Sunday, October 24, 2010

Reading Comprehension Instruction through Think-Alouds

          The ultimate goal of reading is text comprehension.  "Comprehension involves a series of behaviors" (Tompkins, 2010) by the reader that occur before, during and after reading.  Successful comprehension depends on the "interaction of reader factors and text factors" (Tompkins, 2010).  Comprehension strategies to use before reading include activating prior knowledge and examining the text to uncover its organization.  This can be done by making predictions, responding to a question that will lead into the main topics in the book and previewing the text.  During reading, children can use comprehension strategies such as making connections to one's own experiences, questioning and visualizing.  Lastly, strategies that can be used after reading include drawing inferences and summarizing.
          In order to learn what these behaviors look like and how they can be done, children need a good model, which is the important role a teacher plays in reading instruction.  There should be many opportunities for children to experiment with reading and utilize the strategies they are taught.  One method is through think-alouds during a read aloud lesson or guided reading lesson.  Tompkins states "teachers use think-alouds to demonstrate the monitoring strategy during mini-lessons and when they're reading aloud to students."  Through my think-alouds, I set my expectations of what good readers should do.  I generally have students look at the title and the picture on the cover and ask them to form a prediction.  Sometimes we will even do a picture walk before forming predictions depending on the purpose for reading.  Sometimes I will briefly select students to share their predictions with the class, but once I notice that students are able to make reasonable predictions, I just give them time to think and then I tell them to evaluate whether they need to adjust their prediction as we read.  I am also sure to clearly state our purpose for reading so that students can prepare themselves for a specific focus.  As I read, I often stop to allow my students to make connections to the text and so that I can check for understanding which shows students that they should be making sure that they understand what it is they are reading and if not, we can refer back to the text.  At the end of the story, I may ask clarifying questions or general comprehension questions.
          An article by Reading Rockets entitled "Using Think-Alouds to Improve Reading Comprehension" outlines three components, modeling, coached practice and reflection and corresponding activities to engage students in the reading process.  The author suggests assigning 2 or 3 strategies to different colors of the same object and handing students one of the colored objects and asking them to use the strategy assigned to that color.  I think this is a great visual and kinesthetic way to involve students because I have noticed from my professional experience that children respond well to color codes.  In summary, reading comprehension is a complex process that involves both the reader and the text and it is my job as a teacher to facilitate a relationship between the two.


References 
Farr, R. & Conner, J. (2004). Using think-alouds to improve reading comprehension. Reading
          Rockets. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/102

Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
          Pearson Education, Inc.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Vocabulary Instruction to Enhance Comprehension and Communication

          Children are exposed to vocabulary from the time they are born.  They develop knowledge about words through repeated oral and written exposure.  According to Tompkins (2010), "students' vocabularies grow at an astonishing rate-- about 3,000 words a year, or roughly 7 to 10 new words every day.  By the time students graduate from high school, their vocabularies can reach 25,000 to 50,000 words or more."  The four levels of word knowledge are unknown words, initial recognition, partial word knowledge and full word knowledge.  Children gradually progress from not knowing a word at all to being able to recognize that word, to having a partial or general sense of the word's meaning to finally understanding multiple meanings of the word.
          I was surprised to find that the vocabulary gap between "students in the top and bottom vocabulary quartiles" is as large as 4,000 words according to Patrick Manyak's article Character trait vocabulary: A schoolwide approach.  It is our job as teachers to further expose children to words that they might not otherwise hear or write through social interactions.  Character trait vocabulary is especially important because across grades, students are expected to identify character traits and use supporting details, which demonstrates deeper understanding of the text.  Mastery of character trait vocabulary words enhances reading comprehension and frees up cognitive processes to make connections, extensions and inferences.  Manyak (2007) suggests teaching 20 designated character trait vocabulary per grade.
         Many teachers use an alphabetized word wall to post the high frequency words to which students are gradually exposed and expected to know by the end of the year.  I also believe it is a best practice to highlight vocabulary from all disciplines.  As part of our social studies curriculum, we discussed the qualities of being trustworthy and respectful, which are character traits.  Following that lesson, the words trustworthy  and respectful were posted on the word wall.  In addition, I tell students to be trustworthy and to respect themselves and others when reminding the class to stay on task and be responsible during independent literacy centers.
          I believe that the first step of vocabulary instruction is introduction of words.  The words should be used and revisited through different disciplines.  This reinforces the way in which the words can be used in oral and written language.  This also sets a model for how students can use vocabulary to express their ideas more precisely (Tompkins, 2010).  After all, the goal of oral and written language is to communicate effectively and broadening one's vocabulary guides children on the correct path.


References
Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
          Pearson Education, Inc.

Manyak, P. (2007). Character trait vocabulary: A schoolwide approach. The Reading Teacher 60(6),
          574-577.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Motivation through Interdisciplinary Learning

          Motivation is the driving force behind much of what we, as teachers, do and in what areas we succeed.  That is no different for our students.  The study by Taboada et al. (2008) determined that motivation and cognitive attributes independently contribute to a learner's reading comprehension.  Students who are presented with opportunities to select reading materials of their personal interest and contribute to their learning by generating questions feel more autonomous and are able to internalize what they've read.
          Instructional implications include fostering student motivation for reading through connections to background knowledge and interdisciplinary lessons.  Taboada et al. (2008) states that providing texts that connect to ideas learned in science and social studies is more effective than selecting disconnected readings.  By integrating topics form different disciplines, teachers can increase motivation and activate cognitive processes.
          I am a strong advocate of interdisciplinary teaching, as I feel that it is a best practice in the field of education.  This is the second year that I have implemented the Elementary Integrated Curriculum (EIC) for kindergarten.  It "blends reading, language arts and mathematics instruction with lessons in science, social studies, music, art and physical education in a way that spurs creativity and critical thinking skills."  One example of an integrated lesson that I taught was a read aloud that focused on story elements.  I chose the book Thump, Quack, Moo by Doreen Cronin because it integrated the ideas of the Statue of Liberty and weather, which the students were learning about in social studies and science.  My students were able to activate prior knowledge and I could tell that they were much more motivated than they would have been had I chosen a book completely disconnected from any other units.
          The planning of interdisciplinary lessons exposes students to in-depth lessons as opposed to broad coverage.  In addition, teachers should also provide differentiated student-centered activities, since the study indicates that self-efficacy can develop through curiosity, inquiry and interest.  Teachers should discuss individuals' understanding of motivation and interest to better understand the relationship between motivation, cognitive processes and the use of reading comprehension strategies.  This information can be very useful in developing interventions that can hopefully increase intrinsic motivation and reading comprehension success.


References
Taboada, A., Tonks, S.M., Wigfield, A., and Guthrie, J. (2008). Effects of motivational and cognitive
          variables on reading comprehension. Reading and Writing, 22(1), 85-106.

Montgomery County Public Schools. (2010). Elementary integrated curriculum. Office of
          Curriculum and Instruction Programs.  Retrieved from http://www.montgomery
          schoolsmd.org/curriculum/integrated/

Friday, October 1, 2010

Mastering the Alphabetic Code through Song

          The three components of the alphabetic code are phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling.  Phonemic awareness is the knowledge that spoken language consists of individual sounds.  By developing phonemic awareness, children can apply the sound-symbol associations they've constructed to spell words.  Children can be exposed to opportunities to develop phonemic awareness at home, as well as at school.  "As they sing songs, chant rhymes, read aloud wordplay books, and play games, children have many opportunities to orally match, isolate, blend and substitute sounds and to segment words into sounds" (Tompkins, 2010).
          It is my job as a teacher to create a "language-rich environment" (Tompkins, 2010) in which children are provided with numerous opportunities to experiment with sounds, letters and words.  I am a strong advocate of using music and songs to teach children.  Children truly enjoy singing and dancing, and I believe that those activities enhance their memory of knowledge from the lessons.  Therefore, I especially enjoyed the familiar songs that Tompkins recommends for sound-isolation and sound-segmentation activities.
          One of the songs I use in my classroom to help my students develop phonemic awareness is "Alphardy" by Dr. Jean Feldman.  The children go through each letter of the alphabet, it's corresponding sound and a word that starts with that letter.  In addition, there are body movements that accompany each word, which appeals to learners with strong bodily-kinesthetic intelligence.  After searching for additional Dr. Jean songs, I found the lyrics to the song "Phon-ercise," which is similar in format to "Alphardy."  More information on Dr. Jean's CD Totally Reading can be found at http://www.drjean.org/html/cds_f/cds_totallyRdg.htm.  She also has recordings in Spanish and recordings related to other subject contents that are used by many early childhood educators.

"Alphardy" Lyrics
A for apple /a/-/a/-/a/
B for bounce /b/-/b/-/b/
C for cut /c/ /c/ /c/
D for dig /d/-/d/-/d/
E for elbow /e/-/e/-/e/
F for fan /f/-/f/-/f/
G for gallop /g/-/g/-/g/
H for hop /h/-/h/-/h/
I for itch /i/-/i/-/i/
J for jump /j/-/j/-/j/
K for kick /k/-/k/-/k/
L for love /l/-/l/-/l/
M for munch /m/-/m/-/m/
N for nod /n/-/n/-/n/
O for opera /o/-/o/-/o/
Q for quiet /q/-/q/-/q/
R for run /r/-/r/-/r/
S for sew /s/-/s/-/s/
T for talk /t/-/t/-/t/
U for upside /u/-/u/-/u/
V for volley /v/-/v/-/v/
W for wiggle /w/-/w/-/w/
X for x-ray /x/-/x/-/x/
Y for yawn /y/-/y/-/y/
Z for zigzag /z/-/z/-/z/

Letter sounds are all you need.
Put them together and you can read!


References
Feldman, J. (2009.) Dr. Jean's Songs on CD. Retrieved from http://www.drjean.org/
          html/cds_f/cds_totallyRdg.htm.

Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach (5th ed.). Boston, MA:
          Pearson Education, Inc.