Literacy Speaks Volumes

How do you find and choose texts for shared reading? These resources can make a critical difference in the success of any shared reading. In the intervention classroom, the idea of reading an entire novel independently can be overwhelming. These students especially need a shared reading experience. While many novels lend themselves to oral reading, I always try to choose books with rich dialogue, interesting characters, and intriguing conflicts as the focus for any shared reading experience.  Choosing these books can be most important thing that you do for your developing readers. In order to choose good shared reading books, you need two good knowledge bases:  Know your students. Know your resources. You can get to know your students through surveys and questionnaires. Here are some possible items to include in a reading questionnaire: What books, plays, or other texts have you read in other reading classes that you liked? What texts have you read in ...

What are the ways that students can use their writing? First, students can use their writing as a way to connect with their peers. Secondly, Students can use their writing to take action in their communities and around the world. If we want our developing readers to become skillful writers, then we need to allow them to read skillful writers.  So, what does a skillfully written piece look like? It is interesting and relevant. It is surprising, puzzling, funny, quirky, and frank. It is complex enough to justify time and thought. It invites the reader to visualize places, faces, and events. It features people that you can get interested in. It provokes lots of questions. It contains debatable issues that provoke lively discussions. It supports a wide array of writing responses and topics. Give your students rich and relevant content that they will enjoy reading, thinking, talking, and writing about. The mentor texts that you ...

Eight Ways to Foster a Nurturing Writing Atmosphere You don't need to grade every piece of writing. Periodically collect and review pieces of text to gauge engagement and thinking. Assign much more writing than you will actually read. Your students write before, during, and after studying a topic. Your students write for purposes and audiences beyond the teacher's inbox. You need to break longer writing assignments into a series of doable steps. Your students should recognize and emulate the craft techniques found in mentor texts. Your students should write with an eye toward voice, creativity, originality, and humor. Your students should use writing to explore and monitor their own thinking.

There are 13 different types of questions found on standardized tests. Context Clues: You will determine the meaning of a word based on its context. To check your answer, try using it in the sentence from the text to be sure it makes sense. Root Words: You will draw on your knowledge of word roots and affixes to determine the meaning of a word. To check your answer, try using it in the sentence from the text to be sure it makes sense. Figurative Language: You will answer questions about the meaning of figurative language and symbolism used by an author. To check your answer, ask yourself whether it fits with the overall meaning of the text. Characterization: You will describe an author's use of characterization. Look back at the text to find information that supports your answer. Setting: You will tell how the setting of a work contributes to its effect. Ask yourself how the work would be different if it were set in a different time or place. Plot: You ...

Types of Multiple-Choice Questions Many multiple-choice questions fall into categories. The following are the most common categories: Main Idea: The most important point expressed in a reading passage is the main idea. The main idea must relate to the entire passage, not just to a portion of it. After reading a passage, locate and underline the main idea. Significant Details: You will most probably be asked to recall specific details from a reading passage. You will know what details to look for if you read the questions before re-reading  the passage. Underline these details as you re-read. Remember that correct answers do not always use the precise phrases or words that appear in the passage. Vocabulary: Standardized tests will often ask you to define a word within the context of the passage. In many instances, the answer choice will include an actual meaning of the word that does not fit the context in which the word appears. Reading the answer choices and the...

The main goal of the reading questions on any standardized test is to determine your understanding of different aspects of a reading passage. Basically, if you can grasp the main idea and the author's purpose and then pay attention to the details and vocabulary so that you are able to draw inferences and conclusions, you will do will on these types of tests. Strategies for answering multiple choice questions Here are some suggestions for taking any standardized reading test: First, read the passage as if you were not even taking a test. Do this to get a general overview of both the topic and the tone of a passage. Look at the big picture. In other words, examine the most obvious features of the passage. To do this ask yourself the following questions as you read: What is the title? What do you believe is the main idea of a piece of nonfiction or the theme of a piece of fiction? What do you think is the author's purpose? to inform? to entertain? to show how to...

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