Activity #1: Entrance Activity

• Read and complete the Anticipation Guide provided to you.

Math and Science Literacy Skills:

Tools for Thinking and Learning

Christine TroupLynne RamageEileen Spalla

Diane Kinkade

Schedule• 9-10:30

– Anticipation guide– Intro– Text readability– Text structure– Vocabulary

• 11-12– Background knowledge – Comprehension 1

• 1-2– Comprehension 2– Writing

What are we doing today?

• Identify and address the unique challenges of reading math and science

• Build awareness of and learn practical tools that apply to– Text structure and features– Vocabulary– Background knowledge– Comprehension strategies– Writing strategies

What is reading?

"Reading is a constructive process in which the reader interacts with text, using prior knowledge and experience to make connections, generate hypotheses, and make sense of what s/he reads.”

Barton, M.L.,& Heidema, C. (2000).

Reading in content areas

"Teaching reading in the content areas is not so much about teaching students basic reading skills as it is about teaching students how to use reading as a tool for thinking and learning“

Barton, M. L., & Heidema, C. (2000).

“Problems in reading non-fiction texts are most acute in the content areas of science, social studies, health, and math, in which students are expected to read a non-fiction text and acquire new information from it.”

Gillet and Temple (2000) in Robb.

Text Readability

What is text readabililty?

“The level of ease or difficulty with which text material can be understood by a particular reader who is reading that text for a specific purpose.”

“Readability” Dr. Pikulski, 2002, www.eduplace.com/state/authorPikulski.pdf)

Activity 2: What are some of the factors that affect readability?

• In a group of 4 or 5• Skim the text• Answer this question: what would make

this text challenging for a student in x grade?

What did you come up with?

Factors that Affect Readability:What is presented; How it’s presented

• Word length• Sentence length• Grammatical features (Active v. passive

voice; sentence structures) • Vocabulary*• Links to prior knowledge*• User-friendly organization (text/access

features)* • Text structures*

Text Readability

Most math and science texts are written above grade level – “Math texts contain more concepts per word

per sentence and per paragraph than any other kind of text.”(Brennnan and Dunlap, 1985; Culyer, 1988; Thomas, 1988, as cited in Barton, 2000).

– “It’s not unusual for science textbooks to have a readability level one or two years above the grade level in which they are used.” (Barton, 2001 iii).

Implications

• Don’t take grade-level texts at face value• Teachers should evaluate texts for

challenges• Teachers need to assess text and plan

instructional activities appropriately

Turn and Discuss

• Turn to your partner and tell him/her one thing you will remember about text readability in math or science.

Text Structure

What is text structure?

• The way text is organized– In a sentence– In a paragraph– In a section– In a chapter– throughout the book

What are some common text structures found in math and

science texts?• Description• Sequence / Process• Comparison/contrast• Cause-effect• Problem-solution• Generalization/principle • Hypothesis/support

Why should I care about text structure?

“Teaching students how to recognize and represent the organizational patterns (text structures) commonly used by authors …can significantly influence students’ learning.”

Barton, 2001, 20.

Implications

“[T]eachers should preview their text materials to identify whether the main ideas are clearly written and appear in a consistent location throughout the text.”

Barton, 2001, 17

Activity #3 – Text Structure Sort

• For this activity, work with a partner to analyze text structures, function, signal words, comprehension cues and questions, and visual organizers.

• Use the small pieces to complete the table.

Examples of text features• Headings• Bold• Italics• Objectives/ purposes• Summaries• Graphs• Diagrams• Cutaways• Graphics

Other teacher considerations

“One feature of many mathematics texts is that concepts are introduced but not discussed again for several chapters…concepts are developed and practiced and followed by a period of disuse”

Barton 2001

Activity 4: Getting to know your textbook

• Look through one chapter and consider the text features– Which are “red lights,” “yellow lights” and

“green lights” for students? For teachers?– Do students understand the purpose of

these?• Discuss with your partner how these would

inform your instruction• Share one idea with the whole group

Reflection

Vocabulary

Activity

• Look through the quotes/research about vocabulary instruction.

• Which stand out to you? • Of those, which three resonate the most

with you? • Discuss these with a partner.

Activity #4:Read-Pair-Share

• Read what research has to say about vocabulary and vocabulary instruction.

• Choose three findings that resonate with you

• Share with a new partner which you chose and why

Vocabulary

“A high school chemistry text can contain some 3000 new vocabulary terms – far more than are taught in most foreign language classes,”

(Barton, 2001, iii).

• Remember this?– “Math texts contain more concepts per word

per sentence and per paragraph than any other kind of text.”

(Brennnan and Dunlap, 1985; Culyer, 1988; Thomas, 1988, as cited in Barton, 2000).

Our organizerVocabulary delete later

• Levels of word knowledge• Enhanced structure for teaching vocab (6

steps a la Marzano)– Multisensory– Word walls– Organization & activities & Lit circles both

here and with recipricol teaching• Lots of fun activities

Level of Word Knowledge

• “[L]earners can very quickly get a sense of a word’s meaning…But full understanding…occurs only over time and multiple encounters.” (Beck et al, 2002).

• Look at samples in the hand-outs (pages -- --)

Which vocabulary do I teach?

• Ideally, selecting critical vocabulary words is a group process – Department– Grade– School– Vertical teams

Which vocabulary do I teach?

• Useful and interesting words

• Target words for instruction that are– Necessary for understanding the text

AND– Essential to understanding topic

not just

Three types of math and science words

– Content-specific vocabulary• Are only found in this subject area (i.e. quadratic,

coefficient, hypotenuse)• Have very specific meanings

– Words that share meaning with general vocabulary• (dollars, cents, process, add)

– Words that have different meanings depending on context• Odd, plane, prime, gravity, radical, difference,

product,

Another challenge:active v. passive voice

– At a carnival booth, contestants pick a color on a large spinner. A prize is won if the arrow stops on the color they pick. The spinner is divided into 8 equal sections, as shown in your answer booklet. Each section is colored green, yellow, red, or blue. The results for a sample of spins are shown in the chart below. Use the results to predict the color of each of the sections on the spinner, and label each section of the spinner with the letter of a color: (G) green, (Y) yellow, (R) red, or (B) blue. Show the mathematics you used or explain how you decided how many sections should be labeled with each letter.

Other challenges

• Reading doesn’t necessarily go left to right, top to bottom – Example 27÷3; 27/3; 3Г27

• Dense text with abstract concepts • Concise style using precise meanings • Requires proficient decoding of words and

symbols (+, =, <,>, –, Δ, Pb, λ) almost like two languages)

• Others?

A Six-Step Process for Effective Vocab. Instruction: An overview

Games

Discuss

Activities

Draw

Define

De-scribe

A Six-Step Process for Effective Vocabulary Instruction

• Step 1: The teacher provides a description, explanation, or example of the new term.

Examples of Step 1

• Direct experiences that provide examples of the term

• Tell a story that integrates the term• Use video or computer images• Use current events• Find or create pictures• Describe your own mental image

Sample words

• Xylem• Phototroph• Stomata• Oxygen• Carbon dioxide• Photosynthesis

Step 2: Students restate the description, explanation or example in their own words

Sample Notebook set-up

Term My description Representation (graphic representation, picture, pictograph, action)

New Insight

Step 3: Create a nonlinguistic representation of the term

Step 4: Periodically*, engage students in activities that help

them add to their knowledge of vocabulary terms

• Classify terms• Compare terms• Generating metaphors• Generating analogies• Example, non-examples• Revising descriptions or

nonlinguistic reps

• Use / highlight roots, affixes to deepen knowledge of terms

• List related words (synonyms and antonyms)

• Words it can be confused with

• Translate into another language

Step 5: Periodically*, ask students to discuss the terms

with one another• Interacting with other people about what

we are learning deepens the understanding of everyone involved

• Teacher may pose questions to stimulate discussion

• Students may identify issues and questions about the terms

• Main goal is for students to help each other identify and clear up misconceptions and confusion

• It’s ok to have initial understanding to be incomplete or flawed

• Students come to an agreement about what is accurate or false

Step 6: Periodically*, involve students in [meaningful] games that allow them to play with the

terms• Stimulates their interest and enthusiasm

about vocabulary as well as provide multiple exposures to terms

Activities for deepening understanding of vocabulary

(steps 4, 5, 6)

Word Wall Activitieswhole group, small group,

individual• List-group-label• Connect 2 • Vobackulary• Rivet

Sample Activities for Step 4

• Word Wall – Shower curtain with spray adhesive– Choose words from EDL and building

academic vocabulary

Other Activitiesused for steps 4, 5, 6

Directions• You will be rotating through

four stations to explore activities that would be useful for deepening word understanding.

• Grouping?

Activities • Poems for 2 voices and

Acrostic Poems• Frayer model• Foldables• Cube game

Sample Activities for Step 5 (Discuss)

• Think-pair-share• Whole group discussion

Background Knowledge

Background knowledge video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiP-ijdxqEc

Ways to build, access, and assess background knowledge

• Read alouds, videos, guest speakers, field trips, gallery walk

• KWL and variations• Anticipation guide• Wordstorming

Wordstorming

• Title of article is “Plastic Unfantastic”• As a small group (table), come up with

words you think will be mentioned in this article that start with P, G or R

Reflection on building background knowledge

Comprehension

What is comprehension?

“Reading and activity-oriented sciences emphasize the same intellectual skills and are both concerned with thinking processes.”

Reading Comprehension Strategies

• Background Knowledge• Visualizing• Questioning• Predicting/inferring• Monitoring for meaning• Synthesizing• Determining importance

Background Knowledge

• Good readers activate and use background knowledge

• How does what the author say fit in with what I know about myself, this topic, or the world?

• How does what I know connect to what the author says?

Visualizing

• Good readers create visual, auditory, and other sensory images as they read

• Two types of visualizing in math and science:– Graphic representations of descriptive texts– Spatial representations of objects (planes)

Questioning

• Good readers generate questions before, during, and after reading

Activity: Generating questions from data

• Use the table titled, “GALLONS OF SOFT DRINK SOLD IN THE UNITED STATES EACH YEAR”

• What questions come to you when looking at this data table?

• Share your questions with your table

A different type of questioning: Critical Literacy

• Critical literacy – questioning sources of information

• Pacific Tree Octopus– http://zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/

“Anyone can publish anything on the internet, and today’s students are not prepared to critically evaluate the information they find there.”

Predicting/Inferring

• Good readers use their prior knowledge to make predictions, seek answers, draw conclusions, and create interpretations

• Ask interpretive questions about the attributes observed: “I wonder why…” “I wonder how…” lead to inferential thinking.

Juicy Jelly Beans

• Kathy has 10 juicy jelly beans. Lenny has 4. How many more juicy jelly beans does Kathy have than Lenny?

• What inferences do students need to make in order to answer this question correctly? How would they know it is a subtraction problem?

Activity: Juicy Jelly Beans

• One way to scaffold operation problems (teacher-directed activity)

Synthesizing

• Good readers take their prior knowledge and combine it with the new knowledge from the text to create new understandings.

Determine Importance

• Good readers know “why [they’re] reading and then make decisions about which information or ideas are most critical to understanding the overall meaning of a piece.”

– Zimmerman (2003) 124.

Four pre-reading actions that help determine importance

• Decide on your purpose for reading• Consciously search for new facts• Read with specific questions in mind• Understand that layout gives valuable

clues

Monitor for meaning

• Good readers are aware of when they understand something and when they don’t.

• Discuss with the people at your table the things YOU do when you aren’t understanding what you’re reading.

Instructional activities to help students become independent,

critical consumers of information

• Reciprocal teaching (video from youtube)• SQ3R• Note taking – oral version of determining

importance• Modeling thinkalouds

Note-taking

• Oral representation of determining importance

• Planning: how will you (the teacher) orally • How will the teacher relate to a student the

important points?– (Written text has structure, bold, headings,

pointers, etc.)– Model and teach graphic organizers as part of

the note-taking practice/process

Turn determining

purpose aroundReading -- what student can do• Decide on your purpose

for reading• Consciously search for

new facts (may be emphasized with bold or italics)

• Read with specific questions in mind

• Understand that layout gives valuable clues

Listening/taking notes – what teacher can do to facilitate “good” note-taking• Decide on your purpose

for teaching that lesson• Convey emphasis about

new facts/ vocabulary*• Speak with specific

questions and answers in mind

• Understand that your delivery gives valuable clues

• Scaffold for students who need it

So what?

Writing

Writing to Learn…

• “Writing to learn [can be] an opportunity for students to recall, clarify, and question what they know about a subject and what they still wonder about with regard to that subject matter.”

– Knipper and Duggan (2006)

What are the expectations and challenges for student writing in math

and science?• Similar to reading

– Dense– Precise vocabulary– Formal tone– Text structures– Standardized formats (ie lab report, proofs)

• Proper linguistic representation of logical thought processes

Three different types of writingfor math and science

• Declarative– Answers the question what?

• Procedural– Answers the question how?

• Conditional– Answers the questions when? why?

Different types of writing and their underlying structures

DeclarativeAnswers the question what?

ProceduralAnswers the question how?

ConditionalAnswers the questions when? why?

DescriptionComparison/contrastGeneralization/principle

Sequence / ProcessProblem-solution

Cause-effectHypothesis/support

Importance of models

• Teachers need to BE models of the active process of writing

• Teachers need to PROVIDE models so students can refer to them as they are writing

Pre-writing activities

• Use word walls to encourage precise vocabulary

• Brainstorm ideas• Use frames for writing (i.e. lab report)• Kids need to talk before they write!!!

– Everyone needs to talk – may be with a partner or with whole class

– In general, if a kid can’t articulate his ideas in spoken language, he won’t be able to articulate his ideas in writing

Framework for oral and written responses

• Use text structures as graphic organizers• Open-ended questions

– ABCDEF strategy*• Graphic organizer for answering math

problems• Graphic organizer for discussion web

Final Reflection

• Go back to anticipation guide and fill in the information that you know now.

• What are three things you are committed to using in your own classroom?

Questions?

Science Reading task Writing

Classifying Identifying main idea/details Outline science information

Experimenting Sequencing Write up a procedure to use

Drawing conclusions Drawing conclusions Study experiment results and write up what you think happened based on the facts

Writing up experiment results Expository writing After conducting an experiment, write up the results

Observing/inferring Distinguishing cause and effect List causes and effects in a given experiment

Determining cause and effect Determining cause and effect List causes and effects in a given experiment

Comparing and contrasting Comparing and contrasting Prepare a chart that gives similarities and differences between two similar organisms

Things to think about• 2 types of visualizing in math• Questioning – tree octopus?

– Types of questions for students to internalize– Chart activity page 35 Hyde Comprehending Math– Newsflash, p. 50 Easy Strategies and Lessons that Build Content Area

Reading Skills• Word problems• Fact versus inferrence – create a question to a word problem (formative

assessment) – can they solve the problem they’ve created?– Inferring – cause- effect

• Synthesizing – retelling, summarizing, write personal response; • hands-on activities• Background knowledge: cube game Critical Squares page 5; • Recipricol teaching http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oXskcnb4RA

• How to organize partners?• Dance card, clock, socks,