Kansas Association of Middle Level Educators Washburn Rural Middle School September 26, 2014
INTERDISCIPLINARY INSTRUCTION: BENEFITS OF MULTIPLE LITERACIES
Amanda Lickteig KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY 126 Bluemont Hall
Manhattan, KS 66506 alickteig@ksu.edu
English Language Arts Standards » History/Social Studies » Grade 6-8 Standards in this strand: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.5
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10
Key Ideas and Details: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3 Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered). Craft and Structure: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.5 Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.6 Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author's point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts). Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7 Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.8 Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.9 Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend history/social studies texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently.
http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RH/6-8/
English Language Arts Standards » Science & Technical Subjects » Grade 6-8 Standards in this strand: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.1
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.2
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.3
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.6
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.8
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.10
Key Ideas and Details: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.1 Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.2 Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; provide an accurate summary of the text distinct from prior knowledge or opinions. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.3 Follow precisely a multistep procedure when carrying out experiments, taking measurements, or performing technical tasks. Craft and Structure: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4 Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.5 Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to an understanding of the topic. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.6 Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text. Integration of Knowledge and Ideas: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.7 Integrate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text with a version of that information expressed visually (e.g., in a flowchart, diagram, model, graph, or table). CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.8 Distinguish among facts, reasoned judgment based on research findings, and speculation in a text. CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9 Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic. Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.10 By the end of grade 8, read and comprehend science/technical texts in the grades 6-8 text complexity band independently and proficiently. http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RST/6-8/
Thursday, September 4, 2014
Engage Students in History With Fake Facebook and Fake SMS Over the years Russel Tarr has developed and released a bunch of wonderful tools through ClassTools.net. Two of my favorite tools that he has developed are Fakebook and the fake SMS Generator. Fakebook is Russel's tool for creating fake Facebook profiles. The latest version of Fakebook makes it easy to create a page by just clicking on a field and entering as much information as you like. In the profile picture field you can enter a name and Fakebook will search for images to use. For example, if you create a Fakebook page about George Washington Fakebook will search for pictures of George Washington.
The Classtools SMS Generator is free to use and does not require students to log-in. To use the SMS Generator just click the left speech bubble icon and enter a message. Then to create a reply just click the right speech bubble icon and enter a new message. You can make the exchange as long as you like. To share the conversation click the sprocket icon and grab the embed code, direct link, or QR code for the exchange.
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2014/09/engage-students-in-history-with-fake.html#.VB3y7hbYe1t
Applications for Education Creating a fake Facebook profile could be a fun way for students to organize information that they know and or find about a famous person. You could also have students create profiles for characters in a novel that they are reading for your literature course. Take a look at the Fakebook profile gallery for more ideas about using Fakebook in your classroom. You could have students use the Classtools SMS Generator to create simple conversations between historical characters as way to get them to think about those peoples' lives and the conversations that they might have had.
LITERACY LENSES
Using Facebook to Support Academic Literacy Tamara Warhol; e-mail: twarhol@go.olemiss.edu
Although I am a native English speaker and an associate professor of linguistics and Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), reading a college-level textbook on international relations can be challenging for me. On the one hand, I am unfamiliar with both political and economic theories of international relations and its disciplinary genres and specialized vocabulary. On the other hand, I find esoteric treatises on international relations pedantic. Consequently, when I was faced with teaching an intensive, four-week, intermediate, English for specific purposes course on international relations to high school students from Mexico, I initially dreaded class preparation and discussions. I not only would have to teach English as a second language—my area of expertise— but also a subject matter that I found abstract and boring. My fears were realized when I started to read the textbook; I fell asleep mid-chapter! Awakening at my desk, with creases on my face, and drool on my textbook, I realized that I needed to rethink my attitude about this course. Fortunately, I procrastinated resuming my reading by playing on Facebook. Scrolling down my Facebook page, I read my friends’ posts, but I also read posts from pages with topic- or theme-based content created by people or organizations, including posts about world news. Facebook, I realized, could provide a venue for both me and the students to critically engage with the course reading and each other. I decided that every night for the four weeks of the course, the students and I would
each post and caption a picture illustrating our own understanding of the assigned reading. The following day, we would then view and discuss everyone’s posts. The course Facebook page, International Panorama, gave the students a new lens for evaluating international relations and gave me a new lens for evaluating their multimodal literacy practices. Given the ubiquity of multimodal texts and social media, most of the students were already expert Facebook users. This activity, however, allowed them to apply their expertise in a novel way. As intermediate English learners, the Mexican students did not have the same reading and writing fluency as they did in their native language, Spanish. Posting a picture to Facebook representative of one of the topics or themes discussed in the reading allowed students to pictorially demonstrate their grasp of the material. For instance, when we read about world business and finance,
students posted pictures, political cartoons, and symbols about trade and of different currencies. Furthermore, because of the limited scope of captioning, that is to say, writing one sentence, students were able focus their attention and write in more accurate English. Thus, they composed and captioned pictorial representations of abstract theories and topics. Finally, as enthusiastic expert consumers of Facebook, the students were eager to engage in this activity. Facebook posting cannot substitute for instruction about and practice in writing disciplinary-specific texts about international relations. Englishlanguage learners, in particular, may require explicit direction in generic conventions that may differ from those used in their native language. Nevertheless, utilizing Facebook provided the students with a means of expressing complex ideas when they might not have the linguistic expertise to do so in writing.
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 58(1) September 2014 doi:10.1002/jaal.312 © 2014 International Reading Association (p. 25)
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50 Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom
By: Samantha Miller
Many critics of Twitter believe that the 140-character microblog offered by the ubiquitous social network can do little for the education industry. They are wrong. K-12 teachers have taken advantage of Twitter’s format to keep their classes engaged and up-to-date on the latest technologies. The following projects provide you and your students with 50 ways to Twitter in the classroom to create important and lasting lessons. 1. Tweet about upcoming due dates or assignments. One of the simplest ways that teachers can use Twitter in the classroom involves setting up a feed dedicated exclusively to due dates, tests or quizzes. 2. Provide the class with a running news feed. Subscribe to different mainstream and independent news feeds with different biases as a way to compare and contrast how different perspectives interpret current events and issues. 3. Use Twitter in the classroom to create a career list. Set up an interesting assignment requesting that students set up Twitter for education lists following feeds relevant to their career goals and keep a daily journal on any trends that crop up along the way. 4. Track memes. As inane as Justin Bieber’s popularity is, at least an educational opportunity lurks around the corner. Instructors concerned with communication and sociology issues can easily find a number of different lessons on ideas engaging Twitter for teachers and fads spread throughout different media sources. 5. Coordinate assignments. Rather than keeping up with an e-mail train, students can use Twitter to collaborate on different projects and keep a quick reference on any changes. 6. Track a hash tag. More ambitious educators may want to incorporate Twitter in lessons that track hash tags for another interesting lesson in how trends spread and the various ways in which people use social media to communicate ideas. 7. Connect with the community. Partner up with local government or charitable organizations and use education Twitter to reach a broad audience discussing the latest cultural or educational events in the area and encourage others in the community to attend. 8. Follow the issues. Bring a little technology into debates by asking the class which issues they would like to follow. Subscribe to relevant hash tags and accounts from all perspectives and compile an updated resource cobbling together as much research as possible. 9. Write a story or poem. Many writers and poets have experimented with Twitter’s 140-character format to bring new, serialized works in small chunks to attention-divided audiences. Some educators may like the idea of asking their students to apply their creative writing skills to a restrictive social media outlet. 10. Live tweet field trips. Sick kids or paranoid parents may like the idea of following along with class field trips on Twitter, and smart phone-enabled teachers can keep them engaged with pictures and descriptions of the lessons learned.
11. Ask questions. Monica Rankin at University of Texas-Dallas uses Twitter as a way for her students to keep a running stream of questions going during lectures – an application that works in any computer-enabled K-12 classroom. 12. Set up a foreign language news stream. Keep foreign language students informed of current events from relevant nations while simultaneously challenging them to use their translation skills by keeping a specific news feed. 13. Role play. Computer-savvy teachers can keep history lessons engaging for children by asking them to tweet ideas and quotes from their favorite figures. Alternately, they can also pretend to be famous fictional characters as well. 14. Take and share notes. Classrooms with enough resources can allow students to tweet their own notes during lessons and share with their peers – perhaps even printing them out for home use if they do not have internet access. 15. Sync with a blog. Wordpress and other free blogging websites sync with Twitter, posting notices of new entries. Educators who require students to keep their own blogs may want to follow updates using Twitter rather than having to click through bookmarks for each one. 16. Chat with industry professionals. Older high school students who need to explore their career options before spiriting away to college benefit from real-world discussions with professionals in paths they’re considering. Twitter helps them connect with primary sources and facilitates educational communication. 17. Connect classrooms. Teachers and students from around the world can collaborate on projects using Twitter as a communication tool that simultaneously educates students in different classroom and cultural protocols. 18. Facilitate research. Typing keywords into Twitter’s search engine wields every microblog entry on the subject, providing an excellent way for students to research ideas, opinions and movements as they happen. 19. Engage parents. Parents of K-12 students interested in daily classroom activities can follow teacher tweets discussing some of the lessons learned and any progress on projects with one quick and handy trip to a dedicated Twitter feed. 20. Become politically active. Any teachers responsible for educating kids in politics or government may like the idea of encouraging their students to use Twitter as a forum to make society aware of issues that affect them by retweeting relevant events, news stories, blog posts and other media revolving around a chosen theme. 21. Track the government. Numerous local and national government organizations maintain their own Twitter feeds, and educators working within any of their related subjects may like the idea of compiling them all into 1 convenient space for a quick reference. 22. Write reviews. Any media studies classes – including literature – can use the Twitter format to write microreviews of the different movies, books and music devoured. 23. Post sample questions. Save paper by using Twitter to post up sample questions for upcoming exams for students to research and consider without ever having to put down their computers. 24. Post supplementary materials. Retweet articles, news stories, opinions and other interesting tidbits relevant to a specific class as an excellent, convenient supplement to classroom lectures. 25. Facilitate discussions. Take supplementary material postings one step further by requiring students to post their own succinct responses to the main theses and open up intelligent discussions with one another.
26. Play the stock market game. High school economics teachers frequently use stock market games as a real-world project involving the fundamentals of investing. Students can use Twitter to follow the businesses, markets and analysts that help them make wise choices with their (fake) money. 27. Live tweet a book or a movie. Ask students to use the microblog format to record their initial reactions and responses to movies and books as they indulge in them for class. It certainly makes for an excellent lesson in how perceptions change over time as more information and perspectives become available. 28. Make recommendations. Benefitting both students and their parents, teachers may like the idea of using Twitter to discuss films and documentaries or books to check out at home – preferably as a family. Doing so especially benefits younger students, as they typically perform better in high school and college if their parents are involved in their lives and educations. 29. Plan field trips. Encourage parental engagement by asking them to voice their opinions on where to go and where to avoid when it comes to planning field trips. While it is impossible to please everyone, moms and dads will appreciate the transparency and ability to connect more with what their children are doing and learning in school. 30. Design a background. Art teachers curious about how Twitter can benefit their classes may like the idea of asking students to design their own creative backgrounds for friends and family – either digitally or using traditional media scanned into a computer 31. Compare religions. Because so many religious figures and institutions use Twitter to discuss their beliefs and teachings, it stands as an awesome resource for liberal arts educators to compare and contrast the various faiths that have shaped humanity since its inception. 32. Post syllabus changes. E-mail inboxes often filter out important messages as junk and students lose papers or miss class for various reasons, meaning that some of them may miss out on important announcements regarding any changes to the syllabus. Twitter keeps a permanent record of any new bits of information so nobody has any excuse for missing out. 33. Take a poll. Teachers who enjoy polling their students on what activities to do or their opinions on current events may want to keep a running tab of results they find when working in conjunction with SurveyMonkey or another similar site. 34. Hook up with Google Earth. Numerous educators have found creative ways to blend Twitter and Google Earth together for human and physical geography lessons where they use the former’s “location” feature to learn all about new places on the globe. 35. Teach probability. One immensely creative teacher discovered a way to introduce his students to the basics of probability by asking a broad question and charting the answers he received through @ replies. 36. Go on a scavenger hunt. Narrow the old, reliable internet scavenger hunt to cover only Twitter, varying the degree of difficulty depending on the age range of the students. Much older kids may appreciate the added challenge of deciphering riddles that pull from their lessons. 37. Get a little bit postmodern. Another way English teachers can stimulate their students with Twitter involves having them compile and edit coherent stories based on pre-existing tweets by other people. 38. Channel that inner Lois Lane. Send journalism students out into the world of microblogging and assign them to poll fellow students or ask questions of experts for use in assignments on trends, opinions and current events and research. 39. Track weather patterns. Set up a class Twitter feed that discusses the weather in different areas, charting the findings on Google Maps or Google Earth and making note of the patterns that crop up along the way.
40. Create a character. Creative writing or English students of all ages can participate in making up a story character of their very own, with each individual contributing a sentence or 2 towards a personality or back story. Teachers can then ask them to write their own stories based on this collectively created literary figure. 41. Create a progressive poem. Similar to the collaborative character mentioned above, students can also compile their own poetry where everyone contributes one line that flows with the one written before. 42. Play word games. Post a daily challenge asking kids to unscramble anagrams, contribute synonyms or antonyms or give a definition for any vocabulary or spelling words as another way of getting them more involved in their language lessons. 43. Post math puzzles. Math, chemistry or physics teachers need not feel left out from playing games and posting teasers on Twitter. Like their literate contemporaries, they can microblog a daily problem for students to solve and tweet back the answer. 44. Post videos. Educators with access to digital video cameras may like the idea of using Twiddeo to post in-class skits, walkthroughs of field trips, clips of their travel exploits and anything else relevant to their students’ lessons. 45. Create an online art gallery. Kids studying art and the humanities can curate their own shows based around creators, movements, regions, time periods or thematic elements that they enjoy, using Twitter as a way to show the world what they think belongs in a specific exhibit. 46. Play with TweetStats. TweetStats allows users to input a specific account name and look at a bar graph of the microblog’s activity. Students can search for tweeps in their school or town and gather data on how and when their neighbors use Twitter. 47. Network with other educators. Beyond using it for lessons, teachers who Twitter have at their disposal a vast network of like-minded professionals with whom they can trade ideas and insights regarding social networking in the classroom and other topics. 48. Direct message students and parents. Because e-mail filtering frequently ships important messages off to the trash can, some educators may prefer talking privately with kids and their parents via the direct message feature on Twitter instead. 49. Join #educhat. One of the best ways to connect with other teachers and keep up with the latest trends and philosophies regarding education by subscribing to the #educhat hash tag and participating in the community. 50. Summarize. At the conclusion of each lecture, ask students to type a 140-character or less summary of what they have learned and perhaps pose any questions to be considered in the next class.
Using Twitter in the classroom is limited only by an educator’s imagination. Though many believe its limitations prevent valuable applications to an academic setting, teachers in the know have learned that using Twitter in education can establish a nurturing classroom for students of all ages.
http://www.teachhub.com/50-ways-use-twitter-classroom
Developing Readers
In Academic Subjects
OSRHE Literacy Conference
September 23, 2011
Doug Buehl
Adolescent Literacy Consultant
Madison, Wisconsin
drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
What Proficient Readers Do: Research on Reading Comprehension
"Research has shown that many children who read at the third-grade level in grade 3 will not automatically become proficient comprehenders in later grades. Therefore, teachers must teach comprehension explicitly, beginning in the primary grades and continuing through high school." (p. xii) —Rand Report (2002). Reading for Understanding, p. xii)
A host of influential research reports inform the literacy practices emphasized in effective comprehension instruction. The reading expertise study by Pearson, Roehler, Dole, and Duffy (1992), commissioned by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) of the U.S. Department of Education, the Center for the Study of Reading, and the Institute for Research on Teaching, established a research-based profile of the proficient reader. Further, Duke and Pearson (2002) explored the research on effective practices for reading comprehension in a review commissioned by the International Reading Association for What Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction, 3rd Edition. In addition, Pressley (2002) reviewed the research for comprehension instruction in Volume III of the Handbook of Reading Research. Another seminal work, also commissioned by the OERI, was the RAND Reading Study Group’s (2002) analysis of reading comprehension, which delineates current research knowledge on instructional practices. Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction by Ellin Keene and Susan Zimmerman (2007, Heinemann) summarized seven key comprehension processes of proficient readers from the research basis for effective comprehension instruction.
Comprehension Processes of Proficient Readers Comprehension Process Making Connections to Prior Knowledge
Generating Questions
Creating Mental Images
Making Inferences
Determining Importance
Synthesizing
Monitoring Reading and Applying Fix-Up Strategies
Description Reading comprehension results when readers can match what they already know (their schema) with new information and ideas in a text. Proficient readers activate prior knowledge before, during, and after reading and they constantly evaluate how a text enhances or alters their previous understandings. Comprehension is, to a significant degree, a process of inquiry. Proficient readers pose questions to themselves as they read. Asking questions is the art of carrying on an inner conversation with an author, as well as a n internal dialogue within one’s self. Comprehension involves breathing life experiences into the abstract language of written texts. Proficient readers use visual, auditory, and other sensory connections to create mental images of an author’s message. Much of what is to be understood in a text must be inferred. Authors rely on readers to contribute to a text’s meaning by linking their background knowledge to information in the text. In addition to acknowledging explicitly stated messages, proficient readers “read between the lines” to discern implicit meanings, make predictions, and read with a critical eye. Our memories quickly overload unless we can pare down a text to its essential ideas. Texts contain key ideas and concepts amidst much background detail. Proficient readers strive to differentiate key ideas, themes, and information from details so that they are not overwhelmed by facts. Proficient readers glean the essence of a text (determine importance) and organize these ideas into coherent summaries of meaning. Effective comprehension leads to new learning and the development of new schema (background knowledge). Proficient readers make evaluations, construct generalizations, and draw conclusions from a text. Proficient readers “watch” themselves as they read and expect to make adjustments in their strategies to insure that they are able to achieve a satisfactory understanding of a text.
From Buehl, D. (2007). A Professional Development Framework for Embedding Comprehension Instruction into Content Classrooms. In J. Lewis & G. Moorman (Eds.), Adolescent Literacy Instruction: Policies and Promising Practices (p. 200). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
Buehl, D. (2009) Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, 3rd Edition. Newark: DE: IRA. Portion of graphic adapted from Wilhelm, J.D., Baker, T.N., & Dube, J. (2001).
The Increasing Specialization
of Literacy Development
Buehl, D. (2009). Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, 3rd Edition. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. Buehl, D. (2011). Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Disciplinary Literacy
Irvin, J., Buehl, D., & Klemp, R. (2007) Reading and the High School Student: Strategies to Enhance Literacy, 2nd Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Intermediate Literacy
Irvin, J., Buehl, D., & Radcliffe, B. (2007) Strategies to Enhance Literacy and Learning in Middle School Content Area Classrooms, 3rd Edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Basic Literacy Shanahan & Shanahan (2008)
drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
One is always surprised to observe how Western music has for so long been divided
into two areas of activity, so far removed from one another: learned vocal polyphony on the one hand and the instrumental playing of minstrels on the other. These two categories of musician did not belong to the same environment; they were contrasted in their very different social status as well as in their mentalities and divergent techniques. The Musicque de loye marks an interesting stage, for it places in the hands of all instrumentalists, professional or not, on the one hand refined and complex works by the greatest Venetian masters and, on the other, rudimentary but vividly coloured pieces by anonymous composers. Within the same publication two musical mentalities come face to face, and so were led to gradually transform each other. It is here that we find the beginnings of the prodigious flourishing of the art of Western instrumental music, the point at which a rapprochement was reached between learned composers principally writing complex contrapuntal works for vocal groups, and the practical experience of the minstrels, nourished on the techniques of ornamentation and improvisation and concerned with particular instrumental combinations.
Waiting by Peggy McNally
Five days a week the lowest-paid substitute teacher in the district drives her father’s used Mercury to Hough and 79th, where she eases it, mud flaps and all, down the ramp into the garage of Patrick Henry Junior High, a school where she’ll teach back-to-back classes without so much as a coffee break and all of this depressing her until she remembers her date last night, and hopes it might lead to bigger things, maybe love, so she quickens her pace towards the main office to pick up her class lists with the names of students she’ll never know as well as she has come to know the specials in the cafeteria, where she hopes the coffee will be perking and someone will have brought in those doughnuts she’s come to love so much, loves more than the idea of teaching seventh graders the meaning of a poem, because after all she’s a sub who’ll finish her day, head south to her father’s house, and at dinner, he’ll ask her how her job is going, and she’ll say okay, and he’ll remind her that it might lead to a fulltime position with benefits but she knows what teaching in that school is like, and her date from last night calls to ask if she’s busy and she says yes because she’s promised her father she’d wash his car and promises to her father are sacred since her mother died, besides it’s the least she can do now that he lets her drive his car five days a week towards the big lake, to the NE corner of Hough and 79th and you know the rest. from Micro Fiction: An Anthology of Really Short Stories, Ed. Jerome Stern (1996) W.W. Norton.
Taxonomy Self-Questioning Chart Level of Thinking
Comprehension Self Assessment
Focusing Question
Proficient Reader Strategy
Creating
I have created new knowledge.
How has this author changed what I understand?
Evaluating
I can critically examine this author’s message.
Analyzing
I can explore deeper relationships of the author’s message. I can use my understanding in a meaningful way.
What perspective or authority does the author bring to what he/she tells me? How is this similar to (or different from) other texts I’ve read? How can I connect what this author is telling me to understand something better? What does this author want me to understand?
Synthesizing Creating Visual/ Sensory Images Inferring Creating Visual/ Sensory Images Making Connections Determining Importance Making Connections Inferring
Applying
Understanding
I can understand what the author is telling me.
Remembering
Determining Importance Inferring Creating Visual/ Sensory Images Determining Importance
I can recall specific details, inforWhat do I need to remember to mation, and ideas from this text. make sense of this text? Buehl, D. (2009) Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, 3rd Ed. Newark: DE: International Reading Association drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for History Texts
Level of Thinking Creating Evaluating
Comprehension Self-Assessment I have created new knowledge about the past. I can critically examine this author’s conclusions/ interpretations/ explanations.
Analyzing
I can understand why.
Applying
I can use my understanding to better understand how the past influences my life and world. I can understand what the author is telling me about the past.
Understanding
Remembering
Focusing Question How has this author changed what I understand? Why does this matter to the author? To me? Who is the author and how has author perspective influenced the telling of this history? What conclusions/interpretations/explanations does the author provide? How did the author find out? What is the evidence? How can we evaluate this evidence? What other conclusions/interpretations/explanations could be justified by the evidence? Does the author have an attitude, and if so, about what? Whose viewpoints are not presented? What might be their perspective? What happened? What caused it to happen? What changed and what remained the same? Who benefitted from the changes? Who didn’t? How does the author talk about the effect of past decisions or actions on future choices? How can I connect my experiences and knowledge to what this author is telling me? How does studying the past help me understand my life and my world? What does this author want me to understand about the past? What questions does the author ask of the past? How did people in this time period view their lives and world? What do I need to remember to make sense of the past?
I can recall specific details, information, and ideas from this text. Buehl, D. (2009) Thinking Like An Insider. The Exchange: Newsletter of the IRA Secondary Reading Interest Group. Vol. 22, No. 1 (December), p. 5.
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for Literary Fiction Level of Thinking Creating
Comprehension Self-Assessment I have developed an interpretation of what this story means.
Focusing Questions Why is the author telling me this story? What theme or idea might the author be exploring in this story? What does this story to mean to me? How has the author changed what I understand? Evaluating I can critically examine this Who is the author and how has author perspective influenced the telling of this author’s story. story? What does the author’s choice of words indicate about what the author might be thinking? What emotions is the author eliciting? Does the author have an attitude, and if so, about what? Analyzing I can notice how the author wrote What literary techniques does the author use? this story. What seems to be the purpose for using these literary techniques? Applying I can use my life experiences to How can I connect this story to my life and experiences? understand the author’s story. Why might the author have the characters say, or do this? What point might the author be making about the characters’ actions? Why might the author place the story in this setting? Understanding I can understand what the author How does the author have the characters interact with each other? is telling me. How do the characters feel about each other? How do character feelings and interactions change? How does the author use conflict in this story? How does the author resolve this conflict? Remembering I can follow what happens in this Who are the characters? story. Where does the story take place? What are the major events of the story? What is the sequence of these events? What event initiates the action of the story? Buehl, D. (2009) Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning, 3rd Ed. Newark: DE: International Reading Association drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for Music Performance
Level of Thinking Creating Evaluating
Analyzing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering
Comprehension SelfAssessment I have created an interpretation of this music. I can critically examine my performance of this music I can understand how the composer created the musical effects of this composition. I can use my understanding to perform & appreciate this music. I can understand the background of this composition.
I can follow the composer’s instructions.
Focusing Question What might the composer be telling listeners through this music? How can my performance communicate this music to my listeners? What expectations does the composer have for the musicians playing (or singing) this piece? How have I met the composer’s expectations? How does the composer use the elements of music (form, rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture, and expression)? Why did the composer make these particular musical choices? How can I connect my experiences to performing this music? What emotional responses to the music does the composer seem to be indicating? When did the composer write this piece and how might the times have influenced this music? Why did the composer write this piece, and for whom? What do we know about the composer, and was the piece characteristic of this individual’s work? How has the composer indicated that this piece should be performed? What attention do I need to pay to time signatures, key signatures, note values, dynamics, tempo markings, and pitches?
Buehl, D., & Buehl, W. (2008, October). Connecting music to literacy. Paper presented at the Wisconsin School Music Association Conference, Madison, WI.
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for Technical Texts Level of Thinking Creating
Comprehension Self-Assessment I have created a product or completed a task. I can critically examine my completion of this task.
Focusing Question What have I been able to create or accomplish? How can I use my understanding in future applications? Evaluating To what extent have I been able to apply my understanding to complete the task? To what extent have I been able to meet the author’s expectations? To what extent does my application of the author’s instructions achieve the intended final outcome? Analyzing I can examine the text & deterWhat is not clear to me? What can I do to problem-solve lack of understanding? mine what I need to do to accomWhat visual information does the author provide? plish the task. How does the visual information help me visualize (create a mental model) of what I need to do? How do the visuals connect to written portions of the text? To unfamiliar vocabulary? What might happen if I do not follow specified procedures? Applying I can use my previous experiHow can I connect my previous experiences to performing this task? ences to understand procedures What must I read especially carefully? & instructions. What help does the author provide for understanding key terms? What can I do to develop an understanding of unfamiliar terms? Understanding I can understand how to follow What is the task I need to accomplish? the procedures & complete the What should the final outcome look like? task. Can I imagine myself completing the procedures the author describes? Remembering I can follow the author’s instrucWhat steps do I need to follow? tions. What key terms are used? What do I remember about these key terms? Buehl, D. (2011). Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for Biological Science Texts
Level of Thinking Creating Evaluating
Analyzing
Applying
Understanding
Remembering
Comprehension SelfAssessment I have created new knowledge about the biological world. I can critically examine this author’s conclusions/theories/ explanations. I can understand why.
I can use my understanding to better understand the biological world. I can understand what the author is telling me about the biological world. I can recall specific information and ideas from this text.
Focusing Question How has this author changed what I understand? How has this author corrected previous misunderstandings? What conclusions/theories/explanations does the author provide? How do we know? What is the evidence? What other conclusions/theories/explanations could be justified by the evidence? What happened? Why did it happen? How did it happen? How does this [biological concept] “work”? Why does this [biological concept] “work” the way it does? What are the defining characteristics? How is this similar to (or different from) other related biological concepts? How can I connect my experiences to what this author is telling me? How can I use what this author is telling me to better understand living things? How is what the author is telling me different from what I previously understood? What does this author want me to understand about living things? How does the visual information help me understand what the author is telling me? What do I currently understand about what the author is telling me? What biological concepts do I need to remember for future understandings? What biological vocabulary do I need to become comfortable using?
Buehl, D. (2009) Reader Like An Insider. The Exchange: IRA Secondary Reading Interest Group, Vol. 22, No. 1, 2-5.
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for Physical Science Texts Level of Thinking Creating
Comprehension Self-Assessment I have created new knowledge about the physical world.
Focusing Question How has this author changed what I understand? How has this author corrected previous misunderstandings? How do I “see” the world I live in differently now? Evaluating I can critically examine this What conclusions/theories/explanations does the author provide? author’s conclusions/theories/ How do we know? What is the evidence? explanations. How can we test these scientific principles? How can we collect our own evidence? What do our observations tell us? Are our observations consistent with the scientific principles we are examining? What are possible limitations of our investigations? What other conclusions/theories/explanations could be justified by the evidence? Analyzing I can understand why. What happened (or happens)? Why does it happen? How does it happen? What process do objects go through? What happens at each stage of the process? What are the relationships that cause each effect in this process? How can we model this process? How can these scientific principles be demonstrated? Applying I can use my comprehension to How can I connect my experiences to what this author is telling me? better understand the physical How do these scientific principles explain the world I live in? world. Where might I encounter these scientific principles “in action”? How is what the author is telling me different from what I previously understood? Understanding I can understand what the author What does this author want me to understand about the physical world? is telling me about the physical What do I currently understand about what the author is telling me? world. Can I use my imagination to “see” what the author wants me to understand? Remembering I can recall specific information What scientific principles do I need to remember for future understandings? and ideas from this text. What science vocabulary do I need to become comfortable using? Buehl, D. (2011). Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for Mathematical Concepts Text
Level o Thinking
Comprehension Self-Assessment
Focusing Question
Creating
I have created new knowledge.
Evaluating
I can critically examine this mathematics concept.
Analyzing
I can follow the logic of what the author tells me.
What are the defining characteristics of this concept? How can I explain why this concept makes sense? How does this concept relate to other mathematics concepts I have learned?
Applying
I can use my mathematics understanding in some meaningful way.
Where in my life might I encounter this mathematics concept? What are some examples of this mathematics concept from my life? How can I use this concept to describe, inform, or explain some part my life?
Understanding
I can understand what the author is telling me.
What do I understand now that I didn’t understand before about mathematics? How does this concept help me “think mathematically”? Why is this definition needed? What can we do with this concept? How does the author use the concept in mathematics problem solving? What kinds of problems can I solve using my understanding of this concept?
How can I explain the mathematics concept? In mathematics language? In everyday language? How can I use visual information (diagrams or pictures or graphs) of the concept to understand its definition? What examples of this mathematical concept does the author provide? RememI can recall specific terms and What mathematics vocabulary does the author introduce? bering mathematics concepts presented What definitions does the author provide for new mathematics concepts? by the author. What are the undefined terms (such as whole number, point, line, plane, group operation, set) in the definitions? What previous mathematics learning do I need to review to make sense of the definitions? What do the symbols and notation mean in the definitions? Buehl, D. (2011). Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Self-Questioning Taxonomy for Mathematics Problem Solving Text Level of Thinking Creating
Comprehension SelfAssessment I have created new knowledge.
Evaluating
I can monitor my effectiveness in applying this problem-solving procedure.
Analyzing
I can follow the logic of what the author tells me.
Applying
I can use my understanding for solving mathematical problems.
Understanding
I can understand what the author is telling me.
Remembering
I can recall specific terms and mathematics procedures presented by the author.
Focusing Question How can my understanding be used to describe, inform, or explain information, objects, or situations in a mathematical way? How have I expanded my ability to create solutions using mathematics? Do the example problems make sense when I examine them? What results have I obtained from applying the problem-solving procedure? How close is the result to what I predicted or estimated? What confusions did I encounter during problem-solving? What actions can I take to overcome any confusions? What is the logical reasoning justifying the mathematics statement? How can I use this statement to explain mathematical facts that I already know to be true? How can I use this statement as “proof”? How can I link this statement to similar mathematics statements I have learned? Is the converse of the statement (“if B then A”) true? What predictions or estimations do I have when I am problem-solving? What kinds of problems can I solve using this mathematics statement? How can I apply this problem-solving procedure to a variety of problems? What are similar mathematics statements that I have previously learned? How can I explain the mathematics statement in the form “if A then B”? How can I rephrase the statement using other symbols or other notation, without changing its meaning?
What mathematics vocabulary does the author use? What are the symbols, notations, and definitions of the terms used? What mathematics statement (formula, theorem, rule, principle) does the author introduce? What problem-solving procedure does the author introduce? What are the steps I need to follow in this problem-solving procedure? Buehl, D. (2011). Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines. Newark, DE: International Reading Association. drbuehl@sbcglobal.net
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Doug Buehl (2011)
Common Core in Action: 10 Visual Literacy Strategies
April 13, 2014
Do you wish your students could better understand and critique the images that saturate their waking life? That's the purpose of visual literacy (VL), to explicitly teach a collection of competencies that will help students think through, think about and think with pictures.
Standards Support Visual Literacy Instruction Visual literacy is a staple of 21st century skills, which state that learners must "demonstrate the ability to interpret, recognize, appreciate and understand information presented through visible actions, objects and symbols, natural or man-made." Putting aside the imperative to teach students how to create meaningful images, the ability to read images is reflected in the following standards.
Common Core State Standards (CCSS) o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.7: "Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos or maps) with other information in print and digital texts." o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.7: "Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, including visually and quantitatively, as well as in words." o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6: "Assess how point of view or purpose shapes the content and style of a text." o CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.1: "Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively." National Council of Teachers of English Standards (NCTE) o Standard 1: Students read a wide range of print and non-print texts. The Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning Corporation (McRel) o Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to interpret visual media.
On their own -- without explicit, intentional and systematic instruction -- students will not develop VL skills because the language for talking about images is so foreign. Ever heard kids debate the object salience and shot angles of a Ryan Gosling meme? To add to the instructional complexity, visuals come in an assortment of formats:
Advertisements Cartoons Charts Collages Comic books Diagrams Dioramas DVDs Graphic Novels
Graphs Icons Magazines Maps Memes Multimodal Texts Photos Pictograms Political cartoons
Signs Slide shows Storyboards Symbols Tables Timelines Videos Websites
How to Teach Visual Literacy: Visual Thinking Routines The VL strategies described in the sections that follow are simple to execute, but powerfully effective in helping students interpret images. Think-Alouds
The think-aloud strategy -- typically used to model how adept readers make meaning from a text (demonstrated in the following short video) -- can be adapted for "reading" a visual artifact. After you model how to do it, have learners try this approach with a partner. Encourage elaborate responses. If you need a crash course in visual grammar before implementing this strategy in class, build your background knowledge with Cindy Kovalik and Peggy King's Visual Literacy module, The Artist’s Toolkit: Visual Elements and Principles and Discovering How Images Communicate. Model Think-Aloud strategy from Derek Fernandez on Vimeo. Visual Thinking Strategies
Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS) is a specific approach to whole-class viewing and talking about art that primarily uses these questions:
What's going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find?
VTS encourages students to think beyond the literal by discussing multiple meanings, metaphors and symbols. Used with all ages -- elementary students (see video below) up to Harvard medical students -- implementation is simple. The New York Times'weekly VTS lessons are a good place to start. Asking the 4WS
Inspired by Debbie Abilock’s Noodletools exercises, I developed the 4WS activity to help students make observations, connections and inferences about an artist's agenda, and develop ideas about a work's significance:
Credit: Todd Finley
Five Card Flickr
In Five Card Flickr, you are dealt five random photos. To promote VL, have students follow these steps: 1. 2. 3. 4.
Jot down one word that they associate with each image. Identify a song that comes to mind for one or more of the images. Describe what all the images have in common. Compare answers with classmates.
During a subsequent discussion, ask students to show what elements of the photo prompted their responses. Image Analysis Worksheets
To promote analysis of key features specific to different formats, pick an appropriate tool from The National Archives: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Photo Analysis Cartoon Analysis Motion Picture Analysis Map Analysis Poster Analysis
Step-by-Step: Working with Images That Matter The following lesson is partially based on Ann Watts Pailliotet's notion of deep viewing, a process that occurs in three phases:
Literal observation
Interpretation
Evaluation/application
Remember the 1957 photo of Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan? Eckford was one of the first African-American students to attend the newly desegregated Little Rock High School. In the photo, you see her entering the school grounds while a throng of white students jeer, most prominently Hazel Bryan, teeth barred, enraged. The photo was disseminated worldwide within a couple of days, uncorking new support for civil rights. Here are the lesson procedures: Literal Observation Phase
Give students a hard copy of the Eckford and Bryan photo. To help them internalize the image, tell the learners to study it for one minute before turning it over and doodling a version of it from memory. Next have students write what they literally observe (What is pictured? What type of language is used? How is space used?) into a shared Google Doc. Interpretation Phase
Copy all the student-generated descriptions from the Google Doc, paste them into Tagxedo, and then project the resulting collaborative word cloud for the class to view. Invite students to interpret the word cloud while periodically
re-examining the photo. (What are the most important words? Which words do you have questions about? Describe your feelings about the photo. What other images are you reminded of, past or present? What messages are implicit and explicit? How did you analyze the photo? What do you understand now that you didn't before?) Then have students help you summarize the conversation. Evaluation and Application Phase
Direct students to legibly write about the image's relevance on notecards. (Does the implied purpose of the photo convey ideas that are important? How? Is the image biased? How so?) Take the postcards and pin them around the Eckford and Bryan photo to create an instant bulletin board. To extend the lesson, show the following six-minute video that narrates how Hazel Bryan, as a twenty-year-old, apologized in person to Elizabeth Eckford. The video features a contemporary photo of both women, mature now, arm in arm, smiling in front of the once infamous Little Rock High School. (Does the video alter your reactions to the original image? How? Will you approach other socially charged photos differently? Why?) Final Frame When reading was taught the traditional way, with printed texts, students accepted the authority of the author and received his or her message as a window on reality. In the 21st century, students need to respectfully question the author’s authority, articulate what is represented and how, and infer what has been excluded and why.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/ccia-10-visual-literacy-strategies-todd-finley
Interdisciplinary Instruction: Benefits of Multiple Literacies #KAMLE2014 Presentation Synthesis Notes with Amanda Lickteig A18 12:40-1:20 Grade Level: _________________
Content Area: ______________________________________
Lesson Topic: _____________________________________________________________________________ “Text(s)� Used: ____________________________________________________________________________ Common Core State Standards Grades 6-8 List 2-3 standards that would apply to your lesson: English/Language Reading Literature: Arts Reading Informational Text: Writing: Speaking & Listening: Language: Literacy in History/Social Studies Literacy in Science & Technical Subjects Writing in History & Science/Tech. Sub.
Financial Literacy
Media Literacy
Languages, Cultures
Music
Mathematical Literacy
Cultural Literacy Careers
Political Literacy
Critical Literacy FACS
Physical Literacy
Disciplinary Literacy PE
Content Literacy
Visual Literacy
Digital Literacy
Adolescent Literacy
Functional Literacy
Type(s) of Literacy Check all that apply:
Please explain your lesson below, especially emphasizing how you [plan to] incorporate literacy and the connections to other contents.
Other: ___________
Computers, Business
Art
STEM
Science
Social Studies
Language Arts
Math
Interdisciplinary Connections Check all that apply: