1. Differentiating Instruction for Vocabulary and Comprehension
Michael C. McKenna
Sharon Walpole

2. Agenda Who needs this type of instruction? What data must be gathered?
What planning decisions must be made?
What are some tricks of the trade?

3. We are combining ideas from Chapters 6 and 7

4. Remember our plan

5. What are we trying to teach?
These children are performing at benchmark.
They will work to build their vocabularies and comprehension proficiency.
The texts may include core selections used in FORI, the day’s read-aloud, or sets of trade books that are not phonics-controlled.

6. How will we know when we’ve accomplished our goal?
Our goal will never be achieved. We must continue to build vocabulary and comprehension.
Temporary and targeted instruction in the other areas allows new children to enter this group.

7. In our tiered system, who is likely to need this type of differentiated instruction?

8. What data can we use to identify the children?

9. In Kindergarten, all DIBELS subtests at low risk In First Grade, all DIBELS subtests at low risk
We KNOW: These children are at benchmark in alphabet skills, but can still build their vocabulary and comprehension.
We NEED to know: What specific texts, when read aloud to them, will best advance their vocabulary and comprehension.

10. DIBELS Second-Grade ORF low risk or DIBELS Third-Grade ORF is low risk
We KNOW: These children are fluent.
We NEED to know: What specific texts will best advance their vocabulary and comprehension.

11. Let’s find out
Even though all are at benchmark, it is still important to consider text difficulty; think about texts that provide a reasonable challenge and maximize interest and engagement.
This is true both for texts that your second and third graders will read in small groups and that your kindergartners and first graders will hear.
Optimal text selection for this group will require some trial and error; be flexible.

12. What about comprehension?
What about comprehension?
Do not attempt to identify comprehension deficits.
Using multiple challenging texts will provide many opportunities to reinforce strategy instruction.
Children will differ in their ability to apply these strategies, but assessing this ability is not necessary.

13.  What about vocabulary? Do not attempt to pretest word meanings.
Stick to Tier 2 words (and content area words for nonfiction texts) that are useful for comprehending the text. Do not worry that you may be introducing a word for some and reviewing it for others.

14. Now you’re ready!
We recommend that there be only one group, even though their reading levels may vary slightly.
This will allow you to spend more time with strugglers in other groups.

15. Find your texts Do not use phonics-controlled texts.
You could use core selections, class read-alouds, or sets of trade books.
In any case, you are looking for texts that
are interesting and engaging,
are rich in content, and
represent both fiction and nonfiction.

16. Now choose your strategies
For this group, word recognition needs are not an issue. (The second and third graders can read the the texts you will be using, and you will read them to the kindergartners and first graders.)
Planning should focus entirely on vocabulary and comprehension.
You will need to strike a balance between these areas and vary the instructional techniques you use.

17. Think about vocabulary methods
Read pages You will need to be selective since you will not have time to apply all of these approaches in a single session. Vary them across the three weeks.
Remember that your choices will depend in part on the text you will use and whether it will be read aloud to the children. Some methods will be more appropriate than others for certain texts.

18. Semantic Feature Analysis
Key SBRR Approaches
Tier Two Words
Concept of Definition
Semantic Feature Analysis
Concept Sorting
Texts
Words
Script
Word Maps
Related Words
Feature Chart
Word Cards

19. Technique
Target Words
When
Tier Two Words
High utility
After reading
Concept of Definition
One central concept
Before or after reading
Feature Analysis
Compare and contrast
Concept Sorting

20. Teaching Tier Two Words
We are going to learn the word _____. Say the word _____.
In our story, the author used the word ______ to mean ______.
The word _____ means ______.
(Provide other examples.)
(Children provide examples.)
Remember that our word is _____.

21. Concept of Definition Category Description Description Concept Example

22. Feature Analysis Category Feature 1 Feature 2 Feature 3 Feature 4
Member 1
Member 2 3

23. Now think about comprehension methods
Read pages You will need to be selective since you will not have time to apply all of these approaches in a single session. Vary them across the three weeks.
Remember that your texts provide opportunities to build comprehension skills and strategies. This means that many of the instructional approaches should work.

24. Key SBRR Approaches QARs Story Mapping Text Structure
Direct Explan-ation
Summar-ization
Texts
QAR Chart
Questions
Stories
Map
Info Texts
Graphic organizers
Strategy descriptions
Summary procedure

25. QAR Chart Right There Think and Search Author and You On Your Own
The answer to the question can be found in one sentence in the text.
Think and Search
The answer to the question can be found by combining information across sentences.
Author and You
The answer to the question combines information from the text and from your experience.
On Your Own
The theme is in the text, but the answer comes from your experience.

26. Story Mapping
Setting
Characters
Problem
Resolution
Theme

27. Text Structure Instruction
Contrast
Compare
Contrast

28. Text Structure Instruction

29. Text Structure Instruction
Event Event 2
Cause Effect
Problem Solution

30. Monitoring, questioning, and repredicting
Direct Explanation
Predicting
Good readers predict before and during reading. Here I see a picture of a ____. I know that _____. Because of both what I see and what I know, I predict that this story will be about _____.
Monitoring, questioning, and repredicting
I predicted that ____. So far, that might be right because the text says _____.
I predicted that _____. That must not be true because the text says _____. My new prediction is _____.

31. Direct Explanation Visualizing Inferring
Good readers make pictures in their minds to help them understand. I know that this story takes place _____. I know that setting would have _____. The author uses the words _____ and _____. In my mind, I am visualizing _____.
Inferring
The author tells us that this character is _____. Because of my own experience, I know that _____. Therefore, I think the character is _____.

32. Using fix-up strategies
Direct Explanation
Using fix-up strategies
Wait. I thought that the text said _____. Here it says that _____. That doesn’t make sense to me. I need to read ahead and see if the author tells me how both _____ and _____ could be true.
Finding the main idea
The author has given me a whole lot of facts about _____ and about _____. Some of them are the same and some are different. I think that the main idea here is that ____ are similar to ____ in some ways, and different in other ways.

33. Direct Explanation Retelling a story Synthesizing
I can use what I know about stories to retell this one very simply. I don’t tell everything. I think about what the author usually does in the beginning, the middle, and the end. This story is set ____. The main characters are _____. The problem in the story is _____. The characters solved the problem by _____.
Synthesizing
When I want to think about two stories at once, I have to decide how they were alike and different. I first think about how they were alike. Our stories are alike because _____. Then I think about how they were different. Our stories were different because _____. Together, then, I can put information from the stories together to say _____.

34. Summarization Make sure you understand.
Reread to check your understanding, marking important parts.
Rethink, making sure that you can say the main idea of each paragraph. Write the main idea as a note to yourself.
Write your summary, checking to make sure that you have avoided lists, included or created topic sentences, gotten rid of unnecessary details, and combined paragraphs. Check your summary, and edit it so that it sounds natural.

35. Gather or make all of your materials
Texts, pictures, word cards, blank story maps, graphic organizers, QAR chart, questions, notebooks – everything you need.
Texts could be selections from the previous year’s core anthology if multiple copies are available.
They could also include texts used in recent whole-class read-alouds.
Remember that our goal is that you plan for three weeks at a time.

36. A typical group* 2 minutes
Introduce text (preteach content area words if the text is nonfiction)
Review a comprehension strategy
7 minutes
Grades 2-3: Whisper read
Grades K-1: Read aloud to them
4 minutes
Introduce/review vocabulary words. Return to key points in text to focus on comprehension strategy
*Minute allocations are simply an example based on a 15-minute session.

37. Try it out!
Remember that we are hoping for a cycle, with teacher reflection. Your goal is to move these children into more challenging texts.
You may need to repeat a particular lesson for two days. That’s fine. You also may need to step in with echo or choral reading in grades two and three. That’s fine too.
At the end of the three weeks, you can use data collected as part of the instruction to inform your next moves.