Structuring a Content Area Reading/Thinking Lesson

EDC448Dr. Julie Coiro

Take one of each handout and complete Entrance Ticket (5 mins)

Two ineffective ways to introduce challenging texts/concepts to studentsTwo effective instructional techniques to introduce challenging texts/concepts to students ON BACK: What is the topic of your lesson plan? A possible text??

Objectives from Last Class

• Observe a “think-aloud” discussion about challenging text (modeling and gradually releasing responsibility to students)

• Practice modeling how you “think” (the assumptions you have, the automatic things you do) while solving challenging reading tasks in your discipline

• Homework: View, integrate, reflect, and apply your thoughts across multiple sources focused on the value of text discussions for fostering content area learning

Today’s Learning Objectives

Check in: Work expectations…Diverse Text Assignment?? (10/21) Text for anticipation guide (an issue/hard concepts) (9/28)Connect the main components of a good content literacy lesson (before, during, and after) to your lesson plan assignmentBegin planning your lesson using Backwards Design principles Identify the differences between “knowing”, “understanding” and “doing” as learning objectives

Frontloading: Key to Comprehension Success (Buehl Ch. 2)

Review Entrance TicketsNote Beuhl’s chart on p. 20: (great instructional ideas for your lesson plans – don’t reinvent the wheel!) – Frontloading (before reading) – Guiding Comprehension (during reading) – Consolidating Understanding (after reading)

Note connections to Three-Part Learning Framework Graphic Organizer in Handout

Understanding the Main Components of Your Lesson

Plan Assignment(Do you have a topic, text, and

lesson objective in mind??)STOP AND JOT!

Consider content AND thinking processes involved in understanding that topic/objective

MONITOR AND

CLARIFY INFERPREDICT

MAKE CONNECTIONS

ASK QUESTIONSVISUALIZE

SUMMARIZE DETERMINE IMPORTANT

IDEAS

Model, think-aloud, and SCAFFOLD your strategy support; note Beuhl’s three phases of instruction in Ch. 2

Promote Strategy Use and Independence by Gradually Releasing Responsibility

Elements of Your Content Literacy Lesson Plan Assignment

Context of the LessonObjectives and Standards Opportunities to LearnInstructional Procedures (pre, during, and post) AssessmentReflection

Connect these pieces to the Three-Part Learning Framework (remember Inspiration outline?) and Buehl’s three parts = (1) Frontloading learning, (2) guiding comprehension, and

(3) consolidating learning

Lesson Plan Pieces to Hand In (Refer to your checklist!)

Typed plan in lesson plan template (download from the wikispace) Hard copy of your 2 texts with relevant think-aloud notes on text or stickies (mark up your text; explicit commentary of your thoughts about the strategy you are modeling)Graphic organizer with title & directionsAssessment task with finished exampleYour completed points sheet with questionsYour final reflection (after taught)

Working Backwards…

to design a good lesson

Designing An Educational Trip to France

Grant opportunity for students to learn more about culture, geography, history, and language by visiting Paris for 2 weeks. Group 1: List the educational activities you will plan for students. Group 2: List what you hope students will understand and be able to do when they return from their trip.

Learning Objectives for Paris Trip

Educational Activities

What will students understand/be able to do?

Why Backwards Design? (Wiggins & McTighe, 2005)

Start with the end in mind “Twin-sins” of traditional lesson design

“Coverage”: marching through the text and/or curriculum to cover as many facts as possible related to your learning objective(s) without understanding how the facts fit together“Hands-on without being minds-on”: engaging experiences that lead only accidentally, if at all, to understanding & achievement (So…why are you doing that??)

What does it mean to “UNDERSTAND”?

Understanding by DesignTo understand:

To wisely and effectively USE what we know in a certain context To APPLY knowledge & skill effectively in a new context (near and far transfer)

What are your desired results? – Start your lesson design with these results…not with

your instructional methods and activities

Communicate your desired results as explicit performance goals (objectives TSWBAT…)

Understanding by Design(Backwards…start with desired results)

1. Identify desired results– What should students know, understand, and be able to

do? How does this connect with your standards? 2. Determine acceptable evidence – How will you know if students have achieved the desired

results? What will you accept as evidence of proficiency?

3. Plan learning experiences and instruction What are the most appropriate instructional activities that students will need to equip them with the needed knowledge and skills?

Understanding by Design(Backwards…start with desired results)

1. Identify desired results– What should students know, understand, and be able

to do? – How does this connect with your standards?

Write your learning objectives in terms of What you want students to KNOW…What you want them to UNDERSTAND…What should they be able to DO…by the end of your lesson

What’s the difference????

Know, Understand, and Do

Know (facts, dates, definitions, rules, people, places)Understand (big ideas, principles, generalizations, rules, the “point” of the discipline or topic)Be Able to Do (a verb: think, plan, monitor, describe, explain, summarize, show, infer, compare, analyze, reflect, apply, visualize)

UNDERSTANDKNOW BE ABLE TO DO

Writing Learning Objectives for your Lesson Plans

Three Criteria for a Learning Objective

Clear – Usually just one sentence

Precise– Precise verbs that reflect the thinking your students

will be DOING – Set a context (Given…; After…; Before…)

Measurable – How will you measure the “quality” (%age or criteria

met)– Start with the top level and work backwards through

average and below average

Writing Learning ObjectivesGiven _____, students will _____ (verb and specifics) with (measurable) ____% accuracy or to a certain level Content: What will students know or understand and how will they do that?Reading Process: How will students think/interact/engage with this content material? – (see RI Reading and/or Writing GLE’s)

Link DOING (reading/thinking) objectives to the content you want your students to

KNOW…The student will be able to DO…– Set a purpose for reading …– Predict and confirm…– Summarize the key words…– Monitor their understanding of…– Ask questions/reflect …– Show the relationship between concepts …– Make inferences and support with evidence… – Draw conclusions…– Make connections between… – Visualize…

Some examples - English

CONTENT: Given a set of quotes, students will write a dialogue poem with high-level descriptive verbs to relate to the main character in Speak. READING/THINKING: Given a graphic organizer, students will make inferences and connections from their quote set to examine the advantages and disadvantages of being an outcast in society.

Example - Math

CONTENT: Students will solve for a single variable involving two-step equations to 85% accuracy. READING/THINKING PROCESS Students will recognize key phrases that correspond to an equation and formulate the correct equation from a given word problem involving a two-step equation to 85% accuracy.

Example - History

CONTENT: Students will summarize the main points to two sides of the argument about whether or not Japanese American internment camps were necessary. READING/THINKING: Students will write an essay that compares and contrasts the prisoners’ views and the government’s views of the internment camps.

Example - Science

CONTENT: Given a graphic organizer, students will identify three differences between human and marine animal sound reception and three structures used by marine animals for sound reception with 80% accuracy. READING/THINKING: Given graphic organizers and a guided note outline, students will organize main concepts on sound reception in Ch. 6, while identifying supporting ideas and identifying relationships between different anatomical sound receptors in marine animals with 80% accuracy.

Example: Foreign Language

CONTENT: Students will work collaboratively to create a French menu that shows their understanding of the French culture, new vocabulary, and creativity. READING/THINKING: Given a sample restaurant dialogue in a French restaurant, students will interpret the meaning of key vocabulary in context and categorize the term as either food, verbs you would use in a restaurant, or items you would find in a restaurant.

Today’s Learning Objectives

Review the lesson planning resources in your Strategy Guides text Connect the main components of a good content literacy lesson to your lesson plan assignmentBegin planning your lesson using Backwards Design principles Craft a learning objective about reading in your content area that is clear, precise, and measurable

Homework: SKIM, note, & organize key ideas

Short & Fitzsimmons (2007). Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions