TEACHINGANDLEARNINGSTRATEGIESTOGETCHILDRENEXCITEDABOUTLEARNING (1)

TEACHING AND LEARNING STRATEGIES TO GET CHILDREN EXCITED ABOUT LEARNING
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Teaching and Learning Strategies to get Children Excited about Learning
How can I use pre-existing curricula to develop further my students’ comprehension?
Regina Nunez
Concordia University

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Abstract
The objective of the survey is to use pre-existing curricula to develop further my students’
comprehension and review prior data to plan strategies that can improve test taking skills, unit
assessments, and standardized test scores. Data has shown that students lack in comprehension skills
based on the third grade ELA New York Standardize Test and the in NYS, Catholic Schools’ students
are assessed three times a year with the Catapult Learning Benchmark Assessment Dashboard in Math
and English Language Arts grades. Every student learns comprehension in a different way and needs
differing amounts of guidance to increase understanding. On my experience, the children that had
been exposed to reading from an early age have fewer problems with reading comprehension. Other
students struggle with reading comprehension because the higher the grade, the more difficult the
reading test gets. The research will also present different components of why reading comprehension is
so low and strategies such as differentiate instruction and graphic organizers to help children improve
their tests scores.
Research Question
How can I use pre-existing curricula to develop further my students’ comprehension?
Review of the Literature
Teachers make a difference, and it is a time that we take responsibility for our actions. Student
and peers communications in the education and learning development correspondingly facilities a good
relationship between the teacher and the learner. Hanshake (1992) declared the difference between
being taught by a good and a bad teacher can translate into a full grade level of achievement in a single
school year. It supports "the challenge is to close the gap between the strategies and techniques that

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educators and researchers have found to be successful and the ineffective practices that many
prospective teachers are taught during their teacher preparation or that are still being provided in some
elementary schools today" (Lyon, 2003). I believe that teacher accountability is essential for children
to learn and stay on task. Strong leadership is indispensable for a school to provide educators and boys
with an appropriate curriculum. Realistic expectations can be accomplished with the proper resources,
support, combined effort from teachers and parents and flexibility to teach the curriculum according to
the student’s needs.
I believe it is imperative to take ownership of what we do and do it proudly. I believe it is
imperative for teachers to get educate and research strategies to close the achievement gap.
Burns, Griffin, & Snow (1999) explained: “Among the groups who have been identified as
having the greatest difficulty in being successful are children who attend low-achieving schools, child
impairments, and children whose parents have a history of reading a language and cultural changes
between teachers and students. It is important to find the way to engage parents and involved them to
be proactive to their children’s education regardless of their background whose parents have a history
of reading difficulty. Another component that changes is the culture of the children environment, and
social, economic situation are crucial factors for children being successful in school. Parents’
background, education, and school partnership are another important factor. Classroom multiplicity is
real not only between students and their peers but also be impaired by language and cultural changes
between teachers. Multiculturalism is here to stay. Our behaviors need to be respected as a society and
embrace to enrich our learning practices. It is important that these children receive adequate help. What
teaching strategies can support a heterogeneous grouping in fourth grade?
Hastings & Austin (2004) explained that socioeconomic status can also affect children's
development in a variety of ways, ranging from prenatal and medical care to general child
development. The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Making Connections (MC) Initiative and the Harlem

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Children’s Zone (HCZ) in New York City are two programs that currently implement the following
integrated approaches: a) earnings and asset development, b) family strengthening, c) neighborhood
enhancement and d) an emphasis on collaboration, capacity building and producing tangible results.
Unifying family and community help parents to take advantage of available resources facing low-
income families living in high-poverty neighborhoods. Because many factors come into play when
discussing families with low socioeconomic status, it is almost impossible to separate particular
elements. The degree of impoverishment reflects the level of risk. Children living in poverty tend to
process daily routines differently. They often arrived at school hungry. They are tired because they
didn’t have a good night sleep. They might be thinking about their parents or where they will sleep that
night. Other children situations are not that severe, but their parents can’t offer the support they need
because they work long hours to support the family. Some of these parents count on the assistance of
an afterschool program for help. The afterschool program in many cases is just a babysitting service.
Maclirath and Huitt (1995) pointed out that times allocate and quality of instruction matter a lot
in the final outcomes. I believe that the different methods and strategies we introduce to our students
are crucial elements for the results of their education. Wenglinsky (2001) explained that the effect of
the classroom practices and teacher characteristics were comparable to the thought of students
backgrounds, in improving achievement. Wenglinsky (2001) also found that classroom activities
manifest outcomes on students’ success at least as high as student education. Engaging children in
activities is imperative. I believe it is important to connect the curriculum to real live experiences. How
can I encourage interaction using engaging and efficient strategies?
Myers & Savage (2005) explained graphic organizers are a research-based strategy that promotes
comprehension and aids in student learning with the complex content often addressed in social studies. Graphic
Organizers build students’ motivation to read,invite them to explore their purposes for reading; they also create
independence and appreciation for reading. My students lack reading comprehension makes me believe that

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implementing graphic organizers in reading, social studies, and science will positively affect my fourth graders'
vocabulary and comprehension skills. I believe that it will also help them put the material in order and organize
it. It will also assist them to focus on the quality of work they are producing.
Marcell (2012) explained that fluency has evolved to be known speed reading by many teachers
and students, which is not the real intent of fluency. According to data from the 2002 National
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 28% of fourth graders, 31% of eighth graders, and
24% of twelfth graders performed at or above a proficient (i.e., competent) level off. The achievement
gap includes more characteristics than standardized test scores. What to do when fourth-grade students
writing level is at a second grade? It is critical for educators to understand that reading fluency is a
motor for reading comprehension. The focus of speed during reading should not be accentuated. The
ultimate goal of reading and writing is to make significance.
In my school, we use the Engage NY curriculum. The Listening and Learning strand lessons,
comprised of teacher read-aloud, class discussion, vocabulary work, and extension activities, build on
the research finding that students’ listening comprehension outpaces their reading comprehension
throughout elementary school. These read-aloud and exercises are organized in 11 to 12 domains
(units) per grade. The Skills Strand teaches reading and writing (Engage NY, 2015). All of these sound
wonderful when you have a lot of resources. Graphic organizers help develop critical thinking skills
through literary short stories. We need to integrate literacy with a dated social studies curriculum and
dated science curriculum. There are not enough grade level nonfiction books. I had been getting
passages from books and the Engage NY curriculum side to teach them different skills.
Bromley, Irwin-Devitis, & Modlo (1999), Egan (1999); Grabe (2002); Horton, Lovitt, &
Bergerud, (1990); McKnight (2010); Parrish, (2004); Tang, (1992) stated that graphic organizers
provide one of the best instruments to help reading competency, and abstract thinking skills such as
classifying, synthesizing, and inferring. They also indicated that while critical thinking can be

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developed in academic settings by various means, recent research supports the use of graphic
organizers to facilitate critical thinking growth and reading development. My students lack
comprehension makes me believe that implementing graphic organizers in reading, social studies, and
science will positively affect my fourth graders' vocabulary and comprehension skills. I believe that it
will also help them put the material in order and organize it. It will also assist them to focus on the
quality of work they are producing. In social studies and science students need to present facts and
supporting details. Graphic organizers can be a great visual tool to keep them on task.
Jones, Pierce, and Hunter (1988), a quality graphic representation can “show at a glance the
essential parts of a whole and their relations, thereby allowing a holistic understanding that words
alone cannot convey” (p. 21). Graphic organizers “help a reader visually see what is verbally stated”
(Jones, et al., 1988). The appropriate graphic organizer helps students sort out the big idea and the
smaller details that support that big idea. It helps them become independent readers and writers.
An excellent way to stimulate prior knowledge during the mini-lesson or whole group
instruction is to use a KWL Chart and then give the children a personal copy for them to practice.
Graphic organizers are visual tools that can alleviate the anxiety often experienced by students with
learning disabilities when reading (DiCecce & Gleason, 2002). I have two students with IEP in my
fourth-grade class that required a lot of attention and extra help.

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Analysis
The Investigation of Beliefs, Practices, and Strategies That Teachers Use to Raise and Maintain
Academic Performance of Students in Reading by Wilcenski and Bitkers (2015) explores different
ways to help struggling students from a diverse population. Lyon (2003) believes that teachers are
empowered to make a change. Hanushek (1992) in the article Teacher Quality and Educational
Equality: Do Teachers with Higher Standards‐ Based Evaluation Ratings Close Student Achievement
Gaps? Also questions teacher effectiveness implying that the teacher’s performance will be the
outcome of the student learning. I tend to agree with all these researchers. For me to provide effective
strategies for my students, I need to be accountable, organized, and knowledgeable.
Conclusions
Teachers are the primary figure in education. They are responsible for providing different
strategies and methods for students to learn. Educators must be competent and knowledgeable to
impart the knowledge they need to teach to their students. Teachers and learning strategies is an
ongoing process. Low test scores and low reading comprehension skills is a problem around the nation.
However, as a fourth-grade teacher, I am committed to changing the lives of my 17 children. Through
my reading, I learned that “many primary teachers may not feel qualified or responsible for teaching
at-risk students in a different way” (Allington, 2011). If teachers don't feel responsible for providing
appropriate strategies for the various needs of their pupils, they are not accountable for their learning.
Differentiate teaching is an essential part of teaching the whole child. Graphic organizers appeared to
guide students’ complete activities more efficiently. They increased comprehension and understanding.

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The use of graphic organizers in different ways to help them gets organized and focus will continue
our journey.
References
Allington, R. L. (2002, June). What I've learned about effective reading instruction from
a decade of studying exemplary elementary classroom teachers. Phi Delta
Kappan, 83, 740-747
Burns, M. S., Griffin, P. & Snow, C. E. (Eds.). (1999). Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting
Children's Reading Success. Copyright by the National Academy of Sciences. Courtesy
of the National Academy Press
Bromley, K. Irwin-Devitis, L. & Modlo M. (1999). 50 Graphic organizers for reading, writing,
and more. New York: Scholastic.
DiCecco, V. M.. & Gleason., M. M. (2002) Using Graphic Organizers to attain relational
knowledge from expository text. Journal of Learning Disabilities 35, 306-420

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Engage New York State ELA Curriculum (2015)
Egan, M. (1999). Reflections on effective use of graphic organizers. Journal of Adolescent &
Adult Literacy. 42(8). 641-645
Hanushek, EA (1992). The trade-off between child quantity and quality. Journal of Political
Economy, 100, 84-117.
Horton, S. Lovitt, T. & Bergerud, D. (1990). The effectiveness of graphic organizers for three
classifications of secondary students in content area classes. Journal of Learning
Disabilities, 23.12-22. DOI:10.1177/002221949002300107
Jones, B. Pierce, J. & Hunter, (1988). Teaching students to construct graphic representations.
Educational Leadership. 20-25. Retrieved from
http://www.thinkingfoundation.org/research/journal_articles/pdf/edlead-dec88jan89.pdf
Grabe, W. (2002). Using discourse patterns to improve reading comprehension. JALT 2002 at
Shizuoka Conference Proceedings. Tokyo: Japan Association for Language Teaching.
Retrieved from: http://jalt-publications.org/archive/proceedings/2002/009.pdf
Lyon, G. R., & Alexander, D. (1997). National institute of child health and human 241
Development research program in learning disabilities. In National
Center for Learning Disabilities, Their World, 1996-1997. New York, NY:
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Myers, M. P., & Savage, T. (2005). Enhancing Student Comprehension of Social Studies
Material Social Studies, 96(1), 18
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2003). Kids Count data book: State profiles of child well-being.
Baltimore, MD: The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Wenglinski, H. and Bitkers (2015). Teacher classroom practices and student
Performance: How schools can make a difference. Educational Testing Service,

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pp. 1-37.

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References
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