Content Area Instruction & Study Skills

Janis Braue

Content Area Instruction and Vocabulary

“Vocabulary is the glue that holds stories, ideas, and content together…..making comprehension accessible for children.”

-Rupley, Logan, and Nicholas (1998)

Vocabulary Facts

• Vocabulary is directly related to reading ability.

• Good readers know twice as many words as poor readers in first grade.

• This gap grows each year.• Students with limited

vocabulary have difficulty learning new words.

Oral & Reading Vocabulary

• Oral Vocabulary refers to the words that a person recognizes in listening and uses in speaking.

• Reading Vocabulary refers to the words that a person recognizes or uses in print.

-National Reading Panel, 2000

Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary• Indirect approach

involves learning words through conversations, listening to adults read and independent reading.

• Direct approach involves systematic, explicit instruction of individual words and word-learning strategies.

Parents and Vocabulary Development

1. Rhyming words, synonyms, antonyms, & categorization

2. Word of the day3. Community words4. Choose books of interest5. Review difficult words6. Ask questions and listen for

vocabulary words

Assessing Vocabulary

1. Identify the words and concepts that the students need to know to understand the unit.

2. Select 15 words and teach 3 each day.

3. Use progress monitoring to determine if the students know what the words mean.

Content Enhancements

• Advance organizers –Figure 10.9

• Concept diagrams - Figure 10.10

• Comparison tables - Figure 10.11

• Semantic feature analysis - Figure 10.12

• Semantic maps - Figure 10.13

NAME:

TOPIC

Process for Teaching Concepts1. Decide concepts to be

taught2. Evaluate materials3. Assess students4. Use pre-reading activities5. Conduct learning activity6. Provide post-learning

activities

Readability

• Fry p. 417

• SMOG http://www.literacytrust.org.

uk/campaign/SMOG.html

Testing Accommodations

• Extended time on tests• Read test to student• Allow calculator use• Allow oral answers• Grade for content, not for

spelling• Reduce number of

questions and answer choices

Study Skills

• Key to independent learning

• Help students to gain and use information

• Students with disabilities have difficulty developing study skills.

• Study skills need to be taught directly and systematically.

Three Types of Study Skills1. Personal development-

organization, self-monitoring, and positive attitudes toward studying

2. Process skills-note-taking, outlining and library reference skills

3. Expression skills-retrieval skills, test-taking skills, and using oral and written expression.

Personal Development

• Figure 10.16- Weekly schedule and To-Do List

• Figure 10.17- Goal-planning and Monitoring Sheet

Process Skills

• Note taking increases attention.

• Research has shown that the process of taking notes results in greater recall of information on tests.

• Use graphic organizers

Expression Skills/Mnemonics

• Acrostics-sentences made of words that begin with the first letters of a series of words

• Acronyms-words that are made by joining the first letters of a series of words

Planets

• To be remembered: The planets, in order of their distance from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, PlutoMnemonic Device: MVEMJSUNP = My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles

Colors of the Rainbow

• To be remembered: The colors of the rainbow, in order: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. Mnemonic Device: ROY G. BIV (A made-up name) - OR - Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain

Great Lakes

• To be remembered: The Great Lakes, from west to east: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, SuperiorMnemonic Device: Some Men Hate Each Other. - OR - (not in order) HOMES

Lines of Treble Staff

• To be remembered: The lines of the treble staff - EGBDFMnemonic Device: Every Good Boy Does Fine - OR - Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge

Spaces of the Base Staff

• To be remembered: The spaces of the base staff: ACEGMnemonic Device: All Cows Eat Grass

Rhymes• 30 Days has September,

April, June, and November. All the rest have 31, except February.

• In fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue.

• "i" before "e," except after "c," or in sounding like "ay" as in "neighbor" or "weigh."