In the Reading in the Content Area course we discussed and read about a multitude of instructional strategies and methods to aid students in their understandings of texts across content areas. The text shown to the left, Content Area Reading (Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2017) was dissected in this class to give us a better concept of what strategies to use in certain situations, and why these strategies are beneficial to students. It addressed specifically the areas of vocabulary, comprehension, activating prior knowledge, assessments, and many other areas of instruction that are crucial to literacy education.
Anticipation Guides
Below is an example of one strategy used to activate students prior knowledge on a topic before diving into the material. This tool is called an anticipation guide and can be a great way to determine how much students know about a topic before beginning lessons. This is a useful tool especially for students at risk because it allows you to see what areas of the content you need to specifically address and focus on to help the students better understand. Anticipation guides can also include an "after" section, where students can go back at the end of the lesson to re-answer the questions based on the new information they learned. This can be a way for students to reflect on what new information they learned, and allow the teacher to see which information students are still struggling to understand.
*Example below: Anticipation Guide For Cliches About Weather (Vacca, p. 163)*
Below is an example of one strategy used to activate students prior knowledge on a topic before diving into the material. This tool is called an anticipation guide and can be a great way to determine how much students know about a topic before beginning lessons. This is a useful tool especially for students at risk because it allows you to see what areas of the content you need to specifically address and focus on to help the students better understand. Anticipation guides can also include an "after" section, where students can go back at the end of the lesson to re-answer the questions based on the new information they learned. This can be a way for students to reflect on what new information they learned, and allow the teacher to see which information students are still struggling to understand.
*Example below: Anticipation Guide For Cliches About Weather (Vacca, p. 163)*
Directions: Put a check under “Likely” if you believe that the weather saying has any scientific basis; put a check under “Unlikely” if you believe that it has no scientific basis. Be ready to explain your choice.
Likely Unlikely
_______ _______ 1. Red sky at night, sailors’ delight; red sky at morning, sailors take warning.
_______ _______ 2. If you see a sunspot, there is going to be bad weather.
_______ _______ 3. When the leaves turn under, it is going to storm
_______ _______ 4. If you see a hornet’s nest high in a tree, a harsh winter is coming.
_______ _______ 5. Aching bones mean a cold and rainy forecast.
_______ _______ 6. If a groundhog sees his shadow, six more weeks of winter.
_______ _______ 7. Rain before seven, sun by eleven.
_______ _______ 8. If a cow lies down in a pasture, it is going to rain soon.
_______ _______ 9. Sea gull, sea gull, sitting on the sand; it’s never good weather while you’re on land.
Close Reading
Another strategy I learned from this course is close reading. Before this course I had heard of the close reading strategy, but I had never truly understood what it would look like in a classroom and why it would be so beneficial. "Close reading encourages students to read and reread a text in order to understand it and to draw logical inferences from it. Using short but relevant text selections, close reading asks students to focus on what is explicitly stated by the author, to make inferences from the key details presented, and to support conclusions and inferences with evidence that is directly in the text" (Vacca, p. 173). Boyles, Nancy. (2012). Closing in on Close Reading. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. |
The strategy of close reading is an important strategy to use for at risk students because it dissects a complex text in a way that helps them begin to notice significant features and language usage of the author. Complex texts can be difficult for readers that struggle to tackle independently, so this strategy does a great job of modeling for students how to approach these texts to better understand the underlying meanings and ideals. According to the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, "a significant body of research links the close reading of complex text—whether the student is a struggling reader or advanced—to significant gains in reading proficiency and finds close reading to be a key component of college and career readiness" (PARCC, p. 7).
*Above is a video of an explanation and example of the close reading strategy using the book Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper.* Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers. (2011). PARCC model content frameworks: English language arts/literacy grades 3–11. Retrieved from www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/PARCCMCFELALiteracyAugust2012_FINAL.pdf |
Standards Aligned:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.1
Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.4
Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.