1. Module 4

2. Overview:
 Reminder: Post Rough Drafts of Literacy Narratives to the Writer’s
Workshop Thread by February 3rd
 Literacy Narrative Writing Activity to Support the Creation of Your Literacy
Narrative
 “Advice”
 Chapter Two in Creating Literacy-Rich Schools for Adolescents
 Abdurashid’s Story, pages 23-27
 Seven Defensible Strategies
Chapter Four in Mosaic of Thought
Supplemental Readings
 “Close Reading as an Intervention for Struggling Middle School Readers”
 “’Spacecraft Reveals Recent Geological Activity on the Moon’: Exploring
the Features of NASA Twitter Posts and Their Potential to Engage
Adolescents”

3. “Advice” Writing Activity for the
Literacy Narrative
Imagine you have a younger brother or sister who
is just starting college this fall. He/she has neglected
his/her reading and writing but suddenly wants to get
serious. Make a list of your ten best tips for becoming
a better college reader and a better college writer.
Select one tip to write more in depth about.What
experiences in college have taught you these lessons?
Write your advice and anecdotes in an engaging
way with enough detail to be really helpful to this
person whose success you care about.

4. Chapter Two in Creating Literacy
Rich Schools for Adolescents:
Essential Question for All Content
Area Classes
Essential Question:
“Do all courses throughout a student’s day capitalize on
the student’s literacy and language as a way to learn new
information?” (p. 23).
As you think about this question, consider how you
could capitalize on your student’s literacy practices to
learn new information.

5. Abdurashid’s Story
Revisit Abdurashid’s Story on page 23. (I have also
linked it in the module.)
Revisit the essential question for this chapter: “Do all
courses throughout a student’s day capitalize on the
student’s literacy and language as a way to learn new
information?” (p. 23).

6. Herbert Hoover High School and San Diego State
University Participatory Action Research Project
• “Content area classrooms should be organized around themes,
big ideas, or essential questions” (p. 24).
• “Students are expected to read and write in every class”
• The general focus was on strategies for helping students read
and write increasingly complex text.
• Use better, readable texts to motivate students to read
– “Using one grade-level textbook often ensures that students who
struggle will have to rely on just listening to learn the required
information” (p. 52).
• Seven Defensible Strategies for Reading and Writing in All
Content Areas
– Transportable Literacy Strategies:
• “Students use the strategies they learn in one class to comprehend in
another” (p. 22).
– Transparent Literacy Strategies:
• “Strategies become part of the students’ thinking and students
automatically apply the strategies ‘on the run’” (p. 22).

7. Seven Defensible Strategies for Reading and Writing in
Content Area Classrooms
(1) Anticipatory Activities (Activating Prior Knowledge)
Anticipation Guides
Quick Writes
KWL
Discussion
(2) Read Alouds (Shared Reading where students see the text too)
Teachers advised to read aloud for five minutes every day in every
class. The purpose is to build background knowledge, develop
vocabulary, foster a love of reading, and teach text structure.
(3) Graphic Organizers (concept maps, flow diagrams, tree
diagrams, matrices)
(4) Vocabulary Instruction
(5) Writing to Learn
(6) Structured Note Taking
(7) Reciprocal Teaching (Predicting, Questioning, Clarifying,
Summarizing)

8. Example of a Graphic Organizer: KWL
Charts
Know
Want to
Know
Learned
Still Want to
Learn
Affective
Domain

9. Structured Note Taking: Cornell
Notes
Divide your paper into two columns.
2. Leave the Left column blank.
3. Take notes over a lecture, reading, film, discussion
etc. in the Right column.
4. Within an hour or two of completing notes, fill in
the Left column with “recall” notes over the main
idea, important details, questions you want to
revisit etc.
1.

10. Sample Cornell Notes
Definition of Personality
Trait
Personality trait = durable disposition to
behave in a particular way in a variety of
situations.
Freud’s Theories
Components of personality from Freud’s
theories include mid-primitive, instinctive,
ego-decision-making, levels of self awareness.
Theories about the
unconscious mind
Unconscious thoughts , memories and
desires are below the surface of conscious
thoughts but have great influence on
behavior.
How does the unconscious
mind communicate to the
conscious mind?
Jung developed a theory about a collective
unconscious that contained shared
archetypes across cultures and ancient
civilizations, and contemporary society.

11. Reciprocal Teaching Activity
Please refer to the policy brief titled “Literacies of
Disciplines” and complete the following steps in the
reciprocal teaching method.
Begin with considering the title of this policy brief.
Take a few minutes and think through writing about the
title, “Literacies of Disciplines.”
• What do these words make you think about?
• What does this title make you think the policy brief is
going to assert?
• Convert the title into a question.

12. Reciprocal Teaching cont.
Read the first paragraph. As you read, underline words you
do not know.
Summarize the main points of this paragraph.
What questions does this paragraph raise for you?
What do you need clarified in this passage? What does not
make sense to you?
What is the author going to discuss or assert next?
(Predict)

13. Reciprocal Teaching Activity
continued
Read the next three paragraphs. Underline the words you
do not know as you read.
Summarize the main ideas of the paragraphs.
What questions do these paragraphs raise for you?
What do you need clarified in this passage? What does not
make sense to you?
What is the author going to discuss or assert next
(predict)?

14. Reciprocal Teaching continued
Read the remainder of the policy brief. Continue to
underline words you do not know.
Predict what the author will say in each paragraph as you
read.
In writing, summarize the main ideas of this policy brief.
Jot down questions this policy brief raises for you.
Look at the words you’ve underlined. Note the words you
still feel uncertain about as well as concepts that are
confusing to you and you would need to clarify.
Discuss your reactions to the brief.

15. Pause and Reflect:
What is reciprocal teaching? What are the steps that
must be in place with this reading method?
What are different ways a teacher could enact these
steps (e.g., small groups, whole class, in a virtual
setting)?
When should a classroom teacher use this method?
Why do you think this method has a proven research
base of improving students’ reading comprehension
in K-12 settings in every content area?
What did you learn about reciprocal teaching from
going through these steps?

16. Key Ideas about Reading
Comprehension from Chapter
Four in Mosaic of Thought
Using Relevant Background Knowledge or Schema
Activating prior knowledge at a conceptual level
 Activating prior knowledge should be taught explicitly using
a variety of texts over a long period of time
 Six Types of Schema (page 100-101)

Gradual Release of Responsibility Model of Teaching
for Teaching Comprehension Strategies
Planning Phase
 Early Phase
 Middle Phase
 Late Phase


17. Writer’s Workshop
Remember to respond to at least three rough drafts of
literacy narratives posted to the writer’s workshop
thread

18. Supplemental Readings
Please take some time to read the following articles to add to the
chapters assigned for this week.
“Close Reading as an Intervention for Struggling Middle School
Readers”
“’Spacecraft Reveals Recent Geological Activity on the Moon’:
Exploring the Features of NASA Twitter Posts and Their Potential to
Engage Adolescents”