# Presentation: 013965

## Reaching Reluctant Readers

- Archived Information*** ***
- How To Make Shakespeare (and Others) Sexy
- Charles Ellenbogen

## Essential Question

***How do we get reluctant readers to start reading and to continue reading?***** **

## Defining Reluctant Readers

**Reluctant Readers - **
**Are able to read any material that is interesting to them**
**Are frustrated by text they find difficult**
**Do not understand how to effectively apply reading strategies to ease their burden**
_**[http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/29](http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/29)**__** **_

## Why Emphasize Shakespeare?

**Required**
** **
**Intimidating**
**               ****-students**
**               ****-teachers**
** **
**NEH Summer Institute**
_**[http://www.neh.gov/projects/si-school.html](http://www.neh.gov/projects/si-school.html)**__** **_

## Curriculum Concerns

**Lack of choice**
**Genre approach**
** **
**Historical approach**
**Chronological approach**

## What is an Essential Question?

**A thematic, or essential question, is a genuine, open-ended question that can be addressed, though not necessarily answered, through the study of literature.**

## Why are Essential Questions Useful?

**Give students reason and focus for reading**
**Give students a way to link texts and genres – what do these books (*****Frankenstein***** and *****Macbeth*****) say about how men turn into monsters?**
**Promote the use of relevant reading and research strategies**
** **
**Give students some control over what they are studying**

## How Do You Generate an Essential Question?

**The students need to be part of the process – choice gives students a sense of control**
**Start with a word – if it’s American Literature, put “American” in the center of the page and have students brainstorm words, phrases, and questions related to it**
**Start with a word that is key to a piece of literature: ‘Friendship’ for *****Of Mice and Men*****, ‘Parents vs. Children’ for *****Romeo and Juliet***
**Turn their statements into questions – why do parents and children always battle?**

## Examples of Essential Questions

***To Kill A Mockingbird***
** **
**What is courage?**
** **
**What is justice?**
** **
**What does it mean to grow up?**
** **
**What makes someone a good parent?**
** **
**What does it mean to be an individual in society?**

## Why Use Backwards Planning?

***Alice in Wonderland***
** ****	****	****Alice is lost. **
** ****	****	****“****Which way should I go?”**
** ****	****	****After a moment of silence, the Cheshire Cat said, “That depends. . .”**
** ****	****	****Alice said, “Depends on what?”**
** ****	****	****The Cat said: “It depends on your destination. Where are you going?”**
** ****	****	****“****I don’t know. . . I just don’t know. . .” answered a confused Alice.**
** ****	****	****“****Then,” said the Cheshire Cat, while grinning broadly, “It really does not matter.”**

## What is Backwards Planning?

**What is it that you want your students to know and be able to do by the time they finish reading the book?**
** **
** ****concepts**
** ****skills**
** **
**Your objectives must be aligned with your school, local, state, and national standards.**

## Sample Objectives for Macbeth

_**Skills**_** **
**Maryland Core Learning Goal I.1.A.2**
**“****The student will use during-reading strategies appropriate to both the text and purpose for reading by visualizing, making connections, and using fix-up strategies such as rereading, questioning, and summarizing.”**
*** ***
**Students will be able to –**
** ****paraphrase an extended passage**
** ****summarize a scene**

## Sample Objectives for Macbeth

** **
**Core Learning Goal I.2.A.2**
**“****The student will examine meaning by determining how the speaker, organization, sentence structure, word choice, tone, rhythm, and imagery reveal an author’s purpose.”**
*** ***
**  ****Use what they know about iambic pentameter to interpret and perform a line**

## Macbeth Objectives

_**Concepts**_** **
**Core Learning Goal I.3.A.1**
**“****The student will explain how language and textual devices create meaning.”**
*** ***
**  ****Motif**

## Macbeth Objectives

**Core Learning Goal I.1.A.3**
**“****The student will use after-reading strategies appropriate to both the text and purpose for reading by summarizing, comparing, contrasting, synthesizing, drawing conclusions, and validating the purpose for reading.”**
*** ***
**  ****Fate vs. free will**
**  ****Tragic hero**

## So You Have an Essential Question. . . How Should You Begin?

** **
** ****Why are introductory activities essential?**

## What is an Opinionnaire?

**An opinionnaire is a set of 10-15 statements. The students are given a range of possible responses.**
** **
**	****SA****	****=****	****Strongly Agree**
**	****A****	****=****	****Agree**
**	****D****	****=****	****Disagree**
**	****SD****	****= ****	****Strongly Disagree**

## What is an Opinionnaire?

**Note: The options do not allow students to take a middle or neutral ground. They must choose a side. For the same reason, do not allow students to put something like ‘A/D’ for their response.**
** **
**The statements should be –**
**  ****Short**
**  ****Controversial**
**  ****Based on thematic elements of the text**

## Process for Opinionnaire

**Step 1: Distribute opinionnaires. If possible, leave room on the handout for students to explain their responses. Give them 10–15 minutes to complete the handout.**
** **
**Step 2 (Optional): Put students in groups of 3–5 and give them a clean opinionnaire. Have them work through the handout together.**
**  ****Practice discussion behaviors**
**  ****Students who are quiet in large group   discussions may feel more comfortable talking in this format**

## Process for Opinionnaire

**Step 3: Give a clean opinionnaire to a student with leadership qualities. Have that student lead the discussion.**

## Other Uses for Opinionnaires

**They can be used as a kind of pre- and post-test. Have students repeat the process at the end of the book to explore how and why their responses have changed.**
**They can be used to monitor continued reading. Have the students fill it out as though they were a certain character.**

## Opinionnaires and Writing Assignments

** ****Examples:**
**“****Ambition is always a good thing” can become the basis for the question – Is Victor a tragic hero?**
** **
**“****Friends should be loyal no matter what” can become the basis for the essay question – Compare and contrast Hamlet’s relationship with Horatio and his relationship with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.**

## What are Scenarios?

**Scenarios are based on ‘what is?’ questions designed to get students thinking about the meaning of a key idea in a text. **
**They should be based on the essential question that you and your class have chosen.**
**Text: *****To Kill A Mockingbird***
*** ***
**Essential Question: What is courage?**

## What is ‘Cued Reading’?

**Is a process that prompts the students to engage in a conversation with the text **
**Helps the students realize that reading does not go in just one direction**
** **
**Encourages students to mark the text and to ask questions of the author**
**Slows students down so they are reading for understanding, not just to complete the assignment**

## Background on Role Plays

**What are role plays?**
** **
**Why should you use them?**
**How do they work?**

## Sample Simulation

***The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn***
**Situation – School Board Meeting**
**Conflict – Should *****Huck Finn***** be read in public schools?**
**Participants – Parents, Teachers, Students, School Administration, Members of the NAACP, Librarians, Lawyers, School Board members, etc.**

## Guidelines for Simulations

**Research and preparation**
** **
**Format**
** **
**Implications for writing**

## “The Play’s the thing. . .”

**Why use drama?**

## Why Use Introductory Readings?

**The expanding definition of literacy – what do students actually read?**
**Meeting standards**

## Why Use Introductory Readings?

**Maryland Core Learning Goals I.2.A.4-6**
**“****The student will**
**	****4. explain connections between and among themes and styles of two or more texts.”**
** **
**Example: “The Lottery” and *****Lord of the Flies***

## Why Use Introductory Readings?

***“*****The student will**
**	****5. extend or further develop meaning by explaining the implications of the text for the reader or contemporary society**
**	****6. extend of further develop meaning by comparing texts presented in different media.”**
** **
**Example: newspaper articles about cloning        ****	****        and *****Frankenstein***

## Why Use Non-Fiction?

**What do students actually read?**
**Immediate feedback, exportability **(Smith and Wilhelm)
**Test preparation**

## Implications for Writing

**Definition essay and *****Lord of the Flies***
*** ***
**Narrative writing and *****The Catcher in the Rye***
*** ***
**Argument writing and *****Of Mice and Men and***** *****Frankenstein***

## How Do You Know If You’ve Made a Difference?

**The testing trap**
** **
**Baselines / milestones**
- Choosing passages
- Glossing vocabulary
- Asking comparable questions
- Constructing a rubric

## How Do You Know If You’ve Made a Difference?

**Evaluating in teams**
**The use of anchor papers**
- For consistency
- As models
**Examining (not fearing) the data**
**Using the data to plan**

## A few thoughts on. . .

**Risk**
**Controversy**
**Workload**

## What Happens Next?

**Introductory activities**
** **
**Assessments**
** **
_**[www.teacherquality.us](http://www.teacherquality.us/)**__** **_

## Review

**Backwards Planning**
** **
**Essential Questions**
** **
**Introductory Activities**
**Monitoring Reading**
**Implications for Writing**
**Baseline / Milestone Assessment**
** **
**Submit ideas**

## Final Thoughts

**Questions**
**Comments**
**Suggestions**
**Evaluations**