Expository Reading Vertical Meeting 10/10

Expository/Content Vertical Meeting: 10/11/10

Reading Strategies:

1. Prior Knowledge:  This is the most important reading strategy to use for formative assessment data at the beginning of a reading experience.
1. Rate PK - When thinking about transactional reading or interactive reading, this is very important.  Readers need to consider what they already know about a topic. Their prior knolwedge dictates their reading plan.  If a student has no prior knowledge/experience with a topic, s/he is "reading to learn".  This is more difficult reading and requires more strategy use.  Also, the text structures are important.  When text is difficult, figuring out how it is structured can help a reader determine what is important.  For example, if dates are given, the reader can predict that the text structure is sequence and begin making sense of the text by creating a time line.  If a student has a lot of PK, s/he is reading to confirm, build upon, or reject what is already known.  It is important to have this focus or they will just skim the text (or pretend to read) and rely on their prior knowledge, which may be faulty or incomplete.  (See synthesizing below.)
2. Preview the text features (titles, pictures, captions, graphs, subtitles, bold words, etc) to make predictions about what is in the text.  This also helps to activate prior knowledge.
2. Make Predictions (hypothesize)
3. Ask Questions - there are many levels of questioning based on PK and reading level. 
1. Vocab -EX:  what does this word mean?
2. Informational questions -the answers to these questions can be looked up in a reference book/site.  EX:  Where is Utah? What is a volcano?
3. Curiosity questions  - cannot be found in a reference book/site.  EX:  Why would it work this way?
4. Challenge questions - challenges the author, science...focus on deep thinking.  EX:  Did he use all of his data?  What about the other points of view?
4. Make Connections - connections to self, other text, other media, world knowledge...connections create more meaning and are NOT distracting from the text.
5. Make INferences - getting IN the authors head, heart....searching for bias, propaganda, etc.
6. Determining Importance - determining what is important (worth talking about, learning) vs what is interesting (or potentially distracting).  Both can be important to talk about.
7. Synthesize - how does this new information fit with what you already know?  Does your PK have to change?  Does it fit together and confirm or build upon each other?  OR is there a disconnect?  Is there something suspect about this new information?  (This is an especially good question when evaluating websites.)
8. NOTE:  Numbers 2-6 are represented by "The Hand"

Text Structures:  These are most helpful if the information is NEW of difficult.  Text structures help students make sense of the organization of the text, which then allows them to make sense of the content in the text.  There are 5 text structures (in our model):

1. Description/TLH: "Through Their Eyes":  the information is not given in a certain order.   It still presents facts; this does not mean it is figurative language.  EX:  Describe the beaker - order does not matter.  Describe the Plains Indians.
2. Sequence/TLH: "Turning Points":  Order does matter OR information is given in an order to help us remember it.  The conversion ladder is given in an order to help us remember AND it goes from big to small.  Sequence can be chronological (dates), steps, phases, etc...
3. Cause and Effect/TLH: "Cause and Effect" "Using the Past":  Presented in order - this caused this caused this caused this... OR one cause with many effects OR many causes with one effect.  NOTE:  6th grade uses the double arrow to indicate a cause and effect structure.  Note:  Often the cause and/or effect is presented in a different text structure.
4. Problem/Solution / TLH: "Change and Continuity":  like cause and effect, but the text says PROBLEM and SOLUTION!  The text uses those words as "cue" words.  EX: The problem Custer faces was... he solved it by...  Note:  Often the problem and/or solution is presented using a different text structure.
5. Question/Answer:  The text asks a questions and then gives one or more answers to that question.  The history book uses this structure a lot.  The answer is written in another text structure.  EX:  How do you complete this lab?  These are the steps.  First,.... OR EX:  Why did Custer attack?  Answer is given in a cause and effect chain.

Possible Expository Learning Target / Success Criteria Chart:

Learning Target:  Read the text and _____.  (Discuss the parts worth talking about.  Discuss the parts that fit with your prior knowledge or don't fit with you prior knowledge.  OR Make connection to the video/lab/Brainpop! we did yesterday.)

Success Criteria:

A.  Write a quick journal entry about your Prior Knowledge or Experience with this topic.
B.  Based on your PK, Create a reading plan and find a partner with a similar plan.  (or choose a partner with a different plan if you want to encourage sharing of PK.)
C.  Read silently (the best way to comprehend text) and underline/highlight/use sticky notes on the parts of the text worth talking about.  These parts are either very important or bring up questions.
D.  Code the text (either by underlining or highlighting or using sticky notes) to show which reading strategies you used (P, ?, C, I, !) and what text structures (S, D, C/E, P/S, ?/A) are used to present the information in the text.  Share with a partner.
E.  Discuss the author's bias with your group. Circle all "loaded" words, or words that show the author's point of view.  Share your opinion with your group.  Write a group opinion.
F.  Self-assess.  Write an exit ticket:  Did you understand this reading?  (rate 1-5) What did you do to help yourself comprehend the text?  What got in the way?
AND/OR
G.  Write (or Revise) your working definition/theory of ______.  (If revising, underline the part that were confirmed by this text.  Or underline the parts that were introduced by this text.)

ENDING:  Use a TARGET to self-assess your ability to do the success criteria.

Why is this good for ELL?  Reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking
Why is this good for student engagement?  Reading, writing, speaking, listening, thinking (PTT) & both self and partner and group work.