Page 2 .......... INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS RESOURCE CENTER

STEP-UP-TO-Step Up To Writing graphicWRITING NEW 3rd Edition

Check the ESU #8 homepage for upcoming trainings. There are trainings for K-3, grades 3-6 and grades 7-12. If you have questions call Gloria Christiansen at (402) 887-4125, ext. 236 or email her at gchristi@esu8.org.

NEWSPAPERS IN EDUCATION

newspaper graphicNewspaper In Education Week 2008, March 3-7, reinforces a lifetime reading habit in students by engaging them with an authentic text. Activities for teaching:

  • The “Five W’s” - Who, What, When, Where, Why - are necessary in a good news story. Choose an article and identify each.
  • Newspapers serve to inform, to entertain, and to persuade. Cut out articles and classify them into these three groups.
  • Read the letters to the editor in your local newspaper. Choose one of those letters and write a letter to the editor expressing an opposing viewpoint.
  • Pretend you are the editor of your newspaper. Write an editorial on an issue of importance to you.
  • Compare and contrast the handling of the same event by two different newspapers.

Newspaper Activity Website:
http://www.suelebeau.com/nie.htm

READ-ALOUD & GUIDED READING

Young students have so much to learn that their attention often flutters from point to point. Interactive read-alouds keep students engaged in the content of the story. Incorporating comprehension instruction and read- alouds into your curriculum appears to be a promising way to boost student comprehension (The Reading Teacher Vol. 61 N0.5 Feb. 2008).

ESU #8 Instructional Materials Resource Center has Multimedia Readalong titles for grades K-4 that can assist you. The readalongs include an audio cassette, five/ten books and a teacher’s guide. For book titles and details, go to the ESU #8 online catalog (http://www.esu8.org/ media/mediaCenter.html) and view the following:

  • KT114-KT145
  • KT175-KT203
  • KT222-KT233
  • KT413-KT426

Comprehension Strategy Focus on Read-Alouds

Before reading:

  • Identify the purpose for reading (e.g., information or story)
  • Previewing (title, author, illustrator)
  • Predicting/priming
  • Defining critical vocabulary

During reading:

  • Using consistent framework to discuss the text (e.g., story elements, K-W-L with focus questions)
  • Using question-asking strategies
  • Making connections (text-to-text, text-to-self, text-to-world)
  • Making inferences
  • Self-monitoring
  • Vocabulary

After reading:

  • Retelling
  • Introducing, reviewing, and extending vocabulary

Guided reading is a technique in which teachers guide students through reading by:

  • Selecting a text
  • Providing students with a purpose for reading the text
  • Supplying background knowledge to prepare students to read the text
  • Having students silently read the text
  • Stopping to discuss the text after reading to clear up any misunderstandings
  • Asking students content and strategy questions to ensure students’ comprehension.
Post Card regarding the Excellence in Education Conference

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Updated February 2008 by Linda Miller