Reading Post- Assessing Critical Reading Skills

       The ability to be an effective reader may possibly be the most important and useful skill that we obtain through school. We are almost constantly required to read, whether it is street signs, ingredients on foods, instructions, articles or leisurely reading. However, being an effective reader is more than just being able to recognize words. A key part of being an effective reader is the ability to interpret what the meaning of the text is, inferring a deeper meaning in the text. This is the area in which most students seem to struggle the most. It is not that the children are not able to read, but rather, some students are not able to critically assess and construct and communicate meaning from the reading. Similarly, as a young student I was a fluent reader but being able to locate the deeper meaning within the text was sometimes a daunting task. This is the same issue that many students face today. 

This week we were responsible for picking a resource regarding either a specific issue concerning reading, or a reading activity that you can have your class participate in. I chose to describe an activity that can be used to assess reading. The article that I chose to write my blog post about is an activity on reading that can be found on www.edugains.ca. The article is from the Literacy Gains publication for fall 2012 and I have included the URL here (http://bit.ly/1M6Runt). The article is titled, “How to Help Students Who Struggle with Reading.” In the article there is a teacher, Ms. Waters, that realizes that some of her grade 9 Applied students are struggling with constructing deeper meaning within their readings. The article then provides a chart that can be used to assess student’s reading and an explanation on how to carry out this assessment. This chart is a great resource and can be used as a full and engaging lesson on critical reading in the classroom. It is important that students are able to ‘construct and communicate meaning’, (Ontario Language Curr. Or OLC, http://bit.ly/1Lep545, pg. 11) and this chart encourages this ability. The need to critically understand messages in print is paramount, as students need to be able to critically understand the world around them and form educated opinions. This lesson plan can be used at any grade level, however I feel as though it would be best for grades 5 and up, as critical reading begins to become more important as the students approach secondary school.

LESSON PLAN

For this lesson I would start by picking a piece of literature for the class to critically read. You could execute this lesson activity in one class based off of a small article or excerpt, or it can be done after the class has read a whole novel. The main component of this lesson is the “I Read, I think, Therefore” chart. If there is a cover or picture on the front of the book or article I would start the lesson by asking the class to interpret the cover art and ask them to tell me what they think the reading will be about. This relates to two expectations from the Reading Curriculum, [1. read and demonstrate an understanding of a variety of literary, graphic, and informational texts, using a range of strategies to construct meaning. 2. recognize a variety of text forms, text features, and stylistic elements and demonstrate understanding of how they help communicate meaning.] (OLC, pg. 11) After a quick discussion on the cover art I would have the class complete the reading and then complete the “I Read, I think, Therefore” chart. 

How to Help Students who Struggle with reading,  2012, Chart. [online image] http://bit.ly/1M6Runt

The ‘I Read’ portion should contain the key information from the text. ‘I Think’ should demonstrate connections between what students already know and the text. Lastly, ‘Therefore’ should contain inferences or conclusions based on what the students have read. After the students have completed the charts you could lead a discussion based on the chart. You could ask the students what they have in each section of the chart and create a class chart with all of the ideas on the board. Through this discussion you will be able to tell which of the students is able to construct and communicate meaning from the reading, and therefore will be able to instruct the students on where they need to improve. In addition, you could also collect the students charts and look them over. After looking them over you will further be able to identify which students are struggling with critical reading. You could then sit down with these students and discuss strategies that they can use to help them improve their critical assessment abilities. [Reflect on and identify their strengths as readers, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful before, during, and after reading, OLC, pg. 11] This can be an effective lesson to help teach and improve on student’s critical reading skills and also successfully covers all four of the strand expectations in the OLC.

 

Yoanna Jezequel, 2012, Reading, [Online Image]. http://bit.ly/1M8P8Lc

Media Strand

In today’s society Media is literally everywhere, from the television, to bus stop ads, radio commercials, the Internet, music, and even in our pockets. We live in a digital age, and with this ever-changing landscape we need to develop a strong and unbiased opinion of the media in impressionable children. This is why a whole strand in the Ontario Language Curriculum is based on being Media Literate, which is giving kids the tools necessary to critically interpret, create and understand Media in all forms. For this Language Arts blog post we are supposed to write about either an issue regarding Media Literacy, or an activity you can lead that class in to teach them about Media Literacy. This post will be based on a lesson idea that I found on www.edutopia.org, written by Michael Hernandez, called Empowering Students Through Multimedia Storytelling. If you would like to read about his lesson idea I have provided a link (http://bit.ly/1Yd0zo4) or you can find an in-depth summary of the lesson in my Week 3 Exploring Resources post. The lesson is basically having the children pick an issue and creating a Multimedia New Broadcast, which they will film and present to the class.

However, in the article Hernandez talks about how Media outlets usually do not fairly represent the community or issue that they are reporting on, which creates an unfair opinion in the minds of the public. This could also be called new age propaganda. This is why I think it is important to teach children about propaganda at a younger age in this digital society. They need to be able to understand when an opinion is being subtly imprinted in their mind and must be able to think critically about how and why the media is doing this. This is one of the expectations of the Media Literacy strand in the Ontario Curriculum: identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning (Ont. Language Curriculum, or OLC, http://bit.ly/1Lep545, p. 14) I think it would appropriate to teach a lesson on propaganda at the grade 6-8 level, and maybe even do a little project over a week or two if possible. This is what I had in mind.

You could begin the lesson by asking the class what they think propaganda is and what it is used for. After leading a discussion with the class you can then show them pictures of classic historical propaganda from the World Wars.

Bullfighter11. 2010. WW2. [online image] http://bit.ly/1FO7ApJ

This ties in perfectly to the strand expectation listed above. After talking with the class about what they think the War propaganda is trying to accomplish, you can then move onto more modern propaganda, maybe starting from the 80s or 90s, discussing them, and working your way up to any interesting pieces of propaganda that the students see today, whether it be in a magazine, a commercial, a news broadcast etc. [demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts] (OLC, p. 14) For example you could play an attack ad from one of the political campaigns, much like the conservative ad that we watched in class and discuss the hidden message they are trying to convey with the class. As a homework assignment, have the students locate and decipher a piece of propaganda on their own and bring it in to discuss with the class, this can be any piece of propaganda regarding any issue or topic, anything to foster an engaging and thoughtful conversation. As a closing project on propaganda, you can then have the students create their own piece of propaganda, trying to shape an opinion about any topic that they please. [Create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques. & Reflect on and identify their strengths, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts.] (OLC, p. 14) This can be a fun and informative lesson/project on propaganda and fostering media literacy in your students. It also hits all 4 expectations of the Media Literacy Strand In the OLC.