Reading

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Reading Writing Across the Curriculum

• READ 321/322
• Dr. Schneider

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OBEJCTIVES You will learn

• Arguments for integration of R W across
  curriculum
• What content area literacy is
• Organizational patterns of text
• Concepts of readability
• Benefits of thematic units
• Differentiate
• Semantic map vs. semantic web
• DR-TA vs. K-T-W-L
• Writing for self others

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Terminology for cross-curricular reading
writing

• Cross-curricular interdisciplinary
• Content area literacy ability to use R W for
  acquisition of new content (p. 279)
• General literacy skills
• Map reading, graph interpretation (weather)
• Learning logs
• Scientific recording of data on charts

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Terminology for cross-curricular reading
writing

• Links with Integrated Approach of LA
  instructions with aim to integrate
• science, social studies, math topics into LA
  readings
• gt R W TO LEARN not to R W to acquire R W
  skills in themselves
• Address literacy aspects in science, social
  studies, math classes (e.g., prepare vocabulary
  explicitly)

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Importance of cross-curricular reading writing

• Reasons
• Increases motivation for students with interests
  outside of LA
• Makes learning to R W more meaningful and
  relevant to learners for a variety of
  professional interests.
• Introduces more expository R W that prepares
  for realities outside of school childhood

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Importance of cross-curricular reading writing

• Reasons
• Essential for ESOL population to acquire
  communication and work skills
• Students can learn new information and share it
  on their own w/o dependency on s.o to tell them
  orally.
• Students can make own connections with other
  information in other content areas
• gt R W across curriculum helps maximize
  learning in all domains and subject areas.

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Text patters of content area materials

• Aside from focus on fiction in LA sessions,
  students will mainly be faced with expository
  type texts of specific patterns.
• Organization structure of expository texts
  differ from those of fiction and cause specific
  challenges for students.
• These patterns must be made explicit to learners
  both for R and W

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Text patters of content area materials

• Cause Effect texts
• Enumeration texts
• Compare Contrast texts
• Sequence of events texts
• Each can be made explicit by using appropriate
  graphic organizers.
• For ESOL students allow enough space for
  additional drawings and L1 wording

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Measuring readability of content area texts

• General findings Content area books are written
  1-2 grade levels ABOVE who they are for!
• EXPECT reading challenges
• EXPECT comprehension challenges
• PREPARE learners explicitly for new vocabulary,
  teach skimming and scanning skills

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Measuring readability of content area texts

• Several assessment tools are available.
• None are completely reliable.
• Most commonly used
• (1) FRY READABILITY CHART
• Instructions are in your book p. 385
• (2) FLASH KINCAID on your computer
• See separate sheet for instructions

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Readability of content area texts

• (3) Thumb through approachLook for
• A) frequency of non-phonetic words
• B) length and complexity of words (highly
  frequent, rare, prefix-root suffix, of
  syllable, of content specific terms)
• C) length and complexity of sentences (2
  independent sentences or 1 independent and 1
  dependent sentence number of commas used to make
  reading easy, of descriptors, phrases used

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Readability of content area texts

• (3) Thumb through approachLook for
• D) Complexity of text information itself related
  to readers pre-knowledge
• E) How well do pictures, graphs, charts
  illustrate important information?
• F) Clarity of pictures, graphs, charts for
  potential readers
• Check these factors against your knowledge of the
  readers pre-knowledge of content and knowledge
  of reading skills

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Strategies Help build information

• READING COMPREHENSION
• Cloze Texts
• Use only with word bank even then, it can be
  more confusing than helpful for many struggling
  readers if you can use other approach (p. 287
  example)
• Graphic organizers
• Specific ones for each type of text (examples p.
  388) other examples in reader

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Strategies Use Graphic organizers to

• To collect pre-knowledge to
• provide guidance in learning
• process before reading
• K-W-L chart, semantic webbing, prediction
  questions, DRTA chart
• To collect information while reading for meaning
  occurs
• Cause-effect, flow chart, story map, fish
  sceleton
• To collect gained knowledge after reading
• Venn Diagramm, flow chart, cause effect chart,
  semantic feature analysis

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Strategies Help build information

• READING COMPREHENSION cont.
• Semantic Mapping (p. 391 example)
• Helps develop vocabulary
• Vs. Story mapping graphs the structure of a
  narrative story
• Semantic Feature Analysis (p. 392 example)
• helps establish understanding of connotations of
  vocabulary
• Connotation specific contexts in which words
  are being used
• Helps enrich content specific vs. general
  vocabulary for R W

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Strategies Help build information

• READING COMPREHENSION cont.
• Semantic webbing (p. 396 example)
• Helps students find answers to a core question in
  the center of a web they add answers as they
  read text.
• Guided Reading Procedure
• See Ch 6 for detail self-questioning strategies
  to establish understanding of content
• DRTA Directed Reading Thinking (p. 397)
• Helps students understand text based on
  predictions made before reading
• Includes pre-reading, during reading and
  post-reading activities

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Guided Reading Process

• Self-questioning correction
• Use of posted-notes with question/info cues (red
  for question, green for info, letters indicate
  what kind of question/info)
• Use of teacher-made questions to find answers to
• True/false statements to check off
• Classifying keywords from text into categories in
  a chart
• Matching cause effect statements

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Strategies Help build information

• READING COMPREHENSION cont.
• Classification activities (p. 398)
• Students sort cards w/ info related to reading
  text as pre-reading activity change after or
  during reading.
• Pre-set questions to help look for key info
• Students receive a set of statements to check of
  true/false. Can be on cards or sheet of paper
• Use larger print for struggling readers and
  minimize questions to max of 7.

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Strategies Help build information

• WRITING TO ASSIST LEARNING CONTENT
• Writing for one-self (reflective) (p.400)
• Free writing, quick writes
• Journal writing to keep record of experiment
  stages Learning log
• Dialogue journal (teacher responds to thoughts in
  second column)

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Strategies Help build information

• WRITING TO ASSIST LEARNING CONTENT
• Writing for others
• Letters to an author
• Letters, advertisement to invite to school event
• Language Experience w/ illustration
• Book publishing
• A riddle that uses new knowledge

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Importance of thematic Units

• Three types of units
• INTER-DISCIPLINARY
• Teacher selects and integrates LA and science,
  math, social studies, art, music
• INTRA-DISCIPLINARY
• Teacher selects and integrates different areas
  w/I LA all 6 components
• INQUIRY-BASED
• students choose topic and teacher integrates it
  into all content areas

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Importance of thematic Units

• INTER-DISCIPLINARY
• Teacher organized
• Integrates various content areas Language Arts
• Integrates all senses
• Integrates reading, writing, speaking, listening,
  viewing, representing
• E.g., MATH, SCIENCE, ART, LANG ARTS, MUSIC,
  SOCIAL STUDIES on one overall topic
• Facts about South Carolina in the 21 Century/in
  the Civil War period/during WW II

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Importance of thematic Units

• INTRA-DISCIPLINARY
• Teacher organized
• remains within Language Arts
• Integrates all senses
• Integrates reading, writing, speaking, listening,
  viewing, representing
• E.g. one period different authors genres
• one author different publications
• one illustrator different authors
• genres

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Importance of thematic Units

• INQUIRY-based
• students SELECT topics AND RESEARCH THEM
• Integrates various content areas Language Arts
• Integrates all senses reading, writing,
  speaking, listening, viewing, representing
• E.g., MATH, SCIENCE, ART, LANG ARTS, MUSIC,
  SOCIAL STUDIES on one overall topic
• Students decide on subcategories and what exactly
  they want to know
• Teacher guides in certain general direction so
  that grade level standards can be met

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Assessment in integrated curriculum

• different from right/wrong teacher-made tests
• authentic directly related to activities
• Learning logs
• Conferences with teacher
• Dialogue journal with teacher
• Portfolios
• Peer assessment self-assessment
• Consists of a variety of sources
• provide points for successful rewrites and
  corrections