Constructivism Theory and Assessing and Teaching Literacy Across the

Curriculum

Dr. Elaine Roberts

Fountas and Pinnell (2001) suggest that if we teach our students to become strategic

thinkers, they will become better readers.

Constructivismand Comprehension Strategies

●actively engaging with text

●thinking about the text

●making meaningful

connections with the text

Comprehension

before, during, and after reading

● text to selftext to text

text to world

● build, change, and revise schema

Reinforce strategies for comprehension before, during, & after:

Reading Aloud

Independent Reading

Guided Reading

Constructivism: Scaffolding Instruction

●Teacher Models, Students Watch

●Guided Practice

●Independent Practice

●Assessment

Lesson ScaffoldingIntroduce: Schema (prior knowledge)text to self connections

During:Think Aloud Strategy

After:Chart ResponsesJournal Writing

Assessing My Students’ Schema

●Group Discussions

●Response Journals

●Weekly Reading LogThis week I was successful at. . .

Next week I plan to. . .

Assessments Guide Instruction

●Math/Reading Pre/Post Tests

●KWLA Charts

●Anticipation Guide

●Webs/Graphic Organizers

Assessing My Students’ Comprehension

What do I Know?

What do I Want to Know?

What did I Learn?

How will this Affect Me?

Assessment matches the goal of instruction: Use performance tasks related to multiple intelligences, rubrics, include graphic organizers on tests to analyze learning (include in portfolios)

Include:

Discussions to determine prior knowledge and expand comprehension

●Questions

●Writing Graphic Organizers

●Retellings

Response Journals

●communication

●relationship

●assessment tool

●reinforcement

●monitor reading habits

●incorporates writing

●allows students time to reflect on their reading

Effective VocabularyAssessment and Instruction

●Provide a classroom library, graphic organizers, and take observation notes

●Provide exposure to variety of genres

●Include Book Talks

●Encourage exploration of genres independently for discussion and motivation

Enthusiastic

Oral Reading

Assessing and Teaching Fluency: Reading with Expression, Speed (reading rate), Accuracy, and Comprehension

Guided Oral Reading/

Independent Silent Reading

●Repeated Readings

●Choral and Echo Reading

●Reader’s Theater and Plays

●Tape Recordings/Telephones

Assessing accuracy=WPM for independent, instructional, and frustration

Assessing reading rate-Oral Reading Fluency Test by Rasinski, 2004 (Timed words read correctly with

comprehension) ** Handout

Fluency Reading rate: words read per minute (WPM) Recognizes word automatically Prosody – read with expressive rhythm with pitch and stress

Repeated Reading (Samuels) – students read until fluency is reached (practice) to motivate and encourage reading with comprehension. Procedure for repeated reading (RR):

1. Set aside 15-20 minutes for RR per day

2. Choose reading passages between 50 and 500 words

3. Determine difficulty level of the passages to fit the student

4. Sit next to the student, during the first reading of the passage, the student should read 85-95% accurately, then practice rereading until reading fluently for targeted level.

5. Keep a chart/log of passages and dates and assess for instruction. http://www.prel.org/products/re_/assessing-fluency.pdf

Use Appropriate Literature to Enhance Fluency and Practice Comprehension Strategies

Model: A think-aloud gives students an opportunity to see:

●our thinking when we read●our connections we make

●our questions we ask●our inferences and predictions

(Goudvis and Harvey, 2000)

●Have Students Practice Fluent Reading using a Think Aloud to increase their thinking, connecting,

questioning, inferencing, and predicting strategies!

Constructivism Theory

“What the child can do in cooperation today he can do alone tomorrow.”

(Lev Vygotsky, 2004)