Category: literacy instruction

What is the importance of learning word syllables?

Typically, students will skip words that are not familiar to them. Often those who skip the unknown word(s) do not have the tools in their toolbox to decode the word(s). Some may know the names of the letter(s), but do not know the phonemes connected to the letters. Some may not know how to “chunk” portions of the unknown word. Not having this skill often impedes student comprehension of the written passage. Many students will stop trying to read the passage after failing to comprehend the passage. The possible embarrassment often shuts students down or they learn how to get around not knowing the necessary information about the word(s). This often leads to acting out or becoming silent with the hope of avoiding embarrassment. When students learn how to separate words into smaller more user-friendly chunks or syllables, they usually build confidence in being able to pronounce unknown words. This puts a tool or strategy into their personal tool box. This allows them to avoid possible embarrassment. This gives students the opportunity to move forward without the assistance of others-independence. This may also give them the confidence to assist other students. The tool usually leads to an increase in their academic achievement across all academics.

Students who have the skill of syllabication in their tool box benefit in multiple ways. One benefit is the increase of reading fluency. A second benefit, students are better able to focus on processing the meaning of groups of words, instead of how to pronounce the word. A third benefit of knowing how to decode written words into workable chunks is the increase of student spelling accuracy. A fourth benefit is passage comprehension. Most students comprehend orally at a higher level than they can read. Students use their knowledge of oral language to help them comprehend written words. A fifth benefit is the increase of student intrinsic motivation and decrease student mischief.

Students begin learning about syllables orally through “naturally” breaks in the pronunciation of a word. Students are often taught to clap for each syllable. This allows the student(s) to count the number of syllables in each word. Students usually move from oral division of words to learning about CVC written words, as they learn to read. CVC written words are pronounced phonetical with a short vowel sound. This is also when the study of morphonology becomes more prevalent, as the CVC words usually have their own meaning in which students can use to begin understanding the meaning of multisyllabic words. CVC words are known as closed syllables.

Students need time to practice this skill. Practice of the skill may take place during different points of instruction, such as purposeful small or whole group instruction, or independent study. Some students will need more “regular” moments (5-15 minutes) of review: warm-up or homework.

 

The Essential Educators of an Effective Response to Intervention (RTI) Model

RTI is an instructional model used to better ensure that all students learn how to read and write. An effective model will reach 80% of learners at the first level of instruction. Tier 1 instruction should include differentiation and scaffolding to reach students on the cusp of not ingesting and owning the necessary skills for knowing how to effectively read and write. Tier 2 instruction is for students not able to grasp the instruction in Tier 1 and should include more precise explicit, systematic instruction. This instruction is usually received in a small group environment with other students needing similar instruction. Tier 3 and above levels of instruction should be assessed, direct, and strategic instruction that has the potential of meeting the needs of each student at these levels. Students receiving Tier 3 instruction often have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). These students usually receive one-on-one instruction and are often part of special education classes. Some of these students receive part of their instruction in a regular classroom, as well as individualized instruction outside of the classroom. Each model will be different to meet the needs of students present. Each model usually includes different essential educators that make the gears of the model work effectively. Individual schools often use “more user-friendly names” for their RTI model that better fit the community its serving.

Individual schools in partnership with the district leaders develop school instructional leadership teams for effective implementation and sustainment of a RTI model. The district should provide the knowledge of the framework for a RTI program and be available to provide support and direction to the school leadership team. School-level leadership teams might include the (a) principal, (b) school psychologist, (c) educational diagnostician, (d) reading specialist, (e) special education teacher, (f) general education teacher, (g) occupational therapist, (h) literacy coach, and (i) the school counselor (Bean & Lillenstein, 2012; Ryan, Kaffenberger, & Carroll, 2011; Tyre et al., 2012). School leadership teams are responsible for analyzing data, student placement, and instruction (Kashima, Schleich & Spradlin, 2009a; Nellis, 2012; Tyre, Feuerborn, & Beisse, 2012). The roles of the leadership members should reflect the needs of present students.

School administrators or principals are key to effective implementation of the RTI model (Kashima, Schleich, & Spradlin, 2009b; Bean & Lillenstein, 2012; White, Polly, & Audette, 2012). Administrators are responsible for setting the direction and culture of the school and professionally developing individuals at the school-level, in relation to implementing RTI with fidelity (Kashima, Schleich, & Spradlin, 2009b). These individuals should possess both interpersonal and communication skills to effectively lead or participate in conversations that provide both critical and positive feedback about the RTI process (Bean & Lillenstein, 2012). This feedback should be given with (a) respect and should take note of their input, (b) provide data to support the feedback, and (c) focus on student learning and outcomes. Administrators are also responsible for developing “risk free zones” to encourage open collaboration. They should focus on empowering educators to effectively provide instruction to meet the needs of all students (Bean & Lillenstein, 2012; Kashima et al., 2009b). Administrators are also responsible for “establishing an infrastructure for school-wide student screening” and “ensure that student data is properly managed” (Kashima et al., 2009b, p. 2). These individuals should “conduct routine classroom walk-throughs, observations, and discussions to provide feedback and ensure reliability” of the RTI program (Kashima et al., 2009b, p. 2). Administrators are usually the backbone of the RTI model.

More about other possible leadership team members in my next post.

References

Bean, R. & Lillenstein, J. (2012). Response to intervention and the changing            roles of schoolwide personnel. The Reading Teacher, 65(7), 491-501.                 http://doi/10.1002/TRTR.01073

Kashima, Y., Schleich, B., & Spradlin, T. (2009). The core components of                 RTI: A closer look at leadership, parent involvement, and cultural                      responsivity. Center for Evaluation & Education Policy, 1-11.

Kashima, Y., Schleich, B., & Spradlin, T. (2009). The core components of                 RTI: A closer look at evidence-based core curriculum assessment and              progress monitoring, and data-based decision making. Center for                       Evaluation & Education, 1-12.

Nellis, L. (2012). Maximizing the effectiveness of building teams in                          response to intervention implementation.  Psychology in the Schools.                 49(3), 245-256.

Ryan, T., Kaffenberger, C., & Carroll, A. (2011). Response to intervention:                An  opportunity for school counselor leadership. Professional School                    Counseling, 14(3), 211-221.

Tyre, A., Feuerborn, L., Beisse, K., & McCready, C. (2012). Creating                              readiness for response to intervention:  An evaluation of readiness                    assessment tools. Contemporary School Psychology, 16, 103-114.

White, R., Polly, D,. & Audette, R. (2012). A case analysis of an elementary              school’s implementation of response to intervention. Journal of                            Research in Childhood Education, 26, 73-90.                                                                      http://doi/10.1080/02568543.2011.63206

 

 

 

Why Include Morphology Analysis in Literacy Instruction?

Students usually benefit immensely from learning how to analysis morphemes—spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, and word memory. Students benefit across all subjects of education, as all subjects usually dictate that you must know how to read in order to successful pass each subject matter. Each subject contains words that are unique to that subject. Those words paint the picture(s) of that subject, such as in music-symbol, baritone, allegro or in math-adding, multiply, deduct. Research shows that teaching students about morphological awareness usually increases their ability to comprehend written passage(s) (Carlisle, McBride-Chang, Nagy, & Nunes, 2010). In the same article Carlisle, McBride-Chang, Nagy, & Nunes (2010) noted that learning how to analysis words or learning how to break down words into smaller units of meaning shows a strong correlation between morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge. What is morphology and when should educators begin formal instruction of morphology?

Morphology is the study of word formation. Words are single or a combination of morphemes. Morphemes are the smallest units of meaning. The different units of a word dictate its meaning, adding or subtracting different units of meaning help to fine tune its meaning. There are different types of morphemes that are used to orchestrate word meaning.

  • Unbound or free – These morphemes can stand alone and are usually the heart or base of a word. These are words like; spell, port, or graph.
  • Bound – These morphemes cannot stand alone. Bound morphemes are added to free morphemes and are generally referred to as affixes, like “ful”, “re”, “il”, “est” or “bi”.
  • Derivational – These morphemes change the meaning or direction of the word, such as hope, hopeless, hopelessly or hope, hopeful, hopefully.
  • Inflectional – These morphemes indicate a grammatical feature, such as numbers or a comparative. These morphemes are usually suffixes, like “s”, “ed”, or “ing”.

It is important to note that a vowel may function as a connector of meanings within a word, such as in therm + o + meter (Donah & White, 2017). There are others morphemes, such as conjunctions that serve as connectors of words within a sentence.

Students begin learning unconsciously about morphemes as they learn oral language. This is when they begin to add and subtract different morphemes (sounds) to form different words of meaning to better communicate their thoughts with other individuals. Students unconsciously build their vocabulary based on their environment. Some students may begin transferring their oral language knowledge to understand written words before they begin their primary school education. Most students are ready to begin discussing the analysis of word chemistry in kindergarten. The timeline will be different for each student. In most cases the student will begin the conversation about the spelling or different parts of word. Teachers might begin the conversation by asking questions about words that are familiar to that student or group of students, like “this” or “his”.

Studying the way morphemes interact, combine, and change the meaning of words seems like a daunting, laborious task that many students just assume avoid altogether. Addressing morphology in spontaneous and planned instruction may ease the task of learning the chemistry of words. Often students ask questions about words or groups of words that lend to the opportunity to have a “mini” word discussion. The depth of discussion about the question should be relevant to the learning level of student(s). Intentional instruction might be included throughout the instructional day within each subject of study. The when, how, and what of the lesson will be dependent on student ability or grade level. The format of planned instruction usually differs, taking into account time and student ability. Some lessons may last 5 minutes, others 30-45 minutes. Planned instruction might include metacognitive modeling, independent practice, small-group word exploration/collaboration, or interactive games. This is vocabulary or lexicon development and comprehension skill development, which are part of the foundational skills necessary to read and write effectively.

References

Carlisle, J.F., McBride-Chang, C., Nagy, W., & Nunes, T. (2010). Effects of

instruction in morphological awareness on literacy achievement: an

integrative review. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(4), 464-487.

https://doi.org/10.1598//RRQ.45.4.5.

Donah, S. & White, N.C. (2017). Morphemic awareness. International Dyslexia

Association Conference-Atlanta, GA.

The Art and Science of Scaffolding

Scaffolding is “a supportive instructional structure that teachers use to provide the appropriate mechanisms for a student to complete a task that is beyond their unassisted abilities” (Ray, 2017, p.14). The zone of proximal development (ZPD) is known as the space just beyond a student’s unassisted ability. Student ZPD may be discovered through who, why, what, where, and how questions posed by the teacher. The teacher analyzes student answers to the posed questions to determine at what point they begin to need assistances in completing the task. The number of questions that need to be asked and analyzed may be different for each student and task. This is usually dependent on teacher knowledge of task and student ability. Student ZPD a living entity that is always changing.

There are three stages to scaffolding process that require constant adjustments. The first stage is contingency. In this stage the teachers model how to complete the task. Teachers also differentiate instruction to meet student learning abilities. The second stage is fading. In this stage, teachers assist students in completing the task. This might mean answering a few questions. This might mean collaborating with the student. This might mean remodeling parts of the task. Students may spend more time in this stage. The third stage is transfer of responsibility. In this stage, students work independently to complete the task. Students may move back and forth between stages multiple times before they have true ownership of the task. At times they might move through to independent without going back and forth between the stages of scaffolding. This is dependent on student background, abilities, and personality or learning style.

Many teachers use the art of scaffolding in their teaching. Scaffolds are used intentionally and unintentionally at all learns levels. Scaffolds are used to assist students for varying reasons. Students may have gaps in their knowledge. Students may have gaps in their skills. Students may have a disability that inhibits them from learning at the speed of their classmates. For example, if you can ride a bicycle, you most likely used a form scaffolding to learn how to ride a bike. Your parent may have held the bike until you were pedaling and could keep the bike upright and moving forward. You may have also used training wheels until you felt comfortable enough to try the skill of riding a bike by yourself. You may have taken the extra wheels off and realized that you still need them to accomplish your goal. You might have needed more or less assistance in learning how to ride a bike than other individuals. Your parents and friends provided the scaffolding you needed to learn how to ride a bike. We use similar scaffolds in the classroom to assistance students.

  • Teachers might provide students with an alphabetic strip at their desks.
  • Teachers might provide students with a multiplication chart.
  • Teachers might provide students with a word wall.
  • Teachers might provide a dictionary.
  • Teachers might also provide manipulatives for math.

References

Ray, J. (2017). Tiered 2 interventions for students in grades 1-3 identified as at risk in reading. (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University). Retrieved from https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/3826/

van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in teacher-student interaction: A decade of research. Education Psychology Review, 22, 271-296. doi:10.1007/s10648-010-9127-6.

Unpacking a Paragraph

Unpacking a paragraph or understanding what the writer intended the reader to understand about a paragraph may be a challenge depending on the complexity and level of writing. The comprehension of a paragraph begins in the first sentence at the word level. Understanding the meaning of a paragraph includes the sequence and punctuation of each sentence within the paragraph. Comprehending a paragraph involves the intertwining of each sentence to bring forth the meaning of the paragraph. Each symbol plays a role to bring forth the intended meaning of the author. There several skills that reader needs to comprehend a paragraph; some are noted below.

  • Word knowledge. American English is a melting pot of foreign languages. The origin of a word may shed light on the spelling and meaning of the word. Each word is comprised of letters that create a known meaning. In the late 1700’s Noah Webster began developing a central location, dictionary, for students to use to learn the meaning of spoken language in the written format. Webster noted the origin, spelling and annunciation of each word. Word knowledge may be increased with the use appositives.
  • Knowledge of appositives. Appositives are a word or series of words that describes a noun within a sentence. Appositives give a deeper meaning to words and groups of words. They are usually directly after the noun that they are describing, such as Joan, the secretary, works long hours. Some words have multiple meanings and deciphering the meaning takes an examination of the surrounding words, inferencing and the paragraph topic to know its intended meaning. Appositives help to increase sentence comprehension.
  • Knowledge of how sentence connectives bring meaning to a sentence. Connectives serve as thought connectors to increase meaning. Some connectives are harder to understand. This may stem from low usage of them in oral language. Most of us would not say: my child was ill today; therefore, I had to stay home today. These types of words are used more often within our writing.
  • Knowledge of anaphoric relationships. Each paragraph begins with a topic sentence, which usually tells the reader what the rest of the paragraph is going to be about. The topic sentence may give the exact or proper name of the subject, such as John. Another sentence within the paragraph may use another name to refer to the subject, such as him or my friend. This is referred to as an anaphoric relationship. Writers use anaphora to bring clarity and variety to their writing. The reader must follow the meaning from one sentence to another sentence to understand that the topic has remained the same. The reader must be familiar with other possible words of the subject to follow and understand that the topic of the paragraph or story has remained the same. The meaning of each sentence usually affects the overall meaning of the paragraph.

References

Mesmer. H. A. & Rose-McCully, M. M. (2017). A closer look at close reading: three under-the-radar skills needed to comprehend sentences. The Reading Teacher, 0,0, p1-11.

 

Structured Literacy Supports All Learners-Dyslexic, ESL

Structured Literacy Supports All Learners:  Students At-Risk of Literacy Acquisition—Dyslexia and English Learners

Abstract

Learning to read is a complex endeavor that requires developing brain connections. The brain connections for reading written words begins forming during the development of oral language. The maturing of oral language and reading instruction continue the growth of the necessary brain connections to read and write. Structured Literacy instruction helps to develop and strengthen brain connections for reading and processing written language. Structured Literacy encourages educators to teach the essential literacy foundational skills during the pre and primary school years, so students have a better chance of achieving and maintaining proficiency in literacy. 

This article was published in the Texas Association for Literacy Instruction Yearbook, Volume 7, September 2020, Chapter 5, p. 37-43, downloadable at  http://www.texasreaders.org/yearbooks.html.

Inferencing is Like Being a Detective

Your mind automatically inferences, deduces, concludes, reasons things all day.  If there is light in the room it must be after 6:00am or if the sun is setting it must be around 8:00pm.  At times during the day we may consciously focus on a situation to infer the meaning of the situation.  We may wonder why a person was frowning or talking very loudly during our conversation.  To do this, we usually review other interactions that we’ve had with this individual.  We may review things that others have said about this individual.  We may review the inference of other similar situations.  Then we might begin to infer our present interaction with this individual.  Merriam-Webster (2020) describes inference as “a conclusion or opinion that is formed because of known facts or evidence.”  You are playing detective examining unseen and seen information, such as a picture or a group of words and analyzing your examination against your current stored information—what you already know to build a conclusion.  You are “deep reading” the story looking between the lines or behind the scenes of the words or pictures or situation to form an inference.  Many individuals learn how to infer naturally through their environment and will be able to infer or comprehend what the picture or words are trying to convey.  Some students will need explicit, purposeful instruction to learn and practice the skill. Below are some examples of inferencing.

Example one, an individual should be able to infer the questions below about this poem by Valerie Danoff.

Jelly Bean

Jelly, jelly, jelly beans.

Belly, belly, belly beans.

Orange, white, black, green

Red, blue, yellow bean.

Many, many can be seen!

All the colors in between.

From one to many beans.

Guess how many jelly beans?

Based on your culture was this poem written by a female or male?  How do you believe that the writer feels about jelly beans?  How do you think that jelly beans are shaped?  What color do you think a jelly bean is?  What is a jelly bean?  Is a jelly bean a type of food?  Why is the poem asking me to guess how many jelly beans there are?  Individuals who know what a jelly bean is would be able to answer these questions without much thought or examination of the poem.  Those who do not know what a jelly belly is would have to examine the words of the poem to gather the information to infer the previous questions, such as:

          • look at the spelling of each word
          • look at the meaning of each word
          • analyze how the words are joined together to form the sentence
          • look at the punctuation used
          • look at word usage-repetition
          • look at how the lines of the poem are related

Example two, when you look at a picture your brain is examining the different parts of the picture and analyzing the information against your stored information to understand the meaning of the picture—not just the seen information, but the unseen information as well.  When examining this “pumpkin” picture if you know that many people carve pumpkins at Halloween or if you knew the growing season for pumpkins, you could infer that this picture was taken in the fall.  You could also infer that this picture was taken in field where the pumpkins and other crops might be grown.  You might infer that pumpkins get their nutrients through their stem.  You might infer that someone put them in groups by size.  You might infer that this may be a place where you could buy pumpkins or that they were getting ready for market.  And so on.

Example 3, when an individual is having an in-person or virtual (where you can see them) conversation, we are usually inferencing to comprehend the conversation.  We are listening to their oral words-the tone, the inflections and using our personal knowledge of what is being said to understand the spoken words.  We are also watching and examining (unconsciously) their body language-hands, arms, facial expressions and maybe even their clothing for possible clues that may help us to form a better understanding of their words.

Students should be purposely taught how to infer, deduce, conclude, or reason throughout their schooling, beginning in the preschool years.  The complexity of the instruction should follow the achievement of the student.  This skill can be taught within most subject matter.  Most students enjoy being a detective to learn about a subject matter or to answer a burning question that they may have related to the subject matter.

Composing Coherent Sentences

Many young writers may get “stuck” or have writer’s block when it comes to putting words on paper. Some of the block comes from their ability to organize verbal words and thoughts into coherent sentences that convey the exact meaning that they are wanting you to understand. Another block maybe that some students can verbalize a complete sentence, but struggle to write the same sentence on paper. Some student block comes from wanting the sentence to be perfect the first time, as many students do not care for the process of editing their writing. In my 20 plus years in education I have yet to met a student who didn’t want to be able write, many need to learn tools to ease the process. This can be a hard and daunting process for many students.

Syntax* is the study of sentence structure. There can be different variations of a sentence. Some sentences may have more or less words than the sentence before or after it. Words in the sentence can be shuffled around and placed in a different order. Some sentences provide more detail. Reading passages with complete sentences may help the writer to better understand how to put sentences together. Reading passages of different writing styles may also increase student writing ability. The writer may also see how word order may change the meaning of the sentence. Learning to write is similar to learning how to speak, as the writer is mimicking the writing of others.

Instruction of writing sentences should begin simple, for example a sentence must have a noun and a verb to be a complete sentence. This usually begins in Pre-K or Kindergarten. The complexity of the sentence should grow with student ability and grade level. Some students will learn through their natural environment how to increase the complexity of a sentence. Most will need to be explicitly taught appropriate grade level techniques and rules of generating a complete sentence.

There are different instructional approaches that can be used to teach students sentence structure. Some are noted below.
1. Use sentence starters. I like ____________. I can ____________.
2. Cut up a sentence into individual words and have students put them in the correct order. Or have students develop sentences using a “word bank” (like flashcards) of many individual words. Then have students write those sentences on paper or whiteboards.
3. Students write a simple sentence, like The boy ran. Then students may add different types of words or detail to make the sentence more complex and interesting, such as adding an adjective about the boy’s age or their hair color.
4. White boards. I often have students generate sentences on whiteboards, while I am modeling a sentence. This helps to keep them engaged. And I can observe student ability and comprehension of the current lesson.
5. Sentence study. Use mentor text that features the style or sentence complexity that you are encouraging students to use in their writing. Discuss the different features of the mentor text. Students can find different parts of a sentence. Students can also diagram sentences.
6. Develop a word list. This can be a simple column of words that help to describe the subject. I like to develop word webs that help to describe the topic. Students can also develop a list of nouns and verbs about the subject. Students use the word lists to generate sentences.
7. Students analyze their writing, editing. Are there capital letters at the beginning of the sentence? Does the sentence end with an appropriate punctuation? Is there a noun and a verb? Could I add a describing word, adverb or adjective? How many nouns does the sentence have? How many verbs does the sentence have?
8. Student sharing. This allows students to use their writing as a model for other students. This may also give other students incentive to begin. In addition, classmates can point out the positive points of their writing.
9. Give students a diagram or word order to use during an exercise. There are many different variations to a sentence, remember start simple then build the complexity of the sentence(s). Here are a few examples that were described by Dr. Laud (2018) in a webinar titled, Vocabulary, sentence, and micro-discourse strategies for writing! Noun + verb; noun + verb + where phrase; noun + adverb + verb + when phrase; adjective + noun + verb + where + but + noun + verb.
10. Teacher modeling, teacher modeling, teacher modeling-use all subject matters to model complete sentences.
11. During collaboration with a student about their writing, I often find a sentence that may need some more detail and ask the student to add a word(s). Not all students are ready for this type of feedback or challenge. In some cases, you may have to assist them or model how you might increase the complexity of the sentence before sending them away to work independently. Other students can also assist students or give them ideas of how they might include other details in their sentence(s) to make the sentence more interesting. This grows student writing ability
12. I often tell students that I want to feel like I am there. This helps to drive the complexity and detail of the sentence. What does it feel like? What does it smell like when I take a breath? What does it look like? What am I hearing? Have them verbal discuss the detail with you or another student. This helps them organize their thoughts and put them on paper. This can be a very hard task for writers!
Learning how to write can be hard, but teaching others how to write may be even harder.

*Pillar 5 of structured literacy instruction is syntax or the study of sentence structure. The principles that dictate the sequence and function of words in a sentence. These principles are also referred to as the mechanics, grammar, and variation of a sentence.

References
Haynes, C. and Laud, L. (2018). Vocabulary, sentence, and micro-discourse strategies for writing! International Dyslexia Association conference webinar.

Engaging the Learner to Write

The next few blogs will be about writing.  This first blog will resonate more with online or at-home learning, as we as nation contend with COVID-19. 

          Writing is not a natural skill; it is a learned skill.  Writing is hard work, as students are developing the brain processing connections that allow them to put coherent words on a page.  Students should write every day to develop those brain connections.  I like to disguise the practice of writing into assignments or tasks that seem relevant and fun.  I often use science as a means to get students engaged in the task of writing.  The following are ideas that can be used to get students writing every day.

  1. Read a book about an animal or other topic that they may enjoy.  When I was with a group of Grade 1 students, we had about 10 minutes of “extra time” before we needed to be at the cafeteria for lunch.  So, I took a short book about worms of the classroom library shelf, read the book to them and conducted a short whole classroom discussion about student experiences with worms.  Students then wrote a couple of sentences about their experiences with worms.  Some students had the time to begin drawing pictures to increase the comprehension of their written words.  While they were writing I was able to remind students how to form a complete sentence.   
  2. Conduct an experiment.  Write observational notes in complete sentences.  Students also like to draw pictures to enhance their written description.  I like to have students conduct experiments that may last a week or so, as this gives more opportunity to write about their observations.  Students usually love to make things in the kitchen, which can provide a natural setting for collaboration, observation of changes, and why those changes may be taking place.  Students also enjoy gardening or germinating plants.
  3. Go on a bird walk.   Students can write notes about bird habitats, the colors of the birds, the sounds they may make, etc. 
  4. Go on a hunt or walk looking for wild flowers.  Students can write descriptive sentences about the flowers.  Students can also add a sketch to increase their retention of the flower features.
  5. Take a virtual tour of a museum about a topic that is of interest to the student(s).  Students can take notes about specified information.  Students can take notes about their observations.  Observations are usually different, unique to the students and can increase student participation in classroom discussions about the tour.
  6. Go on a bug hunt. Write notes about the bugs that you see along the way. Draw sketches of the bugs.
  7.  Analyzing pictures or art.  (a) Have students analyze a picture and write complete sentences about things they noticed or questions that they have about the picture.  (b) The picture can be used as a starting point for a story related to about the picture.
  8. Write a summary of a written passage.  This past school year I was with a group of Grade 4 students that struggled with the idea of summarizing a two-page story.  So, you may have to break the passage into paragraphs and have students write a sentence about each paragraph.  Once they have a sentence of each paragraph, students can put them into a paragraph format by adding a topic sentence and conclusion sentence.  Ideally the instruction should go back to modeling how to interpret sentences within each paragraph to inform the summary sentence.  The instruction may also need to include word meanings or other background knowledge about the topic.
  9. Sharing student writing. I have not met a group of students that do not enjoy the act of sharing their masterpieces.  The act of sharing is good for student self-esteem and for modeling possible sentences and format for their peers.  Some classrooms use this time for student acclamations of correct usage of verbiage, punctuation, etc.  I would greatly discourage negative comments by the teacher or their peers. 
  10. Take notes during a video.  I usually specify the expectations of the notes, like notes must be written in complete sentences and you must have at least 10 sentences related to the video.  I usually will ask a few students to read one of their sentences at the conclusion of the video.  This can begin a video discussion and give struggling students the opportunity to write another sentence. 
  11. Keep a journal of what they are reading.  Students can write a journal entry for each time they read.  This helps the reader to better comprehend the passage read. Younger readers may need assistance in processing the read information into a summary.  This also helps them to better retain the information read.
  12. Writing in a journal.  Students could also write a journal entry about specific topic.  I used this for students in classroom that had a very diverse student ability.  At times I would have them write their interpretation of a sentence, a poem, or even just a word.  The journal itself was not graded on their mechanics or grammar, but on their ability to form complete paragraph(s).  This freed the writer to focus on just putting words/sentences on the paper.  On some days, I would have students read a sentence or paragraph aloud to the class for those students who were struggling with forming a sentence.  At times I would write a sentence or two or a whole paragraph on the board to remind, reteach students how to form a paragraph.  I like to have students help me form the sentences of the paragraph to increase the “buy in” or engagement of students.
  13. Quick write.  The student writes as much information about a specified topic as they can in a designated timeframe, usually 5 minutes.  This may not be an exercise for all students, as some may shut down the process of writing altogether.  I encourage using incentives or individual goals to increase the buy-in of this exercise.   Again, the goal is put as many words on the page about the subject in complete sentences, not about mechanical or grammar.

Happy Writing!

Book Reading Activities

COVID-19 temporarily changed how we live our daily lives, in particular how we educate our youth.  Most schools have gone to a “long-distant”, digital format to continue providing instruction and practice for students to continue their formal education.  Students have more time to read and should be making this a top priority.  This is one of the most important educational practices a student can do during this time.  Students should be reading novels or books that have longer story lines.  Students should be reading books closer to their reading ability.  Many educational sites are offering free downloads of novels for students to read.  Most school sites also have books that can be downloaded or read on-line.  Students who are not used to reading written words on electronic devices may struggle at reading and processing the written words.  So, this may make the process of reading and comprehending written words slower than  normal. 

The following options are possible exercises that students can do at home to increase reading achievement.  Most of these options can be used with either non-fiction or fiction books.  These practices usually increase student knowledge and cognition.  The exercise of reading continues to strengthen and develop brain connections that increase student literacy abilities.  These “brain muscles” should have regular exercise.

  • Keep a journal about what they have read each day or time they read.  This journal can include pictures that convey a character or passage of what they have read.
  • Write a summary of each chapter, four to eight sentences. Writing a paragraph that has a topic sentence followed by detail sentences or sentences that describe the details of the chapter, and a conclusion sentence about the chapter.
  • Write a summary of the book. This summary should include details about the beginning, middle, and end.  The amount of details that should be included in the summary will be different at each stage of the maturation process.  Students can also include details about the major characters and pictures about the different settings and characters, etc.
  • Draw a picture of your favorite character(s). Students should include four or five colors to express the character.  The process is especially helpful for younger students.  I have taught many older students who also enjoy this process. Older students should be held accountable for writing about the picture.  I often have students write a paragraph. 
  • Described the main character(s). Students might describe what they look like, what the character(s)enjoy, what they don’t like, and how the character(s) spend their time.
  • Described the setting of the story. Students might describe one setting or several settings of a novel.  Students might include pictures and written words to describe the setting of the story.  Some of the information displayed by the students may be inferred information.  This means that each written description or picture may be different, as we all have different backgrounds of knowledge. 
  • Draw a picture of the setting or favorite scene in the book.
  • Describe the problem or climax of the book. This is something that not every student can grasp, some may need discussion to fully comprehend or pinpoint the problem or climax of the book.
  • Face-time (or contact through an electronic device) a relative, classmate, or friend to describe the plot of the story, character, chapter, etc.
  • Buddy read; this can be accomplished in different formats. Younger students can read aloud to higher level siblings, older students can read aloud to younger students.  Students can read the same book, using an electronic device or a phone.
  • Read to a pet. Most students love to read to a pet.
  • Read aloud to self. This engages the hearing and well as the visual senses to process the written words.  This is especially helpful to early or struggling readers.
  • Discuss what your reading with a classmate, parent, friend, or relative. This may need to take place using an electronic device.  
  • Read with a parent. The student and parent take turns reading.  They might read either every other line of a story, read every other paragraph of the story, or read every other page of the story.  The format is usually dependent on student ability.  I prefer reading every other paragraph.
  • Develop a 3-D model of your favorite setting or part of the book.  The 3-D model can be made of play-dough, clay, wood, tin foil, beans, paper, or anything that you may have on hand.   

 

Enjoy this time to read and explore, travel through books!  

 

 

 

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