Blog # 9 Text Analysis

Blog # 9 Text Analysis I selected four types of texts that students read routinely at my school.
Title and Type of Text	Supportive Features of Text	Challenging Features
Non-Fiction   Build Our Nation- Fifth Grade Social Studies Textbook	·         Text explicitly states and highlights the main idea for each section. ·         Text is divided into two to three page sections. ·         Text makes use of illustrations, captions, photographs, maps, and tables to add interest and support the main ideas of the text.	·         Text assumes students have background knowledge from previous social studies books in the same series. ·         Text is written at a seventh to eighth grade reading level, according to an analysis using the Dale-Chall formula. ·         Text is laden with content vocabulary
Non-Fiction   Foss Science Stories: Structures of Life 3RD Grade	·         Key vocabulary is used frequently and in different stories that all support science investigations taking place in the classroom.  ·         Text has engaging photographs and interesting information in the sidebars.  ·         Text is short enough to not overwhelm the third-grade reader. ·         Information is logically organized. ·         Text frequently links students' experiences (eating peanuts, for example) to science content (peanuts are  seeds).  ·         Text supports experiments taking place in the classroom.	·         Text assumes students have some background knowledge.
Fiction   First Grade Decodable Texts –I Love Reading Booklets	·         Text matches phonics instruction. ·         Text contains only phonics features with which students are familiar.	·         Texts are difficult to make meaning from because of lack of content. ·         Texts are not engaging. ·         Texts are not written in a natural style.
Fiction   Houghton Mifflin Vocabulary Readers Grade 3 - No More Lost and Found	·         Book supports the key vocabulary studied in the Houghton Mifflin Anthology and gives students additional exposure to key vocabulary. ·         Purpose for reading is stated at the beginning of the text.  ·         Text introduces key vocabulary, with definitions, before the story. ·         Vocabulary is highlighted in the story. ·         Pictures support understanding.	·         Text is not highly engaging. ·         No text features present.

Blog # 8 Sheltered Instruction

 

I noted the following strategies used to shelter instruction in the videos:

v  Explicit instructions, including content and language objectives

¨      Objectives posted and discussed with students

v  Explicit teaching of reading strategies to support comprehension

¨      Visualizing

¨      Questioning

¨      Inferring

¨      Summarizing

¨      Teacher modeling of strategy use

v  Vocabulary instruction to support comprehension

¨      Vocabulary presented in context, with picture

¨      Use of synonyms

¨      Meaningful stories to connect to students’ backgrounds

v  Building background knowledge before beginning instruction

¨      Introduction and practice inferring before applying in the new text

¨      Guided questions used to focus students’ thinking

v  Hands-on activities

¨      Sticky notes used for students to apply reading strategies in text

v  Review strategies

¨      Review of past and currently taught reading strategies

¨      Opportunity to clarify misunderstandings

 

Reflection:

The teacher prepares lessons so students are able to access learning.  The teacher builds upon students’ background knowledge and previous lessons to make new learning comprehensible.  She has a method for allowing students to clarify what they do not understand.    Students seemed engaged, although one student seemed to be responding orally much more than others.  Although the importance of group work was mentioned, I did not observe it.  The During Reading video and the Post Reading video were the same, so perhaps I missed some group work occurring during reading.

Cheryl Schall