This document provides an agenda and notes from a professional development session on increasing student comprehension. The session covered questioning strategies like Bloom's taxonomy and QAR, the importance of classroom discussions, and constructing response questions. It also addressed using academic vocabulary and included templates for lesson planning around vocabulary and questioning. Participants were guided in applying the strategies to their own teaching by selecting passages and developing questions at various levels to use in future lessons.
6. Danielson – Instruction:
• Domain 3: Instruction
•
•
•
•
•
3a: Communicating with students
3b: Using questioning and discussion
techniques
3c: Engaging students in learning
3d: Using assessment in instruction
3e: Demonstrating flexibility and
responsiveness
7.
8. Estimated Cumulative Words Addressed to Child
(In Millions)
Language Experiences by Group
Professional
45 Million Words
Working-class
26 Million Words
Welfare
13 Million Words
12
24
36
(Age Child in Months)
48
Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children
by Betty Hart & Todd R. Risley. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. (1995).
9. Too Much Teacher Talk?
In one study of 1,151 classroom discussions
occurring in over 200 classrooms:
– 93.31% (1074 discussions) were completely
monologic (teacher-centered) in nature
– Of the 6.69% (77) that included “dialogic
episodes” (moments when students directed the
conversation), those episodes lasted for an
average of 15 seconds
(Nystrand et al., 2003)
10. We Need More Discussion!
• One study shows that only 4% of the school
day is spent engaging in student talk.
• Only 2% of is spent discussing focal lesson
content (but not necessarily using relevant
academic language)for ELL Learners.
– Arreaga-Mayer & Perdomo-Rivera, 1996
11. Goal: Increase Comprehension
• Strategy: Questioning
– Ask Questions Throughout the Reading Process
– Question – Answer – Relationship (QAR) (STARS)
• Old Notch Example
- Blooms
- Socratic Circles
12. QAR – Question-Answer-Relationship
Strategy
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsud7AQ
Wva8
Types of Questions:
ight There (The answer is in the text,
easy to find.)
Think and Search (The answer is in the
story, but you need to put together
different story parts to find it.)
On My Own (The answer is not in the
story. You use your own experience to
answer the question.)
14. Harcourt – Trophies Example
• QAR: Read First paragraph of “Old Notch”
– Ask: How long of a ride in the car would it be to
go to the store?
(one hour)
– How do you know? (read it right there in the text)
– Why do you think someone would want to live
that far away from a store?
– How do you know? (in my head)
Two main places to find answers
16. The use of questioning routines, such as
QAR, questioning the author, or
Bloom’s, is effective for developing textdependent questions.
Regardless of the system used, the
questions should be developed in
advance of the lesson to ensure that the
discussion regularly guides students
back to the text. ( p 119 Text Complexity
by Douglas Fisher)
17. Turn and Talk
• How will you be able to use the Bloom’s flip
chart with your students?
• How will you use the flip chart to differentiate
instruction?
18. “Students in classrooms with high academic
demands and more emphasis on discussion-based
approaches show higher end-of-year literacy
performance.”
(Applebee et al., 2003, p. 717)
19. What is a Socratic Circle?
A constructivist strategy in
which participants engage
in a conversation to
collectively seek a deeper
understanding of complex
ideas.
22. Talking Chips Activity
1. During the discussion, teammates place their chip
in the center each time they talk. They cannot
talk again until all team members have placed a
chip in the middle.
2. All teammates pick up their chip and begin again.
• Round 1: What format for discussions do you use
in your classroom?
23. Teacher Debrief
• With Talking Chips, where was the individual
accountability?
• Where was the equal participation?
• How would the teacher set up the lesson to
make sure of engagement and accountability?
• What ideas of engagement will you take away?
• How would this help your ELL Students?
• Turn and Talk
24. Constructed Response
• You’ve posed good questions.
• Students have discussed the answers to the
questions.
• Now create a constructed response for
students to do:
25. Talking Chips:
• Provide examples of constructed response
questions you could use with what you are
teaching right now or what you have already
taught.
26. Goal: Increase Comprehension
• Strategy: Academic Vocabulary
– Academic Vocabulary Weekly Lesson Plan
Template
– ELA Look-Fors
27.
28.
29. Day 1:
terrible
1. Choose word (tier II)
2. Explain Meaning
3. Repeat word several times
Use illustrations or
videos to visualize
the word
30. Day 2:
Fill in the Blank
• Students fill in the statement using the term: When
something smells bad, we might say that it smells
____ (terrible). When we watch a very bad
movie, we might say that the movie was ______
(terrible). When our parents make us eat
broccoli, some of us might say that it tastes _______
(terrible). When a storm is very strong and destroys
trees and homes, we say that the storm was ______
(terrible).
31. Day 2:
Act it Out
Students act out the term: Make a face that shows
me what you would look like if we smelled
something terrible, like rotten food. Kids make a
face. Show me how you would look if you hurt
your arm and it felt terrible.
33. Read Aloud
Day 3:
• Engage students in a read aloud where
students identify the vocabulary words as they
are read.
34. Concept Wheel
Day 4:
terrible
Select one
term for the
concept
wheel –
terrible
Brainstorm
what kids
know about
the word and
its meaning.
Write the
word in the
first quadrant.
Think of three
more key
ideas about
the word to
add to the
graphic
organizer
39. Planning: Questioning
1. Look at your next story
3. Create at least 3 questions, at various
levels, you would like the students to
answer.
Select one open ended question for students
to discuss. (Socratic)
4. Plan when to implement the lesson.
5. Create a constructed response question
for students to respond to after the
discussion.
40. Planning: Academic Vocabulary
Select a reading
passage to be used
next week.
2. Select 3 tier II
words to teach
explicitly.
3. Open the
PowerPoint
Template, and insert
pictures to go with
the words selected.
8. Plan additional
units.
7. Determine if you
will provide an
additional “Menu”
center for the
words.
6. Develop a
concept wheel
master for the
vocabulary word.
1.
4. Create dialogue
for your students to
fill in the blanks on
day 2.
5. Plan how your
students could act
out the words.
41. Future Plan:
• Today: Introduce/Review Comprehension
Strategies:
(Questioning/Discussion/Constructed
Response/ELA Look-Fors with Academic
Vocabulary)
• Day 2: Classroom Support
• Day 3: Classroom Support
2 vs. 8 words a day between professional homes and welfare
These are the students who need the most practice using vocabulary in order to make those gains, but are being the least engaged. We can engage ELL and other low language students and scaffold their learning in non-threatening ways. The point is, they need to be engaged, not just have a partner that will do all the talking for them.
Stop early -5th grade
Brewer – 5th grade
Strategies of SIOP model
Adults – set up; see WriteWell for more examples
Academic Vocabulary is Building Background of SIOP model
Pronounce the word – terrible -- kids repeat the word with you several timesExplain the meaning: Terrible means something unpleasant or very bad. For example, a bad storm that destroys many trees and homes is terrible. A rotten fish smells terrible. When we have a lot of snow and cold weather during the winter, some people say that the winter was terrible. Students fill in the statement using the term: When something smells bad, we might say that it smells ____ (terrible). When we watch a very bad movie, we might say that the movie was ______ (terrible). When our parents make us eat broccoli, some of us might say that it tastes _______ (terrible). When a storm is very strong and destroys trees and homes, we say that the storm was ______ (terrible). Students act out the term: Make a face that shows me what you would look like if we smelled something terrible, like rotten food. Kids make a face. Show me how you would look if you hurt your arm and it felt terrible. Ask a question using the word and have students share their responses: What is an example of something that is terrible? Turn and tell a partner or share out loud.
Select one term for the concept wheel – disasterBrainstorm what kids know about the word and its meaning (cart on paper)Write the word in the first quadrant – disasterThink of three more key ideas about the word to add to the graphic organizer
Kids write one thing they learned today.Additional Resources: http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
Pronounce the word: Estimate –have students repeat the word with you several times.Explain the Meaning: Estimate means an educated guess or a judgment. For example, I would estimate that the book weighs two pounds. The boy estimates that there are 320 gumballs in the jar. I estimate the grocery bill will be around $50.00 I estimate we will arrive at grandma’s house in an hour. The mechanic estimated that the car would be repaired in two hours. The sports announcer estimated that the Lions would win the game by a touchdown.Cloze Procedure: Students fill in the blank using the term: When I’m trying to guess how much my book weighs, I would __________ (estimate) that the book weighs two pounds. When the boy is trying to guess how many gumballs are in the jar, he ___________ (estimates) how many gumballs there are. When I am grocery shopping, I try to ______________(estimate) the total bill so I make sure I have enough money. When my kids ask me, “How much longer?” I ______________ (estimate) for them the time we will need to travel to get to grandma’s house. When I took my car to be fixed, the mechanic gave me an _______________(estimate). The sports announcer gave the audience his ________________ (estimate) of who was going to win the game.Students act out the term: Have students make a thinking face that would show me you are thinking of an estimate to something.Think – Pair – Share: Have students think of a time they would estimate something. Have them tell a partner. Select a few to share with the class.
Pronounce the word: Distribute – Have students repeat the word with you several times.Explain the meaning: Distribute means to pass something out. For example, a student may wish to distribute his birthday treat. The mailman distributes the mail. People distribute Halloween candy. The card dealer distributes the cards. The teacher told the students to distribute themselves around the room because she wanted them to spread out. Sally’s mom distributed the cake by cutting it into equal pieces and then handing it out. In math we sometimes distribute the numbers.Cloze procedure: Students fill in the blanks with the term: Nathan was asked to _____________ (distribute) his birthday treat. The mailman’s job is to ______________ (distribute) the mail. When I was playing a game of cards, we took turns being the dealer so we could each ______________ (distribute) the cards to each other. The teacher wanted the students to spread out around the room, so she asked them to ____________________(distribute) themselves around the room. At my birthday party, my mom ______________________ (distributed) the cake by cutting it into equal pieces and then handing it out. When we are working with numbers in math, sometimes we _________________ (distribute) them.Act it out: Have students show how they would look if they were distributing something.Think – Pair – Share: Have students think of an example of something they might distribute. Have them turn and tell their partner. Select a few to share with the class.