Learning Strategies for Interpreting Meaning

I Get It!

Learning Strategies for Interpreting

Meaning

CLTA 2017

Elizabeth Sacco Learning Solutions Specialist EMC School [email protected] Workshop Sources from EMC School

Note taking- EMC’s iCulture, iNews, September 2011, “Paraguaná-prohiben las bolsas de plástico”

Skimming and Scanning- EMC’s iCulture, iNews , March 2015, “Científico Español”

Visualizing- ¡Qué chévere! , Level 3, Unit 2, “Once,” Sandra Cisneros

Focusing on the Message –EMC’s iCulture, i-Video, February 2014, “Tachemos la suciedad”

Using Context Clues to Clarify Meaning - ¡Qué chévere!, Level 3, Unit 1, “La idea que da vueltas,” Gabriel Garcia Márquez

Think-aloud- ¡Qué chévere!, Level 2, Unit 3, “Parkour en México” Learning Strategies

Note Taking

· Make a general template for note taking and tweak it for various activities. · For both text and audio, model the activity and follow up with an explanation of why certain words or phrases are chosen. · Follow with a discussion of the main idea of the text, which can include any grammar or vocabulary that the teacher wishes to highlight. · Vary the number of notes required according to the level of study and length of the source. · Present the notes in the target language but discussions should in English until students have reached a level of proficiency that allows this to be done in the target language. · Use as an assessment by collecting the notes and grading or commenting on the student’s ability to understand the source.

Modeling activity:

· Tell the students the topic of the listening activity or text. · Play the audio or video or read the text and take notes as students observe the words and phrases that you write that are key to understanding the main idea. · Discuss your notes with the class. · Play the audio again or have students reread the text while taking notes to assess how well they understood the process and the information in the text. · Collect and evaluate their ability to take notes. · Model the process when necessary.

Activity: · Read the title and ask students what they think the text is about. · Tell them to read or listen and take notes on the document provided. · Establish a time frame to do this. When time is called, ask students to work with a partner to exchange notes. · Encourage students to review, make corrections, and add comments to their classmate’s notes. · Allow students to share four or five corrections from their collaboration with the class. · Participate in a discussion of the main idea.

Note taking

Los apuntes de estudiante 1 ______

El repaso- estudiante 2______

 

Skimming and Scanning

“Skimming” allows a reader to discover the main ideas of a text by reading first and last paragraphs, topic sentences, and paying attention to other details on the page such as titles, bold type or italics, and photograph captions. “Scanning” allows a reader to looks down and around a page quickly and efficiently, searching for key words, facts, or phrases to find specific information. This skill can be presented as a game which teaches students how to search for the who, what, where, when, why, and how within a document. Depending on the length and content of the source, the teacher can choose any of the “6 Ws” to assess. These can be written in the target language but, at the early levels, students will respond in English.

· Introduce the terms “skimming” and “scanning” and discuss when each skill would be useful. Give all students a copy of the related article and begin by asking the first “W” to be discussed. · Direct students to look through the article to find the answer, write their answer down, and raise their hand when finished. · Repeat the process for the other “Ws” to be discussed. (If desired, add an element of competition; if appropriate, award small prizes, such as school supplies, to the students who were both timely and accurate.) · After all the students have completed the entire task, review the answers. · As a bonus, have the students write possible titles for the source (if this has yet to be revealed) and share with the class, giving reasons why and voting on the best title. · Ask students to quickly jot down the strategies they used to find the information quickly and accurately. Prompt them by asking specific questions: Did they scan for words in the text? Did they read the first line of each paragraph? Did they use the photograph as a clue?

NOTE: Audio sources should be played at least twice, pausing after an answer is heard to give students time to write their answers. These do not need to be in complete sentences.

Skimming and Scanning The Five W’s

What ?

Where ?

When ?

Visualizing

This activity is often used when dealing with narratives and stories. Visualizing is the process of creating a mental image from written or audio descriptions. The source provides details that help readers represent in their minds the setting, the characters and the events that take place. Both the personalities of the characters as well as their actions can be visualized in this activity.

· Give the title and or topic of the source in a handout. · Ask students to write in their own words any details that help them visualize the setting, characters and events. Example: “The Night Before Christmas”

Setting: I think it is winter because they mentioned snow. They talk about the moon and sleeping so it must be nighttime and they are in a house as I heard the words chimney and beds. I think it is Christmas as I heard (read) that someone is getting presents and there is a tree.

Characters: There is a mother and father and children in the house and someone who is large and has a bag. There could be some animals involved as they used the word for hooves.

Events: Someone gets out of bed and looks out a window. Someone comes noisily into the room where the fireplace is and sets out presents while someone is watching. The big guy laughs then leaves.

Students can then draw what they visualize from the information above.

“Once,“ Sandra Cisneros Visualizing

Write details that help you visualize the following:

Setting:

Characters:

Events:

Draw images that represent the details Focusing on the Message

Students do not begin to try to understand a text in the target language by identifying nouns, verbs, adjectives, or specific vocabulary words. They try to understand the language as a whole, concentrating on the message being communicated rather than the individual words. The following activities which focus on the message are precursors to comprehension questions and vocabulary and grammar study of the text. · Choose a title: Read or listen to an authentic text and select the best title from a list or have students create their own · Unscramble the order of events · From a list of lines from a dialog, identify the speaker · Answer true or false to statements that highlight the main idea of the text. · From a list, check off what you read or heard. (Watch for statements that may be related to the topic but are not found in the text.) · Give one word responses from information found in the text. Using Context Clues

Many times the context holds the key to the meaning of the word. When students are stalled on the meaning of a word or phrase, the first thing they should do is clarify its meaning by looking at context clues. This may be the repetition of the word or phrase with other words, an example, or an explanation. They may be surrounded by words that are familiar to them and will help them come to an understanding of the word or phrase.

Select some key words or phrases in a text and pass the list out to each student. Assign a phrase to a pair or group to interpret by telling them to do the following:

1. Write down surrounding words that are familiar. 2. Try to obtain meaning from other sentences in the text that contain the word or phrase.

3. Give a logical translation of the word or phrase based on the topic and information acquired.

Have students report on what they have found without having used a dictionary!

Using Context Clues to Clarify Meaning

A challenging word or phrase

Words I know that come before and after Other sentences that contain this word or phrase

Possible meaning

Think-aloud-see websites below

http://www.readingrockets.org/strategies/think_alouds

https://www.teachervision.com/skill-builder/problem-solving/48546.html Think-Aloud