Literacy Speaks Volumes

A Cloze activity is a exercise, test, or assessment consisting of a portion of text with certain words removed (Cloze text), where the student is asked to provide the missing words. Cloze tests require the ability to understand context and vocabulary in order to identify the correct words or type of words that belong in the deleted parts of a text. This type of assessment is commonly given to English as a Second Language Learners. Here is an example of a Cloze Passage from Read.Write.Think. Cloze activities are great vocabulary builders. Cloze activities come highly recommended by proponents of the Lexical Approach such as Michael Lewis . Cloze procedures consist of samplings of all potential readability influences, which is similar to sentence-completion activities. The Cloze method requires that you delete random words from a passage. Students read the passage and insert synonyms of words that would fit in the space. When studied, this method of testing was reliable ...

At the court of King Arthur, all the knights had gathered at the round table for a feast when three strangers entered. The tallest of the group, a handsome young man, stepped forward to speak. He asked the king for three gifts, one to be given now and the other two in a year’s time. Arthur agreed, whereupon the young man asked for nothing more than to be given food and drink for the next twelve months. Image Source: Wikimedia The young man was given over to Sir Kay, the steward. Sir Kay felt that the man was not worthy to be at the court. He aired his views so openly that Sir Gawaine, Arthur’s favorite knight, and Sir Lancelot became furious at his rude conduct. Image Source: Wikimedia For the next year, the young man, named Beaumains by Sir Kay, lived as a kitchen hand doing menial tasks, all the while enduring Sir Kay’s insults. Whenever there was a joust or another set of games, however, Beaumains was allowed to take part. None could surpass his feats of s...

I write everyday. I love to write. I love to think about writing. I love the writing process. I love to teach others about writing. But where does our inspiration come from? What inspires us to sit at the keyboard and write? Check out this blog about writing ideas ! Right now, I'm snuggly inside my home while it's a freezing winter wonderland outside. We've gotten so much snow and ice that the town has practically shut down. There is my inspiration. The trees look like someone has taken plastic wrap and wound it around each branch. The branches are heavy. All of the furniture looks like it's covered in glass. When the sun comes out, the ice wrinkles like diamonds. The cold is brutal. The temperatures continue to plummet. I'm so thankful that I don't have to go out in it. I'm glad that I went to the grocery store last weekend to get what we need. Inspiration. It's like a flask of creativity that we carry around. We are ins...

Fred Rogers was an American Educator, Presbyterian minister, songwriter, author, and television host. Mr. Rogers was most famous for creating and hosting "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood," which featured his gentle, soft-spoken personality, and directness to his audience. Initially educatied to be a minister, Mr. Rogers was displeased with the way television addressed children and made an effort to change this when he began to write for and perform on local Pittsburgh-area shows dedicated to youth. WQED developed his own show in 1968 and it was distributed nationwide by Eastern Educational Television Network. Over the course of three decades on television, Fred Rogers became an idelible American icon of children's entertainment and education as well as a symbol of compassion, patience, and morality. he was also known for his advocacy of various public causes. his testimony before a lower court in favor of fair use frcording of television shows to play at another tim...

What is a lesson plan? A lesson plan is a teacher's detailed description of the course of instruction for one class. Lesson Plans guide instruction. Think of your lesson plan as your outline. Now, details in lesson plans may vary depending by the subject you teach, the number of students you teach, and the age of the students that you teach. What are the basic parts of a lesson plan? The goal ~what do you want the students to know or be able to do at the end of the lesson? Reaching the goal ~what is your method for teaching this to your students? Assessing the goal ~how will you know that your students have reached the goal? What are the necessary components of a lesson plan? Lesson plans consist of 11 components: 1. Title 2. Time 3. Rationale 4. Resources 5. Objectives 6. Set 7. Instruction 8. Guided Practice 9. Independent Practice 10. Formative Assessment 11. Closure Time The time in which you will present the lesson will be determined m...

I've always devoured historical fiction.   As a girl, I would read anything that was set in the past. I'm proud to say that I learned much of my history through fictionalized accounts of historical events. I loved Victoria Holt novels and all of those hundreds of other novels that she wrote under different names. So, it's no surprise that I enjoy reading Phillippa Gregory's WHITE QUEEN series. I've discovered a STARZ series based on her books of the same name on Amazon Prime. Elizabeth Woodville is the widow of a Lancastrian Knight during the early part of England's King Edward  IV reign during the mid fifteenth century. She petitions King Edward for the return of her husband's lands for her two sons. Edward is smitten with the beautiful young widow. After Elizabeth turns away Edward's advances, he proposes marriage. They are secretly married with her mother as a witness. Edwards cousin, the Earl of Warwick, is furious as he...