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Newspaper in Education Institute / Dr. Darla Shaw

Table of Contents

PHONEMIC AWARENESS/PHONICSALPHABET ACROSTICS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 1

Phonemic Awareness/Phonics: English Standard #3/Textual Features.Knowing the alphabet and being able to alphabetize are lifelong skills. They are used in learning to read and reading to learn.For this exercise students will go through the newspaper and locate at least one word for each letter of the alphabet and pastethis word on an acrostics sheet.

FAMILY TREE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 2

Phonemic Awareness/Phonics: English Standard #3/Word Identification Strategies.Words usually belong to a word family. These word families are made up of similar sounds and letter combinations. These wordfamilies sometimes include prefixes and suffixes. Students will create a family tree by searching through the newspaper forwords that include prefixes, root or family words, and suffixes.

HOMONYM HANDS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 3

Phonemic Awareness/Phonics: English Standard #6/Applying Language Structure.Homonyms are words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings. They are words that cause trou-ble in reading and spelling. In order to practice this skill students are going to look through the newspaper for words that theyknow are homonyms.

RHYME TIME RUBRIC ACTIVITY 4

Phonemic Awareness/Phonics: English Standard #3/Sound-Letter Correspondence.Part of learning to read is being able to tell words that have similar endings or suffixes. In some cases suffixes, or endings, areexactly the same. In other cases they are similar and rhyme. In this exercise students are going to look through the newspaperand find words with endings that rhyme.

VOWEL QUEST RUBRIC ACTIVITY 5

Phonemic Awareness/Phonics: English Standard #6/Application of Language Structure.An important part of phonics is the ability to locate and make the proper sounds for vowels. To be able to decode students mustbe able to determine which vowels are long and say their own name and which vowels are short. In this exercise students willcollect words with both long and short vowels.

WORD SCRAMBLE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 6

Phonemic Awareness: English Standard #3/Word IdentificationMaking and breaking words is a key way for students to become phonemically aware of various combinations of letters andsounds. By taking a word and looking at all the little words that students see within the word, they can begin to identify wordelements in the words they have selected.

FLUENCYREADER’S THEATER RUBRIC ACTIVITY 7

Fluency: English Standard #12/Written and Spoken Language for a Particular Purpose.Reader’s Theater readings help to build fluency. These readings can easily come from newspaper articles that have a number of quotes. Studentswill find an interesting article that involves several people who give quotes about a particular issue and turn it into a reader’s theater play.

READING RATE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 8

Fluency: English Standard #4/Adjustment to PurposeTo become a fluent reader students need to be able to read in phrases. Reading word by word slows readers down. Studentsneed to keep reading until they get to the end of the sentence. This exercise will help students build their reading rate throughrepeated readings of the same article and keeping a graph to make them aware of their reading speed.

SCAN AND SEARCH RUBRIC ACTIVITY 9

Fluency: English Standard #4/Adjusting Communication Skills.Scanning is having one’s eyes glance over the article looking for one particular piece of information in that article. The teacherwill choose an article or page from which to form questions for the students. Students will answer by scanning for a particularperson, place, thing, or number to answer the question(s).

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SKIMMING THE SURFACE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 10

Fluency: English Standard #3/Applying Strategies.Skim reading is when you read to preview, get an overview or a general impression of a news article. For this activity studentsare going to choose an article with at least five paragraphs and are going to carefully read only the first sentence of each para-graph to determine the basic components of the article.

TOPICAL ELEVATOR RUBRIC ACTIVITY 11

Fluency: English Standard #1/Understanding of Texts.Paragraphs are built around one particular topic. If students can identify that topic it will help them to be better readers. For thisexercise students are going to choose a newspaper article to read and make note of the topic of each paragraph.

VOCABULARYFOUND POETRY RUBRIC ACTIVITY 12

Vocabulary: English Standard #2/Reading Different Genres.To build vocabulary and use words in a different way, Newspaper Found Poetry is fun. For this exercise students are going to usethe entire paper to find words, phrases, parts of headlines, photos, cartoon characters, or anything else in the newspaper thatexcites them and encourages them to write a poem.

WORD KITE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 13

Vocabulary Development: English Standard #12/Using Written and Visual Language.In order to master the meaning of words, students need to have one or more association(s) with a word, be able to visualize theword and what it means, be able to define it and talk about its possible opposite meaning, and use it in a sentence. In this exer-cise students will develop the four facets of vocabulary word development.

WORD LADDER RUBRIC ACTIVITY 14

Vocabulary Development: English Standard #4/Vocabulary AdjustmentStudents need to know how to use context clues to find the meanings of new words. Students will look at the words and phras-es in back of the new word, as well as in front of the new word to find a definition that will fit.

COMPREHENSIONANNOTATION NOTATION RUBRIC ACTIVITY 15

Constructing Meaning: English Standard # 12/ Exchange of InformationTo become more thorough readers, students need to mentally organize the information that they read and take notes on thisinformation. In this exercise students will mark up the reading with symbols and transfer this information to their journal, help-ing them to remember the material in an organized fashion.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST CIRCLE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 16

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #9/DiversityBeing able to compare and contrast people, places, and objects is a critical thinking skill. For this activity, students will find one news-paper article where there is a discussion of two items or ideas, or find two companion newspaper articles to compare and contrast.

FIVE FINGER AND HAND (5W’s & H) SUMMARY RUBRIC ACTIVITY 17

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #3/Applying Strategies.The newspaper is an excellent resource for learning to summarize because it covers the 5W’s and H of any event. Students willuse the fingers and hand graphic organizer and look for the WHO/WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW of a news articleto write a comprehensive summary.

H2Q: HEADLINE TO QUESTIONS/SQ3R RUBRIC ACTIVITY 18

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #7/Posing QuestionsTurning newspaper headlines into one or more questions helps students to focus their reading. Students will use this technique for pos-ing questions as part of the SQ3R: Survey, turn headlines into Questions, Read to answer the questions, Recite your answers and Review.

HOUSE OF FACTS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 19

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #7/Gathering InformationFacts are of little use unless they are organized and categorized. Students will predict some of the categories of information theymay find in an article before beginning to read.

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MIND MAPPING RUBRIC ACTIVITY 20

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #11/Participating in a Literary Community.When reading fiction or non-fiction it is important to try and get into the mind of the character. Students will better understandthe story if they understand the characters in the story and what they might be thinking. For this exercise students are going totry and think what might be going through the mind of the character(s) at different points in the article.

OPINION OVAL RUBRIC ACTIVITY 21

Processing Meaning: English Standard #4/Adjusting CommunicationA good reader needs to know when they are reading opinions and not just facts. Without a good understanding of opinion state-ments, a reader may easily be swayed by a reading. This exercise will help students better locate opinion statements and utilizeopinions in their own persuasive writing.

ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERN RUBRIC ACTIVITY 22

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #1/Understanding Different Types of Texts.When reading news articles or other non-fiction there is almost always an organizational pattern that can be found. Studentswill explore these types of organizational patterns: Chronological order, compare and contrast, cause and effect, problem andsolution, and descriptive examples.

PERSUASIVE P RUBRIC ACTIVITY 23

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #12/Persuasive WritingWhen good writers construct a persuasive piece they look at both sides of the issue and incorporate these elements in their writ-ing. Students will uncover both the cons as well as the pros of a topic.

PHOTO FACTS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 24

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #12/Visual Language.It is just as important to be able to “read”photos and graphs, as it is to read the written word. Students will see how many factsor inferences they can actually list from a photo or graph.

POSSIBLE CATEGORIES RUBRIC ACTIVITY 25

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #8/Use TechnologyWhen using the Internet or looking for resources, students need to know the names of a variety of categories to access the infor-mation. After students read an article, they will make note of at least three Internet categories they might access for more infor-mation on the topic of the article.

PREDICT AND PROVE PYRAMID RUBRIC ACTIVITY 26

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #3/Applying StrategiesAn important pre-reading skill is prediction. Before carefully reading an article, students will utilize as many clues as they canfrom the headline, pictures, and captions to predict what is going to happen. They will then read to find out if their predictionswere correct or not.

QUICKWRITE CONFIRMATION RUBRIC ACTIVITY 27

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #1/Acquiring New InformationBefore students begin to read an article they should have some questions to read for in their mind. They will choose an articleon a subject where they have some previous knowledge. Good readers keep these facts and questions in their mind as they readto confirm or reject their previous ideas, and answer new questions.

STAIRWAY TO QUESTIONS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 28

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #7/Developing Research QuestionsIt is as important for students to be able to ask questions as it is to answer them. In fact, it is more difficult to formulate a ques-tion than answer one. In this exercise students will choose a newspaper article to read and formulate their own questions onthree different levels: literal, inferential, and evaluative.

T FOR THREE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 29

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #2/Reading Many GenresA good reader is always linking to another reading or event when reading. This linking brings greater meaning to passages.Usually readers link in three important ways: Text to Self, Text to Text, or Text to World. Students will choose articles that link tothemselves in these three ways.

THE THREE R’S: READ, RETELL, AND REFLECT RUBRIC ACTIVITY 30

Constructing Meaning: English Standard #6/CritiqueThe 3 R’s in this exercise are Read, Retell, and Reflect. This is the process that is used to improve comprehension. Students willunderline key passages that they will need to remember the article for retelling and reflection (or focus).

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Introduction

In education today, we rely on multiple resources to teach both subject matter and process. For this reason the newspaper,magazines, the Internet and trade books are becoming of more value while the textbook is losing ground.

Newspaper usage is particularly important for the following five reasons that link to RESEARCH-BASED READING.

1. Newspapers bring up to date coverage of critical issues to every area of the curriculum.

2. Expository, persuasive, and narrative newspaper pieces can serve as excellent models for writing.

3. As a low or no cost consumable product (often sponsored by the newspaper), newspapers can be cut up, marked on andtaken home for interactive learning and family usage.

4. By getting students in the daily reading habit, newspapers help people become life long learners.

5. Newspaper usage is a part of RESEARCH-BASED READING that brings critical thinking into the 21st century.

This RESEARCH-BASED READING GUIDE is devoted to successfully combining newspaper usage with instructionin the five following areas:

Phonemic Awareness, Phonics Instruction, Fluency Training, Vocabulary Development & Text Comprehension/ Constructing Meaning

The earliest level of concentration in RESEARCH-BASED READING is phonemic awareness. This is followed by phonicsinstruction. Here students need to be trained to see the relationships between letters and sounds for decoding new words,learning to spell properly, and learning how to alphabetize.

The newspaper is an excellent resource for both phonemic awareness and phonics instruction as the children can locate,highlight, cut, paste, and manipulate various letter combinations. Unlike a workbook where a child can only write, circle orunderline, newspaper usage builds early critical thinking skills. With the newspaper, students can go beyond the workbookpage to develop new word patterns and see numerous applications.

The textbook is a closed source. The newspaper assignments are structured but open-ended so that children can explore,attempt, share, produce, and explain. There is more to learning phonetically than just being able to identify a word correctly.

Fluency training is probably the reading skill least addressed in the classroom. With this skill students’ oral reading soundsalmost as if they were speaking. They rapidly group words for better comprehension and read quickly, accurately, and withexpression. On the other hand, without fluency training students tend to read slowly, inaccurately, and usually word by word.Their reading is often choppy, and plodding with an emphasis on completion instead of comprehension.

To address the need for fluency instruction, this guide has incorporated exercises for various types of reading: skimming, scan-ning, and reading words in phrases. It has also provided the students with individual activities for timed readings, rereadings,and taped readings. To further address the fluency issue, students are also given newspaper related exercises that require acooperative experience such as choral reading, paired reading or reader’s theater readings.

Fluency building is best taught through modeled readings, listening, strong decoding skill lessons, and phrase reading exercis-es. These skills cannot be taught in an isolated manner through a workbook. They are, however, taught effectively through acurriculum related newspaper article. The teacher can choose an appropriate article, focus on vocabulary and decoding andthen model the phrase reading and fluency component while students listen.

Vocabulary development is another crucial RESEARCH-BASED READING skill. Without knowledge of word meanings thestudent is greatly hampered in understanding any material. To date the most effective ways of developing an enriched vocabu-lary are through use of the dictionary, knowledge of word parts, and getting meaning from words in context. These methodsare still effective today but there is also a focus on choice of words to learn,“working the word”through looking at many dif-ferent components of the word, not just the definition, and visualization and vocalization.

Newspaper usage is vital to vocabulary development. The words found in the newspaper are the commonly used words of the day.Thesewords are content related and their meanings can usually be determined through context due to the structure of a newspaper article.

Through repeated use of cut out newspaper headlines and sentences, students can begin to use context clues to determinemeaning. They can also cut out new words, old words with new meanings, or words that they now feel more comfortableusing in their own writing. As with phonemic awareness and phonics instruction, vocabulary development requires a manipu-lative element in the beginning stages. Eventually students can use the newspapers to develop their own content-based

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analogies, but in the beginning they need to highlight, cut, paste, draw and put words in a simple sentence. Vocabulary devel-opment is no longer just for reading. It has now been expanded to include a listening, a speaking and a writing stance.

Phonics, fluency, and vocabulary development are not isolated skills. These skills are all a part of the bigger picture, text com-prehension. In text comprehension we have the following six elements:

1. Monitoring: being able to perceive reading problems and having strategies to address these problems.

2. Using graphic organizers to collect necessary information and taking this information to an application stage.

3. Regularly summarizing and asking questions about what is being read for purposes of clarification.

4. Knowing when information is text explicit (directly stated), text implicit (implied) or scriptal, (not found in the text at all butbased on prior knowledge and experience) and knowing how to make use of each.

5. Knowing story structure guidelines for both fiction and non-fiction so that mental and visual clues can be developed.

6. Learning to work in groups to share information and take part in open-ended discussions.

Text Comprehension Instruction can be linked to practically any newspaper article and text comprehension instruction isimbedded in every activity in this RESEARCH BASED READING GUIDE.

For monitoring and reflection students are asked to keep a newspaper journal along with the explicit exercises.

For using graphic organizers and story structure students are given detailed black line masters with every activity.

For text explicit, implicit and scriptal and questioning, students are given or asked for questions on different levels.

For reading for a purpose students are given specific rubrics that are linked to national standards in English.

For working cooperatively, many of the newspaper exercises have been adapted to pairs or group work.

Good readers are purposeful and active. They have strategies from which to work and know how to reflect on various types ofreadings. These readers are able to utilize all their senses when they read. They are also able to utilize the talents of other peo-ple in cooperative learning situations.

Readers do not come by these above-mentioned skills easily. They develop these skills through daily practice with real lifematerials. Give your students the opportunity to build their text comprehension skills in a meaningful way. Encourage themto use the newspaper and other real life materials in connection with research based reading. With continued and structuredpractice, students will benefit greatly. They will become the independent, resourceful, and critical readers of the 21st century.

Introduction cont’d

Copyright 2003, published by the Newspaper in Education Institute.All rights reserved. Printed in the Unites States of America.

The activities pages in Reading First: Research-Based Reading Instruction Using The Newspaper may be photo-copied by teachers for classroom use. Any other reproduction of this book, in whole or in part, requires written per-mission of the publisher. Address inquires to: Doug Alexander, Newspaper in Education Institute, 7009 Varnum Street,Landover Hills, MD 20784

Mission Statement of the Newspaper in Education InstituteThe Newspaper in Education Institute develops partnerships between NIE programs and non-profit, public sector andcorporate organizations to implement educational initiatives supporting use of the newspaper in the classroom toteach state and/or national standards. NIEI partners develop projects that inspire students to achieve academic excel-lence and build good character, and support the efforts of educators to improve literacy/reading skills and increasestandardized test scores.

Written by Dr. Darla Shaw.

ALPHABET ACROSTICS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 1

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Phonemic Awareness/Phonics

English Standard #3: Textual Features/Alphabetization

Knowing the alphabet and being able to alphabetize are lifelong skills. They are used in learning to readand reading to learn. For this exercise you will go through the newspaper and locate at least one wordfor each letter of the alphabet and paste this word on an acrostics sheet. An acrostic is a series of lettersgoing vertically down the page with related words linked to the beginning letter. The words you choosefor the acrostics may be familiar or unfamiliar. If the word is unfamiliar, you should look it up in the dictionary and place the meaning in brackets. You don’t have to do the letters in order. Try and see howmany you can get from the front page of the newspaper alone.

1. I looked at the front page of the newspaper and began to cut out words that had the first letter of the 26 letters of the alphabet.

2. I found the various letters of the alphabet, cut them out, and pasted the entire word in the blank beside the letter on the reverse side of this sheet.

3. If I didn’t know the meaning of the word I pasted, I looked it up in the dictionary and put the meaning in brackets beside the word.

4. If I couldn’t find a particular letter with a cut out word, I left it blank and asked someone to help me, or inserted a word that I already knew.

5. Once my alphabet acrostic was complete I read my words to a partner.

6. Next I listened to my partner read his/her list of words.

7. Finally my partner and I used our two lists of alphabet acrostics to write three sentences for our journals. If we couldn’t find all the words we needed for the sentences, this was O.K. Our three sentences were the same in both journals.

ALPHABET ACROSTICS

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FAMILY TREE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 2

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English Standard #3: Word Identification Strategies/Word Division

Words usually belong to a word family. These word families are made up of similar sounds and lettercombinations. These word families sometimes include prefixes and suffixes. Prefixes come before theroot or family elements and suffixes come afterwards. Complete the family tree on the reverse side bysearching through the newspaper for words that include prefixes, root or family words, and suffixes.

1. I cut out of the newspaper eight words that included a prefix, a root/family word,and a suffix.

2. I cut each of the eight words into three parts, prefix, root/family, and suffix.

3. I pasted each of the eight words on the family tree. The prefix was placed on top of the word prefix. The root word was placed on top of the word root. The suffix was placed on top of the word suffix.

4. I copied the eight prefixes in my journal and predicted a possible meaning for each prefix.

5. I copied the eight root/family words in my journal and predicted a possible meaning for each root word.

6. I copied the eight suffixes in my journal and predicted a possible meaning for similar suffixes

7. I used a dictionary or other resource to check the meanings of my predictions.

8. I made three new words from mixing prefixes, root words, and suffixes from the family tree. I placed these new words in three different sentences in my journal.

FAMILY TREE

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HOMONYM HANDS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 3

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English Standard #6: Applying Language Structure/Pairing Words

Homonyms are words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings. They arewords that cause trouble in reading and spelling. In order to practice this skill you are going to lookthrough the newspaper for words that you know are homonyms. You are then going to cut these wordsout and paste them on one of the pairs of hands on the reverse side of this sheet. You can find thematching homonym in the newspaper or just write it out on the second hand. For example, if you foundthe word “here”in the newspaper you would cut it out and paste it on one hand. Then you would find orwrite the word “hear”on the other hand. Working in student pairs also helps you to build skills in thisactivity. When the activity is complete you can cut up different pairs of hands and connect them for aborder around the classroom or for your room at home.

1. I looked in the newspaper for words that I knew were homonyms.

2. When I found a homonym I cut it out and pasted it on one of the hands on the reverse side of this sheet.

3. If I could not easily find the matching word in the newspaper I just wrote the matching word with a pen or pencil on the blank hand.

4. When I found a word that has three homonyms (example: there, their, they’re) I added a third hand and recorded the word.

5. When I had trouble finding new homonyms I worked with a partner.

6. At the end of the session, I shared my homonyms that no one else had mentioned,with the class. I also explained to the class the meaning of each homonym.

7. I cut out homonym pairs from the black line master and added them to a homonym border.

8. I went to my newspaper journal and used three sets of my homonym hands in six proper sentences.

HOMONYM HANDS

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RHYME TIME RUBRIC ACTIVITY 4

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English Standard #3: Sound-Letter Correspondence/Rhyming Words

Part of learning to read is being able to tell words that have similar endings or suffixes. In some casessuffixes, or endings, are exactly the same. In other cases they are similar and rhyme. Knowing rhymingwords is not only for poetry. It is also important to know when you come upon an unfamiliar word. Inthis exercise you are going to look through the newspaper and find words with endings that rhyme. Youare going to paste them on the face of a clock. If you can’t find twelve rhyming words you can divide theclock into parts and have several rhyme patterns.

1. I looked in the newspaper for words with a common ending where I could find rhyming words. (For example,….at,….in,….et,….or,….un,….ing, etc.). I underlined the rhyme portion of the word with a colored pencil.

2. I cut out the words with the endings that rhymed and pasted them next to each other at different hours on the clock (on the reverse side of this sheet). I started with one o’clock.

3. If I could not find twelve rhyming words for one ending I started another series of rhyming words.

4. After I completed my clock with one, two, or three sets of rhyming words I read my words to a partner. I wanted to see that I had recorded my words correctly.

5. Then I listened to my partner’s list of twelve words and helped him/her correct their work.

6. Finally I went to my newspaper journal and tried to use my set of rhyming words in a poem.

7. I shared my poem with the class.

RHYME TIME

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VOWEL QUEST RUBRIC ACTIVITY 5

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English Standard #6: Application of Language Structure/Discriminating Between Long & Short Vowels

An important part of phonics is the ability to locate and make the proper sounds for vowels. To be ableto decode you must be able to determine which vowels are long and say their own name and whichvowels are short. Some rules to remember are:

When a vowel is surrounded by two consonants in the same syllable it is usually short because it is aclosed vowel.

When a vowel is left open at the end of a syllable it is usually long because it is an open vowel.

1. I searched for both long and short A vowel words in a newspaper article.

2. I cut and pasted the long vowel words that say their own name, on the left side of the large V on the reverse side of this sheet.

3. I cut and pasted the short vowel words on the right side of the large V on the reverse side of this sheet. I looked for vowels that were surrounded by consonants on both sides of the syllable when looking for short vowels.

4. I found five long vowel words and five short vowel words for A.

5. I recorded my long and short A vowel words in my journal. I put each one in a sentence.

6. After I completed the A sheet for my journal I took four other V black line masters and filled out one for e, another for i, and the last two for o, and u.

VOWEL QUEST

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WORD SCRAMBLE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 6

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Phonemic Awareness

English Standard #3: Word Identification/Letter Sorting

Making and breaking words is a key way for you to become phonemically aware of various combinationsof letters and sounds. By taking a word and looking at all the little words that you see within the wordyou are beginning to identify word elements. Complete the reverse side of this sheet by choosing oneinteresting eight-letter word from the newspaper and seeing how many words you can make from thisword. (After you have done this exercise once, you can expand the exercise by finding a word with morethan eight letters from which to form new words.)

1. I found an eight-letter word in the newspaper and cut out each letter.

2. I then spread the eight letters out in front of me and moved the letters around until I found a two-letter word that I could make from the eight letters.

3. I recorded the two-letter word on the second line of the word scramble.

4. I then spread the letters out again and looked for a three-letter word. When I found this word, I wrote it on the third line.

5. I continued with a four-letter word, then a five, six, and seven. If I could not find a word with a particular number of letters I went on to the next combination.If I didn’t know how to spell a word I used the dictionary.

6. I added to the bottom of the page any other words that I could make from the original word. The number of letters in these words could range from 2 to 8.

7. As I entered the words in my journal, I placed them by categories: nouns, adjectives,verbs, prepositions, pronouns and adverbs.

WORD SCRAMBLE

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READER’S THEATER RUBRIC ACTIVITY 7

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Fluency

English Standard #12: Written and Spoken Language for a Particular Purpose

Reader’s Theater readings help to build fluency. These readings can easily come from newspaper articlesthat have a number of quotes. Just look for an interesting article that involves several people who givequotes about a particular issue and turn it into a reader’s theater play. The narrator(s) would read thenon-quote paragraphs and then students in the class would be selected to read for people in the article.Readers can mark up the article so that they eliminate the name of the actual person and the word “said.”The narration parts can also be shortened so that the other readers have more to say. Additional lines canbe added for each reader as long as they are in alignment with the text.

1. I chose an article from the newspaper that was interesting and had several people who were quoted in the story.

2. Along with my friends, I selected a role, either to be a narrator or one of the people in the story.

3. I went through the article and marked my part. If I was one of the people in the story, I eliminated my name and words like “said.” I just read the words in actual quotes.

4. I practiced my oral reading along with the narrator(s) and other people in the story.

5. When we all felt comfortable with the reading, we presented the reader’s theater adaptation of the article to the entire class.

6. After the reader’s theater presentation we discussed the article with the class.

READER’S THEATER

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READING RATE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 8

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Fluency

English Standard #4: Adjustment to Purpose/Building Fluency

To become a fluent reader you need to be able to read in phrases. Reading word by word slows youdown. You also want to keep reading until you get to the end of the sentence. You don’t want to continuallygo back and reread before you get to the period. Building your reading rate through repeated readings of thesame article and keeping a graph will make you aware of your reading speed. You can also read articleson a similar or different difficulty level. However, your reading rate will change with the difficulty level ofthe reading. Reading is like training for a sport or to be a musician. If you don’t practice on a regularbasis you are not going to get better at it. Athletes and artists often keep records of their progress andthat is what you are being asking to do here.

On the reverse side of this sheet it will tell you how to determine reading rate.

1. I chose an article to read that I would not have great difficulty reading.

2. I read the article the way that I would normally read so that I would get 70 – 80% comprehension. (I checked this comprehension by recording five facts from the article.)

3. As I read the article I had someone time me for one minute. When the person said,“stop,”I marked the spot where I stopped reading.

4. To find my reading rate I did the following: First I counted the number of words in the first five lines and divided by five to find the average number of words in a line for that particular article. It did not matter if the number came out exactly. Next I counted down the number of lines I had read and multiplied this number by the number of words in a line. (I had just determined this number by counting the words and dividing by 5.)

5. I now had my reading rate for that particular timed reading. It was the number of words per line, times the number of lines read.

6. I continued to practice reading this article or read articles on a similar or different reading level.To check my comprehension level I tried to give back 5 facts from the reading of the article.

7. One week later I tried the same exercise with the same article or articles on a different reading level. I kept recording my scores on the chart. I indicated if the articles were easyreading, more difficult, or very difficult.

8. I looked for a trend in my reading rate. I recorded my observations in my newspaper journal.I discussed when and how I was able to read more quickly, what seemed to slow me down,the amount of practice I needed, etc. I saw that when I read articles on a more difficult level I had to slow down my speed. I saw that when I came to easier articles I could speed up.

READING RATE

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Determining Reading Rate

1. Be timed for one minute2. Mark the line where you stopped reading after one minute3. Count the number of words in the first 5 lines you read4. Divide this number by 5 to get the average number of

words per line5. Count down the number of lines read6. Multiply the average number of words per line times the number

of lines read7. This number is your approximate reading rate for one minute

Please note: if material was easy to read, your rate should be higher. If materialwas hard, your reading rate should be lower.

Reading Rate Chart/Words Per Minute (wpm)

100-185 wpm – slow185-215 wpm – low average

215-230 wpm – average230-300 wpm – good

300-350 wpm – very good350-500 wpm – excellent

Please note: there should be good comprehension along with these rates.

SCAN AND SEARCH RUBRIC ACTIVITY 9

23


Fluency

English Standard #4: Adjusting Communication Skills/Scanning

Scanning is having your eyes glance over the article looking for one particular piece of information inthat article. Think of using the phone book. You don’t read the phone book; you scan for names andnumbers. Complete the black line master on the reverse side of this sheet by listening to teacher questionsand scanning for a particular person, place, thing, or number. Note the key word that you hear in thequestion to make your scanning easier.

1. I wrote the five questions dictated by the teacher on the black line master.These questions will be answered in a news article that I will scan.

2. I noted the key word(s) in each article in the proper column.

3. As my teacher timed us for …… minutes, I tried to locate the specific answers in the news article by scanning the article, not reading it.

4. I circled answers on the actual newspaper article, later transferring them to the black line master.

5. I skipped questions I was having trouble with but went back if I had time.

6. After the timed scanning session was over, I checked my answers, looking more closely for key words when I had to change an answer.

7. I summarized what I had learned about scanning in my journal.

SCAN AND SEARCH

24


Dictate Questions AnswersKey Words

Timing:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

SKIMMING THE SURFACE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 10

25


Fluency

English Standard #3: Applying Strategies/Skimming

Skim reading is when you read to preview, get an overview or a general impression of a news article. Youmay skim to see if the article has the needed information. You may skim to see if you are interested inreading the article. When you skim you read the first sentence of the paragraph more carefully than therest of the article as that sentence tells you what is in that paragraph. If you decide to read the rest of thearticle, you then look at key elements such as nouns, verbs, words in bold print or italics and anythingelse that is important that catches your eye. When you are skimming you are not looking for details youare not reading every word, and you are not reading slowly. For this activity you are going to choose anarticle with at least five paragraphs and you are going to carefully read only the first sentence of eachparagraph.

1. I chose a news article with at least five paragraphs.

2. I read only the first sentence of the first paragraph and recorded the key ideas on the handle of the skimmed milk pitcher on the reverse side of this sheet under P.l.

3. I read only the first sentence of the second paragraph and recorded the key ideas on the handle of the pitcher under P.2.

4. I read only the first sentence of the third, fourth, and fifth paragraphs and recorded the key ideas on the handle of pitcher under P.3, P.4, and P.5.

5. If I felt I needed to skim any more of any one paragraph, I did so and added information.

6. I took the key elements of information from the pitcher handle and created a summary in the center of the skimmed milk pitcher.

SKIMMING THE SURFACE

26


TOPICAL ELEVATOR RUBRIC ACTIVITY 11

27


Fluency

English Standard #1: Understanding of Texts/Finding Topic Sentences

Paragraphs are built around one particular topic. If you can identify that topic, it will help you to be abetter reader. If you can identify the topic, it will also help you to know when to slow down and readcarefully or when to skip that paragraph. A good reader knows what he/she is looking for when theyread. They have established a purpose. For this exercise you are going to choose a newspaper article toread and make note of the topic of each paragraph. In some cases, the topic may be the same or similarin several paragraphs. You are going to record your topic statement on the bottom floor of the elevatorwith related details listed in the elevator car above. You are going to start on the first floor of the elevator.

1. I found a newspaper article to read that had more than five paragraphs.

2. After I read each paragraph I decided on the topic of the paragraph and wrote that topic on the elevator floor on the black line master. I started with the first floor.

3. I then added one or two important details following each topic to the elevator car above the floor portion.

4. If some paragraphs covered the same topics as previously, I made a note of this on the elevator floor.

5. After completing six to eight paragraphs from an article by giving a topic and then one or two related details, I turned to my newspaper journal.

6. In my newspaper journal I used the information from my topical elevator to write a summary of the newspaper article I had just read.

28


TOPICAL ELEVATOR

FOUND POETRY RUBRIC ACTIVITY 12

29


Vocabulary

English Standard # 2: Reading Different Genres/Gathering Seed Ideas

To build vocabulary and use words in a different way, Newspaper Found Poetry is fun. For this exerciseyou are going to use the entire paper to find words, phrases, parts of headlines, photos, cartoon characters,or anything else in the newspaper that excites and interests you. When you are attracted to a word orphoto you are going to cut it out and place it in front of you on your desk. When you have collected 15to 20 words, phrases, or photos you are going to try to use some of these cut out pieces to inspire you towrite a poem. You do not need to use all of the material that you cut out. You can also add whatever youwant once you get your idea started. The Found Poetry pieces are for inspiration, motivation, and con-tent.

1. I went through the entire newspaper cutting out 15 to 20 interesting pictures,words and phrases.

2. I spread my cut out pieces in front of me on my desk and from them drew inspiration for a poem. All of the ideas from the poem did not have to come from the cut out pieces. All of the cut out pieces did not have to be used in the poem.

3. If I cut out a word that sounded interesting but I didn’t know the meaning of the word, I looked it up in the dictionary.

4. I began to write my poem in any format that would be accepted by my teacher.

5. I read my poem to another student to get feed back on my writing.

6. I revised and edited my poem.

7. Now that I had my final draft, I pasted the cut out words and photos that I used on the top of the black line master.

8. When I copied my poem on the bottom section of the black line master I highlighted the “found”words or phrases.

9. I practiced reading my poem out loud.

10. I read the poem to my entire class and read them the Found Pieces that I had started with, the pieces that inspired and motivated me to write.

FOUND POETRY

30


WORD KITE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 13

31


Vocabulary Development

English Standard #12: Using Written and Visual Language/Working a Vocabulary Word

In order to master the meaning of words you need to have one or more associations with a word, be ableto visualize the word and what it means, be able to define it and talk about its possible opposite meaning(antonym), relate it to words with the same or almost the same meaning (synonym), and use it in a sentence. This form of vocabulary development is called working a word, not just defining it. Chooseone interesting, new word from a newspaper headline and complete the word kite on the reverse side ofthe sheet. Don’t hesitate to use the dictionary for confirmation of word meaning.

1. I chose a word I didn’t know from a headline and cut it out and pasted it on the word portion of my kite.

2. From the context of the word I decided on a possible meaning and wrote it in pencil in the proper place on the reverse side of this sheet.

3. I checked the possible meaning with a dictionary. If I was correct in my meaning,I wrote the meaning in pen. If I needed to change the meaning, I erased my prediction and then wrote the dictionary meaning in with a pen.

4. Then in the synonym/possible antonym portion of the kite, I added information I knew about my new word.

5. Next I went to the visualization portion of the kite and drew a picture that would help me remember the meaning of the new word.

6. Lastly, I used my new word in a sentence to show my knowledge of the word.

WORD KITE

32


WORD LADDER RUBRIC ACTIVITY 14

33


Vocabulary Development

English Standard #4: Vocabulary Adjustment/Using Context to Determine Vocabulary

When you are reading you usually don’t have a dictionary with you to locate the meaning of words youdon’t know. For this reason you need to know how to use context clues to find the meanings of the newwords. To find context clues you look at the words and phrases in back of the new word, as well as infront of the new word to find a word(s) that “will fit.” To practice finding meaning from context clueschoose two newspaper headlines that include words that you don’t know. Then use the reverse side ofthis sheet to “ladder”these words.

1. I found two headlines with one word each that I did not know.

2. I cut out the headlines with the new words and put them to one side.

3. I underlined the new word in each headline, cut it out and pasted it on the top rung of the ladder.

4. For a meaning for the new word under headline one, I looked ahead and behind the new word for clues to the word meaning.

5. From this “context clue reading”I predicted two or three possible meanings for the new word.

6. I placed these possible meanings on the ladder rungs underneath the new word.

7. I now used the dictionary to check the meaning and put the correct meaning on the last rung of the ladder. If I correctly predicted a meaning, I put a � beside that meaning.

8. I repeated the procedure above for headline number two.

9. After finding a proper meaning for the two new words, I added these two new words to my journal and placed each in a new headline of my own.

Table of Contents

34


1 2

ANNOTATION NOTATION RUBRIC ACTIVITY 15

35


Constructing meaning

English Standard # 12: Exchange of Information/Note Taking

To become a more thorough reader you need to mentally organize the information that you read andtake notes on this information. By learning to mark up the reading with symbols and transferring thisinformation to your journal, you are helping to remember the material in an organized fashion. The symbols that you use are not as important as the fact that you are always looking for big main ideas,subheadings under the main heading, and details that relate to the sub headings. Of course, key vocabulary words must also be noted. Use the symbols on the reverse side of this sheet to help you better understand how to annotate and turn the annotations into usable notes.

1. I chose a newspaper article to read and annotate.

2. I looked for big main idea statements in the article and boxed them.

3. If the main idea statement was not stated directly, I wrote one of my own in the margin of the newspaper.

4. Next I went back through the article and looked for subtopics under the main headings. I put these sub topics in brackets.

5. After the subtopics I looked for details that linked to the subtopics and drew a line under these details.

6. Finally, I went through the reading and circled any key words that I needed to remember. I also looked up words I didn’t know in a dictionary.

7. After making the proper notations on the newspaper article, I transferred the information from the boxed main idea blocks to the black line master.

8. I followed this procedure by transferring bracketed and underlined information to the back of this sheet.

9. Finally, I added key vocabulary words to the reverse side of this sheet.

10. After looking at the transferred or downloaded information, I retold the three levels of information I had gathered. Then I worked the information into a summary statement.

ANNOTATION NOTATION

36


COMPARISON AND CONTRAST CIRCLE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 16

37


Constructing Meaning

English Standard #9: Diversity/Comparing and Contrasting

Being able to compare and contrast people, places, and objects is a critical thinking skill. For this activity you will need to find one newspaper article where there is a discussion of two items or ideas, or find twocompanion newspaper articles. Companion news articles have the same topic but different viewpoints,or different topics but similar characteristics. Finding the proper articles will be skill development in itself.Remember, when you are comparing you are looking for similarities between items, and when you are contrasting you are looking for differences.

1. I found one newspaper article with people, places or items to compare and contrast.If I could not find one newspaper article for comparison purposes, I chose two different articles that had a common link.

2. As I read the newspaper articles, I began to underline important information on the topic(s).

3. After looking at the underlined information that I thought was important to remember,I began to use the black line master on the back of this sheet.

4. At the top of the two circles I put the title or topics of the two items to be compared.

5. Then I took all the information that was directly stated in the article about the two topics and what they had in common, and recorded this information in the center C.

6. Next I began to infer and included common characteristics of both topics that would be true, but were not directly stated. I also placed these characteristics in the center C.

7. I then began to look for information for the topic listed on the right hand side of the C.I listed all information specific to that topic in the area below the topic heading.

8. I then reversed what I was doing and began to look for information that related directly to the topic on the left hand side of the C. I now began to record information specific to that circle on the left hand side of the C.

9. To put my information to work I now completed a comparison and contrast summary in my newspaper journal. I used the following model:

Paragraph one: introduction.Paragraph two: information from the inner circle; what the two topics had in common.Paragraph three: information from the right hand side of the circle; facts specific to the first topic.Paragraph four: information from the left hand side of the circle; facts specific to the second topic.Paragraph five: summary statement.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST CIRCLE RUBRIC

38


FIVE FINGERANDHAND (5W’s & H) SUMMARYRUBRIC ACTIVITY 17

39



English Standard #3: Applying Strategies/Summarization

The newspaper is an excellent resource for learning to summarize because it covers the 5W’s and H ofany event. Use the fingers and hand graphic organizer and look for the WHO/WHAT, WHEN, WHERE,WHY and HOW of a news article. To write a comprehensive summary of that article you can effectivelycombine these five areas using the rubric below.

1. I chose an article from the newspaper to summarize.

2. I read through the article highlighting, the WHO/WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY,and HOW of the article.

3. I took the WHO/WHAT, WHEN, and WHERE information and developed a beginning sentence.

4. I returned to article looking for the WHY or the cause of the problem or event.

5. I utilized the WHY information, making it the second sentence of my summary.

6. I returned to the article looking for the HOW or effect of the problem or event.

7. I utilized the HOW information, making it the third sentence of my summary.

8. I added a fourth sentence to my summary regarding my prediction of what will happen in the future to the problem or event. I based this prediction on facts from the article.

9. I reread my summary to see if I had covered the 5 W’s and an H and had added any other relevant information. My summary could be more than four sentences.

FIVE FINGER AND HAND (5W’s & H) SUMMARY

40


H2Q: HEADLINE TO QUESTIONS/SQ3R RUBRIC ACTIVITY 18

41



English Standard #7: Posing Questions

By turning newspaper headlines into one or more questions you are helping to focus your reading. Thistechnique for posing your own questions is part of the SQ3R: Survey, turn headlines into Questions,Read to answer the questions, Recite your answers and Review.

1. I chose an article with a headline, photo, and caption so that I could get an overview of the article.

2. I wrote the headline for the article on the hull of the clipper ship on the reverse side of this sheet.

3. I made up a question from the headline and placed it on one of the lowersails of the clipper ship.

4. I read to answer my first question and recorded the information from the article on the smaller sails of the ship.

5. I made up a second question from the headline and placed it on the other lower sail of the ship.

6. I read to answer the second question and recorded the answer on the smaller sails above the question.

7. I utilized the information found on the sails and the hull of the clipper ship to develop a summary for the article. I placed this summary in my journal.

H2Q: HEADLINE TO QUESTIONS/SQ3R

42


HOUSE OF FACTS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 19

43



English Standard #7: Gathering Information/Organizing Information

Facts are of little use unless they are organized and categorized. Use the house diagram on the back ofthis sheet to organize the facts that you learn from a newspaper article that you have chosen to read.Predict some of the categories of information that you may find in the article before you begin to read.Write these categories in pencil on the floor of each room.

1. I chose a newspaper article to read.

2. I thought about the topic of the article and begin to predict possible categories of information thatwould probably be in the article.

3. I placed the possible category titles on the floor of separate rooms.

4. I carefully read the article and as I found facts I placed them in the proper room.

5. As I found information for which I did not have a category, I added additional rooms on the house.

6. After I finished the reading, I looked at rooms that had little or no information and went to othersources such as the Internet or books for this information.

7. After filling up most of the rooms with the proper information, I began to organize my informationinto a five paragraph essay. By creating an introduction and a conclusion I now had only to use theinformation in each room to create a series of logical paragraphs.

HOUSE OF FACTS RUBRIC

44


MIND MAPPING RUBRIC ACTIVITY 20

45



English Standard #11: Participating in a Literary Community/Character Study

When you are reading fiction or non-fiction, it is important to try and get into the mind of the character.You will better understand the story if you understand the characters in the story and what they might bethinking. For this exercise you are going to take a newspaper article about a particular person and themind map on the reverse side. As you read you are going to try and put yourself in this person’s place.You are going to try and think what might be going through his or her mind at different points in thestory. As you come up with these ideas record them in the thinking bubbles that are attached to thecharacter’s head. This is inferential reading so there is no one answer. However, you should be able tosupport the information you put in the thinking bubbles and make inferences about the character.

1. I selected a newspaper article that featured a particular person.

2. As I read the article I tried to put myself in the place of the person in the article.

3. I tried to predict what he or she might have been thinking at different times in the article and recorded this information in the thinking bubbles on the black line master.

4. I was ready to explain the reasoning for my thinking bubble notation if it needed to beexplained.

5. After filling the character’s head with thinking bubbles, I began to better understand the character and what that person might have been thinking.

6. I shared my thinking bubbles with another student who had read the same article.

7. We compared and contrasted what our thinking bubbles said about the person in the article.

8. We then cooperatively filled in the center of the head with characteristics we had learned about the person in the article. We did not add any characteristics that were not already stated in the article.

MIND MAPPING

Thou

ght

Thou

ght

Thou

ght

Thou

ght

Thou

ght

Thou

ght

46


OPINION OVAL RUBRIC ACTIVITY 21

47


Processing Meaning

English Standard # 4: Adjusting Communication/Determining Facts From Opinion

A good reader needs to know when they are reading opinions and not just facts. Without a good understanding of opinion statements, a reader may easily be swayed by a reading. This exercise will help you better locate opinion statements and utilize opinions in your own persuasive writing.

1. I have chosen an article from the Editorial Page.

2. I have read the article carefully and decided on the point of view of the author of the article.

3. I have highlighted up to 10 key opinion statements and listed them on the ten lines inside the Opinion Oval, on the reverse side of this page.

4. I have highlighted up to 10 facts from the article and placed them on the spikes that branch off from the Opinion Oval on the reverse side.

5. I have listed the point of view of the article on the block holding up the Opinion Oval.

6. In my journal I have written my reaction to the editorial and supported my own point of view.

OPINION OVAL

48


ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERN RUBRIC ACTIVITY 22

49



English Standard #1: Understanding Different Types of Texts/Understanding Different Writing Patterns

When reading news articles or other non-fiction there is almost always an organizational pattern that canbe found. By being able to recognize this organizational pattern, it is easier for you to understand thecontent of the article. It is also easier for you to read more quickly. The types of organizational patternsmost often found are the following:

Chronological order — articles that are written sequentially or almost like a time line. In some cases theyare a series of lists that come in a certain order.

Compare and contrast — articles that usually take two or more items and discuss how the items are alikeand how the items are different.

Cause and effect — articles that focus on the cause(s) of the problem and the long and short-term effects.

Problem and solution — articles that talk about society’s problems and possible solutions to these prob-lems.

Descriptive example — articles that focus on describing a person, place or event in detail, giving exam-ples, and possibly defining key words.

Your job in this exercise is to try and locate one example of each type of organizational pattern in thenewspaper and put the title of that article in the proper puzzle piece on the reverse side of this sheet.

1. I began to look for each of the five types of organizational patterns in articles in the newspaper.

2. When I found a particular pattern in an article, I placed the title of the article in the proper pattern box on the reverse side. If the title was too long, I used an abbreviation.

3. After I had tried my best to locate articles for chronology, comparison and contrast,cause and effect, problem and solution, and descriptive examples and couldn’t find a particular article, I asked a fellow student.

4. If neither of us could find a particular article, we waited for the class discussion and then filled in the space.

5. After learning this skill in the newspaper, I began to look for these same patterns in textbooks.

ORGANIZATIONAL PATTERN PUZZLE

50


PERSUASIVE P RUBRIC ACTIVITY 23

51



English Standard #12: Persuasive Writing

When good writers construct a persuasive piece, they look at both sides of the issue and incorporatethese elements in their writing. In order to look more critically at both sides of an issue use thePersuasive P. With the use of this black line master you will have to uncover both the cons as well as thepros of a topic.

1. I chose an article from the newspaper that could be looked at from two different viewpoints.

2. I wrote a positive thematic statement about the article in the loop of the P.

3. Then before reading the actual article I wrote all the positive comments I could about the topic under the P loop on the black line master on the reverse side.

4. Now I turned to the negative aspects of the topic and listed these on the lines on the left hand side of the P. Even if I didn’t necessarily believe in what I was listing I wrote it down,as I knew some people would believe in this negative viewpoint.

5. Finally, I read the article checking to see which one of the positive and negative comments that I had included were really in the article. As I came upon a new idea, I highlighted thisidea so that I could come back to the idea.

6. I now took the new ideas that I had highlighted and transferred them to the positive or negative side of the P.

7. From utilizing information listed on the Persuasive P, I wrote my own opinion piece on the newspaper topic in my journal.

PERSUASIVE P

52


PHOTO FACTS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 24

53



English Standard #12: Visual Language/Using Visualization

Today is it just as important to be able to “read”photos and graphs, as it is to read the written word.There is so much information found in photos and graphs that you won’t even find in the reading. Forthis reason it is important to carefully examine a photo or graph before beginning a newspaper article.In fact, see how many facts you can actually list from the photo or graph. This is what you are beingasked to do in this exercise.

We are asking you to use your visual literacy skills.

1. I found a photograph or graph in the newspaper that I examined carefully.

2. I pasted the photograph or graph from the newspaper in the easel portion of the black line master on the reverse side of this sheet.

3. After pasting the photograph or graph on the sheet, I began to list any facts or inferences that I could make based on what I was seeing.

4. I attempted to list at least 10 facts or inferences about the visual. I wrote the fact or inference outside of the photo or graph and drew a line to where I was getting the information on the visual.

5. When I was not able to get 10 facts or inferences, I turned to a partner and asked him/her what they saw in the photograph or graph.

6. When I had completed the listing of facts or inferences, I turned to my newspaper journal.

7. In my journal I listed questions I needed to read for based on my initial observations.

8. I then read the article, returning to my journal to make any corrections that needed to be made regarding my originally projected facts and inferences.

PHOTO FACTS

54


POSSIBLE CATEGORIES RUBRIC ACTIVITY 25

55



English Standard #8: Use Technology/Open Sorts Organization

When using the Internet or looking for resources, you need to know the names of a variety of categoriesto access the information. To practice this skill choose an article from the newspaper. Then after readingthe article make note of at least three Internet categories you might access for more information on thetopic of the article.

1. I chose a newspaper article and read it carefully thinking about possible categories I could use to find more information on the topic.

2. I wrote down as many as four category words and/or sources where I might look for information on the Internet or in print.

3. If couldn’t come up with four category words for my topic, I skimmed the article looking for further clues.

4. When I still couldn’t find enough headings, I asked another student.

5. Next I went to the Internet and checked my category headings to see if information on the topic was included.

6. When I found information on my topic that was included I recorded the new information onthe black line master on the other side. I also included information that I found in books.

7. I wrote a summary of the article utilizing the information that I learned from the original articles as well as the three or four other sources.

8. I wrote in my journal what I had learned about going from topics to possible categories for purposes of research.

POSSIBLE CATEGORIES

56


Six Topics Found in the Newspaper

PossibleCategory

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

PossibleCategory

PossibleCategory

PossibleCategory

PREDICT AND PROVE PYRAMID RUBRIC ACTIVITY 26

57



English Standard #3: Applying Strategies/Predicting

An important pre-reading skill is prediction. Before carefully reading an article utilize as many clues asyou can from the headline, pictures and captions to predict what is going to happen. Then read to findout if your predictions were correct or not.

1. I chose an article with a headline, photo, and caption and looked only at these portions of the article.

2. Using the headline, photo and caption I made a prediction about WHAT happened in the article. I placed this prediction on the left hand side of the pyramid labeled WHAT I.

3. Again by using the headline, photo and caption I made a WHY it happened prediction aboutthe story. I placed this prediction on the top line of the bottom of the pyramid labeled WHY I.

4. Finally by using the same headline, photo and caption I made a HOW will it end prediction.I placed this prediction on the bottom line of the pyramid labeled HOW I.

5. I carefully read the article and placed the actual WHAT was going to happen on the right hand side of the pyramid labeled WHAT II.

6. When I found out the actual WHY of the article I placed that information on the appropriate line, WHY II.

7. When I found out the actual HOW it ended, I placed it on the HOW II line.

8. In my journal I wrote how close I had come to the actual prediction and why.

PREDICT AND PROVE PYRAMID

58


QUICKWRITE CONFIRMATION RUBRIC ACTIVITY 27

59



English Standard #1: Acquiring New Information/Confirming/Rejecting Prior Knowledge

Before you begin to read an article you should have some questions to read for in your mind. You mayalso have some previous knowledge on the subject of the article. Good readers keep these facts andquestions in their mind as they read to confirm or reject their previous ideas, and answer new questions.Choose an article from the newspaper on which you have prior knowledge. On the reverse side quicklylist as many facts as you can about the subject and at least two good questions. Then read to confirm orreject your previous information and answer your new questions. If the information you are looking foris not in the article, check another resource.

1. I chose an article from the newspaper on which I had some prior knowledge.

2. I quickly wrote down information I already knew about the topic.

3. Before reading the article I also listed two or more questions I had on the topic.

4. I then read the article to confirm or reject my prior knowledge.

5. I also looked in another resource if my factual knowledge was not covered in the article.

6. I then looked at the two new questions I had posed for possible answers in the article.

7. I found answers to my two or more questions or I looked into an alternative resource.

8. I used my confirmed facts and answers to new questions to form the basis of a summary on thenewspaper article.

QUICKWRITE CONFIRMATION

60


STAIRWAY TO QUESTIONS RUBRIC ACTIVITY 28

61



English Standard #7: Developing Research Questions/Questions on Different Levels

It is as important for you to be able to ask questions as to answer them. In fact, it is more difficult to formulate a question than answer one. In this exercise you will choose a newspaper article to read andformulate your own questions on three different levels. The first question will be literal. The answer willbe right in the article. The second question will be inferential. There will be clues to the answer but theywon’t be answered directly. The third question will be evaluative. There will be no direct answer fromthe newspaper article but the answer will include your opinion and what you have learned from the reading.

1. I chose a newspaper article to read and read it with questions in mind.

2. My first question was a literal question. I could easily find the answer in the article.

3. I recorded the answer to question number one on the base portion of the first step.

4. My second question was an inferential question. The answer was not directly stated in the text but there were clues to the answer in the newspaper article.

5. I recorded the answer to question number two on the base portion of the second step.

6. My third question was an evaluative question. This answer was not directly stated in the article but my ideas came from an overview of the article. My answer also included my own opinion.

7. I recorded the answer to question number three on the base portion of the top step.

8. In my newspaper journal I took all three questions and answers and made them into paragraph one (the literal), paragraph two (the inferential), and paragraph three (the evaluative). I added detail sentences to each paragraph.

STAIRWAY TO QUESTIONS

62


T FOR THREE RUBRIC ACTIVITY 29

63



English Standard #2: Reading Many Genres/Making Connections

A good reader is always linking to another reading or event when reading. This linking brings greatermeaning to passages. Usually readers link in three important ways:

Text to Self: Any link from your own life or others you may know.

Text to Text: Any link from another article, book, magazine, pamphlet, etc.

Text to World: Any link with current events, history, movies, television, or anything else that goes on in the world.

For this exercise you are going to choose three newspaper articles or an editorial, editorial cartoon,advertisement, comic strip, etc. In other words, you are looking for one newspaper feature that links to

something in your life. Another newspaper feature that links to another article or something else youhave read. The final newspaper feature can link to anything in the world. Once you have found thesethree newspaper features, fill out the black line master on the reverse side of this sheet. Note the nameof the article or feature, the type of link, and the link itself.

1. I looked for three different newspaper features.

2. I looked for a newspaper feature that linked to something in my own life.

3. On the black line master, I placed the name of the feature in the proper box and described the actual link below the title of the feature.

4. I now looked for a newspaper feature that linked in some way to another text.

5. On the black line master, I placed the name of the feature in the proper box and described the actual link below the title of the article.

6. Finally, I looked for a newspaper feature that linked in some way to the world.

7. On the black line master, I placed the name of the feature in the proper box and described the actual link below the title of the feature.

8. I now looked at all three features and the links that I brought to them.

9. I chose one feature and the related link to write about in my newspaper journal.

T FOR THREE

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THE THREE R’S: READ, RETELL, AND REFLECT RUBRIC ACTIVITY 30

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English Standard #6: Critique/Processing Reading

The 3 R’s in this exercise are Read, Retell, and Reflect. This is the process that we use to improve com-prehension. For this exercise you are going to choose a newspaper article to read carefully. As you readyou are going to underline key passages that you will need to remember for your retelling. You are alsogoing to need the large R on the reverse side of this sheet to write your reflection or opinion of the article.

1. I chose a newspaper article to read carefully.

2. As I read the article I underlined key passages that I wanted to remember in my retelling.

3. When I finished reading and underlining I practiced my retelling.

4. If I needed to look back from time to time to underlined notes this was O.K.,but it worked best if I could retell from memory.

5. After being comfortable with the retelling, I retold my article to my partner.

6. Then I listened to my partner retell his/her article as well.

7. Finally, I used my black line master on the reverse side of this sheet to record my reflections or opinions about the article. I made certain to support and elaborate on my comments.

THE THREE R’S: READ, RETELL, AND REFLECT

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