Language Development Opportunities Oh, Now I See! Scaffolding Comprehension Strategies in Elementary/Middle Reading WABE 2010 Yakima, WA David Irwin Language Development Opportunities www.langdevopps.com dave@langdevopps.com

Today we will… Practice four learner comprehension strategies for use with struggling learners and/or ELLs by discussing and adapting comprehension skill activities

What A Decade of Reform said… Strategies alone (first order) without changes in beliefs (second order) make no difference Focus on targeted1 GLEs – eliminate non-essential activities High expectations for all students including those in poverty and ELL “Powerful teaching and learning” depends not on specific strategies, but on the intellectual demands placed on the student Fouts, Jeffrey T., A Decade of Reform: A Summary of Research Findings on Classroom, School and District Effectiveness in Washington State, Washington School Research Center, 2003. 1See Ainsworth 2003

The Big Reading Picture Include all Big 5 Components PLUS Oral Language Development Phonemic Awareness Phonics Vocabulary Fluency Comprehension 90-120 min. Choose, prioritize the comprehension strategies Limit them, 1-3 at a time for several weeks Use throughout the day, not just at reading time Independent Reading 10-20 minutes Cultural connection - background

Comprehension Strategies Making Connections Text-to-Self Text-to-Text Text-to-World Inference Summarizing

What is scaffolding and why is it important for ELLs? On a Post-it, write your own personal definition of scaffolding.

One model of scaffolding Mini-lecture Explicit instruction Practice Teacher modeling Discussion Peer modeling Reciprocal teaching Cooperative learning Apply strategies during independent reading Teacher Centered Teacher Assisted Peer Assisted Student Centered Increasing independence

Another model of scaffolding Rally Table Rally Robin Quiz-quiz-trade Mix-pair share Timed pair share Personal white Boards Thumbs up Worksheets Tickets out Independent Work Whole group Small Group Partners Increasing independence Round table Round Robin Numbered heads together Talking Chips Shout out Think aloud Choral reading

Scaffolding Verbal Scaffolding Procedural Scaffolding Modeling: I do Prompting, questioning, and elaborating facilitate students’ movement to higher levels of language proficiency, comprehension, and thinking: Paraphrasing Using “Think – Alouds” Reinforcing Contextual Definitions Think-Pair-Share Procedural Scaffolding Lead the students through steps to make them more independent: Modeling: I do Practice opportunities with others: We do Independent practice: You do Graphic organizers

What is scaffolding? Find the definition you wrote earlier. Read it over and make some changes. What is your new definition of scaffolding? Share with your group.

Scaffolding: Gradual Release of Responsibility I Do Modeling the strategy yourself, thinking aloud while writing or charting We Do Do the same activity again with students or go to the next step of the activity. Plan to have directions of comments match your actions. You Do Paired or independent work after a successful “we do” trial

Making Connections Help kids make in-depth connections related to story Anchor charts for student responses Self-to-text, text-to-text, text-to-world Small group work: releasing responsibility Miller p 54-

Making Connections: Thinking Aloud Models real inner dialogue Pick books you like – be real Use academic language Starters: “When I read these words, I thought of…” When I saw this picture, it reminded me of…” From this information, I can infer…” Miller 2002 p. 54

Making Connections: Anchor Charts Chart all student responses – give credit Discuss which ones are helpful to the story. Vote 1, 2; star, circle; etc. Students justify their votes Miller 2002 p. 60

Making Connections: Small Group Expectations Read book to class Students break up to pairs to record connections with pictures or words Review helpful connections Vote 1-2 if necessary Miller 2002 p. 61

Making Connections: Self-to-text Connect to personal experience that deepens understanding of the story Mostly oral language Charts are useful to review connections List and vote for relevance

Making Connections: Text-To-Text Compare two books Venn diagram – 3-tab foldable Also: Text-to-World connections What are the connections to the world outside of self? Miller 2002 p. 63

Thinking Aloud with Stickies Write down thoughts on sticky notes – stick them in the book, notebook or poster Categories: Confusion/clarity Huh? I don’t get it. How Why Who When What Where etc? Oh, now I get this part! Alternative: ? & Lightbulb New information Wow, I never knew ____ before! Connection This reminds me of… I heard/read/remember something like this in _______.

Asking Questions “What are you wondering?” Clarify meaning Why ask questions? Clarify meaning Speculate about what’s coming Examines author’s purpose, style, intent Locate specific information Rhetorical questions or make connection

Questions: Leaf & Root “Leaf” questions are “above ground”, literal comprehension knowledge level Answer is in the text “Root” questions are “buried”, higher order thinking questions Information leading to the answer is in the text, but not the exact answer

Asking Questions Code questions after forming them. Why? Do all questions have answers? How else can questioning skills help our kids besides with reading? How well can/do ELLs ask deeper level questions?

Digging Deeper: Questions Teach children to make meaningful connections with questions: Does what I have to say connect to the current topic? …to what someone else said? Can I support what I say with evidence or experience? Did someone else already say it? If I disagree, do I state what the other person said and say why my thinking is different in a nice way?

What to say instead of “I don’t know” Write the following on sentence strips, post on wall When you hear “I don’t know” refer student to a question choice or help him/her with a new one Could I please have some more information? Could you please repeat the question? Could I ask my partner? Where can I find the answer? Can you say that a different way? Can I have some more time to think?

Inference Connecting prior knowledge with textual clues to draw conclusions, form interpretations and make predictions Using the term “infer” frequently helps kids internalize its use and function

Inference for Vocabulary 3-column Chart (I do, We do), sticky note or 3-way organizer (You do) List unknown word What we infer it means What helps us Confirm (C) or deny (X) meanings by context, picture, glossary and use strategy to find meanings for the X words Use the Stranger – jammed, hermit, mercury

Word What we infer it means What helps us

Inference for Prediction 2-column Chart (I do, We do) or Notes (You do) Fiction: What will happen? Non-fiction: What will we learn? What is our thinking (based on pictures and text features) Read passage Confirm (C)/deny (X) predictions Make new predictions; What is our thinking (based in information from text) Stranger

Prediction What is our thinking

Inference for Drawing Conclusions, Making Interpretations Metaphor and allusion: is there more meaning in these words than meets the eye? Using schema again to connect text to experience 2-column notes Text printed on left side Student highlights on left and writes interpretations on right On doc cam (I do, We do); on paper (You do)

Text What do we infer stranger

Try it! Dave will model with The Year of Miss Agnes Pick a book, read and develop your inner conversation to model Mark places to stop, think, write, ask students for their connections Write questions (red), answers (green) and connections (purple) Write them all at first. Days later, have the class help you decide which ones really give more understanding of the story. Rate them 1, 2. Make inferences about the passage Anchor chart on Rascal. List 3 of my connections, questions. Questions-red, connections-purple “What connections or questions do you have?” Write them down. Accept all for the fist few weeks. LATER - Rate them by how well they help us understand the story.

Visualization Help students create mental images by having them work together to draw pictures based on text: Tell a personal story or use a book, picture at first, then text only, then poetry Have students “think in their head” about what they see before telling it Then have them describe what they see one by one Highlight any new, interesting vocab they might use or help them with new words Miller Ch 6 p 78-85

Visualization Choosing text: do students have enough schema to make images from this text? Do they have the vocab and what new words do they need? Make copies of several passages; s. can choose Partners go to a corner and draw their images Miller Ch 6 p 78-85

Visualization Discuss why they chose to draw what they did. Why is it important? The partners’ images can influence each others’ – sharing schema Highlight any new, interesting vocab they might use or help them with new words Write responses to the readings and pictures Practice for several weeks. Save vocab lists for use in writing stories or poetry of their own. Miller Ch 6 p 78-85

Drawing outside inside (front) Describe my image: (picture is on the back of this page) What it reminds me of (connection): Continue with Rascal

Summarizing Story Pyramid Sketch to Stretch (main idea/detail) Sketch in color – 3 minutes One sentence - main idea 3-4 sentences – supporting details Final draft Organizer has versions for elementary, secondary.

Digging Deeper: Visuals Reading spaces, bulletin boards, book displays. See p 98 for ideas. Map your room. Do you have Group reading space (carpet) Individual/partner reading spaces Inviting/instructional visuals Student work Books/authors

Digging Deeper: Tools Do you have on hand: Paper, bond & construction in colors Markers/colored pencils/crayons Sticky notes Two-column note pages (spirals for older kids) Story maps Venns (paper for making 3-tab foldables)

So What Now… I can use the ___________________________strategy with my ___________________ group or class. How I need to modify it: What materials I need:

Download and Contact www.langdevopps.com dave@langdevopps.com Forms, templates, questions, bookings: www.langdevopps.com dave@langdevopps.com

Acknowledgements Material in this presentation draws on the work of Ainsworth, Larry (2003) Power Standards: Identifying the Standards that Matter the Most, Advanced Learning Press Archer, Anita (2006) “Dynamic Vocabulary Instruction in Secondary Classrooms,” presentation at OSPI January Conference, Seattle, WA. Beck, McKeown & Kucan (2002) Bringing Words to Life: Robust Vocabulary Instruction, Guilford Press Beck, McKeown & Kucan (2008) Creating Robust Vocabulary: Frequently Asked Questions & Extended Examples. Guilford Press. Calderon & Rowe (2005) “Project ExC-ELL: Expediting Comprehension for English Language Learners in Secondary Schools” training, Johns Hopkins University. Cummins, J. (1981) The role of primary language development in promoting educational success for language minority students. In Schooling and language minority students: A theoretical framework (pp. 3-49). Los Angeles: Evaluation, Dissemination, and Assessment Center, California State University, Los Angeles. Echevarria, Vogt & Short (2008) Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners: The SIOP Model, 3rd Edition, Pearson. Echevarria & Graves, (2003) Sheltered Content Instruction: Teaching English Language Learners with Diverse Abilities 2nd Edition, Allyn & Bacon. Figueroa, Richard (2002) “Scientifically Based Reading Research”: The Definitional Dilemma for California Migrant Education Students (draft), UC Davis.

Krashen, Stephen (1993) The Power of Reading: Insights from the Research, Libraries Unlimited. Montaño-Harmon, Dr. Maria (2003) “English for Academic Purposes” training, California State University Fullerton. Miller, Debbie (2002) Reading with Meaning: Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades. Stenhouse. National Reading Panel (2000) Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read. Russell, Sarah (2007) Powerpoint slides & ideas. Washoe School District, Reno NV. Thomas, W. & Collier, V. (1997) School effectiveness for language minority students. George Mason University. Vacca & Vacca (1999) Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across the Curriculum, 6th Edition, Longman. Zike, Dinah (1989) Big Book of Projects: How to design, develop, & make projects from kindergarten through college, dinah-might adventures, San Antonio. Zwiers, Jeff (2004) Building Reading Comprehension Habits in Grades 6-12: A Toolkit of Classroom Activities, IRA.