Frayer Model I Use This for Vocabulary Home Work

1. Frayer Model – (Jason uses this for vocabulary home work) The Frayer Model is an adaptation of the concept map. The framework of the Frayer Model includes: the concept word, the definition, characteristics of the concept word, examples of the concept word, and non examples of the concept word. It is important to include both examples and non examples, so students are able to identify what the concept word is and what the concept word is not. First, the teacher will assign the concept word being studied, and then talk about the steps involved in completing the chart. site for above model http://www.longwood.edu/staff/jonescd/projects/educ530/aboxley/graphicorg/grphhome.htm

2. Double Entry Notebook Unlike the customary journal or notebook, dialectical/double entry notebooks are named for the vertical line drawn down the page, dividing the functions. Actually, these notebooks have a variety of uses and involve attitudinal writing, questioning, summarizing, and process writing.

What Is It? Students can use a double-entry journal to help them study concepts or vocabulary, express opinions, justify an opinion using text, and understand or respond to the text they are reading. The double-entry journal is a two-column journal. In the left column, students write a piece of information from the text, such as a quotation or a concept, which students want to expand upon, understand better, or question. In the right column, students relate to or analyze the information that is written in the left column. For example, the student could title the left column "Quotes" and the right column "Reflections." In this instance, the student would copy quotes from the text in the left column and reflect upon what they mean in the right column.

Why Is It Important? Double-entry journals give students a way to interact personally with the text, by reflecting on and writing about their understanding of the material they are reading. Students can use the text to form an opinion and then use pieces of text to support their opinions. Students process the information and relate to the text, increasing reading comprehension.

Research by Marzano (1988) emphasizes the importance of metacognition and student learning. By writing about what they are thinking, students show their thinking process as they read, allowing teachers to redirect or encourage students to be more effective readers.

How Can You Make It Happen? Double-entry journals can be used effectively for expression or for more concrete purposes. For example, if students are reading material in class that they can personally react to, then they can use the double-entry journal to express their feelings and opinions about the material. On the other hand, students may need to learn specific information such as new vocabulary words or historical events. In this instance, students can use the double-entry journal as a study guide.

Distribute a blank double-entry journal to students or show them how to create one in their notebooks. Have students draw a line down the center of a piece of paper to make two columns. Model the use of a double-entry journal with the class by displaying one on the board. First, show students how to use the double-entry journal in an expressive way. Think about a topic you are currently teaching that students can respond to personally or ask questions about. For example, if you are teaching a unit on abolition and the Civil War, in the left column write some interesting quotes or the names of some of the significant people who lived during that time. Brainstorm with students thoughts or reflections they have about the quotes or the people, and write students' comments in the right column. Discuss their thoughts and explain how reflecting in writing can help them consider the material more thoroughly.

Encourage students to work independently using the double-entry journal. To do this, consider some concrete information students need to know that relates to the material you are teaching. For example, write down some vocabulary words students need to know, some dates that are important, or some concepts or rules students need to master. Have students copy the terms in the left column. Break students into pairs, and have them define the concepts or terms using the column on the right. If time allows, have pairs join together into groups of four to compare their double-entry journals and discuss each other's reflections about the text. Instruct students to use their double-entry journals as study guides for an upcoming test or quiz. How Can You Stretch Students' Thinking? To stretch students' thinking, decide whether you want them to use the double-entry journal for an expressive or a concrete activity, and instruct them to choose the information to put into both the left and the right columns. For example, if you want students to express their thoughts about a story or novel they are reading, have them pick out the important quotes in a particular chapter and then reflect upon them. Students can practice justifying and supporting their opinions with evidence from the text. If you want students to learn concrete information that they are studying, have them select important terms or concepts from the unit you are teaching for the left column and define them in the right column.

Social Studies (example) Have students write three questions they have about a unit you are about to study, such as the American Revolution, in the left column. In the right column, have them write the answers once they learn them. Have students write the names of places about which they are learning in the left column, and have them explain what they know about each place in the right column.

3. Text Rendering Text rendering is a method of deconstructing text that allows students to make decisions regarding the importance of the text, select the portions that are most meaningful to them, and then share it with classmates--all without fear of being ridiculed.

Teaching the Process of Text Rendering * Introduce your students to text rendering through multiple examples before you ask them to perform a rendering. Explain why you believe text rendering is important. Make sure students understand that text rendering allows them to get at their own meanings of text; others may come up with different meanings. Students should understand that everyone will be called upon to "recite" or "read" from text. Create ground rules to ensure that respect for each individual's meaning always stays at the forefront. * Describe to students how text rendering works. --Let them know that there should be no talking, because the text does the talking. --Share with students your expectation that they will select portions from the text to read or recite. --Assure them that repetitions of text selections will be fine. --Describe how the sequence of the readings will occur; as the first person finishes reading, the next person begins promptly. There should be no breaks. Explain that every person will have several turns to read from the text. --Stress the importance of listening! First, select a text--a Chapter from a novel or just a few pages. Then, have each student read the selection; The students can read the text independently, or you can use a round-robin approach. The most important thing is to get the students engaged in reading the text. * Instruct students to select the paragraph from their reading that meant the most to them. Another way to facilitate this task is to ask them to select the most powerful paragraph(s). Or, ask them to select the paragraph that "spoke" most to them. Younger students might be aided in selecting a paragraph if the teacher asks them to select the paragraph that they remember the best. * After the students select the paragraph, have them select a sentence, a phrase, and then a word. Ask the students to write down their selections. Finally, ask the students to write down a concept, a thought, or an idea that comes to mind after writing their selections. * Begin the process of rendering by sitting in a circle. Have each student share his or her passages, one at a time.

Also we recently began looking at sources from the following website where we can find leveled short historical fiction books: http://www.readinga-z.com/