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"The value of student construction of concept maps has been well-documented
for the science classroom," the authors write.
PLAN was tested in two 6th-grade classes (50 students) taught by the same
teacher in a Texas middle school. One class used PLAN and the other did not.
In one class, the teacher taught students the PLAN strategy and illustrated
how to create concept maps on the board. The students practiced creating concept
maps in groups and then individually and also practiced the PLAN steps on
content in their science textbook.
To the surprise of many of the students, the researchers write, the process
of reading itself was a subject of discussion during science class. Students
talked about what it takes to be a successful reader, created paper projects
describing a successful reader and drew a concept map on the board of what a
successful reader does.
To encourage students to discuss how they felt when they couldn't understand
reading material, the teacher assigned several brief, challenging reading
exercises that included complex ideas and college-level grammar. Following these
assignments, the students discussed what it felt like to not completely
understand text and also talked about the importance of using reading strategies
to understand new science material. They talked about feeling embarrassed,
worried, anxious, scared and nervous.
Before the intervention, the teacher's science classes silently read their
textbooks while listening to an audio recording of the chapter. In the treatment
class, the students now worked together to create a concept map on the board.
The teacher reported a positive response from students, noted that they enjoyed
the map making and made comments such as "this makes sense."
The teacher guided students in class as they individually previewed a
textbook chapter by looking at the title and subtitles, size of letters, color
of letters and how the text was organized. They predicted the chapter content
and noted on the concept map what was known and unknown, revising the concept
map as they proceeded to read the chapter.
Improved comprehension While there was no difference in
the pre-test reading comprehension test scores between the teachers' two
classes, there was a statistically significant difference in the post-test
reading comprehension scores of textbook chapters, with the treatment group
scoring higher, the researchers write.
Treatment group students also scored higher on a reading strategy checklist
which included 10 yes or no questions regarding which strategies students used
for reading a textbook chapter and for monitoring comprehension.
The teacher reported that that while students with learning difficulties
needed the most support in adopting PLAN, it was most helpful to them judging by
their post-test comprehension scores. Average ability students also needed
coaching to use PLAN while higher ability students quickly adopted the approach
and used it successfully.
All students were eventually able to use the strategies more independently,
the teacher said. She concluded that "PLAN opens the door to better
understanding" and "teaches kids greater respect for books." She added that
students are "able to grasp and understand more and make more connections."
Scaffolded reading experience In scaffolded reading
experience, teachers give students tools and techniques that help organize their
reading experience in three stages:
- Pre-reading stage
- During-reading stage
- After-reading stage.
In the pre-reading stage, students and teachers establish the purpose for
reading and activate the students' prior knowledge of the topic. The teacher
also tries to create a context for learning, a term that is becoming ever-more
expansive and includes reader attitudes toward learning and reading, the support
network as well as the environment where learning takes place.
A major pre-reading strategy is to develop a list of words associated with
the topic. Students generate a list of vocabulary words associated with the
instructional concept, then brainstorm about more words, group them into
categories and then finally name the categories.
If the topic was WWII, for example, students might initially mention Pearl
Harbor, Rosie the Riveter or the persecution of Jews, activating their
background knowledge on the subject.
Students can then elaborate on these first words with parameters set by the
teacher, e.g. no more than eight groups with a minimum of three words in each
group.
"These parameters force students to think deeply about the concepts of each
word and assess whether the word should be associated with a particular group,"
the researchers write.
The primary purpose of the during-reading stage is is better comprehension as
students read and interact with the text.
During reading, students can make use of the following techniques:
- text structures--noticing various text structures (e.g. narrative,
expository) to become familiar with ways that information is presented;
- visualization--creating images by looking for descriptive words and using
them as clues, and
- self-regulation--working independently of the teacher by adjusting the rate
of reading, making predictions, asking questions, rereading and reading to
discover answers to questions.
Story pyramids Story pyramids were originally used for
narrative text, but they have been modified to be used with expository text, the
researchers write in Preventing School Failure. The story pyramid requires that
the learner pay attention to the underlying structure of the text while reading.
In an eight-step pyramid for expository text, students are told to:
- identify the topic using one word;
- describe the topic using two words; and
- describe the setting using three words, etc.
After students have read a passage, they may be asked to write a summary of
the most important information in a text. It may be as concise as three
sentences or as long as one page.
Students may use the pyramid to write the topic sentence in the summary and
to provide more supporting details. The closing statement should synthesize
information on the topic.
An important "don't" for teachers of adolescents, the researchers say, is don't assume that students have been taught the reading strategies in earlier
grades. While students may have the skills necessary to read or at least
recognize words, they often need assistance in comprehending what they are
reading.
"Improving reading in a middle school science classroom," by Rich
Radcliffe et al., Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, February 2008,
Volume 51, Number 5, pp 398-408.
"Reading Success in the Secondary Classroom," by Charlotte Boling and William
Evans, Preventing School Failure, Volume 52, Number 2, pp. 59-66.
Published in ERN April 2008 Volume 21 Number 4
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