The Threads of Reading Blog » reading stategies

Similarities and Differences

The Weaver — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 22:29:09 +0000

If you have read Marzano’s research in Classrooms That Work, you know that helping students identify similarities and differences is considered a “high yield” strategy for teaching content and helping students improve academic performance. You can use this technique with literature by asking student to write about how two stories connect to one another. Students should describe all of the ways that the two stories are similar and then how they are different. Provide a graphic organizer to help students organize their information prior to beginning to write their paper.

Building Deep Thinking With Content Instruction

KTankersley — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 06:00:16 +0000

A great way to help students increase their understanding of content text is to get them talking and sharing with one another about a text. Instead of asking simple knowledge and comprehension questions about the text, have students work with partners or small groups to answer 3-4 process or reaction types of questions over the assigned text. Allow students time to both discuss the question, form a response and then share out to the class. Since both types of questions require students to think more deeply and demonstrate deeper levels of comprehension, the whole class benefits from rich discussions that take place with these types of questions. You will also benefit from hearing your students report out and may uncover confusions, misunderstandings or areas where students made connections that you never expected.

Some examples of process questions include the following:

1. What didn’t you understand or what was confusing about this section of the reading assignment?

2. What text in this section was interesting to learn or gave you some new ideas?

3. What is the most difficult part of this concept and what could you do to better understand it?

Some examples of reaction types of questions include the following:

1. If you were the teacher, what questions would you ask your students about this concept or idea?

2. What kind of a picture or doodle does this concept make you think of?

3. What 3 ideas or concepts that you have learned before could be connected to this topic/concept?

Understanding the Characters

KTankersley — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:53:58 +0000

In our diverse culture, students bring their own culture to the reading experience. We can help students better understand the characters in the fiction they are reading by asking them to consider the perspectives a character might have rather than looking at the issues or problems from their own background or cultural perspective. Some questions we can ask that can help guide students in their thinking are the following:

1) Would you have felt like that if (event) happened to you?

2) How might you have felt (reacted) in that situation?

3) How is (character) different from you?

4) Since (character) is different in this way, how do you think s/he might have felt in this situation?

5) What clues in the story tell you how s/he might have been feeling?

This type of discussion helps students focus more on why something happened and also helps them learn to identify a different perspective from their own. This may also help students better accept different perspectives and reactions in their own world.

Teaching Reading for Long-Term Mastery

KTankersley — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 23:19:00 +0000

One of the complaints I hear from teachers is having to spend a substantial amount of time each year preparing students to take state assessment instruments. My stance is is that this is not necessary. We can take a few good lessons from how the coaches of Olympic athletes prepare their protegees for that all important day. For years, prior to the actual Olympic event, these coaches provide guidance to build muscles, increase endurance and build stamina in the young athletes. As the big day finally approaches, they refine their instruction so that their mentees can maximize their performance and do their best. So too, should teachers provide long-term practice over the entire course of the school year. No matter what state, most typical state reading tests focus on four text elements: main idea and supporting details; relationships (sequential, comparative, or cause and effect; generalizations or conclusions; or some facet of the author’s craft or writing style. To ensure that students will score well on these tasks, using them regularly throughout the year. When students are used to analyzing stories in this way on a daily basis, it is second nature to respond appropriately on state tests. For more helpful tips on maximizing student performance, see “Tests that Teach: Using Standardized Tests to Improve Instruction.” (ASCD, 2007). You can pick up a copy of “Tests that Teach” from the main pages of my website.