A Hands On Developmentally Appropriate Process that teaches Comprehension Strategies to students ages 3

1
A Hands On Developmentally Appropriate Process
that teaches Comprehension Strategiesto students
ages 3 8Michele Anne PolselliMelville
Elementary SchoolPortsmouth, RI School
Department
Planting A Literacy Garden
Visualizing
Digging for Meaning
Questions
Synthesizing
Making Connections
Inferring
2
Applying National Board Early Childhood
Generalist Standards (nbpts.org)

• Understanding Young Children (prior knowledge)
• Equity, Fairness, and Diversity (safe, secure
  environment)
• Assessment (multiple assessment methodologies,
  formal and informal)
• Promoting Child Development and Learning
  (cognitive, social, emotional, physical and
  linguistic development)
• Knowledge of Integrated Curriculum (DAP)
• Multiple Teaching Strategies for Meaningful
  Learning (providing a variety of practices and
  resources)
• Family and Community Partnership
• Professional Partnership (Lab Classroom Setting)
• Reflective Practice (Portfolio and Literacy
  Coaching PD)
• (Due to the application for EC Gen Certification
  to NBPTS in 2004, parental permission was
  obtained to take pictures of students.)

3
Mosaic of Thought and Strategies That Work
Comprehension Strategies byElin Oliver Keene,
Stephanie Harvey, Anne Goudvis

• Schema (seeds)
• Visualizing (sunglasses)
• Asking Questions (rakes)
• Digging For Meaning (shovels)
• Inferring (hoe)
• Synthesizing (watering can)

Mosaic of Thought, Ellin O Keene, Heinemann
/ISBN 0-435-07237-4 / 1997 Strategies that
Work, Harvey and Goudvis, Stenhouse /ISBN
1-57110-310-4 / 2000
4
The wheelbarrow contains tool belts. Each tool
belt contains a whisper phone that assist the
facilitation of phonetic awareness. A pair
ofsunglasses assist students to understand the
strategy of visualizing.
5
Whisper PhonesPhones made from PVC tubing
enhance each students phonetic awareness. As
students read alone or aloud, they listen to
their own words. Hearing their voice reinforces
sounds and provides feedback. Listening to what
they are reading or saying helps them comprehend
if what they are reading or saying makes sense.
6
I make the analogy that students are much like
seeds. Just like seeds grow into certain plants,
everyones thoughts in their minds are unique
only to themselves and their ideas will grow to
be unique and special. Students understand that
making connections (schema) means relating prior
knowledge of ideas they have learned or
experienced that are unique only to them.
7
The Visualizing Flower box contains useful words
that assist students when speaking and/or writing
about pictures playing in their minds
(visualizations).
8
The rake represent questions students ask to
find out what they do not know. I explain how the
rake leaves gaps in the dirt, just like not
knowing answers to questions leaves empty spaces
in our thoughts. The Questioning Flower box
contains useful words that assist students to ask
questions about what they do not know.
9
The hoe represents information that is spread out
throughout the story that students needs to
gather just like dirt after the seed is planted.
The Inferring box contains useful words that
assist students to speak and write about the
big idea or making predictions about the
story.
10
The shovel represents digging for the meaning
that the author wants students to know. Each
shovel contains an everyday sight word that
students use to write their stories.
11
The watering can represents a pouring in of any
new ideas students have created after reading
text or listening to the teacher read-aloud. Just
as we water plants to sustain their growth, we
replenish our mind with new ideas that we have
created.
12
1. Students begin by putting on tool belts that
contain tactile tools that will help them plant
their Literacy Garden.
13
2. Students Sing A SongI Have A Belt of Tools
(tune of Mary Had A Little Lamb)I have a belt
of tools, belt of tools, belt of tools. I have a
belt of tools, I bring to school everyday.The
first tool helps me make connections about what I
already know. The second tool helps me visualize
and make pictures in my mind.The third tool
helps me dig for meaning about what the author
wants me to know. The fourth tool helps me to
ask questions about what I do not know.
14
3. In a Lab Classroom setting, the Literacy
Coach and teacher begin by asking students what
they already know about the subject at hand.
Teachers read aloud and working collaboratively,
difficult vocabulary that has several meanings is
discussed.
15
4. Integrating technology by utilizing a video
projector connected to a computer, enhances
students visual and auditory senses. While
incorporating large motor skills, students use
their bodies to act out new and difficult words
to promote each childs development and
understanding.
16
5. Choral reading and acting out the words
greatly enhances student understanding.
17
6. After reading aloud, the teacher models by
drawing a picture of what is playing in their
minds.
18
7. Students then turn to talk to a partner about
their visualizations and connections they have
made with the text. They share the movie that is
playing in their mind.
19
8. All students must share their thoughts with
the teacher and classmates before beginning their
drawings and writings on paper. Students draw the
visualizations they have in their mind with
crayons, markers or colored pencils.
20
9. Informal Teacher-made Rubric Visualizing

• Hot Air Balloon- Exceptional! Beyond the
  Standard. Describes own mental images, usually
  visual images are somewhat elaborated from the
  literal text or existing picture and help him/her
  to understand more that he/she would have without
  creating the images. May include some emotional
  images from connections they have made that
  enhance the meaning.
• Bunch of Balloons Great Work! Meets the
  Standard, Describes some visual or other sensory
  images may be tied directly to text or a
  description of the picture in the text
• One Balloon Almost there! The student has not
  yet met the Standard. The student has drawn
  something that is not related to the text. No
  response or unsure what he/she is supposed to
  describe

Hot Air Balloon
Bunchof Balloons
OneBalloon
21
10. Video gram EmailStudents choose their
favorite writings and read or talk about it into
a camera. The video is sent home as a video gram
email in an effort to keep parents apprised of
their childs literacy progress.
22
11. Finally, everyone cleans up and returns their
tool belts to the wheel barrow.
23
PLANTING SEEDSStudents plant seeds in an effort
to integrate literacy and science because it is
best practice. This integration provides
developmentally appropriate practices and a
hands-on experience.
24
Literacy Garden
The culminating integrated science and literacy
project of Planting the Literacy Garden is
when students plant their seedlings outside.
25
Outcomes for Session

• NAEYC Standards
• Comprehension Strategies
• Readers and Writers Workshop
• Lab Classroom Setting
• Integrate Technology
• Developmentally Appropriate
• Assessment Informal Teacher made rubrics
• Formal Running Records/PALS/DIBELS
• Parental involvement

26
Relevant Research

• National Boards for Early Childhood Certification
• Harvey and Goudvis Strategies That Work
• Ellin O. Keene, Mosaic of Thought
• PEBC (Public Education and Business Coalition)
• Reading Lady National Website
• Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
• East Bay Educational Collaborative
• Feldgus and Cardonic Kid Writing

27

Evidence of Success

• Kinder Squirt/Planting A Literacy Garden
• This site has downloadable worksheets and
  strategies teachers can utilize when teaching K-2
  students comprehension strategies developed by
  Michele Polselli.
• Carleworks- Using books by Eric Carle, a
  powerpoint presentation was created to be used
  with literacy lessons that address state and
  national GLEs while integrating technology.
• Mosaic Listserve Teaching ToolsThis site has
  downloadable worksheets and lesson plans created
  by teachers across the nation as they teach their
  students comprehension strategies developed by
  Ms. Keene. Readinglady.com recognizes Planting
  A Literacy Garden as a teaching tool for
  comprehension strategies.
• Mosaic ListserveProfessionals joining this list
  serve engage in conversations with K-12
  colleagues across the nation who are using best
  practices in teaching comprehension strategies to
  their students.

28
Contacts

• Michele A. Polselli
• Kindergarten Teacher
• Melville Elementary School
• Portsmouth, Rhode Island 02871
• 401-683-1650
• mpolselli_at_cox.net
• http//polsellikindergarten.tripod.com
• http//carleworks.tripod.com

29
Implementation Activities

• This comprehension lesson about giraffes utilizes
  the book of poems Animals, Animals by Eric
  Carle. The poem about giraffes, written by Mary
  Anne Hoberman on pages 48-49, is the basis of
  this lesson and is located here at this online
  site Carleworks.tripod.com
• I begin by utilizing tools from Planting A
  Literacy Garden to assist students to become
  better readers and writers. Using the internet,
  a video projector connected to a computer and our
  tool belts, students can develop the
  comprehension skills necessary to visualize and
  make connections using schema.