Building Informational Reading Skills in Elementary Grades
- 1. Building INFORMATIONAL READING SKILLS in Elementary Grades Webinar - August 31, 2017
- 2. ABOUT US ● Curriculum Director for Literature and Social Studies and Science, K-5 ● Taught for 8 years (K, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades) ● Instructional coach for new ELA teachers ● Masters in Educational Leadership ● Online platform where you can view, share, and download the curriculum we use every day at Match Charter Public School ● K-12 courses in Math, ELA, and Science and Social Studies
- 3. AGENDA • The Importance of Background Knowledge • Key Features of our Approach • How to Use our Curriculum
- 4. FOR COMPREHENSION, KNOWLEDGE MATTERS ● Too often we focus on reading skills at the expense of building content knowledge ● Match advocates teaching reading skills through sustained immersion in high-quality science and social studies reading units ● Students tested with text about baseball ● “Weak” junior high readers who knew a lot about baseball outperformed “strong” readers who knew little ● Knowledge about the subject made the weak readers strong readers From Knowledge Matters
- 5. LARGE BASE OF SUPPORT FOR TEACHING KNOWLEDGE “An optimal early reading program will exploit this characteristic of word learning by ensuring that the topics of class read-alouds, independent reading, and discussion are consistent over several class periods, so that the topic will become familiar to the students and thus accelerate word learning.” “Knowledge of content and of the vocabulary acquired through learning about content are fundamental to successful reading comprehension; without broad knowledge, children's reading comprehension will not improve and their scores on reading comprehension tests will not budge upwards either.” E. D. Hirsch, Jr. “Building Knowledge: The Case for Bringing Content into the Language Arts Block and for a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum Core for all Children”
- 6. HOW WE ACQUIRE VOCABULARY • Context, Context, Context… oThe basis for learning new words • We learn new words 4 x faster in a familiar context than in an unfamiliar context* • Familiarity is built through topic emersion: consistent instruction over time oNot through exposure to a series of random different topics ● E. D. Hirsch, Jr. “Building Knowledge”
- 7. WHY MATCH FOCUSES ON INFORMATIONAL READING & BUILDING CONTENT KNOWLEDGE • Background knowledge is essential to reading comprehension • Not just teaching students to read – teaching students how to read to learn • Sustained learning about important topics in science, history and the arts is deeply engaging
- 8. PROJECT-BASED LEARNING INFORMATIONAL TEXTS CONTENT KNOWLEDGE DISCUSSION WORD KNOWLEDGE KEY FEATURES OF OUR APPROACH
- 9. Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade • Continents • Animals • Biographies • Ancient Egypt • Fighting for Justice • Light and Sound • Habitats • Insects • Immigration • Famous Leaders • Ancient Greece • Properties of Matter MATCH STUDENTS DIVE INTO 6-7 TOPICS PER YEAR • Seasons • Dinosaurs • MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks • History of the Earth • Life Cycles • Native Americans • Pilgrims and Colonial America • Animal Adaptations • Ancient Rome • Forces and Motion • World Religions • Machines • Earth’s Changes • American Revolution • Government and Famous Leaders • Energy • African American History • Plant and Animal Structures • Ecosystems • Cesar Chavez and Delores Huerta • Civil Rights • Inventions
- 10. You can view, download and share all of these units on our free site: www.matchfishtank.org LET’S TAKE A LOOK Reminder: Match Fishtank is entirely free!
- 11. PREPARING TO TEACH A UNIT • We believe teachers need to dive deeply into the content and learning goals of the unit before teaching • Fishtank is set up to facilitate this preparation • Demo: www.matchfishtank.org
- 12. STEPS INVOLVED IN UNIT PREP Review Unit Prep Sections • Intellectual Prep - Suggestions for how to build your own background knowledge on the topic and your understanding of priority standards and texts • Essential Questions - Central thematic questions of the unit • Content Knowledge and Connections • Vocabulary • Writing Focus Areas Take Unit Assessment and Annotate for Key Standards
- 13. LESSON PLANNING - STEP 1 Look at Objective, Target Task and Linked Standards
- 14. LESSON PLANNING - STEP 2 Read the text with objective, target task and linked standards in mind. Lesson 15 – Target Task How did Marion show courage and overcome prejudice? Why do you think she never gave up on her dream?
- 15. LESSON PLANNING - STEP 3 Write an exemplar response to the target task. Marion was very courageous! She showed courage when she was not allowed to apply to music school because she was black, which hurt her very much and showed her again how unfair segregation was. But she didn’t give up! She also showed courage when she was an adult, and sang in many places that were affected by segregation. Everyone loved her singing, and she didn’t let segregation stand in her way. Etc.
- 16. LESSON PLANNING - STEP 4 Pick focus for the lesson 1. What strategies should be reinforced? 1. What content needs to be mastered? ● “Good readers think about cause and effect to understand how events are connected.”
- 17. LESSON PLANNING - STEP 5 Before Reading What needs to be included in the book preview? Decide on class structures ● Vocabulary ● Tricky content previewing ● Set the focus for the lesson ● Connect to previous lessons and unit essential questions
- 18. LESSON PLANNING - STEP 5 (cont…) During Reading 1. How will the text be consumed? 1. How will key strategies be introduced and or reinforced? 1. Which key questions support the lesson focus? Decide on class structures ● Interactive Read-Aloud ● Partner reading ● Small group instruction ● Independent reading ● Think aloud ● Mini-lesson ● Close-read ● Turn and talk ● Stop and jot ● Annotation
- 19. LESSON PLANNING - STEP 5 (cont..) After Reading 1.How will information be synthesized? 1.How will you close the lesson? Decide on class structures ● Class discussion ● Extended Writing ● Quick Write ● Debate ● How does today’s lesson connect to larger themes of the unit? ● How does today’s lesson prepare scholars for tomorrow’s lesson?
- 20. KEY TAKEAWAYS • Teaching background knowledge through cohesive content-focused units supports students’ understanding of informational texts. • Teacher preparation and understanding of the content is important for facilitating student learning. • Units found on www.matchfishtank.org make it easier to teach informational reading strategies in a cohesive way.