!0 Literacy Strategies For Any Classroom
1. Create a Literacy Rich Environment
The classroom should "speak" for itself.
- content library
- a place to read and write
- posters and prompts on the walls
- words that enrich posted
- daily literacy habits for the classroom (read together, watch together, listen together
- student work posted
ASCD lists the following for science classrooms:
In literacy-rich science classrooms, reading, writing, and discussion are a daily occurrence.
- Students use a variety of texts, including academic journal articles, scientific websites, science fiction, and essays.
- Students have access to electronic media, film, visuals, and lab experiences, which further support reading comprehension.
- Students actively construct science-specific vocabulary and explicitly use reader aids to enhance their understanding of science texts.
- Students frequently discuss, present, and write about possible hypotheses, predictions, analyses, findings, and ideas.
- Students include elements of the writing process in their lab reports, solutions to problem sets, and research finding
- In literacy-rich social studies classrooms, students' interests are taken into account, and students work in various groupings on different kinds of assignments.
- Students use various resources, including reproductions of primary sources such as diary entries, maps, film, historical fiction, and newspaper accounts.
- Students explicitly call out reader aids, use specialized vocabulary in spoken and written communications, and investigate the thinking and approaches of anthropologists, archaeologists, economists, sociologists, and social historians.
- Students actively explore essential questions and make frequent connections between and among eras, people, and events from the past and present.
- Students use research skills and examine how languages develop and how various cultures use them.
- The following ideas are suggested for the mathematics classroom:
- In literacy-rich mathematics classrooms, language processes support students while they are learning new content and help them demonstrate what they have learned.
- The teacher models problem-solving techniques such as think alouds, and students talk and write about how they solve problems.
- Students actively develop concepts with their teacher.
- The teacher helps students make connections to real-life applications.
- Students actively construct mathematics-specific vocabulary and explicitly use reader aids to enhance their understanding of mathematics texts.
- Students work in varied, flexible groupings to present mathematical solutions to problematic scenarios.
2. Pre-reading Activities 1-10
In a secondary classroom, preparing for reading or interpreting a text is more sophisticated than the elementary classroom, but covers the same basic principles. These are some of the patterns for writing;1. Generalization/Principle: a general statement followed by supporting ideas or arguments.
- Main Idea: Teaching students various text structures dramatically advances their literacy skills
- Supporting Detail #1: Comprehend what is most important
- Supporting Detail #2: Recognize connections among ideas
- Supporting Detail #3: Later apply these text structures to their own writing
2. Chronological Sequence: a chronological list of events or actions. Some examples include historical accounts or the steps to balance a chemical equation.
3. Comparison/Contrast: a comparison of two or more things, such as the process of multiplication and division, or the role of women in World War I versus World War II.
4. Concept/Definition: the introduction of concepts such as anarchy, imaginary numbers, or conservation of energy, and then definition through greater detail and examples.
5. Description: the description of an event, process, or person, with elaboration on key characteristics.
6. Episode: the “who,” “what,” “when,” “where,” “how,” and “why” of an event.
- What event is being explained or described?
- What is the setting where the event occurs?
- Who are the major figures or characters that play a part in this event?
- What are the specific incidents or events that occur? In what order do they happen?
- What caused this event?
- What effects has this event had on the people involved?
- What effects has this event had on society in general?
7. Cause/Effect: an explanation of various causes and their corresponding effects, such as the discovery of gold as one cause of Westward Expansion, or the addition of salt to water having an effect on the freezing and boiling points of water.
8. Problem/Solution: a description of a problem (such as a conflict between two characters) and a solution (how the characters resolved the conflict)
9. Use a KWL chart
- K: what do students know
- W: what do students want to know
- L: after reading, what did they learn
10. Anticipation Guide:
- Themes to look for
- Characters or concepts to explore
- Quotes or vocabulary to find
(The above information was retrieved from http://teachingasleadership.org/sites/default/files/Related-Readings/SL_Ch4_2011.pdf)
3. Reading Activities text Structures
(Chapter 41 from 50 Instructional Routines)
When students are required to reac for information, the information can often be categorized as:
- descriptive-details about people, places and phenomena
- compare and contrast; the venn diagram of information
- cause and effect; causal relationships
- problem and solution: the problem and how it was solved
- temporal sequence: chronological
(see pre-reading activities for charts and visuals)
Step by step
- survey the text and look for organization
- identify signal words: because, in order to, either, not only during etc
- determine the structure" paragraphs, charts graphics etc
4. Discussion Activities
1. Two-minute Talk-back (all courses a, b)
Have students move into pairs. One student expresses his or her ideas or opinions on a
subject for two minutes; the other summarizes orally. The second student then speaks, and
his or her partner summarizes. (http://education.alberta.ca/media/883846/8a_go1.pdf)
2, Quick Openers (30-1a, b; 30-2a, b)
The student’s goal here is to develop a quick oral opener that gets a rousing response from
the class and develops into a spirited discussion at the beginning of a class period. The
student is required to present a 2- to 3-minute presentation on something interesting he or she
has heard, read or observed. The method of presentation is the student’s choice, and the
evaluation is based on knowledge of the subject, audience reaction and elements of speaking
(e.g., voice, gestures, eye contact). The presentation must demonstrate that the topic has
been researched, that the speaker is able to clarify his or her views when questioned, and that
the topic matter (http://education.alberta.ca/media/883846/8a_go1.pdf
3, Whole-class Discussions (all courses a, b)
Use a variety of strategies, such as the following, to make whole-class discussions more
effective:
• Ensure that students are facing each other rather than facing only the teacher.
• Rearrange seating frequently to change class dynamics.
• Facilitate discussion by writing down the names of all students who would like to speak
and asking them to speak in turn. Ask students to focus their thoughts by having them
write down their ideas before discussion begins.
• Stop discussion periodically and ask students to summarize in writing what they have
heard.
• Emphasize active listening as an essential contribution to class discussion. Ask speakers
to paraphrase the previous speaker’s comments, to ask a question or to provide an
example.
• The day before discussion, provide the discussion topic or question to students so that
they can prepare a response. This will particularly help those students who have
difficulty speaking without preparation.
5. Response Writing (Chapter 31 50 Instructional Routines
1. In a Language Arts class, it is imperative that students are instructed step-by-step approach to writing a response. According to the text in chapter 31- "Prompt students to write what was either clear or conversely was confusing
- Have students apply new information to a new time period,place or context
- Ask student to compare the new information to personal experiences
- pose a controversial question related to the new information and have students write about their opinions
- Ask the students to put themselves in anothers' point of view
2. Graphic Essay (30-1b, c; 30-2c)
A graphic essay is an “essay” that includes written and visual text to support a thesis. This
can be used after several texts on a theme/topic have been studied. Ask students to create a
graphic essay that expresses their view of the theme/topic. The essay should include the
following:
• title
• thesis statement
• five significant quotations from the texts studied that reflect the thesis
• a visual that supports each quotation
• logical organization
• source information for each reference
• a one-page written evaluation about the choices made, why they were made, what was
successful and what would be done differently next time. (http://education.alberta.ca/media/883850/8b_go2.pdf)
3.Stream-of-consciousness Writing (all courses, a, b, c, d, e, f)
In a manner similar to that described above but much more abridged, help students recall a
person, situation or setting that is particularly vivid to them.
• Share an example of stream-of-consciousness writing. Invite students to respond to it,
asking for their impressions of what it captured, how it did so, and what was particularly
vivid/confusing/impressive.
• Explain that you will be asking them shortly to write uninterruptedly for five minutes—
to jot down their own stream of images and ideas—after which they will be invited to
share what they have written. They are to envision a person, or situation or setting, and
write down whatever comes to mind about that person, or situation or setting.
• The voice can be someone or something specific or it can be general/unidentified.
• Students are not to worry about correctness of sentence structure or whether ideas are
complete or orderly. The purpose of the task is to capture things vividly, and the process
is just to keep on writing.
• Ask students to start writing and keep on writing for five minutes. (Optional: The
teacher might join in the task.)
• At the conclusion of this time, the class is reminded that stream-of-consciousness writing
is indeed first draft writing. Students will be sharing their efforts and listeners are to
focus on how the piece helps them envision the person, situation or place. Writers are
invited to share, and students are invited to respond.
(http://education.alberta.ca/media/883850/8b_go2.pdf)
