Classroom StrategiesClassroom Strategies

Our classroom strategies are the most effective ways to build fluency,

vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills.

When using any teaching strategy, teachers should: (1)help students to understand why a strategy is

useful.(2) describe explicitly how the strategy should be

used.

A-Print Awareness

Concept of word Games

Concept of word refers to the ability of a reader to match spoken words to written words while reading. Students with a concept of word understand that each word is separate, and that words are separated by a space within each sentence. Using strategies to build concept of word in the classroom can also strengthen a child's developing awareness of the individual sounds within words.

Examples

1-Dictation with lines for writing

Work individually with a child and a picture he or she has drawn. "Tell me about your picture!" As the student begins to talk, summarize what he has said in a few words or consider the child's words as dictation. "The leaves are falling." Draw one line for each word under the picture. Then help the child begin to write sounds for each different word in their dictation.

2- Be the sentence

Physical involvement and hands-on activities are great for increasing learning in young children. It is an activity in which each student physically represents a word in a sentence that the teacher creates. Students are able to work together to arrange themselves into the proper order to form the sentence.

3- Cut-up sentence

This activity includes active learning about words as part of a sentence. Students are asked to cut a sentence apart and manipulate the words to re-create the sentence in proper order. This helps encourage students to recognize that each word is a separate entity, has meaning, and is separated by a space within each sentence.

4-Unifix word

*Teachers can show students how to build and rebuild sentences by connecting the unifix cubes. Students can learn about concept of word as they grasp the understanding that each cube represents a word in the target sentence regardless of syllables within words.

This concept of word task that allows students to use picture cues to represent words. Teachers can choose a target concept such as "food" and have students cut out and sort the pictures they find from magazines. Students can glue their collection of pictures into a book organized by target concept and label each picture. A more advance task may include asking the students to write a sentence using each of the items they found.

5- Make-a-book

6- Word walls

Word walls can be used to help students build their concept of word skills. There are different types of word walls and suggestions for appropriate ways to use them within the classroom.

Secondary Science Word Wall

B- Vocabulary

Examples

1.List-Group-label

List-group-label is a form of semantic mapping. The strategy encourages students to improve their vocabulary and categorization skills and organize concepts. Categorizing listed words, through grouping and labeling, helps students organize new concepts in relation to previously learned concepts.

2. Possible Sentences

Possible sentences is a pre-reading vocabulary strategy that activates students' prior knowledge about content area vocabulary and concepts. Before reading, students are provided a short list of vocabulary words from their reading. Students create, based on their prediction of what the reading will be about, a meaningful sentence for each vocabulary word or concept. After reading, students check to see if their "possible sentences" were accurate or need revising.

3. Semantic Feature Analysis

The semantic feature analysis strategy uses a grid to help you explore how a set of things are related to one another. By completing and analyzing the grid, students are able to see connections, make predictions and master important concepts. This strategy enhances comprehension and vocabulary skills.

Examples

a. Language Arts

Use a semantic feature analysis to compare genres of books across story characteristics.

b. Math

Use a semantic feature analysis to chart information about whole numbers.

Use a semantic feature analysis to chart information about polygons.

c. Science

Use a semantic feature analysis to teach students about the types of dinosaurs and their characteristics.

d. Social Studies

Use a semantic feature analysis example to help students compare different U.S. Presidents.

4. Word Maps

A word map is a visual organizer that promotes vocabulary development. Using a graphic organizer, students think about terms or concepts in several ways. Most word map organizers engage students in developing a definition, synonyms, antonyms, and a picture for a given vocabulary word or concept. Enhancing students' vocabulary is important to developing their reading comprehension.

5. Word Hunts

Word hunts are one way to focus on: •spelling patterns within words. •Root Words.•Find That Word: This strategy has students search their environment for words they are studying. Words may be found in independent reading novels, subject area texts, conversations, radio, television, or on the computer. When students read or hear one of the words used, they write down the sentence containing the word and bring it in to class to share.

How to use a word hunt

1. Introduce the book or topic to be read and provide students with written material (i.e., newspapers, magazines, dictionaries, books, and/or news articles on the Internet).

2. Model word hunting by using a portion of text

copied onto chart paper, overhead transparencies, or a familiar book

3. Ask the students to read and reread a text to find words that fit a particular pattern.

Prepared by Yusuf AdarbehAl-Yarmook Independent SchoolQatar- Doha

Thanks for all of you.