1. Occasional Paper
Definition: An Occasional Paper is an essay or story written by the student as a reflection of things they experience in their lives as it occurs. It is read aloud to the classroom. It is graded for completion but not handed in.
Use: The OP is used as an effective means of having the student practice reading, writing, speaking and listening. The paper is written with no deadline in mind and as such doesn't hold the time pressure of a normal assigned paper. Because it is a reflection of something occurring, the subject can be anything. As such, because it engages the student completely, the student should be very excited to follow the OP process. Bill Martin ("A Writing Assignment/A Way of Life") argues that the OP is "one of the most successful and powerful ways of improving student writing." (Martin, p. 52) In a math class where traditional writing is rare, I can see adding the spin of math to the OP mix. "Write your OP but try to include some aspect of Mathematics." This item can help struggling readers by giving them the opportunity to read and write their own words.
Covers: Struggling readers, assessment, reading comprehension, and critical reading/literacy.
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| Word Splash |
Definition: A Word Splash is a collection of key words or terms jumbled together written or projected to the board.
Use: Word Splashes are used when vocabulary is being introduced. It builds on the students pre-knowledge to introduce vocabulary that will be encountered in the upcoming lesson. Students discuss the words, try to relate them to other words, and predict how they will be used in the upcoming lesson. This strategy gets the key words out in front of the classroom for all students to read and consider as they are going through the lesson. It is an excellent way to build pre-knowledge before the lesson and build appropriate vocabulary and comprehension. This is a strategy I plan to use in my math classrooms prior to any new topic being introduced. This item primarily helps build reading comprehension as it allows the student to see the term first and discuss its meaning. Then, after reading the chapter, the student will have more pre-knowledge to add to the comprehension.
Covers: Struggling readers, reading comprehension and critical reading/literacy.
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| Frayer Model |
Definition: The Frayer Model is a type of concept map used for building vocabulary.
Use: This strategy is used when introducing a new word or phrase. It provides a visual representation for the student to build vocabulary as well as promotes critical thinking as the student works to fill out the model. The model builds on the student's pre-knowledge as they build connections with what they know and will learn. As the students work through the areas of the chart (Definition, Characteristics, Examples and non-Examples) they see attributes of the word as well as define what the word is or is not. In a math classroom this model can be used to introduce new vocabulary at the start of each lesson. By defining the word before the lesson it becomes part of the pre-knowledge so it helps in the comprehension of the new topic.
Covers: Struggling readers, assessment, and reading comprehension.
4. KNWS
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| KNWS Chart |
Use: The chart is a tool that allows a student to go beyond a math problem and identify the critical aspects of the problem. A KNWS chart is used immediately after reading a word problem and filled out completely before attempting the problem. It relies on a students pre-knowledge to summarize the key aspects of the problem. Specifically for use when presented a word problem, it can be used for any other type of math problem. I, however, would strictly use it for word problems in my classroom. By allowing a student to not only focus on the topic but also what is required to achieve understanding it enhances critical reading/literacy.
Covers: Struggling readers, assessment, reading comprehension and critical reading/literacy.
5. Providing Diverse Culture Role Models
Definition: When presenting examples or problems, make sure they include students of diversity involved in the topic.
Use: In order to engage diverse cultures, students need to see their culture doing the math or engaged in math problems. For example, using a word problem where the main actor is of mexican decent. Learning about a female mathematician is another example. Or maybe showing a picture of a student of indian culture solving a math problem. Showing examples of students' culture in math allows them to identify with the example and potentially feel more comfortable learning the topic. This is another strategy I will work on deploying in my classroom. When your examples and figures typically include no culture whatsoever, it will be a bit tough, however in word problems and discovering authors of theories diverse cultures can clearly be seen.
Covers: Engaging diverse cultures.
6. Schools of the 21st Century Model.
Definition: The School of the 21st Century is a community centered school model originally developed by a Yale professor.
Use: While not really a strategy you can implement in a classroom, it models some ideas that can be. It exists to provide a full service school from training for parents and teachers to healthcare including dental services. It attempts to provide children of diverse cultures and needs the basic care that otherwise they would not have access to. In addition they strive to provide the support structure required as well including educating the parents and working with the community to provide services to the families. So while not directly influencing literacy, this program gets all the basic needs of a student met. With the basic needs met, classroom learning (including literacy) will be enhanced. I can't help but see the benefit this brings to diverse cultures and struggling readers. Unfortunately I don't have the resources to duplicate this effort in the classroom. However, after reading Tony Danza's I'd like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had, I can follow Mr. Danza's and the Schools of the 21st Century model lead and have a "Sandwich Club". Opening my doors during lunch for anyone to come by, share a half of a sandwich and just chat. This time would include reading opportunities for struggling readers and perhaps even diverse cultures as alienated kids would be welcome too.
Covers: Struggling readers, reading comprehension, engaging diverse cultures, and critical reading/literacy.
7. GIST Activity
Definition: The "gist" of a topic is the main or important concept of the topic. The GIST Activity is allowing the student to write the gist of the topic in 20 words or less.
Use: This activity would be great to execute after the student encounters a new topic to check to see if they understand the topic. Sticking to 20 words or less allows the student to define their thoughts in a concise manner. It also gives the teacher the opportunity to judge how well the lesson was learned. This activity can be graded for participation and can be read to the class. Because of the concise nature of the exercise, students will not only be presented an opportunity for reading and writing but also to critical thinking. I would like to use this activity in my classroom after I introduce a topic, not only as a tool for assessment but also to judge how well I presented the topic.
Covers: Struggling readers and critical reading/literacy.
8. Anticipation Guide
Definition: An Anticipation Guide is a list of true/false or agree/disagree questions or statements about the upcoming lesson. The students are asked to check true or false based on their "anticipation" as to what will happen.Use: An Anticipation Guide is started before a lesson to induce excitement and prior-understanding about the subject. The teacher lists a few statements geared to introduce the key concepts of the lesson or topic. Some statements should to be valid and some invalid. The students are then asked to mark if they "anticipate" the statement to be true or false. The lesson is then introduced to its entirety and the student then revisits the guide to record what they are thinking after the learning. A verbal or written reflection time can be included. Assessment can include a participation grade. This process primarily prompts critical reading/literacy and reading comprehension as they focus on the statement and anticipate the outcome. This is, to a lessor extent, a good time to monitor the struggling readers. It provides a good opportunity for reading practice as well as comprehension. I plan on using the Anticipation Guide in my classroom as I introduce new topics in mathematics. Word problems are the obvious examples but also questions like "Moving this triangle side causes area to increase by 1/2."
Covers: Struggling readers, assessment, reading comprehension, and critical reading/literacy.
9. VVWA
Definition: VVWA (Verbal Visual Word Association) is another visual organizer like the Frayer Model described above. The student is asked to reflect and write aspects about a topic: Vocabulary, picture, definition and how the word relates to the student.
Use: It creates a visual representation of a topic as well as allowing the student to relate directly to the word or topic being discussed. This is an excellent tool to use in a math class especially one dealing with geometry. An example would be he shape of "octagon". The student would write "octagon" in the word section. Then they would draw an 8 sided shape in the visual section. The proper definition would be written in the definition box followed by a brief statement or sketch how they may encounter the octagon. The student learns the term and makes it "personal" by interacting with the term completely. I can see this tool would be a great help to visual learners as they try to learn topics. It also asks the student to think critically as they try to find relationships between the concept and their personal life. Since this is a personal reflection, assessment should probably be for participation only. However, it can also be assessment for completion. It can be reviewed for identifying struggling readers/writers as writing the definition and personal association can identify potential deficits. I will definitely be using this tool in a geometry classroom.Covers: Struggling readers, assessment, and critical reading/literacy.
10. Math Journal
Definition: A Math Journal is a personal journal designed for the student to document their thoughts/feelings as they encounter mathematic concepts.
Use: A student would be asked, as they complete a topic, to record their progress, thought processes, problem solving technique, things that frustrate, etc. This gives them a document that allows them to go back and self-assess their thought process during the session. It assists in developing and enhancing the thought processes associated with math. It allows them to dig deeper into a concept as they interpret their feelings about the topic. It also improves communication and writing. So for the student this brief tool becomes a self reflective learning tool. For the teacher it becomes an opportunity to review how a topic was received, the level of student understanding as well as determining if more time needs to be allotted to the subject. Of course, a comment like "This teacher stinks." is always possible and indicates that I, as a teacher, am not enticing the classroom enough. For assessment, a Math Journal can be graded for participation. Because of the literacy implications this journal can be used to diagnose those with writing deficits. If the journal is read in public (not recommended due to the personal nature) then it can be used to diagnose reading deficits as well. I like the implications of this tool alot. I plan on assigning a Math Journal in my classroom. I also plan on leaving comments in their journals. It shows I'm really reading and care about their education.
Covers: Struggling readers and assessment.
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