Key Vocabulary:
Scaffolding: Teaching students by building upon the foundation set by previous lessons.
Shared Reading: As the term implies, this is the process of the teacher and the students sharing in the process of reading a book or passage.
Language Experience Approach: Teaching students how to read an write based on the vocabulary that they already have experience with.
Choral Reading: A small group of students who are at a similar reading level reading in unison.
Readers Theater: A sort of play that does not involve any props. The students read their lines in front of the class while in character. Sort of like a table reading for actors.
Interactive Writing: The students working with the teacher to write a single message.
Mini-Lessons: Practice activities for the students that the teacher supervises and helps wherever needed.
Reading Programs: An example would be Basal Reading Programs.
Guided Reading: Personalized instruction for small groups of students who are at similar reading levels.
Literature Circles: A sort of in class “book club” for small groups of students at similar reading levels.
Differentiation: The act of adjusting instruction for each student’s needs.
Nurturing English Learners: Including English Learners in the same classroom setting as native level English speaking students while also providing the EL’s with the necessary additional supports.
Assessment: The process of constantly monitoring the students’ level of understanding of the subjects.
Running Records: A specific type of informal assessment.
Linking Instruction and Assessment in Four Steps: Planning reading lessons based on previous knowledge of the students’ levels, monitoring the students’ progress, evaluating students’ learning, and reflecting on how effective the teaching strategies have been.
Rubrics: A detailed list or chart describing what students should be able to achieve in any given lesson.
Classroom Application:
The main thing that this half of the chapter seems to be highlighting is the importance of interactive lessons. Rather than just “downloading” information onto our students, we need to create activities that include the students’ as much as, if not more than, the teacher. This has the added benefit of reducing the chances that students will get bored and begin to misbehave.
Morgan Wyatt 