September 2009
Issue One
Reading Matters
“The more that you read,
the more things you will
know. The more you
learn, the more places
you’ll go.”
---Dr. Seuss,
I Can Read With My Eyes
Shut
Building
Reading
Stamina
Building stamina for reading is a
key ingredient to improving reading
scores
on
standardized
tests.
Students need to be able to read
and comprehend longer and longer
passages. One way to do this is
to
practice
stamina-building
exercises
with
your
students.
Explain the importance of stamina
in sports like football then relate
this to reading. Use two students
to model the correct way to read
a book, then two others to model
an incorrect way.
Discuss each
model.
Now start the timer and
see how long the class can read
using the correct model. When a
student is not engaged, the time
stops.
It is best to not
call
attention to that student. Record
how long the class was able to go
before stopping. The next day,
review correct model and see if the
class can beat the previous time.
This would be great as a grade
level challenge. Ready, Set, Go!
A Reading Publication for
Title 1 Schools
Kimberly Gann Title 1
Consulting Teacher
Sandy Brown Title 1
Consulting Teacher
Professional Development
Highlights
When you have the chance to meet with teachers from other
counties across the state, you realize how fortunate we are here in
Sumner County to have a wealth of wonderful professional
development opportunities. Since it would be impossible to attend
them all, I hope you take the opportunity to share some of the
ideas that you learn with colleagues.
We’d like to take the time now to share some highlights from Diane
Merkle’s presentation this summer. Diane Merkle demonstrated the
use of body language to “act-out” sentence punctuation. Here’s a
refresher:
Student is standing…
Period – stamp ball of foot and grind
Capitalization – arms over head
Quotation marks – both arms are raised to same side and pulled
down toward body to open quotation marks, and then go to
opposite side and do the same motion to close quotation marks
Comma – use open hand and make a huge comma in front of your
torso
Exclamation point – fist in ball and pull back toward your body,
then punch the period (similar to what we do for “yes”)
Question mark – using open-hand, curve in the form of a question
mark then punch the period
Have the student write a sentence, then “act-it-out” using
the body language.
1
Interesting Research on Vocabulary Instruction
Recently at a Literacy Meeting, Dr. Janet Becker
shared some of the latest findings regarding
vocabulary instruction. This research is from
Educational Leadership and sites Marzano.
They Won’t Forget the Crocodile Teeth
This strategy involves the six-step process
(Marzano, 2004). The strategy includes the
following steps
1. Provide a description, explanation, or example
of the new term.
2. Ask students to restate the description,
explanation, or example in their own words.
3. Ask students to construct a picture,
pictograph, or symbolic representation of the
term.
4. Engage students periodically in activities that
help them add to their knowledge of the
terms in their vocabulary notebook.
5. Periodically ask students to discuss the terms
with one another.
A few days later, the teacher reviews the
new term using Steps 4,5, and 6. The
students might compare the meaning of
mutualism to another previously studied
word. (Step 4) Students might pair up and
compare their entries in their vocabulary
notebooks. (Step 5) The teacher could
create a game using these vocabulary
terms. (Step 6)
Research has shown that this six-step
strategy works for all students Kindergarten
through High School. The strategy works
best when using all six steps.
The research is also showing what does or
doesn’t work with this strategy. Here’s what
has been learned so far:
•
When students copy the teacher’s
explanation or description of a term
instead of generating their own
explanation, the results are not as
strong.
•
The third step in the process is
crucial- having students represent
their own understanding of a new
term by drawing a picture or
symbolic representation. When
students do this step well,
achievement soars.
•
Games seem to engage students at a
high level and have a powerful effect
on students’ recall of the terms.
6. Involve students periodically in games that
enable them to play with terms.
Teachers use the first three steps when
introducing a term to students. For example, a
teacher could introduce the word mutualism.
Instead of offering a textbook definition, the
teacher describes the word or tells a story that
illustrates its meaning. (Step 1) The teacher
could explain that the crocodile and a bird called
the Egyptian plover have a relationship that
exemplifies mutualism. The crocodile opens its
mouth and invites the plover to stand inside.
The plover picks things out of the crocodile’s
teeth. Both parties benefit. The plover gets
fed; the croc gets its teeth cleaned.
In steps 2 and 3, students try their hand at
explaining the meaning of mutualism. They
devise an example from their own lives. (Step 2)
Next, they draw an image depicting what they
think mutualism means. (Step 3)
This article was adapted from Educational
Leadership: Teaching for the 21st Century: Six
Steps to Better Vocabulary Instruction.
To learn more about this
www.ascd.org/publications.
study,
go
to