Reading Deeply Through Writingby Stephenie Fellinger©sfellinger

Things to Ponder

Why do readers struggle? The

problem is not illiteracy, butcomprehension. The bulk ofolder struggling readers andwriters can read, but cannotunderstand what they have just read (Carnegie 6).

Things To Ponder

A full 70 percent of U.S.middle and high school students

require differentiatedinstruction—that is, instruction

targeted to their individualstrengths and weaknesses (Carnegie 7).

Things To Ponder

Need to teach strategies instead of assigning reading.

15 Elements that create an effective adolescent literacy Program

Direct, explicit reading comprehension instruction

Intensive writing (Biancarosa, Gina & Catherine E. Snow)

Objective

To help students read with a purpose

To make observations or points about a single representative issue or example (36).

To promote a more intensive and elaborate exploration of a single representative piece of evidence by narrowing one’s focus

When do I use this?

When completing close readings in class

When I need to create a purpose for my students’ reading assignments

Directions Step I:

( typically outside of class). Using one of the thematic topics from below, find 5 lines (full sentences) that support the development of the topic. Please type up your lines. Remember to parenthetically cite your evidence.

Thematic Topics for reading

“Writing Across the curriculum: The Problem of ‘Content’” (I assign students a specific topic in order to assure equal numbers in my small groups).

Reading With A Purpose

WritingCurriculum (designers)Committee of TenSeparation of content and writing

Thinking through Writing

Step 2 (Individually, In class)

Rank in order of importance of your evidence [ask yourself which details are most interesting or significant or revealing or strange] (35).

Step 3 (Individually, In class)

Using your #1 choice, write for five minutes explaining how your evidence best supports your topic.

{The writing activity affords the students an opportunity to solidify their thinking}

Step 4 (Small Group)

Group students into thematic topic groups.

As a group Students need to decide which piece of evidence is the strongest piece of evidence to support the thematic topic. Once they have decided, the students need to write the evidence onto the white board).

Step 5 (Large Group)

Each group comes up and shares its evidence. Then as a large group, the students agree to which piece of evidence best represents the piece as a whole. I have the students stand in front and I physically move them so the students can see all of the evidence.)

Step 6 (Individually)

Students complete a Quick Write for 5 minutes on the evidence which best represented the writing as a whole.

Modification s—

You can modify this assignment in a variety of ways. You could assign them the evidence, and then have the students gather in a group and to rank each of the choices. You would then bring each of the choices up and you rank these as a class.

Works Cited

Biancarosa, Gina & Catherine E. Snow. ReadingNext: A VISION FOR ACTION AND RESEARCH IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL LITERACY. Carnegie Corporation: NY, 2006)

Carnegie Corporation . Reading Next—A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy: A Report toCarnegie Corporation of New York, 2004.

.

Disclaimer

• Reference within this presentation to any specific commercial or non-commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise does not constitute or imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Virginia Department of Education.