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Solidify Content Knowledge Using Strategies for

Summarizing and Writing to Learn

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Expected Outcomes

Participants can and do:• Understand how practicing reading

strategies in content areas can solidify and enhance learning.

• Understand how to teach students to use the summarization strategy.

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Lexile Text MeasuresHS Lit College Lit HS Text College

TextMilitary Personal Entry Lvl

JobACT, SAT,

AP

1600

700

1100

4

Lexile Text MeasuresHS Lit College Lit HS

TextCollege

TextMilitary Personal Entry Lvl

JobACT, SAT,

AP

1600

700

1100

5

•7th: 950L-1030• 8th: 1000L-1100L• 9th: 1030L-1120L• 10th: 1100L-1200L• 11th: 1120L-1210L• 12th: 1210L-1300L

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Startling Fact

The reading level of documents, technicalmanuals, and other materials required by entrylevel positions in most fields far exceed thereading level of many students.

-Meeting the Challenge of Adolescent Literacy, Judith Irvin, et al

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Startling Fact

• Between 1996 and 2006, the average literacy skills/expectations required for all occupations rose by 14%.

• Both dropouts and high school graduates “are demonstrating significantly worse reading skills than they did ten years ago.”-Alliance for Excellent Education

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Startling Fact

The American College of Testing found only 51%of U. S. college bound students having developed the ability to read the complex textscentral to college learning and the workplace.

ACT, 2006

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2009 NAEP“Nation’s Report Card”

•8th grade students consistently show the same pattern…a majority of students achieve the basic level of reading skills – about an average of 75%.

•In Arkansas 74% of our students were at the basic level .

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Proficient Reading LevelEighth-grade students performing at the Proficient

Level should be able to:

• Provide relevant information • Summarize main ideas and themes• Make and support inferences about a text• Connect parts of a text• Analyze text features• Fully substantiate judgments about content and

presentation of content

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Eighth-grade students performing at the Basic Level should be able to:

• Locate information • Identify main ideas/themes• Make simple inferences• Interpret word meaning• Analyze text features• State judgments with support

Basic Reading Level

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How did this happen?

Ineffective Reading Practices: • Skimming for answers– assignment that requires locating literal information rather

than deeper comprehension

• Surface processing– Not thinking about what the author is trying to communicate.

• Reading and forgetting– the information is not internalized and rapidly forgotten

Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, Doug Buehl

13

Alli and Ms. Boomer

1. Why should content teachers teach comprehension strategies?

2. What is included in effective comprehension instruction?

As you view this, ask yourself:

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What does this mean for my content?

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Common Core State Standards

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Looks LikeLESS

• Teacher lecture• Whole group• Assigned seat work with

little opportunity to practice new learning

MORE

• Think a-louds, modeling, students processing information actively

• Short whole group time and small group time to process info

• Opportunities for practice, discussion in pairs/small groups before assigning seat work

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Explicit InstructionDeepen understanding of content

Model

Provide guided practice with feedback

Provide supported, independent practice with

feedback

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MetacognitionDebrief any new strategy by discussing howusing this helped with comprehension of thetext.

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Where do I begin?

• Determine what students need to know and be able to do.– What key concepts are to be learned?– What will students be expected to read, discuss,

write, and present?• Determine tools to use for learning.

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CLONING

A Brief History Line

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Summary on Summarizing

• Determine importance•Delete unimportant information•Condense information•Categorize terms into specific groups•Transform condensed information into writing

-Marzano cites summarizing as one of the nine most effective instructional strategies in the history of education.

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Summarizing• Is not:– Retelling– Long– Full of a lot of interesting

details

• Is:– Process of identifying

salient information– Concise and specific– Reinforcing and

consolidating the many processes involved in learning from text

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Summarization

Model Lesson

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Animal Clones: Double Trouble?Read Handout– While Reading: • Stop after each section• Highlight what you think is key to

understanding the text• Write a few words about the most important

information

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1. Separate sections

2. Underline notable text

3. Annotate to side

4. Condensed to 15-20 words

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After Reading:

• Share with neighbor what you highlighted/annotated.

• Add to key points or delete information after discussion.

• Write a summary in 15–25 words using the key points.

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Prerequisite Skills

• Determine importance• Delete unimportant information• Condense information• Categorize terms into specific groups• Transform condensed information into writing

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GIST

Gist is a strategy used to determine the main idea of a text in as few words as possible.

Tools for Teaching Content Literacy, Janet Allen

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Possible Framework• Set objective/relevance - 2-3 minutes• Hook – video clip, article, question, picture – 5 minutes• Mini – lecture (Content based) – 8-10 minutes• Focused Reading Assignment – 10 – 12 minutes• Writing Task modeled and assigned – 5 minutes• Students work on assignment – 10 - 15 minutes• Wrap-up learning – 3-5 minutes

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Design a Lesson

33Jaywalking

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Writing To Learn(WTL)

5-8 Science

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“If students are to make knowledge their own, they must struggle with the details, wrestle with the facts, and rework raw information and dimly understood concepts into language they can communicate to someone else. In short, if students are to learn, they must write.”

-Vartan GregorianPresident, Carnegie Corporation

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Expected Outcomes

Participants can and do: • Model and Use Writing to Learn as a

tool of thinking and reflection• Use Writing to Learn to increase

student engagement and learning

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Writing To LearnWriting To Learn• Short• Spontaneous• Exploratory• Informal• Personal• One draft• Unedited• Ungraded

Formal Writing• Substantial• Planned• Authoritative• Conventional• Audience centered• Drafted• Edited• Assessable

Content-Area Writing, Harvey Daniels, et al

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Writing To Learn Can:• activate thinking• help us collect and synthesize thoughts• help us to sort ideas• help us notice and hold on to our thinking• help us make connections• enhance discussions• help us set, assess, and evaluate learning

goals

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Writing To Learn is NOT:

• Copying notes from the teacher• Answering questions at the end of

the chapter

Content-Area Writing, Harvey Daniels, et al

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Transcription & Copying IS NOT Thinking• 10% of what we read• 20% of what we hear• 30% of what we see• 50 % of what we see/hear• 60% of what we write• 70% of what we discuss• 80 % of what we experience• 95% of what we teachAdapted, Content-Area Writing, Harvey Daniels, et al

We learn….

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Writing Break Procedure• Students stop and reflect in writing on the

activities or information being presented.• Quick sharing with partners or whole class

follows this writing.• Duration: 2 minutes• Writing Breaks can consist of words,

phrases, questions, confusions, connections, distractions, etc.

Content-Area Writing, Harvey Daniels, et al

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Writing Break Benefits:• Allows students time to process content;• Deepens thinking• Engages students• Enhances discussions• Writing/talking moves the learning rate to

70-90% range• Aids in learning early misconceptions or

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Gradual Release of Responsibility: Teacher

I Do—You Watch

I Do—You Help

You Do— I Help

You Do

— I

Watch

Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, Doug Buehl

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Gradual Release of Responsibility: StudentYou Do— I

WatchYou Do—I Help

I Do—You Help

I Do—You Watch

Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, Doug Buehl

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Gradual Release of Responsibility

BENEFITS-Less lecture

-Higher student engagement -Students are

responsible for their learning-Conducive to

using cooperative

learning groups

Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, Doug Buehl

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Minute PaperSignificant Points

Unanswered Questions

WOW’s for Application

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If students are notquestioning, they are NOT

comprehending.

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In 2003, nearly 8,000 straight-A, 4.0 GPA students were denied admission into UCLA.

Reading Reasons, Kelly Gallagher

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The PROCESS

is more valuable than the

OUTCOME.

Writing to Learn: Strategies for Assigning and Responding to Writing Across the Disciplines , Sorcinelli, et al

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Consider this• Poor writing skills cost businesses

$3.1 billion annually• Only one out of four twelfth-

grade students is a proficient writer

Writing to Read

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Did you know…

• Low education is a significant factor for Alzheimer’s disease and all other forms of dementia.• Reading habits between the ages of 6-

18 appear to be crucial predictors of cognitive function decades later.

Reading Reasons, Kelly Gallagher

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Common Core State Standards

• Designed to “Complement and Enhance” the content• Designed to help students become

“college and career ready”

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Design a Lesson

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Assigning Grades

• Not graded for grammar or spelling• Writing to Learn instead of Learning

to Write• Participation

Content-Area Writing, Harvey Daniels et al

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It is writing to learnNOT learning to write.

In short, WTL is a free, loosely structured writing with few rules and no penalties.

Content-Area Writing, Harvey Daniels et al

Writing To Learn

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What is the message of this clip as it relates to teachers and teaching?

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Exit Slip• Can use index cards• Spend 1-5 minutes at the end of class• Offer students 1 prompt or several options• Diagnostic• Categorize/Deal the cards out in stacks to

address the next day

Content-Area Writing, Harvey Daniels, et al

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What you can do now?

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Our Gift to Students

• Helping them become strong readers, proficient writers, and critical thinkers• In helping them develop, we give

students options.

Reading Reasons, Kelly Gallagher

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References:• Content-Area Writing, H. Daniels, S. Zemelman,

N. Steineke, 2007.• Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning,

Doug Buehl, 2009.• Reading Reasons, Kelly Gallagher, 2003.• Writing to Read• Writing to Learn: Strategies for Assigning and

Responding to Writing Across the Disciplines, M. Sorcinelli, P. Elbow, 1997.