- What strategies did you use to understand the three paragraphs with unorthodox orthography? Would such and activity be helpful in explaining to teachers how difficult making meaning can be for ELs? (p. 136)
- Describe the three kinds of knowledge on which readers draw to gain meaning from text. (p. 137) Goodman (1967)
3. Please define SCHEMA Theory as it applies to reading. (p.139)
4. Why is what a teacher does before a book is read extremely important scaffolding for reading and comprehension? (p. 144)
5. How does the author define the difference between skimming and scanning the text? How does
making predictions about the text encourage students to read the text more interactively? (p. 154)
6. What did you think about the suggested strategies students can use to work out meaning of
unknown words? How can we support teachers in reminding students of these strategies during
reading? (p.155)
1. To read these 3 paragraphs, I had to use my knowledge of English phonics, language structure and vocabulary. I think the first two paragraphs were easier to read because, as fluent readers, we generally don’t need to decode words, but rather look at their structure to figure them out. The last one threw me a little bit, mostly because the spacing of the words were a little off. I think this kind of activity would be beneficial for teachers of ELs because it makes you realize all the different strategies that you unconsciously use while reading.
ReplyDelete2. Readers uses semantic, syntactic and graphophonic knowledge when reading. Semantic knowledge is the background knowledge we possess that helps us to predict and understand a text. Syntactic knowledge is the ability to understand the structure of language - what it takes to make a sentences, the order of words in a sentence, etc. Graphophonic knowledge is the “decoding” piece - knowledge of letters and sounds and their patterns in words.
3. Schema theory is the idea that we all possess certain background knowledge based on our language and culture that influences our understanding of a text. It makes me think of a recent experience with my son. He’s 4.5 and knows a lot about football. He watches games and closely follows the plays and the score. Jorge showed him a video of a rugby game and he was equally enthusiastic watching the rugby clip and when they scored, he called “Touchdown! 6 points!” or “Field goal!” when they kicked it. He was applying his football schema to rugby and therefore did not have an understanding of what was actually happening in the game.
4. What we do before reading is how we fill those gaps in background knowledge or schema that a student may have. For example, if, before watching that rugby game, we had explained to Lucas what scores were called in rugby and how many points they got, he would have had a much better time understanding what he was seeing, even though he still wouldn’t have had the same understanding as he does of football. If we don’t do any pre-reading activities, then students have much less of an opportunity to obtain any meaning from the text.
5. The author explains that skimming a text is reading quickly to get a basic understanding of the text as a whole. Scanning means reading quickly but to find specific information. By making predictions before reading, students have a different purpose for reading - to check to see if those predictions they made are accurate. It also forces them to use more metacognitive skills as they can think about and correct their predictions as they read.
6. These are strategies that I used a lot in guided reading - both by teaching them explicitly and by informally using them when I was reading with individual students. I think more explicit teaching of the strategies in whole group would be helpful too. By using activities like guess the word or mask the word, we can force all students to practice using these strategies, even when they might otherwise have understood the word in the sentence. It becomes good practice for when they do encounter new words in reading that they don’t understand.
Thank you for sharing your personal experience from your little guy as he applied rules of football to rugby. It's a great connection to explain how we interpret what we bring to the text.
DeleteDo you find that we are having students make predictions on an ongoing basis before tackling text?
Michelle Kotwica
ReplyDelete1. I mainly used phonics and language structure as well as context to help me read the paragraphs.
I think this would be useful for teachers to see. We need those reminders that there is so much going on without really realizing it while we are reading. We use so many strategies together or while reading to make meaning that it is good to see again the importance of teaching various strategies to help us when interacting with text.
2. The 3 kinds of knowledge are: semantic, syntactic, and graphophonic. Semantic knowledge is more of your background knowledge and what you bring to the text. Syntactic knowledge is the word order and structure of language/grammar. Graphophonic knowledge is the relationship between letter-sound or sound-symbol piece.
3. Schema or schema theory is what you already know, the “in the head piece” as the book states. This is when students use their own background knowledge to help read and understand the text. This relates directly to their own cultural and language background which is an important resource for reading. What is learned and read in the text builds on and interacts with our schema or existing background knowledge to help us try to make sense of what we are reading or make our own connections/understanding.
4. I agree with Danielle, well said, “What we do before reading is how we fill those gaps in background knowledge or schema that a student may have.” Taking what the students know and building upon that is crucial in reading for comprehension so that when students interact with that part of the text they do not feel as lost, confused or have as many misunderstandings if there was some prior work done to help build up their knowledge and understanding of what they are about to read.
5. Skimming refers to reading something quickly for a general overall idea whereas scanning also involves reading quickly but with a purpose for looking for something in particular. Making predictions encourages interactive reading by giving the students a purpose for reading. Often we make predictions in my groups and then read the story to find out if we were right or something else happened. The students get very into it and pending the grade, either reading individually or as whole group they are more vocal and engaged with the text making comments, “I knew it!” or “Aww man!”. You can see the engagement and interaction to the text when making predictions because they feel more involved and invested in the text wanting to know what happens and if they were right or not.
6. I thought it was a good list of strategies and think by adding some visuals and maybe creating a class list or chart and modeling the strategies would be a good way to introduce them as well as have an anchor chart as reference to allow for students to begin to use on their own as well. Once this list/chart is up, teacher can ask students which strategies they used today etc. the constant referencing and modeling, and use of the chart/list would be a great reminder/resource for students to use.
I agree with you that the reading experience would be powerful for some teachers to gain understanding into how ELs take text and read it. It really puts us through an experience where we have to use all our skills to complete the reading.
Delete1. The major strategy I used to understand the paragraphs was looking at the first letter and last letter of the word. I have done an activity before that says if you leave the first letter and last letter of a word, the reader can figure out what the word is. However, in the examples, not every word had the first letter and the last letter the same. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what I did, since it all happened in my brain and quickly, but I think I looked to chunk sounds together. For examples, “ths” had the “th” and my brain filled in the blank to see that the word is “the”. I think that if parts of the word are kept, our brains can deduct what the word is. However, I have field knowledge of the words. I think this could be incredibly helpful in explaining to teachers how difficult it can be for ELs to make meaning if they do not have background knowledge or are properly introduced to the text. If there would have been explicit instruction on what the symbols stood for and how to replace them, the task would not have been as daunting.
ReplyDelete2. The three kinds of knowledge readers draw to gain meaning from text is semantic knowledge, syntactic knowledge and graphophonic knowledge. Semantic knowledge is the knowledge of the world, syntactic knowledge is knowledge of language and graphophonic knowledge is knowledge of the relationships between sounds and letters and the recognition of the phonemic patterning of words in English. These three kinds of knowledge on which readers draw suggest an important point: Without field knowledge, knowledge of the language and specific vocabulary associated with it, the reader must rely on basic decoding of a word. This does not guarantee that readers will understand the meaning of what they are reading.
3. The SCHEMA Theory proposes that effective readers draw on particular kinds of culturally acquired knowledge and language to guide and influence their comprehension processes. There are clear cross-cultural differences in the way in which the same information is interpreted and recalled by two different cultural groups. The ways people make sense and comprehend text is dependent on their cultural beliefs and knowledge. Schematic, or in-the head knowledge may be of two types: knowledge of the kind of genre or text and knowledge from the field.
4. What a teacher does before reading a book is important scaffolding for reading and comprehension because being unfamiliar with the language makes it almost impossible to predict the kind of information likely to follow. The knowledge that readers bring to the text is critical to their ability to get meaning from it. When children are learning to read it is important they initially develop these new and challenging reading skills in the context of comprehensible content. Rather than avoiding books that carry any unfamiliar cultural or field content or new language, the challenge for the teacher to build up the knowledge and understanding that are relevant to the texts the children will read. By the time the reader interacts with the text, the text will not be so unfamiliar. What a teacher does before reading a book is very important. Often times, teachers are focused on the comprehension and what to do after reading. What a teacher does before reading is just as important tand indicative of what happens after reading.
Delete5. The difference between skimming and scanning the text is that when readers skim a text, they read it quickly to get a general idea of the content. When they scan the text they also read fast but the purpose is to look for particular information. Making predictions about the text encourage students to read the text more interactively because the purpose is to get a general idea of what the text is about and the main ideas, or to look for specific information. Students can scan the text to check any predictions they made during the before-reading activities. The process of making predictions will encourage the students to read the text more interactively. They can see whether they find answers to the questions they asked.
6. I think the list of strategies on page 155 are a good way to have students make meaning during reading. Based on what I see when I push into classes, a lot of these strategies are in place. The least common of these strategies is having the students use a dictionary, which is stated as a last resort in the text. The most common one I see is having students use the visuals in the text to make meaning or use context clues around the words. I think a may in which we can support teachers in reminding students to use these strategies is to model them in our small groups when we push into classes, mention them at PLC meetings, or ask for time to share a quick refresher course at a staff meeting. All students will benefit from these strategies and it will help further develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills.
You'll have to explain the strategy of omitting the 1st and last letters of words in order to figure out the word. It sounds very interesting. Your comments about providing students with the opportunity to preview and predict from reading selection are really powerful. We should be providing students with these opportunities on a regular basis.
Delete1. Background knowledge of the topic, my understanding of language, phonics and spelling helped me decipher the paragraphs. Although, I was able to read the text, some of the meaning was lost as much of my attention was focused on decoding/identify the words. I believe teachers would benefit from this activity. It would emphasize how much meaning is lost trying hard to decode unfamiliar words in a second language.
ReplyDelete2. Semantic knowledge is the knowledge we have gained from previous experiences that helps us comprehend text. Syntactic is the arrangement of words into a sentence that make sense in a given language. It is the rules of grammatical structure. Graphophonic knowledge is the recognition of letters, understanding of sound-symbol relationships, and spelling patterns. It's important to have semantic, syntactic and graphophonic knowledge to help understand what is being read. Being able to decode a word is not really reading because truly being a reader is having the ability to comprehend the text.
3. Schema Theory is the background knowledge we have that enables readers to relate new information to their prior knowledge which helps us comprehend text.
4. Scaffolding is often used to bridge learning gaps. With scaffolding, students have the opportunity to confirm what they know about the topic and progressively build the knowledge that is relevant to the text that will be read. Scaffolding is important when students are first introduced to a topic that is unknown to them so the concepts will be comprehensible. By scaffolding you provide an opportunity for student to build background knowledge relevant to the text so that what is read is more familiar. Readers will be able to use knowledge to predict/understand new learning as the text is read.
5. Skimming the text is a quick way to get a general idea about the content. When scanning a text, the reader reads with a purpose to look for a certain information. Making predictions encourages students to actively think about what they will be reading. Making predictions while students read will help them read for the purpose of confirming or changing their thoughts.
6. Most of the suggested strategies on page 155 are already used in the classrooms that I push in during guided reading. I utilize and teach these strategies to my students during guided reading. Having a poster/chart listing the strategies would be a great resource in all classrooms to support our students in all content areas. Although, it appears that teachers use these strategies having a visual aid available for students would be extremely beneficial.
Pat, great to know that you are already using most of the strategies provided on p. 155. Implementing these strategies during guided reading will help students develop literacy skills.
DeletePlease make sure to share some of the building background strategies that you use with your students.
1. Honestly I wasn't aware of using any strategies to read the paragraphs. As PG points out, our familiarity with the language makes reading something like this pretty effortless, in our own language. I think a more effective type of activity for teachers to see how difficult making meaning in reading can be for ELs is to have them try to read a paragraph in Spanish with some English cognates included so they can perhaps understand some but not all and have to work to get that.
ReplyDelete2. Semantic knowledge relates to vocabulary and morphological understanding and comes largely from experiences in one's life and experiences gained from text. Syntactic knowledge relates to syntax and the structure of language. The last, graphophonic knowledge relates to phonological awareness and phonemic awareness. All three actually start developing when one starts hearing a language and definitely need to be strong before reading and writing can be effective.
3. Schema Theory suggests that readers pull from previous experiences in life and with language in order to help comprehend what they are reading. Those experiences help guide their attachment of what is already known to the new information being read. These experiences include daily experiences as well as experiences with types of text and the topic of what is being read, all which lend to the overall understanding. I find this idea very relevant to students as we must ensure there is a schema there for the new information to attach to before plowing ahead and often this gets forgotten or not given enough attention.
4. Relating to what was talked about in question 3, without previous knowledge and something to build off of one will have much difficulty comprehending new information. Only very effective readers, with multiple readings of an unfamiliar text, can eventually glean some understanding of the ideas being read. Weak readers or those with weak language, even with multiple readings of a passage, will glean very little of what is being read and can even "mislearn" or "unlearn" information as they attempt to relate it to something in their Schema.
5. Skimming means quickly reading to get a general idea while scanning includes looking for specific words or ideas which are key to a passage's meaning. Making predictions ahead of reading requires one to activate their schema and helps to create a plan for what is being read. As one is reading they can then be analyzing if what they predicted is accurate or not. The NOT is even more important because then the reader needs to re-assess and make a new prediction, perhaps using a different schema. This engaged reading increases the chances for more effective comprehension in the end.
6. All the strategies listed are effective, depending on the student using them. I find these are best remembered when modeled for students. Students love to see when a teacher doesn't know everything:) If the student attempting to read has weaker skills in language in general it is also important to teach other strategies such as asking for help and what that language sounds like ie: " don't know what this word means," "I don't understand what this sentence means," "m not understanding the main idea here," "I'm not sure what the author is trying to say," "Does this mean.....?"
I like the idea of having the strategies listed for reminders but again, modeling is very effective. Also, sabotage, although it sounds mean, is very effective. Having students read something they will NOT understand then requires them to practice using the strategies.
Great point about readers at different ability levels. We have all seen struggling readers attempt to make meaning from their reading but they are stumped by decoding and lack of fluency.
DeleteAs you state in your last response, modeling is very effective! Students really need this support.
ReplyDeleteChristy Rodriguez
1) What strategies did you use to understand the three paragraphs with unorthodox orthography? Would such and activity be helpful in explaining to teachers how difficult making meaning can be for ELs? (p. 136)
There was enough letters in each word that I could make meaning out of it. It also helps that it was written in a language that I am a fluent reader in. I don't think this activity would help teachers empathize with second language learners because they are able to make meaning from the passage.
2) Describe the three kinds of knowledge on which readers draw to gain meaning from text. (p. 137) Goodman (1967)
Semantic knowledge is knowledge of the world and the field of the text. Syntactic knowledge is knowledge of the structure of the language. Graphophonic knowledge is knowledge of the relationships between sounds and letters and recognition of the phonemic patterning of the words in English.
3. Please define SCHEMA Theory as it applies to reading. (p.139)
Schema theory applied to reading, suggests that effective readers call upon their background knowledge in the comprehension process.
4. Why is what a teacher does before a book is read extremely important scaffolding for reading and comprehension? (p. 144)
Pre-reading activities can be thought of as bridges between the learner and the text. Pre-reading activities develop knowledge of the overall meaning of the text and not every unknown word. They also prepare students for anticipated difficulties in the text. Also, they remind students of what they already know and they help students make predictions about the text.
5. How does the author define the difference between skimming and scanning the text? How does
making predictions about the text encourage students to read the text more interactively? (p. 154)
When skimming a text, readers read it quickly to get the general idea of the content. When readers scan a text, they also read fast but for particular information. Making predictions makes students more engaged in the text because text that is the opposite of a prediction is more memorable.
6. What did you think about the suggested strategies students can use to work out meaning of unknown words? How can we support teachers in reminding students of these strategies during reading? (p.155)
Some strategies to help students make meaning of unknown words are:
-Read to the end of the sentence
-Look at the text before and after the word
-Look at visuals and subheadings
-Look for the same word elsewhere in the text
-Use a dictionary as a last resort
I think the LSDs do a great job of training teachers in how to help students make meaning of unfamiliar words.
I like your point about predictions made being the opposite of what is read in the text turn out to be more memorable. The strategies that you list are truly helpful for our ELs and all students too.
Delete1)One of the strategies that I personally used to read the 3 paragraphs was phonemic awareness. I literally was sounding out letters and digraphs to figure out the words. Also, I found myself figuring out the “pattern” for each paragraph by quickly visibly skimming it. Lastly, I even used my background knowledge of the content. For example, for “lngge” it took me a second to understand it meant language. I think this activity would be helpful to show how we automatically scramble to various reading strategies to read and comprehend as good readers.
ReplyDelete2)These 3 kinds of knowledge help readers predict what follows: #1 - semantic knowledge: knowledge of the world or the field of the text a.k.a. The “background knowledge”. #2 - syntactic knowledge: knowledge of the structure of the language, knowing how a language works, truly understanding a complete sentence in a language. #3 graphophonic knowledge: the knowledge of the letter-sound or sound-symbol relationships of a language. Readers identifying unknown words by relating speech sounds to letters or letter patterns, Decoding or truly making meaning.
3)The Schema Theory, as it applies to reading, is that effective readers draw on particular kinds of cultural knowledge and language to guide and influence their comprehension when reading. Basically, we use background knowledge, or “in-the-head” knowledge, to assist in comprehension. This is a barrier for ELs since they usually do not share the same cultural or field knowledge as the writer of the text.
4)The activities before a book are extremely important scaffolding for reading and comprehension because students may not have the necessary background knowledge, or “in-the-head” knowledge, that is necessary to fully comprehend the text. Those activities before reading the text will provide students information that will allow the content and language of the text to not be so unfamiliar to the students.
5)Skimming is reading the text quickly to get an idea of what the content is. An example of this would be to skim and make a prediction before reading the text. Scanning is reading the text quickly for a specific purpose. An example of this would be looking at a timetable at an airport for a departure status. Making predictions about the text encourages students to read the text more interactively because they want to prove/disprove it, and hence making it more meaningful to them.
6)I think that the listed and suggested strategies regarding what students can do to work out the meaning of unknown words is good. I think most of them are already strategies that are used throughout our district. I think one way of supporting teachers in reminding them of these strategies is reiterating how important MODELING is for students, especially our ELs. Students will be more prone to using one of the strategies if they know their own teacher uses it and have seen it in action appropriately. Teachers can purposely plan ahead to work out the meaning of a word for their class. I think this can especially be helpful in a small group setting, like during guided reading. And lastly, even if this modeling is not planned ahead and a “teachable moment” arises with a word that the class unexpectedly is not familiar with… we should take advantage of that!
Anel, your example of scanning text is great! That is exactly what we do when we look at a departure/arrival screen at an airport.
DeleteThe activities we take students through before reading set the student up for success in making meaning from reading the selection. It is giving student the tools they need to tackle text and walk away having understood and learned content.
1. I used a range of strategies including phonics, spelling, sentence structure, patterning of words/phrases, and vocabulary to read these two paragraphs. If I did not know the language, I would be unable to read the words with missing letters because I would have never had experience reading/writing them before. I would have lost all meaning of the paragraph. Background knowledge is very important when we are asking students to read for meaning.
ReplyDelete2.Readers draw meaning from their knowledge of the world (semantic knowledge), the structure or language (syntactic knowledge), as well as the relationships between sounds and letters (graphophonic knowledge).
3. A person’s comprehension of a text relies heavily on their familiarity with that genre. A person’s Schema is all of the knowledge and experiences they currently possess. Ultimately, students will draw from information they have acquired from being a part of a culture or language to understand what they have read. If you lack background knowledge about a topic you are reading, you are less likely to draw meaning from it. If you have had experience with the topic and you can connect it to something you are familiar with, you are more likely to understand and retain the new information.
4. We shouldn’t be focusing all of our reading time on what to assess after a student has read a text but rather before the reading takes place. The activities before a book is read is when the “teaching” happens. These instructional strategies teach the students a way to gain more meaning from the text such as what to do when they come to an unknown word or model way to think about the information given.
5. When a reader skims the text they are reading it quickly to get an idea of what it is about. Having the students make predictions about a text is a great way to get them engaged in reading. They can make a prediction and then skim the text to see if their predictions were correct or not. If they are scanning the text they are looking for specific information. They might need to find specific details to answer questions they may have.
6. The students can underline or make a note of words or phrases they don’t understand. Gibbons suggests several strategies students can use to work out the meaning of these unknown words. I like the idea of looking at prefixes and suffixes (if they have background information on what those are). I think having the student use picture and heading clues is also a great strategy especially in nonfiction texts. Whenever I am unfamiliar with a word, reading on usually provides me with more context to the unknown word. I also like how Gibbons encourages discussion between the students to talk about how they dealt with an unknown word.
Looking at prefixes and suffixes really help our ELs make connections and learn vocabulary. Gibbons really encourages students talking to each other in order to explain their thinking and share strategies for discovering the meaning of words. It is really interesting to hear students explain this process.
Delete1. I am not able to explain what strategies I used to read the paragraphs. I honestly just read them and understood them, though a littler slower than I would with an normal text. I think that is testament to how important a strong understanding of phonics, grammar, and vocabulary is to reading comprehension. In addition, the topic is familiar to me and the ideas presented were predictable, so that was no doubt helpful. Years of reading middle school essays probably didn’t hurt either. :-) I think this would be a helpful introductory activity for teachers, but moreso if there were other examples that teachers could struggle more with, for example on a difficult topic (quantum physics?) where we might not have background, or in complex language structures that are more difficult to decipher.
ReplyDelete2. The three types of knowledge are semantics, syntax, and phonics. They refer to background knowledge on a topic, understanding of sentence construction, and memorization of letter and sound combinations within a language. Each is an important component in reading (or listening) for comprehension. Just like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, if one of those three components isn’t well developed then it impedes understanding.
3. According to Schema Theory, reading comprehension is influenced and guided by cultural background and past experience. Messages are received and processed through the cultural filter we have each developed, most often subconsciously. Two readers of the same text may focus on different details and have different interpretations, and therefore different understandings, of the text’s message.
4. Activating and building prior knowledge is one of the most effective pre-reading strategies. Students approach every text with their own cultural filter, so it is helpful for teachers to calibrate that filter to prepare them for what they about to experience. As adults we are more easily able to pick up any text and decipher the meaning, the perspective, and the context of what is written. This is not as easy for a child, especially a child learning a second language. Priming them for the topic is important. This includes cultural context of the text, but also placing them in the perspective of the characters, exploring challenging vocabulary in advance, and constantly stopping to reflect and construct meaning while reading.
5. The author defines skimming as fast reading for content - a summarization of the main idea. Scanning is a search for specific details. Imagine looking at a map. Skimming would be getting a general sense of where your destination is - what town, what major intersections are nearby, what direction (N/S/E/W) to I need to go to get there. Scanning would be searching for shortcuts, coffee shops along the way, and the nearest gas station. Making predictions helps students target their reading - reading with a purpose. By making predictions they are then on high alert while reading the text as they try to scan for the answers (details) or skim for understanding (the big picture).
6. I think these are great strategies for understanding a word’s meaning. I think they could be taught in isolation as independent lessons, building up towards having a full set of strategies to draw upon and apply. I can imagine them compiled into a student-friendly handout and/or a class anchor chart.
I like your suggestion about providing text that is not familiar to teachers. Quantum physics is a great idea! Most teachers would be able to decode but would not be able to make meaning from the reading.
DeleteI agree with you that the strategies provided for understanding word meaning would be of great support if compiled in handout or anchor chart.