curriculum-based language intervention wendy robinson [email protected] february 3, 2010

Curriculum-Based Language Intervention

Wendy [email protected]

February 3, 2010

OutcomesParticipants will:

Be able to state the links between oral narratives and academic success.

Participants will be able to write curriculum-based goals (quantity versus qualitative)

Participants will be able to implement story-based interventions to improve oral expression skills.

Participants will be able to implement main idea summarization strategy to improve oral expression skills.

Why is this important?Oral language skills are the foundation of literacy

skills. The competency of a student’s language skills typically determine the competency of a student’s reading and writing skills.

The attainment of literacy skills is critical for academic and life success.

60-70% of preschool children with communication concerns are at-risk for literacy failure by grade two.

Language and communication skills are considered the “hidden curriculum” in most schools.

How does this quote relate to oral language and school success?

Words are used to think. The more words we know, the finer our understanding of the world.

(Stahl, 1999)

Teach broadlyContent (comprehension, relevant details,

vocabulary, main idea, story structure)

Form (grammar, complex sentences)

Use (express thoughts, ideas, convey meaning in spoken and written form)

What do children get from being read to?

Preparing children to read the “next level

More complex language

More academic vocabulary (words that are useful in school)

Continued appreciation of the enchantment of the story

What do children get from narrative discourse?

Foundation for reading and writing

Critical for developing reading comprehension skills (vocabulary, can determine important information, story structure)

Improves ability to express ideas beyond the sentence level

Provides opportunities to use formal book talk

Assess efficiently!

Total Words Spoken (general outcome measure - vital sign)

C - units, average words per c-unit

Story grammar components

Narrative Discourse - Three Basic Error

Patterns

Comprehension - student typically displays slow retrieval of words, use of nonspecific vocabulary, and provides insufficient details for listener understanding. These students usually have limited verbal output and often do not understand story structure.

Narrative Discourse Pattern

Structure - student often has trouble planning and/or including all essential story components. Sometimes these students can provide the missing information if cued or asked questions targeting the missing story components.

Narrative Discourse Pattern

Organization - student typically has problems organizing narrative in a logical, coherent manner. All the critical components may be there, but not in the right order. Often times these student include a lot of irrelevant information.

Purpose for Determining Error

Pattern TypeHelps determine what to teach and how to teach

it.

Helps determine what type of monitoring system (TWS, C-unit, average length of C-unit, story elements) is most appropriate for that student

Helps determine which service delivery option best meets student needs

Narrative Comprehension

What to teach: essential story elements and critical vocabulary in stories

How to teach: explicit instruction of story elements, multiple opportunities to hear stories that model story structure in a concrete manner, cues and prompts to provide assistance in retelling

Narrative ComprehensionMonitoring: Total words spoken (if low verbal

output), C-units and average length of c-unit

Narrative StructureWhat to teach: Identify missing story

components and teach those elements

How to teach: Use of scaffolding, highlighting missing components during read alouds, use of verbal or visual organizers

Monitoring: Story retelling evaluation guide (monitoring for inclusion of essential story components)

Narrative OrganizationWhat to teach: Sequential order of

story structure, relevant versus irrelevant information

How to teach: Modeling, verbal and/or visual organizers

Monitoring: story retell evaluation guide with focus on sequence if needed

GOOAAALL!17

Comprehension

is always the

Teaching Comprehensionis….

Teaching Comprehensionis….

….a BEAST!

19

™Marvel Comics

Comprehension

What Students Need to Learn• How to read both narrative and expository texts• How to understand and remember what they read• How to use strategies to improve their

comprehension• How to relate their knowledge and experiences to

text

Adapted from Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts, 2005

Comprehension What Students Need to Learn

• Listen to both narrative and expository texts• How to understand and remember what they

have heard• How to use strategies to improve their listening

comprehension• How to relate their knowledge and experiences to

what they hear

Adapted from Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts, 2005

23

Non-Negotiable? Travels? Routine?

Do Strategies and Routines Travel?school-wide, class-wide, “intensified”class-wide, small-group, individuals

24

24

Let’s Start At the Very Beginning

Ella - KindergartenKnown information

Review and Interview

Teacher reports Ella has trouble answering questions about stories that are read aloud. Ella has trouble understanding specific words. She often asks what certain words mean.

Teacher reports that story retell is taught and practiced in the core reading curriculum.

Teacher reports Ella can use complete sentences, interacts verbally with peers and can relate personal experiences.

Parents report that Ella likes listening to stories but does not always understand them. She often asks," What does that mean?”

EllaTest

Screening level : Ella’s retell of kindergarten story

probes was not adequate for listener understanding.

Specific level procedures:

She did not include major story components

(characters, setting, goal or problem, resolution).

She could not provide this information in response to

questions.

Median TWS for story probes: 22 total words spoken in a

two minute retell.

Make a prediction …Knowing what you know about Ella’s

listening comprehension skills and oral

language skills, which curriculum skills

might Ella have difficulty acquiring?

EllaGoal: Given 36 weeks and a grade level story probe Ella will retell a

story

with at least 75 TWS in two minutes.

Focus of speech/language sessions: Developing oral

narrative skills and vocabulary development through story

based interventions.

Speech/language group sessions: 1:3

Two times a week: 25 minutes

Teacher will provide instruction and practice in class in large and

small group opportunities.

Kindergarten Story-Based Interventions

Purpose: To develop story understanding, oral

narrative skills and use of specific vocabulary to

retell stories.

Research base for design: Biemiller, Beck and

McKeown, Simmons and Kame’enui

What the Research Says about Vocabulary and Comprehension

Vocabulary size in kindergarten is an effective predictor of reading comprehension in the middle elementary years (Scarborough, 1998)

Orally-tested vocabulary at the end of first grade is a significant predictor of reading comprehension ten years later

(Cunningham and Stanovich, 1997)

What the Research Says about Vocabulary and Comprehension

Students with restricted vocabulary by beginning of grade 3 have declining comprehension scores in the later elementary grades.

Adequate reading comprehension depends on a person already knowing 90-95% of the words in a text.

Four Types of Vocabulary

Listening

Speaking

Reading

Writing

Speaking vocabulary’s Critical Role in Learning to

ReadFor beginning readers, reading vocabulary

encountered in texts is mapped onto the oral vocabulary the learner brings to the task.

When a word is not in the student’s oral vocabulary, it will not be understood when it occurs in print.

Great need for instruction in primary grades that …

That adds the meaning of new words to children’s word stores

Focuses on listening and speaking vocabulary

Impacts listening and reading comprehension

The Myth of Age or Grade Level Vocabulary

Students do not learn vocabulary words

based on their age or grade.

They learn words based on their experiences.

Children learn words meanings indirectly in three ways:

Daily conversations and oral experiences with adults and other children.

Listening to adults read to them.

Reading extensively on their own.

Sources of Words for Vocabulary Development in the Primary Grades

For the most part NOT words from the texts that young children read

Words from books that are read to children

Teacher’s language

Way in which students learn words in upper

grades

Specific word instruction

Word learning strategies

Wide reading

Amounts of reading

Vocabulary - What students need to learn

The meanings of most of the words in a text so they can understand what they read

To apply a variety of strategies for learning word meanings

To make connections between words and concepts

To use new words accurately in oral and written communication

How many words per year do students need to learn?In kindergarten, first and second grade

children need to learn +800 new words per year, about two words per day.

From third grade on, children need to learn 2000-3000 new words per year, about 6-8 words per day.

Research shows the typical child needs 4-12 meaningful encounters with a word before they know it well enough to improve comprehension.

Two kinds of vocabulary interactions during read aloud routines

During reading

On the spot “bumper sticker” explanations to prevent comprehension problems and bring word consciousness to read aloud routine

After reading (robust vocabulary instruction)

Direct, lively discussion of 3-6 story wordsDirect means explaining meaningRich means processingLively means not boring

Robust Vocabulary Instructional Routine

Step 1. Read the story.

Step 2. Contextualize the word.

Step 3. Have children say the word.

Step 4. Provide student friendly definition

(explanation)


Step 5. Give examples of the words

in other contexts.

Step 6. Engage students in interacting

with the meanings of the words.

Step 7. Have students repeat the word

again.

Step 8. Review and use the new words.


Step 1. Read the story (The Wolf’s Chicken Stew)

Step 2. Contextualize the word.

“In the story, the wolf had a craving for chicken

stew. That means the wolf had a feeling inside

that told him he wanted to eat chicken stew

more than anything else.

Step 3. Have children say the word.

“ Say the word craving with me.”

Robust VocabularyInstructional Routine

Step 4. Provide student friendly definition

(explanation).

“Craving means someone really wants to

eat something and nothing else will make

them happy.”


Step 5. Give examples of the word in

different contexts.

“My sisters gets a craving for apple pie

when she sees apples.”

“The little boy always craves milk when he eats warm chocolate chip cookies.”

“I smelled something great when I walked

by the bakery and I got a craving for

doughnuts.”



with the meaning of the word.

Generating examplesTell me a special food that you crave.Finish this sentence “When I go to the

grocery store, I crave ….” Start the sentence with “I crave …”




Answering questions/giving reasons If all you could think about eating was a chocolate

cupcake, what could you say about that? Which one would you be more likely to crave - candy or

bugs? Why? If you like apples a little more than oranges, would it be

a craving?




Identifying examples and non examples. Which one is a craving?

All Steve could think about was having a juicy cheeseburger. Mary was a little bit hungry for a hot dog.

Would you have a craving if you … wanted pizza and nothing else would make

you happy? did not care if you had soup or sandwich?


Step 7. Have the students say the word again.

What is word that means someone wants to eat something and nothing else will make them happy?

Step 8. Review and use the new words.

Post book cover and selected words.

Catch students using words or noticing them being used Visual recognition like a chart. Verbal recognition like, “What a word wizard! You really

have your word antenna on today.”

Let’s see it in a classroom!

Nurture A Love and Appreciation of Words and Their Use -Read Aloud Research

It is important to choose stories that attract and hold children’s attention.

Model “word awareness” and show students that words are important, interesting and fun.

Provide students with rich oral language experiences.

Which words should we teach?

Words that are unfamiliar yet understandable.

Words that are important to the story.

Words easily used in different contexts.

Words likely to be used in the future.

Putting Words into TiersTier 1: Basic words (radio, happy, jump, house, child)

Rarely require instruction in meanings in school, except for English learners.

Tier 2: High frequency words for mature language users; rich words that span across content areas (fortunate, ability, sufficient, obvious)

Should be taught explicitlyBecause these words have a powerful impact on expanding student vocabulary capabilities.

Tier 3: Low frequency; often content area/domain specific (isotope, outrigger, carpetbagger, subtropical)

May be important to understanding that particular text but not words they will encounter frequently in multiple text exposures.

What are Tier 2 words?Also labeled Tier 2 words

New words not common to young children’s oral language

High frequency words for mature language users

Mature or more precise labels for concepts young children have under control

Tests to find Tier 2 WordsImportance and usefulness

Appear frequently across a variety of domains.Characteristic of mature language users.

Instructional potentialCan be worked with in a variety of ways to build

richness (depth).Can be connected to other words and concepts.

Conceptual understandingMore precise and specific words for concepts

students already understand

Your Turn: Selecting Tier 2 Words

herd lease mortgage

rotate debt steel

Preserve forestry mathematics

reluctantly tinker boutique

realty elevate hire

Ambitious surplus allergic

Your Turn: Select three Tier 2 words from this

passageBats are mammals. They are the only

flying animals that nurse. This means that

the mothers’ bodies make milk to feed

their babies. Bat pups hang together in

large groups called nurseries. Each

mother returns to feed her pup at least

twice a night. The pups need their

mothers’ milk to survive. If you disturb a

nursery cave, the frightened mothers may

leave, and the pups will starve.

Remember the CriteriaUnfamiliar yet understandable and easy to

explain

Important to the story

Used in different context/domains

Likely to be needed in future (high utility)

Bat PassageAs a group, select three Tier 2 words from the

Bat Passage.

Discuss your reasoning behind the words you select.

Create student-friendly explanations

Model Selection of Words for The Wolf’s Chicken

Stew finished

terrible

craving

spotted

delicious

joyfully

screeched

scrumptious

devious (not in story in print)

scheme (not in story in print)

Your Turn: Selecting Tier 2 words from Read Aloud selection

As a group, select a read aloud book from your curriculum.

Select 7-10 Tier 2 words.

Narrow the list to 3-4 Tier 2 words.

Talk about the rationale for word selection.

Share out Tier 2 words.

Contextualize the Tier 2 words.

The Wolf’s Chicken Stew

Tier 2 words: craving, scrumptious,

joyfully, screeched,

Contextualizing the words: In the story,

The wolf makes scrumptious pancakes,

doughnuts, and cakes. The pancakes,

doughnuts and cakes tasted so good that all

someone would want to do is eat more and

more.

Contextualize the Tier 2 words.

The Wolf’s Chicken Stew

Contextualizing the word: When the chicken

saw Mr. Wolf at the door, she screeched, “so,

it was you.” The chicken yelled in a high voice,

“It was you.”

In the story, the wolf had a scheme to fatten up the

chicken. The wolf had a plan to get the chicken fat

so there would be more chicken stew for him.

Your Turn: Contextualize the Tier 2 words you have selected from

your read aloudAs a group go back to the story and locate the

sentences the Tier 2 words are in. Reread them to get an understanding of the context.

Create sentences that will provide a context for the students.

Record them on your sheet.

Developing student friendly explanations.

Look at the Tier 2 words you selected.

Look up the definitions in the Longman/CO-Build dictionary.

Think about the definition from a young learner’s point of view.What difficulty might the definition pose?How might you characterize the words so the

meaning is specific?What everyday language might you use for

the explanations?

Developing student-friendly explanations

Read the sentence from the book that the word is in.

Create student-friendly explanations for the words you selected. It is helpful to include the words something, someone or describe in your explanation.

When reading the text to the students, after you read the sentence that contains the target words, stop and share the student-friendly explanation to the students. This should be a brief interaction and then continue to read the story.

Modeling developing student- friendly explanations

Tier 2 word: scrumptious

Dictionary definition: scrumptious – very

pleasing to taste or smell; delicious

Sentence in book: He made a hundred

scrumptious pancakes. He made a hundred

scrumptious doughnuts.

Student-friendly explanation (complete sentence):

Scrumptious is something that smells or tastes

great.

Modeling developing student- friendly explanations

Tier 2 word: devious

Dictionary definition: devious – not straight

Forward; shifty or crooked

Sentence in book: Not in the book. A

concept that is represented by the wolf’s behavior

in the story.

Student-friendly explanation (complete sentence):

Devious is trying to trick someone in a dishonest

way.

Your Turn: Developing student friendly explanations for Tier 2 words

for read aloud

As a group review your Tier 2 words. Look at the sentences you developed to contextualize the words.

Using this information, the Longman or COBUILD dictionary, and the sentence from the story develop student friendly explanations for the Tier 2 words you have selected.


Criteria for student friendly explanations to be most effective

Use of a complete sentence.

Use of everyday language.

Precision of the words to match to the essence of the word.

Use of the words someone, something or describes etc.

Engaging Students in Dealing with Word Meanings for Tier 2

WordsWord Associations

Students are asked to associate of their

new vocabulary words with a word or

phrase and to explain why they decided on that connection. Most students will be able to answer questions correctly, the most important part is the requirement to explain why.


WordsAssociating a known word with a newly

learned word reinforces even further the

meaning of the word. Associations are not

synonyms.

Modeling Word Associations

Tier 2 words: devious, joyful, scrumptious,Which word goes with smelling chocolate

chip cookies in the oven? Why?Which word goes with pretending to be

busy so you do not have to play with someone you do not want to? Why?

Which word goes with the feeling when

you get a new puppy as a pet as a surprise? Why?

Your Turn: Developing Word Associations Activities for Tier 2

WordsDevelop word association activities for the Tier 2

words you selected.

Explain why the words would go with the sentences.


Engaging Students in Dealing with Word Meanings

Have you ever …

This activity helps students associate new learned words with contexts and activities from their own experience.

It helps students understand that they have a place for the word in their vocabularies.

Modeling Have You Ever …

Tier 2 words: screeched, scheme, craving

Tell me about a time when you screeched at your brother, sisters or cousins. Start the sentence “I screeched when …”

Tell me about a time when you were craving some type of dessert. Start the sentence “I was craving …”

Show me how your face might look if you are trying to think of a scheme to get some extra money from your mom and dad.

Your Turn: Developing Have you ever … activities

Using your Tier 2 words think of times that students could have experienced the Tier 2 words. If you have the students respond orally, remember to model and expect complete sentences.

Record your activities on the sheet.


WordsApplause, Applause! This activity focuses

on students indicating whether the words

have a positive or negative connotation.

They can use clapping to indicate the

level (not at all, a little, a lot) and then have

students explain why they think that way.

Modeling Applause, Applause!

Have the students clap based on how much

they might crave the following items:

ice cream cone

liver

broccoli

cupcakes

Have them tell you why or why not.

Modeling Applause, Applause!

Have the students clap based on whether

Would like to be described as:

devious

schemer

joyful

Have them tell you why or why not.

Your Turn: Developing Applause, Applause … activities

Develop Applause, Applause activities for the Tier 2 words you have selected. Think about positive or negative aspects of the word or desired nature.



WordsIdea completion: This activity provides

students with sentence stems that requires

them to integrate a word’s meaning into

context in order to explain a situation.

Modeling Idea CompletionI could tell the kids thought the birthday

cake was scrumptious because …

Mom screeched across the noisy room to

Dad because ….

The winning school was joyful because…

Your Turn: Developing Idea Completion activities

Using your Tier 2 words think of sentence stems that would require your students to integrate the meaning of the word for the sentence to make sense.


Review and Use the WordsExample/Non-Example

Present one by one descriptions of

situations and ask students to respond to

each as to whether or not it illustrates the

target word. Students should always be

asked “why” they responded as they did.

Modeling Example/Non-Example

If I say something that you would think

would screech, say “Screech.” If not, do

say anything.

Brakes on an old car (screech)

A gentle rainfall (no response)

Wind blowing through trees (no response)

A woman who is surprised to see a mouse (screech)

Modeling Example/Non-Example

If I say something that you would think

would make you act “joyful”, say “joyful.” If not, do

say anything.Your favorite cousin coming to visit (joyful)Your best friend moving away (no response)Your favorite toy breaking (no response)Your friends coming to your birthday

party(joyful)

Your Turn: Review and Use WordsDevelop example and non-

example activities for the Tier 2 words.

Record them on the sheet.

Model and Review Use of the Words

Why Stems:

I am going to ask you ‘why’ questions

that will use our “juicy words.”

Why might a devious child get in trouble?

Why might someone screech if it is quiet and a balloon pops?

Why might a boy and his puppy play joyfully?

Your Turn: Why Stems

Using your Tier 2 words, develop why stems.

Record your responses.

Word WinnerChildren need to frequently use and

notice new words in order for them to become part of their active vocabulary. The Word Winner chart is an interactive tool that tracks when children use and hear Tier 2 words. It continues to motivate children around the words while helping to build the classroom atmosphere of enthusiastic word learning.

Word WinnerAfter each book, write the words from the

book on a chart. As soon as the words are on the chart, children become word detectives, listening for these new words around them. Whenever children tell you they have heard or used a word, put a tally mark next to the word. Add up the scores for words.

AssessmentIt is important to remember that vocabulary

assessment should match the goals for word learning.

Using the same formats for instruction and for assessment are best for vocabulary assessment.

AssessmentSuggested Assessment Tasks:

Use response cards (yes/no) or thumbs up/thumbs down as an informal assessment.

Use Yes/No sheets or Smiley/Sad faces after reading sentences for a formal assessment.

Modeling Assessment Tasks

Students have a yes/no answer sheet.

“I will read some sentences that make

sense and some that do not make sense.

If the sentence makes sense, circle the

word, Yes. If it does not make sense,

circle the word, No.”

Assessment for The Wolf’s Chicken Stew

1. Hungry people never have cravings.

2. Most children think their birthday cake is scrumptious.

3. A scheme is something you might come up with on April Fool’s Day.

4. All children joyfully do their chores at home.

5. The car’s wheels screeched on the ice when Mom hit the brakes.

6. If you are devious, everyone trusts you.

How are we going to know?

How are you going to know if it makes a difference to the students?

What are some permanent products that might show a change?

What will it look like and sound like in the classroom?

What will it look like in a story retell or page description task?

Moving On …

Halley – First GradeKnown information:


Teacher reports that Halley has trouble retelling stories that she reads and stories that are read out loud in class. Halley can answer questions regarding the main characters (who), the beginning of the story and what happens at the end. She has a lot of trouble with the setting, and identifying the goal or problem in the story.

Teacher reports that story retell is taught and practiced almost daily in the curriculum. Halley was in a small group working on this skills. She is the only one who did not make significant progress.

HalleyParents report that they read to Halley daily and

ask questions focusing on who, what happened and how the story ends. They had been provided with guidance by the classroom teacher. They reported Halley has had trouble providing explanations or explaining what happened when they are not around. She can provide more information when asked questions.

HalleyTest

Screening level : Halley’s retell of first grade story

probes was not adequate for listener understanding.

Specific Level Procedures

She did not include major story components (setting, goal or problem,

resolution).

She could not provide this information in response to questions.

Median TWS for story probes: 67 total words spoken in a

two minute retell.

HalleyGoal: Given 36 weeks and a grade level story probe, Halley will retell

Including major story components (characters, setting, problem/goal, major

episodes, resolution) in four our of five opportunities.

Focus of speech/language sessions: Developing story understanding and

oral narrative skills through story-based interventions.

Speech/language group sessions: 1:2

Two times a week: 30 minutes

Teacher will provide instruction and practice in class in large and small

group opportunities. Small group opportunities will be coordinated with

speech/language pathologist.

Listening/Reading Comprehension

Class-wide Instructional RoutineFramework for Comprehension Instruction

Before (Preparation)

During (Understanding)

After (Retention or Integration)

Before Reading (Preparation)

Set comprehension objectives

Preteach difficult to read words

Preview text and prime background knowledge

Chunk text into manageable segments

First Grade Story Interventions

BeforeSet purpose for learningIntroduced critical vocabularyMaking connections to children’s

real life experiencesGave short summary of story

During Reading

Stop periodically to ask students questions

Identifying the main ideaMap text structure elementsVisualizingModel ongoing comprehension

monitoring

First Grade Story Interventions

DuringPaired questions with major story

structure componentsAsked students to make predictionsUsed pictures to show concrete

examples of vocabulary words and relationships in stories (visualizing)

After Reading (retention)

Strategic integration of comprehension instruction

Planned reviewAssessment of student’s

understanding

First Grade Storybook Interventions

AfterStory retellStory maps (aid memory)Sentence cloze summaryEvaluative questions

Let’s See It in A Classroom

Moving On …

Background about Comprehension of Informational

TextLarge proportions of American students have

difficulty comprehending informational text.

Low income and minority students are particularly likely to struggle.

Some have attributed the “fourth grade slump” to difficulties comprehending informational text.

Nearly 44 million adults cannot extract information from text in many circumstances.

The importance of comprehension in informational

textWe live in the information age.

The majority of reading and writing adults do is non-fiction, much of it informational.

Informational text can build vocabulary and new knowledge. 80% of what students read beginning in fourth grade is informational text.

Some students actually prefer reading and writing informational text and thrive with it.

Informational text is an important tool for answering question and solving problems and for raising questions and posing problems.

Cale – Third GradeKnown information:


Teacher reports Cale has trouble finding main idea

in informational text (social studies and science). He can usually name the topic and some details. He has trouble distinguishing the difference between a detail and a main idea.

Teacher reports Cale can retell fiction stories adequately.

CaleTeacher reports finding main ideas and a

summarization strategy (Getting the Gist) are directly taught in the curriculum. Cale can provide the topic but cannot summarize. In texts, he can recognize topic sentences. He can identify concrete main ideas.

Test

Screening

Cale cannot provide an adequate summary of

Information text for listener understanding

CaleSpecific level procedures

Cale can provide the who or what (topic) of a passage

Independently. Cale requires a model to provide what

is important about the who or what and telling that

information in a main idea sentence. Cale often

provides a lot of details but cannot come up with the

overarching main idea. This is true even when it is

a topic he has a lot of prior knowledge in.

CaleGoal: Given 36 weeks and grade level informational

passage, Cale will be able to use a three step main

strategy independently in four out of five opportunities.

Focus of speech/language sessions: Use of a main

idea summarization strategy to improve understanding and oral

discourse skills for informational text.

Group speech/language sessions: 1:3

20 minutes four times per week, two are conducted by speech/

language pathologist, two times per week by classroom teacher.

SummarizingSummarizing requires students to

determine what is important in what they

are reading and to put it into their own

words. Instruction in summarizing helps

students:

Identify or generate main ideas

Connect the main or central ideas

Eliminate unnecessary information

Remember what they read

Skill-Strategy ContinuumStrategies are generally more complex than

skills because they require the orchestration of several skills.

Effective instruction links comprehension skills to strategies to promote strategic reading.

Skill-Strategy ExampleTo summarize involves:

Sequencing of events

Making judgments

Noting details

Determining main idea

Using story structure or text organization

Summarizing

Narrative text - strategy is focused on story grammar

Expository (informational) - strategy is focused on main ideas

Narrative (Fiction) Text Structure

Setting

Characters

Plot

Resolution

Name informational text structures

Teacher 1 turn to Teacher 2 and name as many informational text structures as you can.

Teacher 2 - name any informational text structures that Teacher 1 left out.

Informational Text Structures

Descriptive

Sequential

Enumerative

Cause-effect

Problem-solution

Compare-contrast

Class wide Routinefor Summarizing

Paragraph Shrinking

GIST

Get the Gist

Five Components of Explicit Teaching of Comprehension Strategies

1. An explicit description of the strategy and when and how it should be used.

2. Teacher and/or student modeling of the strategy in action

3. Collaborative use of the strategy in action

4. Guided practice using the strategy with gradual release of responsibility

5. Independent use of the strategy

Paragraph Shrinking Informational Interventions

Short grade level science and social studies passages

Use explicit teaching including model, guided practice and independent practice.

Based on a comprehension strategy that is evidence-based for 2nd grade through high school.

Can carry-over to note-taking

What is the strategy?

Paragraph shrinking helps you figure out the

most important idea in what you just read.

First, you think about the “who” or “what” the

paragraph was mostly about and then you

figure out the most important ideas about the

who or what and say this in ten words or

less.

When do you use Paragraph Shrinking?

You use paragraph shrinking after reading

each paragraph or section of text.

Why is it important to use the strategy?

Paragraph shrinking is important because

it helps you check whether you

understand what you just finished

reading. It also helps you remember

what you just read.

How do you do it?There are three steps to Paragraph Shrinking.

First, name the who or what that the paragraph is mostly about.

Second, tell the most important thing about the who or what.

Third, tell or write a sentence of ten words or less, leaving out details.

Paragraph Shrinking - Teacher Modeling

Read a paragraph out loud to the students

and model Paragraph Shrinking for them.

be sure to think out loud and tell how you do

each step.

Paragraph shrinking - Teacher modeling

example

“A seabird is any bird that spends most of its

time at sea and depends on the sea and its

islands for all its basic needs. The sea

provides food, and its remote islands and

rocky outcroppings provide safe nesting and

resting places. For 60 million years, these

highly specialized and diverse birds have

adapted to life on the world’s vast oceans.”

(from Collaborative Strategic Reading, Vaughn and Klinger)

Model“I am going to show you how to paragraph

shrink for the paragraph I just read. First, I

figure out if the paragraph is about a “who”

(a person) or a “what” (a place or thing). Then

I will name the who or what the paragraph

was mostly about. We will call this the

topic.”

Tell the students the who or what the

paragraph you just read was mostly

about. Explain how you determined that

answer and write the answer down

(optional).

Model your thinking!

Example for Seabirds

“This paragraph was about a what. That what

was seabirds. I figured it out by reading the

beginning sentence. It was a topic sentence

telling what a seabird was. The rest of the

sentences gave information about seabirds.”

Most important about who or what

“Second I will tell the most important

information about the who or what. I

learned that seabirds live, get food, rest

and nest at the sea.”

Main Idea Sentence“Third, I will say the main idea sentence in 10

words or less leaving out the details. There are

three important things I need to remember

about the main idea: 1)The main idea must be a complete sentence. 2) The main who or what only counts as one word. 3) A good main idea sentence contains information that will help you remember the important details in a paragraph.

Main Idea Sentence

“Seabirds get everything they need from

the sea.”

Guided Practice

Ask the students if the paragraph is about a who or a what.

After you have established whether the passage is about a who or what, ask the students to identify who or what it is about (the topic)

Guided Practice

After students have determined the “topic” for the main idea, ask them to identify the most critical information about the “who” or “what.” Be sure to emphasize that the students are looking for the most essential information -- not details.

Guided PracticeNext, students need to think about the

who or what, what is important about the who or what and generate a main idea sentence in 10 words or less.

Do a check whether the main idea sentence meets the criterion that a good main idea sentence contains information that will help students remember the important details in a paragraph.

Guided PracticeRepeat this process for the remaining

paragraphs.

Paragraph Shrinking - Independent Phase

Read a paragraph (section of the text) aloud or have the students do this.

Ask the students to work in pairs.

Give the students a certain amount of time to Paragraph Shrink the paragraph just read.

Continue..

Paragraph Shrinking - Independent Phase

Help students if they are having trouble.

After the time is up, either have the students share out or continue on to the next paragraph.

Continue with this cycle until the passage is done.

Have students share out their main idea sentences and explain how they got them.

Helpful Tips

Do not assume students know how to identify paragraphs. You may have to teach them to identify the beginning and end of a paragraph.

Some students may need help to figure out if the paragraph is about a who or what. Teaching them that if it is a fiction text or story, it usually is a who and if it is informational text, it is usually a what.

Let’s Try It

Final Thoughts

Questions and Answers

3-2-1 Activity

curriculum-based language intervention wendy robinson [email protected] february 3, 2010

Documents

story slide

oral language skills

students language skills

communication skills

oral expression skills

story elements

missing story components

written form slide