Reading & Writing Across the Curriculum Eisenhower High School February 14, 2012

Reading & Writing Across the Curriculum

Eisenhower High SchoolFebruary 14, 2012

AgendaI. Assessment of Prior KnowledgeII. Research about RAWAC note covers literacy componentIII. Strategies & Applications

1. Before, During and After Strategies2. Think Alouds3. Visualizing and Recording Mental Images4. I.N.S.E.R.T. Method/Think Along Model numbering text write

something about text5. Cornell Notes, Sentence Frames, Paragraph Frames6. Anticipation Guides7. RAFT (differentiation)

IV. Conclusion1. Before, During and After Strategies 2. Free Write Before/After3. Where do we go from here?4. Commit to Try in Classroom

I. Assessment of Prior Knowledge

Mac Moore

II. Research about RAWAC

Deb Sidener

RAWAC Research• The Common Core State Standards (CCSS), an initiative

of the National Governor’s Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers, have refocused attention on reading and writing across the curriculum.

• The research is clear: discipline-based instruction in

reading and writing enhances student achievement in all subjects.

• Studies show that reading and writing across the curriculum are essential to learning. Without strategies for reading course material and opportunities to write thoughtfully about it, students have difficulty mastering concepts.

RAWAC Research• These literacy practices are firmly linked with both

thinking and learning. Students who can read with clear comprehension and write effectively about a given subject matter will learn the material much more thoroughly than those who do not.

• Reading and writing in science is not the same as reading and writing in social studies or a technical subject like drafting. This means that student achievement can be enhanced by teachers who focus on helping their students develop strategies for reading and writing within their respective content areas.

• The largest high school in the state, in 1999 its test scores were very near the bottom in Massachusetts, and three out of four students dropped out.

• After the 1999 test scores were reported, a group

of teachers persuaded the administration to let them develop a program that integrated “reading and writing lessons into every class in all subjects, even gym.”

Brockton High School in Massachusetts offers a compelling example of the powerfully positive effects of

RAWAC.

• By 2001 student retention and test scores had improved dramatically, and in 2009 and 2010 Brockton outscored 90% of Massachusetts schools.

• Researchers have studied the Brockton turn-around, and it is clear that RAWAC played a key role.

Brockton High School in Massachusetts offers a compelling example of the powerfully positive effects of

RAWAC.

Eisenhower High School has established Teams to begin

this work.Reading Writing Speaking Reasoning SSR

1. Before, During and After Reading Strategies

Diana RothDeb Sidener

Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum

• BEFORE-READING activities should emphasize methods of merging reader, text, and content--enabling students to set appropriate reading purposes, recall related prior knowledge, preview and predict what the text will be about, and select reading methods to suit their purposes and the text. Included in these considerations may be readers' decisions to expand their background knowledge through related discussion, exploration of key concepts, or related reading.

• DURING-READING activities should enable students to monitor their

comprehension through a variety of strategies and experience and acquire diverse fix-up strategies to improve their understanding where necessary.

• AFTER-READING activities should teach students to review their understanding of text, relate new ideas to their background knowledge, revisit the text to clarify and extend meanings, make responsible interpretations and criticisms of ideas from the text, revise their thinking, apply the information to other texts and disciplines, and remember crucial learnings for future application.

BEFORE-READING activities should emphasize methods of merging reader, text, and content--enabling students to set appropriate reading purposes, recall related prior knowledge, preview and predict what the text will be about, and select reading methods to suit their purposes and the text. Included in these considerations may be readers' decisions to expand their background knowledge through related discussion, exploration of key concepts, or related reading.

DURING-READING activities should enable students to monitor their comprehension through a variety of strategies and experience and acquire diverse fix-up strategies to improve their understanding where necessary.

AFTER-READING activities should teach students to review their understanding of text, relate new ideas to their background knowledge, revisit the text to clarify and extend meanings, make responsible interpretations and criticisms of ideas from the text, revise their thinking, apply the information to other texts and disciplines, and remember crucial learnings for future application.

Strategies PlacementBefore Reading During Reading After Reading

Think Alouds Mental ImagesMental Images

Mental ImagesThink Along

Think AlongThink Along

Cornell NotesCornell NotesCornell NotesConcept Def. Maps

Concept Def. MapsConcept Def. Maps

Anticipation GuidesAnticipation GuidesAnticipation Guides

RAFT

RAFTRAFTThink Alouds

Think Alouds

2. Think Alouds Deb Sidener

What is a think-aloud?

Think-alouds help students understand the kind of thinking required by a specific task. The teacher models her thinking process by verbalizing her thoughts as she reads, processes information, or performs some learning task. Students see how the teacher attempts to construct meaning for unfamiliar vocabulary, engages in dialogue with the author, or recognizes when she doesn’t comprehend and selects a fix-up strategy that addresses a problem she is having. Ineffective readers especially benefit from observing what skilled readers think about while reading.

How to use it: • 1. Explain that reading is a complex process that involves thinking and sense-making; the skilled

reader's mind is alive with questions she asks herself in order to understand what she reads. • 2. Select a passage to read aloud that contains points that students might find difficult,

unknown vocabulary terms, or ambiguous wording. Develop questions you can ask yourself that will show what you think as you confront these problems while reading.

• 3. While students read this passage silently, read it aloud. As you read, verbalize your thoughts, the questions you develop, and the process you use to solve comprehension problems. It is helpful if you alter the tone of your voice, so students know when you are reading and at what points you begin and end thinking aloud.

• 4. Coping strategies you can model include: – Making predictions or hypotheses as you read: "From what he's said so far, I'll bet that the author is

going to give some examples of poor eating habits." – Describing the mental pictures you "see": "When the author talks about vegetables I should include in

my diet, I can see our salad bowl at home filled with fresh, green spinach leaves." – Demonstrating how you connect this information with prior knowledge: "'Saturated fat'? I know I've

heard that term before. I learned it last year when we studied nutrition." – Creating analogies: "That description of clogged arteries sounds like traffic clogging up the interstate

during rush hour." – Verbalizing obstacles and fix-up strategies: "Now what does 'angiogram' mean? Maybe if I reread that

section, I'll get the meaning from the other sentences around it: I know I can't skip it because it's in bold-faced print, so it must be important. If I still don't understand, I know I can ask the teacher for help,"

• 5. Have students work with partners to practice "think-alouds" when reading short passages of text. Periodically revisit this strategy or have students complete the assessment that follows so these metacomprehension skills become second nature.

1. Explain that reading is a complex process that involves thinking and sense-making; the skilled reader's mind is alive with questions she asks herself in order to understand what she reads.

2. Select a passage to read aloud that contains points that students might find difficult, unknown vocabulary terms, or ambiguous wording. Develop questions you can ask yourself that will show what you think as you confront these problems while reading.

3. While students read this passage silently, read it aloud. As you read, verbalize your thoughts, the questions you develop, and the process you use to solve comprehension problems. It is helpful if you alter the tone of your voice, so students know when you are reading and at what points you begin and end thinking aloud.

4. Coping strategies you can model include: • Making predictions or hypotheses as you read: "From what he's said so

far, I'll bet that the author is going to give some examples of poor eating habits."

• Describing the mental pictures you "see": "When the author talks about vegetables I should include in my diet, I can see our salad bowl at home filled with fresh, green spinach leaves."

• Demonstrating how you connect this information with prior knowledge: "'Saturated fat'? I know I've heard that term before. I learned it last year when we studied nutrition."

• Creating analogies: "That description of clogged arteries sounds like traffic clogging up the interstate during rush hour."

• Verbalizing obstacles and fix-up strategies: "Now what does 'angiogram' mean? Maybe if I reread that section, I'll get the meaning from the other sentences around it: I know I can't skip it because it's in bold-faced print, so it must be important. If I still don't understand, I know I can ask the teacher for help,"

5. Have students work with partners to practice "think-alouds" when reading short passages of text. Periodically revisit this strategy or have students complete the assessment that follows so these metacomprehension skills become second nature.

Examples of Visual Representations: Think-Aloud Assessment

While I was reading, how much did I use these

"think-aloud strategies?Not much A little

Most ofthe time

All of thetime

Making and revising predictions

Forming mental pictures

Connecting what I read to what I already know

Creating analogies

Verbalizing confusing points

Using fix-up strategies

Wrap-Up

• Video Clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02fFFjmp7Gc

• Follow-up ActivityTurn to a partner and talk about how you might use a think-aloud in your classroom. If you have used this strategy, please share your story.

3. Visualizing and Recording Mental Images

Chuck Force

http://michigan.gov/documents/mde/Writing_to_Learn_Mathematics_306722_7.pdf#page24

Prepare to Think

• What did you see?

• What does it mean?

• Think again….with the thought: • Pythagorean Theorem

• What did you see?

• What does it mean?

Prepare to Think

• What did you see?

• What does it mean?• Think again….with the thought: • Compare and Contrast

• What did you see?

• What does it mean?

Activity

• Think of an image that could enhance the last lesson (unit) you did.

• Think of an image that could enhance the next lesson (unit) you will do.

4. I.N.S.E.R.T. Method Think Along Model Mac Moore

I.N.S.E.R.T. Method

X I thought differently

+ New & important information ! WOW

?? I don’t get it

* VERY important to remember

Create I.N.S.E.R.T Code

• OBJ: Students will read a selection on the Bonus Army to describe the public's reaction to Hoover's policies.

• 1) What did the Bonus Army want? B • 2) What was the government's reaction to the

Bonus Army? G• 3) What was the public's reaction to the Bonus

Army? P

Think Along

5. Cornell Notes, Sentence Frames, Paragraph Frames Mac Moore

Cornell Notes

6. Anticipation Guides Mac Moore

7. RAFTTeresa Lance

What is RAFT

What is RAFT?

The RAFTs Technique (Santa, 1988) is a system to help students understand their role as a writer, the audience they will address, the varied formats for writing, and the expected content. It is an acronym that stands for:

Purpose

• Gives students a fresh way to think about approaching their writing.

• It occupies a nice middle ground between standard, dry essays and free-for-all creative writing. RAFTs combines the best of both.

• It also can be the way to bring together students' understanding of main ideas, organization, elaboration, and coherence...in other words, the criteria by which compositions are most commonly judged.

R.A.F.T

• Role of the Writer – – Who are you as the writer? Are you Sir John A.

Macdonald? A warrior? A homeless person? An auto mechanic? The endangered snail darter?

R.A.F.T

Audience – To whom are you writing? Is your audience the

Canadian people? A friend? Your teacher? Readers of a newspaper? A local bank?

R.A.F.T

Format – What form will the writing take? Is it a letter? A

classified ad? A speech? A poem?

R.A.F.T

• Topic + strong Verb – – What's the subject or the point of this piece? Is it

to persuade a goddess to spare your life? To plead for a re-test? To call for stricter regulations on logging?

Sample Raft

• Math– Role-math professor– Audience-a class of college students– Form-10-minute speech with visual aids– Topic-ratios– Verb-defend your opinion

Samples continued…

• Math– Role-an accountant– Audience-his/her boss– Form-a brochure– Topic-graphing– Verb-announce a new and important idea

Samples continued…

• Science– Role-a veterinarian– Audience-governor of your state– Form-request for funding– Topic-environmental issue– Verb-predict one year of the future if things stay

the same

Samples continued…

• Social studies– Role-a disabled veteran– Audience-a wealthy group with money to give

away– Form-letter of support– Topic-civil rights– Verb-inspire your audience to act now

website• http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/Writing_Across_Curriculum_RAFTS_Math.htm

V. Conclusion Mac Moore

Before, During and After StrategiesFree Write Before/After

Where do we go from here?Commit to Try in Classroom

Strategies PlacementBefore Reading During Reading After Reading

Think Alouds

Mental ImagesMental ImagesMental Images

Think AlongThink Along

Think Along

Cornell NotesCornell NotesCornell NotesConcept Def. Maps

Concept Def. MapsConcept Def. Maps

Anticipation GuidesAnticipation GuidesAnticipation Guides

RAFT

RAFTRAFTThink Alouds

Think Alouds

V. Conclusion Mac Moore

Before, During and After StrategiesFree Write Before/After

Where do we go from here?Commit to Try in Classroom

Resources

Sources: Common Core Standards Initiative (2010) National Council of Teachers of English (2011)The Achievement Gap Initiative (2009)Brockton High School in Massachusetts

http://michigan.gov/documents/mde/Writing_to_Learn_Mathematics_306722_7.pdf#page24

RAFTs Technique (Santa, 1988)http://www.writingfix.com/WAC/Writing_Across_Curriculum_RAFTS_Math.htm Think Aloud YouTube Video:http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html#axzz1m06MxvdX

Questions or Comments

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