Literacy in the Content Areas

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Literacy in the Content Areas

• Dr. Jim Greenlaw
• St. Francis Xavier University

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What Content Area Reading Involves

• Reading in content areas, such as science,
  history, and social studies, implies that
  students can read and understand expository
  texts. Not only are these texts characterized by
  their factual information, but this information
  is often conveyed using multisyllabic technical
  words. Another common feature of expository texts
  is the way they are structured. For example, they
  may rely on cause/effect, compare-contrast, or
  sequencing.

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• When students read in the content areas they
  interact with the text before, during, and after
  reading. Before reading, they draw on their prior
  knowledge, set a purpose, and anticipate
  questions. During reading, they use word
  identification strategies (e.g., structural
  analysis, syllabication) to decode unfamiliar
  multisyllabic words and context clues to figure
  out the meaning of technical terms. They read
  between the lines to make inferences. After
  reading, students reflect, synthesize ideas
  across sources, and make further interpretations.

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• Drawing on their diverse abilities and needs,
  readers interact with the text on three levels.
  The first level is the literal levelreading and
  understanding the factual information in the
  text. The second level is inferentialreading
  between the lines to make sense of ideas through
  connecting to past experiences and knowledge. The
  third level is evaluationforming conclusions and
  developing viewpoints based on analysis of the
  information.

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• Who the reader isin terms of prior experiences,
  strengths, abilities, skills, needs, and
  difficultiesaffects the individual's
  meaning-making process. For example, a student
  who has visited the Parsboro Museum and collected
  fossil specimens on the beach at Joggins will be
  able to draw on his or her prior knowledge when
  reading a text about the geology of Nova Scotia.
  If this student has read other materials about
  geology, then some vocabulary words might already
  be familiar.

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Why Teaching Reading is Important in the Content
Areas

• Although content area teachers might like to
  assume that all students can comprehend texts,
  identify the words in the texts, understand the
  meaning of these words, use information from
  texts to construct knowledge, and demonstrate
  their understanding, this is not always the case.
  If students cannot read, then they are hindered
  in developing content area knowledge. In today's
  educational context, every content area teacher
  has a responsibility to help students
  successfully and productively access, read, and
  understand texts.

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How to Help Students Become Strategic Readers

• All content knowledge teachers can help their
  students become better content readers by using
  reading strategies. Research has shown that when
  students are given instruction in strategies they
  make significant gains on measures of reading
  comprehension over students trained with
  conventional instruction.

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• Reading strategies draw on the different
  approaches that good readers use to read actual
  text in their classrooms. These strategies
  include making connections, questioning,
  inferring, determining importance, visualizing,
  synthesizing, and monitoring for meaning. To help
  students become strategic readers, teachers can
  model different strategies, coach students,
  provide prompts, offer encouragement, and give
  feedback at just the right time.

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Include questions in reading the content that
include all six levels of Blooms taxonomy
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• Before Reading
• Suggestions for teaching comprehension strategy
  use before reading include providing
  opportunities for students
• to activate their prior knowledge about the
  content area topic to be studied. Activities
  might include having students tell what they know
  about the topic or inviting them to discuss what
  they want to learn about it
• to participate in activities, such as mapping
  techniques, that enable students to see
  relationships among their ideas about the topic
• to participate in activities that introduce
  analogous material to help students make
  connections between the topic to be studied and
  their background knowledge
• to participate in activities that develop the
  prerequisite background knowledge and vocabulary
  about content area topics. Activities might
  include reading materials, videos, computer
  databases and Web sites, and field trips

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• to participate in vocabulary-building activities
  that teach students the meaning of technical
  words they will encounter as they read
• to preview and make predictions about the text
  to be read
• to examine the physical features of the text,
  such as different kinds of typefaces or headings
  and subheadings, to make predictions about what
  they will learn from reading
• to establish goals, or purposes for reading
• to generate questions they would like answered
  about the topic of the text. Students might use
  physical features of the text to generate
  questions. They might, for example turn headings
  into questions or question themselves about the
  definitions of boldface or italicized words in
  the text.

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During Reading Suggestions for teaching
comprehension strategy use during reading include
providing opportunities for students to
construct mental images of the content they are
reading to reflect on and monitor their
understanding of text as they read to
participate in self-questioning activities that
require them to clarify and monitor their
comprehension as they proceed through text. For
example, students might be taught to ask
themselves questions such as, Do I understand
what I just read? to participate in
activities in which they respond to factual and
inferential questions as they proceed through the
text. To begin, teachers might provide clues
about where to find the answers to these
questions
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• to participate in summarization activities that
  enable students to identify information pertinent
  to sections of text. Students can be prompted to
  ask themselves questions such as, What is the
  most important idea about the paragraph I just
  read? or What is the gist of the paragraph?
• to keep literature logs and journals, which
  offer students opportunities to reflect on their
  reading through prediction, summarization, and
  interpretation
• to apply organizational frameworks as a way to
  understand and remember content information
• to complete note sheets and study guides to
  facilitate their understanding of text and
  improve their ability to deal with information
  presented in various expository text structures
  and
• to make story maps or use other graphic
  organizers to help them organize information from
  the text.

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After Reading Suggestions for teaching
comprehension strategy use after reading include
providing opportunities for students to
review, paraphrase, summarize, and interpret
text to participate in discussions of the main
ideas of the text by summarizing or by putting
information into their own words to answer
questions that pertain both to literal and
inferential comprehension of text to
participate in small-group discussions using
study guides and postreading questions and to
present important information from the text
through oral reports, visual representations,
media shows, or book reviews.
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Think Alouds

• The Think Aloud is a literacy strategy designed
  to help students monitor comprehension and direct
  their thinking as they work through the problem
  solving process. This literacy strategy can be
  implemented effectively in many content areas. It
  is used, for instance, to demonstrate the
  thinking that goes into solving a math problem.
  Through teacher modeling, students are talked
  through the thinking processes. The teacher
  should keep in mind that the comments must
  exemplify metacognitive awareness so that each
  step in the process is modeled for the students.
  Questions are to be encouraged after the problem
  is solved.

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Think Aloud Lesson

• Students turn to the assigned problems for the
  day.
• Teacher thinks aloud through 2 or 3 examples,
  pointing out to the students how the Think Aloud
  reveals how to attack and solve the problem.
• Students solve each sample problem after the
  teacher does the Think Alouds.
• Next the children try Thinking Aloud with a
  partner on several problems. The teacher
  circulates and listens to the interaction,
  offering suggestions and modeling for those who
  are having difficulty.
• Finally, students work on the assigned problems
  using Think Aloud silently as they work.

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SQRQCQ

• SURVEY First, the students survey the problem
  rather quickly to get a general idea or
  understanding of it.
• QUESTION Then they come up with questions what
  they believe the problem is asking for.
• REREAD The third step is to reread the problem to
  identify facts, relevant information, and details
  they will need to solve it.
• QUESTION Now another question is formulated that
  focuses on what mathematical operation(s) to
  apply.
• COMPUTE The students actually compute the answer
  solving the problem.
• QUESTION The question to be asked at this point
  involves the accuracy of the answer. Is it
  correct? Does the answer make sense?

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SQ3R

• Survey By surveying the chapter titles,
  introductory paragraphs, bold face, italicized
  headings, and summary paragraphs, the reader gets
  an overview of the material. Surveying also gives
  enough information to generate individual
  purposes for reading the text.
• Question Purpose questions are often provided at
  the beginning of the chapter. It not, the reader
  can turn section headings into questions. The
  main objective is to have questions for which
  answers are expected to be found in the passage.
• Read The student is to read to answer the purpose
  questions formulated in Step 2, Question.
• Recite Student should try to answer questions
  without referring to the text or notes. This step
  helps in transferring information from short-term
  to long-term memory.
• Review Students review the material by rereading
  parts of the text or notes. Students verify
  answers given during Step 4, Recite. This helps
  retain information better and gives immediate
  feedback.

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Concept Maps

• Concept mapping, among many other things, allows
  teachers and students to organize concepts and
  determine the relations between concepts. This
  enables a teacher or student to work with
  concepts and propositions as opposed to the rote
  memorization of facts.
• Concept maps are both evocative and generative.
  That is they help evoke prior knowledge and help
  generate or construct new knowledge. Concept
  mapping is particularly useful in the science
  classroom. There are several steps in the
  construction of Concept maps.

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Steps in Concept Map
Construction 1. Select several concepts from the
content material (8-12 preferable). 2. Write each
concept on a separate post-it or card. 3. Select
an organizing concept or main idea concept to be
placed at the top of the map. 4. Arrange the
other concepts in a distinct hierarchy under the
organizing concept. 5. Draw lines between related
concepts adding linking words that explain
relationships. 6. Review and Reflect. Once
satisfied with the arrangement of the concepts on
the map, construct a final map.
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Jigsaw

• The Jigsaw strategy is designed for cooperative
  learning. The idea is analogous to a jigsaw
  puzzle in that pieces or topics of study are
  researched and learned by students within groups
  and then put together in the form of peer
  teaching between groups.
• Students work in groups of three to six to become
  experts on a particular topic which is based on
  an overall theme or unit of study. The group
  members are charged with learning everything they
  can about their assigned topics. Each group
  member participates in the research efforts and
  becomes an expert on his or her particular
  topic. The students then leave their groups to
  join expert groups to teach about their
  assigned pieces of the puzzle. Then, the original
  group comes back together to teach each other
  what they have learned. Each student listens and
  takes notes, and at the end of the unit, is
  accountable for the information shared throughout
  the class. Instructional technology can easily be
  incorporated into the jigsaw strategy. Research
  can be accomplished via the internet on-line
  encyclopedias. Presentations can be developed
  with various software packages and enhanced with
  video camera pictures, student voices, music, and
  moving illustrations from other sources in to the
  presentations.

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How to set it up

• 1. Divide class into 4-6 member groups each
  member becomes an expert on a different
  topic/concept assigned by teacher.
• 2. Members of the teams with the same topic meet
  together in an expert group with a variety of
  resource materials and texts available to explore
  their topic. Also, a single reading from the
  textbook or another source could be used to
  complete the assignment.
• 3. The students prepare how they will teach the
  information to others.
• 4. Everyone returns to their jigsaw teams to
  teach what they learned to the other members.
• 5. Team members listen and take notes as their
  classmate teaches them.
• 6. All students are given a quiz or exam on the
  overall topic which as been taught in sections
  within each jigsaw group.

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Cubing

• This strategy was originally intended to be a
  writing strategy to explore topics or subjects
  from a variety of dimensions. A concrete visual
  of a cube is used to consider these multiple
  dimensions.
• It is best to introduce the activity with a
  familiar topic, going through each of the steps
  to model their application to that particular
  topic. Then, students can work individually or in
  groups to go through each side of the cube.

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The Six Sides of the Cube 1. Describe it
(including color, shape, size (if applicable)How
would you describe the issue/topic? 2. Compare it
(what it is similar to or different from)Its
sort of like 3. Associate it (what it makes you
think of)How does the topic connect to other
issues/subjects? 4. Analyze it (tell how it is
made or what it is composed of)How would you
break the problem/issue into smaller parts? 5.
Apply it (tell how it can be used)How does it
help you understand other topics/issues? 6. Argue
for/against it (take a stand and support it)I am
for this because/This works because/I agree
because
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KWL

• We know that successful learners link prior
  knowledge to new information, then reorganize it
  to create their own meaning and learning. KWL
  helps students do thisit provides a framework
  that students can use to construct meaning from
  new material. It is a literacy strategy that
  teachers can easily modify to meet students
  learning needs at any level and in any content
  area. The letters stand for the knowledge
  construction process that takes place
• K What I KNOW begins with students prior
  knowledgebrainstorm and record
• W What I WANT to learn/know students articulate
  their own questions
• L What I LEARNED students record what they have
  learned

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Journals

• Allowing students to write in journals gives them
  the opportunity to express their own thoughts and
  opinions in a non-threatening arena. While the
  activity allows them to organize their ideas with
  some freedom, guidelines for how the journal is
  to be set up and utilized is basic to successful
  use of journals. Presenting a general format to
  follow will help to eliminate writers anxiety
  and give structure to journaling assignments.
• Students are often motivated to go beyond the
  basic requirements of an assignment and explore
  other perspectives and possibilities for
  solutions to problems. Journal entries can be
  inspired by teacher prompts or student-selected
  topics. The information recorded in the journal
  can serve as a study guide or resource for other
  projects.

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Observation Journal (Field Journal)

• The students and the teacher should negotiate
  about what observations are to made, and what
  guidelines are to be established for recording in
  the journals. The format for entries, information
  to be included, when to record, etc., are topics
  that should be included in the preliminary
  planning for the observation journals. The
  students then visit the experiment and record
  their observations into the journal (or field
  notebook).
• It is important to remember that journal entries
  do not always have to be charts or narrative
  writings. The use of illustrations in the journal
  is an effective way for students to clarify what
  they are reporting and is an excellent way to
  address different learning styles represented by
  students in every classroom.

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Dialogue Journal

• Dialogue journals offer an opportunity for
  two-way communication between teacher and
  student on-going learning can take place through
  use of this process.

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Assessment Journal

• Students respond to teacher prompts, experiences,
  or self-selected topics. Illustrations may also
  be included. Students exchange journals between
  each other and critique them in a positive
  manner. This helps the students further
  understand the concepts being presented as they
  have an opportunity to see other students work,
  ask questions of classmates, and offer positive
  suggestions to each other. Peer assessment of
  journal writing also helps foster communication
  between students.

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GIST

• GIST is helpful for teachers to use when students
  fail to read problems carefully before attempting
  to solve them (Cunningham, 1982). The task is to
  write a summary of the problem in 12 words or
  less. The student identifies the 12 most
  important words needed to solve the problem. The
  words capture the gist of the problem. A chart
  may be prepared with the word problem at the top
  and 12 blanks below to be completed by the
  students.
• This strategy helps students to recognize
  information that is not essential to solving the
  problem. The teacher can model the strategy, then
  ask students to line out information that is not
  necessary to solve the problem. Through the use
  of this strategy, the students learn to distill
  the essence of the problem.

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Vocabulary Study

• Vocabulary knowledge is in constant change as
  students encounter different uses of terminology
  in different contexts. In order for students to
  solve word problems they need to understand the
  vocabulary used in the problem. Some words are
  best learned through direct and visual experience
  and by making connections. An understanding of
  the words contained in word problems is essential
  to finding a solution. This literacy strategy can
  easily be incorporated into mathematics teaching
  whenever word problems are being studied.
• The teacher selects words in the problem to
  review with the students. Words are decoded, and
  their use within the context of the problem is
  recognized. The teacher guides the students
  through the problem, asking questions that
  require the students to think about what the
  problem is asking. This strategy promotes the
  higher level thinking necessary to interpret word
  problems.

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Knowledge Rating

• The Knowledge Rating literacy strategy can easily
  be incorporated into instruction in any content
  area (Blachowicz, 1986). It is a pre/during/and
  post-reading activity. Students begin with a list
  of vocabulary words and corresponding columns
  (see sample Knowledge Rating charts). Before
  reading, students analyze each word and note
  whether the term is familiar. If the student
  knows the meaning of the word, a short definition
  is written in the appropriate column. This
  pre-reading activity sets the stage for further
  clarification of the words through discussion or
  reading.
• Next, students skim the text to locate the words
  in context. The location of the word is noted for
  later reference (with highlighters, removable
  sticky strips, underlining, etc.). It is
  permissible to have the students highlight a form
  of the word, if the exact word is not found
  first.
• After reading the text completely, the words are
  revisited in context, and definitions are noted
  for each word. Such active participation in
  processing vocabulary is necessary to understand
  the text and to help students construct meaning.

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Writers Workshop

• Writers Workshop involves use of an
  instructional strategy by which students are
  engaged, encouraged, and developed as writers and
  readers. Within the context of Writers Workshop,
  a variety of organizational patterns for
  instruction are used. A whole class session, a
  small group mini-lesson, or a student-teacher
  conference are examples of the various intraclass
  organizational structures. The Writers Workshop
  is devoted to supporting student learning in
  writing. What students need to learn during a
  Writers Workshop is based upon their present
  writing competencies and the English language
  arts standards and benchmarks for each grade
  level. For the majority of the time in Writers
  Workshop, students will be engaged in actual
  writing. This strategy may be employed over a
  period of several days, and has several sub
  parts.

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Mini-lesson A mini-lesson (Calkins, 1986)
provides direct instruction by the teacher which
will help students independently engage in their
own writing. It is a short, focused lesson about
a specific writing technique which is often
thought of as an opportunity for the teacher to
explain and demonstrate a specific technique for
improving a piece of writing. It is an invitation
for students to try a particular technique in
their own writing. Selection of the topic for the
mini-lesson is based on students writing
needs. A variety of topics may be selected based
on the identified need in student writing as the
teacher helps the writer to further refine a
piece of writing. The minilesson may involve
revising a piece of writing based on a need for
organization and clarity, while another
mini-lesson might focus on helping students
generate topic ideas for ones writing. Teachers
may use the writing from one of the students in
the class as the text used to discuss the
mini-lesson topic. Using your students own
writing to help other students develop their
writing skills helps to build a community of
writers. It is important to remember to value
student ownership and seek permission to use the
students writing prior to using it in a
minilesson.
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Goal Setting and Peer Conferences

• Goal Setting Conference A goal setting
  conference is designed to support student
  literacy achievement during Writers Workshop by
  helping students take responsibility for
  determining what they will address in their
  writing and for improving that aspect of their
  writing. It may also serve as a management
  technique. It is a useful strategy or technique
  that is helpful in developing student
  accountability and responsibility.
• Peer Conferences Conferences between students
  are a powerful means of building community in the
  Writers Workshop setting. They serve to foster
  independence and student responsibility. Peer
  conferences may address prewriting, the content
  of the writing selection, necessary revision,
  editing needs, or just about any aspect of
  writing. Structuring time for peer conferences is
  an important part of Writers Workshop.

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Symbols

• The idea of using symbols as a literacy strategy
  has it roots in dual coding theory. The dual
  coding theory attempts to give equal weight to
  verbal and nonverbal processing. Human cognition
  is unique in that it has become specialized for
  dealing simultaneously with language and with
  nonverbal objects and events. Moreover, the
  language system is peculiar in that it deals
  directly with linguistic input and output (in the
  form of speech or writing) while at the same time
  serving a symbolic function with respect to
  nonverbal objects, events, and behaviors. Any
  representational theory must accommodate this
  dual functionality.
• Symbols support a quick recognition system that
  allows for fast translation of presented
  information. Symbols further allow for economy in
  the amount of information presented.
• Imagine a weather map where all the important
  information about fronts and precipitation is
  represented. If that information were written
  out, the map itself would be obliterated by
  textual material. The important information would
  be obscured. Symbols have always been part of
  human culture and constitute a common visual
  language.

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Subject Use of Symbols Language
Arts punctuation, mythology Mathematics
operational and relational signs Science
periodic chart, weather symbols Social
Studies map symbols Health and Safety
warning symbols
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World Wide Vocabulary

• An online dictionary can be used to discover and
  learn new vocabulary in many different content
  area classrooms. To help students feel more
  comfortable with the technology, it is important
  for the teacher to demonstrate how to locate
  sites that will enhance the lesson as well as how
  to navigate around the sites. It is also
  important that students recognize the author of
  the web sites that will be visited or the source
  of the information found.
• Information software is another way to
  incorporate vocabulary activities. Packages that
  focus on particular subject areas, encyclopedias,
  and software programs that accompany textbooks
  give students an opportunity to search for word
  meanings in a different and exciting way. Online
  word games, word searches, and puzzles can
  reinforce the learning of new words and their
  definitions. Students often enjoy constructing
  their own word puzzles and games using the
  computer.
• A guide sheet can be helpful for students to use
  with an online vocabulary activity or with a
  computer software program. Each student can be
  assigned particular vocabulary words to find. The
  words can be known words, unknown words, or a
  combination of words students may or may not be
  familiar with in the context of the lesson.
  Students could also work in pairs or small groups
  of three depending upon the availability of
  computers, a students knowledge of technology,
  etc. Assignments can vary in terms of finding
  definitions, using the words in sentences, and
  restating the meaning of words in context.

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Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DR-TA)

• The Directed Reading-Thinking Activity engages
  students in a step-by-step process that guides
  them through informational text. It is designed
  to move students through the process of reading
  text. Questions are asked and answered, and
  predictions are made and tested throughout the
  reading. Additionally, new questions and
  predictions are formulated as the student
  progresses through the text. While the teacher
  guides the process, the student determines the
  purpose for reading. To introduce the strategy,
  the teacher gives examples of how to make
  predictions. A preview of the section to be read
  is given by having the students read the title
  and make predictions.
• Independent thinking is encouraged as knowledge
  from previous lessons is incorporated into the
  predictions. All student predictions should be
  recorded by the teacher, even those that will
  later prove to be inaccurate. Misconceptions are
  clarified by the reader through interaction with
  the text and in post-reading discussions.
• After reading small selections, the teacher
  prompts the students with questions about
  specific information. It is important for the
  teacher not to interrupt too often. The amount of
  reading is adjusted depending on the purpose and
  the difficulty of the text.

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Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DR-TA)

• The reading is broken into small sections, giving
  the students time to think about and process
  information. The teacher makes sure students can
  identify and understand important vocabulary.
  Words are explained in context.
• This literacy strategy allows students to ask
  questions or make predictions using their own
  words in a non-threatening environment. Everyone
  is on the same page and has the information
  right in front of them. New concepts and ideas
  are connected to those learned in previous
  lessons.
• As the reading continues, questions are answered
  and predictions are confirmed, revised, or
  rejected. The predicting-reading-proving cycle
  continues throughout the lesson. The format can
  be varied with different activities and by
  integrating technology.
• Predictions made at the beginning of the lesson
  should be revisited at the end of the lesson as a
  closing activity. This review offers a
  comprehension check. Questions such as, Were you
  correct? and, What do you think now? help
  students examine the proof of their predictions.

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The Pre-Reading Plan (PReP)

• The PreReading Plan, or PReP (Langer, 1981), is a
  before-reading strategy that helps teachers
  assess students prior knowledge. How students
  prior knowledge is organized can be determined as
  well as the quality and quantity of language that
  students use to express their knowledge about a
  particular topic. There are three phases in the
  PReP procedure
• Phase One The Initial Associations with the
  concept Students brainstorm what they know about
  the topic or a key vocabulary term and hear their
  classmates associations. This activity helps
  students think about what they already know and
  sets the stage for more critical analysis of
  content.
• Phase Two Reflections on the Initial
  Associations Students are asked to reflect on
  their Initial Associations with questions such
  as, What made you think of? or Why did this
  response come to mind?
• Phase Three Reformulation of Knowledge After
  the discussion and before reading, ask for new
  ideas. Students have the opportunity to verbalize
  associations that have been elaborated or
  changed. This discussion helps students
  understand how others are constructing meaning.

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Listen-Read-Discuss

• The literacy strategy Listen-Read-Discuss helps
  students comprehend text. Before reading,
  students listen to a short lecture delivered by
  the teacher. A guide or graphic organizer can be
  used to help students follow the information.
• The students then read a text selection about the
  topic. This explanation is compared with the
  information from the lecture. The passage from
  the textbook should cover the same information
  introduced in the lecture. Long reading
  assignments that bring in other topics are not
  appropriate. The teacher should let the students
  know that the purpose for reading is to
  experience another explanation of the topic and
  to compare it to the information they have just
  heard.
• After reading, there is a large group discussion
  or students engage in small group discussions
  about the topic. Questions should be encouraged.
  Students may be asked to complete an information
  sheet or a writing activity to further develop
  understanding.

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Anticipation Guide

• Anticipation Guides consist of the following
  steps
• Planning
• Select major concepts and supporting details in a
  text selection, lecture, or other information
  source.
• Identify students experiences and beliefs that
  will be challenged and, in some cases, supported
  by the material.
• Create statements that reflect students
  prereading beliefs and that may challenge and
  modify those beliefs. Three to five statements
  are usually adequate.
• Arrange the statements on paper, transparency, or
  board.
• Prereading
• Have students respond to each statement
  individually. You may ask them to justify their
  responses for a reference point during a later
  discussion.
• Engage the students in a prereading discussion
  asking them to justify their responses to the
  statements.
• Notes
• You may include an Im not sure response, for
  students who do not feel comfortable with a
  definite answer. This will help determine the
  students prior knowledge. Let the students know
  the statements are designed to make them think
  about topics and to make them think about what
  they will be learning.

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Reaction Guide

• The Reaction Guide is a post-reading strategy
  that serves as a review of the learning.
  Post-reading reactions to the same statements
  from the Anticipation Guide allow students an
  opportunity to reassess their original responses.

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Discussion Groups

• Teachers need to model the process of how a small
  group should function. To introduce the roles
  within the group, a small group should be formed
  for the entire class to observe. The teacher and
  students can assume assigned roles within the
  group and demonstrate the process, with the
  teachers direct guidance. Examples of how a
  discussion can be used to solve a problem, answer
  questions, or accomplish a task can be modeled.
• Groups should be made up of five, four, or three
  students. It is important that group members have
  specific responsibilities in order to complete
  the assignment and to know exactly what is
  expected of them. For instance, roles can
  include facilitator, recorder, clerk, and
  manager.

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Vocabulary Self-Collection Strategy (VSS)

• The purpose of the Vocabulary Self-Collection
  Strategy is to help students generate a list of
  words to be explored and learned and to use their
  own prior knowledge and interests to enhance
  their vocabulary. This strategy can be used to
  stimulate growth in word knowledge. Because the
  list is self-generated, an internal motivation is
  utilized. This strategy can help students become
  fascinated with language and thus, increase their
  enjoyment of the subject.
• Students are put into cooperative groups and
  asked to go through the assigned reading (for
  example a chapter in their book) to identify
  words that they think ought to be studied
  further. Students are to find words that are
  important to understanding the content of a
  particular text selection. The meaning and
  importance of the words can be discussed in
  cooperative groups prior to sharing them with the
  whole class.
• Next, a class list of words is developed. Each
  team submits one word from their list to the
  class, giving its meaning and why they consider
  it important. The word is recorded for display.
  Each other group then submits a different word.
  This action is repeated until all selected words
  are on display. The teacher can also submit a
  word to the list. The teacher then leads a
  discussion for clarification and expansion of the
  meanings of the terms. A dictionary or the index
  of the text can be checked for word meanings
  when necessary. Students prior knowledge is
  applied in the discussion.

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Three-Level Study Guides

• The three-level study guide is one form of a
  study guide that helps students develop multiple
  levels of understanding when reading a text. This
  literacy strategy is extremely useful in helping
  students become critical thinkers as they develop
  independence in reading comprehension. The
  following steps facilitate developing and using a
  three-level study guide
• Step 1 Analyze content and identify major
  concepts important details
• Step 2 Develop questions at multiple levels of
  understanding
• EXPLICIT LEVEL - Right on the Page
• IMPLICIT LEVEL - Think and Search
• EXPERIENCE-BASED - On Your Own
• Step 3 Assign the study guide and engage
  students in small group discussions

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Plan for the Afternoon Session

• 100 230 Break into discipline area teams to
  plan a lesson using one of the strategies
• 245 330 Sharing lessons, making plans, and
  question period