Strategies That Work for All Learners
Vocabulary - While reading Esperanza Rising we are cultivating the art of
expanding our vocabulary. Many things
contribute to students’ vocabulary. As much
as we may desire for students to grab a dictionary for clarity, “readers use a dictionary
less than we might suppose.” To help
your child develop the art of broadening their vocabulary bank please encourage
them to read, read, read. “Good
readers have substantially larger vocabularies than struggling readers.”
In class three properties are in place to help students as they expand their understanding of new words: integration, repetition and meaningful use.
To help us in class, as your child reads their assigned 5-6 pages at night remind them to circle unknown words. Remind them to use context clues around the unknown word to gain an understanding of what the unknown word could possible mean. They can also go on http://www.wordcentral.com/ to find the possible meaning. Record the meaning and bring it to the carpet the following day.
Comprehension - Regardless of the age, we read for understanding. With that in mind, this week while reading away from school, focus on understanding. Please, support your child as they monitor their understanding and keep track of their thinking on sticky notes.
Reciprocal Teaching
We are embracing another comprehension strategy, Reciprocal Teaching. Below is a quick summary of the strategy. Reciprocal Teaching yields amazing benefits while enhancing our dialogue and understanding of content.
“With reciprocal teaching, students predict before reading and then check their predictions during reading. They stop to clarify unknown words or ideas during reading. They ask “teacher questions” during and after reading to check for understanding. And they summarize either a page or the entire text selection after reading.”
Stricklin, K. (2011). Hands-on reciprocal teaching: A comprehension technique. The Reading Teacher , 620-625.
In class three properties are in place to help students as they expand their understanding of new words: integration, repetition and meaningful use.
To help us in class, as your child reads their assigned 5-6 pages at night remind them to circle unknown words. Remind them to use context clues around the unknown word to gain an understanding of what the unknown word could possible mean. They can also go on http://www.wordcentral.com/ to find the possible meaning. Record the meaning and bring it to the carpet the following day.
Comprehension - Regardless of the age, we read for understanding. With that in mind, this week while reading away from school, focus on understanding. Please, support your child as they monitor their understanding and keep track of their thinking on sticky notes.
Reciprocal Teaching
We are embracing another comprehension strategy, Reciprocal Teaching. Below is a quick summary of the strategy. Reciprocal Teaching yields amazing benefits while enhancing our dialogue and understanding of content.
“With reciprocal teaching, students predict before reading and then check their predictions during reading. They stop to clarify unknown words or ideas during reading. They ask “teacher questions” during and after reading to check for understanding. And they summarize either a page or the entire text selection after reading.”
Stricklin, K. (2011). Hands-on reciprocal teaching: A comprehension technique. The Reading Teacher , 620-625.