WANTED…Words for Readers

by Laura Robb

Years ago, when I asked a seventh-grade student how I could help him with reading his response, “Give me words” replayed in my mind for several days. His reply haunts me to this day because a lack of words not only affects students’ reading, it also impacts their ability to think and communicate ideas through writing and speaking. The time to address students’ need for words starts the day children begin school and should continue through high school.

Each year groups of capable, smart students arrive in Pre-K and kindergarten lacking vocabulary and background knowledge.  Also limited is the number of books read aloud to them by an adult as well as the amount of meaningful talk they hear. You can’t change children’s past experiences. But youcan step-up word learning and close this vocabulary gap by reading aloud, by understanding that volume in reading enlarges vocabulary, and by teaching words in groups. 

A study conducted between 2009 and 2011 by the National Association of Educational Progress (NAEP), the nation’s report card, revealed a strong correlation between students’ vocabulary and comprehension scores. By boosting students’ word knowledge and enthusiasm for learning words, we can gradually improve their reading skill and develop lifelong readers and learners.   

Teach Words in Groups

When groups of words have a common connection, it’s easier for students to understand and remember them. If you teach words in groups, you offer students a large palette of related words to reflect on and discuss before, during, and after reading. Write the words students suggest on chart paper or post them on a white board.  Revisit the list often, add new words, and discuss a few each day. The more students meet the word through reading and listening to others use them during discussions, the sooner they’ll absorb the words.

Before Reading invite students to find groups of words:

• Related to a concept they’re learning such as community, devastation, discrimination, or instruments. While studying members of a community, first graders suggested: neighbors, minister, postman, policemen, teachers, principal, doctors, nurses, friends, bankers, lawyers, plumbers, house builders, mom, dads, cats, dogs, people who sell things.
• Associated with a specific genre such as mystery, realistic fiction, fantasy, etc.  Third graders suggested this group of words as they read mysteries: detectives, police, crime, red herring, a hook, suspense, suspects, cliff hangers.

• Connected to themes or topics such as obstacles, relationships, and disasters, or weather. Half-way through their reading unit on natural and man-made disasters seventh graders list included: hurricanes, tornadoes, fire, blizzards, ice storm, thunder and lightening, electrical explosions, divorce, death, epidemics, pandemics, war.

During Reading model and think aloud how to use context clues to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word while reading aloud to students. Then invite them to practice during a small group guided or strategic reading lesson. Show students that context clues can be in the sentence with the word, or clues can come before or after. Take it a step further and jot all the forms of a word on chart paper.  During guided reading, a fifth grader used context to figure out the meaning of survival. To wrap-up the lesson, I introduced and discussed with the group: survive, survived, surviving, survivor. In addition to related words, it’s also beneficial to teach multiple forms of a word.

After Reading continue to enlarge students’ word knowledge by teaching:

• Word families: “ain” family: brain, chain, gain, main, maintain, rain stain
• Prefixes and sets of related words show how the prefix changes a word’s meaning. Prefix “un,” meaning not: uninterested, unintelligent, uncaring, unmanageable, unexplored, etc.
• Synonyms and antonyms: kind, helpful, compassionate, warm, sympathetic; hurtful, cruel, unhelpful, destructive, cold, distant, etc.
• Words for directions: list, explain, define, compare/contrast, state, express, support, etc.

Closing Thoughts

Be intentional and relentless with enlarging students’ vocabulary by:

• Teaching sets of words, discussing them, and consciously using them in to show students how they work. 
• Having 15-20-minutes of self-selected independent reading daily. Volume in reading matters!
• Increasing the amount of purposeful student talk through partner, small group, and whole class discussions.
• Helping students visualize words, for what they can picture they understand.
• Developing students’ curiosity about the multiple meanings of words.

Teaching words in groups doesn’t require lengthy lessons. You can do this as a transition from one topic or subject to another, or take a few minutes at the start or near the end of class. Spiral back and revisit words.  By keeping in the forefront of your mind the relationship of vocabulary to reading comprehension, you’ll surely take snippets of time to enlarge students’ word knowledge!

Follow Laura on Twitter @LRobbTeacher

Check out Evan’s blog posts on ScholasticEDU!

Learn more about Laura’s ideas on reading- check out- Teaching Reading in Middle School

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 Laura Robb

Though we are social beings who crave relationships and meaningful interactions with others, we also relish having time alone.  And that’s a good thing. Alone time cultivates reflection, the ability to raise questions and to look back at an experience, think deeply about it, and gain self-knowledge.

Recently, Gracie, a fifth grader, and her group finished reading Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner. Gracie closed her eyes for a few moments, hoping more pages would pop into the book. “There has to be more,” she blurted out. “It can’t end. I want to know what happened after Searchlight died.”   Gently, her teacher reminded Gracie that she could imagine what happened by extending the end of the story in her mind, and she could continue to think about what she had learned from the characters and events.

Gracie and her teacher illustrate what reflecting about reading looks like, and how reflection can boost students’ connections to characters, conflicts, problems, and new information. But it can also do more. Gracie and her group developed empathy for being an orphan and little Willy shouldering adult responsibilities.

Defining Reflection

Reflection is the act of thinking about something and can be a personal experience like planning a vegetable garden, mulling over a book during and after reading or thinking about a movie or play. A powerful learning and imagining tool, reflection enhances experiences by deepening our insights, helping us make sense of new information, and making it possible to use prior knowledge to create new understandings.  Those who reflect experience joy in reading, learning, and daily life. They also develop agency and the capacity for positive change.

A solo activity, reflection is unique to each person’s experiences and prior knowledge. It’s also meta-cognitive, providing a learner with knowledge about processing information, connecting to past experiences, and transferring learning to new situations.  However, reflecting is individualized thinking and learning that requires modeling and practice.

Promoting Reflective Classrooms

Teachers who squarely see the benefits of questions and reflection in their lives can become the intermediary in developing the habit of raising questions and reflecting among students.  When teachers reflect on lessons, observations of and conferences with students, they collect stories and information that can support scaffolding learning and provide insights into students’ behavior and attitudes.  It’s helpful to set aside ten to fifteen minutes each day to think about what worked and what you can do to increase students’ engagement and desire to learn.

Reflecting on Teaching:  For me, the level of success in a class has everything to do with students’ engagement in the work and their motivation to work hard and learn. By cultivating the habit of thinking about each teaching day, you can celebrate successes as well as repair areas that require attention.   The questions that follow encourage reflecting on teaching:

• How can I help students become more involved in their learning?
• Why were most students engaged, and a few disengaged?
• How do I involve students in planning learning experiences?
• Do students offer input and feedback on using technology on the classroom?
• Why is it important to invite students to help decide how to arrange our classroom for project-based learning, book discussions, genius hour, collaborative planning?
• Am I giving students feedback that helps them improve?
• Are students doing most of the talking and work? If not, how can I flip this?
• Is choice a part of independent and instructional reading? Of collaborative projects? Of presentations?
• Does the way I use technology enhance students’ learning?
• Am I effectively modeling how to reflect on reading, on a discussion,  a collaborative project, and on the use of technology?

Nurture your curiosity and ask questions to examine your teaching and students’ learning. Your questions can help you resolve issues independently or more likely, send you to colleagues for suggestions. When you wonder why a student didn’t absorb a lesson or why a child misbehaves or can’t complete a task, you’ve taken the first step to explore ways to scaffold and support.  Be curious. Wonder. Find the path to help yourself and students grow.

Students Reflecting on Learning

To help students actively reflect on a lesson or work they’ve been doing, first invite them to silently think about their work.  To guide students, make your inner voice visible and think aloud to show them how you might consider the task. You can say something like: I wish I had set aside more time to work on projects today because 20 minutes wasn’t enough; I’ll do better tomorrow. Or We don’t seem to get to independent reading every day, I’m considering starting the class with it.  Doing this builds students’ mental model of what reflective thinking is like. Point out that frequently reflection can lead to a decision that improves learning and use of time.

Have pairs generate and share questions, write these on chart paper, and invite students to choose one or two. The goal is for students to integrate reflective questioning while working on a task or project, and after it’s completed.  What follows is a list of some learning experiences for student reflection. You and students will pinpoint many more.

• Writing Tasks
• Reviewing Notebook Entries
• Participating in Small-Group Discussions
• Preparation for Lessons
• Contributions to collaborative learning projects
• Book talks
• Taking notes
• Project-based learning
• Genius Hour
• Active listening during discussions
• Silent reading
• Stamina
• Quarterly review of portfolios

Reflection as a Tool for Change

Reflective questioning deepens understanding and can lead to positive changes.  When you and your students reflect and then express what you learned, thinking moves beyond the experience to self-knowledge and transfer to other learning and life situations.

My Scholastic Blogs

Follow Laura on Twitter @LRobbTeacher

Check out Evan’s blog posts on ScholasticEDU!

Learn more about Laura’s ideas on reading- check out- Teaching Reading in Middle School

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Dear Educators,

Evan and I honor your hard work and dedication to your students throughout the 2017-2018 school year!  We both know you faced many challenges and dealt with each one, always keeping your students at the center.  You are the unsung heroes of our country, teaching new generations to read, write, think creatively, innovate, and problem solve.  We want you to know the depth of our respect for your diligence, for the classroom communities you worked all year to build, and for the support you’ve offered each child!  Now it’s time to take a deep breath, relax, and use your short break to care for your wellbeing and to continue to reflect and learn.

Evan and I believe that balance is the key to utilizing free time well.  Some of you will take classes relating to your discipline, others already have stacks of professional books on night tables and desks for summer reading.  All terrific goals! However, we both urge you to set aside time to read for pleasure, to do what you love—long walks, hiking, relaxing on a beach, catching up on missed movies, spending time with family and friends.  Though teaching is one part of your life, it can be all-consuming during the year.  So, yes, do continue to learn!  But also reserve time to do what you love and find difficult to fit into your daily teaching schedule.

#teachersdeserveit

We wish you a joyful summer break!

Evan Robb and Laura Robb

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By Gravity Goldberg

Let’s face it. By 1:00 pm a third of us are wishing for a diet coke, a third want a Macchiato, and another third want a power nap.  Being the kind of teacher who plans purposefully, patiently meets students where they are, and keeps up to date with the latest tips and research can be exhausting.  Of course, there are also the unplanned events that claim our attention like parent emails, unexpected meetings, and the social interactions that seep into our classrooms and fill it with peer drama and mediation. While that caffeine and sugar boost give us a quick fix it also leaves us jittery, rounder around the waist, and crashing later in the day.  This led me in search of other, healthier, and more sustainable ways to get that much-needed energy boost.

By looking at the research from positive psychology and sociology I found that one of the best things we can do for us and our students is to focus on building from strengths.  It turns out that we train our brains to look for whatever we think matters most.  If we believe that focusing on strengths is important we will begin to look for them and then find them everywhere with every student.  On the other hand, when we look for what is not working, we can also find that everywhere.  The biggest difference is that strengths make us feel good and when we feel good we are happier, more energized and more successful teachers.

Every day I sit with a reader and ask him about his process.  I get curious about what this particular reader thinks about, notices, and does as he reads. I  really listen. Then I allow myself to be impressed by what he already knows how to do.  By focusing on a reader’s strengths I fill up on positivity that can’t help but give me a boost.

After noticing a strength I explain it to the reader so he can also relish in the hard work that is paying off.  While giving the feedback I really take in his change in facial expression and demeanor.  The toothy grins, the rosy glow, all show me just how much the reader feels his pride.  His pride gives me even more of an energy boost. Finally, I sneak peeks at the reader for the rest of the day, and enjoy the energy ripples of communicating to students what they already do so well.

Of course, this does not mean I only reinforce strengths when I confer, as I also teach students strategies, but the teaching comes second.  At first, I had to train myself to look for what the reader could do so I could build from strengths.  I put sticky notes on my conferring clipboard to remind myself of my intention.  After a few weeks of daily practice it became more natural and now it is automatic.

Think this is all fluff,  like whipped cream atop a latte?  Think again—this positivity practice makes a difference.  The next day, and the next day after that, you see its impact on the reader.  In psychology, they call it the helper’s high.  In teaching, I’m thinking of it as a double shot of positive feedback that gives each of us a needed boost.

Learn more about Gravity! Check out her website!

We recommend Mindset & Moves, By Gravity Goldberg

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