Readability, Strategy Instruction, and the B-D-A Framework.
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Transcript of Readability, Strategy Instruction, and the B-D-A Framework.
Readability, Strategy Instruction, and the B-D-A Framework
Agenda
• Humor• Vocabulary Game: Word Swat• Reading History and Metacognition• Readability Follow-Up
• Class Focus: – Modelling Reading Skills (activities)
– Planning for Content Area Literacy: The Basics
Humor
Despite the stereotypes perpetuated in this piece (including the use of the term “thug”), the analysis itself is quite insightful. The piece also represents an excellent example of a creative and culturally-relevant way to demonstrate one’s understanding of a text. It also highlights what it means to engage in code-switching.
Readability
• A text’s readability level should be slightly above a student’s reading level
• Well-written texts—especially textbooks—should get slightly harder in terms of readability throughout the text
– Generally, a textbook’s readability should start and end roughly one grade-equivalent apart. Thus the readability of the beginning of a textbook should be easier than the readability at the end of the textbook
– The Harry Potter series is a good example of increasingly difficult texts; the earliest book in the series has an easier readability than the last book in the series.
Readability: Vocabulary
• Readability measures make judgments on a text’s vocabulary solely by the length of its words– Longer (polysyllabic) words tend to be more complex and difficult to
understand than are monosyllabic words• E.g., “obstreperous” is harder to understand than “noisy”
– The formulas cannot account for sampling bias
– The formulas do not take into consideration specialized vocabulary unique to a discipline, content area, etc.
– They do not take into account the fact that some short words can be very arcane and hard to understand
– Generally, they do not take syntax—the way the words are put together to create meaning—into account
Readability: Sampling Bias
• Readability measures—especially on an entire text—can be skewed by sampling bias.
– The teacher/evaluator takes random 100-word samples from three sections of the book (beginning, middle, end).
• Any given ‘sample’ could contain a more difficult vocabulary, more complex syntax, etc. than the text surrounding it.
• This can lead to inaccurately judging a text’s readability
Readability: Sampling Bias
• Readability measures—especially on an entire text—can be skewed by sampling bias.
– The teacher/evaluator takes random 100-word samples from three sections of the book (beginning, middle, end).
• Any given ‘sample’ could contain a more difficult vocabulary, more complex syntax, etc. than the text surrounding it.
• This can lead to inaccurately judging a text’s readability
Beginning Middle End Average
Text 1 7.1 10.2 7.9 8.4
Text 2 9.2 9.4 10.1 9.57
Readability: Specialized Vocabulary
• Readability measures make judgments on a text’s vocabulary solely by the length of its words– The formulas do not take into consideration
specialized vocabulary unique to a discipline, content area, etc.
Readability: Specialized Vocabulary
• Readability measures make judgments on a text’s vocabulary solely by the length of its words– The formulas do not take into consideration
specialized vocabulary unique to a discipline, content area, etc.
Jargon & Vocabulary Specific to Content Areas
Content Area Vocabulary Legal Vocabulary
Examples:
themescalesmoglobechord bill
Other single-syllable vocabulary?
lienbondmoottortstayfraudclaimwrit
Readability: “Simple?” Vocabulary
• Readability measures make judgments on a text’s vocabulary solely by the length of its words– This can ignore single-syllable words that are not
easy to understand
Readability: “Simple?” Vocabulary
• Readability measures make judgments on a text’s vocabulary solely by the length of its words– This can ignore single-syllable words that are not
easy to understand
Difficult Single-Syllable Words (SAT Vocabulary Terms)
laudscreeched scrunchedstraightsterseerr
dikelanceschleppedthwartscroungedtome
honerifefloutmirestaiddolt
Readability: Syntax• Readability measures make judgments on a text’s
vocabulary solely by the length of its words– Generally, they do not take syntax—the way the
words are put together to create meaning—into account
Readability: Syntax• Readability measures make judgments on a text’s
vocabulary solely by the length of its words– Generally, they do not take syntax—the way the
words are put together to create meaning—into account
Example 1: Using the VMI and TVPS-3 to monitor neuro-efficiency is not without precedent and has been the subject of research for some forty years
Example 2:What in truth is the thing, so far as it is a thing? When we inquire in this way, our aim is to know the thing-being (thingness) of the thing. The point is to discover the thingly character of the thing. (Flesch-Kincaid: 91.8 Reading Ease; 3.8 Level)
Example 3: I had no time to hate, because The grave would hinder me, And life was not so ample I Could finish enmity.
Nor had I time to love, but since Some industry must be, The little toil of love, I thought, Was large enough for me.
Readability
Microsoft Word Flesch-Kincaid Formula
Accelerated Reader (AR) Chart
Planning for Content Literacy: Strategy Instruction & B-D-A Framework
Explicit Instruction in Reading Strategies
• In education classes, you have probably been discouraged from direct instruction, commonly referred to as “didactic” instruction
• In content area reading—and even basic reading instruction—explicit strategy instruction (direct teaching) can be beneficial; it is akin to a parent teaching a child how to cook, fish, sew, etc. It is instruction accompanied by modeling and then practice
Explicit Strategy Instruction• MODEL effective reading strategies for students
– Focus on a few important reading skills
– Use think-alouds and visuals to demonstrate how and why you do what you do
• Have students read and give them an approach to use (something on which to focus their reading such as vocabulary from context)
– Observe the strategy and note what students do when reading (skim, reread, underline text, use their fingers as they read)
• Ask students to respond to the text (e.g., find out what they included in their summaries)
– Have students share and compare what they took down as important information
– Have students give rationale for their choices
– Note areas of strength and weakness for future focus
For the following poem, I will focus on a few specific examples of reading strategies I use to make sense of a particular poem. Once I’ve modeled these strategies for you, you will tackle your own poem using these strategies. At the end of the poem, we will work as a class to examine what you found. You can compare and contrast what you learned to what others ‘got’ from the poem. When doing so, think about what strategies they used compared to what you used.
1)Context as part of meaning2)Vocabulary from context and prior knowledge3)Syntax (how words are put together) as meaning
Explicit Strategy Instruction
Context: People tend to write about things with which they are familiar or toward which they have strong feelings. They know that understanding context—when and where an author or poet was born, important events that happened in her/his life, etc.—might show up in her/his work.
What do I know or what can I learn about Emily Dickinson that might show up in her writing?
Explicit Strategy Instruction
Emily DickinsonDecember 10, 1830 – May 15, 1886
Born in Amherst Massachusetts, where she lived her entire life.
She seldom left her parents’ home and often refused to meet or greet visitors; today she would likely be called Agoraphobic. Virtually all of her relationships with friends were carried out through letters and most of her knowledge of the world came from books.
Dickinson's poems contain short lines, typically lack titles, and often use simple rhyme schemes as well as unconventional capitalization and punctuation.
Many of her poems deal with themes of death and immortality, two recurring topics in letters to her friends.
Author Context
Explicit Strategy Instruction
Explicit Strategy Instruction: Modeling
96. Parting*
My life closed twice before its close; It yet remains to seeIf Immortality unveil A third event to me,So huge, so hopeless to conceive, As these that twice befell.Parting is all we know of heaven, And all we need of hell.
* Note that the addition of a title was by others. Her poem was simply numbered.
Explicit Strategy Instruction: Modeling
96. Parting
My life closed twice before its close;
What does Dickinson mean by life closing?
If it literally closed, it must mean death. Since she says “my” life and she’s obviously alive, it can’t mean that she is actually dead
- Is there anything that could be like death to her? Metaphorical death? Worse than death? - It’s a poem, so it is likely metaphorical (and maybe a bit of exaggeration?)
It yet remains to see
It refers back to what? Grammar would suggest that it refers to “My life” or life in general
yet remains to see: probably a fancy way to say ‘no one knows’ or that we can’t predict the future (poets are seldom overt and direct)
Explicit Strategy Instruction: Modeling96.Parting
If Immortality unveil
Immortality: Why did she capitalize this noun? What is immortal? Combining the two (capitalization and immortality), maybe she means God or the afterlife?
Unveil: a veil is something that covers a person—like a wedding veil or funeral veil. It hides or obscures what is underneath (what is ‘hidden’). To “unveil” must mean to uncover or to show.
A third event to me
Third event: I know what an event is. She already spoke using “twice” So the “third event” must be the same kind of thing that happened twice before: life closing or death. Maybe she fears a third death or loss?
Guided Strategy Instruction: Modeling
96.Parting
So huge, so hopeless to conceive, As these that twice befell.
The two things she mentioned before were probably death. Death seems hopeless. Life sometimes seems hopeless when we lose a loved one.
To conceive: to bring about, to ‘give birth.’ If I look up the word or think about it in this context, it probably means to think about or daydream about.
These that twice… twice = two. Refers back to the losses from before (that happened twice)
Befell: root word = fall. “be” is a prefix that usually means cause (for example, becalm, bewitch, etc.). This is a fancy way of saying things that happened in the past to her.
Guided Strategy Instruction: Modeling
96.Parting
Parting is all we know of heaven, And all we need of hell.
Parting: the poem is obviously about loss. We part with things that we lose. Parting here means death or being separated due to death. Duh.
“all we know of heaven”: “all we know” means the only thing we know or can be sure of. When combined with “parting” and “heaven,” it suggests that the only thing we are sure of about heaven is that it is the place where people of certain faiths believe their loved ones go after death. Dickinson was most likely a religious person considering her background.
Guided Strategy Instruction: Modeling
96.Parting
And all we need of hell.
All we need of hell: “need” is very different than “know.” The former is a preference or a want, the latter more of a fact or truth.
As death or loss is so terrible, maybe this means that Dickinson is saying that the losses we suffer here on earth—when we lose those we love—it is like hell.
Taking it a step further, she seems to be saying by “all we need of hell” that she doesn’t care if there is a hell; she has experienced it by suffering such losses: a hell on earth. “…all we need” also suggests to me that she (we) don’t need anything more. We don’t need a literal hell when there is such suffering here on earth.
Explicit Strategy Instruction: Your Turn
• For the following poem, I want you to focus on vocabulary. More specifically:
Vocabulary
–Make note of any words with which you are unfamiliar• Use prior knowledge to define words with which you may be
unfamiliar• Use context clues to try to decipher the meaning of those words
Syntax
–Make note of unusual construction of words (syntax)
–Look for metaphorical speech (comparisons and analogies)
Explicit Strategy Instruction: Your Turn
99. There is no frigate
THERE is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
Explicit Strategy Instruction
99. There is no frigate
THERE is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!
B-D-A Framework
• The Before, During, and After (BDA) Framework is a strong model for reading instruction
• We will discuss more specific strategies in the coming weeks. For now, remember that B-D-A should enhance and inform all of your lesson planning and that it is integral to helping students become stronger readers.
BEFORE: 1) Motivating readers
2) Problematizing the text
3) Activating prior knowledge
4) Introducing key vocabulary
5) Developing metacognition of reading
B-D-A FrameworkBEFORE:
• Hook: – How can I ‘hook’ my students in the reading content to come? Beware of
hooks!
– Can I “problematize” the text/reading? • What does this mean?
– Can I “set the stage” in my room? • How can the environment I create help?
– Is there a funny analogy or interesting story that can engage them in what is to come?
• Something that happened to me, to a person in history, to world events– Space Race
B-D-A FrameworkBEFORE:
• Prior Knowledge
– What do my students already know about this issue and how can I remind them of it?
• What analogies can I use to connect prior knowledge that is not exact but is related?
» Learning is, at its most basic, the creation of—or helping students find ways to create—analogies between things they know and new information
• How can I connect this information to other lessons we/they have done?
B-D-A FrameworkBEFORE:
• Vocabulary:
– What vocabulary must they know to‘get’ the assignment and not be too frustrated?
• What can they reasonably get from context?
• How likely are they to look up words?
• What can I do to facilitate their reading by going over vocabulary with them?
B-D-A FrameworkDURING:
• What kind(s) of framework or scaffolding can I provide for my students as they read?
• Scaffolded Reading Structures (graphic organizers):– Three-level Guide– K-W-L charts– List-Group-Label charts– Knowledge Ratings– Concept Definition Map
• Study questions (open-ended)
• Admit and Exit Slips
B-D-A FrameworkDURING:
B-D-A FrameworkAFTER:
• What things can I do to get students to summarize the main points and, more importantly, to think critically about the information that they read?
• When students think critically about a concept, they engage with the idea in a meaningful and memorable way.
– Open-ended questions– Charts or Activities/games in which students must respond to the reading (see p.
139).– Opinion questions/value judgments– Role, Audience, Form, Topic (RAFT) Writing– Playbill or brochure for a reading topic– Discussion Web (Chpt. 7)
B-D-A FrameworkAFTER:
• Engaging with a text or character. Assuming roles, ideas, and ideologies. • Alternate Endings (what if…?) • Debating as a class (group against group)• Characters defending themselves in court (real characters or fictional
characters)– Darwin explaining his anxiety over publishing On the Origin of Species– Truman defending the use of the atomic bomb on Japan– Columbus defending his actions in the “west Indies”– Secretary of the Interior defending her decision to let a national forest burn– Theodore Roosevelt defending his role in creating Panama and building the Panama
Canal– OTHER???
B-D-A FrameworkAFTER:
• You just completed a textbook reading on the Vietnam War (and your teacher supplemented the text with materials that gave you a fuller picture of
the contexts of the war).
• You should respond to the following statement from the point of view of your assigned "character" in a Character Journal:
"Vietnam is a pawn in the communist plot to take over the world. We must stop the plot wherever it rears its ugly head. Like a row of dominoes, if we allow one nation to fall to communism, communism will spread like a cancer to its neighbors" (Senator Warren Middleton (R - SC, 1962).
IdentitiesAn 18 year old U.S. peace activist
19 year old drafted to go to Vietnam
Vietnamese peasant
An American College student
Ho Chi Minh Member of the Viet Cong
Retired French Army Colonel who served in Vietnam
John F. Kennedy
ANALYZING VIEWPOINTS
AND BIAS
B-D-A FrameworkAFTER:
The most important things you can do with students after they have read are to:
1) Ensure that they really understood the materials read (clear up misconceptions or, better yet, have student groups work together to make clear understandings)
2) Help them think more deeply about those issues; problematize the information, question the author, try to see practical uses for that information;
3) Help them remember the information.
ALL OF THIS MEANS CREATING CONNECTIONS TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE AND CREATING METAPHORS
Summary
• The important thing to take from this lesson is that you, keep the B-D-A framework in mind when planning your own lessons
NEVER rely on texts—especially those ‘assigned’ to you by a state or district—to teach students!
Your job and student learning itself depends upon you helping them understand and relate to ideas; you should use the text and whatever supplemental materials or alternative texts work best to convey the relevant ideas to your students!
Radio Reading
Example of a chart
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1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
East
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North
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Picture slide
• Bullet 1• Bullet 1
Examples of default styles
• Text and lines are like this
• Hyperlinks like this• Visited hyperlinks like
this
Table
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Text boxWith shadow
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Explicit Strategy Instruction: Modeling
When You Are Old and Grey
When you are old and grey and full of sleep, And nodding by the fire, take down this book, And slowly read, and dream of the soft look Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;
How many loved your moments of glad grace, And loved your beauty with love false or true, But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you, And loved the sorrows of your changing face;
And bending down beside the glowing bars, Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled And paced upon the mountains overhead And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.
Daily Dose of Humor: The "Stadium Pal"David Sedaris
David Sedaris on The Stadium Pal