Literacy Playbook: September 2008

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

On Demand Writing/Constructed Response

With NECAP testing right around the corner, I wanted to take an opportunity to share some information about the constructed response task that is asked of our students in the areas of reading (literary and informational), writing, and mathematics. Although the Vermont Department of Education provides release items that allow our students to practice (http://www.education.vermont.gov/new/html/pgm_assessment/necap.html), I also wanted to share some resources that also allow you as a teacher to create and use authentic constructed response questions in the assignments and assessments you give your students.

In some cases, "preparation for writing on demand is often largely disconnected from the curriculum and puts teachers in the position of teaching to the test while students develop an impoverished concept of writing." (Gere, Christenbury, & Sassi, 2005)

According to this site (https://www.msu.edu/~kingdoro/sample_constructed_responses.htm), "Constructed Response questions are open-ended, short answer questions that measure application-level cognitive skills as well as content knowledge. These questions provide students with the opportunity to generate and weave ideas into a short response. The student supplies a response in the form of a few sentences, a graphic organizer, or a simple drawing/diagram with explanation." In addition, Constructed Response questions "can assess higher level thinking:

comparisons, contrasts, causes, effects, changes

identify patterns or conflicting points of view

categorize or summarize information

construct graphs or charts from data

state a generalization, conclusion, explanation or prediction" (http://www.edteck.com/dbq/testing/const_resp.htm)

Below are some resources from the Nevada National Writing Project (NWP) that might be useful to you if you are preparing some authentic constructed responses for your students.

A Suggested Process for Writing Constructed Response Questions -- Tips for writing Constructed Response Questions http://www.writingfix.com/PDFs/RICA_PDFS/constructed_response/A_suggested_process_for_writing_constructed_response_questions.pdf

Friday, September 5, 2008

Literature Circles/Discussion Groups for Content Area Teachers

According to Schlick Noe and Johnson (1999), Literature Circles "provide a way for students to engage in critical thinking and reflection as they read, discuss, and respond to books. Collaboration is at the heart of this approach. Students reshape and add onto their understanding as they construct meaning with other readers. Finally, literature circles guide students to deeper understanding of what they read through structured discussion and extended written and artistic response." In the past, this type of dicussion was only reserved for literature. However, these discussion groups can be used in with nonfiction text in a variety of content areas.

Jim Burke has a great handout that explains what about Literature Circles at the Greece Central School website.
http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/Tools/litcirclepacket.pdf

In addition, there is more information about different types of Literature Circles at Instructional Strategies online.
http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/literaturecircles/index.html

Nonfiction Journal Prompts are also a way to have students bring ideas to a discussion.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060905194346/home.att.net/~teaching/litcircl/nonfictprompts.pdf

Lastly, Project CRISS has two samples from Social Studies and Mathematics of how to adapt the Literature Circle Discussion roles to the content areas. If you are interested, I can send you a copy.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Blueprinting a Textbook

Textbooks can be one of the hardest pieces of writing for students to read. Reading a textbook is different than reading a novel. Students need to be aware of how different elements and features in a textbook can help them acquire information. In addition, students need to understand that reading a textbook involves using a critical eye.

Types of Text Elements and Features

Types of Text
Sidebars and Pull Boxes
Typography (bold, italics, underline)
Color
Symbols and Icons
Images and Graphics
Organization
Headers and Footers
And more!

Text features like bold, italics, and underlining can help students find important key terms or vocabulary. Maps, graphs, and pictures can provide important information that can't be shared in a paragraph. Other elements such as sidebars and pull boxes can provide relevant information that brings the student beyond the ideas in the textbook.

Providing strategies to help students interact with the textbook at the start of school year can be key in helping them succeed. Below are some links to sites with textbook strategies. In addition, I am available to come in to your class and share some of these strategies with students.

Text Feature Analysis

http://www.greece.k12.ny.us/instruction/ela/6-12/tools/textbookanalysis.pdf

http://www.wmich.edu/asc/files/TextbookReadingStrategies.pdf

SQR3

http://www.webster.edu/acadaffairs/asp/handbook/n.html

http://www.sandburg.edu/trio/workshops/reading_comprehension_skills.pdf

SQRW -- a version of SQR3

http://www.how-to-study.com/pqr.htm

Multiple Textbook Strategies

http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/as/600INDEX.HTM