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Reading Comps

7/29/2016

4 Comments

 

You can't teach reading comp
             ​but you can teach note-taking

These three examples demonstrate how I tackle one of the toughest problems faced by Language Arts teachers: How do we improve scores on reading comprehension exams?
​
It's a tough task and every English educator knows how important it is to improve our students' ability to "read this, answer these". After all, this task is on every national, state, and local exam that measures reading ability.

Rather than focus on the questions, I focus on the reading passages. I specifically guide my students through a note-taking process where I can reinforce my writing lessons, explain difficult terms or phrases, and elaborate on the subject matter.

Look carefully at the notes taken in these three examples and you will see how I pointed out everything from transition techniques to rhetorical strategies and everything in between. I literally read the pieces aloud while constantly saying "circle this" or "write this down".

It's a funny mix of student-centered philosophy and teacher-dominated direct instruction. I'm convinced it is effective education -- the students are learning precisely how to read and take notes. Meanwhile, they are engaged in the annotating process, and I can see precisely which students are "with me" and which students need re-focusing.
​ 
Picture

This last picture is an example of one of my favorite exercises: students annotate a New York Times article for all the writing techniques taught in the course.

Click on the photo to enlarge it, and you will get a good sense of how I combine my reading and writing lessons under one umbrella.

4 Comments
Karina Bennie
7/30/2016 08:54:23 am

I like how you use color to annotate the passage. Modeling and guided practice are effective when instructing students how to do this best practice. The question that comes to mind is how do you take the annotation of rhetorical strategies, transition techniques, punctuation, diction, etc. to the next level to ascertain the author's intended purpose? This is where I have struggled -- the thinking. I'd like to know what strategy you use to help overcome this obstacle.

Reply
Dan
7/30/2016 11:43:56 am

Good question! I address this issue by teaching one word: "emphasizes". Students can connect any technique, example, or phrase by explaining how it "emphasizes" the author's main point.

I tell my kids you can't really do this with everything; for example, you it wouldn't be appropriate to analyze an author's semicolon for its relationship to the theme. But as young writers looking to learn, we should annotate any and all techniques being taught in class. "Read like a writer," I say a thousand times a year.

The term "emphasizes" is often expanded by my students to verbs like "supports," "highlights," and "underscores."

As for the colors ... That's SOP in my classroom!!!

Reply
Bonnie E.
8/4/2016 07:10:54 am

I love that your students write all over these papers... My question for you is this: How much do you photocopy for your students in this age of electronic media? How can we teach our students to do annotations like this with electronic books and online documents? My school is moving nearly all books almost entirely online....and students cannot write in books. How do you handle moves like these while still teaching stellar annotation skills?

Reply
Dan Weinstein
8/8/2016 12:13:29 pm

Great question!

Subtext is the best software for this. Students can take notes on Subtext, laid over the text they are reading.

I, of course, continue to use actual printed material and magic markers in my classroom!!

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    Blog Author:
    Daniel Weinstein

    I teach AP Language and Creative Writing at Great Neck South High School on Long Island. 

    Teaching philosophies: Student-centered. Collaborative. Goal-setting. Coaching. Divergent thinking. Portfolio. Writing as therapy. Take Risks! Find your voice. Experiment! Freewrite. Poetry. Memoir. Editing. Layers. Deadlines. Frontload. Rap and hip-hop. Expository technique. Drawing. Art. Magic Markers. Mind Maps. Publishing. Music. Cellphones. Ipods. Wikipedia. Twitter. Facebook. Stay modern. Stay open-minded. Keep learning. 

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