MACC IMPROVING READING ACHIEVEMENT (MIRA) WEBINAR February 3 rd, 2011 JOSÉ VERSUS THE VOLCANO 1

Making the Case… José Age: 14 Grade: 8 Country of Origin: Mexico Home/Native Language: Spanish (rarely uses English at home) Time in US Schools: 5 years 2

Making the Case… José Time in Schools in Mexico: 1 year Is Student Literate in Native Language? YES NO SOMEWHAT ESL/Other Supplemental Services (describe service type and frequency): José is pulled out for tutoring two times/week for 30 minutes. He also attends after-school homework help sessions 2-3 times/week. 3

Making the Case… José Student’s WIDA English Proficiency Levels: (1 – Entering, 2 – Beginning, 3 – Developing, 4 – Expanding, 5 – Bridging) LISTENING ( ) SPEAKING ( ) READING ( ) WRITING ( ) Student’s Strongest Language Abilities: LISTENING (4.6) SPEAKING (3.6) Weakest language abilities: READING (2.6) WRITING (2.4) Rate Student’s BICS (everyday English) and CALP (academic English) on a 1 – 5 Scale (1 = least proficient, 5 = most proficient) BICS CALP

Setting the Stage – How Can We Help? José’s latest reading assessment indicates that he is reading at about a fourth grade level. Needless to say, he is struggling with his content-area assignments and textbooks. 5

Setting the Stage – How Can We Help? You have been asked to provide José with supplemental instruction to help him catch up with his class work in science. He lacks self-confidence and is desperate to use the time he spends with you to complete his homework. You try to honor his requests, but you also have decided that you can best spend your time together by helping him with some reading and writing strategies as well as filling in some of his vocabulary and background knowledge gaps. It is a tall order, but José has a great deal of potential, and has been falling through the cracks for a number of years. 6

José’s Homework Assignment Read the science text and write a paragraph comparing and contrasting shield and cinder cone volcanoes. Include supporting details. 7

José Versus the Volcano José’s homework assignment and the text he has been asked to read may be too hard for him. In our tutoring lesson with José we will try to support some effective ways of reading, even with text that is too hard. Here’s some reading research to keep in mind. 8

Comprehension is not constant The ability to comprehend written texts is not a static or fixed ability, but rather one that involves a dynamic relationship between the demands of texts and the prior knowledge and goals of readers. From Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy – Final Report from Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy By Carol D. Lee and Anika Spratley of Northwestern Univ. 9

Comprehension must be created Reading comprehension is an active process that engages the reader; it is not a passive receptive process. Reading is intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader. From Guide for Discussing the Findings of the National Reading Panel Report – R3CC Draft

Why is fluency important? Reading fluently allows students to focus on understanding what they read. Students who read fluently can focus their attention on comprehending the text because they are not struggling to sound out each word. Fluent readers can make connections among the ideas in the text and between the text and their background knowledge. Less fluent readers put all their energy into figuring out the words and have little attention left to spend understanding the text. Fluency is a skill that can be improved by repeated - Putting Reading First 11

Strategies used by good readers There is considerable research documenting the strategies that good readers use. These strategies include: 1. Asking questions 2. Making predictions 3. Testing predictions 4. Summarizing 5. Monitoring understanding and deploying fix-it strategies as needed. From Reading in the Disciplines 12

Areas of Instruction for Expanding Readers’ Skills Pre-reading Predicting Testing predictions against the text Asking questions Summarizing From Reading in the Disciplines 13

Tutoring Lesson Plan Student Information Tutoring Lesson Purposes Lesson Plan:Before During After Reflection 14

BEFORE: Features of Text Tutor reviews features of text 15

BEFORE: Background Knowledge Background knowledge – Tutor leads discussion – What do you think José already knows about volcanoes? – What do you think he needs to know to understand this passage? 16

BEFORE: Vocabulary Vocabulary – 5 words that are important to the meaning of the text 17

BEFORE: Make predictions Help José make predictions What will this text be about? Tutor writes these down in sentences or a chart 18

DURING: Text Readability Is the text easy, just-right, hard, too hard? – Can use 5 finger rule to decide – Provide support as the student reads Tell the unknown words Read along with the student Don’t interrupt when student is reading well 19

DURING: Test Predictions Help student check predictions while reading Help student adjust predictions if necessary Help student make new predictions as needed 20

DURING: Ask questions Tutor helps the student ask questions about the text Tutor stops student to ask: What did you just learn? Are you confused about anything in the text? What do you predict might happen next in the text? 21

Let’s Take a Break to Reflect Share one tutoring strategy you have either learned or had reinforced. Please use the Chat Box. 22

AFTER: Summarize Tutor talks briefly with student about the text and what was learned Tutor helps the student create a written summary of text – Include the main idea and 2-3 supporting details – Use the student’s words instead of text words – Tutor can do the writing to save time 23

AFTER: Practice for Fluency Student reads text summary at least 3 times. Tutor can help if needed Goal is independent reading of summary. 24

AFTER: Vocabulary Review the 5 words 25

AFTER: Homework Assignment Tutor uses what the student has learned in the tutoring lesson to help with homework Tutor considers adjusting the homework assignment to align with student needs and maximize student learning – if possible 26

Homework – Venn Diagram 27

Volcano Comparison Contrast Chart ShieldBothCinder Cone Longer active period Lava flows out Broad sloping sides Found over oceanic hot spots Have magma inside Can be found at hot spots on the earth Shorter active period Magma and ash shoot out Steep cone-shaped sides Found at hot spots and continental rift zones 28

José’s Homework Assignment Homework Assignment: Read the science text and write a paragraph comparing and contrasting shield and cinder cone volcanoes. Include supporting details. What would you do to help José with his homework assignment? 29

REFLECTION Write what you learned as a tutor that will help you the next time you work with José or another student. 30

BDA Tutoring Lesson Plan Included: Areas of Instruction for Expanding Readers’ Skills Pre-reading Predicting Testing predictions against the text Asking questions Summarizing From Reading in the Disciplines 31

What Does the Research Tell Us? On one point scholars agree. Giving students more time will not, in and of itself, improve learning. It is all about what educators do to make the most of any extra time they get. Education Week –

Final Question Why might using the BDA Tutoring Lesson Plan be better than focusing only on José’s homework assignment? 33

Next Steps You will be receiving a Survey Monkey link with follow-up questions. The next webinar will take place on March 31st (tentative time - 10:00am - 11:30am). We will be sending you a link to the webinar archive. 34