students develop control of these abilities, teachers need to withdraw support and provide for further help only for extended or new tasks, understandings and concepts.”
Comment: I still think “preparation for learning” is a clearer way to describe what a teacher does when supporting students’ learning, as in the Directed Reading Assignment. I challenge the author or the editors of professional education journals to ask regular classroom teachers to explain the word “scaffolding” when referring to learning in the classroom. I hate jargon! RayS.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Literacy
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Literacy Shortcomings
Title: “Targeting Adolescents’ Literacy Skills Using One-to-One Instruction with Research-Based Practices.” Timothy T. Houge, Constance Geier, and David Peyton. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), p. 840-850. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary/Quote: “A sobering percentage of adolescents in the United States cannot successfully read grade-level text. In fact, the report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress…clearly outlined the literacy shortcomings of the nation’s 8th and 12th graders by reporting that roughly two-thirds of these adolescents read below the proficient level and one-quarter do not possess the literacy skills necessary to read at the basic level. In addition, traditional approaches to dealing with deficient literacy skills among adolescents, such as tracking, enrollment in courses with few or no literacy demands, and course retention, have not been very successful.” p. 840.
“Currently there exists a growing body of evidence that suggests adolescents’ literacy deficiencies can be remedied if these individuals receive extra support in the form of direct, explicit and systematic fluency, vocabulary and comprehension instruction.” p. 840.
Comment: Olive Niles, a nationally known reading expert, said decades ago that if every teacher in all the disciplines used the Directed Reading Assignment (DRA: build background information on the topic of the reading assignment, pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary in the assignment, set purpose for reading in the form of questions to read to answer and apply the ideas gained in reading the assignment) there would be no reading problems in America. My experience has shown that this statement is true. [See my book, Teaching English, How To….] The one additional skill added to the DRA in this article is instruction in fluency. RayS.
Your thoughts?
Topic: Literacy Shortcomings
Title: “Targeting Adolescents’ Literacy Skills Using One-to-One Instruction with Research-Based Practices.” Timothy T. Houge, Constance Geier, and David Peyton. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (May 2008), p. 840-850. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary/Quote: “A sobering percentage of adolescents in the United States cannot successfully read grade-level text. In fact, the report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress…clearly outlined the literacy shortcomings of the nation’s 8th and 12th graders by reporting that roughly two-thirds of these adolescents read below the proficient level and one-quarter do not possess the literacy skills necessary to read at the basic level. In addition, traditional approaches to dealing with deficient literacy skills among adolescents, such as tracking, enrollment in courses with few or no literacy demands, and course retention, have not been very successful.” p. 840.
“Currently there exists a growing body of evidence that suggests adolescents’ literacy deficiencies can be remedied if these individuals receive extra support in the form of direct, explicit and systematic fluency, vocabulary and comprehension instruction.” p. 840.
Comment: Olive Niles, a nationally known reading expert, said decades ago that if every teacher in all the disciplines used the Directed Reading Assignment (DRA: build background information on the topic of the reading assignment, pre-teach unfamiliar vocabulary in the assignment, set purpose for reading in the form of questions to read to answer and apply the ideas gained in reading the assignment) there would be no reading problems in America. My experience has shown that this statement is true. [See my book, Teaching English, How To….] The one additional skill added to the DRA in this article is instruction in fluency. RayS.
Your thoughts?
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Peer Review
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Peer Review (Secondary/College)
Title: “Whither ‘Peer Review’? Terminology Matters for the Writing Classroom.” Sonya L. Armstrong and Eric J. Paulson. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 398-407. A Publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Makes the point that “peer review” means many different things to different teachers and students and urges the need to make terminology considerably more precise than it is.
Quote: “What instructors typically refer to as ‘Peer Review’ usually entails asking students to read and comment on their peers’ papers. That is about as common a description of the activity as is possible, though. In fact, what instructors have students do during peer review varies considerably….: pairs or small groups; structured or unstructured sessions; worksheet or discussion-based focus; emphasis on editing for surface-level errors or emphasis on larger, more holistic matters; and so forth. With so much variation in organization and approaches, it is clear that no community-wide understanding of what peer review is—or what it should be—currently exists.”
The authors go on to analyze what is known about various types of peer review: peer review; peer response; peer editing; peer evaluation; peer critique/peer criticism.
The authors conclude with these questions that need to be answered when defining peer review activities: “How do students understand these activities? Do particular activities benefit students’ writing or thinking more than others? In which classroom contexts is a particular activity most appropriate and why?”
Comment: The lack of clear definition of the terms related to peer review and the need to clarify terms related to writing—“editing,” “revision,” etc.—is one reason that I have looked skeptically at anything called “peer review.” This article is important. If we are going to use peer review how do we define it? Is it a worthwhile use of classroom time? Does it work? This article, in my opinion, is worth the cost of the journal. Go to ncte.org. RayS.
Topic: Peer Review (Secondary/College)
Title: “Whither ‘Peer Review’? Terminology Matters for the Writing Classroom.” Sonya L. Armstrong and Eric J. Paulson. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 398-407. A Publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Makes the point that “peer review” means many different things to different teachers and students and urges the need to make terminology considerably more precise than it is.
Quote: “What instructors typically refer to as ‘Peer Review’ usually entails asking students to read and comment on their peers’ papers. That is about as common a description of the activity as is possible, though. In fact, what instructors have students do during peer review varies considerably….: pairs or small groups; structured or unstructured sessions; worksheet or discussion-based focus; emphasis on editing for surface-level errors or emphasis on larger, more holistic matters; and so forth. With so much variation in organization and approaches, it is clear that no community-wide understanding of what peer review is—or what it should be—currently exists.”
The authors go on to analyze what is known about various types of peer review: peer review; peer response; peer editing; peer evaluation; peer critique/peer criticism.
The authors conclude with these questions that need to be answered when defining peer review activities: “How do students understand these activities? Do particular activities benefit students’ writing or thinking more than others? In which classroom contexts is a particular activity most appropriate and why?”
Comment: The lack of clear definition of the terms related to peer review and the need to clarify terms related to writing—“editing,” “revision,” etc.—is one reason that I have looked skeptically at anything called “peer review.” This article is important. If we are going to use peer review how do we define it? Is it a worthwhile use of classroom time? Does it work? This article, in my opinion, is worth the cost of the journal. Go to ncte.org. RayS.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Students as Teachers
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Students as Teachers (College)
Title: “Crossing the Student/Teacher Divide at the Community College: The Student Tutor Education Program (STEP).” James V. Werner. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 363-371. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Students at the community college who desire to explore the profession of teaching are trained to be tutors within classes and in writing centers, but also plan and teach units on topics like plagiarism.
Comment. Great idea. RayS.
Topic: Students as Teachers (College)
Title: “Crossing the Student/Teacher Divide at the Community College: The Student Tutor Education Program (STEP).” James V. Werner. Teaching English in the Two-Year College (May 2008), 363-371. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Students at the community college who desire to explore the profession of teaching are trained to be tutors within classes and in writing centers, but also plan and teach units on topics like plagiarism.
Comment. Great idea. RayS.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Teaching
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Reflecting on Teaching (K-12)
Title: “Musing: A Way to Inform and Inspire Pedagogy Through Self-reflection.” Jane Moore and Vicki Fields. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 587-588. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Suggests that teachers take some time over the summer to reflect on their teaching and gives some questions to help get them started.
Comment: Most of the questions did not strike me as being personally relevant. They’re too “text-bookish” like those at the end of a chapter. They are not MY questions. I’m a big believer in brainstorming. I think brief sessions (15 min.) of brainstorming will raise questions that are important to me. That’ll get me started thinking about my teaching. RayS.
Topic: Reflecting on Teaching (K-12)
Title: “Musing: A Way to Inform and Inspire Pedagogy Through Self-reflection.” Jane Moore and Vicki Fields. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 587-588. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Suggests that teachers take some time over the summer to reflect on their teaching and gives some questions to help get them started.
Comment: Most of the questions did not strike me as being personally relevant. They’re too “text-bookish” like those at the end of a chapter. They are not MY questions. I’m a big believer in brainstorming. I think brief sessions (15 min.) of brainstorming will raise questions that are important to me. That’ll get me started thinking about my teaching. RayS.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Description
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in recent American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Describing Video Scenes (Middle School)
Title: “Lights, Cameras, Pencils! Using Descriptive Video to Enhance Writing.” Helen Hoffner, et al. The Reading Teacher (April 2008),576-579. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Students view scenes from a video and then describe the scene in writing.
Comment: At first students will write a detailed chronology of the details of the scene. It’s only a small step to show them how to revise their description by stating a general impression at the beginning, the details that fill out that general impression and a final summarizing statement. At least, that’s how I would teach it. RayS.
Topic: Describing Video Scenes (Middle School)
Title: “Lights, Cameras, Pencils! Using Descriptive Video to Enhance Writing.” Helen Hoffner, et al. The Reading Teacher (April 2008),576-579. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Students view scenes from a video and then describe the scene in writing.
Comment: At first students will write a detailed chronology of the details of the scene. It’s only a small step to show them how to revise their description by stating a general impression at the beginning, the details that fill out that general impression and a final summarizing statement. At least, that’s how I would teach it. RayS.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Spelling
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Spelling Big Words (Elementary/Middle School)
Title: “Spelling in Parts: A Strategy for Spelling and Decoding Polysyllabic Words.” Debbie A. Powell and Roberta Aram. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 567-570. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Teach students to break the big words into syllables and note spelling problems in the syllables.
Comment: Breaking long words into syllables is a no-brainer. Students will probably be able to spell the individual syllables because they can be sounded out.
If the syllable has a tricky spelling to it, you might try Harry Shefter’s idea in Six Minutes a Day to Perfect Spelling: “Blow up,” i.e., enlarge, the “trouble spot—“cEmEtEry.” Shefter also suggests making up a silly association to help visualize the trouble spot: “ ‘EEE!’ she screamed as she passed the cEmEtEry.”
Essentially Shefter recommends that people turn the little word within the long word into an association, but it often breaks up the syllable: “argument” becomes ar gu ment, but the trouble spot is arGUMent and “Never chew GUM in an arGUMent.” It’s a technique that works. I found that students could handle both the syllabication and the association, even though it breaks up the syllabication. RayS.
Topic: Spelling Big Words (Elementary/Middle School)
Title: “Spelling in Parts: A Strategy for Spelling and Decoding Polysyllabic Words.” Debbie A. Powell and Roberta Aram. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 567-570. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Teach students to break the big words into syllables and note spelling problems in the syllables.
Comment: Breaking long words into syllables is a no-brainer. Students will probably be able to spell the individual syllables because they can be sounded out.
If the syllable has a tricky spelling to it, you might try Harry Shefter’s idea in Six Minutes a Day to Perfect Spelling: “Blow up,” i.e., enlarge, the “trouble spot—“cEmEtEry.” Shefter also suggests making up a silly association to help visualize the trouble spot: “ ‘EEE!’ she screamed as she passed the cEmEtEry.”
Essentially Shefter recommends that people turn the little word within the long word into an association, but it often breaks up the syllable: “argument” becomes ar gu ment, but the trouble spot is arGUMent and “Never chew GUM in an arGUMent.” It’s a technique that works. I found that students could handle both the syllabication and the association, even though it breaks up the syllabication. RayS.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Reading Comprehension and Direct Quotations
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Direct Quotations and Reading Comprehension (Elementary)
Title: “The Shape of Direct Quotation.” Rose-Marie Weber. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 558-564. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: The author suggests that direct quotations in reading a story might cause young readers to pass over important words in suggesting character traits, details of plot and confusing ideas. Suggests that teachers need to pay special attention to helping students interpret the ideas expressed in direct quotations.
Comment: I never thought of that. RayS.
Topic: Direct Quotations and Reading Comprehension (Elementary)
Title: “The Shape of Direct Quotation.” Rose-Marie Weber. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 558-564. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: The author suggests that direct quotations in reading a story might cause young readers to pass over important words in suggesting character traits, details of plot and confusing ideas. Suggests that teachers need to pay special attention to helping students interpret the ideas expressed in direct quotations.
Comment: I never thought of that. RayS.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
"Shared Reading"
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: “Shared Reading.” (Elementary)
Title: “Shared Readings: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text structures and Text Features for Older Readers.” Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and Diane Lapp. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 548-556. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Question: What is shared reading?
Answer/Quote: “Currently shared reading is a generic term many teachers use to describe a range of classroom activities, including echo reading (students echoing the words aloud after the teacher reads), choral reading (students reading aloud while the teacher reads aloud), or cloze reading (teacher reads aloud and pauses periodically for students to fill in the missing words).” p. 548.
Comment: Shared reading is the teacher's reading aloud while students read along—aloud. In the article the authors emphasize the need to have a clear purpose for using shared reading techniques. Echo reading and choral reading (as defined in this article) would seem to have the purpose of increasing fluency. Cloze reading would seem to have the purpose of pronouncing and identifying unfamiliar words within the text. FYI. RayS.
Topic: “Shared Reading.” (Elementary)
Title: “Shared Readings: Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text structures and Text Features for Older Readers.” Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and Diane Lapp. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 548-556. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Question: What is shared reading?
Answer/Quote: “Currently shared reading is a generic term many teachers use to describe a range of classroom activities, including echo reading (students echoing the words aloud after the teacher reads), choral reading (students reading aloud while the teacher reads aloud), or cloze reading (teacher reads aloud and pauses periodically for students to fill in the missing words).” p. 548.
Comment: Shared reading is the teacher's reading aloud while students read along—aloud. In the article the authors emphasize the need to have a clear purpose for using shared reading techniques. Echo reading and choral reading (as defined in this article) would seem to have the purpose of increasing fluency. Cloze reading would seem to have the purpose of pronouncing and identifying unfamiliar words within the text. FYI. RayS.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Comprehension Strategies
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Comprehension Strategies (K-12)
Title: “The Road Not Yet Taken: A Transactional Strategies Approach to Comprehension Instruction.” Rachel Brown. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 538-547. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Question: What are some examples of reading strategies?
Answer/Quote: “…asking questions, predicting, making connections to prior knowledge, summarizing, visualizing and using ‘fix-it’ strategies for figuring out unknown words and for clarifying confusions.” p. 538.
Comment: FYI. RayS.
Topic: Comprehension Strategies (K-12)
Title: “The Road Not Yet Taken: A Transactional Strategies Approach to Comprehension Instruction.” Rachel Brown. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 538-547. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Question: What are some examples of reading strategies?
Answer/Quote: “…asking questions, predicting, making connections to prior knowledge, summarizing, visualizing and using ‘fix-it’ strategies for figuring out unknown words and for clarifying confusions.” p. 538.
Comment: FYI. RayS.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Informal Reading Inventories
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Informal Reading Inventories (IRI’s)
Title: “A Critical Analysis of Eight Informal Reading Inventories (IRI’s).” Nina L. Nilsson. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 526-536. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Question: What are IRI’s?
Quote: “IRI’s (Informal Reading Inventories) are individually administered diagnostic assessments designed to evaluate a number of different aspects of students’ reading performance. Typically IRI’s consist of graded word lists and passages ranging from preprimer level to middle or high school levels. After reading each leveled passage, a student responds orally to follow-up questions assessing comprehension and recall.” p. 546.
Question: What are some purposes of IRI’s?
Quote: “Using comprehension and word recognition scores for students who read the passage orally, along with additional factors taken into consideration (e.g., prior knowledge, fluency, emotional status, among other possible factors) teachers or other educator-elated professionals determine students’ reading levels. They also use this information to match students with appropriate reading materials, place children in guided reading groups, design instruction to address students’ noted strengths and needs, and document reading progress over time.” p. 546.
Comment: The IRI (Informal Reading Inventory) is a basic diagnostic tool in reading education. Administering it requires extensive time for teacher and student. Its value depends on the purposes for administering and the actual use of the data gained from its administration. RayS.
Topic: Informal Reading Inventories (IRI’s)
Title: “A Critical Analysis of Eight Informal Reading Inventories (IRI’s).” Nina L. Nilsson. The Reading Teacher (April 2008), 526-536. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Question: What are IRI’s?
Quote: “IRI’s (Informal Reading Inventories) are individually administered diagnostic assessments designed to evaluate a number of different aspects of students’ reading performance. Typically IRI’s consist of graded word lists and passages ranging from preprimer level to middle or high school levels. After reading each leveled passage, a student responds orally to follow-up questions assessing comprehension and recall.” p. 546.
Question: What are some purposes of IRI’s?
Quote: “Using comprehension and word recognition scores for students who read the passage orally, along with additional factors taken into consideration (e.g., prior knowledge, fluency, emotional status, among other possible factors) teachers or other educator-elated professionals determine students’ reading levels. They also use this information to match students with appropriate reading materials, place children in guided reading groups, design instruction to address students’ noted strengths and needs, and document reading progress over time.” p. 546.
Comment: The IRI (Informal Reading Inventory) is a basic diagnostic tool in reading education. Administering it requires extensive time for teacher and student. Its value depends on the purposes for administering and the actual use of the data gained from its administration. RayS.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Reading Aloud to Preschool Children
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Storybook Reading Aloud with Preschool Children
Title: “Home Storybook Reading in Primary or Second Language with Preschool Children: Evidence of Equal Effectiveness for Second-Language Vocabulary Acquisition.” Theresa A. Roberts. Reading Research Quarterly (April/May/June 2008), pp. 103-130. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Interesting study that paired reading aloud at home with books in Hmong and Spanish and reading aloud in school in English for six-week periods. Both home and school reading aloud “influenced English vocabulary acquisition” in English. Point: Reading books aloud to pre-schoolers, regardless of the primary (Hmong and Spanish) or secondary (English) language improved vocabulary in English.
Comment: The interesting finding in this study is that reading aloud to pre-schoolers in the primary language (Hmong and Spanish) also improves vocabulary in English, the secondary language. It may seem a no-brainer, but I find it important that reading aloud improves vocabulary. RayS.
Topic: Storybook Reading Aloud with Preschool Children
Title: “Home Storybook Reading in Primary or Second Language with Preschool Children: Evidence of Equal Effectiveness for Second-Language Vocabulary Acquisition.” Theresa A. Roberts. Reading Research Quarterly (April/May/June 2008), pp. 103-130. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Summary: Interesting study that paired reading aloud at home with books in Hmong and Spanish and reading aloud in school in English for six-week periods. Both home and school reading aloud “influenced English vocabulary acquisition” in English. Point: Reading books aloud to pre-schoolers, regardless of the primary (Hmong and Spanish) or secondary (English) language improved vocabulary in English.
Comment: The interesting finding in this study is that reading aloud to pre-schoolers in the primary language (Hmong and Spanish) also improves vocabulary in English, the secondary language. It may seem a no-brainer, but I find it important that reading aloud improves vocabulary. RayS.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Early Readers
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Early Readers
Title: “A Longitudinal Literacy Profile of Greek Precocious Readers.” Eufimia Tafa and George Manolitsis. Reading Research Quarterly (April/May/June 2008), 165-185. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Comment: This study is about reading in the Greek language and would appear not to have much application to learning to read in English. The conclusion, however, suggests something worth thinking about. RayS.
Quote/Summary: “Although the Greek precocious readers had an advantage in phonological tasks up to the first grade and an advantage in reading comprehension and spelling tasks up to the second grade, these advantages did not remain stable through the fourth grade. By grade 4, the precocious readers were superior to their nonprecocious peers only in reading speed.” p. 182.
Comment: I’m assuming that precocious readers were children who learned to read early, but that intelligence was not a factor. The precocious readers gained an early advantage in phonological tasks, reading comprehension, spelling and speed through the second grade. The nonprecocious readers caught up to them by the fourth grade in everything but speed. Could this study point up the need for emphasizing fluency in reading instruction for most children during and after the fourth grade? Just a thought. RayS.
Topic: Early Readers
Title: “A Longitudinal Literacy Profile of Greek Precocious Readers.” Eufimia Tafa and George Manolitsis. Reading Research Quarterly (April/May/June 2008), 165-185. A publication of the International Reading Association.
Comment: This study is about reading in the Greek language and would appear not to have much application to learning to read in English. The conclusion, however, suggests something worth thinking about. RayS.
Quote/Summary: “Although the Greek precocious readers had an advantage in phonological tasks up to the first grade and an advantage in reading comprehension and spelling tasks up to the second grade, these advantages did not remain stable through the fourth grade. By grade 4, the precocious readers were superior to their nonprecocious peers only in reading speed.” p. 182.
Comment: I’m assuming that precocious readers were children who learned to read early, but that intelligence was not a factor. The precocious readers gained an early advantage in phonological tasks, reading comprehension, spelling and speed through the second grade. The nonprecocious readers caught up to them by the fourth grade in everything but speed. Could this study point up the need for emphasizing fluency in reading instruction for most children during and after the fourth grade? Just a thought. RayS.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Oral Reading
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Oral Reading.
Title: “Adolescent Reading: A Field of Dreams?” Teri S. Lescsne. Classroom Notes Plus (April 2008), pp. 7-9. A Publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: While reading this article, I came across an idea that might be worth a try: “Take a few moments at the beginning of class during the week and ask students to give a 30-second reading of a passage they found interesting, astonishing, etc.” from a book they are reading.
Comment: Might be a good time to suggest to students that they take just a few minutes to prepare for their oral reading—by practicing reading the passage to themselves silently. Oral reading is an important skill and while some people are gifted at spontaneous oral reading, most are not. Practicing for oral reading does not require much time but can help to create a successful presentation. I think oral reading is a forgotten skill in today’s English classes.
Remember the days of “round-robin reading”? Teachers took up valuable class time by going around the room having each student read spontaneously a portion of a chapter. The results were often deadly. Poor oral readers who could not read fluently bored the rest of the class. The listeners suffered along with the stumbling reader who also experienced terrible embarrassment.
The solution to poor oral reading is practice before performing. Practice for oral reading needs to become a habit. RayS.
Topic: Oral Reading.
Title: “Adolescent Reading: A Field of Dreams?” Teri S. Lescsne. Classroom Notes Plus (April 2008), pp. 7-9. A Publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: While reading this article, I came across an idea that might be worth a try: “Take a few moments at the beginning of class during the week and ask students to give a 30-second reading of a passage they found interesting, astonishing, etc.” from a book they are reading.
Comment: Might be a good time to suggest to students that they take just a few minutes to prepare for their oral reading—by practicing reading the passage to themselves silently. Oral reading is an important skill and while some people are gifted at spontaneous oral reading, most are not. Practicing for oral reading does not require much time but can help to create a successful presentation. I think oral reading is a forgotten skill in today’s English classes.
Remember the days of “round-robin reading”? Teachers took up valuable class time by going around the room having each student read spontaneously a portion of a chapter. The results were often deadly. Poor oral readers who could not read fluently bored the rest of the class. The listeners suffered along with the stumbling reader who also experienced terrible embarrassment.
The solution to poor oral reading is practice before performing. Practice for oral reading needs to become a habit. RayS.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Reading
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Reading Pioneers
Title: Review of Shaping the Reading Field: The Impact of Early Pioneers, Scientific Research and Progressive Ideas. Susan E. Israel and Jennifer Monaghan, Editors. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 2007. 456 pp. Reviewed by Annamary Consalves. English Education (April 2008), pp. 256-264. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Biographies of 16 influential reading ‘pioneers.’ Tells of the origins of many practices in the field of teaching reading. The reviewer concludes with the following sentence: “In order to write our profession’s future, it is essential that we carefully read our inherited past.” p. 264.
Comment: No question that we need to know more about our past in teaching language arts in order to know what has been tried, what has worked and what has not. If I were beginning in the field of reading education, I would read this book. RayS.
Topic: Reading Pioneers
Title: Review of Shaping the Reading Field: The Impact of Early Pioneers, Scientific Research and Progressive Ideas. Susan E. Israel and Jennifer Monaghan, Editors. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association, 2007. 456 pp. Reviewed by Annamary Consalves. English Education (April 2008), pp. 256-264. A publication of the National Council of Teachers of English.
Summary: Biographies of 16 influential reading ‘pioneers.’ Tells of the origins of many practices in the field of teaching reading. The reviewer concludes with the following sentence: “In order to write our profession’s future, it is essential that we carefully read our inherited past.” p. 264.
Comment: No question that we need to know more about our past in teaching language arts in order to know what has been tried, what has worked and what has not. If I were beginning in the field of reading education, I would read this book. RayS.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Creativity
The purpose of this blog is to share interesting ideas I have found in American professional publications dealing with the teaching of English at all levels, elementary, secondary and college.
Topic: Creativity in U.S. Schools
Title: Review of Tough Choice, Tough Times: the Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Work Force. National Center on Education and the Economy, 2007. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 169 pp. $19.95 in Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (April 08), 617, A publication of the International Reading Association.
Quote: “The single most important difference in comparing schools in the United states with China’s and India’s schools is that creativity will be stressed [in future American schools] in the hopes of giving students a competitive edge by creating more innovation in services and products at a faster rate than other countries.”
[Comment: Can we teach the process of creativity directly? I used to emphasize brainstorming as a method of preparing for writing and the resulting compositions were often very creative in content. It might be worthwhile to share with students the research on creativity and biographies of creative people. Sounds like an interesting research project. But something strikes me as wrong when the purpose of education is limited to economic gain. What do my readers think about the preceding quote? RayS.]
Topic: Creativity in U.S. Schools
Title: Review of Tough Choice, Tough Times: the Report of the New Commission on the Skills of the American Work Force. National Center on Education and the Economy, 2007. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 169 pp. $19.95 in Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy (April 08), 617, A publication of the International Reading Association.
Quote: “The single most important difference in comparing schools in the United states with China’s and India’s schools is that creativity will be stressed [in future American schools] in the hopes of giving students a competitive edge by creating more innovation in services and products at a faster rate than other countries.”
[Comment: Can we teach the process of creativity directly? I used to emphasize brainstorming as a method of preparing for writing and the resulting compositions were often very creative in content. It might be worthwhile to share with students the research on creativity and biographies of creative people. Sounds like an interesting research project. But something strikes me as wrong when the purpose of education is limited to economic gain. What do my readers think about the preceding quote? RayS.]
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