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Close Read Strategy for Informational Text
First time reading through - I understand the main idea of the text.
Second time reading through- write down questions after each paragraph.
Third time through- write down connections between the reading and personal life.

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https://www.edutopia.org/article/reading-and-writing-math-class

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Creating a magazine gives students a chance to learn about real-world applications of math.

"When will I ever use this?" If you're a math teacher, this is a question you're very familiar with. As the math curriculum becomes ever more abstract in middle and high school, it's difficult for students to see when and where the material they're learning will be applicable.

Just telling them that the material will be useful for their following math courses or future academic career doesn't cut it-and it shouldn't. This is when the " unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics," as explored through reading and writing, is the ace up the sleeves of teachers.

Reading and writing are complex, fundamental, integrative learning skills that should be used to their potential in math class. Reading is a two-part process that is similar to mathematics in that it requires first the transfer of encoded information to the reader and then the comprehension of that information. And writing is one of the most powerful modes of learning because it engages both hemispheres of the brain -one side generates ideas, the other structures them.

Effective writing also clarifies and organizes a student's thoughts, and the slow pace of writing is conducive to student learning because it allows them to reason carefully to make sure they're correct before they state their thoughts. Studies have shown that writing is valuable specifically for the math classroom-for example, it seems that a student's ability to explain concepts in writing is related to the ability to comprehend and apply them.

And of course written explanations also allow the teacher to understand and assess the student's thinking in a way that computational steps alone may not provide.

Writing in Math Class

Although writing prompts for the elementary-and less frequently for the middle school-math classroom have been available for some time, they generally focus on attitudes and dispositions, likes and dislikes, and thoughts, concerns, and feelings about math or math class. They include journals, math autobiographies, letters to the teacher, and freewriting activities. They involve writing about a concept or a process the students are studying, or center on metacognitive skills such as effort, goals, expectations, study habits, and so on.

These prompts can be adapted for high school students, but I've found it more useful to use reading and writing to illustrate how mathematics is embedded in every aspect of life. Reading and writing are particularly effective in developing a quantitative understanding of the world around us because they can be used to lead students to reflect on everyday experiences. One assignment that I've found effective is having students create a magazine of excerpts of articles about various applications of mathematics in real life.

The magazine-I've included an issue here-is composed of summaries of published articles, so to get students started, I keep an updated list of articles that highlight the ways math is present in different facets of the real world-from the probability that a soccer team ends up in a particular World Cup group to gerrymandering, fractals in Jackson Pollock's paintings, black holes, the fairness of social media, invisibility cloaks, and more.

I select articles from a variety of newspapers, journals, and magazines, such as The Washington Post, The New York Times (especially the Upshot section), The Economist, New Scientist, Scientific American, and The Atlantic, as well as from blogs, websites, podcasts, videos, and other online resources. The app MathFeed ( downloadable for free in the Apple App Store), curated by mathematician Francis Su, is my most valued and trusted source-it allows me to find the most important news and views about math in the media in a single place.

After picking an article that has piqued their interest-from the list I provide or other sources of their choice-the students read it carefully, summarize it, and post it on the online magazine. (If they want to work with an article they have found, they have to ask me first so we don't end up with repetitions in the magazine.) They know they're required to understand the article content properly, edit their summary thoroughly, provide a visual to aid their readers' comprehension, and cite their source.

I give them access to the draft of the magazine, and they also have to upload their article and take care of any technical issues that may arise.

For assessment, I've created a simple rubric that looks at content understanding, clarity of communication, editing, critical thinking, initiative, and creativity.

This has been one of my most popular projects-students are amazed to discover some of the myriad applications of math. They also enjoy being able to choose articles according to their interests, and appreciate that the end product, the magazine, can be easily shared with family and friends and stored in their own e-portfolios.

This is a valuable activity that encourages students who enjoy reading and writing more than the computational side of math and gives all a deeper understanding and stronger appreciation of the usefulness and effectiveness of mathematics.

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Creating a magazine gives students a chance to learn about real-world applications of math.

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https://elementaryassessments.com/integrating-literacy-into-math/

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Integrating literacy and math is surprisingly easy.

With all of the things teachers must teach in a school day, it's necessary to find ways to cross the curriculum.

What makes reading and writing so special is that they can be paired with any subject or content area - even math.

In this article, you'll discover 12 strategies for integrating literacy and math that you can pencil into your lesson plan book this week.

Integrating Literacy and Math: Reading Ideas

1. Do Interactive Read Alouds.

Complement your math units with books.

Whichever math skill you're teaching, try to find a great picture book that lends itself well to that particular skill.

Let's say, for instance, the target reading skill for a lesson in reader's workshop is sequencing.

If you'll also be teaching about multiplication arrays in math, then choose an interactive read aloud book that focuses on multiplication arrays and also provides opportunities to focus on the sequencing skill.

The picture book One Hundred Hungry Ants by Elinor J. Pinczes demonstrates this very well.

While the main objective of the book is obviously multiplication arrays, the clear sequence of events in the story targets the reading skill of sequencing almost effortlessly.

See mentor texts for reading and mentor texts for writing.

2. Encourage the Use of Reading Strategies for Solving Word Problems.

Have students utilize reading comprehension strategies to solve math problems which are essentially mini reading comprehension passages.

Here are a few strategies...

Because learners are already using these thinking strategies during literacy block, they should be able to apply them when problem solving in math.

You may have to model a few times what this looks like, but they'll get the gist of it quickly.

Integrating literacy and math becomes seamless using this strategy.

3. Incorporate Project-Based Learning.

Projects make the learning process more authentic.

Consider integrating literacy and math project ideas.

Here's how...

Divide learners into groups of 3 or 4, give each a math project idea from the menu of choices, and tell them to solve.

They will be responsible for reading all instructions, conducting the appropriate research ( more reading), and completing the actual project ( writing plus more reading).

Facilitate as needed but give no answers.

Furthermore, while learners are completing each stage of the project, observe their thinking processes as it relates to reading and writing skills/strategies.

Take anecdotal notes and use the information as informal assessment data.

4. Try Out Reader's Theaters.

Integrating literacy and math is SO easy to do with reader's theater scripts.

Take a look at the benefits of reader's theaters and decide for yourself if you'd like to give them a try for integrating math and reading.

With readers' theater scripts, kids get to learn about math (or any subject) through drama. They really love it.

Integrating Literacy and Math: Writing Ideas
Find below ideas for integrating literacy and math via writing activities that are fun plus authentic.
5. Utilize Graphic Organizers.

Graphic organizers are common to use for reading and writing lessons, but they're easily used for math, too.

A couple of examples...

For the Venn Diagram, after students complete the organizer, have them write in their math journals a short paragraph about the differences between composite and prime numbers.

Analyze key math terms using a concept map.

The uses of graphic organizers for integrating writing and math are limitless.

6. Plan an Alphabet Book Project.

Alphabet books aren't just for the lower grades.

Think of any math unit your class is learning about ... let's say measurement.

As a project, have students create an alphabet book of 27 pages - cover page + one page for each letter of the alphabet.

For each letter, they'll write a word connected with the main theme (e.g probability) along with a detailed description or definition.

It must be in their own words and based on their research/prior knowledge. Relevant sketches or symbols are a great addition to each page.

Once all the pages are complete, bind them. Now the kids have a great reference guide of key vocabulary.

7. Leave Space for a Math Word Wall.

Integrating literacy and math even involves your wall space.

Content word walls display vocabulary from a specific unit of study that aren't usually common, everyday terms.

The key to any word wall is that it needs to be interactive. Provide ample opportunities for students to use the words authentically.

8. Informally Assess Using Math Journals.

Use math journals to have learners respond to the math lesson.

Ask students to record how they arrived at an answer, to explain their thinking in solving a word problem, or to note important vocabulary.

There are lots of possibilities for using a math journal. To get started, check out these math sentence stems.

9. Take Advantage of Anchor Charts & Interactive Writing.

Well-crafted anchor charts are powerful teaching tools that help reinforce targeted skills, strategies, or steps.

The magic of them happens when students help in contributing content to the charts via interactive writing.

Interactive writing is teacher and learners "sharing the pen".

Integrating literacy and math this way encourages rich discussions about the targeted math objectives in addition to writing plus grammar rules.

10. Create Math Centers.

Students love games.

Stretch their brains by having them create math centers or games, and make writing the instructions the primary focus.

You may want to create a whole class game first so that they better understand your expectations.

11. Consider Using Story Frames.

Assess how deep students comprehend math concepts using story frames. Create each story frame with a math theme in mind.

Let's take for example, the topic of problem solving.

You make a skeleton, or frame, and then students complete it.

Integrating literacy and math example

Story frames are great for struggling readers and writers who need the extra support.

12. Don't Forget About Word Problems.

Solving word problems during math block is the norm, but go a step further and have kids write a few original story problems.

This is a great way to sharpen writing chops and critical thinking skills.

As with most lessons, model a few times so that students are clear about the process and your expectations.

13. Implement Creative Writing Activities.

With creative writing exercises, integrating literacy and math becomes so much fun.

Studying poetry?

Then have learners write haikus or cinquains about different shapes/solids.

Want them to improve their fluency and reading comprehension?

Then have students write and present reader's theater scripts based on math themes.

The possibilities are endless.

14. Respond to Math Writing Prompts.

Encourage students to answer exciting math-themed writing prompts in order to show what they know about particular math topics, express ideas, and/or improve writing skills.

Wrapping Up - Integrating Literacy and Math

Integrating literacy and math just got a bit easier. The planning and prep time you save is a just reward.

If you liked this article, you might be interested in ... fun teaching strategies students love.

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14 Powerful Ways of Integrating Literacy And Math

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Integrating literacy and math is surprisingly easy. With all of the things teachers must teach in a school day, it's necessary to find ways to cross the curriculum. What makes reading and writing so special is that they can be paired with any subject or content area - even math.

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https://www.amnh.org/learn-teach/curriculum-collections/integrating-literacy-strategies-into-science-instruction

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Integrating Literacy Strategies into Science Instruction | AMNH

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A series of videos that paint a picture of what it looks like to use literacy strategies to support students’ science content learning in the classroom.

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Reading across the curriculum, also called content literacy or active reading, is defined as "the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline. Such ability includes three principle cognitive components: general literacy skills, content specific literacy skills and prior knowledge of content (McKenna & Robinson, 1990)

Theory #1

Theory #1: The Three Stages of Reading [An Active Reading Approach]

Prof. E. Marsh Developmental Skills

Theory #1 is an active reading method or approach that can increase comprehension, comfort and recall of any reading task. It is comprised of three stages and each stage has a set of activities to accomplish. At first, while training in this method, all activities are recorded or written down. The hope is that with training and use - this approach will become a natural habit when reading and the recording of the steps will not be needed. By using this approach, the reader switches from a passive and non-engaged role to an active as well as productive participant in the reading process. This transition may be uncomfortable at first but as with most things in life - with effort, commitment and guidance - the rewards will be worth the trial!

Stages

These tasks are completed before you start reading the selection to warm up.

1. Read the title, author and any preview information provided.

2. Write a reaction to this "before" information. What did it remind you of? What do you know about this information? How do you feel about reading about this topic? [ Activates a schema ]

3. Create predictive questions based on your reaction. What do you think will be answered while reading the text? [ These questions will help you keep focus while reading the selection]

This is where you will read the selection but with an added effort to be active.

1. Read with a pencil, pen or highlighter in your hand so that you mark and annotate the text while reading. [This action will help you de-construct the text and mark or comment on the essential information.] *refer to models of marking and annotating text in our textbook.

2. Look for the answers to your "Before Stage" questions and mark the possible answers.

3. Circle any challenging vocabulary. These are words that you do not know or ones that you may have seen before but do not often use.

These stages were developed by Prof. E. Marsh for English Basic Skills classes

This is the cool down stage where you will "lock in" your work into your memory. This will help you avoid "The Flush." [See instructor for explanation]

1. Immediately following reading the last line of the text - write a brief reaction. What did you learn? What was interesting? What was difficult? How do you feel after reading? Etc.

2. Now answer your "Before Stage" questions and any other questions or tasks you were assigned.

3. Look up the definitions for the challenging words you circled. [This action will help you build you sight or field vocabulary.]

Theory #4

Literal Level Skills: On the line reading and thinking

Main Idea [Direct or Implied]

Supporting Details [major & minor]

Context Vocabulary

Critical Level Skills: Between the line reading and thinking

Author's purpose, consider audience, evaluate author's argument, bias/point of view, tone, facts vs. opinion, inferences [educated guesses]

Affective Level Skills: Beyond the line reading & thinking

This is where you take the "learned information" and apply it to the world in a task

Your classroom or field of study world

Your personal world

The global world

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LibGuides: Reading across the Curriculum: Reading across the Curriculum

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Reading across the curriculum, also called content literacy or active reading, is defined as "the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline. Such ability includes three principle cognitive components: general literacy skills, content specific literacy skills and prior knowledge of content (McKenna & Robinson, 1990) Theory #1: The Three Stages of Reading [An Active Reading Approach] Prof.

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https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1018&context=mrj

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https://www.serpinstitute.org/reading-science/classroom-strategies

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Many studies suggest that reading comprehension can be improved by activating student's prior knowledge of subject matter before they read. Teachers can ask students what they already know about a topic, priming them to build on that knowledge. However, this advice comes with a warning: prior misconceptions can lead to miscomprehension.

Consider the example of what causes seasons. The false belief that seasonal changes are caused by the earth's varying orbital distance from the sun can make it hard for students to understand a text explaining how the earth's tilted axis of rotation causes seasonal variations. On the other hand, students may be primed to understand the text if a teacher asks them what they know about how seasons differ in the northern and southern hemisphere, or what they know about how high the sun appears in the sky at different times of year, or what they know about the length of daylight in different seasons and different latitudes (e.g., where they live versus the North Pole).

The trick is to help students use what they already know, while being wary of what they mistakenly think they already know.

Reading comprehension can also benefit from specific strategies used during reading. The trick is to get students to read reflectively and monitor their own comprehension. Students may need help identifying points of difference between their preconceptions and the actual content of the text. They can benefit from close reading strategies (involving slowing down and re-reading difficult passages) and from adopting a critical perspective on the text, questioning the author's intent. Anticipation guides can help: students can write down their initial expectations about a text, and then pause during reading to compare their predictions with what the text says.

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Strategies for the Classroom | Reading to Learn in Science

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Improve your classroom with our educational research and resources. SERP provides innovative and scalable solutions for our schools' most pressing problems.

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https://educationalrenaissance.com/2020/12/12/enjoying-the-bible-as-literature-5-strategies-for-engaging-students-in-reading-the-canon/

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Guest article by Heidi Dean of Christian Schools International

(See Jason's article on CSI "7 Steps to Narrating the Bible"!)

In biblical studies we seek to cultivate the habits of reverence, humility, submission to the text, and other qualities of faithful scholarship. But I propose another goal should rise to the top: enjoyment. The enjoyment that students have in reading a novel, or an eerie poem, or an adventure epic.

When students are engaging with the Bible, we should hear laughter and gasps. We should see quizzical eyebrows and wide-eyed shock. I love to see students jumping out of their seats to be picked to identify a 'hidden' motif of Joshua. To see awkward blushes and grins, in unfolding the romance of Ruth and Boaz. To see shock and dismay over the violence of Genesis. And I had to laugh at my student's obvious frustration, annotating her way through the book of Judges, with its noted cycle of idolatry: "Oh no... This is so wrong... Oh why? ... That was cruel... This is just sad... Be smart and think!... Not again!"

My students read through the entire biblical canon in community, and their literary enjoyment of it is a memory that will last. Whether visually depicting the imagery of a Psalm or orally narrating the downward spiral of Genesis, students will remember Scripture as profound, holy, and artistically compelling. St. Augustine quipped,

"Perhaps someone inquires whether the authors whose divinely-inspired writings constitute the canon, which carries with it a most wholesome authority, are to be considered wise only, or eloquent as well. A question which to me... is very easily settled. For where I understand these writers, it seems to me not only that nothing can be wiser, but also that nothing can be more eloquent."
On Christian Doctrine, section 9

Why have we often missed the literary beauty of the Scriptures? Why do we move so quickly to "personal application," while failing to linger in the episodes and the larger, sweeping narrative? Many a theologian has noted that we throw out good reading skills when it comes to the Bible-cutting the text into bite-size daily chunks, reading without context in mind, failing to find the author's key themes and motifs.

We have our modernity to blame. Theologian Peter Leithart depicts the Enlightenment and subsequent theological disputes as having moved evangelicals toward only half of the equation: unfolding the literal meaning and the moral application. But in Rehabilitating the Quadriga, Leithart explains that modern readers have missed out on the riches of Scripture by overlooking the medieval fourfold approach. We have ignored allegorical (or typological) reading and anagogical (or forward-looking reading, in light of final things). He urges us to recover more ancient ways of reading Scripture.

Many modern advocates of theological interpretation of scripture are seeking to revive the more ancient, literary and typological approach to Scripture, and the good news is that we can implement this in K-12 Bible classes, even without personal training in the field. We can apply best-practices from teaching other literature as we study the canon. Here are 5 practical tactics to cultivate an enjoyment of scripture through a literary approach:

1. Annotating a Reader Bible

This methodology revolves around close-reading and annotating of the text, so it is crucial that students have their own copy of a simple pew Bible or reader Bible to serve as their consumable textbook. Most reader Bibles are published in 4-6 volumes to complete the canon, and they are available in most translations. Students will build a personal library of the whole biblical canon. The embossed hardcover on these reader Bibles simply say "Pentateuch" or "Poetry," but inside, the Bible looks like a novel or set of poems.

Students are taught to treat this book as the valuable resource it is-to mark it, underline, and annotate neatly in pencil. A black-and-white composition book completes the required resources. Students will add quotes to this commonplace book over the six years that they read through the canon. It is a solid setup for a literary approach: a hardcover "novel" plus a growing journal of quotations.

2. Seeking Simplicity: Multum non Multa

In keeping with the classical principle of "much, not many things," we should cultivate long-term focus on a text rather than jumping between many resources. Students can sustain attention through a whole book or whole canonical section.

To strip away distractions, students are asked to read with a pencil on the text, annotating their way through a full book. But there are two ways to practice sustained attention:

1) Close reading of dense chapters, full of meaning. (Read at least twice.) Or

2) Longer periods of reading through several chapters in one sitting.

"Long form reading teaches the students to follow a plot, poem, or letter from start to finish," noted Zach. "It also sharpens the students' attention span by requiring them to work and remain focused. Long form reading isn't done every class period, because we take time to dive-deep at key moments, but either way, students should interact with the text first-hand prior to the teachers dispensing information."

It is best to read in a good translation, to follow-along on a hard-copy as a skilled reader reads relatively swiftly, and then stop and do a close reading at key moments. Since they wouldn't stop after every paragraph of the Iliad (because it's lengthy), they keep up a similar pace with much of the Bible's historical narratives. Otherwise, it can be hard to finish!

Both reading methods seem . . . basic. Does this reduce the role of the teacher or eliminate direct instruction? By no means. But it does mean that the teacher's role switches from lecture to hands-on coaching in skills. "Students benefit from habits and routines," Zach explained. "Learning to read Scripture is like apprenticeship. The teacher is the lead learner and should model habits that the students will acquire over time, after much repetition. Good biblical reading should be seen as training."

3. Embracing Literary Skills

Students at Veritas Christian Academy (the school where I teach Pentateuch and OT historical books) quickly learn that they will utilize literary skills daily in Bible class. There is no way to follow a complex text without using tools of genre, structure, precise vocabulary and synonyms.

Precise attention to language is also how biblical theologians do their work. Many insights found by scholars are missed by average readers only because one's literary understanding has to be increased to see the connections. Bible study tools that have been discussed for decades ("Listen for repetition") only work when students understand the range of synonyms for a given word.

4. Connecting with Ancient History

Since the canon is a collection of texts written in ancient Hebrew and Greek, we need to spend more time entering into the world of ancient history. Zach notes,

"Those who authored the biblical text had many similarities to us, but they also saw the world differently and we should learn from their worldview. It requires the reader to take on an ancient imagination."

But discussing ancient history doesn't have to be a dry, scholarly affair. In fact, since Veritas' reader Bibles don't contain scholarly footnotes or commentary, students have to use class discussion to work out their existing knowledge of ancient cultures and enter into "what this probably meant."

And don't underestimate how much ancient knowledge is gained simply through broad reading of the Old Testament. The importance of land, agriculture, fertility, offspring, local gods, and differing gender-social roles is evident directly in Genesis.

Unleash your students' creativity in wondering what life was like before the modern era! How did the ancients pass on writing, produce needed goods, utilize power, or reason about natural and supernatural forces? Even a bit of ancient background and ancient imagination goes a long way.

5. Unleashing a Hunt for Imagery

Recurring words and images create through-lines across the Bible. Teach students to listen for repeated ideas, evenif they don't use the exact same word, and even if they seem like a minor concrete detail. These details will add up to a richer, more beautiful story when we keep track of them. But because motifs lie under the surface, we have to act like detectives. Have you heard repetition and wondered, "Is this a whole-Bible motif?" Check a scholarly work like the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Then do some thinking: What would this image mean to ancient people? Where did we see this motif earlier? Does it run all the way from Genesis to Revelation?

"We can be a lead learner, training students as apprentices," Zach encourages. "Equip them with skills they need to be those with 'eyes to see' and 'ears to hear' God's words, and then let them experience their own journey. My students often see aspects of the biblical text that I haven't even noticed. I appreciate how we get to journey toward truth together."

A literary approach to the Bible lays a rich feast of manifold, complex meaning. What better could we spread before our students? Yes, they will have the choice as they grow, whether to go on believing. But I don't think people want to walk away from a feast of meaning that is so very rich. When you start to see everything in existence illuminated by the light of Christianity, with all these layers of meaning-every concrete thing having a deeper, poetic, symbolic meaning. That is very hard to walk away from. It would constitute a loss to move from sacred, poetic living into non-meaning. Bare atoms. Nothingness. The richer the theology, the more lasting the faith. The imagery of the Bible can fuel new imag ination for a kingdom way of living.

Click to learn more about the Bible Project Symposium!

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Enjoying the Bible as Literature: 5 Strategies for Engaging Students in Reading the Canon * Educational Renaissance

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Guest article by Heidi Dean of Christian Schools International (See Jason's article on CSI "7 Steps to Narrating the Bible"!) In biblical studies we seek to cultivate the habits of reverence, humility, submission to the text, and other qualities of faithful scholarship. But I propose another goal should rise to the top: enjoyment.

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https://achieve.lausd.net/cms/lib/CA01000043/Centricity/domain/217/sspt%20handbook%20files/SSPT%20Strategies%20ELA.Math%2011.4.16.pdf

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Best Reading Strategies for Middle School

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Best Reading Strategies for Middle School

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https://irisreading.com/best-reading-comprehension-strategies-for-middle-school/

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Reading comprehension is the ability to read, understand and interpret a text.

While children develop this skill as they graduate from one class, they also learn comprehension through personal experiences.

In middle school, they are required to achieve extraordinary feats in reading comprehension as they prepare for advanced classes.

Thus, as a middle school instructor, you need to devise learning procedures to bring them up to speed and learn cooperatively among peers.

Below are the best reading comprehension strategies for middle schoolers to overcome this challenge.

1. Stimulating structured discussion with reciprocal teaching

One of the best ways to learn something is to teach it. Reciprocal teaching puts that into practice. It is a guided instructional activity in which students take on the role of instructor.

They are primary receptors of information on social media rather than sources. So they communicate less information than they consume. This affects their comprehension skills negatively.

A reciprocal reading comprehension strategy reverses this. As learners take the role of the teacher in each group, they begin to think critically about the texts they read. Thus, they consciously understand the themes and structure of the text.

In practice, you must choose the text in class before the reciprocal teaching process begins.

After that, students are ready to split up into groups in which they discuss the four techniques below:

Summarizing

Summarizing a student's work reflects the story they read or reveal. The goal is to get them to explain their ideas.

To summarize the text effectively, students have to describe what they know. Then, they must identify essential ideas and consolidate key elements of texts promoting those views.

Questioning

Questioning ensures students engage closely with texts and are not simply passive.

It also helps them develop critical thoughts on the material read, which is vital to achieving a high level of comprehension.

As you invite students to think, they ask themselves questions and explore the text to understand the content.

Predicting

Teachers can ask students to predict a story using the title and other available clues, including illustrations and text.

Alternatively, the teacher can request student research in text supporting or refuting the predictions.

2. Understanding context

Sometimes students have a vocabulary understanding of a text. They may even have an idea about the book. But if they can't relate the text to relevant context, we cannot say they have achieved reading comprehension.

Context is essential in reading comprehension. Even though and The Girl Who Drank the Moon have whimsical plots, they tell different stories with diverse characters.

Thus, a learner with excellent comprehension skills will relate these characters to different contexts.

It would be best to teach them to understand the intricate details and developments required to discern what is not explicitly stated in the reading.

Some strategies that education experts point out include:

Identify the theme of the text

Identifying the big idea of a text helps readers form relatable opinions about the text.

For example, what is the text about?

What lesson can we learn from the story?

Who is the author? These are questions to determine the theme of a text.

Thinking out loud

When reading to your students, you should express your opinions on the text. As a result, your students will absorb ideas from the text effectively and maximize memory for comprehension.

Identifying the story structure

Students' comprehension increases when they are taught about story structure.

By recognizing the characters, setting, events, problems, and story resolution, learners can think more critically and develop independent thought.

3. Activating prior knowledge

Prior knowledge is defined as knowledge that students already possess.

This comprehension strategy help students connect their knowledge with their experience and gain a personal understanding of reading.

These are some methods to activate prior knowledge:

Create KWL chart

A KWL (what students Know, Want to know, and Learned) chart is a specialized reading tool that stimulates students' with graphical representations of knowledge. This provides a purpose in reading & supports comprehension strategies.

It works very well when you start an update.

First, create a 3-column table for completing the entire course as a class. The first two columns, K and W, must be entered before finalizing the document.

The K column is an overview of topics students know.

The students will fill out what they learn in the Learned column as you cover the units.

Use analogies

Analogies aid comparison. And comparison boosts comprehension.

To activate a learner's background knowledge on a topic, engage them in drawing analogies with keywords from the text.

If you want them to learn about a dog's fur, let them draw analogies of a similar thing they are familiar with, like a bird's feather.

Cultivate meaningful conversation in turn and talk sessions

In a turn and talk session, a brief prompt is given to students to discuss material while their partner listens.

You can give them a prompt based on what they learned in the analogies session. That way, they can quickly voice out their perceived understanding of the subject.

It provides students with time for expressing and sharing ideas. This encourages participation in promoting thoughtful responses.

If appropriately applied, the strategy can significantly improve the development of critical thinking skills. Tell your students what you want to discuss in this session.

Tell students they can think critically about a topic, talk about it with a partner and share ideas with other students.

It's important to develop questions from the text that promote high-order thinking for a successful approach.

Silent thinking

Another way to test your student's prior knowledge of a topic is to organize a silent thinking session. Silent thinking helps them put their thoughts together about a subject before or after teaching.

That way, they engage in self-reflection and form opinions about the subject based on their past experiences.

Ultimately, using the prior activation method helps students develop a foundation to build new concepts.

4. Enhance metacognition with Close Reading

Metacognition stimulates the brain for efficient productivity. For example, children can actively engage in deep thinking and critical examination of an exact and complicated text through close reading.

So, a metacognitive reading can help scaffold student learning by thinking about their thinking as they read.

During close reading, participants read the text three times. It is done independently and concentrates solely on essential thoughts and details.

Encourage students to use meta-cognitive marks in the margins to help maintain concentration while reading independently. This second reading will focus on textual craft, so the student listens while reading the text.

5. Encourage comprehension through visualization

Research suggests that visual representation can help students learn and remember concepts.

Students will create images that are recognizable to them from the book they have read during the visualization.

Visualizing involves much more than simply seeing. Students who understand this method will create a memory in their minds through imagination.

Aside from graphs, images, and other multimedia, you can also stimulate visual comprehension with a jigsaw puzzle and mind mapping.

Encourage cooperative learning with Jigsaw

Jigsaw strategies give students the chance to work collaboratively to improve communication skills.

To implement a jigsaw strategy in your class, students must choose four text or topic categories.

You then divide your students into 4-4 home groups. Several members must read the selected text and share the material with other homegroup members.

Improve comprehension with Mind mapping

Mind mapping requires a student to create diagrams or graphs to visualize the information being read.

Mind maps could also have a more complex structure like an in-depth graphic planner and be more easily accessible by drawing. Objective learning assists in the development of the appropriate mind map.

6. Inferring Comprehension Strategy

Inferring is a comprehension approach that helps students comprehend information that isn't always fully presented in a book.

In short, you use this strategy to teach them how to "read between the lines." Instead of simply reading the text directly, students have to find out how they understand with little details.

To do this, you can encourage the student to make assumptions about a text you have just read to them. They should be able to generate a hypothesis and also explain why it is valid based on evidence.

The inference is a highly effective reading comprehension skill. It encourages learners to develop the ability to argue based on facts and evidence - a skill that would be instrumental for them in high school.

7. Use Chunking to break down the difficult text

is a reading strategy that splits challenging texts into smaller sections. Divided content helps students find words that can be used for specific purposes and organize ideas.

It may also be possible to chunk texts by varying sizes depending on complexity. In other words, text sections can be divided into paragraphs if the paragraph is complex.

You could create chunks using several techniques, such as drawing lines between paragraphs and lines and using paper to expose the chunk and hide the rest of the text.

8. Develop Concise Summary Writing with GIST

A GIST is the main point of a text. GIST summary teaches students to write the main point of a text without extra detail.

9. Improve comprehension with retelling

The ability to write stories in a specific way teaches students to analyze the contents of their stories. Teachers encourage students to explore their own stories and make definite conclusions about them.

Maximize the strategy with a memory course

The best reading comprehension strategy combines reciprocal learning, contextual understanding, visual comprehension, retelling, and close-reading.

We have put together this memory course to maximize this strategy to help your students read and memorize essential information effectively .

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Best Reading Comprehension Strategies For Middle School | Iris Reading

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Reading comprehension strategies for middle school children include structured discussion, metacognitive learning, and visual comprehension. Reading comprehension is the ability to read, understand

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https://www.readingandwritinghaven.com/important-reading-strategies-for-struggling-readers-in-high-school

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Are you teaching a range of readers at the middle or high school level and looking for ways to scaffold comprehension of complex texts? In this post, you'll find reading strategies that are imperative to support students' metacognitive processes.
As I've spent time working with various levels of middle and high school learners, I've experimented with direct instruction of reading strategies. While there is a movement for schools to focus less on teaching reading skills and more on fostering a love for reading, I see the necessity for both.

In order for students to love reading, they need to feel confident with it. Even as I earned my master's degree in reading as an adult, I learned more about what good readers do. When I am cognizant of the strategies I'm using to make meaning from the text, I feel empowered. We should want our students to feel that same sense of control, purpose, and accomplishment as they approach the reading process.

Do professional athletes achieve their skill level without practice? Do famous chefs become successful without honing their culinary skills for years? Of course not. In that same way, readers (especially striving readers) need to be taught how to tackle difficult texts. Students' love for reading often emerges after they connect with a text that is relevant to their lives and that they can read independently and confidently.

What then, should teachers focus on when it comes to teaching students to master and monitor their own thought process? There are so many reading skills we could focus on with secondary students! The strategies that follow are the some of the ones I have found to directly impact basic comprehension of a text.

Skill: PREDICTING

Help middle and high school readers prepare to approach the text by modeling how to preview. Tell students about text features, show them examples, explain their purposes, and talk about how readers should use text features to better navigate a the piece purposefully.

Strategy: Zoom In...Zoom Out

In my classroom, we practice identifying text features in fiction and nonfiction texts, in visual texts, and on the web. This process - zooming in, previewing the text features to gather information - is a critical first step in predicting.

Once you have previewed the text with students, zoom out! Guide them through the initial prediction process. At first, you may wish to provide your readers with a couple templates to fill in.

Based upon ______________ (specific information gathered from text features), I predict ___________ (students' specific prediction about what they will read).

I predict ___________ because __________.

I teach my students that fictional text predictions should focus on plot, setting, characters, and theme. How do the clues in the peritext, chapter titles, and teaser lead us to predictions we can monitor as we read?

Nonfiction predictions should be centered around the main points and author's purpose. Consider the text structure. Zoom out! When previewing, discuss how the author has intentionally built in text features to create meaning and organization.

When making predictions, identifying an author's purpose for writing (to inform, persuade, argue, compare, entertain, etc.) also helps students to make more educated guesses about the content.

Strategy: Monitor It

The real benefit with predicting, however, is the part that often is forgotten. As students read, have them actively monitor their predictions. Pause to allow them to add to or alter their predictions as they reflect on new textual evidence.

Students can keep track of the reading strategies they are using with bookmarks. This bookmark set is differentiated so that students have choice and to keep them engaged!
Skill: INFERRING

Teachers need to anticipate places in complex texts where students will be confused if they don't make inferences about the author's intended meaning. During my reading strategies unit, I cover different types of inferences students can make. For instance, students can make inferences about actions, emotions, time periods, and settings. We study examples, and we practice inferring together.

Strategy: Combine It

Show students how to combine TEXT CLUES + BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE to infer. As scaffolding, we can give students inference stems, like...
The text states ______, and I know ________, so I think ______.
Because struggling readers can become confused and frustrated if they don't make required inferences with complex texts, I don't ask them to read inference-heavy texts on their own (Think: "Masque of the Red Death," "The Scarlet Ibis," Loser).

Strategy: But Why?

Reading texts like this together is an opportunity to teach students to re-read and ask, "But why?" Help them to dig into character motives.

On assessments and in conversation, use the word "infer" or "inference" in inference questions so that students begin to understand that's what they are doing as they read between the lines. For instance, What can we infer about Doodle after reading that he cried at the beauty of Old Woman Swamp?

Train students to ask themselves whether they might be missing an inference when comprehension begins to falter and confusion settles in its place.
It's helpful to introduce the concept of making inferences with visuals. This analyzing photographs lesson is a good entry point for practicing perspective.
Summarizing is my go-to reading skill for monitoring comprehension. When working with students who are reading a difficult text, it's imperative. Using summarizing with struggling readers is even more important - if that's possible.

When reading a text with your class, pause frequently to check for understanding. I rarely ask readers to read anything in their zone of frustration independently. As you read together, teach students to reflect on short segments of the text. Pose questions to get them thinking.

Why did everyone think that Doodle was going to die?

Tell me the three most important things that have happened so far in chronological order.

Why did Doodle cry when trying to train with Brother?

Strategy: Condense It

Using physical or virtual post-it notes to jot brief summaries can remind students to prioritize them. Add a layer of fun by rolling virtual dice to select a random number - 1-24. The total number of dots represents the exact number of words students have to write their summary. Because of its concise nature, I love how this method emphasizes the value of each word.

Strategy: Five-Fingers

After reading a fictional text, we reflect on the whole piece and write a five-finger summary - one sentence for each part of the plot. Students may find it easier to storyboard the plot first with quick sketches before writing the corresponding sentences.

Strategy: Report It

When summarizing nonfiction texts, I ask students to pretend like they are reporters. It gives them a specific process to follow, which reduces the guesswork and uncertainty.
Graphic organizers provide unique scaffolding opportunities with reading strategies. This reading comprehension graphic organizer set provides a low floor, high ceiling approach to a variety of important reading skills. Students can use them with any fiction or nonfiction text.
Questioning is a strategy that older readers don't always buy into. When teachers pose questions, they can respond, but asking students to pose their own? It can be a tough sell at first.

It's amazing how powerful student questions can be. Teach students how to ask questions about texts before, during, and after reading. What is happening? Is it fair? From whose perspective is the story being told? Is the point of view reliable? Questions make us truly stop, reflect, and process what we are reading.

I tell my students:

When you feel your mind beginning to wander from the text, draw yourself back in by pausing and asking clarifying questions about what you just read.

When you feel confused about what you are reading, ask questions out loud. Talk to a friend or to the teacher. If you are at home, write your questions down so that we can discuss them during class.

When you think you understand the text, look for deeper layers of meaning. Ask yourself, What might the author be saying about theme, life, conflict, people, stereotypes, or culture?

Introduce your readers to thick and thin questions, to "right-there" and "think and search" questions. Teach them the difference between a basic comprehension question and a discussion question. Also, make sure students understand when and why to use each type.

But what about those kiddos who just don't have any questions? When students can think of a question, have them write questions someone else might ask. What questions might a friend in class right now be wondering?

Strategy: Go Deep

This visual from Serravallo's Reading Strategies Book is a powerful metaphor for asking questions. Encourage students to dig into texts to peel back layers of meaning.

Teaching reading in high school is a process of goal setting, reflecting, and growing. Teachers have to find what works best for their own students' needs. In my experience, these four reading comprehension strategies are critical to scaffolding struggling readers' comprehension. Teaching students to be engaged, active readers is one of the keys to successful reading instruction. We can do that by explicitly teaching reading strategies they can add to their reading tool belts. Reminding students to use them independently and conferring with them about their progress helps!

WHAT TO READ NEXT:

RELATED RESOURCES

I like to use a variety of scaffolding materials when working with reading comprehension. The tools use similar wording and prompts, but the change in format keeps students from getting bored. These are two simple tools to use to encourage older students to read actively. They are great as formative assessments and can be graded quickly or simply used as discussion pieces.

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Important Reading Strategies for Middle and High School - Reading and Writing Haven

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Teaching struggling readers at the high school level? Scaffold their comprehension by focusing on these four important reading strategies.

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I will try Close reading with 4th-5th for a composer we are learning about this month.

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We use picture books for Kindergarten PE during first two months.  Students become the characters of the story and act based upon the action words.  Ex. roll, jump, squash, leap, etc.
Students learn PE vocabulary while being creative and using their locomotor actions to be the characters.

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https://dpi.wi.gov/sspw/physical-education/disciplinary-literacy

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Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

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Achieving Physical Education Standards Through Literacy

Physical Skills + Knowledge + Confidence + Motivation + Opportunities = Physical Literacy

What is Physical Literacy?

"Physical literacy can be described as the motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to value and take responsibility for engagement in physical activities for life." (Whitehead, 2014)
"Individuals who are physically literate move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities in multiple environments that benefit the healthy development of the whole person." (Physical and Health Education Canada)

Physically literate individuals consistently develop the motivation and ability to understand, communicate, apply, and analyze different forms of movement.

They are able to demonstrate a variety of movements confidently, competently, creatively, and strategically across a wide range of health-related physical activities.

These skills enable individuals to make healthy, active choices that are both beneficial to and respectful of their whole self, others, and their environment.

UNDERSTANDING PHYSICAL LITERACY
Understanding Physical Literacy Toolkit
NATIONAL SHAPE STANDARDS
Standard 1. The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.
Standard 2. The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance.
Standard 3. The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness.
Standard 4. The physically literate individual exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others.
Standard 5. The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.

WI STATE STANDARDS
Standard 1: Demonstrates competency in motor skills and movement patterns needed to perform a variety of physical activities.
Standard 2: Demonstrates understanding of movement concepts, principles, strategies, and tactics as they apply to the learning and performance of physical activities.
Standard 3: Participates regularly in physical activity.
Standard 4: Achieves and maintains a health-enhancing level of physical fitness.
Standard 5: Exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others in physical activity settings.
Standard 6: Values physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression, and/or social interaction.

Let's Break it Down!
Let's take a closer look at a few of the critical terms that are essential to the definition of physical literacy and consider what they mean:
Wide variety - Physical literacy is not about excellence in just one sport or activity; it's about competence in a full range of activities, such as dance, gymnastics, outdoor pursuits, or general fitness and exercise activities. All of these are part of the puzzle and contribute to the development of a physically literate individual.
Confidence/Competence - These two terms are interrelated. Skill development improves confidence; in turn, the boost in confidence improves the actual use of those skills.
Health-related - This term refers to fitness, including strength, flexibility and endurance. These are not only important building blocks to all the other skills, but also to overall health.
Lifespan - Physically literacy doesn't stop when a child leaves school! Just like reading and writing, physical literacy continues to be developed and improved. This physical development is for a lifetime; the health benefits continue well beyond a person's formative years in school.

Physical Literacy Ideas
- Word Wall or Question of the Day
- Game Play Analysis
- Create a Peer Skills Assessment Rubric - Have students create a skills rubric and subsequently have them use it to assess a peer integrating key terminology and skill components
- Read Station Cards and Perform that Skill or Create Station Cards with Multiple Level of Difficulties
- Reading/Analyzing Nutrition Labels
- Have Students Keep Daily Fitness Logs - Identify Opportunities for Activity outside of School
- Read, Record, and/or Analyze Pedometer or Heart Monitor Data or Personal Fitness Progress
- Create Personal Fitness Programs emphasizing Goal Setting, Integration of Exercise Principles, Muscle and Exercise Identification, Pre-Post Assessments
- Have Students Use Technology to Perform Skill Analysis
- Create and describe movement vocabulary: individual's repertoire of movement skills or sequence of skills
- Movement fluency: the ability to execute a component of movement vocabulary with expertise
- Identify and describe position roles within a prescribed sport
- Physical proficiency: the ability to select and proficiently execute movement vocabulary suitable to an environment or setting

Resources:
Defining Physical Literacy
Examples of application
SHAPE America National Standards Flyer
Word Wall Video
Applying Wisconsin Academic Standards in our Teaching Practice Worksheet
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Crosswalk (Excel)
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Crosswalk (Word)
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance Crosswalk (pdf)

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Disciplinary Literacy in Physical Education

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Wisconsin’s Definition of Disciplinary Literacy In Wisconsin, disciplinary literacy is defined as the confluence of content knowledge, experiences, and skills merged with the ability to read, write, listen, speak, think critically and perform in a way that is meaningful within the context of a given…

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I commit to trying different reading strategies to help students understand different problems they are working on. Strategy Ideas: anchor charts, graphic organizers, venn diagrams, summarizing, re-writing the question, etc.

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Printing off "Reading Science" so students can engage with the text, think critically, and write questions in order to understand the text.

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Have students identify the names of text and symbols and write in definitions and functions of symbols. Include dictation into band rehearsal.

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The Midwest Clinic - Literacy Strategies for ...

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The Midwest Clinic will premiere many new events and products, along with stimulating clinics, inspiring concerts, and unrivaled opportunities to network wit...

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Bought posters with music symbols and definitions on them. Have students regularly reference/read them in class. Have a word wall for emotions as they relate to music performance.

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Anticipation Guides for before, during and after reading for ecosystems.

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Word Wall--students will write on a word wall to record what action, locomotor activity, or social emotional action they performed that day. The wall should contain many verbs with some adverbs connected.

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I will try. using graphic organizers for their math vocabulary so they can write the definition, draw a picture, understand antonyms & synonyms, and use it correctly in a sentence.

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We are reading through the New Testament so I want to annotate and show them how to do it themselves. They can be looking for key imagery or themes in the text or what they learn about the character of God. Also just background cultural information and understanding context of what they read.

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I will try annotating with the kids as we read through the N.T.

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I will try an activity where they need to read and summarize to somebody else a short article. As we go, I will give them less and less time to read it so that we can talk about strategies of finding the main point and summarizing big ideas of articles.

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As students are learning new choral repertoire, they can identify musical symbols and textual techniques being employed in order to better understand how music is to be performed.

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As students are learning new choral repertoire, they can identify musical symbols and textual techniques being employed in order to better understand how music is to be performed.

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Directly teaching a process to read word problems critically. This will help students to better analyze, synthesize, and evaluate what they are reading.

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I will try to use paraphrasing and summarizing activities when students read material.

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The Ag Bus class just did research and wrote some paragraphs over the markets for the top 5 US commodities. I would like to print these "papers" and have them read them as if they were the producer looking for advice on how they should market their crops and livestock. I will have them make notes as they discuss their ideas and provide one another with feedback. Then I would like them to consider how they might improve their research strategies.

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Use excerpts from subject material to provide reading practice and improve reading proficiency.

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Have students write their own word problems, then have a partner, mark it up, solve it, and reflect on the process as both the writer and the reader.

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We have Immerse books that tell the Biblical story in more of a story form than we are used to. Have students use them, go back to the Bible and write the story in a different way, making sure they still get the point of the story but in a way they understand.

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When I have students do a document analysis project I could give them a paper copy and ask them to analyze it by marking it up with underlining key phrases, Drawing squares around things they understand or like, and drawing circles around things they wonder about. Then they could share out what they did with a partner and finally some could share  out what they did.

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I will commit to try providing students opportunities to read a scripture passage related to our topic of study and read and reflect on the footnotes related to the passage and then discuss with peers.

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Read an art history article and have them do a "TAG" reflection (see below) as they go along:

Tell me something that surprised you.

Ask a question you still have for the article.

Give me a connection that you made with the previous unit.

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We do have a textbook for this class, but it is not something I require a lot of reading. I have done a lot of work to incorporate the main topics into my PowerPoint lectures. I do know there are some short (2-3 paragraph) real world stories scattered throughout the chapters that I don't reference. I can and will plan to have students read and reflect on a couple of these in the coming chapters.

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I will have students read "realia" or authentic text to teach them how to read in Spanish. This would include schedules, invitations, social media posts as well as short paragraphs. Asking questions, searching for information. being able to draw conclusions despite not knowing every single word of the text is a language skill that is necessary for lower level proficiency.

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Science: use a version of Cornell notes for non fiction reading.

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Science: use a version of Cornell notes for non fiction reading.