Mt. St. Mary’s Teacher Institute June 24, 2014 Jennifer Klein
Using Art to Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies: Lesson Plans for Teachers
Introduction Authors
Book Released in January 2013
Published by Roman and Littlefield
Co-published by NAEA
ISBN 978-1475801538
Order on Amazon, NAEA, Roman and Littlefield
Teaching children reading comprehension strategies through art first, allows them to learn the strategies in a “text-free” environment before learning to apply them to text.
Layout of our book
Each chapter focuses on a different reading comprehension strategy:
Chapter 1: Making Connections
Chapter 2: Questioning
Chapter 3: Visualizing
Chapter 4: Inferring
Chapter 5: Determining Importance
Chapter 6: Synthesis
Each chapter includes- a strategy overview, lesson plans in art and reading, handouts, reflections, and resources.
We will explore how comprehension strategies can be explicitly taught through art. Using art as a medium allows students to apply comprehension strategies in a text free environment.
Goal of Presentation
Reading Structures
Surface Structures Deep Structures
• Grapho-phonics - letter/sound knowledge, phonemic awareness
• Lexical - visual, word recognition • Syntactic - language structure at
the word, sentence and text level
Instructional Strategies: • Using context • Decoding strategies • Cross checking- Does it look right? Sound right? Make sense?
• Semantics - word meanings • Schematic - constructing meaning
at text level • Pragmatic - social construction of
meaning
Instructional Strategies: • Monitoring for meaning • Using relevant prior knowledge • Determining importance • Questioning • Visualizing • Inferring • Synthesizing
Research Dole et al.
• strategies need to be taught through explicit instruction
• teacher-directed instruction in comprehension strategies
• the reader constructs meaning through the integration of existing and new knowledge
• children may begin to make inferences from the very beginning not just after literal comprehension is mastered
What we did…
• defined the strategy
• modeled the strategy
• provided guided practice
• showed the application to art
• taught the strategy in art first
• began our work with primary children.
Fielding and Pearson… What we did…
A successful program for teaching comprehension should include:
• teacher-directed instruction in
comprehension strategies
• occasions for students to talk to a teacher and one another about their responses to reading
• opportunities for peer and collaborative learning.
• provided explicit instruction
• children worked in partners
• during writing, the teacher conferred with students about their responses
• Gallery walk
• Class reflection
What strategy will we discuss today?
Inferring Questioning Determining Importance
ART
Visualizing Synthesizing Making Connections
Determining Importance
Why do readers need to determine what is important?
To learn to sift through information to determine the “details” and the “big ideas”
To identify what is important and what they want to remember
To learn to engage with text and locate answers to their questions
To learn the “codes” writers use and how to use the codes in their own writing.
Provide evidence for their thinking
Why art and determining importance?
Art is a visual medium
Artists use “codes” to show viewers what is important
Helps children connect with text
Many children are motivated by art
Vocabulary
Focal Point/Emphasis
Space (Foreground, Middle Ground, and Background)
Color (Bright vs. Muted)
Movement
Mood
Style
Line
Shape
Art and Determining Importance Lesson
Mastery Objectives Students will be able to determine what is important when looking at works of art. Students will be able to use the elements of art and principles of design to create a work of art with a focal point.
Timeframe Two-Three 45-minute sessions
Essential Question How do artists communicate what is important in their artwork?
Reading/Language Arts Lesson Mastery Objective
Students will use text features to determine important information in nonfiction text.
Time Frame
Two one-hour sessions.
Essential Questions
How do text features help us to determine what is important in text?
How does asking questions help us determine what is important in text?
How does determining important information help us change our thinking?
Determining Importance “Mini” Teaching Poster- Text Features
Directions: After discussing the important ideas in the article, decide on one or more ideas that resonates with your group. Using your knowledge about text features, design a mini teaching poster to communicate your ideas with others. You may use one or more text features in your poster.
Text Features
Bold Print Table of Contents Photographs
Headings Index Fact Box
Picture Captions Labels Glossary
Have children work with partners/small groups to share their teaching posters.
Have the children identify which text features their partner used.
Ask students how text features help them determine the essential information in nonfiction text.
Have students apply the strategy while reading independently or in guided reading groups.
Closure/Sharing
Where to buy our book
Order on Amazon, NAEA, Rowman and Littlefield
Title: “Using Art To Teach Reading Comprehension Strategies: Lesson Plans for Teachers”
Authors: Jennifer Klein and Elizabeth Stuart
ISBN 978-1475801538
Published by Rowman and Littlefield
Co-published by NAEA
Questions and Answers
www.teachreadingusingart.com
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