TExES Core Subjects EC-6 English Language Arts & Reading (901)

Phonemes

The smallest individual sounds in a word that distinguish one word from another

ex) p, b, d, and t in the English words pad, pat, bad, and bat.

Semantics

The meaning of words and the way words, phrases, and sentences combine to convey meaning

Morpheme

The smallest units of meaning that can be combined

Free morphemes

Morphemes that occur alone in a word

ex) car

Bound morphemes

Morphemes that can't occur alone in a word

ex) cats; talker

Morpheme 1: Cat; Talk

Morpheme 2: -s; -er

Syntax

The grammatical arrangement of words in sentences

Pragmatic Language

The use of appropriate communication in social situations (knowing what to say, how to say it, and when to say it).

Teachers can provide opportunities for students to continue to grow in oral language when they...

Let students use language for real reasons in the classroom and value opportunities for letting students talk in a variety of situations for different purposes

Telegraphic stage

A phase in early childhood language development where children begin to combine two or more words to create simple sentences

ex: "more juice"

Functions of Language

Instrumental: to obtain something

Regulatory: to request or control

Interactional: to make contact with others

Personal: to express self

Heuristic: to gain information or explore

Representational: to inform

How to foster students' abilities in speaking and listening

- Integrate listening & speaking skills in subject-matter learning

- Provide students with an array of opportunities to engage in authentic speaking & listening (different purposes, various situations, & various audiences)

- Provide modeling

- Provide helpful growth in using conventional language rather than focusing upon errors (don't be quick to correct mistakes, rather set an example)

- Let students engage in talking and listening daily as part of a routine

- Focus on what students can do, rather than what they cannot

- Seek advice when needed

- Speaking and listening help students learn to read and write. They don't have to speak perfectly first, but knowing words and sounds helps

8 Conditions of Literacy Development

1. Immersion (reading aloud, small group work, daily writing)

2. Demonstration (Use various models of writing)

3. Engagement (students actively engage & see that they can read & write)

4. Expectation (high but realistic goals)

5. Responsibility (Students make own choices about reading/writing)

6. Approximation (Students gradually attain proficiency)

7. Use (need multiple opportunities to use skills)

8. Response (students gain most from response - active listening, questions, feedback, etc.)

What is the single most important predictor of success in reading?

Reading aloud

Retelling is used...

1) to encourage students to pay attention to the text as they read

2) to assess whether students understood what they read

4 Ways Readers Identify/Recognize Words

1) Sight words

2) Phonics

3) Structural Analysis

4) Context Clues

Sight words

Words that should be instantly recognized without being sounded out (ex: the, said, was)

Dolch List

A list of the 220 most frequently used words (sight words) encountered when reading

Phonics

Relationship of sounds and letters

Initial Consonant Sounds

The single consonant at the beginning of a word (ex: y in yellow)

Final Consonant Sounds

Ending consonant sound of a word

Consonant blends

Two or three consonant sounds, unseparated by vowels, blend together

ex: bl, cr, str

Consonant digraphs

Two consonants create a single sound

ex: ch (church)

CVC pattern

A vowel connecting two consonants (typically short vowels)

ex: cap

Two vowels together

First vowel says its name, second one is silent

ex: wait (ai)

Vowel-Consonant-silent e (CVe) Pattern

First vowel is long & second is silent

ex: name

R-controlled vowels

CVC pattern, but not short vowel because of the r

ex: car

Vowel digraphs

Two vowels come together to create a new sound that is neither long, short, nor r-controlled

Ex: haul (au), look (oo)

Dipthongs

Slurring of two-letter vowel combinations (special digraph)

oy/oi: boy, boil

ou/ow: house, cow

Structural Analysis

Students identify meaning in words by examining parts of a word

Inflectional endings

A word part added to the end of a base word changes the number/tense of a base word

ex: -s

Compound Words

Two or more words when combined make a new word w/ new meaning

ex: birdhouse

Contractions

Shortened form of two words with an apostrophe showing where letters are left out

ex: I've

Prefix

Affix at the beginning of a word

ex: unhappy (un-)

Suffix

Affix at the end of the word

ex: helpful (-ful)

Morphemic Analysis

When prefixes, suffixes, and roots/base words are used to determine/remember the meanings of words

Cognates

Words in two or more languages that share a similar meaning, spelling, and pronunciation.

Ex: astrology, astrología

Context Clues

Decoding strategy to derive meaning from unknown words

One of the best ways for students to learn word analysis or identification skills is through...

spelling

Cloze Passages

Leave blanks at designated points to see whether students can read and understand the texts even with the missing words.

Fluency entails

Accuracy, rate, and expression

Accuracy & Rate Fluency

Students can identify words automatically

Expression/Prosody fluency

Appropriate intonation & phrasing

ex: student reads naturally, notes punctuation, conversational volume

Choral reading

When the teacher and students read a text together

Shared reading

When a teacher reads first to model and then students follow along

Benefits of readers' theater

There are no costumes or memorization, so it is an easy drama activity to incorporate while fostering fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, & oral language development.

It is an ideal way to develop oral & written language because students are using language for real reasons.

Types of Comprehension

1) Literal

2) Inferential

3) Evaluative

Literal Comprehension

Being able to recall what is explicitly stated in a text

Ex: Main idea w/ important details

Inferential Comprehension

Readers discern or arrive at understandings when information is not explicitly stated in the text

Ex: idea connection, prediction, drawing conclusions based on context clues/arguments

Evaluative Comprehension

Readers think at higher levels as they analyze, evaluate, and decide on a position or stance.

Ex: Forming own opinion w/ evidence

Learning to Read vs. Reading to Learn

EC-3rd Grade: Learning to Read (learning how to decode & identify words)

4th-6th Grade: Reading to Learn (morphemic analysis, understanding words, increasing vocabulary)

In constructing meaning, readers use their knowledge of....

1) Language

2) The world

3) Navigating print

Narrative texts

Texts that tell a story or recount events.

Argumentative texts

Texts where an author takes a position or presents a thesis

Expository text

Texts that focus on presenting the essential facts of a topic

Informational text structures

- Description

- Sequence

- Compare/Contrast

- Problem/Solution

- Cause/Effect

Three major categories of literature

- Fiction

- Nonfiction

- Poetry

What is traditional literature?

Folktales, fairy tales, legends, and myths

Literary Elements

Plot, Setting, Theme, Characterization, Style, and Point of View

Plot

what happens in the story

Setting

Time & place of the story

Theme

Messages, big ideas, or larger meanings in the story

Characterization

How the author reveals the characters

Style

The way a writer tells a story

(words used, how they're arranged, & the tone of the narrative)

Point of View

Who is telling the story & the way the narrator reveals the story

Guided Reading

Small group instruction where the teacher works with students reading at approximately the same reading level

Guided reading works best when...

Students in the group are at the same reading level, and the book matches what they're ready to learn.

What should a teacher do before reading?

Build or activate background knowledge helpful for understanding the text

Ex: Previewing text to examine speech bubbles, charts, bold print, & headings that play a role in reading the text successfully

What can teachers do during reading?

- Determine what needs to be addressed during word study (unknown words, fluent reading, multiple cues for word analysis)

- Teach as they respond to miscues or oral reading errors

- Devote additional time to develop comprehension

What happens after reading?

Teacher and students discuss the story (what took place, engaging in higher-level comprehension) & word study (how to spell a few words & address meaning to provide vocabulary instruction)

What are reading cues?

- Visual cues (looking at the text)

- Language structure cues (think about what sounds right)

- Meaning cues (decide what makes sense)

Criterion-Referenced Tests

Assess a specific set of skills, concepts, or criteria at a designated level of difficulty

Norm-Referenced Tests

Standardized tests that compare a student's test performance with a sample of similar students who took the test at the same time of the school year.

Retelling

Students retell what they have read; it assesses students' understanding & helps students monitor their reading

Story Maps

Graphic organizer that helps students learn the elements of fiction (setting, characters, plot, problem resolution & theme)

Previewing

Helps students anticipate what they are going to read & using text features to understand the text as a whole

Text Features

illustrations, images, diagrams, table of contents, captions, etc.

Responsibility Sequence

1. The teacher demonstrates while the students watch

2. The teacher and students do the task together

3. The students work together while the teacher provides monitoring to make sure they know what to do

4. The students are able to work on their own

Critical thinking skills

analysis, synthesis, evaluation

Question-Answer Relationships (QAR)

strategy used after reading to help students deal with the variable nature of questions presented about a passage

"Right There" Questions

Literal questions that often have the same words as the text

"Think & Search" Questions

Questions found in the text that require searching various parts of the text to put the required information together

"Author and You" Questions

Questions that require students to connect their prior knowledge with the info in the text

"On Your Own" Questions

Questions that require students to use just their prior knowledge to answer the questions

Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA)

Comprehension strategy that encourages students to activate their prior knowledge, make predictions, & monitor their understanding

DRTA Procedures

1. Direct (teacher calls attention to text features & predictions are made)

2. Read

3. Think (Discuss predictions & what was read)

Reciprocal Teaching

Teaching that encourages students to be active readers by monitoring their reading

Reciprocal Teaching 4 Strategies

1. Summarizing

2. Question Generating

3. Clarifying

4. Predicting

Think-Pair-Share (TPS)

Strategy that encourages students to think on their own response to a question the teacher provides & then share their thoughts with another student

Concept Map

Visual display that serves as an organizer that enhances students' understanding and retention

Ex: web, timeline, Venn diagram

SQ4R

Strategy that helps students navigate expository text

Steps:

1. Survey

2. Question

3. Read

4. Recite

5. Record

6. Review

KWL

Strategy helps student think about prior knowledge, set purposes for reading, & monitor their comprehension

what I Know

what I Want to learn

what I Learned

Acquiring vocabulary entails being able to:

1) Understand a word when it is used

2) Define a word in one's own words

3) Decode and spell a word

4) Know multiple meanings & how they apply

Contextual Analysis

Teasing out meaning by evaluating surrounding words and illustrations

Tier 1 Words

The most basic words that usually will not require instruction for native speakers.

Ex: Puppy, house

Tier 2 Words

Words that are more apt to require instruction because students are not likely to encounter these words

Ex: Inhibit, Adjacent

Tier 3 Words

Words that are associated with a specific field or content area

Ex: Condensation, diameter

Skill instruction of any type is best provided for no more than _____ minutes at a time

10 to 20 minutes

7 Elements of Writing

1. Organization (internal structure of sample)

2. Ideas (how ideas are presented in the sample)

3. Voice (uniqueness of the author)

4. Word Choice (vocabulary used to convey meaning)

5. Sentence Fluency (flow of ideas & use of connectors)

6. Conventions (capitalization, punctuation, spelling)

7. Presentation (how the final product looks in print)

Main functions of writing

to narrate, to describe, to explain (expository), to persuade

Grade 1-3 TEK for visual representation skills

Make & talk about simple visuals (like drawings) to show what they learned or read