Language Choice Article; Vocabulary Article; S&H 2, 3, 7

Language Choice (Talking In Class) Article
 The authors of this article suggest that to increase vocabulary acquisition, teachers should know " ..language is our most powerful tool" and should be used meaningfully in classrooms to engage " social imaginations, social relationships, and self-regulation (moral development)". In order to increase these concepts, teachers should ask open-ended questions with no single right/wrong answer. Use "mental verbs" such as "thinking, feeling, imagining" to increase the dialogue in the classroom. When we ask specific comprehension questions that have a right/wrong answer we are choosing to focus on "required and coerced vs intention and curiosity". The authors provide some principles of how to accomplish a strong language rich classroom discussion: a) start talking; b)listening genuinely; c) have students pay attention to the process; d) provide opportunities to learn; e) develop independence in students; f) allow students to be decision makers and g) make positive language choices.  Do any of the principles provided follow what you currently practice in your classroom? How do you determine students are understanding material? Do you focus on these principles in whole group/small group settings?

Important Vocabulary Article
The authors state it is important for students to know how words work by understanding phonology, morphology, orthography, and syntax but the, " foundation for high quality lexical representations is built by engaging students in carefully designed instructional sequences that focus directly on word meaning".  Words to teach are categorized by Tier 1 (easily explained), Tier 2 (likely to encounter in many texts but not everyday) and Tier 3 (domain specific). Teachers need to ask questions about vocabulary words when determining which words to choose such as: "Which words students encounter in their reading" and " Which words provide opportunities for building on to other words". In order to teach words effectively, provide daily lesson of 10-15 minutes over three or four days and ensure your instructional sequence follows," student friendly lessons, meaningful activities and assessment". The authors also provides some activities to incorporate vocabulary learning, such as word associations and word relationships. How do you choose Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 vocabulary words in your classroom?  Do you choose them for all subjects? Do you use the vocabulary outlined by your curriculum guidelines or add/subtract words? How do you assess vocabulary understanding?

S& H Ch 2
Chapter 2 focuses on the principles of effective vocabulary instruction. It is estimated that students will encounter 88,000 different words in their school career from grade 1-12 (yikes)! In order to be effective when teaching vocabulary, again, the authors outline the use of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 words. On page 25, is an outline of "Words Worth Teaching" that I found helpful in developing a better understanding of words to teach. The authors outline an approach for words to teach " 1)useful, 2)known, 3) frequent in academic texts, 4) thematic. Not only should this approach be considered but also knowing when to teach breadth or depth of certain words and need to adjust teaching in order to address these two areas. The authors also state teachers should follow certain principles when teaching vocabulary ( page 35) with explicit instruction being crucial ( this is provided more in depth in Ch 3). Also, ensuring appropriate assessment and to differentiate for all learners by differentiating according to Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an important piece of teaching vocabulary
(page 41). How do you approach vocabulary instruction? Do you use more words in academic texts or more of a thematic approach? How do incorporate UDL in your classroom?

S& H Ch 3
This chapter focuses on explicit and extended vocabulary instruction. The authors state that explicit instruction is not " boring, scripted, tedious lesson delivery" but rather a style of teaching which includes certain characteristics. These include to explain, model, guided practice, and student independence. These characteristics also are effective in explicit vocabulary instruction through read-alouds. There are many examples in the chapter of how to use these characteristics in teaching vocabulary. I found it interesting and thought this chapter related back to the article about language choice, as many of the examples in the book (page 53-55) relate to teacher questions and use of language.Page 64-67 provides activities for extending vocabulary instruction as well as a lesson plan checklist (helpful for me) on page 69. Do you use explicit instruction? Do you use read-alouds to teach vocabulary? Do you find it effective? How do you assess vocabulary using read-alouds?

S&H Ch 7
Chapter 7 focuses on differentiating vocabulary instruction. The key point in this chapter focuses on incorporating UDL as a framework for instruction. UDL is a "guideline to the design and development of curriculum that is effective and inclusive for all learners" (page 145). UDL is centered around three principles: 1) provide multiple means of representation, 2) provide multiple means of action and expression, and 3) flexible options for generating and sustaining motivation. These guidelines are to ensure that all children have access and to the same content and instructional standards. The chapter provides some examples for each of the three UDL principles (checklist on page 158). Page 164 address the role of Response to Intervention (RTI) and how it is possible for this framework to be applied to vocabulary since it has been a successful framework in providing differentiation for children with phonemic and phonics needs. We do not use RTI at my current school but I have been involved with this framework in the past at other schools where I have worked. How does your school/classroom approach UDL? Do you incorporate any of the examples of UDL provided from the chapter in your classroom? If your school uses RTI, do you think this framework is appropriate for vocabulary as the authors suggested?

Clay CH6, DS&G 2&3

Clay Chapter 6

The significant points Clay mentions require three levels of program training:  teacher, tutors, teacher leaders/trainers, trainers who train tutors, year-long tertiary, 3^rd level (college-level, beyond 12^th grade) requires quality implementation. 

Matthew effect complexity of interacting competencies  constructing self-extending system “bootstrapping effect.. (Stanovich, 1986)   A critical question to ponder, if outcomes depend upon earlier learning: What is the long-term potential of using today’s school improvement program designed to elevate test scores?

It is important for teachers to teach “code”, reading/writing in complex and purposeful activities then students will continue to fine tune their knowledge of how to ‘play the game.’ Use constructive-simple level of text, interactive cycle of skills expanding their levels of competency, ultimately, reader finds new ways to solve problems, become aware of new knowledge of strategies to check on self.   What are some strategies to teach “code” reading / writing and complex and engaging  activities for students?   How will teachers know students have mastered the “code”?

Complex model-reader can draw from his or her current understanding and all his language competencies, visual information, phonological information, knowledge of print conventions, extends both searching and linking process and item repertoires.

Phonological awareness can be learned concurrently especially when reading and writing are stressed, to minimize developmental lags with individual instruction.  (Askew, Etal., 1998) 

Dougherty Stahl and Garcia

Chapter 2 Comprehension Considerations For Students From Diverse Linguistic & Cultural Backgrounds

Pages 11-12 suggests those who use an interactive approach comprehend better.  Use open-ended questions, cognitive strategies, and metacognitive strategies.  Social Cultural context has a major influence on reading comprehension. Recognize cultural experiences, include specific literature to allow students to see themselves reflected in curriculum, and validate and incorporate dialect in reading materials in classroom instruction activities.  Page 13 states, English Language Learners perform best when they are supported by bilingualism and biliteracy development are supported at school.  Teachers should avoid stereotypes, they should ask, “What can I change, How can I build a bridge, what part of instruction needs to be explicitly taught?  How do the current curriculum standards support metacognition?  How can teachers positively impact the current curriculum standards which address reading comprehension?  What does current research suggest for effective comprehension activities?

Chapter 3 It’s All About Scaffolding

Reading comprehension is never fully mastered.  Page 33 states teachers should teach students to monitor their own comprehension, overcome meaning-making hurdles, and analyze, synthesize, evaluate, think critically about text, requires repeated exposures of explicitly instruction, teacher modeling, deep questioning, and sensitive prompting.  Gradual release should be used to  gradually assume ownership for engaging in a difficult task.  (p. 53)  How can teachers support struggling students build background knowledge?  How can teachers support English Language Learners with comprehension of difficult and challenging text?

Week 6: New Literacies for New Learners

This article heavily emphasized the importance of teaching about new literacies (i.e. the Internet) in all primary classrooms  since "the ability to read, write, and communicate online will profoundly impact all children's futures" (Forzani and Leu, pg. 421)  The authors point out that unfortunately, most new literacies research has been focused on older children. Delaying instruction in this area means that many students are missing out on valuable learning opportunities. Introducing new literacies to economically disadvantaged students is even more important since many of these students do not have access to the Internet and will likely not learn these skills unless they are being introduced in the classroom. Schools in poor areas often have less money to spend on technology and tend to devote more of their time on bringing test scores back up than on such things as new literacy forms. The authors state that since "many digital tools, like the Internet, have affordances that respond immediately to a child's natural, exploratory, and interactive learning style," it only makes sense to take advantage of tools such as e-books, online games, interactive websites, etc,  in order to capitalize on the fact that children often learn best by actively constructing knowledge during experiences (Forzani and Leu, pg. 422).  Particularly hard tasks for children might be made easier and more fun for students through the use of online interactive tools. The importance of more research in this area is stressed in this article as well.

What are your thoughts as a classroom teacher about the importance of new literacies in primary grades? Do you agree with the authors?

If you have them, can you share some positives and negatives that you have found with using new forms of literacy?

What are some ways that you incorporate new literacies into your classrooms or perhaps would like to incorporate them in the future?

Week 6 Jigsaw C &R Chapter 10

Chapter ten discussed the different challenges that students may be faced with when learning to write. I found the areas of difficulty and recommendations helpful. I couldn’t help but tie these areas of difficulty to students I’ve taught and/or are currently teaching. The tables were helpful because they almost act as how to instructions to help these struggling students. I especially liked the idea of using a Popsicle stick with a smiley face to be placed after words to help younger students with spacing. I think one key idea in this chapter was that all teachers are responsible for teaching all students. This chapter did a great job of providing teachers with ideas and strategies to add to our teaching toolbox. I also saw the connections between reading, speaking, and writing. For example if a student is struggling with expressive knowledge, and doesn’t say the word or sentences correctly this will also show up as errors in their writing as well. The biggest takeaway for me in regards to ELL students who may struggle with writing, is the idea that teachers don’t necessarily need to know how to speak that child’s language, but they definitely need to be aware of its structure and the similarities or differences it has with English. I was surprised that there aren’t a whole lot of writing screening tools for pre k to second grade students. Therefore, it is up to the teachers to create ways to assess students. Once students have been identified as needing help with writing the teacher cause use the RTI system as a means for successful intervention implementation.

Since the chapter mentioned that teachers do not have access to a wide set of screening tools to assess writing and must use informal procedures, what are some ways that you have been successful in doing this with your younger students?

This chapter mentioned how students who struggle with handwriting can be given access to modifications such an Alpha Smart or use dictation. I have had a handful of students who have had access to these tools to use at their discretion in the regular classroom. I struggle sometimes with these modifications though because sometimes I think the majority of these students handwriting could improve if they were just asked to practice more. Especially when I can see with time how their handwriting has improved which is even more frustrating. At the same time, I am also a big believer in the idea of “getting to the answer however you can”. Meaning that we all have different ways of expressing or showing our learning. Sometimes I think people are too quick to suggest modifications and ignore looking at whether or not the student has had sufficient instruction and time.  What are your thoughts about these modifications? 

Week 6 Jigsaw Environment Articles

"The Classroom Environment" article focuses on creating a sociocultural environment that promotes learning and language rich opportunities. The classroom environment is important, because it sets the tone of the classroom and allows students to be productive, energized, and informed.

There were 4 main considerations listed in the article for an ideal classroom setting.
1. Classrooms that have flexible space that allow for areas of whole group, small groups, partner work, etc. provide students with comfortable work areas for productive learning.
2. Organized materials that are accessible, available, and appropriate should be at hand-eye levels for intention and motivation.
3. Walls that teach show what students know, are learning, and what will be learned next should be appealing to the eye, uncluttered, readable, and can be used as a resource (word walls, student work, message board, anchor charts, etc.)
4. Encouraging participation and allowing students to work in groups, pairs, ask each other questions, along with acknowledging individual skills of students to help others will help build a community and increase motivation levels.

Other factors that are important to keep in mind when considering classroom environments is the air quality, light sources used, and noise control. Noise can be controlled by using panels, or shelves to create nooks and small spaces to limit background noises. Air temperature should also be considered as warm temperatures encourage quiet time and cool temperatures for physical activities. "Greening" the classroom in these areas encourages environmental quality. You can do this in your classroom by providing more natural exposure to light with utilizing windows and allowing for natural light, or even using a mix of artificial and natural lighting. Are you currently supporting the 4 main ideas of an enriching classroom environment in your classroom? What are some ways you can improve your classroom environment considering these factors? 

"Print in the Environment to Promote Early Writing" provides suggestions on how to develop a literacy rich environment in preschool settings, but has key ideas that should be considered for all classrooms. Environmental print is text that children can see, create, and interact with. This includes text on walls as well as available books in the classroom. When using print in the environment, teachers must be careful to include meaningful print that will be used. Some examples suggested in the text to create meaningful print are appealing to the children's interests (including their names around the room), correlate the print with the current curriculum theme, co-constructed work (interactive writing pieces), and referring frequently to the print around the room and explaining its purpose.

Engaging children's attention to the environmental print can be done by pointing and reading the words, verbalizing your thought process by doing Think Alouds, relating the print to family cultures, and providing opportunities to engage in writing and using the print on a daily basis. How do you provide environmental print in your classrooms? How do you support learning from environmental print? What aspect of the print rich environment would you like to focus on and implement further in your classroom and why?

Week 6 Jigsaw S&H Ch 9

Chapter 9 is titled "Home-School Connections to Support Word Learning" and focuses on activities and programs (some for purchase) the classroom teacher can employ with parents to support word learning. The core message I inferred from this chapter: teachers should find ways to involve families in vocabulary learning. The current research supports teachers and parents working together to support the learning happening at school to carryover at home for better student outcomes in regards to increasing vocabulary and oral language.

As a special education teacher, I believe my students have been successful because of a close partnership with parents. Just as I believe my students are successful when they are able to communicate, I believe communication with parents is paramount for developing a strong working relationship.  I communicate by sending daily notes home about each students day. After reading this chapter, I realize I can do a better job of trying to connect what we do at school to home. On page 200-201 are ways teachers can involve parents in vocabulary instruction at school. Do you use any of these practices in your classroom? Melinda, as an SLPa, how do you involve parents besides IEP meetings and progress notes? How do you as a classroom teacher involve ELL students and families? Are any of the recommendations for involving parents in vocabulary in the chapter ones you currently use?

Week 5 Assessing for Comprehension

C& R Chapter 1

There is still much to research in regards to writing and best practices. However, currently there is also much to be learned from prior research. The authors suggested framing writing instruction around the standards.  The student’s learning should not be a mystery to them. They should know how to use certain traits or writing and when to use them. In my experience, the best way for me to do this has been to write kid friendly versions of the state writing rubrics and explain to students what each aspect is. Students have laminated copies that they can write on and check off as they write. We also spend time practicing each area of the 6 plus one writing traits. The authors also explain the importance of teacher modeling and think alouds, so that students can get an inside look into a writers thought process. It is also important to allow students time to practice writing daily whether it is in small groups or individually. It is a hope of the authors that students see how writers use different texts in the world. This made me think of how we need to provide our students with authentic writing opportunities that allow us to teach the different modes and offer them practice with writing to various audiences for a variety of reasons.  One of the research questions mentioned in this chapter had to do with when and how should students use invented spelling. The authors explained that not much research has been done in this area and that there still needs to be more done. I struggle with this as a teacher, because I have seen how spelling can become a roadblock for my weak spellers. They have great ideas, but sometimes get so caught up in spelling the words correctly that it stops the flow of ideas and keeps the paper from being as good as it could without these interruptions. However, sometimes their spelling strongly effects the readability of the text and to me seems to be a big issue. I try to help fix these readability issues by giving them key terms to use in their writing, access to our word wall, and their own personal dictionaries which have common words and their own words they’ve added that they struggle with.

Since there is a lack of research with the question above about invented spelling, the authors said they have relied on teacher experience for answers to that question. What are your suggestions as to when and how students should use invented spellings?

What types of authentic texts do you show your students that offer them a chance to see how writers use different texts in the real world?

What authentic writing purposes to your students engage in to practice the different texts that you might introduce them to?   

The authors also stressed the importance of creating an engaged community of writers? What are some ways you might establish this with students?

DS & G Chapter 8

This chapter discussed the importance of using multiple assessments to gain insight into students listening, viewing, and or reading comprehension. Commercial reading kits provide teachers with reliable benchmarks for readability levels. These texts are used to assess comprehension and fluency and to effectively find a reader-text match, so that students can read texts at their level. After analyzing the data, teachers can determine student’s instructional, independent and frustrational levels. When the teacher is scaffolding students with their comprehension and fluency, the students can use books at their instructional levels. I liked that the author suggested not using the retell portion of the DIBEL’s assessments. I have been required to use the DIBEL’s retell before, and I must say I agree with the author’s thoughts on its weaknesses. When I had to use this to asses my students retelling, we would mark off numbers for each word retold within a minute and then score the retelling with a scale. Like the authors explained, the students only were able to read the text for a minute where their focus is on accuracy and speed rather than comprehension. Then we would be asking them to orally retell in one minute what they speed read in a minute. I do not see how we can use that information to make decisions about a student’s comprehension!  As teachers, this made me think of the importance of making sure what we are doing is actually a best practice for our students despite what the product makers might say. Even though the makers of these assessments state that their assessments have evidence of strong reliability and validity, I think we have to use our experience as teachers as well as spend time researching the assessments ourselves to analyze their effectiveness for our students. 

Some common forms of assessments that can be used to check comprehension are: retellings, recall, reading scales, and running records. I liked that the author mentioned that young children might give more thorough retells to an individual or puppet that wasn’t present when they were reading. For children who can use written expression to retell, this made me think that they could write a retelling in the form of a letter to an absent classmate, friend in another class or their parents.  I found it interesting and never considered all of the information you can learn about a child’s comprehension even before they are able to read. After reading this chapter, I will also try to include some of the recall questions into my own guided reading groups. I can see how retelling a story or a video is not enough, and the importance of recalling making sure you are requiring students to tap into and use those higher level thinking skills that they may not use without you prompting them to do so.  The end of the chapter discussed standardized and standards based testing, and how we shouldn’t use these tests to inform our instruction or guide student learning. What frustrates me with this idea is why are we still using these tests to make decisions about whether or not are students can read. To me it makes more sense to make these evaluations with commercial kits like DRA that show growth over time, that give us more accurate information to go off of rather than the once a year test. Especially when these scores, can also be affected by so many other outside factors.

After reading this chapter, what do you believe is the best way for us to assess student’s reading comprehension when their scores are being used to make evaluations like grade placements?

What type of commercial kits have you used to assess reading comprehension and how effective are they at guiding your instruction and truly letting you know what your students know and still need to learn?

How often do you keep running records of your student’s progress? What is the most efficient and effective way to do this using MSV to analyze error patterns as the author suggested? MSV: (Meaning: Does it make sense? Error fits the context of the text. Syntax: Does it sound right? Error uses acceptable English. Visual: Does it look right? Error looks similar to the word in the text.).

H&F Chapter 2

This chapter discussed how teachers can use the TSI to gauge whether students are at the emergent, beginner, or transitional tier for word knowledge. This data can help teachers know what students already know and what needs to be learned. The author went on to discuss how progress monitoring students can help you see or not see growth over time which is also a reflection of how effective a teacher’s instruction is. We can progress monitor word knowledge by assessing how students can demonstrate, maintain, and transfer knowledge. I liked that the author mentioned how students will have words mastered the week of a test, but later forget how to spell them. In an effort to fix this problem, the authors suggest having cumulative spelling tests over previously learned skills about every six weeks. The end goal is for students to be able to transfer their word knowledge to be able to successfully encode and decode words when writing or spelling.  This chapter made me realize the importance of including dictation sentences on spelling tests to monitor transfer of knowledge. The authors mentioned that these sentences should require students to apply knowledge learned of the features being studied. 

What activities do you have your students do to demonstrate their transfer of word knowledge in reading or writing?

S&H Chapter 6

This chapter explained that vocabulary can be very tricky to assess and that those measures should be approached with caution because each has its strengths and weaknesses.  Student’s knowledge of words can be receptive or expressive. Receptive knowledge means students can understand words when they are read or said, whereas expressive knowledge relates to being able to use words in speech or writing.  This topic made me think of how I’ve experienced students saying that they know a word, but have trouble expressing its meaning with speech. Word knowledge measures can use criterion-referenced score interpretations (CR) or norm-referenced score interpretations (NR).  The CR interpretations are made by comparing how the student does in comparison to a certain level of mastery, whereas the NR interpretations are used to compare how students do in comparison with other individuals (norm group) that have taken the assessment. I thought it was important to note that although the criterion-referenced CBM’s are quick assessments used for screening and progress monitoring, they should be used with care. Since these measures also include some of the following skills: fluency, semantics, syntax, and decoding, the teacher needs to make sure that the scores are true reflections of the construct being assessed and not reflective of weaknesses in the skills mentioned above. I also liked that the authors mentioned that teaching without testing whether students have learned what has been taught is like cooking a meal without tasting it. This idea reiterates the importance of assessing vocabulary to determine what children have learned and what areas they are still lacking in. However, the assessments need to inform instruction, and not take up too much teaching time. Each measure mentioned had its pros and cons, and we need to be mindful of these as well as not rely too much on one single measure.

The chapter mentioned several activities that teachers can use to assess receptive and expressive words knowledge. Which activities or combination of activities do you think have the greatest effect size? 

What are some variations of these activities that you’ve used in your own classes to assess vocabulary?

What are some ways that you introduce new vocabulary to children prior to reading to decrease text complexity? In your opinion, what types of assessments are most useful in measuring how well the students learned these new words?

Jones et al Article

This article was very informative and interesting. I wish more teachers could read this!  I liked how the authors were very straightforward with what to focus on for small group interventions and whole group lessons. The author’s focused on three areas that students need interventions in the most: decoding, automaticity, and comprehension. The percentages of students struggling in these areas closely matched the characteristics of my current third grade class. The authors suggested using caution when timing students reading in one minute intervals. In every district that I’ve worked in this has always been something we were asked to do, and share/discuss this data with parents and colleagues. However, the authors of this article suggest using extended passages and texts to improve rate rather than the one minute timings. I liked the idea of explaining to students that their reading rate shouldn’t be too fast or too slow, and should match how we speak. I think the point about making sure that rate is not the central goal of comprehension is also important. The student’s rate and decoding should improve to the point that their cognitive energy can be used for comprehension. When thinking about independent, instructional, and frustration levels in regards to differentiated reading interventions mentioned in this article, I think the author gave some great ideas.  When students are being pulled in small groups to work on decoding, automaticity, or comprehension with the teacher, I think they should be practicing such skills at their instructional level. The authors mentioned using books above student’s current reading levels during classroom read alouds. Even though these books are at a level which might cause frustration if read alone, during read a read aloud time the teacher can assist students with applying  comprehension skills and in doing so also expose to them new vocabulary  and content at a higher reading level.

One part of the text that was a bit confusing for me was the part that talked about strategy instruction for comprehension. The author’s explained that often times teachers over teach the strategies when students only need to be reminded to use them. Furthermore, they explained how a study showed that teachers who used the content approach and asked general questions rather than use the strategies approach had students who outperformed students in the strategies groups. What are your thoughts of these two approaches? How will the results of that study influence how you teach various comprehension strategies? 

Week 4 - C4&5, Beyond Cognitive Strategies & Skills

A child’s visual perception plays a crucial role in learning how to read. A young learner uses three stages of brain activity to read text. They must focus their attention on the words in front of them (input), process the combination of the letters and words (central processing), and determine a meaning to the letters and word combinations (output). The learner becomes an expert reader once the three stages of brain activity are automatic. How do you facilitate visual learning in your lessons and activities in the classroom? What cues are you looking for to gauge student understanding?

Children are also learning to focus their attention on words and sentences as they read, but you will often have those that have wandering eyes (p. 167). What are some strategies that you have found to be, or believe will be, successful for students that continue to look around the page and/or the room while reading?

This chapter explained how to look at print in the eyes of a child. With engaging examples, it encouraged us to take a step back from being an expert reader and to put ourselves into the shoes of a young learner. What parts of the chapter impacted your idea on visual information and will influence your future literacy lessons and interventions?

The article this week explains that there is more to reading than just cognitive strategies and skills. Test scores cannot be the only determinant of a successful reader. A strong reader is also metacognitive, engaged and motivated, practices epistemic thinking, and shows self-efficacy. In what ways do you support these practices in your classroom? After reading a few examples from the article, what might be some new ideas/strategies you could incorporate into your lessons to support metacognition, self-efficacy, engagement and motivation, and epistemic beliefs?

Clay discusses self-correcting as a development in independence and problem solving skills. When teachers provide students with a book that is challenging but appropriate, with about 10% of error in words, this will allow for optimal self-correction opportunities. How do you support self-correcting in your classroom? How do you use, or will use, your observations to guide your instruction with your students?