# Reading Strategies

Suggested Grade Level(s): All Grade levels from 7-12

Estimated class time: 45 minutes

# Summary

The students will use different strategies from the Reading
Apprenticeship philosophy in order to read and understand the concepts
presented to them in the "*Cosmic Times"*. The first one, called
"Talking to the Text" (T2T), is an independent strategy in which the
students write down their thoughts as they are reading the material. In
the second strategy, the students pair up and help each other read and
understand the concepts they are reading through reciprocal teaching.

# Objectives

-   The students will use Reading Apprenticeship strategies in order to
    identify and describe the content of the "Cosmic Times" newspaper
    articles.

# National Standards

**National Science Standards**

-   NS.5-8.7 HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

> As a result of activities in grades 5-8, all students should develop
> understanding of

-   Nature of science

-   History of science

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-   NS.9-12.7 HISTORY AND NATURE OF SCIENCE

> As a result of activities in grades 9-12, all students should develop
> understanding of

-   Nature of scientific knowledge

-   Historical perspectives

### National Language Arts Standards

(From the National Counsel of Teachers of English)

-   NL-ENG.K-12.3 EVALUATION STRATEGIES

Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret,
evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience,
their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of
word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies,
and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter
correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

# Knowledge Prerequisites

The students should be able to summarize reading material.

# Teacher Background

The teacher should have experience working with reading apprenticeship
strategies. They can access ideas and concepts from reading
apprenticeship through educational resources online, in textbooks, or
through materials from the administration. Some of these include:

-   *Reading For Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle
    and High School Classrooms*. (Editors) Ruth Schoenbach, Cynthia
    Greenleaf, Christine Cziko, Lori Hurwitz; 1999, Jossey- Bass.
    <http://www.wested.org/cs/sli/print/docs/sli/home.htm>;
    <http://www.wested.org/cs/sli/query/q/1351>

-   *Building Academic Literacy: An Anthology for Reading
    Apprenticeship*. [Audrey
    Fielding](http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-302475.html?query=Audrey+Fielding)
    (Editor), [Ruth
    Schoenbach](http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/Section/id-302475.html?query=Ruth+Schoenbach)
    (Editor), April 2003, Jossey-Bass.

-   [http://www.mciu.org/mciu23/cwp/view.asp?a=620&Q=436817&PM=1&mciu23Nav=%7C6509%7C](http://www.mciu.org/mciu23/cwp/view.asp?a=620&Q=436817&PM=1&mciu23Nav=|6509|)

-   <http://www.bucksiu.org/profdev/apprenticeship/index.cfm>

-   <http://www.pdkintl.org/kappan/k0310sch.htm>

# Materials

-   "*Cosmic Times*" newspapers; sticky notes for talking to the text
    (if needed)

# Procedure:

### I. Engagement 

Ask the students some strategies that they use to help them understand
the material that they read for class. Students may be familiar with
formal strategies such as SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)
and suggest those strategies. Students may have simple suggestions such
as rereading the material or highlighting important information.

### II. Exploration

Explain to the students that they are going to learn some different
reading strategies to help them understand the material presented in the
"Cosmic Times."

Ask the students who is the best person to teach them reading. They may
respond with the English/Language Arts teacher. Then ask them who is the
best person to teach them how to read science, for example, the content
in their science book. The answer is the science teacher. Explain to
them that because they are in *Science Class*, the best person to teach
them how to read *Science* is their science teacher because they are
experienced in this subject. Once they make this connection, they will
understand why sometimes it is easier to read literature in English than
to read about scientific concepts such as energy and motion in a physics
textbook or dark energy in an astronomy textbook.

### III. Explanation

1)  Introduce the **Reciprocal Teaching\*** strategy first. Use the
    attached explanation for reciprocal teaching to explain to the
    students. Tell the students that they are to pair up when they read
    by reciprocal teaching. Students should be paired as partner A and
    partner B for reading their content and follow the directions as
    explained.

2)  Now introduce the second strategy -- **Talking to the Text**
    (**TttT**). This is an individual experience in which the students
    are invited to write their thoughts on the text as they read. For
    the "Cosmic Times" they should have copies so that they are free to
    make comments in the margins and free spaces. They should write down
    questions, connections, puzzlements, and responses on the text.
    Please see the attached sheet for an example.

> It is important to provide the students with an opportunity to share
> their reading experiences with others. Put them in pairs or small
> groups to share their different markings, debrief the experience, and
> discuss the text itself.

(These strategies are used all over the world in a variety of ways. If
you are not sure how to implement specific parts of each strategy, then
test it in your classroom to see what works best for YOUR students. For
example, teachers and students often ask during reciprocal teaching if
they should have the students read the same paragraph out loud or
silently when doing this strategy. The answer to that question depends
upon the teacher. If the students can handle reading out loud in the
classroom and it works better for them, then go with that. If it is a
Friday afternoon and the students are filled with too much energy, have
them read the paragraphs silently before summarizing and checking
together.)

These strategies can be used for any of the Cosmic Times Articles, not
just he 1965 Edition of the Cosmic Times.

### IV. Evaluation

Check the students' newspaper articles to make sure that they are making
comments as they "talk to the text." You can grade the students based on
how well they are able to make connections through their comments on
their articles.

## Reciprocal Teaching

1.  Assign pairs as partner A and partner B.

2.  Tell them to read so that they are prepared to summarize and/or
    connect.

3.  Both partner read [same]{.underline} paragraph.

4.  One student summarizes and/or connects.

5.  Other student "checks and perfects." For example:

-   I agree with you because....

-   I can add...,

-   A question I have...,

-   This also connects to...

6.  Individually students summarize their understanding. (Optional)

> 7\. Switch roles. Repeat steps 3, 4, 5, & 6.

\*Palincsar (1986): Reciprocal Teaching.

The following pages are examples of **Talking to the Text** in the
Science and English Classroom.

![](media/image1.png){width="6.491666666666666in" height="8.39375in"}

![](media/image2.png){width="6.491666666666666in"
height="8.404166666666667in"}

> The following are some additional reading strategies that can be used
> in the classroom in addition to the Talking to the Text and Reciprocal
> Teaching.

##### 1 Sentence, 1 Paragraph

-   Read a passage identifying (underlining if possible) the main ideas

-   Teacher summarizes the first paragraph in one sentence modeling
    metacognitively how she did it

-   Develop groups to share what they thought was important in the next
    paragraph.

-   The group develops a consensus by talking about the main ideas and
    looking for similarities.  

-   Hear as many sentences as time allows and place a group's sentence
    under your sentence.

-   Repeat until all paragraphs are covered.

-   Read the paragraph created by appending each sentence and discuss if
    this is an effective summary. Return to group and share abstract
    that they have done.

#### **25 Word Abstract**

-   Read a passage highlighting in 1 color the main ideas

-   Mark up the words not known in another color or pencil/pen

-   Develop groups of to share words they don't know and help one
    another.

-   Teacher may want to step in here and do a check on key vocabulary
    pieces.  Don't allow negative transfer.

-   Then the group develops a consensus by talking about the main ideas
    and looking for similarities. 

-   Individually construct own 25 word abstract.

-   Return to group and share abstract that they have done.  Edit the 25
    word abstract as an individual. 

##### SQ3R

> [S]{.underline}urvey, [Q]{.underline}uestion, [R]{.underline}ead,
> [R]{.underline}ecite and [R]{.underline}eview (Robinson, 1970)

-   Survey (1 minute): Before beginning reading look through the whole
    chapter. See what the headings are \-- the major ones and the
    subheadings; hierarchical structures seem to be particularly easy
    for our brains to latch onto \-- check for introductory and summary
    paragraphs, references, etc. Resist reading at this point, but see
    if you can identify 3 to 6 major ideas in the chapter.

-   Question (usually less than 30 seconds): Ask yourself what this
    chapter is about: What is the question that this chapter is trying
    to answer? Or \-- along the curiosity lines \-- What question do I
    have that this chapter might help answer? Repeat this process with
    each subsection of the chapter, as well, turning each heading into a
    question.

-   Read (slower for some of us than others!): Read one section at a
    time looking for the answer to the question proposed by the heading!
    This is active reading and requires concentration so find yourself a
    place and time where you can concentrate.

-   Recite/write (about a minute): Say to yourself (I do this out loud
    so I have to study where I don\'t embarrass myself) or write down (I
    sometimes do this in the margins of the book itself ) a key phrase
    that sums up the major point of the section and answers the
    question. It is important to use your own words, not just copy a
    phrase from the book. Research shows that we remember our own
    (active) connections better than ones given to us (passive), indeed
    that our own hierarchies are generally better than the best prefab
    hierarchies.

-   Review (less than 5 minutes): After repeating steps 2-4 for each
    section you have a list of key phrases that provides a sort of
    outline for the chapter. Test yourself by covering up the key
    phrases and seeing if you can recall them. Do this right after you
    finish reading the chapter. If you can\'t recall one of your major
    points, that\'s a section you need to reread.