This page will help you visualize the typical activities you will see in my classroom.
Enjoy!
In my classroom, I choose to use word parts from Latin Roots and derivatives for vocabulary building. Memorizing word parts helps students become better readers. Students become natural at finding context clues as they are reading to decode words they do not understand.
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Scoll Down To View Other Vocabulary Strategies I Create For My Students:
Mind Mapping
(Here are some instructions I have given my students.)
In order to understand different words better you will have an opportunity to create a mind map. You will take one term from the list of terms:
Idealist Imperialist Nationalist Artist
Realist Impressionism Buddhism Optimism
Capitalism Communism Ideology Biology
Cardiology Methodology Technology
Make sure that your teacher approves of your choice.
You will then research the following: definition of the word, origins of the word, synonyms, and antonyms.
You will also need to draw pictures of the word- If you can’t draw magazine pictures and clip art are okay to use.
You will then create a map of the word with the word in the middle and all other information around.
Make sure that your Map is attractive because you will need to present it to the class!
Use a web as a way to shape your mind map. You will be given the paper for it.
In my album is a picture of a mind map that is synthesizing a concept from Covey's The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens
A Teacher Directed Activity
Adjectives: Now you see them! Now you don’t
Materials: Construction Paper or post its or index cards (you need three different colors of paper one for adjectives, one for verbs, and one for nouns), markers for each group, dictionary (optional)
Classroom setting: Place students into groups of two to four depending on your class size. Try to keep groups as far away from each other as possible.
Word List:
Capable Agreeable Edible Available Considerable
Visible Forgettable Marketable Flexible Teachable
Returnable Reachable Wearable Preferable Legible
Every group should have fifteen squares of each color. On the first squares (preferably white) students should write down all of the adjectives from the word list. On one of the other colors students should write down the noun forms of all of the words that they possibly can. For example, considerable may become consideration as a noun.
On the other color of paper, students will need to come up with a noun form for a word on the word list. For example, considerable becomes consider as a verb.
Not all words will have both noun and verb forms.
Teacher should time groups to the time he or she feels is appropriate to finish the assignment- 5-10 minutes.
The team to have all of the parts of speech completed and correct wins! They can present their forms to the class!
Word Chains
Directions: Words Chains is an oral language game that encourages critical thinking by requiring people to think about items and classify items into categories. The facilitator gives a category, and selects a volunteer for the first word. Then each next word must start with the ending letter of the preceding word.
Example: fisH > HerrinG > Ghost craB > BasS > SanD > Darkness
The facilitator must write down the chains on the board. Later the class will evaluate their chains.
In this case our topics will be our vocabulary words.
Omnivorous Panacea
Pandemonium Panorama
Pandemic Pantheism
Omniscient Omnipotent
Omnipresent
Fluency
Teacher Modeling With Sound Clips
One of the best ways for students to learn fluency is though teacher modeling. I create sound clips for my students to read and upload from my school web page. After listening to my sound clip, I have students critique me on my reading skill. They listen to the way that I punctuate sentences with my voice, and they look at my understanding of the writer's diction in my emphasis on certain words.
Reader's Theater
One book that I recommend to understand how Reader's Theater can be helpful in the classroom is Rasinski's The Fluent Reader.
When conducting Reader's Theater in your classroom, please group students in small groups of three to five students. In their groups, students will select portions of the assigned readings to read "theatrically" to the class. I recommend that students do not read more than one to two paragraphs each.
When they perform their piece, students should first introduce their piece of writing to the class. As they read, I grade them based on clarity, volume, expression, and their ability to work with their group members. I also have the students assess each other and self-assess.
Paired Reading
When listening to their classmates read, students learn about their own fluency. They see the mistakes that their classmates make that they may have in common. They learn to fix those mistakes. Their classmates are a model of fluency.
Comprehension:
Teacher Modeling
I think the best way that students can learn comprehension is when the teacher models active reading strategies for the class. Some students struggle in school because they cannot naturally process text the same way as their peers who are academically successful. I use think-alouds to model how to read actively and process a text. I have students use a check list to mark off what active reading strategies I use as I read.
Strategies for Finding the Main Idea
I like to teach my students to skim and scan to find main ideas in a text. This helps them become more successful on reading tests as well as learn how to study a non-fiction text. I like to guide students in skimming and scanning orally on sound clips. Sometimes students cannot focus on what the teacher is saying in class. Having a sound clip with my lecture and guided strategy helps them recall the strategy they learned in class. I have a school website that I put this on to allow students to access it.
Main Idea Organizers
Main Idea Organizers help students pick out the main topics in a piece of writing. They also learn how to find details that support the topic. These organizers help students successfully comprehend the text. Many high school students are visual learners. Creating this graphic organizer not only helps them comprehend the text, but they can recall it later. Students will put the main idea at the top of a three column chart. In the chart, there are three details that support each main idea. (See photo album)
Questioning the Author
In order to question the author, I teach students the strategy of categorizing questions called "Q.A.R." , which stands for "Question Answer Relationships". This strategy developed in 1986 by my graduate advisor Taffy Raphael helps students understand the ideas of the author by either creating questions where the answer is "right there", "think and search", "author and me" and "on my own". Also, it helps them identify the types of questions teachers and test creators ask about passages that students read. It makes them better readers and test-takers. (See photo album)
Save the Last Word For Me
This strategy was developed by Patricia Avarette. Students are grouped in groups of 2-4. They are given an article to read. While reading the article they have to find a quote that represents the main idea. They then have to show it to their group mates and compare answers. ( See Photo album of students completing assignments.)
Visualization in Reading
Students who struggle with reading struggle greatly with visualization. Visualizing what you read means making mental pictures. I do this in a number of ways. I have students create comic strips of the text, create mind maps of text, and complete sketch to stretch exercises.
