Reading Strategies

This week’s readings were very important in that we all teach reading and that we are not just teaching reading, but content specific reading. Furthermore we are teaching students how to read to learn. It is important, in my opinion, during the first day of class, to introduce students to the textbook. Students can then familiarize themselves with the text and what different symbols mean. Something else we all need to be aware of is that we are masters of the content and we have seen this material time and time again and need to stop and pause that our students may be looking at this material as if it were Greek. In some of my post teaching reflections I have noted that I need to lower my expectations of students abilities. Most have never seen this stuff before. In overcoming this, some techniques I saw a useful in teaching text involved brainstorming, anticipation guides, exit tickets, and vocabulary word sorts. These types of activities help to activate students thinking and get them thinking critically about the topic. I actually used the brainstorming technique when we introduced the topic on lines. I asked students to tell me everything they knew about lines. This technique allowed students to prepare their brains for the upcoming material and allowed me to see what knowledge they already had. Techniques I am eager to try out include the vocabulary word sorts. If I make this as a pre-lesson assignment, then students will be at an advantage when we start the next lesson because they will be familiar with new terms.