FTCE Elementary Education k-6 Language Arts and Reading

The 5 Components of Reading

phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension

Phonemic Awareness

The ability to hear and manipulate the sounds of spoken language. Includes noticing rhyme and recognizing the separate, small sounds in words (phonemes).

Phonics

The understanding of the relationships between the written letters of the alphabet and the sounds of spoken language. This knowledge allows a reader to "decode" words by translating the letters into speech sounds.

Fluency

The ability to read quickly, accurately, and with proper expression.

Vocabulary

Includes all the words the reader can understand and use.

Comprehension

Ability to understand what one has read. Includes recognizing main idea of article or able to compare and contrast different characters.

Word Recognition

the student has ability to visually identify words in isolation or context.

Phases of word recognition

pre-alphabetic, partial-alphabetic, full-alphabetic, graphophonemic, and morphemic.

Text to self

the reader made a connection from the reading to own personal life.

Text to text

the reader made a connection from the reading to another book with similar writing style, theme, or topic.

Text to world

the reader made a connection from the reading to a topic or an event that has taken place in the world.

Critical Thinking Strategies

making connections, making predictions, questioning, summarizing

Making predictions

use title and illustration on cover to predict what a text will be about aids comprehension. Throughout reading, predictions can be affirmed or revised.

Questioning

helps students make meaning of text being read. Questions about text, author's intent etc.

"Right there" questions (text explicit)

literal questions. Answer in the text itself.

"Think and search" (text implicit)

the answer is implicit in text. Student must synthesize, infer, or summarize to find answer.

"Reader and author" (implicit or experienced based)

Reader must combine own experience with what texts states.

"On my own" (implicit or experienced based)

Reader must generate answer from prior knowledge.

Summarizing

to simply and concisely paraphrase what has been read.

Reading Fluency

accuracy, automaticity, rate, prosody

Accuracy

ability to correctly read the words in a text

Automaticity

ability to instantly recognize a large bank of words to quickly decode unfamiliar words.

Rate

speed of reading

Prosody

ability to read with appropriate rhythm, intonation, and expression.

Reading Comprehension

Main idea, supporting details and facts, author's purpose, fact and opinion, point of view, inference, visualize, conclusion

Main idea

Determining the essential message of a reading selection.

Supporting details and facts

provides the reader with the vital info needed to synthesize and summarize.

Author's purpose

Could be to explain, inform, persuade, or entertain.

Fact and opinion

Students should know difference when reading.

Point of view

Students should be able to identify which __________ an author is writing.

Inference

"Reading between the lines." Often includes merging what is already known about topic to new information presented.

Visualize

Create mental pictures in one's mind.

Conclusion

The end or summation of a reading.

Facilitate student reading comprehension

activate prior knowledge, summarize, self-monitoring, questioning, use of graphic and semantic organizers, think alouds, recognizing story structure

Activate prior knowledge

Students must connect what they hear, read, and view with what they already know. Can use Think-Pair-Share technique to discuss previous knowledge with partner. Graphic organizers (K-W-L charts) can elicit what students already know about topic.

Summarize

Often included in a retelling of the selection. Think-Pair-Share techniques to discuss summary with partner.

Self-monitoring

Being aware of their thinking as they are reading. Students must pause periodically to reflect about info.

Questioning

Teachers must model different questions for students to internalize and implement in own reading.

Use of graphic and semantic organizers

used by teachers and students to highlight big ideas in a text and facilitate connections. Organizers synthesize and summarize reading.

Think alouds

"talking to the text." Involves teacher modeling her thoughts aloud while reading text to students. Vocabulary often incorporated to pre-teach new words and meanings. Then practiced by students and partners.

Recognizing story structure

Beginning, middle, end with literary elements setting, characters, and plot. Teachers highlight and facilitate the analyzing of story structure through questioning techniques before, during, and after read aloud or shared reading.

Informational or nonfiction text

is structured using organizational aids called text features. Helps summarize info presented.

Title, table of contents, headings, subheadings, bold and italicized words, illustrations, photographs, labeled diagrams, charts, graphs, tables, glossary, index

Graphic organizers

(cause and effect, venn diagrams, double entry journals, timelines) can be used to further explore content

Literary text or narratives

have a logical sequence. Students can be taught to recognize beginning, middle, end.

Emergent literacy

the beginning phase of literacy. Learn text and pictures provide meaning. Are exposed to structure or syntax of language and predict meaning of text.

Emergent literacy

Oral language development, phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, concepts of print

Oral language development

enhance skills: be involved in open-ended (whole group, small group, and one-on-one) discussions, read alouds, echo reading, songs, nursery rhymes, storytelling, readers theater, cloze activities, poetry, role play and drama, fingerplays...

Phonological awareness

includes ability of a student to identify and manipulate large parts of spoken language (words, syllables, onset/rime units) and awareness of other aspects of sound in our language like alliteration, intonation, and rhyming.

Alphabet knowledge

ability to identify and name the upper and lowercase letters.

Concepts of print

Should understand print conveys meaning, directionality, concept of word (word boundaries), one-to-one corresponding letter knowledge, phonemic awareness, and literacy language (author, illustrations, title...).

Poetry

Contains short lines, imagery, and elements of sound, such as rhythm and rhyme.

Folklore

Stories that were told by word of mouth: nursery rhymes, fairy tales, fables, myths, legends, tall tales,

Fantasy

Stories that could not happen in the real world

Science fiction

Stories that might happen in the future

Realistic fiction

Stories focusing on events that could happen in the real world.

Historical fiction

Realistic stories set in the past.

Biography

Stories that tell the tale of a person's life

Nonfiction

Books that present information.

Literary Elements

Setting, Characters, plot, theme, style

Setting

where the story takes place

Characters

people or animals in a story, novel, or play

Plot

the events that take place in a story; often includes a climax and resolution

Theme

the subject or central idea of the story

Style

the vocabulary and syntax the author uses to create the story

Alliteration

two or more words or syllables, near each other, with the same beginning consonant

Hyperbole

an exaggeration used to emphasize a point

Analogy

a detailed and sometimes lengthy comparison of two ideas or events

Irony

using words that mean the opposite of what the author intends

Personification

giving human qualities to a thing or abstraction

Metaphor

a comparison of two distinctly different things suggesting a similarity between them

Simile

a comparison using like or as

selecting quality multicultural lit books

Depicts diversity but avoids stereotyping

Explores cultural differences and similarities

Provides accurate and positive portrayal of culture represented

Language and setting must be consistent with culture

Artistic literature response

incorporates a variety of artistic mediums such as drawing, painting, collage, scratchboard.

Discussion

might include literature circles or book clubs (face to face or online) that encourages small, temporary, and heterogeneous groups of students to talk about the story being read.

Dramatic Response

poetry readings, readers theater, storytelling

Inquiry

includes research about an author or topic (______ circles)

Written response

Responding to reading in writing. Independent graphic organizers, reading logs, learning logs, and reading response journals

Multimedia tools

computer software programs or online resources can enhance reading comprehension. PPT presentations, wiki pages, digital storytellings, or web-quests in response to literature.

Developmental Writing Stages

Scribbling, mock, handwriting, mock letters, conventional letters, invented temporary or phonetic spelling and conventional spelling.

The Writing Process

prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing

Prewriting

Activating prior knowledge, gathering and organizing ideas; may include brainstorming a list of ideas and researching / reading about a topic; deciding upon intended audience.

Drafting

Transfer of ideas to paper; focus on getting all thoughts down

Revising

Refining and clarifying the draft; focus on meaning and further developing the writing piece

Editing

Proofreading the draft for misspelled words, grammar, mechanic errors.

Publishing

Sharing a final product

Modes of Writing

narrative writing, persuasive writing, descriptive writing, expository writing, informative writing, creative writing

Narrative writing

writing that recounts a personal or fictional experience or tells a story based on a real or imagined event.

Persuasive writing

writing that attempts to convince the reader that a point of view is valid or that the reader should take a specific action

Descriptive writing

writing that attempts to "paint a picture" or describe a person, place, thing, or idea

Expository writing

writing that gives info, explains why or how, clarifies a process, or defines a concept

Informative writing

writing that informs the reader in an attempt to create new found knowledge

Creative writing

uses the writers imagination

Teaching Writing Conventions

Include mechanics such as spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. Taught by whole group through modeled, shared and interactive writing opportunities or to small groups and individuals during writing conferences. Apply knowledge during editing and publishing phases of writing process. Rubrics

Assessment

the process for gathering data about students to identify areas of strength and weakness in order to guide future instruction.

Formal Assessment

intelligence tests, achievement tests, diagnostic tests.

Informal Assessments

informal reading inventories, running records, cloze tests, anecdotal notes, checklists, rubrics, portfolios, surveys.

Norm-Referenced Tests

Assessment instrument administered to students of various backgrounds to develop norm. Norms are the average scores of the populations. Used as comparison point for teachers' students.

Criterion-Referenced Tests

Assessment instrument that assess if student reached the point mastery. (FCAT)

Diagnostic Assessment

standardized tests aimed to determine a student's strengths and weaknesses.

Performance Based Assessment

(Authentic Assessment) incorporates real-life applications of what has been taught.