(Oct) Literacy Strategies

Literacy Strategies

Of the many goals I have for myself professionally each year, this year I chose to, focus on literacy strategies. I was familiar with Jigsaw, so I began with that strategy but tried to implement additional reading strategies on a regular basis. I was directed to Kristin Moak's (literacy coach at the MS) website for more information on strategies she had available. (http://www.rschooltoday.com/se3bin/clientgenie.cgi?butName=For%20Teachers&cId=&permission=3&username=) .

According to Kristin’s website there are 7 “big” literacy strategies which are supported by literacy tools (jigsaw, graphic organizers, etc) – which I used to call strategies as well. I think they can still be called strategies but the “big 7” really should be a focus

1. Making Connections – This involves activating prior knowledge of a concept in order to connect new knowledge to old knowledge (schema). Assist students in making connections to previous learning, their daily lives, their community and world issues. For students who have no schema for a concept or have misconceptions, it is important to build background knowledge for them before they begin reading the text.

2. Questioning – Good readers are always asking questions while they read. Some ways readers use questioning are: to clarify meaning in the text, to help understand vocabulary, to find specific information in the text, to connect to an idea, to understand the author’s choices when writing the text, to help understand text features, and to summarize what was read.

3. Inferring - Proficient readers use their prior knowledge about a topic and the information they have gleaned in the text thus far to make predictions or a hypothesis. Teachers model inferring by “thinking aloud” as they read to show how and why inferences are necessary to good thinking while reading.

4. Determining Importance – In the sea of words that is in any text, readers must continually sort through and prioritize information. Teachers assist readers in analyzing everything from text features in nonfiction like bullets and headings, to finding clue words that indicate important ideas. Looking for these clues can help readers sift through the relative value of different bits of information in a text.

5. Visualizing – Visualizing is the process of creating mental images in the mind based on information from a text. Good readers constantly create mind pictures as they read. Visualizing is a way for readers to check their understanding of information and a useful tool to assist the recall of information.

6. Monitoring Comprehension – Proficient readers don’t just plow ahead through text when it doesn’t make sense – they stop and use “fix-up” strategies to restore their understanding. One of the most important “fix-up” tools is rereading, with teachers demonstrating a variety of ways to reread text in order to repair meaning.

7. Synthesizing Information –With this strategy, students move from making meaning of a text, to integrating their new understanding into their lives and world view.

So far, I've tried the "Insert" strategy, backwards book walk, reading guide (pre, self-monitor, and reflection), the TSC reading strategy (triangle, square, circle) and a couple of others. I’ve been much more mindful about helping model reading and cognitive processing during reading. I’ve tried to help students understand how the literacy tools can aid them in their thinking process. Not being a reading specialist or having been trained in this area, I think this is something I would like to continue developing and refining over my teaching career. As new strategies and ideas come to surface, being mindful to incorporate them into each unit I teach will be very important.