Six Scaffolding Strategies to Use with Your Students What’s the opposite of scaffolding a lesson? Saying to students, “Read this nine-page science article, write a detailed essay on the topic it explores, and turn it in by Wednesday.” Yikes! No safety net, no parachute—they’re just left to their own devices. Let’s start by agreeing that scaffolding a lesson and differentiating instruction are two different things. Simply put, scaffolding is what you do first with kids. Scaffolding and differentiation do have something in common, though. So let’s get to some scaffolding strategies you may or may not have tried yet. 1. How many of us say that we learn best by seeing something rather than hearing about it? Try a fishbowl activity, where a small group in the center is circled by the rest of the class; the group in the middle, or fishbowl, engages in an activity, modeling how it’s done for the larger group.Always show students the outcome or product before they do it. 2. 3. All learners need time to process new ideas and information. 4. 5. 6.
The Importance of Phonics Instruction for Beginning and Struggling Readers For Beginning and Struggling Readers According to researchers, if three areas of reading were appropriately addressed, reading difficulties would be prevented. These three areas include: knowledge of the alphabetic principle, fluency, and comprehension (Burns, et.al., 1998). The alphabetic principle, through further review by the National Reading Panel, has been elaborated to include phonemic awareness (the ability to manipulate sounds) and phonics (the knowledge of letter and sound correspondence). The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension. The Role of Phonemic Awareness and Phonics in Reading Success Five Pillars of Effective Reading Instruction Myths About Phonics Instruction There are myriads of scientific research studies to support phonics instruction for beginning and struggling readers. In the following articles, Reading Horizons Reading Specialist, Stacy Hurst, addresses several common misconceptions about phonics instruction: Strategies for Teaching Phonics
Nurturing Literacy: Tips and Resources For Developing Lifelong Readers The importance of early literacy cannot be understated. Countless studies have shown that students who start reading earlier are better prepared for the academic road ahead. Not to mention, early readers are much more likely to become lifelong readers. Parents and teachers play an important role in lifelong literacy, but how exactly can they best help their kids cultivate a love for reading? Well, there isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, and I'm sure you all have strategies of your own. Early Literacy Teaching Guides: MAKE WAY FOR BOOKS, an early literacy advocacy nonprofit, offers a wealth of resources for educators. Really, there are many different useful tech resources. Edutopia's bloggers wrote some pretty inspiring posts about literacy and lifelong reading last year. see more see less
Interactive Exercises from @SnapLearning to Practice Close Reading The SNAP Close Reading Portfolio was developed to assist teachers from grades 2-8 in the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Close Reading is a series of interactive exercises that guides students in reflecting on the meaning of words and sentences, the sequence in which these sentences are arranged, and how ideas are developed over the course of the text. The SNAP Close Reading Portfolio integrates 3 big ideas into a single product:the six instructional shifts for ELAthe Common Core State Standards for Literature, Informational Text, Foundational Skills, Speaking and Listening, Writing, Languagethe content for social studies and science at each grade level What I like about it: The program is designed to assist teachers in facilitating close reading. With this goal in mind, the products and the content were created by educators, rather than large book publishers. The instructors guide is user friendly and simple to put into use and allows teachers to focus on the students.
12 Ways to Motivate Reluctant Readers I think I must have been born with a book in my hand! My parents told me that from the moment I learned to read, I would read everything in sight, from cereal boxes to billboards. When I began reading books, there was no stopping me! I even begged them to name my baby brother after a book character. (Yes, Tim, that story is really true!) So when I became a teacher, I was amazed to discover that most kids don’t enjoy reading. Here are a dozen strategies that are often included in Reading Workshop, and none of them involve stickers, certificates, or pizza. You can motivate reluctant readers when you …. Read aloud to them. Read what they’re reading.I used to get a secret thrill when the Scholastic Book Clubs flyer arrived! Let them read other stuff.
10 authentic ways to hold students accountable for home reading Let’s face it: reading logs are boring, and most kids hate writing down the titles and authors of books they’ve read in order to “prove” they’ve done their required 20 minutes of reading time at home. Here are some more authentic ways to hold students accountable for their reading time and foster a love of books. Please note that SnapLearning is a supporter of The Cornerstone and the link to that site is sponsored. 1) Replace reading logs with book journals. 2) Show kids your own book journal and talk about why it’s useful to keep a reading record. 3) Allow students to keep digital book journals. 4) Encourage kids to record more than just titles and authors. 5) Ask questions about what students are reading. 6) Provide access to a digital program that automatically tracks and creates reports on what kids have read. 7) If students read eBooks, have them take and annotate screenshots to reflect on their reading. How do you hold students accountable for their reading at home? Follow On
Projects to Engage Middle School Readers It's my fault. I'll admit it. During my eight years in the classroom, I ruined at least two amazing literary works by assigning horrifically dull reading projects. Peanuts raises some interesting questions about the value of reading projects. In middle school, we ask students to dissect texts and perform literary analysis. Demonstrate understanding of the plot elementsExplore the role of tone and themeIdentify significant scenes or events and their impact on the storyAnalyze a character and show an understanding of that character's motivationsExplain the relationship between the author's life and the story . . . does it have to be an essay or book report? Book Trailers In the spirit of movie trailers, book trailers allow students to create video advertisements to entice new readers. Students could use iMovie or Animoto to create and publish their videos. Podcasts Choose Your Own Adventure My middle school students struggled with identifying and comprehending the concept of foreshadowing.
Looking at Complex Texts More Complexly (or What’s Wrong with this Picture?) By now many of us have experienced or heard about the effects of using Lexile levels as the sole arbiter of text complexity. In her wonderful post “Guess My Lexile,” for instance, Donalyn Miller looks at the absurdity of putting book with widely different reader appeal and age appropriateness in the same book bin because they share a Lexile level (as my own favorite Lexile odd couple, Clifford and Hemingway, do, with both clocking in at 610L). And for those of us who strongly believe in the power of choice and interest-based reading, young adult writer Mike Mullin shares a chilling story in a blog post about a mother frantically searching for a book that her dystopian-loving 6th grade daughter, whose Lexile level was 1000, would be allowed to read for school. While I can’t vouch for the intentions of the Common Core authors (as I can’t for any writer without direct communication), this is not what’s stated in the Standards themselves. Like this: Like Loading...
Let's Chat Core: Simplifying Text Complexity As I meet and talk to teachers about the Common Core State Standards, I consistently hear the question: “What is all this text complexity? Am I supposed to be giving kids harder things to read?” This question underscores some of the truth and a lot of the misconceptions about text complexity, its role as part of the Core and how it functions in the classroom. Text complexity isn’t simple. But, we can simplify it to help us meet the needs of our learners. And remember, text complexity business isn’t just for English Language Arts teachers, it’s for all of us who put primary texts in front of our students, knowing that the more they delve into the language of our disciplines, the more equipped they will be to think. In this new video webinar, I’m offering a teacher’s “working definition” of text complexity, break down its three parts and offer some strategies for using this framework purposefully in the classroom. Let’s Chat Core: Simplifying Text Complexity Learning to Read the Core
Tips and resources for supporting struggling readers SmartBlogs The Common Core State Standards Initiative focuses on rigor and raising expectation in classrooms nationwide. It calls for an increase in reading complexity for students of all ages. As principals and teachers work hard to ensure their curricula are standards aligned, are struggling readers at risk of being left behind? The 10th reading standard says that by the end of the year, students will read and comprehend texts at their respective grade level independently and proficiently. The first question to ask when familiarizing yourself with the standards: “What is grade level when it comes to reading?” This is a question that many special-education teachers and literacy coaches grapple with daily. The common core website provides guidance on Page 4 of Appendix A, where readers will find a chart with updated information about text complexity by grade band and associate measures. There is a common misconception that in fourth or fifth grade, teachers can stop teaching decoding.
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Predicting Dyslexia — Even Before Children Learn to Read Getty Images By Rachel Zimmerman, WBUR CommonHealth Blog Sixth-grader Josh Thibeau has been struggling to read for as long as he can remember. He has yet to complete a single Harry Potter book, his personal goal. When he was in first grade, Josh’s parents enrolled him in a research study at Boston Children’s Hospital investigating the genetics of dyslexia. “When we first started, I’m like, ‘Oh no, you’re sending me to like some strange, like, science lab where I’m going to be injected with needles and it’s going to hurt,’ I’m like, ‘I’m never going to see my family again,’ ” says Josh, who lives in West Newbury, Mass. Josh and his three biological siblings all have dyslexia to varying degrees. “There was a student that said, ‘Are you stupid?’ On average, one or two kids in every U.S. classroom has dyslexia, a brain-based learning disability that often runs in families and makes reading difficult, sometimes painfully so. And it’s much more complicated than just flipping your “b’s and “d’s.”