Lorenzo Walker Technical High School
Literacy Strategies
October 15
I used the same FCAT questions I used with my first block the first time with my second block. The only thing I did not do this time was mimick the strategy with my own FCAT question for them. I just figured they saw it once in another class, so why explain it again. I know now that I should have provided them with an example. They were just as lost this time around as they were the first time they tried it with the other teacher. I wonder if having them silently read it to themselves and tally THEIR OWN thoughts would have helped in either instances... YR
October 12
I used the same reading as last time re: Christa McAliffe but with a different block. This group struggled more than the group I observed last time. Their difficulty was saying out loud the comments/questions they may have been thinking. Only one student was willing to admit that she did find this useful (she was paired with a strong reader who admitted he does this naturally so it was not difficult for him to verbalize what was in his thoughts).
I also tried this strategy with silent reading and thoughts written in margin of text. Most remarks were questions about the text and students found clarity on subject when the answer was revealed in a later paragraph. Since this was so successful, I tried with 2nd block and it was a bust! Comments were random and not on topic-although I had one that had made a comical analogy that will probably help him and others when having to remember an emperor's name.
October 10
I revisited the activity only with taking notes in the margin of a reading instead of working with a partner on a checklist. They asked "Can we write anything we think of?" I said yes with the idea that any thinking is good. I am now wondering if I made a mistake because I got a lot of the following as one example:
Reading states: "This section of America is the blandest of the nine regions. It's the tapioca pudding of the nine flavors." I was hoping for comments like - "wow - this must be a boring place to live." But I got a couple of "This makes me hungry."
So now I'm wondering - if they read the whole passage and think and write absract and random thoughts the whole time, is that still good?
So far, my conclusion is no, because they did not understand the nine culture readings after writing such comments.
Next time, I have to be clearer in my direction.
Holly
October 3 - Thinking Allowed
I used "The College Next Door", about community colleges. I did this with Novella Nyce-Campsey. Students were a bit rough at first, but seemed to get it by the end. One of the blocks had done it with Luz C, so they were more understanding than others. Another try or two would help.
October 01- Think Aloud
I retrieved actual FCAT word problems (which I will bring to the meeting!) and had the students try this strategy with those. I first modeled the strategy with my own FCAT question and they tallied according to what they heard from me. I then had them in pairs. There were two different FCAT word problems, one for each student in the pair. There was difficulty with knowing what to say and just kept telling to say whatever comes to mind instinctively.
October 01- Think Aloud
I used the story of Christa McAlliffe, She Touched the Future, with my 10th World History class. When modeling the think aloud strategy the class was receptive and could clearly tally my responses to the text. However, when working with a partner, we needed some review-some struggled with coming up with statements/questions to "think aloud". My class also commented on how this helped in visualizing the text that they may not have gotten on their own silent reading. We had an interesting follow-up discussion based on the reading and I am certain it was due to the full understanding of the passage. I wonder how it might work with a primary source reading from a different time period.
(Glad to hear you tried it with success! USing it with a primary source would be excellent. We can talk about it tomorrow.)
September 25- Think Aloud
I tried this with a Social Studies reading that was presented as a Ninth Grade reading by Edhelper.com, but seemed
difficult to me for some ninth graders.
They seemed to good at questioning and answering. I thought they would all just have general comments,
but they pictured the text and were better at it than I tought they would be. They understood at the end of the
reading what they read. ( Not everyone did - but some that might not have otherwise) I think the strategy is
successful, but I am asking them to use it on their own, since I don't have a lot of class time for it. I am sure if any
of them use it at home, they will let me know :-)
(You bring up a good point - the time it takes in class using partners. The idea is to move it to individuals silently writing in margins. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Thanks so much for trying it and contributing.)
September 18, 2007
Literacy Strategies Survey
Literacy Strategies
Everyone has done it. You read a paragraph or more, stop, and realize you have no idea what you just read. Many students do it all the time. The Think Aloud Strategy (Beers, Reading Strategies Handbook) is a quick strategy to model. It helps you think about what you are reading: make a prediction, identify a problem, fix a mistake, make a visual picture, make a comparison, or just a comment.
When you think aloud you:
predict ("I think she is going to get in trouble in school.")
create a picture of the text
make comparisons ("Ron's character has changed." "If I said that to my mom I would be in so much trouble." "He was guilty last time and he got off, he'll get off this time.")
identify comprehension problems ("I don't get that. ""Who is talking?" "I don't understand what it is saying.")
fix problems ("Oh, that's the person talking." "I get it.")
make comments ("Roger is so funny." "I want to win the lottery too.")
Your tasks:
Model the Think-Aloud strategy in your classroom. As you model the strategy, have students complete the tally worksheet. Remember, what they tally isn't important, it is making them think.
Place students in pairs with a reading passage (any simple reading passage will do) and give each a tally sheet. One student reads using the Think Aloud while the partner completes the tally sheet. Then repeat changing roles. Collect the tally sheets for review.
Repeat this strategy with curricular material several times before our next Literacy Training and post comments and questions on the wiki.
Bonus materials!
- Click "New Page" to create a universe of pages using pre-made templates
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