Reading curriculum guide 5-8 [1991]

,
Reading Curriculum Guide
5-8
Georgia Department of Education Werner Rogers, State Superintendent of Schools
1991

READING EDUCATION (Curriculum Guide, Middle Grades 5-8)
Werner Rogers State Superintendent of Schools
1991

CONTENTS

SECTION

PAGE

How to Use This Guide

iii

Program Philosophy, Purpose and Goals

iv

Acknowledgments

v

Quality Core Curriculum Reading Objectives - Grades 5-8

vi

Learning Styles and Modalities

1

References

5

Glossary

7

Staff Development

8

Reading Assessment and Evaluation

12

References

18

Glossary

19

Staff Development

20

Management and Organization of a Reading Program

23

References

26

Glossary

29

Staff Development

31

Oral and Written Language Development

35

References

39

Glossary

39

Staff Development

40

Vocabulary Development

42

References

49

Glossary

50

Staff Development

51

The Basal Reading Program

53

References

60

Glossary

61

Staff Development

63

Reading Comprehension

64

References

69

Glossary

70

Staff Development

71

i

Higher Order Thinking Skills in the Reading Class

73

References

76

Glossary

77

Staff Development

78

Content Area Reading

79

References

83

Glossary

83

Staff Development

84

Using Graphic Organizers to Introduce a Chapter

86

References

90

Glossary

90

Staff Development

91

An Alternative to Round Robin Reading

98

References

103

Glossary

103

Staff Development

104

Using Mapping to Foster Group Discussion and Thinking

106

References

111

Glossary

111

Staff Development

112

Study Skills

116

References

122

Glossary

122

Staff Development

123

Special Education Students and Reading

126

References

129

Glossary

129

Staff Development

130

Parents and Reading

132

References .

137

Glossary

138

Staff Development

139

Using Computers in the Reading Program

142

References

147

Glossary

148

Staff Development

149

ii

HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE This curriculum guide will help provide perspective and direction on the teaching of reading. The most relevant aspects of the sUbject are introduced here. Expert teachers and reading educators from the state and nation offer specific insight into the topics. The discussions presented here are intended to serve as a springboard for further discussion and investigation in school-based staff development sessions. In addition to the material presented here, each area lists resources for additional investigation and provides a staff development component for use on the school or system level. To help support this activity, a videotape further examining the topics identified in the guide is also provided. In this way -- through individual and group discussions of the most relevant topics, in a planned staff development program -- it is hoped that teachers and others will gain new insight into the effective teaching of reading to all children. Bill Hammond Reading Consultant Georgia Department of Education
iii

READING PROGRAM PHILOSOPHY
Reading instruction in schools often occurs in several stages; preparing to read, pre-kindergarten; learning to read, K-4; reading to develop understanding, 5-8; and applying and adapting what has been learned in relevant contexts, 9-12. To assist the students in developing the skills necessary to read critically and independently is the ultimate goal of the reading program.
Reading is the multisensory process of constructing meaning from written texts. To accomplish this the child must use a variety of complex and varied skills. The extent to which the child is successful in acquiring these skills will, to a great degree, determine the level of achievement that the child will attain in school.
To become an independent reader, the child must be provided with the skiils that are the beginning components of reading as well as have ample opportunity to practice reading over sustained periods of time. Time to explore the written word independently is vital to the attainment of reading independence. Oral and written discussions of the text can certainly enhance the child's depth of understanding and response to the subject. For the child to become fluent and articulate, there must be time for the child to develop the control of the information presented to him.
If we are to develop proficient readers, our expectations must be clearly understood by all who would participate in the development of our children: teachers, administrators, curriculum developers, parents and, of course, the students themselves. Our expectations must be high and unwavering as we seek ways to improve the quality of the educational blend in our society.
To quote from The Report of the Commission on Reading (1985), "In a well-designed reading program, mastering the parts does not become an end in itself, but a means to an end, and there is a proper balance between practice of the parts and practice of the whole." The major priority of the reading program should be to help the children to integrate information in the text with what they already know. If successfully accomplished, the result will be students who not only can read, but who also choose to read as a part of their daily experience. Ultimately, this will determine the success of any reading program.
iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A special note of thanks and recognition is due project staff who have provided the support essential for t~e project's success. Each person's contribution has a unique value due to the diversity of the project's needs.
Noelle Yvonne Bernal and the Project Director, Eloise Barron, wish to express sincere gratitude to

William Hammond, Georgia Department of Education Ira Aaron, University of Georgia Donna Alvermann, University of Georgia Evon Benson, Dekalb County Schools Ola Brown, Valdosta State College Evelyn Dandy, Armstrong State College Patricia Geary, Norman College M. Jean Greenlaw, University of North Texas Katrena Howard, East Metro Regional Assessment Center Regina Johnson, Atlanta Public Schools George Mason, University of Georgia Christine Parker, Atlanta Public Schools Beverly Smith, Douglas County Schools Ruby Thompson, Clark Atlanta University Judy True, North Georgia College

Consultant Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer Writer

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QUALITY CORE CURRICULUM READING OBJECTIVES
Fifth Grade
1. Reads to get meaning from print 2. Reads for information and pleasure 3. Expands reading vocabulary 4. Rereads for understanding 5. Reads for a variety of purposes in different kinds of text 6. Recognizes explicit main idea, details, sequence of events and
cause-effect relationships 7. Recognizes implicit main idea, details, sequence of events and
cause-effect relationships 8. Makes predictions and comparisons 9. Makes generalizations and draws conclusions 10. Distinguishes between fact and opinion 11. Recognizes relevance of data 12. Interprets written instructions 13. Classifies and categorizes words 14. Interprets syntactic and semantic relationships 15. Applies knowledge of letter/sound relationships in word recognition 16. Interprets literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases 17. Identifies high-frequency words by sight, including content-related
vocabulary
Sixth Grade
1. Reads to get meaning from print 2. Reads for information and pleasure 3. Expands reading vocabulary 4. Rereads for understanding 5. Reads for a var~ety of purposes in different kinds of text 6. Recognizes explicit main idea, details, sequence of events and
cause-effect relationships 7. Recognizes implicit main idea, details, sequence of events and
cause-effect relationships 8. Makes predictions and comparisons 9. Makes generalizations and draws conclusions 10. Distinguishes between fact and opinion; fiction and nonfiction 11. Recognizes persuasion techniques in propaganda and advertising 12. Recognizes bias and stereotypes 13. Recognizes relevance of data 14. Interprets written instructions and other directive information 15. Interprets literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases 16. Interprets syntactic and semantic relationships 17. Applies word recognition strategies to acquire new vocabulary
Seventh Grade
1. Reads a variety of materials for information and pleasure 2. Expands reading vocabulary 3. Adjusts reading strategies for varying purposes and content 4. Uses context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words
vi

5. Interprets literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases 6. Interprets semantic relationships 7. Interprets written instructions 8. Recognizes explicit and implicit main idea, details, sequence of
events and cause-effect relationships 9. Draws conclusions and makes comparisons, predictions and
generalizations 10. Recognizes relevance of data 11. Recognizes persuasion techniques, bias and stereotyping 12. Applies reading strategies to content area materials Eighth Grade 1. Reads a variety of materials for information and pleasure 2. Expands reading vocabulary 3. Adjusts reading strategies for varying purposes and content 4. Uses context clues to determine the meaning of unknown words 5. Interprets literal and nonliteral meanings of words and phrases 6. Interprets semantic relationships 7. Interprets written instructions 8. Recognizes explicit and implicit main idea, details, sequence of
events and cause-effect relationships 9. Draws conclusions and makes comparisons, predictions and
generalizations 10. Recognizes relevance of data 11. Recognizes persuasion techniques, bias and stereotyping 12. ~pplies reading strategies to content area materials
vii

LEARNING STYLES AND MODALITIES Katrena Howard
East Metro Regional Assessment Center
"As children grow older, they become more independent readers who need more choices of high interest materials and individual programs in which they read alone or with peers." (Carbo, 1986)
As we discover more about 'how students learn, we become more aware of student differences. For example, some of us are more productive when seated in a comfortable chair or stretched out on the floor, not seated at a desk, something that is traditional in most classrooms. Some of us have more difficulty remembering facts when someone tells us: It is much easier for us to remember if we visualize the information and write it down. These differences in how we learn best are termed learning styles, and each of us has strengths in particular areas.
Adapting instruction to fit students' individual learning styles can be an excellent way to promote the academic as well as social development of the middle school student. As these students move from childhood into young adulthood, they have unique needs. They can be a child one day and act like a mature adult the next. To say the least, these changes in behavior are unpredictable and often frustrating for teachers. To help the middle school student move more easily into this next stage of development, it is imperative to provide experiences that enhance self-concept. Furthermore, it is important, especially for poor readers, to focus on what students can do rather than what they can't do (Strahan and Strahan, 1988). By being aware of student learning styles and adapting instruction accordingly, teachers can help students become competent and confident both socially and academically. Of course, teachers need to use effective teaching practices and good judgment as well as adapt instruction to match student learning styles.
DOs in addressing learning styles
1. DO assess student learning styles by a. using an inventory. (Available inventories are listed in the Reference section. Most of the inventories also recommend compatible instructional strategies, methods and materials.)
b. observing students in a variety of situations and analyzing their responses to instruction. For example, a student who fidgets and rarely completes assignments may benefit from working with other students or by being given shorter assignments with more frequent feedback. (It is important to use your knowledge and judgment to support or modify the results from an inventory administered to students. You know your students best.)
2. DO share findings about student learning styles with them and their parents. Suggest ways that the information can be used to improve
1

student study habits and learning. For example, an auditory learner may request that family members ask questions at the end of a homework session to help reinforce and retain the information (Gann, 1986) .
3. DO share findings about student learning styles with other teachers so they they too can adapt teaching strategies.
4. DO introduce a lesson and reinforce material in different ways. For example, in addition to giving oral directions, write the information on a chalkboard, chart paper, overlay or handout; provide concrete examples and direct experiences rather than just reading about a subject. Presenting information in several different ways helps to meet the diverse needs of students.
5. DO introduce new and difficult material through each student's perceptual modality strengths; then reinforce through students' secondary strengths (Dunn and Dunn, 1986). For example, a student who learns most easily through active participation (kinesthetic) might begin a unit with a body game such as pantomime and then read the story (visual) or listen to an audio tape (auditory).
6. DO allow flexibility within the classroom. Some students prefer learning in pairs or in groups (e.g., employ cooperative learning techniques, Johnson and Johnson, 1984), sitting on the floor, listening to tapes or viewing filmstrips or videos. Peer interaction is especially important for the middle school student. Also permit students to change seats to adjust for lighting, temperature or sound if these elements seem to affect students' concentration.
7. DO allow students to move around rather than sitting at a desk for long periods of time. Movement is especially important for energetic students.
8. If possible, DO allow students to eat if they appear to need food or drink during reading. (Carrot sticks, celery and apples are some healthy choices and not messy.) Nibbling on fingernails, pencils or chewing gum may indicate that a student needs food.
9. DO build on student learning style strengths. Be aware, however, that the weaker areas need to be strengthened. For example, many students learn best through hands-on experiences or when involved in a structured activity; yet these students need to develop good listening skills and to work in situations that require some independent decision-making.
10. DO be aware that your learning style affects how you teach. Try to vary your teaching style so that your instruction accommodates student learning style differences.
2

DON'Ts in addressing learning styles
1. DON'T expect students to find reading enjoyable if they are taught in ways that fail to capitalize on their learning style preferences, because learning will be difficult and frustrating.
2. DON'T confuse learning styles with abilities. No one learning style is better than another, just different.
3. DON'T restrict students by labeling them as having a particular modality strength. Although one modality remains predominant, some researchers (Barbe, Swassing, Milone, 1981; Carbo, 1983a) indicate that modality strengths change over the years. Furthermore, modality preferences are related to a student's stage of development and thus evolve from tactile and kinesthetic in early childhood to visual and auditory as a student matures. Preadolescents are moving from concrete to more formal (abstract) operational thinking (Ross and Wright, 1985).
4. DON'T expect all students to learn to read by the same method. For example, phonics instruction may work successfully for some students, but many students need an approach that focuses less on the auditory and visual modalities and that emphasizes a more eclectic approach where a combination of methods is used, such as language experience, personal writing and literature. Using a variety of methods and supplying lots of high-interest reading materials is particularly important for poor readers.
5. DON'T continue to do "more of the same" with poor readers. I:' does not work in the middle grades. For example, if a student has not learned to read well through a phonics approach, try some other method such as language experience or high-interest books.
6. DON'T expect all students to retain information that is presented through primarily one modality such as auditory.
7. DON'T expect all students to sit and work on an assignment over a long period of time.
8. DON'T expect all students to improve their reading skills by assigning numerous and varied skilled exercises such as worksheets. Isolated skill instruction works best for students who are analytical thinkers.
9. DON'T expect all students to be at their best in the ,morning; some students prefer to learn during the afternoon or evening.
3

SAMPLE ACTIVITY

Objective: To enable students to recognize different points of view and to describe a situation from a story character's point of view.

Procedure: Provide students with examples of different points of view. You may give students an example from your own experience or perhaps focus on an issue in the school from the diverse views of a teacher and a student. You may ask students to depict an issue from the points of view of an employer and an employee by role-playing.

Ask students if they have ever been in an argument with their parents, brother, sister or a good friend. Tell them to think about what caused the argument. Ask for volunteers to explain their situations. Point out to the students that the argument probably occurred because people had different points of view regarding the situation.

Assign the reading of a story or ask students to review a story they have read previously. Try to ensure that the story is interesting to the students. Students may read or review the story by reading independently, listening to an audio tape, reading with a partner or in a small group or listening to the teacher.

Explain that after they read the story, students will be asked to select one of the characters and explain that character's point of view concerning a particular situation in the story. Students may select from a variety of ways how to describe the character's point of view. Emphasize that students are to describe the situation through the character's eyes.

Suggestions for describing a character's point of view (either individually or in small groups).

Write a letter to "Dear Gabby" explaining the situation and asking for advice.

Dramatize or role-play a scene.
Create hand puppets to portray a scene.

These would involve writing
or recording a script.

Draw or illustrate a scene.

Materials: Materials will depend upon the activity selected by the student.

Evaluation: After students present their descriptions of a character's point of view to the class, .lead students in a discussion of the presentations.

Follow-up: Ask students to write a letter to one of the story characters, a parent, a friend or a principal trying to change that
person's point of view.

4

LEARNING STYLES AND MODALITIES TEACHING MATERIALS

Barbe, W. B. & Swassing, R. H., with Milone, M. N. (1980). Teaching through Modality Strengths: Concepts and Practices. Zaner-Bloser Inc., 612 N. Park Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215.

Carbo, M. (1983a). Reading styles change between second and eighth grade. Educational Leadership, 40, 56-59.

Carbo, M. (1983b). Research in reading and learning style: Implications for exceptional children. Exceptional Children, 49, 486-494.

Carbo, M., Dunn, R. & Dunn, K. (1986). Teaching Students to Read through Their Individual Learning Styles: A Practical Approach. Reston, Virginia: Reston.

Carbo, M. (1987a). Matching reading styles: Correcting ineffective instruction. Educational Leadership, 45, 55-62.

Carbo, M. (1987b). Reading styles research: 'What Works' isn't always phonics. Kappan, 68, 431-435.

Carbo, M. (1988). The evidence supporting reading styles: A response to Stahl. Kappan, 70, 323-327.

Guild, P. B. & Garger, S. Marching to Different Drummers. Available from Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ($7.50), 125 N. West Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314. (703) 549-9110.

"

The following are available from St. John's University Center for the

Study of Learning Teaching Styles, SL John's University, Utopia

Parkway, Jamaica, New York 11439.

Book - Teaching Students Through Their Individual Learning Styles: A Practical Approach. Videotape - "The look of learning styles" Sample contract activity packages: set of six (elementary, secondary) Filmstrips - "Learning style: An explanation for parents"; "The learning styles of the gifted"; "How students should do homework through
their learning styles" Teacher In-service Packet on How to design contract activity packages

Teacher In-service Packet on Alternatives to Lecture: Small group techniques.

SUGGESTED READINGS
Armstrong, T. (1987). In Their Own Way: Discovering and Encouraging Your Child's Personal Learning Style. Los Angeles, California: Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc.

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Butler, K. A. (1983). Learning styles across content areas. Student Learning Styles and Brain Behavior. NASSP Monograph, Reston, Virginia: National Association of Secondary School Principals.
Cuccia, A. (1985). My stylish classroom. Early Years, 16, 40-41. Dunn, R. (1982). Student Learning Styles and Brain Behavior. Reston,
Virginia: National Association of Secondary School Principals. Dunn, K. & Dunn, R. (1986). The look of learning styles. Early Years,
16, 49-53. Gann, J. P. (1986). Establishing a home learning environment. A
parent's guide. Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Johnson, D. W., Johnson, R. T., Holubec, E. G. & Roy, P. (1984) .Circles
of Learning. Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Keefe, J. w. (1986). Learning Style Research and Practice. Available
from National Association of Secondary School Principals, $7.00. 1904 Association Dr. Reston, Virginia 22091. (703) 860-0200. Lemmon, P. (1985). A school where learning style works. Principal, 64, 26-29. McCarthy, B. (1980). Fourmat System: Teaching to Learning Styles with Right/left Mode Techniques. Excel. Ross, E. & Wright, J. (1985). Teaching strategies to fit the learning styles of gifted readers in the middle grades. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Reading Association, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 5-9. ED 262 388. Strahan, D. B. & Strahan, J. D. (1988). Revitalizing remediation in the middle grades: An invitational approach. A middle level essentials special paper. Reston, Virginia: National Association of Secondary Principals. Centerville Elementary in Gwinnett County uses a learning style approach to instruction.
6

GLOSSARY Learning Styles - The way we receive and process information. Reading Style - "An individual's learning style when engaged in the act of reading or when learning to read" (Carbo, 1988, 324). For example, students who are analytical thinkers and who hear discrete sounds in words will probably learn effectively if taught to read using a phonics approach. Perceptual Modalities - Learning style factor related to receiving information through the senses: visual or spatial, auditory or verbal, tactile, and kinesthetic. Note that perceptual modality is only one element of learning style, although the terms are often used interchangeably. Carbo (1983), however, states that perceptual modality is probably the learning style element of greatest importance in learning to read. Teaching Style - Teacher attitude and actions that influence teaching and student learning (adapted from Butler, 1984).
7

STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Training teachers to adapt teaching methods to match student learning styles is not an easy task. Most likely, staff development will need to be extensive and take place in several sessions. Teachers can be introduced to the concept of learning styles in one session, but further training should be done by someone knowledgeable in using a learning style approach to instruction. Therefore, this staff development component provides a general framework for a staff development program. The objectives are divided into levels: level one acquaints teachers with their own learning styles. Objectives at levels two, three and four provide for more in-depth training for identifying learning styles and in prescribing appropriate activities, methods and strategies to accommodate for student learning style strengths.
A first, necessary step is to obtain numerous and varied resource materials that provide information and specific suggestions for classroom instruction. Several sources are listed in the reference section. References that provide specific ideas for the teaching of reading are by Marie Carbo.
Before deciding upon what level is appropriate for your staff, assess, either formally or informally, the extent of teachers' knowledge of learning styles. If teachers are not familiar with learning styles and modalities, begin with level one. If teachers are knowledgeable of the subject, however, start at whatever level matches the staff's needs. For example, teachers may understand learning styles, but will need guidance in how to adapt instruction to accommodate for student learning styles: therefore, levels three and four would be appropriate.
All staff members need to be aware of the concept of learning styles and modalities, but not everyone will be "sold on" adapting their instruction to accommodate for diverse learning styles. Thus, it might be wise to focus the more involved staff .development sessions on those who are interested in and committed to trying a learning style approach to instruction. Once a few teachers are successful, others will become interested.
Those teachers who try to accommodate for a variety of student learning styles need to be given time to share strategies, resources and innovative ideas. Furthermore, these teachers need administrative support to experiment with a variety of strategies and in altering their "traditional" classrooms. Thus, the staff development training should be an ongoing process that incorporates teacher training, participation and feedback.
LEVEL ONE Objective: To develop staff members' awareness of their individual learning styles and how this information relates to and affects reading instruction.
8

Activities: 1. Ask staff members to complete an inventory that will identify their
learning style strengths. If an inventory is not available, a simple checklist or chart can be used to depict.specific learning styles. (Available inventories are listed in the reference section.)
2. Ask staff members to remember and discuss their most rewarding classes and most effective teachers. Then have them think about what made that class or teacher their most memorable. Point out that the instruction probably matched their learning style strength.
3. Define and discuss significant terms:
Learning Style - The way we receive and process information.
Reading Style - " ... An individual's learning style when engaged in the act of reading or when learning to read." (Carbo, 1988, 324). For example, students who are analytical thinkers and who hear discrete sounds in words will probably learn effectively if taught to read using a phonics approach.
Perceptual Modalities - Learning style factor related to receiving information through the senses: visual or spatial, auditory or verbal, tactile, and kinesthetic.
Teaching Style - Teacher attitude and actions that influence teaching and student learning (adapted from Butler, 1984).
4. Using the results from staff members' learning style assessments, discuss how this information is related to their methods of instruction--their teaching style. Then discuss the possible increase in student lea~ning if instruction matches student learning style strengths. For example, teachers would be more accepting of students who had difficulty; as students experienced success, self-concept and confidence would be enhanced.
Materials: Inventory or checklist to assess learning style.
Evaluation: Ask staff members to form groups of no more than three to four and decide upon two ways that the information on learning styles can be used to improve their instruction. These two ways are to be shared with the entire group and discussed.
LEVEL TWO Objective: To develop strategies to diagnose student learning style strengths.
Activities: Explain how teachers can administer an inventory or checklist in their classrooms and discuss how the results are to be interpreted. (If staff members completed the activities in level one, this will have been demonstrated; thus, a reminder will be sufficient to focus their thinking. )
9

In addition to using an inventory, teachers need to observe student behavior to determine ways in which their students learn most efficiently. Observe students' actions in a variety of situations. For example, is the student able to work on one task over a long period of time or does he or she become restless? Does the student appear to work better with another student or in a group situation rather than alone?
Have volunteers role-play various students in a typical classroom situation. Either before or during the staff development session, distribute cards on which you have described a particular behavior. As a "teacher" works with a reading group, "students" depict these : behaviors that reflect either success or frustration with a particular instructional method. "Students" might exhibit some of the following behaviors: actively listening to the teacher, eagerly reading a story or completing an activity, chewing on a pencil, staring out the window, bothering other students, asking the teacher to repeat the assignment that was just given, fidgeting or showing disinterest in reading a story. Have the rest of the staff critique the role-playing activity, identifying possible learning style strengths that these behaviors might reflect.
Provide the staff with further examples of how certain behaviors could indicate student learning style strengths. Then ask the staff to provide some examples and discuss.
Evaluation: Suggest that teachers administer a learning style inventory and/or closely observe student behavior before the next staff development session, noting the behaviors that are used frequently and easily. Ask teachers to be prepared to share some of the results from the inventory and observations of student behavior.
LEVEL THREE Objective: To enable staff members to prescribe diverse activities for student learning style differences.
Activity: Guide staff members in discussing the results from the inventory and their observation of student behavior. Questions might include the following: What kinds of information did you obtain from the learning style inventory/checklist? What kinds of behaviors did you observe? How did students respond when working in a variety of situations? Do these results from the inventory seem to support or refute your observations?
Using teachers' findings mentioned when answering the questions above, discuss how activities can be adapted to match student learning style strengths. Make sure the examples are related and appplicable to teachers' own classrooms and students.
Place staff members into small groups to generate specific activities to accommodate for diverse learning styles. (Staff members may be grouped by grade level or subject area, where appropriate.) For example, provide both oral and written directions. Allow for flexibility within the classroom. Classrooms may need to be redesigned to allow for
10

informal areas. The "dos" and "don'ts" section contains more specific suggestions. Sources in the reference section can provide additional, more specific ways of prescribing instructional strategies to match student learning styles.
Evaluation: Have staff members -- either individually or in small groups -- compile a list of activities that would match a variety of student learning styles identified by the inventory and/or observations. For example, if a student has a limited attention span, give short assignments; if a student prefers to work with others, arrange for that student to work with another or in a small group.
LEVEL FOUR Objective: To develop skills to write programs and adapt lesson plans that will complement student learning style differences.
(Note: This objective builds upon and extends the level three objective of prescribing activities. At this level, however, teachers will do more than provide alternative activities; they will be asked to vary their instruction by increasing their reportoire of strategies. Certainly, staff development training at this level may be extended into several sessions.)
Activities: Provide staff members with specific strategies and methods. These strategies should be demonstrated for and practiced by the participants. Outside experts or staff volunteers experienced with learning style approaches may provide the training. The reference section provides information on obtaining additional strategies.
Some examples of effective strategies that complement student learning styles are cooperative learning; circle of knowledge; brainstorming; individual contract activity packages; and tactile and kinesthetic activities.
Evaluation: Ask staff members to design, either individually or in small groups, programs and lesson plans using a variety of instructional strategies that complement student learning style differences.
Note: As teachers experiment, provide them with continued support, feedback and opportunities to share successes and failures with one another.
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READING ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION Ira Aaron
University of Georgia
"Among my sixth-grade students are a few who read at about second or third grade level and a few who could handle college level books with ease. About three fourths of them find sixth-grade level materials about right. But I still have to watch for areas of weakness among my good readers. Joe, for instance, reads well -- but he still is slow as a snail in using a dictionary." (Sixth-grade teacher)
This teacher seems to have a typical nciddle school group, with the usual reading strengths and weaknesses in reading among her students. Like all teachers, she needs to assess reading abilities, including those specific to the subjects she teaches.
This section is designed to assist middle school teachers in reviewing some ideas about assessment and evaluation in reading and to add to their knowledge about how to assess and evaluate status and progress in reading. Attention is given to assessment and evaluation of both general reading abilities, those abilities needed in all types of reading, and the special reading abilities needed to read specific types of content, such as geography and mathematics texts and related materials. The terms assessment and evaluation are both used here to emphasize the importance of making judgments about the data as well as gathering data on students' reading.
Assessment should be guided by clearly understood goals and objectives. What should the reading program accomplish? What should students learn in reading? The teacher should raise these two questions before he or she begins to assess the reading status or progress of students. The next step is to select instruments and techniques of assessment that match the program objectives. Tests and informal instruments sometimes are used with no conscious attempt to consider just what is oeing assessed, and as would be expected, this action results in a mismatch in objectives and assessment techniques.
Obviously, middle $chool reading teachers should have the broad goal of helping their students to understand and to appreciate what they read. Among the more specific objectives are some that teachers at earlier levels have been working on as well as some that are emphasized first at the middle school level. At earlier levels, as well as at middle school level, reading objectives include such abilities as interpreting instructions and recognizing explicitly stated main ideas, details, sequences of events and cause-and-effect relationships. Middle school teachers must continue to help students develop these abilities. At the middle school level, greater emphasis may be placed on objectives such as recognizing persuasion techniques, making generalizations and drawing conclusions, and making predictions and comparisons. Attention also is given to learning to use reference sources related to middle school subjects, as well as general references, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias. Middle school reading teachers also will have some students whose reading instructional needs are more like those of
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lower-grade levels. Specific objectives for instruction, which must be assessed, for such students would overlap with those of primary teachers.
In addition to those reading skills and abilities that cut across all or most types of content, middle school teachers who teach one or more subjects such as geography, history, science or mathematics must be concerned about any specific reading skills related to that particular content. Further, they must teach students to read texts and related materials used in that subject. These special skills include being able to understand maps, graphs, charts and tables that may be met in geography, history and science materials. They also include reading word problems and mathematical formulas as well-as graphs, charts and tables in mathematics. Each subject has a special or technical vocabulary. Further, some subjects have symbols and abbreviations used regularly in printed materials in that subject, such as plus, minus and equals symbols in mathematics. Assessment and evaluation must include these special reading abilities as well as the abilities related to all types of reading.
In self-contained middle school classrooms, teachers must teach the special skills related to all the areas they teach, which may include history, geography, English, mathematics, health and science as well as one or two other subject areas. If teachers know the reading skills involved in each subject area, then they know what needs to be assessed. Though there are some commercial tests available to assess status and progress in some of these skills, informal observations and teacher-made tests may be better ways of gathering data in content area reading. Criterion-referenced tests in mathematics, such as those given statewide in Georgia, contain useful information on some of the special reading skills in mathematics.
Assessment data may be gathered by formal or informal means. Both norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests are used in reading assessment -- and so are a number of informal means of gathering data. Strengths and limitations of these instruments and techniques must be kept in mind as results are interpreted.
Norm-referenced reading tests are useful in obtaining data for comparing a student or a class with a norm group. Criterion-referenced reading tests, in contrast, assess "mastery" of specific skills or knowledge. These published tests sample a fairly narrow range of reading skills. School or system. test results sometimes are publicized in the media and often mislead the general public to conclude that tests measure everthing important in reading.
Test results can furnish useful information about the reading of a student or a class, but they don't tell everything that is important in reading. They merely sample specific behaviors of students in a reading setting. Further, different publishers' tests do not measure exactly the same skills and abilities; when they do sample the same abilities, they do not do so in the same proportion. Tests seldom do much about assessing critical reading ability, for example. Further, a silent
13

reading test furnishes no information about a student's oral interpretation. They also tell very little about a pupil's interests in reading and attitude toward reading -- and these are extremely important if a program aims to develop readers who not only can but who also will read when not forced to do so. Informal techniques, seemingly less precise, can offer valuable assessment data on silent and oral reading as well as on interests and attitudes.
The heavy emphasis often placed on published tests and the administrative and media attention given to their results can lead to too much credence being placed in test results. Tests definitely should not determine what is taught -- lest a very narrow curriculum result. Teachers can be lulled into teaching only those skills and abilities measured by tests that they are mandated to administer. They may also drift into complacency as students "meet criterion," even though criterion level should be considered to be a bare minimum level; many children in most classrooms should go far beyond that minimum level. Test limitations as well as strengths must be kept in mind as tests are used.
Results of norm-referenced and criterion-referenced tests, though they usually are highlighted in reading program assessment, are no more useful -- and sometimes are less useful -- than data obtained through less formal techniques. Useful informal techniques include teacher-made tests, inventories and checklists, observations made by librarians and other teachers, school records from earlier years and student and parent conferences. From the wide variety of instruments and techniques available, the teacher's selections will be influenced by such factors as the objectives being evaluated, the specific needs of students, teacher knowledge about assessment techniques, time and financial constraints and administrative directives.
DOs in Reading Assessment and Evaluation
.' 1. DO gather reading assessment data in terms of program objectives.
2. DO remember that after gathering data you must make judgments about those data.
3. DO use test scores along with everything else you know about a student's reading to determine how well he or she is performing in reading.
4. DO understand as clearly as possible the nature of the tests -norm-referenced and criterion-referenced -- being used in assessment and what they can and cannot do in furnishing data.
5. DO consider a test score as falling within a given range (such as in stanines) rather than being a specific point on a scale.
6. DO simulate taking a norm-referenced or a criterion-referenced test before administering a new test to students.
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7. DO use individual reading inventories with selected children when you need information about specific strengths and weaknesses and estimates of instructional levels.
8. DO assess attitudes toward reading and appreciation of literature as well as comprehension abilities.
9. DO involve librarians in evaluating students' attitudes toward reading and habits in reading.
10. DO remember that the teacher is only one influence of many upon a student's growth in reading.
DON'Ts in Reading Assessment and Evaluation
1. DON'T waste valuable teacher and student time in gathering data about student reading if you don't have a plan for using these data.
2. DON'T forget reading program objectives when gathering assessment data, lest important objectives be overlooked.
3. DON'T make an important decision about a student's deficiencies in reading until data of several types have been gathered and studied.
4. DON'T evaluate a student's progress in reading only on the basis of assessment data about isolated skills, such as knowledge of inflectional endings, ability to use context cues for recognizing words and ability to interpret figurative language; don't stop the process until considerable information is gathered about how well the student understands what he or she reads.
5. DON'T spend so much time in gathering data that you have insufficient time to use those data in making judgments.
6. DON'T undersell the importance of intelligent teacher observation and judgment in effective reading assessment and evaluation.
7. DON'T administer a test to your students without first becoming thoroughly familiar with the test content and the instructions for administering the test.
8. DON'T deviate from time constraints and instructions for administering a norm-referenced test if you plan to interpret the results in terms of the test norms.
9. DON'T make important decisions about a student's, class's or school's reading progress on the basis of one test alone; teacher observation data should always be considered.
10. DON'T expect to get useful data on the effectiveness of a total reading program on the basis of "before" and "after" test of general reading ability if just a few months have elapsed between tasks.
15

ACTIVITY ONE

Objective: To determine if text materials are of appropriate difficulty level for use in instruction.

Materials: Select from a text you intend to use with students a passage of at least 100 words. Prepare four (or eight) questions about important points in the selection. (Use eight questions for longer passages.)

Procedure: Ask student to read the selection silently. Then ask the four (or eight) questions over the content. Then have the student read the selection aloud.

Evaluation: Material is suited for instruction if the student answers at least three of four (or six of eight) questions and misses not more than one word in every 20 running words, on the average, excluding proper names and repeated misses. Count the same word missed more than once as only one word missed. Add words the student asks you to pronounce when he or she reads silently to those missed in oral reading. If the student asks for help on a word during silent reading and mispronounces the same word in oral reading, count this as one missed word.

Follow-up: If the criteria are met (at least three of four or six of eight questions answered correctly and no more than one of each 20 running words missed, on the average), use the text for instruction. If the student failed to meet the criteria, move to easier material, if possible, or give more help to the student who comes close to me~ting the criteria.

ACTIVITY TWO

Objective: To prepare and use a reading interest and attitude inventory.

Materials: Prepare an informal reading interest and attitude inventory. Use questions like these:

... How well do you like to read?

A lot

Some Very little

Not at all

... How often do you read at home?

Often

Sometimes

Seldom

Never

... How often do parents/brothers/sisters read to you?

Often

Sometimes

Seldom

Never

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... How much time do you spend daily after school in watching television?

A lot

Some

Very little

None

... How well do you like school?

A lot

Some

Very little

Not at all

... What kind of books do you like?

... What do you enjoy most at school?

... What do you enjoy most at home?

(Alternate: Find an inventory in a reading methods text, basal reader guidebook or local curriculum guide and adapt it for your use. )

Procedure: Prepare a sheet of the questions and spaces for identifying the student who is responding to the inventory. Have students write out their own responses (or circle words or phrases for answers). Interview students who cannot write out responses; record responses on sheet.

Evaluation: Review responses of each student for clues to his or her interests and attitudes.

Follow-up: Determine if work needs to be aimed toward improving students' attitude toward reading or broadening interests.

ACTIVITY THREE

Objective: To determine how well students can use a dictionary.

Materials: Dictionary on appropriate level and recording sheet containing following:
Name OofpeSnstuddiecntti:o-n-a-ry--ne-a-r .w.o.r.d,..------
---Selects correct definition
Uses pronunciation key correctly

A card with the following (or similar) sentence printed on it: I saw the ~ as we entered the harbor.

Procedure: Ask the student to read the sentence on the card and then to locate in the dictionary the underlined word. Then ask for the meaning and pronunciation of the word. Observe the student during the process to see how accurate and efficient he or she is in answering your questions. Record a plus by an item if the student performs it satisfactorily and a minus if performance is poor on an item.

Evaluation: Look at pluses and minuses to determine next step.

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Follow-up: Plan instruction if weaknesses are noted. Students who have difficulty locating a word may need help on knowing how to determine the section of the dictionary in which the word is likely to be located, knowing how to use guide words or even knowing the sequence of the alphabet.
ACTIVITY FOUR
Objective: To assess student knowledge of common prefixes.
Materials: A sheet with sentences similar to these:
1. He renewed his subscription to the newspaper. 2. Mary was unable to come to my party. 3. I dislike having to wait in line. 4. The oven must be preheated. 5. The check was postdated.
(Note: Prepare sentences containing words with prefixes that have been taught.)
Procedure: Ask the student to read the sentence and then to tell what the prefix in the underlined word means.
Evaluation: Note prefixes the student does not know. Accept as correct any answer that clearly shows that the student knows the meaning of the prefix.
Follow-up: Plan instruction on prefixes students do not know.
REFERENCES
Farr, R. & Carey, R. F. (1986). Reading: What Can be Measured?, Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Harris, T. L. & Hodges, R. E., eds. (1981). A Dictionary of Reading and Related Terms. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
MacGinitie, W. (1973). Assessment Problems in Reading. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Marzano, R., et al. (1987). Reading Diagnosis and Instruction: Theory into Practice. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Richek, M., et al. (1989). Reading Problems: Assessment and Teaching Strategies. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Silvaroli, N., et al. (1982). A Classroom Guide to Reading Assessment and Instruction. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.
18

GLOSSARY
Content-Area Reading - Reading in subject areas such as history, biology, English, geography and mathematics. Requires general comprehension skills and some additional reading skills related to the content and how it is presented, such as reading maps, graphs and charts in social studies material.
Criterion-Referenced Test - A test in which items are keyed to specific objectives or behaviors and on which a "criterion" (or minimum p~rformance level) has been set. Instead of spreading out scores of students who take the test, such a test may show many scores at the upper end of the scale if students have learned well what is included in test items. A criterion-referenced test can help a teacher to tell whether a student meets criterion (minimum) level and can pinpoint strengths and weaknesses on those skills and abilities assessed by the test items.
Mastery - Usually referred to in assessment to mean that student has met the criterion that has been set (such as answering correctly 75 percent of the items) .
Norm-referenced Test - A test on which scores may be interpreted in terms of norms established by testing large numbers of representative subjects at a given grade or age level. They provide an opportunity to compare an individual's or a class's performance with that of the norm group. Items in achievement tests are included because they discriminate among students, not because they show precisely what students have learned. They do not represent all that is taught in reading. A norm-referenced test must be administered exactly as directed in the manual if the norms are to be used for interpretation. The term "standardized" often is used along with or as a substitute for "norm-referenced."
Stanine - One way of interpreting test scores. Saying that a score falls into a particular stanine means that the score is interpreted in terms of a distribution with a mean of five and a standard deviation of two. "Stanine" is short for "standard nine." The distribution is divided into nine parts. Except for stanines one and nine, each stanine is one half of a standard deviation in width. An advantage of using stanines in interpretation, rather than age or grade placements, is that a score is interpreted as falling within a broad band (a stanine) rather than being a precise point on a scale.
Work-study Skills - Skills used in studying (such as locating, selecting and organizing information). Same as study skills.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
ACTIVITY ONE
Objective: To assist teachers in becoming more familiar with references available for their students' use and to assist teachers in assessing student knowledge about when to use each reference.
Materials: A set of encyclopedias, an atlas, a thesaurus, an almanac type of reference such as World Almanac and a school dictionary for each participant. Multiple copies of reference inventory (given on second page) or a locally prepared inventory around references available in the school.
Timeline: One session of 60 to 90 minutes, with opportunity for any participants needing additional help to meet with the session leader.
Activities:
1. Review references to be discussed in session. 2. Discuss information supplied in each reference and how to locate
that information efficiently. 3. Demonstrate use of each, using a different participant to serve as
"student" for each type of reference. 4. Have participants spend three to five minutes in looking at student
helps in a school dictionary. Then call attention to such sections as the pronunciation keys, information on how to find words, the explanation of the dictionary entry, spelling helps (usually in a chart) and the student lessons. 5. Distribute a copy of the reference inventory and have participants respond to it. 6. Read out correct answers and discuss them to the extent necessary. 7. Distribute multiple copies of inventories to participants so they can use them with their students.
Evaluation: Use participants' response to the inventory to gauge how well participants understand the purposes served by references.
Follow-up: Check with teachers to determine if -- and how -- they used the inventory. (Encourage them to reteach where deficiencies in reference use are shown among their students.) A similar session on other available references in the school (such as a geographic dictionary, a mathematics dictionary or the Guinness Book of World Records) may be useful for some teachers.
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A SAMPLE REFERENCE USE INVENTORY
Directions: Among the references used often in middle school grades are encyclopedias, atlases, almanacs, a thesaurus and the dictionary. In the space to the left of the item of information, write in the number of the reference or references (as shown below) that would be a source for that information.
1. Encyclopedias 2. An almanac (as World Almanac) 3. An atlas 4. A school dictionary 5. A thesaurus
1. The meaning of the word serendipity.
2. Temperature maps of the continents.
3. The major news story of the previous year.
4. The history of flight.
5. Population of the United States in the last census.
6. Several synonyms of a word.
7. Topographical map of Africa.
8. How to pronounce ~.
9. Life history of George Washington.
10. Birthdate of a famous actor.
(Teacher key: 1-4; 2-3; 3-2; 4-1; 5-1 and 2; 6-5; 7-3; 8-4; 9-1; 10-2. In item 5, some dictionaries, especially adult dictionaries, include population data.)
ACTIVI TY TWO
Objective: To assist teachers in matching program objectives and assessment instruments and techniques.
Materials: A list of reading program objectives (from local curriculum guide, commercially prepared basal reader series, state criterion-referenced test bulletin from Georgia Department of Education or some other source).
Timeline: One or two 60- to 90-minute sessions. Activities:
1. Discuss the importance of matching program objectives and assessment instruments and techniques.
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2. Using a list of reading objectives from a local curriculum guide, if such exists, or from some other existing list, lead a discussion on each objective and how it can be assessed. Encourage participants to tell how they assess each objective. If needed, explain in terms of classroom reading instruction what each objective includes. (For example, work-study skills involve locating sources of information, using reference aids in texts and checking the relevancy and validity of information.)
3. As each objective is discussed, be sure that suggestions come from the group -- or from the leader on how that objective can best be assessed in this particular school setting.
Evaluation: After several weeks, schedule a second session, if feasible, to discuss changes teachers have made or need to make in assessing their reading objectives. Follow-up: The second session will serve as a follow-up.
22

MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF A READING PROGRAM Christine Parker
Atlanta Public Schools
Learning to read stretches the mind's eye to receive and explore the magnificence of the hidden meaning behind the printed word.
Individual reading programs will vary in style according to the demographic population of the young people for whom they serve. There are, however, major considerations that should be salient features in all programs. The following guide provides a composite summary of those components necessary for the successful organization and management of a reading program for grades five through eight.
PREASSESSMENT
Getting to know your students as unique individuals is the key to whatever is to be regarded as readiness for instruction. In addition to collecting current formal and informal diagnostic data, retrieve whatever longitudinal data is available from counselors on students' past performance levels.
1. DO maintain a file with adequate formal and informal diagnostic tests.
2. DO ascertain whether any inhibiting factors might interfere with reading instruction.
3. DO maintain a file with adequate personal data forms that address students' interests.
4. DO maintain a separate diagnostic folder for each student.
5. DO reduce test anxiety by discussing and modeling with students relaxation techniques to be used before and during testing.
6. DON'T permit students to handle other students' diagnostic folders, which contain pertinent personal information.
7. DON'T arbitrarily place students in groups for instruction.
8. DON'T make jvdgrnents on students' ability based on behavior.
CLASS ROUTINES
The orderly flow of student movement within the class should prevail if students are aware of the organizational plan for the day, week or month.
1. DO designate student monitors to distribute class folders for the day. Students may return their own folders to the specified area at the end of the period.
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2. DO acquaint students with the posted flow chart, which details how individual or group activities are conducted. Attach a copy of the flow chart to the inside of students' folders as a quick reference. (See sample attached copy.)
3. DO set the tone for the day consistently with a brief independent class activity (for example, written response to a current event or a thought-provoking question, a reader to share current "bio-bits" about a popular teen personality).
4. DO arrange kits, workbooks and dictionaries near students' working area.
5. DO explain how student conferences will be conducted.
6. DO promote the concept of assuming responsibility for learning through active participation.
7. DO develop an honor system for scoring kit materials. Insert master keys in labeled folders.
8. DON'T exclude students' input in classroom decorum standards.
9. DON'T continually select the same students to take responsibility in the class.
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
The master teacher not only knows the content domain of a particuJar subject but also can touch the learner in such a way that productive interaction occurs and both the teacher and the student learn.
1. DO structure individual conferences in which you make students aware of their strengths and weaknesses in reading.
2. DO articulate high expectations for each student and provide frequent feedback on progress.
3. DO initiate prescriptive teaching based on reading skill(s) needs utilizing individual and group assignments.
4. DO develop lesson plans that address critical thinking skills on all levels of the cognitive domain.
5. DO provide opportunities for students to practice varying their reading rates.
6. DO employ literature in integrating listening (student- or teachertaped stories), reading (recreational, novelettes, periodicals), writing and speaking (monologues, dialogues, plays) through teacher modeling and student modeling where applicable.
24

7. DO plan to administer mastery unit tests for skill clusters as well as extension activities for enrichment or remediation. Diagnosis is an ongoing process.
8. DO explore unique ways to display or publish a sample of each student's work.
9. DON'T set limits on how much a student can learn or how quickly a student can move.
10. DON'T become overwhelmed. Try networking with other professionals.
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
1. DO schedule parent conferences other than for disciplinary reasons.
2. DO develop a class newsletter for parents highlighting students' achievements.
3. DO compile a list of suggested activities that parents can do at home to help their children learn.
4. DON'T exclude parents from being a partner in the student's reading instruction.
Materials
Supplement your core program with materials that accommodate the various learning styles and reading levels of your students. Keep on hand an ample supply of local newspapers and magazines, which may be used for innumerable analysis and evaluation activities. The following is only a sample list of reputable materials covering a range of reading levels and modalities.
Reader's Digest-Reading Skill Builders Reader's Digest Educational Division Pleasantville, New York 10570
Specific Skill Series/Multiple Skill Series Barnell Loft, LTD 958 Church Street Baldwin, New York 11510
The Imperial Jr. High Aural Reading Lab (Cassette Program) Imperial International Learning Kankakee, Illinois 60901
Controlled Reading Study Guide Kits Educational Developmental Laboratories A Division of McGraw-Hill Book Company
25

Globe Book Company Inc. 50 West 23rd Street New York, New York 10010 (Sidney Rauch and Phillip Trocki-Comprehension Series) Spirit Masters for Tales from Shakespeare, American Short Stories Educational Insights Dept. B 20435 S. Tillman Avenue Carson, California 90746 Cassette Players/Listening Station Area with headsets Computer-Aided Instruction (where available) Dukane Filmstrip Projector area
REFERENCES Alexander, J. E. (1979). Teaching Reading. Boston, Massachusetts:
Little, Brown & Company. Heilman, A. (1979). The What and How of Reading Instruction. Columbus,
Ohio: Merrill Publishing. Heilman, A., et al. (1981). Principles and Practices of Teaching
Reading. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Publishing. Robinson, H. (1973). Improving Reading in the Intermediate Years.
Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Publishing.
26

SAMPLE ACTIVITY
BREAKOUT SKILL GROUPS
Objective: To demonstrate the use of flexible skill grouping in reinforcing mastery of explicit main idea and details and implicit main idea and details; interpreting word meanings; and interpreting figurative language.
Procedure: Divide students into rotational groups such as the ones below after modeling various skills and student application. Students may be grouped according to weaknesses or mixed with students who have mastered the skill, who could serve as peer guides for those needing further assistance.
DAY ONE
GROUP A (10 students): Create poems for publication using similes, metaphors and personification.
GROUP B (10 students): Identify propaganda techniques in magazine ads. Cut, paste and label for display. Have students to create a mock product with an accompanying ad using at least two propaganda techniques.
GROUP C (10 students): Pretape a story for "directed student listening." Introduce mind set, vocabulary and key listening questions before listening. Set up a listening station where students may read silently and listen simultaneously or listen only. If a listening station is unavailable, use a fluent reader to read for the group. Prepare a comprehension check for students. Ask students to retell the story to the class and dramatize their favorite scene.
DAY TWO
Continue from Day One
DAY THREE
Group Sharing of Activities
DAY FOUR
Rotate students for groups A, Band C
Materials: Magazines, scissors, glue, posterboards, construction paper, markers, cassette tape player, cassette tape, portable listening station, headsets, tape player jack, selected short story with commercial or preferably teacher-made vocabulary and comprehension questions related to Georgia Criterion Referenced Test objectives, student/teacher selected props for dramatization, television.
27

Evaluation: Use the following guides for gauging students' comprehension. Completion of poems using at least one simile, metaphor and example of personification; completion of displays with one example of each propaganda technique studied; 80 percent mastery of vocabulary and comprehension check; 100 percent for oral summary and dramatization (50/50). Follow-up: Allow the entire class to view a local television station for 30 minutes. During that time, students should write the names of various advertisements and the devices used to influence viewers; permit volunteers to read orally and interpret their favorite poems secured from the media center.
28

GLOSSARY
Ability Grouping - Grouping of pupils in reading on the basis of instructional reading level.
Application - The act of using learned reading skills in the daily school program.
Aural - Refers to learning through listening; learning by attending with the ears rather than with the eyes.
Behavioral Objectives - Instructional goals stated in terms of what the learner will do or accomplish.
Directing the Learner's Attention - The first step in an instructional episode; directs the learner's attention to the specific task. Incorporates two aspects: with what (looking, listening, feeling) and to what (skill focus or pieces of the skill puzzle).
Grade Equivalent - The grade level for which a given score is the real or estimated average; for example, the grade-equivalent score of 4.1 means that the learner is performing at a level comparable to an average learner in the first month of the fourth grade.
Independent Activities - Reading-related tasks that learners perform when they are not directly involved in a teacher-led skill group.
Individualization - An attempt to adapt instruction to individual differences.
Management - The set of teacher behavior that determines how smoothly, routinely and efficiently the learning situation functions from day to day.
Modeling - A technique for developing understanding during the presentation step of an instructional episode in which the learner mimics, or models, your behavior as you demonstrate the task to be learned.
Posttest - An informal means of evaluating the learner's terminal behavior.
Pretest - An informal means of evaluating a learner's entering behavior.
Readability - The objective measure of the difficulty of a book or article; usually involves the use of a specific formula with the results reported in terms of a grade level.
Readiness - The period that precedes formal reading instruction; emphasizes the development of the prerequisites to successful reading achievement.
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Remedial Reader - A learner not achieving in reading at a level commensurate with his general ability. Skill Grouping - Grouping pupils for instruction on the basis of specific skill needs. Systematic Instruction - A planned program moving through a hierarchy of reading skills, ensuring that each prerequisite skill is mastered before subsequent skills are introduced; emphasizes a test-teach-test strategy.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Objective: To instruct teachers in how to determine the readability level of a textbook used in grades five through eight, develop strategies for grouping students based on reading levels, and develop strategies for adapting text to the instructional needs of students. Activities: 1. Give an overview of the local school's performance levels as
determined by local/state testing programs. 2. Introduce Edward Fry's Graph for Estimating Readability. Discuss
sample explanation and simulate walk-through of an example. 3. Apply graph using sample textbooks by dividing staff into groups to
determine readability level of various textbooks, and having teachers share results with total group. 4. Examine a sample class's reading levelsand discuss how to begin grouping students for instruction. Formulate flexible student groups and explain the differences among homogeneous, heterogeneous and peer groups. Brainstorm strategies for adapting one chapter to students' needs. Timeline: Approximately two hours Materials: Overhead projector, readability graphs, simulated class roll listing 28 random scores on varying levels, content textbooks. Evaluation: Monitor completion of task.
Individual/Group Feedback Follow-up: Have teachers prepare lesson plans reflecting remediation strategies and grouping techniques.
Note: Lead teacher should provide personal sample strategies of grouping techniques according to skill needs as a closure.
31

ESTIMATING READABILITY EDWARD FRY'S FORMULA Simulation Exercise
Directions: Use the following information to determine the level of the textbook.
Passage 1 (front of the book) 100 words
Sentences 7 Syllables 150 Passage 2 (middle of the book)
100 words Sentences 6 Syllables 165 Passage 3 (end of the book) Sentences 6 Syllables 130
Mathematics Computation for Graph: Compute for Averages. Plot results on graph. Sentences: 7 + 6 + 6 = 19
Average Number of Sentences: 19/3 = 6.3 Syllables: 150 + 165 + 130 = 445
Average Number of Syllables: 445/3 = 148 Grade Level of Text ?
32

SAMPLE CLASS ROLL

~

STUDENT/Reading Level

~,

I. 4.3

2. 4.0

3. 5.8

4. 3.9

5. 2.1

6. 2.3

7. 2.6

8. 5.8

9. 3.6

10. 5.4

I!. 3.9

12. 4.0

13. 6.1

14. 6.3

15. 2.5

16. 2.8

17. 3.5

18. 7.7

19. 7.1

20. 6.9

2I. 6.8

22. 7.5

23. 6.6

24. 5.4

33

ORAL AND WRITTEN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT Regina Johnson
Atlanta Public Schools
"Here's a law of teaching it might help educators to bear in mind: The number of mistakes in a student paper is eternally proportionate to the number of new points of view that are expressed." (Barabe, 1986)
It is the natural predisposition of human beings to make meaning, using oral language. Written language, though a more complex transcription of thought and meaning, is equally satisfying to the human need to communicate. Since the skillful use of language is basic to thinking and learning in all disciplines, it is important for teachers to help students learn to skillfully use the conventions of language. At grades five through eight, students should be given lots of opportunity to speak, write and learn those mechanics and usage conventions that affect meaning.
DOs in teaching oral and written language
1. DO make oral discussion and writing a routine classroom practice in every discipline.
2. DO have students prewrite, write, revise and edit their written work.
3. DO have students collaborate on and share oral and written tasks.
4. DO confer with students individually or in small groups to help them revise and edit their writing.
5. DO have students talk and write about subjects that are meaningful to them as well as those that are dictated by the school curriculum.
6. DO teach students various prewriting strategies (e.g., webbing, mapping, clustering, brainstorming and listing) and allow them to choose the ones that work best for them.
7. DO expose students to expanded vocabulary and encourage them to continually add new words to both their oral and written vocabularies~ Semantic mapping, morphological analysis and constructing analogies are useful.
8. DO have students write in all modes -- narrative, descriptive, expository, persuasive -- using definition, illustration, examples, cause and effect and other modes of development.
9. DO provide students with real and varied audiences to whom to speak and write, which will help them develop their own voice and style.
10. DO teach grammatical conventions within the context of students' writing.
35

DON'Ts in teaching oral and written language 1. DON'T have students generate out-of-context word lists, memorize
dictionary definitions or use a word in a single sentence to teach expanded vocabulary. 2. DON'T think that students' use of grammatical conventions will improve if they simply write more. They must be taught those conventions within the context of their writing. 3. DON'T grade everything. Allow students to correct each other's writing, using criteria that you provide and expand on as they acquire mastery. 4. DON'T minimize the value of oral storytelling, role-play, oral recitation and the like for students at these grade levels. Teach to share the beauty and fluidity of language in poetry and various other types of literature. 5. DON'T have students diagram sentences, labeling parts of speech and various other grammatical constructions, or memorize lists of rules to apply when writing. These practices do not improve the use of such constructions. 6. DON'T become disheartened when your students tell you they have nothing to write or talk about. Prod them one-on-one to find out what they like or are interested in. Chances are you won't be able to keep them quiet once you've found the right key.
36

SAMPLE ACTIVITY
Objectives: To predict and write an outcome of a story presented orally and to recognize and relate five vocabulary words to current events.
Materials: A medium-sized corrogated box, covered with gold foil or painted gold to look like a treasure chest. Index cards (5" x 7") on which the following words are written (one word per card): Hope, Hate, Disease, Famine, and Insanity OR Sickness, Greed, Hate, Hunger, Old Age. For older students synonyms may appear on a single index card.
Procedure:
1. Put the word "myth" on the board and explain its meaning to your students. Tell them that you are going to read to them a Greek myth and write the following main characters on the board:
Zeus Prometheus Epimetheus Hermes Pandora
Further discuss the gifts that the various gods gave Pandora ("the all-gifted") :
Apollo taught her to sing and play the lyre.
Athena taught her to spin.
Demeter taught her to tend a garden.
Aphrodite taught her how to look at a man without moving her eyes and how to dance without moving her legs.
Poseidon gave her a pearl necklace and promised that she would never drown.
Hermes gave her a beautiful gold box, which she must never open.
Hera gave her curiosity.
2. Read or tell the story, stopping at its climax:
"She trembled. What was inside that box seemed to her now the very secret of life, which she must look upon or die. She took the little golden key from her tunic, fitted it into the keyhold, and gently opened the lid. "
from Heroes, Gods and Monsters of the Greek Myths by Bernard Evslin
37

3. Have students write an ending to the story of "Pandora's Box." Use a prompt like the following.
Pretend that you are Pandora and that-Hera's gift of curiosity has caused you to open the golden box that Hermes warned you never to open. Write the completion of the story, explaining what you found in the box and how you felt when you saw what it was. Think about why Hermes may have warned Pandora never to open the box and about how curiosity may cause you to react to such a warning.
4. Once papers have been written, place students in small groups of three to five students and have them read their story endings to each other. Have them critique each other's papers for their effectiveness in explaining how they felt about the contents of the box. Have each group choose the best student paper from the group. (Evaluation)
5. Hold your golden box up before your students and tell them that the contents of your box are the same as Pandora's. Then have the best student writers from each group put their hands in the box and pull out an index card on which one of the aforementioned words is written. Have the student read the word and put it up on the bulletin board.
6. After each word appears on the bulletin board, read the ending of the story to the students and put up the final index card, on which the word "hope" is written. Discuss the meaning of the story and the meaning of the words.
Follow-up: Assign each group of students one of the words on the bulletin board (e.g., disease, famine, old age, etc.) and ask them to look for newspaper articles that relate to some current event on the assigned topic. Have students share their current events and put them up on the bulletin board under the vocabulary headings.
References:
Evslin, B. (1982). Heroes, Gods 'and Monsters of the Greek Myths. New York, New York: Bantam Books (for older students).
Ware, K. (1984). Greek and Roman Myths. New York, New York: Webster Division, McGraw-Hill Book Company.
38

REFERENCES
Adams, A. H. (1983). Success in Reading and Writing. Glenview, Illinois: Goodyear Books.
Atwell, N. (1987). In the Middle: Writing, Reading and Learning with Adolescents. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Boynton/Cook Publishers.
Cook, R. P. (1987). Free to Write. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann Educational Books Inc.
Forte, I. (1983). Write About It. Nashville, Tennessee: Incentive Publications Inc.
Johannesen, L. R., et al. (1982). Theory and Research into Practice: Designing and Sequencing Prewriting Activities. National Council of Teachers of English, the ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.
Proett, J. & Gill, K. (1986). The Writing Process in Action. Urbana, Illinois: The National Council of Teachers of English.
Squire, J. R. (1987). The Dynamics of Language Learning. Urbana, Illinois: The ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills.
GLOSSARY
Brainstorming - A technique used to generate ideas related to a topic. All ideas are recorded without judgment, criticism or alteration. Clustering - A visual diagram used to group concepts according to major relationships. Mapping - A technique similar to brainstorming that adds a graphic representation of key words to be used in a composition. Prewriting - The first stage in the writing process. It includes any experience that generates materials or ideas for writing. Webbing - A graphic organizer used to identify and classify major relationships of concepts.
39

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Objective: To instruct teachers in how to

write a composition, using a process approach,

- assess students' writing,

- diagnose students' writing,

determine appropriate strategies to improve students' writing based on diagnosis, and

- use writing as a tool for learning across the curriculum.

Activities:

The following are sample staff development activities based on each specific objective

OBJECTIVE

TIME

ACTIVITY

One

75 (minutes) Give teachers a narrative prompt on

which to write, using the following

timed format.

10 minutes Prewriting 30 minutes Drafting 30 minutes Revising 10 minutes Editing/Proofreading

20

After this activity have teachers

discuss their feelings and the process

they went through to complete the test.

20

Couple teachers for this activity.

Have one team member write on a given

prompt and the other write his or her

observations of the processes the team-

mate goes through while writing. Have

the observer report his or her

observations in terms of the writing

process.

40

After some whole-group brainstorming on

a given prompt, have teachers write

individual compositions and then share

them. Finally, have them revise by

cutting and pasting the best parts of

each individual composition to make a

single collaborative one.

40

OBJECTIVE

TIME

ACTIVITY

Two Three & Four

30 (minutes) Introduce state writing criteria and model papers for the grade level.

60-120

Have teachers rate papers according to the state criteria, using writing samples from their students.

60-120

Have teachers determine strengths and
weaknesses in students' writing in
terms of the state writing domains -content/organization, style, sentence formation, mechanics and usage. Next, have them write the specific strengths you want to see in each students' writing by the end of the school year.

60-120

Form a group of six teachers of different grades and brainstorm a list of problems students in each grade encounter while writing. Select problems the group considers most significant and strategies to work on each. Attack problems like lack of needed information, vague expressions, monotony of tone and voice, lack of coherence, etc.

Five

60-120

Form a group of six teachers who are strong or specialize in several disciplines. Have group members
brainstorm the use of writing to learn specific content in the various disciplines. Develop essay tests rather than objective tests and inquiry tasks grounded in writing experiences.

Follow-up:

1. Have teachers report and share their students' progress by
analyzing initial writing samples and those obtained by the middle and/or the end of the school year. Overhead transparencies could be made of at least one set of two or three papers by the most improved student writer in each teacher's class. Teachers must tell what they did to assist the authors.

2. Have teachers visit each other within a school or across schools to demonstrate various ways of handling writing instruction.

3. Expose teachers to writing software of various types (e.g., Humanities Software Inc., Bank Street Writer III, etc.).

41

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT Judy True
North Georgia College
The average middle grade student must learn an enormous number of words (between 750 and 5,500). Therefore, vocabulary development is essential if the ever-increasing number of readings and assignments are to be understood.
Of all aspects of prior knowledge, knowledge of word meanings is paramount. Phonetic knowledge may help children sound out. pedantic in "He is pedantic." Syntactic knowledge may allow them to sense that pedantic is an adjective. General prior knowledge background may allow them to infer the meaning of the word if they are provided with enough other information in the passage. But semantic knowledge (that is, knowledge of word meanings) is necessary if they are to comprehend the sentence. (Devine, 1986, p. 115) .
DOs when teaching vocabulary
1. DO select words to be pretaught from students' experiences and from the materials they are to read. Cooper (1986, p. 138) outlines the steps for selecting words for preteaching.
Step One. Read the text to determine the general story lines or key ideas and select words that may cause difficulty in light of students' backgrounds, decoding skills and abilities to determine meaning.
Step Two. Identify key concept words; delete others.
Step Three. Delete key concept words that are adequately defined or given pronunciation clues in text. Also delete words for which students can determine pronunciation or meaning by using structural analysis. (These do not need to be pretaught.)
Step Four. Preteach words remaining on the list.
2. DO teach unfamiliar or new concepts before introducing the oral and written vocabulary term(s) for the concept. The teacher must determine whether students know the concept to be taught. If the concept is known (as is most frequently the case in primary grades), only the bond between the printed word and the concept must be established. If the concept is unfamiliar, it must be taught first.
3. DO teach students Contextual Strategies for initial vocabulary acquisition and for subsequent vocabulary development. Examples of context-based strategies (Serafoss and Readance, 1985; McNeil, 1987) include
42

contextual redefinition,

o

cloze variations, interactive context method*,

~

opinion, and

preview in context.

(See sample activities or glossary for explanations.)

4. DO teach students Categorizational Strategies for initial vocabulary acquisition and subsequent vocabulary development. Examples of Categorizational Strategies include

analogies,
association method, instructional clusters, feature analysis, Frayer model*, and semantic mapping. (See sample activities or glossary for explanations.)

5. DO model words and vocabulary strategies for students by thinking aloud the steps you are using to define new words. For example, when confronted with an unfamiliar term in context, think aloud what you do as you seek the definition of the word using context clues, using the glossary and then using the dictionary.

6. DO include time to teach the key vocabulary needed for each reading assignment. Probably the most important part of the lesson is the preparation the teacher provides to students before they read. Unfortunately, increasing content requirements in middle grades create situations in which the preparation or readiness component of an assignment may be overlooked or passed over too quickly in order to get students into the selection.

7. DO provide substantive feedback by working directly with students to improve their vocabulary strengths. Following correct responses, ask the students to explain how they arrived at their answers, thus providing opportunities for students to learn from each other. If a response is incorrect, model or explain how to arrive at the correct answer.

8. DO provide a classroom environment that correlates vocabulary development through a wide variety of language arts activities (oral, reading and writing activities). The language-rich middle grades classroom includes recordings of literary selections, tape recorders for recording one's own writing, a library of students' literature selections, student-produced books and stories, learning centers, semantic maps and vocabulary webs, bulletin board displays, vocabulary games and computer activities.

9. DO teach specific vocabulary lessons to make students aware of word meanings and to expand their vocabulary. Such lessons occur during preparation for a selection as well as during the extension portion of the lesson. Such lessons should build on vocabulary skills

43

taught previously; should be developed in relation to a particular theme or subject; should include listening, speaking, reading and writing opportunities; and should be fun! (Cooper, 1986, p. 178) DON'Ts when teaching vocabulary 1. DON'T assume that a student will transfer vocabulary skill from the reading lesson to content subject lessons. 2. DON'T assume that all students of a given grade or age will have the same vocabulary background. 3. DON'T leave vocabulary development to incidental learning. New concepts and terminology must be carefully planned elements of the lesson. 4. DON'T overrely on one type of instructional strategy for helping students expand vocabulary. Teach students both contextual and categorizational strategies that will enable them to become independent learners. 5. DON'T give students long lists of isolated words to look up and define. Given a word out of context, the student would be unable to determine which dictionary definition to select. 6. DON'T assign vocabulary activities and practice exercises without providing instruction. The most important aspect of vocabulary instruction is the discussion that takes place between the teacher and students and among students. (Cooper, 1986, p. 187)
44

SAMPLE ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY ONE: Interactive Context Method The following procedures are adapted from tnose described by John D. McNeil (1987).
Objective: To enable students to retain the meaning of new words by giving familiar words and phrases from their own backgrounds to define the new words.
Procedure:
1. Prepare three-sentence passages with each sentence containing a target word to be defined by sentence context. (Use simple sentence structures and common words to make the context familiar.)
2. Read aloud the first passage and draw students' attention to the target word in each sentence. Think aloud about the possible meaning of the word as defined by the surrounding sentence.
3. Continue modeling by writing a definitive word or phrase on the chalkboard beside the target word.
For example: The man ran angrily into his neighbor's yard. He hit the neighbor on the nose. The BRUTE then kicked the neighbor's dog.
Write BRUTE on the board and the following sentence: A brute is a person who is very mean.
4. Give each student a three-sentence passage and direct students to give a word or phrase from their own experiences that defines the new word in the passage.
5. As each student reads his or her passage, write the target word on the board and then write the word or phrase suggested by the student.
6. After all of the passages have been completed, look at the list of target words and phrases and ask students to write down something about each new word when used in similar situations but in a different setting (i.e., What might a brute do at a picnic?). Dictate new settings for students to analyze.
Materials: Three-sentence passages with target words; pencil and paper, chalkboard and chalk.
Evaluation: Following instruction, ask students to write appropriate phrases or words for each target word identified for the lesson.
45

Follow-up: For additional practice and reinforcement, give a list of familiar words and direct students to write their own three-sentence passages to exchange with other students.
46

ACTIVITY TWO: Applying the Frayer Model
Objective: To teach students to demonstrate their understanding of a concept by identifying relevant and irrelevant attributes of the concept and by giving both an example and a nonexample of the concept.
Using a model developed by Frayer, Frederick and Klausmeir (1969), McNeil (1987) suggests the following procedures for preteaching of vocabulary or as a summary lesson.
Procedure: Select a key term from a textbook you are using (i.e., "globe") and then complete each of the following steps. 1. Provide an instance (example) of the concept (classroom globe) .
2. Provide a noninstance (nonexample) of the concept, such as a chart (nonspherical).
3. Name the relevant attribute of defining properties for the term selected. (A globe is spherical in shape.)
4. List attributes that are associated with the term but not indispensable in identifying whether an example is or is not an instance of the concept (big, small).
5. Name a more specific illustration of the term (i.e., ball).
6. Name a term that refers to a related concept (theory, principle, generalization) that is more encompassing than the term you have selected (i.e., global).
7. Name a term that often appears in the same context as your selected term and that is neither general nor specific to your term (i.e., map) .
8. Select another familiar term from the text. Ask students to name and define the concept, identify relevant and irrelevant attributes of the concept and name an example and nonexample of the concept.
Materials: Examples and nonexamples of the concept (i.e., globe, map); textbook. Evaluation: Following instruction, have students identify essential and nonessential attributes and an example and nonexample of a concept.
47

Follow-up: Give groups of students word cards identifying and defining a familiar word from their last reading assignment. Ask each group to discuss the attributes of the concept (word) and then to dramatize their word demonstrating an example and a nonexarnple. Similar activities can be designed for concept words to be introduced for the next lesson.
48

REFERENCES
Cooper, J. D. (1986). Improving Reading Comprehension. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin.
Devine, T. G. (1986). Teaching Reading COmprehension. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
Frayer, D. A., Frederick, W. C. & Klausmeir, H. J. (1969). A Schema for Testing the Level of Concept Mastery. (Working Paper no. 16) Madison, Wisconsin: Research and Development Center for Cognitive Learning, University of Wisconsin.
Heimlich, J. E. & Pittelmann, S. D. (1986). Semantic Mapping: Classroom Applications. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Johnson, D. & Pearson, P. D. (1984). Teaching Reading Vocabulary. New York, New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston.
Marzano, R. J. & Marzano, J. S. (1988). A Cluster Approach to Elementary Vocabulary Instruction. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
McNeil, J. D. (1987). Reading Comprehension: New Directions for Classroom Practice. Glenview, Illinois: Scott Foresman and Company.
Serafoss, L. W. & Readance, J. E. (1985). Helping Children Learn to Read. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
49

GLOSSARY

Analogy - Listing three parts of an analogy and asking students to

create a fourth (i.e., Hat is to head: as Glove is to

).

Categorization - Listing or grouping words or concepts according to common traits of meaning, such as "people," "things to eat," "things to do," "places" and "cities."

Cloze Variations - Asking students to replace deleted concept words and function words. Follow-up discussions invite peer modeling.

Contextual Redefinition - Inviting students to "guess" the meaning for each new word in a list. Then present the words in context for children to verify their definitions.

Instructional Clusters - Grouping or "clustering" words according to semantic categories as an instructional aid to facilitate vocabulary instruction. Such clusters provide a frame of reference, an experential base for learning new labels and new concepts and comparing new and known concepts.

Interactive Processing - Processing in which one uses both information supplied by the text and information from one's own prior word knowledge and background of experiences.

Key Concept Word - The printed word labels for a concept.

Opinion - Inviting small groups of students to come to a consensus on the identity of a missing word in a sentence. Groups share sentences,
identifications and reasons for their selections.

Preview in Context - Presenting new words in a brief sample of context and through questioning, using students' background and knowledge to help them identify the likely meaning for the word.

Selection Critical Words - Words that are critical to the understanding of the selection.

Semantic Feature Analysis - Listing some known words with common properties and asking children to list some of the features of the various words (a feature may apply to only one word in the list) . Students then complete a matrix checking features in common for each word.

Semantic Mapping - Drawing a diagram depicting the categorization of words and concepts surrounding a topic by use, kind and properties. Semantic maps help to activate pupils' schematic background so that you can determine the appropriateness of the reading to be done about that
topic.

Semantic Webs - Graphic representations of the relationships among words that are constructed by connecting the related terms with lines.

Sight Words - Words that are recognized and pronounced instantly.

50

STAFF DEVELOPMENT
This staff development plan suggests avenues through which a lead reading teacher in a school can provide an inservice opportunity for middle grade teachers to explore and apply teaching strategies designed to increase students' vocabulary development.
Objective: To introduce the Vocabulary Resource Packet, explain the steps of two selected teaching strategies and help teachers implement the teaching strategies in their classrooms.
Activities:
1. Orientation Session (30-40 minutes)
a. Introduce the Vocabulary Resource Packet. (1) Give an overview of the organization and content. (2) Briefly discuss the importance of vocabulary development. (3) Review the specific teaching suggestions and cautions (Dos and Don'ts). (4) Explain and clarify procedures outlined for the sample vocabulary activities presented in the packet.
b. Practice sample activities. Invite volunteers to try (and modify if desired) each sample activity and be prepared to share their reactions at the next session.
2. Implementation Session (30 minutes)
a. Invite volunteers to share their reactions and modifications of the sample activities.
b. Invite teachers to share other strategies they have used successfully.
(Optional) (10 minutes)
c. If several participants wish to pursue their avenue of in-service development, establish small study groups to investigate strategies in other resources (make available selected references noted in the packet) and share, report or model another strategy at the ~inal session.
3. Optional Session (30-40 minutes)
Study groups' findings (i.e., orally in handouts or through modeling) .
Timeline: An ideal in-service program will be perceived as an ongoing project and will vary, according to the perceived needs and the level of interest of involved teachers.
51

Week One

Orientation Meeting.

Week Two

Tryout of ideas in the packet. Modifications of ideas.attempted.

Week Three

Implementation Meeting. Report success and modifications of tryouts. Optional: Group teachers by study groups and assign resources for exploration.

Weeks Four/Five - (Optional) Teachers read resources and select additional strategies to try.

Week Six

(Optional) Culminating Meeting. Teachers identify strategies they tried, suggest possible modifications and evaluate the inservice program.

Materials: Professional resources identified in the packet. Additional resources available within the individual school; others as may be suggested by the Curriculum Director.

Follow-up: Visit classrooms. Offer to take the place of individual teachers for a designated class periods to allow them to visit a neighboring teacher's classroom during vocabulary development lessons. If possible, schedule one or two teachers to visit another classroom in a neighboring school. Consult the curriculum director for suggested classrooms and for assistance in scheduling such visits.

Schedule an additional meeting to share strategies observed and tried in their classrooms.

Evaluation: At the culminating meeting, ask each teacher to complete a written evaluation of the workshop. Ask them to comment on the strengths and weaknesses of the different phases of the in-service: orientation, study groups and visitation.

52

THE BASAL READING PROGRAM Ola Brown
Valdosta State College
"No one can ever prescribe all the twists and turns to be taken as the . . . classroom teacher uses judgment, sudden insight, sensitivity and agility to promote learning." (Gage, 1977)
The basal reading program consists of a package of books and supplemental materials used to teach reading. Basal reading programs have well-developed management systems designed to promote mastery-level learning. The teacher manuals contain classroom practices oriented directly to each selection.
The basal reading program, used correctly, provides a sequential and coordinated progression of skills, vocabulary and word analysis strategies using generally high-interest, grade-level material.
A typical basal reading routine usually consists of
directed reading lesson,
vocabulary lesson,
discussion following the reading of the selection,
skills lesson involving phonics, word recognition or study skills,
enrichment component, and
testing component to determine progress, placement or special needs.
DOs for implementing the basal reading program
1. DO provide many opportunities for students to read widely and thus expand their sight word knowledge and vocabulary.
2. DO maintain the earlier emphasis on positive attitudes by reinforcing reading as a communication process and a medium for enrichment and enjoyment.
3. DO use sources from within as well as from beyond the basal text in preparing the background step of the Directed Reading Activity (DRA) .
4. DO plan for the possibility of having students silently read the assigned material at some other time rather than immediately following the preparation stage of DRA.
5. DO use teacher-made reading guides to help students recall specific purposes during the guided reading stage of DRA. With this
53

tangible reading guide, silent reading can be done at home or later in the day as time permits.
6. DO require more silent reading in the upper grades than in the primary grades with emphasis on comprehension monitoring.
7. DO use alternative lesson plan formats to the ORA that will encourage independent learning. Shift from the teacher-directed plan (ORA) to the student-directed plan to include the study technique, guided reading procedure, semantic webbing and others.
8. DO explore with students learning techniques for aiding comprehension, such as the directed reading-thinking activity (DR-TA), reciprocal questioning, guided reading procedure, semantic webbing and others.
9. DO emphasize specialized skill areas that involve using resources inside the text (glossary, index, table of contents, graphic aids, etc.); using resources outside the text (dictionary, encyclopedia, library resources, etc.); and reviewing skills.
10. DO stress the importance of metacomprehension skills, those by which the student controls the efficiency, goals and success of study, and the translational skills, including outlining, note taking and summarizing, which permit information to be processed, condensed and stored for review.
DON'Ts for implementing the basal reading program
1. DON'T feel compelled to follow basal reader procedures exactly as presented. Rather, review the lessons in advance and make them relevant and suited to the needs of the students.
2. DON'T teach all skills presented with the same emphasis. Identify those skills that are being reviewed and those that are being presented for the first time, and plan direct instructional time for the latter.
3. DON'T assume that students understand skills that are presented unless they can apply the skills (particularly comprehension and study skills).
4. DON'T assume that students can implement study techniques on their own simply by reading the steps. Guide students through the steps.
5. DON'T teach skills in isolation. In the upper grades as in the primary grades, relate the skill studied initially to the selection being read and show the importance of the skill in understanding the content.
6. DON'T require students to read a selection orally without adequate time to prepare.
54

7. DON'T use the basal reader approach as the only instructional approach; rather, integrate other approaches and printed material (particularly content area texts) so students can apply skills or processes.
8. DON'T assume all students have mastered reading in the earlier grades and guidance by the teacher is unnecessary.
9. DON'T assume that students can transfer learning or reading skills from the basal reader lesson to the content area lesson without the aid of teachers.
10. DON'T refrain from reading aloud to upper grade students. This activity has value in increasing fluency and positive attitudes about reading.
55

SQ3R study System (Robinson, 1962) (for use with expository text)

Objective: To help students set purposes before reading and then to read to accomplish them.

Procedure: Survey

Quickly survey the assignment to get the main idea. the title, read the introduction, look through the assignment for main sections and read the summary.

Notice

Question - Turn headings into questions. If there are no headings, make up questions from the other information surveyed.

Read

- Read to answer questions. Use the italics and boldface

type, topic sentences, summaries and graphs and charts.

Recall

- Recall the answer to questions. After reading the first section, look away from the book and try to answer the questions. If necessary, reread the section and make brief notes.

Evaluation:
Review - Review the material. Look over notes to get a bird's-eye view of the different ideas brought out in the lesson. Cover up the notes and try to remember the main points and then the subpoints.

Materials: Science textbook (chapter on photosynthesis); paper and pencil for jotting down questions and notes.

Directed Reading-Thinking Activity (DR-TA) (Stauffer, 1980) (for use with narrative text)

Objective: To enable students to state what has happened in the story selection from the basal reader.

Procedure: Introduction -

Provide a story introduction designed to activate students' background knowledge about the topic, the purpose and the text structure. Teach new vocabulary words as needed.

Purpose-setting - Direct students to survey the selection, exa~n~ng illustrations, headings and other clues to story content. Have them use these clues to predict what they will encounter in the story. List their
predictions on the board and then direct them to read the story to see if their predictions were accurate.

56

Silent Reading - Have students read the selection for content and check their predictions.
Materials: Narrative story in basal reader text.
Evaluation: Discuss the story content and the accuracy of students' predictions.
Follow-up: Review the content of the selection and follow up with an enriching activity that requires use of the knowledge gained from the story.

Directed Reading Lesson (Content lesson format)

Objective: To guide students in the understanding of the content of the selection.

Materials: Basal readers.

Procedure: Step 1:
Step 2:
Step 3:

Introduce the selection (activate schemata and special vocabulary) . Set purposes for reading the selection (for content
understanding only) . Have students orally or silently read the selection.

Evaluation: Step 4:

Discuss the selection to see how well students understand the content.

Follow-up: Step 5: Step 6:

Teach the skills. Bring closure to the lesson (by summarizing content only) .

(Process lesson format)

Objective: To teach students a learning strategy they can apply to text material.

Materials: Basal readers.

Procedures: Step 1:
Step 2: Step 3: Step 4:

Introduce the selection as a focus for a strategy to be
learned. Introduce the strategy to be taught. Model how to use the strategy. Mediate student acquisition of the strategy.

57

Step 5:
Step 6: Evaluation:
Step 7:
Follow-up: Step 8:

Set purposes for reading the selection (include application of the strategy as well as understanding the content). Have students orally or silently read the selection.
Discuss the selection both in terms of the content and in terms of application of the strategy.
Bring closure to the lesson by surnmar1z1ng both the content and the use Qf the strategy.
(Duffy and Roehler, 1989)

Decisions Teachers Make About the Basal Lesson

Basal reading texts form the basis of many reading curricula. In light of current research, teachers can make decisions regarding the most effective use of existing reading materials. The following are some suggestions for using a basal reader to implement the Michigan definition of reading.
1. The teacher can assess the students' background knowledge before reading a selection and determine if it is adequate for comprehending the material or if some bridging activities are necessary before reading.
2. The teacher can help students develop conceptual understanding before reading, which may be expanded or reinforced during the reading of the selection.
3. The teacher can choose a strategy for developing vocabulary before reading. Vocabulary instruction focuses on concept development rather than isolated words. Some strategies for vocabulary development include brainstorming, classification, webbing, semantic mapping or dramatization.
4. The teacher can help students to set a purpose for reading a particular selection.
5. The teacher can analyze the structure of the text selection and guide the students in selecting strategies appropriate for the text type.
6. The teacher can ask questions that guide the students in developing comprehension strategies, rather than questions designed simply to determine if the student has comprehended the selection. Questions should be relevant to the outcome of the selection and should not focus the students' attention on extraneous details. Questions

58

should be designed to help students go beyond the literal information presented in the text. 7. The teacher can have students ask the~elves questions at appropriate points in the text and guide students in learning when and how to question themselves as they read independently. 8. The teacher can model comprehension strategies for the students when appropriate. Such strategies include look back, read ahead, skimming, using context for word identification, SQ3R study method. 9. The teacher can use other materials to reinforce and expand concepts and strategies presented in the basal lesson. Michigan Curriculum Review Committee and Michigan Reading Association (1985). New Dimensions in Reading Instruction. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Michigan Reading Association.
59

REFERENCES
Cooper, J. D. (1986). Improving Reading Comprehension. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin.
Dasch, A. (1983). Aligning basal reader instruction with cognitive stage theory. The Reading Teacher, 36, 428-34.
Freedman, G. & Reynolds, E. G. (1980). Enriching basal reader lessons with semantic mapping. The Reading Teacher, 33, 677-684.
Gage, N. (1977). The Scientific Basis of the Art of Teaching. Longman, New York: Teacher-College Press.
Hoffman, J. V., ed. (1986). Effective Teaching of Reading: Research and Practice. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Irwin, J. W. & Baker, I. (1989). Promoting Active Reading Comprehension Strategies: A Resource Book for Teachers. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Leu, D. J., Jr. & Kinzer, C. K. (1987). Effective Reading Instruction in the Elementary Grades. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill Publishing Company.
Miller, J. W. & McKenna, M. (1989). Teaching Reading in the Elementary Classroom. Scottsdale, Arizona: Horsuch Scarisbrick Publishing.
Moore, D. W., Readence, J. E., et al. Prereading Activities for Content Area Reading and Learning, 2nd ed. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Pieronek, F. T. (1980). Do basal readers reflect the interests of intermediate students? The Reading Teacher, 33 (4), 408-415.
Schmitt, M. & Bauman, J. (1986). How to incorporate comprehension monitoring strategies into basal reader instruction. The Reading Teacher, 40, 28-31.
Swaby, B. (1982). Varying the ways you teach with basal stories. The Reading Teacher, 35 (6), 676-680.
Vaughan, J. L. & Estes, T. H. (1986). Reading and Reasoning Beyond the Primary Grades. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.
60

GLOSSARY
Ability Groups - Teacher-assigned instructional groups in which all student members have about the same ability; used primarily for developing content and process goals.
Attitude Goals - Efforts to develop a positive response to reading and an accurate concept of what reading is.
Choral Reading - Dramatic reading of poetry in a group.
Collaborative Grouping - Teacher-assigned or self-started temporary grouping structure used primarily for developing attitude goals. Students with varying abilities work together to solve a problem or to complete a task.
Comprehension Monitoring - The ongoing process of checking one's understanding as one reads.
Content Goals - Efforts to guide students to an understanding of the messages conveyed by particular functional or recreational texts.
Direct Instruction - Teacher control of learning environment through structured lessons, goal setting, choice of activities and feedback.
Directed Reading/Thinking Activity (DR-TA) - An instructional method that includes three procedural steps throughout reading a passage: predicting, reading and proving.
Eclectic Approaches - Approaches that combine desirable aspects of a number of different major approaches.
Friendship Grouping - Grouping structure in which friends work together for a specific purpose and within a specified time frame.
Individualized Reading Approach - An approach to reading instruction in which students select their own reading materials, pace themselves and confer with the teachers periodically.
Interest Grouping - Grouping structure based on pupils' cornmon interests or friendships.
Mediation - Method of guiding students' understanding through instructional dialogue.
Metacognition - A person's knowledge of the functioning of his or her own mind and his or her conscious efforts to monitor or control this functioning.
Modeling - The act of demonstrating for students how to use and think through a given process or skill.
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Process Goals - Efforts to understand how the reading system works and how to apply strategies when reading. Read-Aloud Sessions - Time regularly set asitie for reading to students to generate and maintain enthusiasm and interest for reading. Reciprocal Teaching - A technique to develop comprehension and metacognition in which the teacher and students take turns being "teacher." They predict, generate questions, summarize and clarify ideas. Research Grouping - Grouping structure in which students of varying ability levels are placed together to investigate a topic. Semantic Mapping - A note-taking and recall/study technique for identifying and recording main ideas and supporting details using graphic forms. Story Maps - Graphic outlines containing the major structural features of narratives (setting, initiating or problem episodes, succeeding episodes and resolution).
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Suggested Outline for the Basal Reading Program (Grades Five through Eight) Timeline: Four two-hour sessions Objectives: To work with staff to demonstrate familiarity with interesting trade books for students in grades five through eight, explore alternative lesson plan formats for use with narrative as well as expository texts, review study skills and their application to expository texts, explore learning techniques and strategies for aiding comprehension, and determine how basal reader and content texts used in grades five through eight can be modified and adjusted to meet the needs of students served. Activities: Divide staff into small groups to compile and become familiar with a list of trade books that can be used in conjunction with units and chapters in basal reader and content texts, study alternative lesson plan formats to the directed reading lesson that will lead to student-directed learning, and construct a study skills inventory to accompany content texts. Have teachers develop activities that require students to apply study skills to the content texts. Ask staff to study and be able to model various comprehension strategies such as reciprocal teaching, guided reading procedure, semantic webbing and others. Materials: Selected journal articles and professional books. Basal reader and content texts (grades five through eight). Selected trade books. Evaluation: Monitor teachers as they demonstrate comprehension strategies in their classrooms, implement an alternative lesson plan format and demonstrate instructional decision-making in the use of the basal reader and content texts.
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READING COMPREHENSION M. Jean Greenlaw
University of North Texas
"We do think in words, and the fewer words we know, the more restricted our thoughts. As our vocabulary expands, so does our power to think." (Madeliene L'Engle)
Reading comprehension is the interaction between the reader and the text by which meaning is created. During this process students acquire the techniques necessary for making inferences, activating appropriate concepts, relating new information to the main idea, creating visual images and reducing text information to the main idea.
Reading comprehension involves actively constructing meaning among the parts of the text and between the text and personal experiences. Comprehension and retention are enhanced by strategies for relating the text with personal knowledge and experience.
DO'S for teaching reading comprehension
1. DO read aloud to your students every day.
2. DO be an active teacher; do more than assign and assess.
3. DO select materials based on interest rather than grade level designation.
4. DO present more informational and content related material.
5. DO shift emphasis to comprehension rather than decoding and word analysis.
6. DO read for real purposes and write for real audiences.
7. DO be sure students understand the purpose(s) for assignments.
8. DO stress individual responses to the selection; initiate discussion, not questions and answers.
9. DO model an excitement for reading.
10. DO share your personal reading/writing experiences with students. Have students share their reading/writing experiences with the class.
DON'Ts for teaching reading comprehension
1. DON'T confuse teaching skills with teaching reading.
2. DON'T make reading just busywork.
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3. DON'T teach skills for which you can't provide a purpose.

~~j

4 . DON'T use workbooks and ditto sheets unless they are appropriate for learning or extending a skill.

5. DON'T place emphasis on "right" answers in a discussion.

6. DON'T do round robin reading.

7. DON'T confuse oral reading with reading for meaning.
8 . DON'T make reading a competitive act.

9. DON'T make reading a punishment.

10. DON'T be controlled by the teacher's guide or curriculum guide.

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SAMPLE ACTIVITY
Objective: To teach students to
identify an appropriate statement of a main idea (stated or implied) for a paragraph or selection,
generate appropriate statements (stated or implied) of a main idea for a paragraph or selection, and
support their statements with evidence from the selection, relating ideas contained within the selection to the statement of main idea.
Procedures:
1. Using an overhead projector, present a paragraph organized around a single central idea (see example) .
Ask students to tell what this passage is about; ask for a complete sentence. Write the statement on the overhead transparency and draw a box around it.
Read each sentence of the selection aloud and ask students to decide if the idea expressed relates to the statement in the box. If they agree that it does, draw a line from the box and write the idea on the line. Continue with all ideas expressed in the passage to construct a "web," a visual representation of the main idea and supporting ideas.
If ideas are expressed that do not relate to the statement of main idea in the box, discuss whether the statement of main idea needs to be changed or adjusted and make changes as necessary.
Example Passage: Main idea
Maple syrup may disappear from the breakfast table if scientists don't find out what is making Vermont's maple trees sick. Trees that normally would live 350 years are dying long before that. An unexplained disease is causing some maple trees to lose leaves, then lose branches, and then finally die within six years. The cause of the disease is still unknown, but scientists have a couple of leads. One is acid rain. Maple trees seem to be extremely sensitive to acid rain and other pollutants. The trees weaken and lose resistance to effects of insect damage and severe weather. Another possible cause of the maple disease is the forest tent caterpillar. This insect seems to attack leaves of trees that are already weakened by acid rain. Over the next 10 to 20 years, older trees may die, and there will not be enough new trees to replace them. Scientists and maple syrup producers hope that they will be able to stop the disease before that time.
Example web:
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Maple syrup may disappear because Vermont's maple trees are sick.

trees should live 350 yearsare dying
lose leaves, branches and die in 6 years

acid rain possible disease
trees sensitive to pollutants
trees weaken, lose resistance
insect damage and severe weather

next 10-20 years older trees may die
not replaced
scientists, maple syrup producers hope to solve problem

tent forest caterpillar attacks weakened trees

2. Using the overhead projector, present a second, similar passage (paragraph) organized with a single central main idea. Ask students to read it and decide what it is about.
Present multiple choice statements of the main idea. Ask students to select the statement that they think best expresses the main idea of the passage.
Using the procedure in step 1 above, construct a web of the main idea and supporting ideas on the transparency, asking students to read each sentence and decide if the idea expressed relates to the statement they selected.
Analyze each of the other choices of main idea statement for weaknesses: too broad? too narrow? contradictory information? Discuss why each is not the best choice.
Example passage:
All dogs living today are believed to be related to Tomarctus, a wolflike animal that lived about 15 million years ago. This animal had a long, low body, a thick coat and a wedge-shaped head.
Some of the early descendants of Tomarctus were wolves, foxes and coyotes, which appeared about one million years ago. These wild dogs ran free until the Stone Age, when some were tamed by the people who lived then. These people discovered that wild dogs could be trained to track game.

67 .

Later, people learned that they could breed two different kinds of dogs to produce offspring with the best characteristics of both parents. From this crossbreeding, new kinds of dogs developed. For example, about 8,000 years ago, the Egyptians raised dogs that were used to hunt antelope. The Assyrians raised huge dogs called mastiffs that were trained to hunt lions. In the 1500s, the English raised bulldogs that were used in bullfights.
Today there are more than 120 kinds of dogs that people keep as pets. These dogs are thought to be useful and affectionate friends by the many people who own them. Yet they are all believed to be related to the wild, wolflike Tomarctus.
Which statement best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A. Today's dogs are all descendants of Tomarctus. (correct)
B. Tomarctus lived about 15 million years ago. (too narrow)
C. The Egyptians and Assyrians were the first people to breed wild dogs. (irrelevant information; too narrow)
D. The lion is an early descendant of Tomarctus. (contradictory)
3. Select an informational passage from the basal or from a subject area textbook (a subsection under a main heading, about one half to one-and-a-half pages).
Have students read the passage and tell what it is about in a complete sentence. Construct a web as before. With the longer passage, each idea should relate to the main idea or to a subtopic, but some sentences may not express a single idea. Also, some sentences may contain irrelevant or unnecessary information that the class may decide should be omitted. As the teacher constructs the web from student comments, students will copy the model.
Materials: Overhead projector, blank transparencies, prepared passages and selections.
Follow-up: Divide the class into small groups (three to five students). Give each group a passage or selection to read for main idea. On blank transparencies, each group is to construct a web as modeled previously to illustrate the main idea and supporting ideas in the passage. Each group will present their web to the class and provide a rationale to support their webbing.
Evaluation: Evaluate students' efforts to identify appropriate main idea statements, provide rationale to support their statements and produce their own webs and explain them to the class.
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REFERENCES
Alvermann, D. et ale (1987). Using Discussion to Promote Reading Comprehension. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Anderson, R. C. et al. (1985). Becoming a Nation of Readers. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Baumann, J. ed. (1986). Teaching Main Idea Comprehension. Newark, Delaware: International Readi~g Association.
Christensen, J. ed. (1983). Your Reading: A Booklist for Junior High and Middle School Students. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English.
Cooper, J. D. (1986). Improving Reading Comprehension. Atlanta, Georgia: Houghton Mifflin.
Cullinan, B. ed. (1983). Children's Literature in the Reading Program. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Depuis, M. M. (1983). Reading in the Content Areas: Research for Teachers. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Heimlich, J. & Pittlernan, S. (1986). Semantic Mapping: Classroom Approaches. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Kimmel, M. & Segal, E. (1988). For Reading Out Loud!. New York, New York: Delacorte.
Matthews, D. (1988). High Interest-Easy Reading. Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English.
Reed, A. (1988). Comics to Classics: A Parent's Guide to Books for Teens and Preteens. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
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GLOSSARY

~~. >~ .I

Comprehension - 1) The process of getting the meaning of communication.*

2) The interaction of new information with old knowledge (schema).

Content Reading - Reading in subject matter areas as history, science, mathematics, etc., usually for study purposes.*

Critical Reading - 1) The process of making judgments in reading. 2) An
act of reading in which a questioning attitude, logical analysis and inference are used to judge the worth of what is read according to an established standard.*

Decode - To change communication signals into messages; especially, to get the intended meaning from an analysis of the spoken graphic symbols of a familiar language.*

Direct Instruction - A process of instruction that includes teaching, practicing and applying.

Directed Reading Activity - A step-by-step process of dealing with a reading lesson under the guidance of a teacher.*

Expository Text - Text that provides information and facts; usually found in content reading selections.

Illiteracy - The inability to read and/or write a language.*

Metacognition - The knowledge and control that students have over their own thinking and learning activities.

Modeling - The act of demonstrating for students how to use and think through a given process or skill.

Narrative Text - Text that generally tells a story; usually found in literature selections.

Phonics - An approach to the teaching of reading and spelling that stresses sYmbol-sound relationships, especially in the beginning reading
instruction. *

Prior Knowledge ~ Knowledge that the student already possesses that can serve as a background for reading comprehension.

Readability - Ease of understanding or comprehension because of style of writing. *

Schema - An image representing reality that is held in thought.*

*Taken from A Dictionary of Reading and Related Terms (1981), International Reading Association.

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STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Objective: To develop strategies to help students with the critical reading skills of distinguishing fact from opinion; to determine causes and effects; and to analyze point of view and implications of bias.

Activities:

Begin with a staged event. A person, ostensibly a parent, comes into

the room and begins to verbally attack and abuse the presenter. The

presenter at first is conciliatory, then gets angry, then begins to yell

back at the "parent" and orders him/her to leave. The "parent" angrily

leaves, yelling threats to sue, and slams the door.

.

The presenter pretends to be upset and asks the group to quickly record as witnesses the events they just saw.

The presenter will ask members of the group to read aloud from their statements some of the facts they recorded. The presenter will begin to record on the chalkboard as they respond, putting facts in one list (unlabeled at this point) and opinion statements in a second, unlabeled list. The group is led to see that the presenter is distinguishing fact from opinion. The group will then analyze each list to determine which are facts and which are opinions and to generate a definition of fact and opinion.

From the group's recorded statements, elicit probable causes of the parent's anger, effects it had on the presenter and effects it han on the witnesses. Project future outcomes based on the scene witnessed. There may be suggestions of possible alternative cause-effect relationships.

The presenter will give a very biased point of view, giving the presenter's side of the story and the situation. The witnesses will then help determine the parent's point of view: Why could that person be upset? What possible reasons could the parent have for such a position? The group will present arguments for each side, making two
lists.

Timeline:

Staged event = 5 minutes
writing record = 15 minutes
fact/opinion = 15 minutes
cause/effect = 10 minutes
point of view/bias = 15 minutes
evaluation activity = 1 hour

Materials: Paper, chalkboard or overhead projector, textbooks, basals or library books.

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Evaluation: Divide teachers into small subject area or grade level groups to choose a selection and design a lesson for teaching any of the skills presented in these activities and present it to the group. Follow-up: On a grade level or content area basis, have teachers create a series of lessons that present and provide practice in critical reading.
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HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN THE READING CLASS Donna E. Alvermann
University of Georgia
"Do you think he was just talking about one year passing?" the teacher went on.
"Or do you think, Lennie, that the poet was seeing his whole life as a year, that he was seeing his whole life slipping past?"
"I'm not sure." Lennie's hand was still on his chin as if ready to stroke a long gray beard.
"Class?" "His whole life slipping past," the class chorused together. They had had this teacher so long that they could tell, just from the way she asked a question, what they were supposed to answer. (Betsy Byars, The TV Kid, 1976, p. 70)
In this fictionalized account of a discussion between Lennie and his teacher, members of the class have learned that providing the "right" answer to the teacherJs question requires only that they listen for cues, such as "Or do you think ... " The problem with this kind of pseudo-discussion is that it fosters lower order rather than higher order thinking. Higher order thinking in the reading class calls for teachers to challenge students to question, rethink and elaborate on what they have read. Higher order thinking skills include critical thinking, analogical reasoning, evaluation of value, conceptualizing and analysis of complex relationships.
In its 1985 report, the National Assessment of Educational Progress concluded that one of the country's major educational deficiencies exists in the area of teaching higher order thinking skills in reading. The authors of that report recommended that one way to address this deficiency is through improved classroom discussions about assigned reading.
DOs for implementing higher order thinking skills
1. DO teach higher order thinking strategies that use discussion to integrate the four communication arts: reading, writing, listening and speaking.
2. DO select discussion strategies that activate or build background knowledge about the material to be read.
3. DO emphasize reading and writing strategies that develop students' self-monitoring and self-regulation skills.
4. DO take advantage of cooperative learning strategies that foster peer learning.
5. DO remember that a questioning attitude is a prerequisite for learning to think critically.
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DON'Ts for implementing higher order thinking skills 1. DON'T treat higher order thinking as a series of subskills to be
checked off a list. 2. DON'T isolate instruction in thinking from instruction in subject
matter. 3. DON'T limit higher order thinking instruction to only average and
above average students. 4. DON'T conduct pseudo-discussions, or discussions in which rapid
questioning and answering are allowed to substitute for reflection and elaboration. 5. DON'T fixate on one approach to teaching higher order thinking when a combination of approaches would be better.
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SAMPLE ACTIVITY
One activity for improving higher order thinking in reading is an "Options Guide" (Bean et al., 1986). This activity can be used with either narrative or informational text. It can be used both before and during reading.
Objective: To encourage students to bring their own background knowledge and experiences to bear on the interpretation of text. It also encourages students to move beyond surface level understanding of what they read and to invest themselves in the outcome of their reading.
Procedure:
1. Provide a background statement of the material to be read:
The conquest of the South Pole in the first decade of the 20th century was the climactic episode in the great adventure of heroic exploration, begun in 1775 by Captain Cook's going completely around Antarctica.
Once the British explorer Robert F. Scott and his party had calculated that their chances for success were bleak, their options included
a) turning back and heading for the base camp 800 miles away
b) proceeding only to the point where it could be determined that Amundsen and his men were ahead of the British explorers, or
c) continuing on to the South Pole despite the chance they would all perish.
2. Then have students divide into small groups of three or four and discuss the consequences of each option.
3. Ask groups to predict what option Scott's party probably took and then read the selection (see selection below) .
4. Discuss whether the option taken was a wise one, first in the small group setting and later in a large group setting.
Material: Although the text would typically be longer than the one used in this sample activity, the idea remains the same.
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Robert F. Scott's Story
(from AFlag at the Pole by Paxton Davis, Atheneum Publishers, 1976)
It was the first of November before we set out, too late. And almost from the start there were difficulties ... No more than a dozen miles from the Pole, Bower's sharp eye picked up way ahead a dark speck ..Amundsen's black flag--nothing less, nothing other--and then as the gray day darkened, the signs of Amundsen's priority continued to mount ... [he] had pitched his tent there, a tidy affair supported by a single bamboo, Norse flag above, skis upstanding alongside, sextants and spare supplies inside, leaving a... note asking me, should I survive instead of himself, to pass on a second note, attached, to King Haakon . which I shall, if I can, if I live .. [Note: Gradually, all of Scott's men perish. In the end, he also succumbs to the harsh elements.]
Evaluation: By looking objectively at the quality of students' contributions to the large group discussion, determine if more than surface level understanding has resulted from using the activity. Listen in on the small group discussions when students are making predictions about the options to assess who is applying higher order thinking skills to the assigned reading and who needs help in doing so.
Follow-up: Ask students to write a different ending to the selection. Then, in large group discussion, ask class members to read their different endings and tell why they believe the alternative outcome is a wise or unwise one.
RESOURCES
Alverrnann, D. E., Dillon, D. R. & O'Brien, D. G. (1987). Usin~ Discussion to Promote Reading Comprehension. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Applebee, A. N., Langer, J. A. & Mullis, I. v. S. (1988). Who Reads
Best? Educational Testing Service, Rosedale Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08541-0001.
Dillon, J. T. (1983). Teaching and the Art of Questioning. Bloomington, Indiana: Phi Delta Kappa Educational Foundation.
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (1981). Reading, Thinking, and Writing: Results from the 1979-80 National Assessment of Reading and Literature. Denver, Colorado: National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Resnick, L. B. (1987). Education and Learning to Think. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS Cooperative Learning Strategies - Students working together in small groups to solve a common problem. Pseudo-discussions - Primarily teacher-driven talk with questions and answers bouncing back and forth between the teacher and one student at a time.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT Objective: To enable a lead teacher in a school to conduct an in-service program on Higher Order Thinking Skills in the Reading Class for teachers in grades five through eight. Use the middle grade reading guide that is attached to this staff development plan to develop awareness of the need for teaching higher order thinking skills in the reading class and to give participants in the in-service program an activity that they can use with their own classes. Procedure: Begin with a brief overview of the need for teaching higher order thinking skills (see Rationale of the Middle Grade Reading Guide) . Next, display on a chart some of the suggestions for implementing higher order thinking skills in the reading class. Finally, involve participants in the sample activity, and end the session by writing their ideas for follow-up activities on large pieces of butcher paper. Be sure to leave room for questions and answers. Materials: Chart paper, butcher paper, black markers, masking tape: copies of the selection, "A Flag at the Pole; a handout with the steps of the "Options Guide." Evaluation: Ask participants to complete an evaluation form for the in-service program. This form might include statements or questions related to the effectiveness of the different parts of the program (e.g., the introduction, the sample activity and so on). Follow-up: Two weeks after the in-service program, send to each participant a one-page newsletter that contains ideas for adapting the "Options Guide" activity. Provide examples that include science and social studies texts that are used in the school system where the in-service program was conducted. Include teachers' suggestions whenever possible.
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CONTENT AREA READING Ruby Thompson
Clark Atlanta University
"The teaching of reading in the content area improves the reading skills of my students and substantially improves their content area knowledge and their study skills." (Carolyn C. Huff, Bunche Middle School, Atlanta)
Content reading involves a special application of reading skills to content materials. Successful content reading is based on the application of vocabulary, comprehension and study skills (an understanding of the ways that knowledge is organized in content materials) and a purposeful reading of these materials to acquire knowledge. Content teachers can improve their students' understanding of content by helping them read their textbooks more effectively.
DOs for teaching content area reading
1. DO use content materials that are appropriate to the learner's independent and instructional levels.
2. DO assess children's interests and needs in content area reading.
3. DO use instructional strategies that direct children's reading and study of content area materials.
4. DO model specific content area reading techniques for learners.
5. DO teach specific reading and study skills associated with each content area as needed.
6. DO provide enrichment reading related to content area material.
7. DO emphasize critical thinking in reading in the content areas.
8. DO provide opportunities for children to interact with the text and each other.
9. DO approach the content reading tasks with enthusiasm and provide an atmosphere that promotes positive student attitudes toward the area being studied.
10. DO provide opportunities for learners to develop the background needed to understand and appreciate the material being studied.
DON'Ts for teaching content area reading
1. DON'T assume that all learners can read from the same text.
2. DON'T make vague reading assignments that lack purpose.
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3. DON'T take for granted that learners have the background, interest or vocabulary to comprehend the material.
4. DON'T focus only on literal levels of comprehension. 5. DON'T ignore student motivation for reading in the content areas. 6. DON'T just tell learners how to read; show them. 7. DON'T ignore the affective dimensions of content area reading. 8. DON'T cop out! You must teach content reading skills.
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SAMPLE ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY ONE: Study Skill - Mapping
Objective: To help students select important information from the content area material and organize the information onto a semantic map.
Procedure:
1. Introduce mapping as a study aid for reading in the content areas.
2. Model mapping using a familiar selection; explain the procedure.
~. Using a content area text, write the key concept of a chapter on the board or overhead and structure the mapping process.
4. Direct students to write the key concept in the center of their papers and draw lines radiating from the center.
5. Have students work in small groups, skim the reading material to identify secondary category headings and write these headings on the lines of their maps.
6. Have students work in small groups to add new lines with details or facts.
7. Have groups share and discuss details from their group maps and add any new information gained to their maps.
8. Show students how to use the maps as a study tool.
9. Develop a series of questions that reflect the major facts presented in the chapter. Have students use their maps to provide basic information in answering the questions.
Materials: Overhead projector, transparencies, blackboard and chalk, two chapters from a content area text.
Evaluation: Determine the effectiveness of the activity by observing how well students use the maps that they have developed to answer questions about the designated chapter with 80 percent accuracy.
Follow-up: Ask students to work in small groups to apply their new skill toa second chapter from a content area text. Again, students should test the effectiveness of the application by their ability to answer questions using the map to provide basic information about the chapter.
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ACTIVITY TWO: Listen-Read-Discuss (L-R-D)
Objective: To help students build background knowledge for reading content area material and clarify and expand concepts presented in previous experiences with the reading material.
Procedure:
1. Select a well-structured portion of the required reading material that includes cues to that structure. (Cause-and-effect structured text might include words like because, as a result of or therefore). Lecture on that portion of the text for about 15 minutes.
2. Have the class read the pages on which the lecture was based to compare their understanding of the lecture with the information presented in the text.
3. Discuss what has been read and heard. Clarify and expand meanings from text.
4. Question students about what they understood most and least from reading, from listening to the lecture and from the discussion.
5. Lead students to conclude that the application of the Listen-ReadDiscuss format has advantages over any of its components when used separately in the study of content area material.
Adapted from Alvermann, D., Dillon, D. R. & O'Brien, D. G. (1987). Discussion strategies for content area reading, Using Discussion to Promote Reading Comprehension. International Reading Association, Newark, Delaware.
Materials: A chapter from a content area text.
Evaluation: Observe how well students evaluate what they understood most and least from listening to the lecture, from reading and from the discussion.
Follow-up: Encourage students to use the assigned materials as a springboard to other printed sources on the same topic. Such sources as trade books, news magazines and original documents will provide students the opportunity to compare and contrast sources, noting points of view and determining a writer's purpose.
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REFERENCES
Flood, J. (1986). The text, the student and the teachers: Learning from exposition in the middle schools. The Reading Teacher, 39, 784-791.
Manzo, A. v. (1980). Three universal strategies in content area reading
and language. Journal of Reading, 24, 147. Olson, M. W. & Longnion, B. (1982). Pattern guides: A workable
alternative for content teachers: Journal of Reading, 25, 736-741. Santa, C. M., Issacson, L. & Manning, G. (1987). Changing content
instruction through action research. The Reading Teacher, 40, 434-438. Stieglite, E. L. & Stieglite, V. S. (1981). Savor the word to reinforce vocabulary in the content areas. Journal of Reading, 25, 46-51. Storey, D. C. (1982). Reading in the content areas: Fictionalized biographies and diaries for social studies. The Reading Teacher, 35, 796-798. Sullivan, J. (1986). The global method: Language experience in the content areas. The Reading Teacher, 39, 664-668.
GLOSSARY
Semantic Mapping - A graphic representation of relationships in written material using a core concept and strands that support facts and inferences from the story and strands that tie relationships of the strands to each other. Schemata - A preexisting cluster of information developed about a thing, place or idea.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Objectives: To teach staff to define semantic mapping and its relationship to reading comprehension, identify its applications in the content area reading classroom, and demonstrate the instructional strategy of semantic mapping.
Activities:
1. Show videqtape Semantic Mappin~ and discuss with teachers the features of semantic mapping as presented in the videotape.
2. Hand out "The Role of Vocabulary in Reading Comprehension" for teachers to read and discuss. Then give teachers sample semantic maps to study and discuss. Finally, have teachers work in small groups or individually to write a definition of semantic mapping that they may share with their learners.
3. Help teachers brainstorm uses of semantic maps. Present and illustrate the common applications of the semantic mapping strategy: 1) for general vocabulary development, 2) for prereadin~ and postreading and 3) as a study skill technique.
4. Model semantic mapping using a handout and ask participants to supply the information in response to questions from the workshop leader (i.e., what word should go in the center of my map?).
5. Ask participants to study the group-developed map and review the mapping strategy and the components of the map. Have the group generate steps in a mapping strategy and review a procedure for teaching mapping to students. (See procedure under student activity. )
6. Then have participants work in small groups or individually to develop a semantic map of content being taught.
7. Direct participants to use the semantic map and procedure to teach semantic mapping to students and report back to the group the effectiveness of the strategy.
Timeline: Two three-hour sessions. The first session will focus on the first five activities. (The handout for reading may be given to participants at an earlier date.) The last session will be used for sharing and refining presentation strategies.
Materials:
1. Semantic Mapping: Agency for Instructional Technology, Box A, 1111
w. 17th Street, Bloomington, Indiana 47402. 3D-minute videotape.
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2. Handout: "An Introduction to Semantic Mapping" from Semantic Mapping: Classroom Applications by Joan D. Heimlich and Susan D. Pittelman. International Reading Association, 1986.
3. Examples of Semantic Maps (10 examples are provided in the book above) .
Evaluation: Have participants critique each other's semantic maps (peer assessment) and judge their own effectiveness in teaching mapping to learners (self-assessment). Follow-up: Built in as the last workshop session activity.
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USING GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS TO INTRODUCE A CHAPTER Evelyn Dandy
Armstrong State College
" . . . Just as athletes need to 'warm up' before a contest, so do readers need to get ready for text. Preparing students to read can be easily neglected in a classroom teacher's hurry-scurry efforts to cover content. Yet the payoffs of prereading preparation are immense. Students learn to bring to the text what they already know about the subject matter." (Vacca & Vacca, 1986, pp. 99, 102)
Most of what we learn we base on what we already know. Countless numbers of middle grades classroom teachers start chapter instruction by calling "Read Chapter 13!" as students rush out of the classroom door. When they return the next day and teachers ask pointed questions about the chapter, students respond with a blank stare. Certainly, they have read the chapter, but there was so much in it that they cannot recall the most important points.
The most important points of a chapter usually center around specific concepts. Graphic organizers are visual aids that define hierarchical relationships among concepts. They are verbal pictures of ideas. These word pictures serve as an overview of the concepts students will study in the chapter. They are like a preview.
The teacher can develop a graphic organizer by following steps recommended by Readence, Bean and Baldwin (1985):
1. Read the chapter and identify all new terms and concepts that will be introduced. (These could be circled directly in the text; sometimes the author has already listed them at the end of the chapter. )
2. Prune the list until it consists of only the most essential terms. Classify those terms into an informal outline.
3. Arrange those terms into a tree diagram that illustrates the topic, coordinate concepts and subordinate concepts.
4. Once the organizer is created, evaluate it to see if it accurately conveys the. concepts you want to teach. Move the terms around until it does. Try to avoid complicated visual displays initially. Remember, you just want to introduce the chapter and provide an overview.
5. You may display the graphic organizer by using an overhead projector, the chalkboard, handouts, a bulletin board or a poster and having students copy it in their notebooks. Start with a general statement of the purpose of the organizer. Explain each term and tell how terms are related to one another. Tell why you
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arranged the terms as you did. Allow the students to ask questions. 6. Finally, have students read the chapter, paying close attention to the terms and concepts you introduced. DOs when using graphic organizers 1. DO remember that organizers develop frames of reference. 2. DO remember that organizers require teachers to clearly understand the organization of the text and communicate it to the students. 3. DO also use an organizer to summarize a subsection of a chapter, a unit or the entire text. 4. DO use the organizer as a study guide. 5. DO introduce several organizers and have students add details as they read the chapters. Eventually have them construct their own organizers. 6. DO remember that organizers have been found to be very effective with slow learners or remedial learners because they focus on the most important concepts in a chapter and present them in a logical verbal picture. DON'Ts when using graphic organizers 1. DON'T start using this technique by constructing very detailed or complicated organizers. 2. DON'T use graphic organizers with text structures that cannot be outlined in a logical way. 3. DON'T assume that students understand your organizer initially. Always explain how you constructed it and why it is useful. 4. DON'T forget to allow students to ask questions about organizers. 5. DON'T forget that organizers can be presented a section at a time so that they will not be confusing.
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SAMPLE ACTIVITY

Objective: To introduce a chapter in a textbook and focus on key technical terms covered in the chapter.
Procedures:
The information for this section is taken from Reading Literature, McDougal, Littel & Company, 1988, Teacher's Edition, gold level, grade six, pp. 80-81, 212-213.
a. Identify and classify these terms into a formal outline:
POETRY I. Types of Poetry A. Lyrical B. Narrative 1. Characteristics a. Characters b. Setting c. Plot 2. How to read it II. Elements of Poetry A. Form B. Rhyme C. Rhythm

b. Arrange the following tree diagram to show the structure of the chapters. It actually includes information presented in two separate sections on poetry, organizing the information presented in both so that students can see an overall view of what they will study about poetry. (See attachments.)

Types of Poetry

POETRY Elements of Poetry

Lyrical

Narrative

Form Rhyme Rhythm

Characteristics

How to read it

Characters Setting Plot

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c. Evaluate the diagram, determining that it accurately reflect3 the structure of concepts you want to teach. Refine it, taking care not to present a complicated verbal picture.
d. Use an overhead projector, handouts or the chalkboard to display the organizer. Talk about it as you show it. Introduce each term and tell why each is placed in the location it is.
Materials: Any reading materials containing content that can be outlined in an uncomplicated manner can be used for a graphic organizer. Copies of the organizer can be placed in notebooks, on the chalkboard, or on handout sheets. Evaluation: Observe students as they read the chapter and relate the terms listed on the organizer. Have students define terms in a glossary, or design a word search for students to facilitate imme9iate recognition. (See follow-up.) Follow-up: 1. Use organizers to review the chapter after the students have read
it. List terms in columns on a handout and ask students to cut out the terms and arrange them in an original diagram. By doing this, students are actually manipulating concepts and looking at their relationships. This reinforces meaning. 2. Use small group activities for subsequent lessons so that students can develop their own organizers and use them for studying. 3. Present a hidden word puzzle along with definitions to help students immediately recognize the terms used in the graphic organizer. Include clues that define the words to extend vocabulary meaning. See an example of a word search attached to this packet.
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REFERENCES
Heimlich, J. E. & Pittelman, S. D. (1986). Semantic Mapping: Classroom Applications. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Readence, J. E., Bean, T. W. & Baldwin, R. S. (1985). Content Area Reading, 2nd ed. Dub~que, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
Reading Literature. (1988). McDougal, Littel & Company, Teacher's Ed., gold level, grade six, pp. 80-&1, 212-213.
Vacca, R. & Vacca, J. (1986). Content Area Reading, 3rd ed. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company.
GLOSSARY
Graphic Organizer - A visual aid that defines relationships among concepts; a verbal picture of ideas. Graphic organizers serve as an overview of concepts students will study in a given chapter. Study Guide - In this context a study guide is a teacher-made aid that is designed to lead students in studying a chapter that might be more difficult than usual. The graphic organizer can be used as a study guide by showing it to students before they read the text to point out technical terms that may have special meaning as they are used in that particular context. The words may even be defined on the organizer. Word Search - A hidden word puzzle. Technical terms that students should recognize are typed in elongated columns, and definitions are presented. Students are directed to locate the terms by circling them. Terms can appear vertically, horizontally and diagonally on the word search.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT SECTION
Timeline: One Hour
Objective: To introduce teachers to graphic organizers, help teachers implement the concept, and focus teachers' attention on the importance of background knowledge.
Activities:
1. Introduce teachers to organizers by forming an organizer on an overhead projector. (See examples attached.) This series of organizers answers the questions: What is an organizer? What is the format? How do organizers help students? How can I use them in my classroom?
2. Think out loud as you reveal and describe each.
3. Have teachers volunteer topics of chapters that can be used for developing organizers.
4. Use the overhead projector to show several ways organizers can be used in middle grade classrooms: To summarize a subsection of a chapter, an entire chapter, a unit covering several chapters or an entire text. Use the example of the organizer provided.
5. Demonstrate the steps.
a. Read the chapter and identify all new terms and concepts that will be introduced.
b. Prune the list until it consists of only the most essential terms. Outline terms.
c. Arrange those terms into a tree diagram.
d. Evaluate the organizer to see that it provides an overview.
e. Display the graphic organizer; explain the terms; tell their relationships; encourage questions.
f. Have students read the chapter, paying close attention to the terms and concepts you introduced.
6. Have teachers form cooperative teams by grade levels and look through their teacher's manuals to locate subsections, chapters, or units that will lend themselves to graphic organizers. Instruct the teachers to use the steps mentioned above.
7. At the end of the session have each group share its best organizers.
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Materials: The best materials are content area textbooks. Teachers should use them as soon as they are presented with the concept of graphic organizers. Additional resources include library books, short stories and newspaper articles. Evaluation: Observe the extent to which teachers are implementing organizers and modeling direct teaching of reading comprehension for their children. Organizers should appear in students' notebooks, on bulletin boards and in homework assignments -- in all subject areas. Follow-up: Construct a graphic organizer of some information you must present to the faculty before you present it. A word search including the specific terms would also be a good addition. See the examples attached.
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.~.~ . , .< . ' ' ~"" ""'-""'.~'-- ... ~. __.'.C'.:" "...,.:!..,.'.... ; ....~:t.~.>:;,Jj
EXAMPLES OF GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS Bandwagon
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This section is taken from Reading Literature, McDougal, Littel & Company, 1988, Teacher's Edition, gold level, grade six, pp. 80-81, 212-213.
READING POETRY
WHAT IS POETRY?
Poetry is a form of literature that uses words in a special way. The words can tell a story or describe a picture. They can express an idea or a feeling. A poem can even have a special sound, like music. Because it is written in lines, poetry has a special look. The language, sound and look of poetry create its magic.
THE ELEMENTS OF POETRY
Certain elements or features found in poetry make it easy to identify. These elements include form, rhyme and rhythm.
For.m. The form of a poem is the way it looks on a page. The words in poetry are arranged in lines. These lines mayor may not be complete sentences. Groups of lines are called stanzas. Stanzas in poetry are like paragraphs in other kinds of writing.
Rhyme. Words that end in the same syllable sound are said to rhyme. Unfair and prepare rhyme, for example. Some poems use rhyming words at the ends of lines. This use of rhyme can form a pattern. Patterns of rhyme are often repeated throughout a poem.
Read the first stanza from "Paul Revere's Ride" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Which lines rhyme with each other?
Listen, my children, and you shall hear Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere, On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five; Hardly a man is now alive Who remembers that famous day and year.
Rhythm. Like music, a poem has a beat or rhythm. Rhythm is the pattern of strong beats you hear when you read a poem aloud. An even beat gives the poem a musical sound. Some poems have an even, regular beat. In others, the rhythm sounds more like normal conversation.
Read aloud these lines from "DorIan's Horne Walk" by Arthur Guiterman. Tap out the rhythm as you read. How many strong beats do you hear in each line? Do you notice a pattern to the rhythm?
The ninth; last half; the score was tied, The hour was big with fate,
For Neal had fanned and Kling had flied When DorIan toed the plate.
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NARRATIVE POETRY
Storytellers of long ago found that rhyme anq rhythm made their stories easier to remember. For this reason, they often told stories in the form of poems. A poem that tells a story is called a narrative poem. It has features of both a story and a poem. As a story, a narrative poem has characters, a setting and a plot. As a poem, it may have patterns of rhyme and rhythm.
HOW TO READ NARRATIVE POEMS
When you read a narrative poem, try to picture the setting and characters. Make sure you understand what is happening as the plot unfolds. Listen for a pattern in the rhythm. Listen also to the sounds of the words. Look for a pattern of rhyming words. Notice how the rhyme and rhythm affect the way you feel. Most of all, enjoy the tale each poet tells.
POEMS THAT PAINT PICTURES
Picture a beach at dawn or an amusement park at twilight. What sights, sounds, tastes and smells come to mind? How could you share this picture, or image, with others?
An artist meets the challenge of sharing an image by using paints to create a picture. A poet meets the challenge of sharing an image in a different way. He or she uses words to paint a picture.
IMAGERY
Each picture that a poet creates is called an image. The use of words that make something seem real or easy to imagine is called imagery. Poets create imagery by using words that appeal to the senses. These words help the reader see, hear, taste, smell and feel the world the poet is describing. Notice the images in the poem "Scene," by Charlotte Zolotow. To what sense do the images appeal?
Little trees like pencil strokes black and still etched forever in my mind on that snowy hill.
FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
Poets also create images by describing familiar things in new ways. These descriptions use figurative language, that is, the creative use of words to mean more than their factual meaning. Simile, metaphor and personification are types of figurative language.
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Simile. A comparison between two unlike things that have something in common is called a simile. A simile always uses the words like or as to make a comparison. Read these lines from "Concrete Mixers" by Patricia Hubbell. What two things is the poet comparing in this simile? How are they alike?
Concrete mixers Move like elephants Metaphor. Like a simile, a metaphor also compares unlike things that have something in common. A metaphor1 however, does not use the words like or as. In these lines from "The Night Is a Big Black Cat," G. Orr Clark compares night to a black cat. What other metaphor does he use? The night is a big black cat
The Moon is her topaz eye, Personification. Poets sometimes give human qualities to animals, objects or ideas. This is called personification. Notice how a flower appears to be a princess in this poem, "The Lily Princess."
Down from her dainty head The Lily Princess lightly drops
A spider's airy thread. HOW TO READ FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE As you read each poem in this part, see the world through the poet's eye. Picture each image. See and feel and hear as the poet does. Notice what is fresh and new about each comparison. Appreciate the challenge of writing and reading figurative language.
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AN ALTERNATIVE TO ROUND ROBIN READING Evelyn Dandy
Armstrong State College
"Your teacher directs you to turn to a particular page in the textbook. 'We are going to read orally. Tony, please begin.' Tony gulps, then stops. Bill, who sits behind Tony, figures he'll be asked to read next. He starts rehearsing the paragraph after Tony's. Meanwhile, Pauline sits in the third row, second seat. She resourcefully counts off eight paragraphs; her lips move visibly as she also rehearses. And who in the class is listening to Tony read? The teacher, of course, along with about ten students, is ready to come to Tony's rescue when he falters on a word too difficult to pronounce". (Vacca & Vacca, 1986, p. 167)
Round robin reading or barbershop reading is the negative practice of having every student sit with a book open to the same page while one student after another reads aloud in a predicted sequence. This common practice reinforces word by word reading by placing undue emphasis upon calling words. Round robin reading deemphasizes reading for meaning because it focuses attention on the pronunciation of words rather than communication of the author's meaning.
Unfortunately, many teachers are locked into this negative habit. It is used in the elementary school as well as in the middle school to teach basic reading as well as the content subjects. When Dolores Durkin observed reading instruction in classrooms, she found oral reading was seven times more prevalent than instruction in comprehension. The best a principal can do is to offer teachers a way to modify their approach to oral reading.
Four-way oral reading is an attempt to offer a workable alternative. The teacher tells the students they will be called upon at random. Because the teacher uses an unpredictable variation, students are encouraged to keep their places. Purposes for oral reading are also set by the teacher so that the focus will be on reading for meaning. Initial preparation involves having all students read the passage silently. The teacher has developed appropriate questions that emphasize the main points to be covered.
The following methods can be used within a single reading passage or with a variety of passages.
1. Choral reading is having the entire group along with the teacher read aloud in unison. The teacher begins by saying, "Everyone read together, begin."
2. Assisted reading is having two or three students read in unison. A student who may not know a word is (not noticeably) assisted by one who does.
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3. Imitative reading involves having the teacher read aloud (with slightly exaggerated intonation) one or two sentences at a time
while the students listen. The students then imitate what the teacher has read using the same intonation patterns.

4. Mumble reading is having all students read aloud to themselves at their own pace. This includes reading for a better understanding of a concept or idea. If students hear their own voice while they read, they may be more apt to comprehend. The teacher will want to demonstrate this variation initially.

The teacher should carefully select any passage (or portion thereof)
that is appropriate and decide which combinations will best be used. Questions that emphasize key points will also be developed. Variations on any of the four methods could involve the entire class and include all boys, all girls or all of anyone row.

Four-way oral reading is especially helpful for students who read slowly or unevenly with little or no expression. It gives students the sense that they are doing this together, so no one is singled out for embarrassment. Every student in the class has an opportunity to read orally within one class period. In round robin reading only one student at a time can read, while others follow along and wait for the reader to
make a mistake. Listening skills are also being enhanced.

DOs related to four-way oral reading

1. DO always precede oral reading by having students read silently first. This gives students a chance to rehearse rather than read difficult material at sight.

2. DO let the students know why you have selected a particular passage for oral rereading, for example, to read for sequence, to note specific directions, to prove a point or to emphasize a particular
concept.

3. DO have the rest of the group or class listen for the answer to a

question you have posed, while one group or portion of a group is

reading.

.

4. DO provide additional opportunities for oral reading of poetry, students' own writing and especially content textbooks.

5. DO be patient as you initiate this new method. Some students (and teachers) think oral reading IS reading. Many middle school students think this is the only way to read their content area
textbooks.

6. DO provide many opportunities for purposeful silent reading also.

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DON'Ts Related to four-way oral reading 1. DON'T have students read orally without having first read silently. 2. DON'T have students read orally from selections that are on their
frustration reading level unless you have made a special effort to teach technical terms and difficult grammatical constructions. 3. DON'T fail to emphasize that reading is a method of learning content during the middle school years. 4. DON'T feel that students must read aloud every single word in a given chapter of their content textbooks. 5. DON'T evaluate students' progress in a given content area on the basis of their oral reading of the text. Content reading involves decoding of difficult technical terms and comprehension of heavy concept loads. By middle school, a student's oral and silent reading performance could vary considerably, especially if there has been excessive exposure to round robin reading. 6. DON'T single out poor readers and embarrass them by having them read orally without smoothing out the tough spots first for the passage they will read. Give these students lots of preparation for reading the selection -- develop background, teach new vocabulary, establish purposes. 7. DON'T forget the strong influence peer evaluations can have on middle school students. They tend to hate the process that embarrasses them.
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SAMPLE ACTIVITY
Objective: To give every student an opportunity to read orally, to focus upon reading as a communication process, to develop expression and fluency in oral reading and to assure that reading is purposeful. Procedure:
1. Choose a selection that is on a suitable reading level for the class or group. The students should be able to attack about 90 percent of the words and have a good sense of what the material means. Selections can be taken from content texts.
2. Require students to read the selection silently for preselected purposes.
3. Determine which parts should be read aloud using choral reading, assisted reading, imitative reading and/or mumble reading. Explain these methods and assign the parts.
4. Begin by saying, "Let's reread the part of the story that tells
how. . "
Materials: Any reading materials on the student's instructional or independent reading levels are appropriate for four-way oral reading--library books, poems, science textbooks, health, social studies, etc. Each student must have a copy of the reading selection. Evaluation: Observe students as they engage in four-way reading. This small and large group participation should lead to added self-confidence when students read aloud stories, letters or reports that they have written. Remember, reading and writing are two sides of the same coin.
Some general characteristics to look for during oral rereading include
observing punctuation,
using voice flexibility,
using appropriate breath control, looking up from reading material to maintain eye contact,
enunciating clearly, and maintaining a comfortable and pleasant posture during oral reading.
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Follow-up: 1. Reader's Theater, as described by Gillet (1986) is an alternative
to oral reading. This method uses students' voices and gestures to interpret literature by reading it. No props are used. The audience must listen and imagine props, scenery and characters through the voices of the readers. 2. Other reasons to do oral rereading include
to answer a particular question, to read the part that has the most expression, to read the part that justifies an opinion, to read the part that proves an answer, to follow a set of directions, to solve a problem, and to read the most bizarre passage. 3. As students reread orally, try to assess their miscues (errors) qualitatively. Does the error make sense in the sentence? Dialect miscues should not be counted, but teachers should be familiar with students' typical dialect patterns. (See Alexander, 1988, for a thorough discussion of assessing oral miscues.)
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REFERENCES

Alexander, J. E., ed. (1988). Teaching Reading, 3rd ed. Glenville, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company.

Cunningham, P. M. (1988). When all else fails. Teacher, April, 800-804.

The Reading

Gillet, J. W. (1986). Understanding Reading Problems, 2nd ed. Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown & Company.

Hillerich, R. L. (1983). The Principal's Guide to Improving Reading Instruction. Newton, Massachusetts: Allyn and Bacon.

Johns, J. L. (1986). Handbook for Remediation of Reading Difficulties. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.

Vacca, R. & Vacca, J.(1986). Content Area Reading, 2nd ed. Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown & Company.

Wood, K. D. (1983). A variation on an old theme: Four-way oral reading. The Reading Teacher, October, 38-41.

GLOSSARY
Round Robin Reading (Also called Barbershop Reading) - A negative practice of having every student sit with a book opened to the same page while one student after another reads aloud in a predicted sequence. It reinforces word by word reading and deemphasizes reading for meaning by focusing on pronunciation rather than communication.
Purposeful Silent Reading - A reading method in which teachers initially read the text and write out specific questions that direct the reader's attention to the important points. Students are then directed to read the text to locate the answer to those specific questions. The teacher may say, "Read page five to find out why Mary was late to school." When all students have finished reading the page silently, the teacher will say, "Who can tell me why Mary was late to school?" Students should always be directed to read for a predetermined purpose. This silent purposeful reading is always followed by efforts to state the answer to the question. Purposeful silent reading should always precede oral rereading.

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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
**Have all teachers bring the teacher's guide for their content area textbook. Objective: To sensitize teachers to the negative features of round robin reading, to provide teachers an alternative to round robin reading and to stress the importance of purposeful reading. Activities: 1. Select a difficult reading passage from a technical book or
magazine. 2. Appoint two observers who will record teachers' reactions (without
letting other teachers know). 3. Make one copy of the passage for each teacher and distribute the
copies. 4. Plunge into the reading selection without developing background,
clarifying difficult concepts or teaching vocabulary that is used in an unordinary way. Point to each teacher and have him or her read aloud. 5. Be certain to proceed around the group in a predictable sequence. 6. After about four or five teachers have read orally, stop and talk about their reactions. 7. Have the observers share what they have seen. 8. Brainstorm about what should have been done. Write suggestions on the board. 9. Introduce four-way reading using an appropriate story or poem. 10. Have teachers look in their textbooks and locate sections that would lend themselves to four-way oral reading. Give them time to decide which methods they would use. 11. Talk also about additional purposes for oral rereading. Be certain to include using students' reports, descriptions of experiments, poems, charts, etc. 12. Summarize the results of the brainstorming.
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Materials: A passage that contains technical vocabulary or sentence structure that is extremely difficult reading for typical teachers. (Selections from the sports page from a newspaper, a medical journal, difficult directions for assembling a toy or piece of furniture, etc. may be used). Evaluation: Observe highly emotional responses of some teachers as they do this activity. Remind them of the way middle school students could feel about reading if this happens to them daily. Watch for four-way reading during instruction. Mention four-way reading in the next meeting. Follow-up: 1. During subsequent faculty meetings, have teachers use four-way
reading for reading district directives or other memos or articles that you really want them to remember. 2. Encourage continued use of four-way reading by having the librarian make copies of short stories or interesting excerpts from popular children's books and distribute copies to the teacher. 3. At the end of the next memo you sent to teachers, write, "Have you tried four-way oral reading?" 4. Incorporate four-way reading of students' original work by presenting it in PTA meetings or assembly programs. This is a good way for the entire class to participate. 5. Have those who have tried four-way reading share their selections. 6. If sustained silent reading is used in your school, suggest that teachers have students select their favorite parts of books to have the entire class or a group use four-way reading.
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USING HAPPING TO FOSTER GROUP DISCUSSION AND THINKING Evelyn Dandy
Armstrong State College
The least frequently used after-reading activity reported by the students was the opportunity to discuss what they had read in groups. More than 45 percent of the students at grades 7 and 11 reported never having the opportunity to exchange ideas in group discussion, which can be a powerful context for the development of higher-level thinking skills. (Applebee, 1988, p. 15)
Students should have many opportunities to discuss and summarize stories they have read in their basals and chapters covered in their health, science and social studies textbooks. Semantic mapping (also called cognitive mapping, webbing, tree diagramming, clustering) offers a way to generate discussion and develop higher level thinking skills. Reading or content area teachers can easily implement this strategy during reading instruction or during content learning time.
Semantic mapping is the making of a word picture to illustrate how ideas are related to one another. Creating a map requires students to do the following
Think about what they read. Decide on the topic. Select the most important points and supporting details. Decide how the information is related. Illustrate this material graphically. Evaluate the contents of their map. Delete or add to it. Talk about their map to others.
(Miccinati, 1988, p. 542)
Maps can take many different shapes, but basically they begin with the main idea, which is encircled. Surrounding the main idea are the most important points, connected to the topic by lines or arrows. Branching off the most important points are supporting details that reinforce those headings. What results is a map that visually presents the relationship between ideas, as shown below.
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The author's structure will determine the shape of the map. The author may cover the most important points by using sequence, cause-effect-
relationships, simple listings or comparison-contrast. Examples of
possible maps for each construction are shown in diagrams A, B, C and D below.

0'>-<0
dbo

A

B

c

o

DOs related to mapping
1. DO always follow the steps of identifying the topic determining the most important points, adding the supporting details and evaluating the map.
2. DO always read the story or chapter ahead of time to understand the author's organization.
3. DO always model your thinking processes. When teaching mapring, talk students through your reasoning for the structure you have chosen and the relationships you have pointed out.
4. DO begin with stories that have fairly simple plots and few details. Anything that can be outlined can be mapped.
5. DO gradually have students verbalize their associations as they fill in some blank spaces in maps you create.
6. DO possibly begin with having them add details to your map, then major ideas, then the topic. You eventually want students to be able to construct their own maps.
7. DO start the mapping technique with the entire class and then allow students to form cooperative groups and map some piece of content themselves.
8. DO use mapping to review chapters in social studies, science, health or any other content area.
9. DO try mapping with groups of remedial readers and less proficient learners. It is effective because maps only contain the key ideas. Remedial readers have fewer text structures to read.

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,-' .....,..~
I
10. DO try mapping with advanced learners. It can challenge. Remain open to different interpretations from them.
11. DO investigate other ways to use mapping. Maps that introduce chapters are called graphic organizers.
DON'Ts related to mapping 1. DON'T start mapping with very detailed or difficult story plots.
These could be very confusing. 2. DON'T assume that students understand your maps initially. Always
explain how you constructed them and why they are useful. 3. DON'T separate mapping from group or class discussions. Maps
should be presented with many opport~nities for teacher and student feedback. 4. DON'T use mapping for stories or text structures that cannot be outlined in a logical way. 5. DON'T assign independent mapping until you have provided lots of practice through modeling the strategy. 6. DON'T forget that before you place middle school students in cooperative groups, you must set up group rules and role-play solving problems in groups. 7. DON'T forget that a discussion means everyone has an opportunity to give input, not just the teacher or the more forceful students.
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~Pic or linear

>-<. Pideror~
sunburst
flowchart
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SAMPLE ACTIVITY
Objective: To help students recall information from a story, summarize the information from the story and model and discuss thinking about text.
Procedure:
1. Read the selection initially, deciding on the topic, the most important points and supporting details and the way they will be displayed relationally.
2. Using suggestions from the manual, direct the students to read the selection. This should include establishing background, teaching difficult terms and reading for a purpose.
3. Tell the students they will review the selection by constructing a word map of its contents. Reveal the shell of the map you have constructed and begin to describe why words are placed as they are.
4. Model your thought processes as you construct the map. "This selection is about reading fiction, so I'll place the topic here."
5. Proceed with "Let's see, what are the most important points the author covers in talking about reading fiction? What categories does the author use? First the author tells what fiction is." (Write "What is fiction?")
6. Continue with "Then he or she discusses the elements of a story." (Write "What are the elements of a story?") "Then, stories from the oral tradition." (Write "What is the oral tradition?")
7. Continue with modeling: "Is there another most important point that is mentioned?" (Someone should come up with "how to read fiction.") "Yes, what makes you think this is an important point? Correct, it is a division just like the elements of a story and stories from oral tradition. Let's include that one, too."
8. Continue, "Where shall I place each of the important points? All are of equal value, so I'll place them around the topic. This is a spider format."
9. Evaluate the map with the students in the light of the content in the selection, adding to or making changes so that the map will be accurate and easy to understand.
10. Ask the students, "Are there any details we want to include? Yes, let's include the meaning of these terms." Add these to the map. They may look at the selection.
11. Continue, "Now, can we look at the map and summarize what we have read? Someone give me a statement." The goal is to be able to retell the selection by looking at the map.
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Materials: "Reading Fiction" from Reading Literature, McDougal, Littell & Company, Teacher's Edition, gold level, grade six, pp. 4-5. Additional materials may include a basal reader or any content area textbook that contains information that can be outlined. It is beneficial to use mapping with content that students will be tested on or that they can apply to another learning situation. Maps are tools for study. This map can be placed on a wall chart, the chalkboard or an overhead transparency to help students remember the most important points as they read subsequent stories. Evaluation: Observe students as they work with maps. It is important to model the thinking process as these maps are constructed. Have students retell a story or actual content from a map to test comprehension. Follow-up: After modeling the making of several maps, break students into cooperative groups to develop their own maps for a given chapter or for a story selection. To review the relationships concepts have with one another, write concepts on a worksheet and instruct students to cut out the words and actually reconstruct them on a map. This manipulation of terms is an excellent review before a test.
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REFERENCES Applebee, A. N., et al. (1988). Who reads best? Factors related to
reading achievement in grades 3, 7 and 11. Princeton, New Jersey: Educational Testing Service Report No. 17-R-Ol. Heimlich, J. E. & Pittelman, S. D. (1986). Semantic mapping: Classroom applications. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association. (This is an excellent reference!) Miccinati, J. L. (1988). Mapping the terrain: Connecting reading with academic writing. Journal of Reading, 31 (6), 542-552. Smith, P. L. (1988). Structured notetaking: A new strategy for content area readers. Journal of Reading, 32 (1), 46-53. Uttero, D. A. (1988). Activating comprehension through cooperative learning. The Reading Teacher, 41 (4), 390-395. Vacca, R. & Vacca, J. (1986). Content Area Reading, 2nd ed. Boston, Massachusetts: Little, Brown & Company.
GLOSSARY Supporting Detail - A detail that furthers the storyline. If a significant detail is omitted, the story changes. In "Goldilocks and the Three Bears," Goldilocks' hair color is not significant, but the idea that she was hungry is. Cooperative Groups - Small groups in which students work together to accomplish a cornmon goal. (For an excellent article see Uttero in References. )
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
**Have all teachers bring their basal readers or a content area textbook.
Timeline: 90 minutes
Objective: To introduce teachers to mapping to summarize, help teachers use mapping in their classrooms and model and discuss thinking about text structures.
Procedures:
1. Introduce teachers to mapping by forming a map that describes mapping on an overhead projector. (See examples attached.) This series of maps answers the questions, What is mapping? What is the format of maps? How does mapping help children? How can I use it in my classroom? Think aloud as you show and describe each map.
2. Have teachers volunteer information that can be placed on a map: different means of transportation; the four food groups. Literally anything that can be outlined can be mapped. In fact, mapping is another form of outlining.
3. Have teachers develop a group map by using the selection "Reading Fiction. " Review the process first.
- Read the selection. - Decide on the topic. - Select the most important points and supporting details. - Decide how the information is related. - Illustrate this material graphically. - Delete or add to it. - Summarize the information by reading from the map.
4. Have teachers get into cooperative groups (content area groups or departments) and develop one or two maps for content that they are currently teaching by using the textbooks they have brought with them. Encourage them to discuss the process and talk also about how they can implement mapping in their classrooms.
5. At the end of the session have each group share its best mapping idea.
6. Brainstorm for additional ways mapping can be used. Use a spider format to collect all of these ideas on the chalkboard or on a transparency. Mapping is an excellent study tool, for it holds a wealth of information on one sheet of paper.
Materials/Resources: The best materials are basal readers or content area textbooks. Teachers should use them as soon as they are presented with the concept of mapping. Additional resources include library books, short stories and newspaper articles.
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Evaluation: Observe the extent to which teachers are implementing mapping and modeling direct teaching of reading comprehension for their students. Maps should appear on bulletin boards, in homework assignments, in book talks--in any subject area.
Follow-up: Have the librarian construct a hall bulletin board and a library display and provide a booklist to make available students' books that can be mapped to show cause-effect, comparison-contrast, sequence, etc. The librarian, as well as the teachers, can use these stories and others in weekly book talks he/she presents for every class in the school.
Taken from Reading Literature, HcDougal, Littel &Company, Teacher's Edition, gold level, grade six, pages 4-5.
READING FICTION
What Makes a Story?
Astory is a work of fiction. That is, it comes from the storyteller's imagination. Some stories are told aloud. They may change a bit each time they are told. Other stories are carefully written for readers to enjoy. All stories, whether spoken or written, share three common elements:
The Elements of a StOry:
Every story has characters, a setting, and a plot. These are the threads the storyteller weaves together to make a story.
Characters. The people and animals in a story are called the characters. Some characters are more important than others. They are called main characters. The story centers around them.
setting. When and where a story takes place is called the setting. Astory may be set in a real or imaginary place. It may be set in past, present, or future time. Sometimes the setting is clearly stated, usually at the beginning of the story. At other times, you must use the story details to figure out the setting.
Plot. The series of events in a story is called the plot. The plot usually centers around a problem and the action that the characters take to solve the problem. The action builds toward an important moment or climax. This may be a decision or a discovery, or an event, for example. The climax is the turning point of the story. Then the problem is solved, and the story comes to a close.
Stories from Oral Tradition
Some stories popular today were first told thousands of years ago. These stories belong to oral tradition. That is, they have been passed by word of mouth from generation to generation. Many of these stories were eventually written down.
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, _.-.. __ .. ~~..
One type of story that comes from oral tradition is the folk tale. Afolk tale is a simple story about human or animal characters. It is usually set in the distant past. Some folk tales are legends. Legends are made-up stories that attempt to explain ~omething that really happened or that tell about someone who really lived. Other folk tales teach lessons about life. Folk tales are told in every country around the world. Versions of the same story may be found in many different countries. Acharacter in a folk tale often represents one human quality. He or she may be clever or brave or greedy, for example. The plot often involves a conflict, or struggle between good and evil. The use of humor and magic is common in folk tales. How to Read a Folk Tale The tales you will read in Unit I come from several countries. Some are retellings of folk tales from oral tradition. Others are modern stories that use folk tale plots and characters. As you read each tale, picture the setting and action. Learn about the characters. Pay attention to what they say and do, to what other characters say about them, and to what the writer tells you directly. Notice how one plot event leads to another. Be on the lookout for surprises. As you read, try to discover why these stories are called -timeless tales.-
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What is mapping'?

~ topic or linear leaning tree

'>--< spider or~
sunburst flowchart

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, ;, ,; '.'-' : _.~_....,..

,.'

STUDY SKILLS Patricia A. Geary
Norman College

In teaching study skills, "the teacher is doing something analogous to

sharpening knives

putting on the student's mind the sharpest edge

it will take

" (Hovious, 1939, p. 6)

Study skills are techniques, tools or methods related to the acquisition and use of information and ideas. These techniques need to be included as part of the total school program.
Research shows that successful students know how to study and that they often agree on the habits and skills necessary to do well in school. These students have learned such skills as planning, recording, organizing, synthesizing and remembering. Through the use of such skills, they have assimilated diverse bodies of information. These skills and techniques can and should be taught to others. But first, some basic general principles on teaching
Be positive and affirming.
Give students a reason to learn. (Is it interesting? Is it related to personal experience?)
Help students to experience new content through a variety of modes (learning centers, films, role-play, etc.).
Assist pupils to see a relationship to what has been previously studied.
Have students use a variety of senses. (Look at the material. Teach the material to others, etc.)
Permit students to be active doers and learners.
Create a community of inquiry within the classroom.
With the above general principles in mind, the following sections list the DO's and DON'Ts of teaching study skills to middle school pupils. (Keep in mind that study skills instruction involves students' gaining better study habits, not learning how to study harder.)
DO's for teaching study skills
1. DO model planning, organization and thoroughness in curricular presentations and in classrooms.
2. DO encourage pupils to study in a well-lighted, disturbance-free place with necessary materials within easy reach (pencils, pens, paper, stapler, ruler, tape, glue, etc.).

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,
,
3. DO have students complete a "Study Skills Inventory." 4. DO teach students to plan their schoolwork and work their plan
(manage time; do a daily, weekly and semester schedule). 5. DO have students study each subject as soon as possible after the
class meeting. 6. DO teach pupils to record and organize what they have learned
(outlines, notebooks, diagrams, charts, timelines, pictorial aids, binders). Students are then able to see progress over time. 7. DO relate what you are teaching to students' previous learning (help students to "make sense" of what is learned and to synthesize it) . 8. DO teach pupils ways to remember (memory devices such as mnemonics, acronyms, recall techniques and word study such as root words, prefixes, suffixes, word history, etc.). Meaningful material equals better retention. 9. DO provide reference tools such as the dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, atlas, Readers' Guide, etc. Demonstrate and encourage their use. DON'Ts for teaching study skills 1. DON'T do for pupils what they can do for themselves. 2. DON'T fail to communicate your expectations of students to them and to their parent(s). 3. DON'T have students simply memorize; first have them understand. 4. DON'T give unnecessary, long or complicated assignments. 5. DON'T fail to give pupils (and parents) sufficient time to complete long-range projects. 6. DON'T hesitate to challenge students. 7. DON'T forget to have fun!
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SAMPLE ACTIVITY Study Skills Inventory

Objective: To assist students in understanding and planning the use of their time.

Procedures:

"Planning" involves the appropriate and maximally effective use of time. Design a study skills inventory that includes the following questions.

STUDY SKILLS INVENTORY

Never Sometimes Often

Always

Do you have a place to work and study?

Do you plan your time?

Do you listen well in class?

Do you look up words you don't know?

Do you know how to skim before reading?

Do you use the textbook index?

Do you proofread for spelling mistakes?

(Other questions might cover such topics as the use of underlining, notetaking, outlining, regular exercise and amount of sleep the student gets each night.) A group of students should then compile and share the survey information with the class. After the information is shared, students themselves should discuss and devise planning strategies appropriate to them. These strategies should be evaluated at regular intervals to ensure their efficacy.
After the "Study Skills Inventory" has been administered, collated and discussed and strategies have been devised, students are ready to begin to plan their work time. This can best be accomplished through the use of daily and weekly schedules.
Have students decide the time that is available to them before and after school. (Yes, there are youngsters who prefer to study in the morning!)

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Each day pupils fill out a detailed plan that will include their homework and study schedule.
DAILY SCHEDULE MONDAY 7:00 a.m. 7:30 a.m. 8:00 a.m.
4:00 p.m. 4:30 p.m. 5:00 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m. 6:30 p.m. 7:00 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m. 8:30 p.m. 9:00 p.m. 9:30 p.m. 10:00 p.m.
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Follow-up: After students have had adequate practice with time management on a daily basis (it may take four to six weeks), help them move to planning a week or even two weeks at a time. Eliminate discrete time blocks and focus planning on what needs to be accomplished within a specific time frame. For this purpose, an appointment book that features a week at a glance is the perfect instrument.
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WEEK AT A GLANCE SEPTEMBER Monday
18 Tuesday
19 Wednesday
20 Thursday
21 Friday
22 Saturday
23
Sunday 24
Evaluation: Have pupils evaluate these planning aids frequently to determine whether they are helping students retain more content and improve their performance.
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REFERENCES
Devine, T. (1981). Teaching Study Skills: A Guide for Teachers. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
Duda, P. & Sebranek, P. (1983). A Study Skills and Writing Process Workbook. Burlington, Wisconsin: Basic English Revisited.
Hovious, C. (1939). Suggestions for Teachers of Reading. Boston, . Massachusetts: D. C. Heath Company.
Mangrum, C. ed. (1983). Learning to Study. Providence, Rhode Island: Jamestown Publishers.
Notes Plus. (1988). Urbana, Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English.
Preston, R. & Botel, M. (1981). How to Study. Chicago, Illinois: Science Research Associates.
Snider, J. (1983). How to Study in High School. Providence, Rhode Island: Jamestown Publishers.
Spargo, E. & Williston, G. (1980). Timed Readings. Providence, Rhode Island: Jamestown Publishers.
GLOSSARY
Acronym - Word formed from the initial letter or syllables of a group of words, phrases, sentences, etc. Atlas - A bound collection of maps. Mnemonics - Techniques such as formulas or rhymes used to improve the retention of new information. Readers' Guide - A list of articles in almost 200 periodicals. Gives up-to-date information about such subject areas as arts and sciences, world events, education and research. SQ3R - A reading/study method; a procedure for reading, analyzing, organizing, and retaining information. Study Skills Inventory - A pencil/paper instrument used to determine an individual's method(s) and/or routine(s) regarding study. Thesaurus - A book of synonyms and antonyms.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT

Objective: To instruct staff members in how to conduct a course in "study skills" and familiarize staff with the basic components of the "study skills" course: planning, recording, organizing, synthesizing, and remembering ..

Timeline: Two to three sessions of one hour each.

Materials: Overhead projector, transparencies, student texts (various subjects), paper, pencils, handouts.

Activities:

PLANNING

Time management - techniques (such as "the way to DO it is to get right TO it"), budgeting time, disturbance-free environment, needed materials at hand, etc.

"Study Skills Inventory" - construction and ways to administer, collate and evaluate.

Use of daily, weekly and semester schedules.

RECORDING/ ORGANIZING

Use of SQ3R - (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review) .
Preparation for notetaking - listen, review previous notes, read major headings, read notes under pictures, etc.
Taking notes - use visual aids such as diagrams, charts and codes such as the following.
S = not sure of spelling W= unfamiliar word
* = important point
T = possible test item
? = item, idea not understood - ask question
or check text
Outlining - methods

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Cooperatively develop system of "shorthand" like the one below.
w/ = with w/o = without
f = number
@ = about, around < = less than
> = greater than
+ = and
Use paper's left margin for notes, references, books and authors cited, research ideas, etc.
Leave blank lines/spaces in notes for future additions.

SYNTHESIZING

Relate new material to that which was learned previously.

Research newly presented material using reference tools. Include in notes any additional information gained.

Use new information and ideas.

REMEMBERING

Look for relationships.

Make material meaningful.

Review material frequently.

(Extra help) Use memory devices such as flash cards, student-generated games and acronyms (words formed from the initial letter or syllables of a group of words). Create sentences in which each word begins with the first letter of the words or concepts to be remembered, e.g., My very earnest mother just served us nice pie. This sentence serves as a reminder of the names of the planets in order from the sun. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.

Evaluation/Follow-Up: Observe how teachers use techniques in their own classrooms. Begin subsequent sessions begin with teachers' sharing experiences and their students' reactions to study skills instruction.

Ask teachers involved in "Study Skills" staff development program, "Did students' understanding and mastery of content material increase after exposure to the study skills course?"

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" ' . . . 'j

HOW SQ3R WORKS

SURVEY:

First, skim or survey the material. Look over the whole assignment before you actually start to read
it. 1. Check the title first to get an idea of what the
material is about. 2. Note the beginning and end to get a notion of
how much material the author uses to get across the ideas. 3. Pay attention to headings and subheadings. They can help you get an overall picture of the
author's plan. 4. Look at charts, pictures, graphs and other
illustrative material. Check the captions under each. These can also help give you clues to the overall plan. 5. Quickly read any headnotes, introductory paragraphs and summary sections. They can give you a better overview.

.QUESTION:

This is the crucial stage in personalizing the assignment, making it really yours. On a separate sheet of paper, jot down the questions that you, personally, want answered. What might the author be able to tell you about the topic that you don't already know? What are YOU curious about here? Sometimes, turning the headings and subheadings into questions helps.

READ:

Now you are ready to actually read the assignment. 1. Read the introductory paragraphs rather
carefully. 2. Add to your personal list of questions if you
need to. 3. Skim the less important points. 4. Add difficult words to your question sheet so
that you can verify the meanings later. 5. Keep asking yourself: What is the author's main
purpose in writing this material?

REVIEW:

After you have completed the reading, try to remember each section. What was the author's main
purpose? What were the chief points? What was the overall plan? Try to keep the key points in mind.

RECITE:

One of the best ways of understanding anything is to tell it to someone else in your own words. At this final stage, "tell" your answers to the questions, either to yourself in writing or to another student in conversation. Making a summary (which includes answers to your questions) is also a powerful
learning method.

Devine, T. G. (1981). Teaching Study Skills. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon, p. 45.

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SPECIAL EDUCATION STUDENTS AND READING Beverly B. Smith
Douglas County Schools
"Within the middle school reading program there will be a wide range of ability levels. When special education students are included, that range becomes a chasm." (Jane Price, severe learning disability teacher, Fairplay Middle School, Douglas County)
Including special education students in the regular middle school reading program does increase the range of abilities, especially when one considers that special education programs include those for the gifted as well as the handicapped. Providing appropriate instruction for the child who is gifted can be as challenging as providing it for a child with a handicap. While this chapter will focus on reading instruction for students with handicaps, many of the basic premises will also apply to students who are gifted.
DOs when teaching handicapped students
1. DO keep in mind the student's mental age as well as chronological age.
2. DO get all the information you can from the special education teacher.
3. DO involve more than one modality (vision, hearing, etc.) in most instruction.
4. DO be aware of the student's attention span.
5. DO provide the student with ample opportunity for success.
6. DO give the student time to think and answer when giving oral questions. Be patient.
7. DO remember that special education students and non-special education students are more the same than different; treat them that way.
DON'Ts when teaching handicapped students
1. DON'T give assignments that are beyond the student's capabilities.
2. DON'T give assignments that are far below the student's capabilities.
3. DON'T allow ridicule or sarcasm in your room.
4. DON'T make the student repeat the same reading book more than once.
5. DON'T insist that all students do the same exercises.
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6. DON'T use materials that are too "babyish" for middle school students.
7. DON'T allow the student to become dependent on you or other students.
SAMPLE ACTIVITY
Objective: To enable students to recognize and know the meaning of five new vocabulary words.
Procedures:
1. Choose five vocabulary words from the student's reading books. They may also serve as spelling words.
2. Write the words on a large chart or tag board. Some students, particularly students with visual impairments, see certain colors (often red) better than others. Check with the students' special education teacher to see if color of words make a difference, or find out for yourself by systematically varying color of vocabulary words.
3. Read the words to the students. Ask if they know the meaning of any of the words, and write a very short definition beside the ones they know. Have the students look up any words that they don't know.
4. Have the students write the words on paper or on individual word cards. How this is done will depend on the age, developmental level and physical abilities of the students. Generally, the words will be written in cursive script. Older, more able students can copy the words on a piece of paper using pen or pencil as appropriate. Younger students may need to copy the. words onto three-by-five cards and use a magic marker or other large implement for writing. Some students may need the words written down for them, or will need to copy from a list on the desktop, or to trace the words. The teacher must check to see that the words are copied correctly.
5. Establish a routine for how the words are to be learned and stick to this routine as closely as possible without letting it become too boring for the students. A good approach is the VAKT method developed by ,Fernald in the early 1940s. VAKT stands for visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile. It means that all the senses (except smell!) are used in the process. (I've known teachers to resort to "flavored" magic markers in extreme cases.) The student is told to watch while the teacher says the word while tracing it two or three times. The student then does the same with the word at his desk. When the student believes he can write the word without looking, the teacher invites him to do so. The teacher must watch to see that the word is written correctly. Incorrect words should be erased or covered up so they don't become inappropriate models
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for the student. When the student can write the word correctly twice, the teacher moves on to the next word. This procedure can be varied in severa1 ways. Even older middle school students enjoy using a variety of utensils for writing (magic markers, chalk, crayons, etc.). As the students become more proficient at learning the words, the process can be shortened by using fewer tracings and saying the words silently rather than aloud as they trace. Evaluation: If the vocabulary words were also the students' spelling words, then a weekly spelling test would be appropriate. Or have each student merely read his list of words or read and define the words on a regular basis. Record the number of correct responses. Another evaluation method is to have the students read aloud from the reading book and make note of any vocabulary words missed. A teacher-made test (sentence completion, matching, etc.) may also be appropriate. Follow-up: Review the words the student has learned often to make sure they are retained. Vocabulary games using a familiar format (bingo, concentration, etc.) provide a fun way for students to use and remember the words.
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REFERENCES
Aullis, M. W. (1978). Developmental and Remedial Reading in the Middle Grades. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
George, P. & Lawrence, G. (1982). Handbook for Middle School Teaching. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company.
Tierney, R. J., Readence, J. E. & Dishner, E. K. (1980). Reading Strategies and Practice: A Guide for Improving Instruction. Boston, Massachusetts: Allyn & Bacon.
GLOSSARY
All are from Dictionary of Special Education and Rehabilitation (Love Publishing Company) by Leo J. Kelly and Glenn A. Vergason.
Chronological Age - The amount of time, usually expressed in years and months, that has elapsed since an individual's birth.
Gifted - A designation for an individual who possesses unusually high ability. No specific IQ has been universally set to indicate the intellectual level of giftedness; however, an IQ of 120 or more sometimes has been used as a standard, in conjunction with other traits such as creativity.
Handicap - The result of any condition or deviation, physical or mental, that inhibits or prevents achievement or acceptance.
Mental Age - The level of an individual's mental ability expressed in terms of the average chronological age of others answering the same number of items correctly on a test of mental ability. As an example, a child who has a mental ability equal to that of the average 10-year-old would have a mental age of 10 years, regardless of his or her actual chronological age.
Special Education - A broad term covering programs and services for exceptional children who deviate so far physically, mentally or emotionally from the normal that they require unique learning experiences, techniques or materials in order to be maintained in the regular classroom, and specialized classes and programs if the problems are severe.
VAKT - A multisensory approach to teaching reading developed by Grace Fernald to assist children with severe reading disabilities. VAKT stands for visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile. The approach employs tracing and auditory responses to supplement a weak visual channel. (It is also called the Fernald method.)
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~-
-.:
STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Objective: To sensitize staff to the difficulty of learning to read and to sensitize staff to handicapping conditions through role-play.
Activity:
This activity should take about 30 to 45 minutes and could easily be done as part of a regular faculty meeting. Play the part of the teacher, and designate all other staff members as students. (This roleplay would also work well with parents, paraprofessionals, volunteers or others who may often be in the school and in contact with students.)
Hand out the "reading books" (Primer for Parents) and ask the "students" to turn to page seven.' Attempt to make the role-playas uncomfortable for the staff/students as possible by using as many "bad" teaching techniques as can be remembered. CalIon a student to read. It is important to select a person who has both a sense of humor and a good self-concept because the experience will not be successful. Tell the student the first few words using such phrases as "Oh, you know that!! We're waiting. Jimmy, you help him," and other such phrases that one has heard in reading classes. Allow other students to try to read. Some will begin to pick up the code, but many will not. Ask some "comprehension" questions along the way. Try choral reading of a page.
The activity allows the "students" to experience the frustration of trying to learn a new code for reading since no real letters are used in the "book." Remind the role players, however, that they have the advantage of at least knowing the "rules" of reading -- that symbols stand for certain sounds, usually the sound does not change, spaces between sets of symbols indicate words, punctuation has certain meaning, pictures on the page generally have meaning and all the other nuances of reading that proficient readers take for granted.
The role-play can be a powerful experience for teachers, as we often don't remember how hard it was to learn to read. Mild handicaps can be simulated with dark glasses, ear muffs, eye patches and the like to show participants that even minor handicaps can make learning to read even harder.
If time allows, there is an excellent section in the Primer for Parents that demonstrates how letter-sound associations can be taught. This activity helps staff remember the excitement of breaking the code and how it felt to really be able to read for the first time.
Evaluation: Discuss the activity and feelings of the participants as they tried to learn to read. Guide the discussion by having people tell how they tried to learn the code. Most likely there will be both visual learners and auditory learners who depended more on one sense than the other as they worked on the code. Ask if the teacher's comments helped the students to learn. Generally someone will note that telling students that a task is "easy" does not help them learn the task. If
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some students had simulated handicaps, have them discuss the difference that the handicaps made in their learning. Remind the group that they had an advantage over nonreaders since they understood the task. Ask them to consider how much harder the task could have been had they also had a mild mental handicap. Follow-up: Discuss plans for making reading instruction less frustrating for students with reading problems by avoiding derogatory remarks, becoming more patient, etc. Future meetings should include a short time to report on progress. Materials: McKee, P. & Durr, W. K. (l982). Primer for Parents: How Your Child Learns to Read. Atlanta, Georgia: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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PARENTS AND READING Evon Benson
Dekalb County Schools
"Involving parents in school activities provides a wealth of talent and creativity, thus enriching the learning environment of the children and establishing better communication and rapport between the home and school." (Elloise Artime, Austin Elementary School, Dekalb County)
Parents of middle grade students need to be involved in their children's reading instruction. They need to be aware of the progress and problems that the students are encountering in acquiring the necessary reading skills. Parents can support and motivate their children, but they can also be of great assistance in helping to develop good work habits and in reinforcing reading skills at home.
DOs with parents and reading
1. DO communicate with parents through school or telephone conferences, notes, newsletters or workshops to keep them informed concerning the reading program, student progress and individual needs.
2. DO establish specific procedures for scheduling conferences at times convenient for the parent(s), as well as the teacher.
3. DO schedule class and/or school meetings or workshops for parents.
4. DO conduct meaningful and positive individual or group conferences to keep parents informed and facilitate change.
5. DO invite parents to visit the classroom to learn more about the school program and the instructional process.
6. DO assist parents in selecting attainable goals for their children.
7. DO inform parents of their child's strengths and achievements in reading, as well as needs or weaknesses.
8. DO inform parents concerning specific procedures, activities, ideas and materials appropriate for their child's reading level and needs.
9. DO suggest home study devoid of distractions, using short work sessions scheduled at appropriate times and involving the "overlearning" of needed skills.
10. DO listen to parents and use the information gained to aid in understanding and helping the child learn to read.
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11. DO allow the middle year student to participate in setting goals and planning strategies to reach these goals.
DON'Ts with parents and reading 1. DON'T talk in generalizations about the student's reading problems. 2. DON'T expect parents to teach their children to read, but provide
specific suggestions for motivation and reading skill reinforcement or remediation. 3. DON'T always wait until a problem arises to communicate with parents. 4. DON'T confer only with parents who are coming to school to discuss a child with a problem. 5. DON'T tell parents there is nothing they can do to help their child learn to read. 6. DON'T discourage parents from visiting the school and classroom. 7. DON'T use technical reading terminology parents cannot understand. 8. DON'T discuss standardized and diagnostic testing using stanines, Normal Curve Equivalent (NCE) and grade equivalent explanations that are difficult for parents to understand. 9. DON'T accuse, argue, scold, blame, threaten or talk down to parents. 10. DON'T fail to notify other teachers when a conference is scheduled, and include them if appropriate.
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ACTIVITY ONE: PARENT WORKSHOPS Objective: To establish cooperation and increase parent participation in educational planning and to inform parents of the skills involved in the reading process and the stages of skill development. Procedure:
1. Survey parents to assess concerns, interests and background of understanding.
2. Determine the results to be achieved through the workshop, and then plan the agenda around a basic theme and specific objectives.
3. Schedule the workshop at a time convenient for parents, avoiding other school activities.
4. Inform parents of the date and time of the workshop. 5. Provide for child care to encourage parent attendance. 6. Ask parents to signin, including their name, student, grade
level(s), reading teacher(s). 7. Display student work samples. 8. Explain in detail the reading and school instructional program. 9. Develop and share long-range plans with a timeline of activities. 10. Discuss one important skill area (such as reading comprehension)
including terminology, stages of development, relationship to grade levels and strategies for teaching. 11. Duplicate and distribute a list of specific, grade level ideas that parents may use to help their children at home. 12. Discuss ways that preadolescents may participate in setting goals and planning strategies for reading improvement. 13. Outline reading objectives and skills that may be developed at home. 14. Review ways to help children with reading, including remedial work, study habits, outside reading and help with reading weaknesses. 15. Provide time for parents to share concerns and ideas near the close of the workshop. 16. Summarize the workshop goals and results. 17. If possible, arrange to have a few minutes for individual interaction between parents and teachers.
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Materials: Handouts containing activities and techniques parents may use to help their children with reading. Suggested reading lists (identified by grade level) for parents and students.
Evaluation: Ask parents to complete a workshop evaluation form, including reaction to the content and presentation, along with suggestions for further activities and workshops. Attendance at future sessions may also serve as an evaluation.
Follow-up: Encourage further parent involvement through additional workshops and volunteer programs. Provide an opportunity for making learning materials at a later session. Plan a discussion of current reading issues using a panel of teachers and parents.
ACTIVITY TWO: READING NEWSLETTER
Objective: To communicate with parents, providing information and enlisting cooperation with the reading program, and to inform parents of current trends in reading, appropriate materials and definitions of educational terminology.
Procedure:
1. Distribute as a separate parent newsletter or submit as a column in the PTA newsletter.
2. Include information that is simple to understand, using short sentences and avoiding unnecessary words.
3. Provide specific ideas and information, briefly stated and written to meet the needs of the .children and the interest of the parents.
4. Determine a specific skill area and provide general or grade level articles concerning this skill.
5. Define terms and explain current trends in reading.
6. Provide activities with specific purposes and steps for completion.
7. Provide specific suggestions about how parents may help their child with reading and guidelines for setting a regular time to work with their child, keeping the time period short, working on one concept at a time and rewarding progress.
8. Include issues such as informal reading sources, a question and answer section for parent concerns, suggested books, available community resources, happenings at the local library, book selections for parents and suggestions for reading aloud to their children.
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9. Suggest activities to be completed at home that encourage parent-child interaction.
10. Include student work, illustrations and comments. 11. Include some positive comments or words of praise for different
children. Evaluation: Ask for comments from parents and monitor information disseminated through the newsletter. Distribute surveys to parents evaluating the content and usefulness of the newsletter. Follow-up: Encourage parents and teachers to submit questions to be included in a question and answer column, along with suggestions for additional articles.
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RESOURCES
Boehnlein, M. M. & Hagar, B. H. (1985). Children, Parents, and Reading. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Crisculolo, N. P. (1984). The most common questions parents ask about reading. PTA Today, 10 (2), 25.
Crisculolo, N. P. (1986). Ways to foster a home-school partnership in reading. Reading-Horizons, 26 (4), 278-82.
Demos, E. S. (1986). The reading conference: Questions, information, activities and feedback. Reading-Horizons, 26 (2), 105-111.
Fredricks, A. D. & Taylor, D. (1985). Parent Programs in Reading: Guidelines for Success. Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Granowsky, A., Rose, A. & Barton, N. (1983). Parents as Partners in Education. Ginn Occasional Papers; Ginn and Company.
Guy, G. (1988). Let the Presses Roll! Instructor, August.
IRA Parent Brochures (free with self-addressed stamped envelope; multiple copies $6.50 per 100). IRA Parent Booklets ($1.75; 5 for $3.00); "Reading Today" (bimonthly newspaper); "News for Parents" (newsletter); Newark, Delaware: International Reading Association.
Jowett, S. & Baginsky, M. (1988). Parents and education: A survey of their involvement and a discussion of some issues. Educational-Research, 30 (1), 36-45.
Knox, L. & Candelaria, C. (1987). Tips for more productive parent conferences. Learning, 16 (2), 60-61.
Long, L. (1982). Parents: The untapped resource. Momentum, 13 (3), 21-22.
McConkey, R. (1985). Working with Parents: A Practical Guide for Teachers and Therapists. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Brookline Books.
Metropolitan Atlanta Council of IRA (Parents and Reading Committee). Georgia Council of IRA (Parents and Reading Committee).
National Educational Association Parent Involvement Series. Washington, D.C.: NEA.
Rotter, J. C. & Robinson, E. H. (1982). Parent-Teacher Conferencing: What Research says to the Teacher. West Haven, Connecticut: NEA Professional Library ($2.00).
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1
Tomlinson, A. (1987). Increasing Parent Involvement in the Learning Activities of Intermediate (Grades 4-6) Students. Ed. D. Practicum, Nova University.
Welch, F. C. & Tisdale, P. C. (1986). Between Parent and Teacher. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas Publisher.
GLOSSARY Diagnostic Testing - Testing designed to analyze strengths and weaknesses. Objectives - Goals, measurable performance expected for a specified instructional outcome. Parent Survey - Surveys designed to gather information including parent interests and concerns. Reading Comprehension - Understanding what is read. Reading List - A collection of titles of books or other reading materials appropriate to the topic. Remediation - Teaching that includes diagnosis of a student's reading ability and corrective, remedial or clinical approaches. Standardized Test - A test with specified tasks and procedures so that comparable measurement may be made by testers working in different geographical areas. Stanine - A standard score representing an interval in a nine-point scale, with a mean of five and a standard deviation of two.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT Teacher In-service
Objective: To train teachers to work with parents and provide techniques for encouraging parent involvement in reading skill development. To encourage parent involvement as volunteers in the school and to supply reading strategies and activities to be used in the horne.
Activities:
1. Working with Parents A. Methods of communication 1. Individual conferences 2. Telephone conversations 3. Notes or notices 4. Class meetings 5. Classroom visitation
B. Reasons for communication 1. Parent requests 2. Reading skill weaknesses 3. Work habits 4. Motivation 5. Information 6. Routine
C. Communication skills 1. Method of scheduling 2. Personal interaction a. Body language b. Nonauthoritarian attitude c. Understanding, friendly, calm method of delivering information d. Usage of nontechnical vocabulary e. Provision of a comfortable meeting area
D. Content 1. Preparation and goal setting 2. Outline of problem(s), strength(s), weakness (es) 3. Skill development data (test scores, work samples, etc.) 4. Determination of solutions 5. Specific information and ideas for parent involvement
2. Encouraging parent involvement A. Planning workshop 1. Construction of reading games 2. Sharing activities and explaining reading program and process
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B. Sharing activities and techniques with parents 1. Reading aloud to children 2. Developing good attitudes toward reading 3. How to listen when a child reads 4. Motivating children to read 5. Books children like to read and books to read to their children 6. Additional activities determined by need and reading level
Timeline:
1. Working with parents - late September or early October
2. Encouraging parent involvement - ongoing
3. Using parent volunteers in the classroom - when appropriate
Materials: Books on conferencing and communication with parents from professional and local libraries; appropriate handouts.
Evaluation: Document the results of parent-teacher conferences. Ask parents to complete evaluation forms following any type of workshop or interaction between teacher and parent. Measure the success of a parent volunteer program and decide whether to continue using volunteers (if applicable).
Follow-up: Discuss communication with parents at midyear and end of the year staff meetings. Provide additional in-service sessions if needed.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT Volunteer Training
Objective: To use volunteers to supplement and complement the work of the classroom teacher.
Activities:
1. Discuss staff-tutor relationships with parent volunteers.
2. Discuss duties and training for these duties.
3. Identify the characteristics of child growth and development.
4. Outline the steps in the reading process.
5. Provide an overview of the basal series.
6. List methods for oral reading.
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7. Share ways to select an appropriate book for the child's reading level.
8. Define reading terminology. 9. Present the levels of reading comprehension, including the types
and levels of questioning. 10. Identify the students to be served. 11. Assign parent volunteer to the classroom or a child. Timeline: 1. Tour of building and introduction to the building administrators
before first session. 2. Session content covered during two sessions of two-hour duration. 3. Time for the in-services will vary by availability of volunteers
and need. Materials: Materials used for developmental program, remediation materials and listings of techniques, duplicated activity sheets and handouts of skills, materials for construction, if applicable. Evaluation: Have volunteers complete a parent training evaluation form. Gauge teachers' reaction to the program and student progress. Follow-up: Meet quarterly with volunteers to offer additional assistance and determine effectiveness. Meet quarterly with teachers who are using volunteers to assess the effectiveness of the program.
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USING COMPUTERS IN THE READING PROGRAM George Mason
University of Georgia
"The computer motivates my students to complete activities which they would find boring in another medium. With the computer I can teach them so much more . . . " (Shirley Dillard, Sixth-grade Teacher, Baldwin)
Middle school pupils learn to use computers easily because their inquisitive natures usually lead them to wonder what any program can do, how it works and what they can do with it. Many middle schools have computer labs, and many Georgia middle grade teachers use these labs frequently for reading and language arts instruction.
DOs for using computers in reading programs
1. DO be sure most children learn to use word processing in creating stories, poems and reports. Learn what features of word processing are most helpful to youthful writers. Help children learn how easy it is to edit and correct errors when it can be done without total rewriting.
2. DO help children learn to use stored data bases as their reference tools and to create their own data base files as research tools and organizers of the information they plan to write about.
3. DO take advantage of interactive programs that can be changed in speed, format or item difficulty to match student performance.
4. DO encourage children to work at the computer in pairs or groups to discuss what to enter into the computer (or how to answer) before the one chosen as keyboard operator enters the group's answer or statement.
5. DO encourage recreational reading of computerized stories and other writings. Simulations designed for teaching science and social studies concepts are often fun reading. Twistaplots (interactive fiction) and Adventures are also highly interesting to middle grade pupils.
6. DO examine many computer programs before selecting the one(s) you will use with the children. The programs available are extensive and diverse.
7. DO plan activities that involve some class members in noncomputer activities while others use the computer. Knowing that one is preparing for computer use is frequently just as motivating as actually using the machine.
8. DO encourage children to use the computer for extracurricular language activities such as creating a newspaper, conducting a
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survey and holding a mock election. Programs now available can make these and other school activities easier to conduct and the results (using graphics) more attractive.
DON'Ts for using computers in reading programs
1. DON'T overlook your students as sources of useful computer programs. In nearly every city in Georgia there are clubs composed of users of one or another brand of computer. Members of such clubs share public domain software (which often can be adapt~d to reading instruction) and share knowledge about commercially produced software that is exciting and fun. Remember, the fact that it's fun doesn't necessarily mean it's not educational.
2. DON'T judge all computer reading programs by a few you may have seen in the past. Most of what was produced before the fall of 1982 had little value. However, since that time many wonderful programs have appeared.
3. DON'T give students computer programs without previewing or trying them yourself. Some have written directions that are more complex than the passages pupils are supposed to learn how to read. When such is the case, you may wish to write your own instructions for using the program and tape the instructions on the wall next to the computer.
4. DON'T think of the computer as useful only for individual or small group use. It is a marvelous teacher tool for displaying texts and graphics that can involve whole classes in discussions and decisions. Whole class interaction with computer adventures and simulations is often a great way to prepare students for writing activities or to motivate related reading in a content area or the reading of a reference text.
5. DON'T reject programming as something inappropriate for language arts classes to learn. Remedial reading teachers report that teaching their middle grade students to program improves not only their motivation (and thus decreases discipline problems), but also their attention to spelling and punctuation.
6. DON'T overlook programs in any content area just because the authors or publishers haven't classified the programs as "reading" or "language arts." Children can learn to read and write better by reading and/or writing about almost any topic. If one can "teach reading with the Sears catalogue," one can teach reading with the computer.
Reading/writing instruction using the computer is not very different from language arts instruction using books, notebooks, workbooks, chalkboards, clay tablets, scrolls or stone engravings. What is different is that the text and the pictures can move, can appear and disappear and can wait for the reader to respond before changing. Stored information can be searched, sorted and rearranged for different
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reporting purposes. Furthermore, changes that the computer makes 'in response to actions that students take) can be made dependent upon the nature of student responses. These capabilities allow educators to design a variety of lessons using computer programs.
SAMPLE ACTIVITY
Objective: To use computers to help students remember sequence.
Procedures: Have a different student use a word processing program to record the class activities on each day for a week. Use the "move" function to reorder the descriptions. Print out the resulting document and distribute copies to class members for discussion and correct resequencing.
Materials: Computer, with printer attached, and any word processing program, printer paper, copy machine.
Evaluation: Ask students to write a single paragraph composed of five sentences. The first sentence should describe a Monday activity, the second a Tuesday activity, etc., without mentioning the day of the week.
Follow-up: Use the word processor to scramble all of the sentences produced by the Procedures (above). Insert a blank at the beginning of each sentence. Have students enter a number between I and 5 to indicate the day of the week to which each sentence relates.
Additional Activities
The following paragraphs describe types of programs that Georgia teachers have found useful as additional resources for the teaching of reading.
A. Programs for storing and sorting information are called data base programs. The user creates a file of information (such as the states in the United States) and decides what sorts of information will be collected for each state (fields). After the fields (also known as headers or descriptors) have been set up, an entry (or record) is made for each unit to be stored in the file. Thus a file on our states would have 50 records and each record would contain fields such as capital city, population and state flower. Using programs that create data bases is a great way to prepare for writing a complex report in which data base records are compared, field by field. Assigning pupils the task of entering records in a data base is an excellent way to introduce them to cooperative research.
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Data base programs useful in the middle grades include
APPLEWORKS (Apple Computer), BANK STREET SCHOOL FILER (Sunburst), FILE CABINET (Wichita,Kansas, Public Schools), FRIENDLY FILER (Grolier), NOTEBOOK FILER (Heath), and PFS: FILE (Scholastic).
B. Programs for writing, editing and printing information are called word processors. Nearly every major American writer is now using a word processor in his craft. WQrd processors allow users to enter text, move words and sentences to new locations in the passage, insert additional words, find and replace overused or misspelled words and edit text until it is just the way they want it before they direct the computer to have it printed. When printing, the computer can choose among several typefaces and sizes of type and can decorate printed passages with pictures and graphs.
C. Programs that teachers may use with groups of children or the whole class include
MICROZINE (the magazine on disk) (Scholastic), SNOOPER TROOPS (Spinnaker), THE GAME SHOW (Ideal), THE PIED PIPER'S REVENGE (Book Lures), THE PUZZLER (Sunburst), THE SEARCH (Series) (McGraw-Hill), WHERE IN THE WORLD IS CARMEN SAN DIEGO (Broderbund), and WHERE IN THE USA IS CARMEN SAN DIEGO (Broderbund).
D. Programs for improving particular skills including word recognition, vocabulary development and comprehension include
THE COMPREHENSION CONNECTION (Milliken), COMPREHENSION POWER (Milliken), CLOZE PLUS (Milliken), HIDE 'N SEQUENCE (Sunburst), MISSING LINKS (Sunburst), SPEED READER II (Davidson), WORD ATTACK (Davidson), CHARIOTS, COUGARS, AND KINGS (Hartley), and THE TEST TAKER'S EDGE (Sunburst).
E. Programs designed to be used by teachers to produce lessons, stories and exercises for student use (or were designed for students and teachers) include
ADVENTURE CREATOR (Spinnaker), ALASKA WRITER (Yukon-Koyukuk, Alaska, School District), ANIMALS (Many sources), COMPUPOEM (SCWP), CROSSWORD MAGIC (Mindscape),
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EAMON DESIGNER (Apple Avocation Alliance), NEWSROOM (Springboard), PUZZLES 'N POSTERS (MECC) , SMITH-PILOT (NE GA IRA), VOCABULARY SKILLS (Milton Bradley), and WRITING ADVENTURES (DLM). F. Programs useful in testing children include COMPUTER-BASED READING ASSESSMENT INVENTORY (Kendall Hunt), CREATE-LESSONS (Hartley), DISCRIPTIVE READING (Educational Activities), LEARNING STYLES INVENTORY (Learning Research Associates), and O'BRIEN VOCABULARY PLACEMENT TEST (Educational Activities). Certainly the programs listed above are not all that could be listed. Furthermore, newer (and often better) programs continue to become available. However, the middle grade teacher who learns to use most of the programs listed above while remembering the suggested "DOs and DON'Ts" is well on the way to maximizing the enhancement of reading/writing instruction through computer use.
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RESOURCES
Apple Avocation Alliance, 721 Pike Street, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82009. Apple Computer Inc., 10260 Bandley Drive, Cupertino, California 95014. Book Lures Inc., P. O. Box 9450, O'Fallon, Missouri 63366. Broderbund Software, 17 Paul Drive, San Rafael, California 94903. C.U.E., 33 Main Street, Redwood City, California 94063. Davidson & Associates, 6069 Groveoak Place, 12 Rancho Palos Verdes,
California 90274. DLM Teaching Resources, One DLM Park, Allen, Texas 75002. Educational Activities, P. O. Box 392, Freeport, New York 11520. Hartley Courseware, P. O. Box 431, Dimondale, Michigan 48821. Ideal Learning Inc., 5005 Royal Lane, Suite 130, Irving, Texas 75063. Kendall Hunt, P. O. Box 539, Dubuque, Iowa 52004-0539. Kensington Microware, 251 Park Avenue S, New York, New York 10017. Learning Research Associates, P. O. Box 39, Dept. 8, Roslyn Heights, New
York 10020. McGraw-Hill/School Division, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New
York 10020. MECC (Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium), 2520 Broadway Drive,
St. Paul, Minnesota 55113. Milliken Publishing Company, 1100 Research Boulevard, St. Louis,
Missouri 63132. Milton Bradley, Springfield, Massachusetts 01101. Mindscape, 3444 Dundee Road, Northbrook, Illinois 60062. NE GA IRA (Northeast Georgia International Reading Association), 309
Aderhold Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602. Scholastic Inc., 730 Broadway, New York, New York 10003. SCWP (South Coast Writing Project), University of California at Santa
Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106.
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Spinnaker Software Corporation, 1 Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139.
Springboard Software Inc., 7807 Creekridge Circle, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55435.
Sunburst Communications Inc., 39 Washington Street, Pleasantville, New York 10570.
Yukon-Koyukuk School District, P. O. Box 309, Nenana, Alaska 99760:
GLOSSARY
Word Processor - Computer program that enables users to enter, save, edit and/or print text. Data base - A computer-based program that can be used to store almost any kind of information and to sort it in such a way that similar items can be grouped and reported by class or type. Interactive Program - A computer-based program that varies each new presentation of information depending upon the response made by the user of the program. Simulation (computer-based) - A program that makes its user a central character in a "pretend" activity much like the real activity in terms of antecedents and consequences. Graphics (computer-based) - Pictures available to the computer user. Graphics may be seen as screen pictures or printed out on paper. Software - Computer programs that enable computers and their printers (hardware) to do the bidding of people. Adventures - Interactive computer stories in which the user is the central character who determines how the adventure story develops. There is usually only one set of choices lending to a successful ending; wrong choices lead to disasters. Programming - Typing instructions into a computer's memory to cause the computer to perform the tasks desired.
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STAFF DEVELOPMENT
STEP ONE Objective: To familiarize teachers with computer-based reading programs. Activity: Hold a "program fair" in which each computer in a lab is loaded with a different program. Encourage teachers to move from computer to computer exploring the programs they contain. Tirneline: Two hours. Materials: Computer lab with numerous computer-based reading programs (see Resources for lists). Evaluation: Ask participants to select programs they believe might be useful in their teaching and write a brief description of how they would use each one in their teaching of reading. Follow-up: Discuss programs that could serve the greatest number of teacher participants (and that might then be recommended for purchase) .
STEP TWO Objective: To teach word processing to staff. ~ctivity: Seat teachers, two per computer. Give each a diskette containing "FrEdWriter." Teach staff how to enter, edit, move, insert, save and print text. Tirneline: Two hours. Materials: One computer per two teachers. One copy of "FrEdWriter" for each computer. Evaluation: Have each teacher show mastery by printing out a note (to the teacher) that tells what the teacher has learned to do. Follow-up: Show teachers how to replace words with blanks to make (and save) a cloze activity with almost no effort.
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Copyright 1991
The State of Georgia Georgia Board of Education
For permission to copy or reproduce any part of this publication, contact:
Georgia Department of Education Office of Instructional Programs Curriculum Division
1954 Twin Towers East, Atlanta, Georgia 30334-5040 Telephone: (404) 656-2586 Fax: (404) 651-8582