Classroom Activities that Support Constructivist Reading by Carol Smith https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac List 3 & explain why 1 might best support constructivist reading en-us 2017-08-23 20:23:50 UTC 2018-02-21 20:18:53 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padletuploads.blob.core.windows.net/prod/70336952/37fed9ca050ddc498fe6fb47b426d25d/stack_of_books.pdf Group 4 Discussion Post lanakommer https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233854526 The three activities our group recommended are as follows:
  1. Before students start reading the teacher can preview the text. This includes showing off the titles, illustrations, and any unusual text structures. Students will have the opportunity to share how they relate to the text or share any connections they made while previewing.  
    This can help the students start actively thinking of what the title, pictures, and words might mean in context to the story. It will also help when actively reading because they will have some premade thoughts from the group discussion to help influence and create thoughts on the story as they read.
  2. Teachers can have students use notecards and highlight words they do not understand, or are struggling to read, as well as new vocabulary words in the unit.  The students would then make notecards of the vocabulary/target words, and define them.  This will help students identify words and their meaning independently.  These notecards can then be used to create a matching game or activity where students must much the new vocabulary word or target with with its correct definition.  This is a good way to have students work together and build upon their vocabulary while determining the meaning of words that may impede on their comprehension of a text.  
  3. Students can engage in grouping or chunking a text.  Perhaps the teacher would divide the class into separate groups, each group responsible for one section or “chunk” of text.  Each student is still responsible for reading the entire text, however they will become experts on their assigned section of the text.  Students will work together amongst their groups to find the main idea of their assigned section.  Each section must be summarized appropriately.  After each group has successfully found the main idea and summarized their section, they will present their section to the class and reteach it to their peers.  This is a way students can work on comprehension skills such as main idea and summarization to help them construct meaning of a text.
Our group chose activity number one, previewing the text, as the best activity to support constructivist reading.  This is because while previewing the text, the teacher can facilitate a class discussion where students are engaged in conversations about what they think the text may be about, what things they can relate to in the text, and other ideas that draw upon their background knowledge and past experiences.  This applies to constructivism because the students are actively engaging with the text using their past experiences and prior knowledge to construct meaning about what they are going to read.  

]]> 2018-02-21 17:01:59 UTC https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233854526 Group 1 Discussion Post https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233956387 The three activities our group recommends are listed below:
  1. Note taking- For students to really grasp what they are reading good note taking is key. A good idea for students to start doing is using a certain highlighter color for important vocabulary and then use a different color highlight for things that they need to reread to really grasp the concept, etc.
  2. Daily journaling-allow students to keep a journal of their observations and relate content to their background experiences. Through group work, these observations will contribute to the formation of theories and observational notes. 
3. Cooperative learning and group work: Collaboration and group work provides a great way for students to see others points of view and perspective on topics and more specifically what was read in the text. Using a jigsaw, students are divided into small groups and learn about topics and then one student from each group joins another group to inform what was researched. This type of learning gives students the ability to use information that they may have read efferently or aesthetically and see multiple viewpoints of their peers.
Out of the three strategies listed, we feel that the cooperative learning or group learning strategy lends itself most toward constructive reading. cooperative learning allows for collaboration; we, as social human beings, learn most from social interactions from our peers Together, students are able to learn what efferent and aesthetic reading offer the student for the future. 


]]> 2018-02-21 19:43:59 UTC https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233956387 Group 3 Discussion Post https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233965529 The three activities our group recommends are:
1. KWL chart- Students will create their own KWL chart reflecting on what they know before reading the text, what they want to learn from reading the text, and what they've learned after reading the text. Students would be encouraged to ask questions in each of these sections. 

2. Connection Sticky Notes--Students will use sticky notes and place them throughout the text with text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections, allowing them to make the text memorable and personal.

3. Stop and digest graphic organizer- Students will use the stop and digest strategy to stop at certain points when reading the text and think about what they've read and the connections they have to it. They will record these stopping points in a graphic organizer. 

Out of the three strategies, we feel that the Connection Sticky Notes activity would be the most helpful in creating meaning in the text. Each student brings different background information and knowledge to the same text, so the sticky notes allow each student to create a personal meaning for the texts, making it more memorable.]]> 2018-02-21 19:59:46 UTC https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233965529 Group 2 Discussion Post srosestoltzfus https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233969322 1. Annotation/Talking to the Text: While students are reading a text, they are writing questions, thoughts, circling, underlining, and using other strategies to help make meaning and connections with the text. Good readers are talking to the text in their heads as they read and asking themselves questions, so writing these thoughts down allows them to be more engaged and remember for future discussion.

2. KWL Chart: Students discuss what they know and want to know before reading a text. During and after reading, they are able to write what they learned, new ideas, or questions they now have based on the reading. 

3. Group Discussion post Reading: Students can meet in small group discussions to clarify concepts and discuss ideas in the text that stood out to them. Students can support each others learning through the discussion of their own background knowledge and perspectives. 

We feel as though the KWL Chart helps students to construct knowledge throughout the entire reading process since they are mentally engaged with the text before, during, and after reading. These charts also allow for an easy transition to any type of class or group discussion. ]]> 2018-02-21 20:07:00 UTC https://padlet.com/csmith310/Module2constructivistac/wish/233969322