Reading in the Content Areas

     The first chapter by Beers discussed using technology meaningfully, so that it actually applies to real-life tasks students may need to complete. Often teachers might think that using technology can be accomplished by using a word processor. However, to truly use technology effectively in the classroom, teachers need to use technology that is relevant to students and allows them to have a voice. Examples from Beers include class blogs, podcasts, wiki sites, and book trailers.      The second chapter in Hinchman discussed the concept of multimodality, meaning using multiple texts, writing mediums, and other ways of communicating, to portray content. Alternative forms of langauge can include photos, videos, documentaries, etc. Multimodality also requires students to compare and connect these mediums by asking questions about how and what the mediums portray differently. Students can also make connections using personal stories, pop culture, and current ...

     The first chapter discussed making student writing relevant and relatable. First, the author emphasized the importance of metacognition, or having students practice being cognisant of their own thinking and ideas. The author also discussed the difference between having students simply revise grammar mistakes and actually revising ideas and concepts. Further, the idea of connecting writing to the writing that students are doing outside the classroom was emphasized. Finally, the author pointed out that it is necessary for students to have real audiences to read their writing in order to give students' writing relevancy.      The second chapter discussed the idea of multiple texts. Multiple texts are referring to the practice of having students read and write texts of different forms about the same topic. One way to do this is through integration of different texts with similar themes. The author emphasized the importance of using close reading with...

     In this chapter, Probst writes about discussion and how to get students to have meaningful conversations. He lists five dimensions of talk: storytelling, agenda setting, problem solving, brainstorming, and decision making. These are five ways that can help set a goal for a conversation. Probst also discusses ways to foster meaningful conversations in students. He suggests having students annotate the text they read and come up with their own questions, to which the teacher can link their own questions. Another technique is to have students freewrite after reading a text, which can help students translate their thinking into questions. As students move towards independence, a dialogue booklet can give students discussion starters to choose from or progress through. Finally, Probst discusses how to determine if a question is "good" by evaluating how interesting it is.      I agree with the strategies Probst includes in this chapter for formulating meani...

     The chapter by Hinchman discussed several different strategies to work with ELLs in the classroom. One of the important themes was the idea of focusing on language in all content areas. Students need to learn key content vocabulary and the academic language to be able to communicate in that content area. Another strategy was the idea of "juicy sentences." This is an activity asking students to do a case study of sorts of a grammatically and linguistically complex sentence. This helps ELLs see examples of concepts and rules of the language and study them in detail. Finally, the authors discussed the importance of annotation. I definitely agree with the point the authors made about content-specific language. I think that often teachers take this to mean vocabulary only. This is important, but often different subjects have different conversation structures, or even different sentence structures. As an example, I am much better at English-related subjects than science. I...

     The first chapter by Beers talked about the importance of relationships with students, especially those who are struggling. The authors emphasizzed that teachers need to have high expectations for students, especially those who have high expectations for students, and not "dumb down" the curriculum for them. Instead, teachers should be activating students prior knowledge and connecting it to new content. This prior knowledge should not just be facts, but elements of students' lives and experiences they realte to. I think this concept is super important since it helps to spark interest, and can also help students understand new concepts. Even if something is confusing, if students can connect parts of the concept to something they understand, they are able to begin understanding the concept.      The authors also discussed "Thinking Maps," visual graphic organizers used for different purposes and language functions. I thought that these were great opti...

     In the chapter by Beers, the author focused on what true understanding is. She emphasizes that understanding is a process; students do not just "learn enough" to suddenly understand. Instead, they need to interact with the concept, the ideas underlying the concept, the implications of the concept, and the context surrounding it before they can truly understand the concept. Students also need to discuss the concept and the ideas of their peers about the concept. The chapter by Hinchman discussed strategies to help students with comprehension. The author discussed the importance of vocabulary and using background knowledge from other subject areas to understand a text. Close reading and its components were also discussed, along with strategies for students to self-assess their comprehension.      I thought that the two chapters together were a good combination of more idealistic, overarching theory and pragmatic, specific strategies. I think that both a...

     This chapter discussed how to help students improve in their reading skills by using the correct complexity of text and the concept of deliberate practice. The authors discussed the different types of text complexity characteristics: quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative scales rate specific characteristics like word difficulty and sentence length or structure. Qualitative scales rate overall difficulty using characteristics like explicit or implicit meaning. They also discussed the three components of deliberate practice: teacher knowledge of student prior knowledge, steadily increasing difficulty, and effective feedback. These components can help students become better readers.      One thing that I found interesting was the point the authors made about student choice. First of all, they said that sometimes it would be acceptable to let a student choose a book that might be too hard for them if they are interested in the subject and motivated t...

     This chapter focused on students who struggle with interacting with difficult academic texts. One of the first things that stuck out to me was the fact that many students who struggle with academic literacy are intelligent, full of good ideas, and intent on learning. However, they have trouble with more technical reading and the analysis they are expected to do in an educational setting. I have seen so many students in my placements who love to learn and may even love to read at home and during silent reading time. However, they dislike and have trouble with more academic reading. I believe that often this is because the vocabulary and topics of the reading are less relevant to students' daily lives, and therefore more effort is required to understand academic texts.      The author focused the chapter on helping students change their "reading identities" meaning what they thought about themselves as readers (are they good/average/bad readers?). They ...

     This chapter was a great way to summarize what teachers need to be teaching their students other than simply their content areas. Yes, it is important for students to be familiar with classical works of literature (for example). However, it is more important for students to be able to apply that knowledge and other skills to their future lives. I felt that Friedman's eight roles that the author mentioned could be summarized by the skill of critical thinking. Students need to be able to explain information, adapt solutions, etc., to be able to solve problems. Knowledge is important, but in today's world, it can be easily gained on the internet. Critical thinking and problem-solving skills cannot and are vital to all jobs and roles that students will have later in life.      One aspect that I can easily incorporate into my classroom is internet research. Too often, teachers require students to use only a few internet resources and rely mostly on physica...

     The author questions the validity of standardized tests with the story of Derek, who made huge progress over the last year of school but did not quite meet the standards required by his state and NCLB, according to his state test. I have often thought that standardized tests should be valued less than individual progress reports. Often what is a bad grade for one student may be enourmous improvement for another student. Further, a student might be a bad test-taker despite their grasp of the subjects. But what struck me most in Derek's story was his frustration. He had been excited about his progress and was feeling pretty good about the work he had put in. But because of the emphasis on the state test, he was left feeling that his progress was not good enough. In addition, he probably felt that his hard work was for nothing, since he was still in a remedial reading class. Placing too much emphasis on standardized tests not only gives teachers and schools an inaccurat...