Praxis ELA: English Language Arts Instruction

Review some strategies for identifying an author's purpose

An author's purpose is evident often in the organization of the text (e.g, section headings in bold font points to an informative text) However, you may not have such organization available to you in your exam. Instead, if the author make his or her main idea clear from the beginning, then the likely purpose of the text is to inform. If the author begins by making a claim and provides various arguments to support that claim, then the purpose is probably to persuade. If the author tells a story or wants to gain the reader's attention more than to push a particular point or deliver information, then his or her purpose is most likely to entertain. As a reader, you must judge authors on how well they accomplish their purpose . In other words, you need to consider the type of passage (e.g technical, persuasive, etc) that the author has written and if the author has followed the requirements of the passage type

Explain how a single cause can have multiple effects, how a single effect can have multiple causes, and the cause and effect chain

Be aware of the possibility for a single cause to have multiple effects. (e.g Single cause: Because you left your homework on the table, your dog engulfed the assignment. Multiple effects: As a a result, you receive a failing grade, your parents do not allow you to go out with your friends, you miss out on the new movie, and one of your classmates spoils it for you before you have another chance to watch it.) Also, there is the possibility for a single effect to have multiple causes. (e.g Single Effect: Alan has a fever. Multiple causes: An unexpected cold front came through the area, and Alan forgot to take his multi-vitamin to avoid getting sick.) Additionally, an effect can in turn be the cause of another effect, in what is know as a cause and effect chain. (e.g As a result of her disdain for procrastination, Lynn prepared for her exam. This led to her passing her test with high marks. Hence, her resume was accepted and her application was approved.

Explain how children develop language skills and list ways to aid this development

Children learn language through interacting with others, by experiencing language in a daily and relevant contexts, and through understanding that speaking and listening are necessary for effective communication. Teachers can promote language development by intensifying the opportunities a child has to experience and understand language Teachers can assist language development by: *Modeling enriched vocabulary and teaching new words *Using questions and examples to extend a child's descriptive language skills *Providing ample response time to encourage children to practice speech *Asking for clarification to provide students with the opportunity to develop communication skills *Promoting conversations among children *Providing feedback to let children know they have been heard and understood, and providing further explanation when needed

List classroom activities that teach phonological awareness

Classroom activities that teach phonological awareness include language play and exposure to a variety of sounds and the contexts of sounds. Activities that teach a phonological awareness include: Clapping to the sounds of individual words, names, or all words in a sentence *Practice saying blended phonemes *Singing songs that involve phoneme replacement (e.g. The Name Game) * Reading poems, songs, and nursery rhymes out loud *Reading patterned and predictable texts out loud *Listening to environmental sounds or following verbal directions *Playing games with rhyming chants or fingerplays *Reading alliterative texts out loud *Grouping objects by beginning sounds *Reordering words in a well-known sentence or making silly phrases by deleting words from a well-known sentence (perhaps from a favorite storybook)

List the facts children should know about letters

Decoding is the method of strategy used to make sense of printed words and figure out how to correctly pronounce them. In order to decode, a student needs to know the relationships between letters and sounds, including letter patterns, that words are constructed from phonemes and phoneme blends; and that a printed word represents a word that words make informed guesses about the pronunciation of unfamiliar words. Decoding is not the same as comprehension. It does not require understanding of the meaning of a word, only.a. knowledge of how to recognize and pronounce it. Decoding can also refer to the skills a student uses to determine the meaning of a sentence. These skills include applying knowledge of vocabulary, sentence structure and context.

Describe the teaching practice of whole-class learning circles as a way to promote collaborative student discussions that incorporate active listening skills, including some basic ground rules

Forming whole classes into learning circles requires students to apply their skills for listening to lectures, synthesizing information, and summarizing the information. Teachers can prepare students by articulating central discussion points: identifying the next steps in thought, question forming, analysis and action: and guiding student analysis and construction of meaning from what they have read, observed, and experienced: asking students questions beginning with "what?" "why" and "Now what?" Basic ground rules for learning circles include: 1. No student interrupts another 2. Students may skill a turn until others have taken turns, but no student speaks out of turn 3. Each student has a certain length of time for speaking 4. Each student starts by restating what was said previously (e.g. summarizing shared points, differing points, missed points, or points not discussed fully) 5. After every student has had one turn, general discussion is open, possibly guided by teacher-provided questions

Explain the role of vocabulary in literacy development

When students do not know the meaning of words in a text, their comprehension is limited. As a result, the text becomes boring or confusing. The larger a students vocabulary is the, better their reading comprehension will be. A larger vocabulary is also associated with an enhanced ability to communicate in speech and writing. It is the teacher's role to help students develop a good working vocabulary. Students learn most of the words they used and understand by listening to the world around them (adults, other students, media, etc) They also learn from their reading experiences, which include being read to and reading independently. Carefully designed activities can also stimulate vocabulary, growth, and should emphasize useful words that students see frequently, important words necessary for understanding text and difficult words and phrases such as idioms or words with more than one meaning.

Describe the use of chronological order as an organizational structure

When using chronological order, the author presents information in the order that it happened. For example, biographies are typically written in chronological order. The subject's birth and childhood are presented first, followed by their adult life, and lastly the events leading up to the person's death.

Discuss paraphrasing

another method that the reader can use to aid in comprehension. When paraphrasing, one puts what they have read into their own words by rephrasing what the author has written, or one "translates" all of what the author shared into their own words by including as many details as they can

Describe how a teacher can use observational assessments of individual and/or group student performance, including a couple of examples

Observational assessment is appropriate for evaluating student progress and the effectiveness of instruction. A teacher can create a checklist of skill requirements or competencies that students should attain. The teacher can then observe individuals or student groups and check off the skills or competencies demonstrated. For example, if a teacher has been instructing a class in listening carefully, he or she can compose a checklist with items such as paying attention, refraining from interrupting others, summarizing what ideas the other students have expressed, and asking questions of other students. The teacher can then initiate and observe the student discussion, checking off the checklist items he or she observes the students performing. Or, when teaching interview skills, a teacher can make a checklist including confidence, personal appearance, mannerisms and directly answering interviewer questions. He or she can also observe students participating in mock or real interviews and identify which items the students satisfy

Explain why drawing a conclusion is an important critical reading skill

A common type of inference that a reader has to make is drawing a conclusion. The reader makes this conclusion based on the information provided within the text. Certain facts are included to help a reader come to a specific conclusion. For example, a story may open with a man trudging through the snow on a cold winter day, dragging a sled behind him. The reader can logically infer from the setting of the story that the main is wearing heavy winter clothes in order to stay warm. Information is implied based on the setting of the story, which is why the setting is an important element of the text. If the same man in the example was trudging down a beach on a hot summer day, dragging a surfboard behind him, the reader would assume that the man is not wearing heavy clothes. The reader makes inferences based on their own experiences and the information presented to them in the story test-taking-tip: When asked to identify a conclusion that may be drawn, look for critical hedge" phrases, such as likely, may, can, and will often, among many others. When you are being tested on this knowledge, remember the question that writers insert into these hedge phrases to cover every possibility. Often an answer will be wrong simply because there is no room for exception. Extreme positive or negative answers (such as always or never) are usually not correct. When answering these questions, the reader should not use any outside knowledge that is not gathered directly or reasonably inferred from the passage. Correct answers can be derived straight from the passage

Discuss the process of drawing conclusions form information stated directly within a passage

A reader should always be drawing conclusions from the text. Sometimes conclusions are implied from written information, and other times the information is stated directly within the passage. One should always aim to draw conclusions from the information stated within a passage, rather than draw them from mere implications. At times an author may provide some information and then describe a counterargument. Readers should be alert for direct statements that are subsequently rejected or weakened by the author. Furthermore, you should always read through the entire passage before drawing conclusions. Many readers are trained to expect the author's conclusions at either the beginning of the end of the passage. but many texts do not adhere to this format

Describe some effective teaching techniques that can be used to promote vocabulary development

A student's vocabulary can be developed by: *Calling upon a student's prior knowledge and making comparisons to that knowledge * Defining a word and providing multiple examples of the use of the word in context *Showing a student how to use context clues to discover the meaning of a word *Providing instruction on prefixes, roots, and suffixes to help students break a word into its parts and decipher its meaning *Showing students how to use a dictionary and a thesaurus *Asking students to practice new vocabulary by using the words in their own writing *Providing a print-rich environment with a word wall *Studying a group of words related to a single subject, such as farm words, transportation words, etc, so that concept development is enhanced

Define suffix and describe the three types of suffixes

A suffix is a syllable that appears at the end of a word that creates a specific meaning in combination with the root or base word. There are three types of suffixes *Noun Suffixes- Noun suffixes can change a verb or adjective to a noun. They can denote the act of, state of, quality of, or result of something. For example, -ment added to argue becomes argument, which can be understood as the act the act of resulting state from arguing or the reasons given to prove an idea. Noun suffixes can also denote the doer, or one who acts. For example, -eer added to auction becomes auctioneer, meaning one who auctions. Other examples include-hood, ness, tion, ship and ism * Verb suffixes- these change other words to verbs and denote to make or to perform the act of. For example, -en added to soft make soften, which means to make soft. Other verb suffixes are -ate (perpetuate), -fy (dignify) and ize (sterilize) *Adjectival suffixes- these suffixes change other words to adjectives and include suffixes such as -ful, which means full of. When added to care, the word careful is formed, which means full of care. Other example are -ish and less

List ways to provide a print-rich environment in the classroom

A teacher can provide a print-rich environment in the classroom in a number of ways these include: Displaying the following in the classroom * Children's names in print or cursive *Children's written work *Newspapers and magazines *Instructional charts *Written Schedules * Signs and Labels *Printed songs, poems, and rhymes Using graphic organizers such as KWL, charts or story road maps to *Remind students about what was read and discussed *Expand on the lesson topic or theme *Shoe the relationships among books, ideas and words Using big books to *Point out features of print, such as specific letters and punctuation *Track print from right to left * Emphasize the concept of words and the fact that they are used to communicate

Explain a rationale for active student listening. Identify natural properties of speech and thought conducive to active listening. Identify some shared properties of listening and learning.

Active listening has multiple dimensions. It involves constructing meaning out of what is heard, being reflective and creative in considering and manipulating information, and making competent decisions rich in ideas. The natural properties of speech and thought enable active listening: the typical speed of speaking is roughly 125 words per minute, whereas the estimated speed of thinking is roughly 500 words per minute. Therefore, students have around 375 words per minute of spare time to think about the speech they hear. Students' minds can wander during this extra time, so teachers should instruct them to use the time instead to summarize lecture information mentally- a form of active listening. Listening and learning are both social and reciprocal. They also both allow and require students to process and consider what they and stimulate their curiosity about subsequent information.

Define affixes, prefixes, and root words.

Affixes are syllables attached to the beginning or end of a word to make a derivative or inflectional form of a word. Both prefixes and suffixes are affixes. A prefix is a syllable that appears at the beginning of a word that creates a specific meaning in combination with the root or base word. For example, the prefix mis means wrong. When combined with the root word spelling, the word misspelling is created, which means wrong spelling. A root word is the base of a word to which affixes can be added. For example, the prefix in-or pre can be added to the Latin root word vent to create invent or prevent, respectively. The suffix- er can be added to the root word manage to create manager, which means one who manages. The suffix-able meaning capable of can be added to manage to create manageable, which means capable of being managed.

Discuss the three steps of listening lessons and how a teacher should guide students through them

All students, but especially ESL students, can be taught listening through specific training. During listening lessons. the teacher should guide students through three steps: *Pre-listening activity- this establishes the purpose of the lesson and engages students' background knowledge. This activity should ask students to think about and discuss something they already know about the topic. Alternatively, the teacher can provide background information *The Listening Activity- this requires the listener to obtain information and then immediately do something with the information. For example., the teacher can review the schedule for the day of the week. In this example. students are being given information about a routine they already know, and need to be able to identify names, tasks, and times Post-Listening Activity- this is an evaluation process that allows students to judge how well they did with the listening task. other language skills can be included in this activity. For example. this activity could involve asking questions about who will do what according to the classroom schedule (Who is the lunch monitor today?) and could also involve asking students to produce whole-sentence replies

Discuss how anecdotal records can be useful as informal teacher assessment of student progress, including appropriate applications, disadvantages and advantages

Anecdotal records can provide good information for formative assessments. For example, when students conduct science experiments or complete class projects, teachers can use anecdotal records to instruct them in writing reports to explain the procedures they followed. When students in group learning activities solve a problem together, teachers can use anecdotal records to document the process used. Such anecdotal documents not only provide the teacher with formative assessment information, but teachers can also use them to give feedback to the group of students. Two disadvantages of using anecdotal records are that they can take more time for teachers to complete than other informal assessments and that they can be hard to use for assigning grades. Two advantages are that anecdotal records can encompass all pertinent information, whereas other assessments may not, and that teachers may use them only for giving students feedback, which eliminates the need to base grades on them

Discuss the process of identifying an effective outline of information presented in a paragraph or message

As an aid to drawing conclusions, outlining the information contained in the passage should be a familiar skill to readers. An effective outline will reveal the structure of the passage and will lead to solid conclusions. An effective outline will have a title that refers to the basic subject of the text, though the title does not need to restate the main idea. In most outlines, the main idea will be the first major section. Each major idea in the passage will be established as the head of a category. For instance, the most common outline format calls for the main ideas of the passage to be indicated with roman numbers. In an effective outline of this kin, each of the main ideas will be represented by a Roman numeral and none of the roman numerals will be designated minor details or secondary ideas. Moreover, all supporting ideas and details should be placed in the appropriate place on the outline An outline does not need to include every detail listed in the text, but it should feature all of those that are central to the argument or message. Each of these details should be listed under the corresponding main idea

Discuss how text-to text, text-to world, and text-to-self connections can help students learn to make their own connections when reading and increase their interest and comprehension

As students read texts, the teacher can promote their connection with the text by guiding their responses. This can include encouraging connections such as text-to-text, text-to-world, or text-to-self. Students can make these connections, verbally, in activities like group discussions or oral reports, or in their writing. These activities can be used with any type of text and may help students connect readings to other subjects or areas of the curriculum. Though they may not do it consciously, students are already making connections as they read. Consciously thinking about these connections and communicating them to others may help students comprehend their reading and increase their interest in the material. Text-to self connections are particularly effective for helping students form meaning from the text. Each student has unique experiences that may help them relate to different parts of the text or even alter the meaning they derive from the text

Discuss some aspects of making predictions as literacy skills to support reading comprehension

As we read on, we can test the accuracy of our predictions, revise them in light of additional reading, and confirm or refute our predictions. Predictions are always subject to revision as the reader acquires more information. A reader can make predictions by observing the title and illustrations; noting the structure, characters, and subject; drawing on existing knowledge relative to the subject, and asking "why" and "who" questions. Connecting reading to what we already know enables us to learn new information and construct meaning. For example, before third-graders read a book about Johnny Appleseed, they may start a KWL chart- a list of what they know, what they Want to know or learn, and what they have learned after reading. Activating existing background knowledge and thinking about the text before reading improves comprehension Test-Taking Tip- to respond to questions requiring future predictions, your answers should be based on evidence of past or present behavior and events

Identify some ways for teachers to incorporate active student listening into a lesson by structuring their presentations and/or lectures

At the beginning of each day (or class), teachers should clarify the "big picture" and identify the learning objectives incorporated into the day's activities. They should also give students a single word or phrase to preview the current day's subject. Teachers should not only establish this recall, retrieval, prediction, and planning process as a daily habit but should also encourage students to develop the same daily habit in their note-taking. Teachers should review main concepts or have students summarize the last lecture's main idea to make connections with preceding lessons. By encouraging and guiding student listening, teachers supply spoken transitions analogously to those in written research. By cueing students to take notes with questions or summaries at the ends of sections, teachers also help students demonstrate their comprehension

Describe how teachers can generally use observation to make informal assessments of their students' performance

By observing students as they work on assignments or practice exercises, teachers can obtain valuable information. With kindergarten and first-grade classes, many school districts inform parents of children's progress by filling out "report cards" or inventories. Through experience, long term teachers typically develop their own methods of making ongoing skills assessments of their students. Books about reading instruction typically include informal reading assessments. Teachers should assess student progress in naturalistic ways on a continual basis. Teachers and parents continually observing students regarding their status and progress in the physical, cognitive, emotional and social domains yields the most relevant assessment- particularly with young children. Portfolio and performance assessments provide a more complete picture of overall progress than standardized test scores alone. Additionally, writing narrative reports about young children depicts the whole child better than just giving them number or letter grades

Discuss the process of drawing conclusions from information implied within a passage

Drawing conclusions from information implied within a passage requires confidence on the part of the reader. Implications are things that the author does not state directly, but readers can assume based on what the author does say. Consider the following passage: I stepped outside and opened my umbrella. By the time I got to work, the cuff of my pants were soaked. The author never states that it is raining, but this fact is clearly implied. Conclusions based on implication must be well supported by the text. In order to draw a solid conclusion, readers should have multiple pieces of evidence. If readers have only one piece, they must be assured that there is no other possible explanation than their conclusion. A good reader will be able to draw many conclusions from information implied by the text, which will be a great help on the exam

Describe some teaching strategies to encourage discussion and ways of evaluating their effectiveness

During class discussions, students often contribute erroneous information. Teachers must be tactful in correcting them. If students withdraw from the conversation or cease further contributions, the teacher has not corrected them appropriately. If corrected students continue to contribute, the teacher has succeeded in providing positive reinforcement rather than punishment with the correction. Some ways to do this include acknowledging how the student came to a conclusion but explaining that it does not apply to the current context, or explaining how the student's response might be correct in another situation. Teachers can also provide incentives for students to contribute to class discussions. They may include participation in the syllabus as part of the grade, keep records to tally when each student contributes to a discussion, or assign different students to lead class discussions in turn. These are some ways teachers can evaluate individual students participate in classroom discussions, as well s their effectiveness in encouraging such participation

Explain how top-down and bottom up processing apply to listening skills

ESL students need to be given opportunities to practice both top-down and bottom-up processing. If they are old enough to understand these concepts, they should be made aware that these are two processes that affect their listening comprehension. In top-down processing, the listener refers to background and global knowledge to figure out the meaning of a message. For example, when asking an ESL student to perform a task, the steps of the task should be explained and accompanied by a review of the vocabulary terms the student already understands so that the student feels comfortable tackling new steps and new words. The teacher should also allow students to ask question's to verify comprehension. In bottom-up processing, the listener figures out the meaning of a message by using data obtained from what is said. This date includes sounds (stress, rhythm and intonation) words and grammatical relationships. All data can be used to make conclusions or interpretations. For example, the listener can develop bottom-up skills by learning how to detect differences in intonation between statements and questions

List methods for teaching students writing skills

Effective instruction for teaching writing skills include *Explicitly teaching students stages of the writing process and techniques to plan, draft, revise and edit their writing *Modeling of effective writing practices and independent student practice of the elements of the writing process. Students can often benefit from summarizing text as practice for writing clearly, concisely, and accurately *Collaborative writing helps students plan, write, edit, and revise writing cooperatively. Classmates can take turns reviewing each other's writing, giving both positive feedback for reinforcement and constructive feedback for improvement *Setting specific goals for writing assignments to target particular writing skills *Teaching students to combine sentences to improve the grammatical complexity of their work *The process writing approach is a strategy in which teachers give students opportunities for extended practice with planning, writing, and review

List strategies teachers can teach students to help them improve their writing skills

Effective instruction for teaching writing skills includes *Teaching students to consider their audience or be provided with an authentic audience, such as their classmates *Inquiry strategies include setting clear goals for writing and examining concrete data, such as observing others and documenting their own responses. Inquiry strategies may also include the application of learning to compositions *Prewriting strategies to help students generate and organize ideas, access background knowledge, research topics, and visualize their ideas on a graphic organizer or other visual aid *Using mnemonic devices, checklists, graphic organizers, outlines, and other procedural strategies can help students plan and revise their writing *Teaching students to ask themselves questions and make self-statement to help formulate ideas in prewriting and editing *Teaching self-regulation to help students monitor their own writing output

Explain the role of prior knowledge in determining appropriate literacy education

Even preschool children have some literacy skills, and the extent and type of these skills have implications for instructional approaches. Comprehension results from relating two or more pieces of information. One pieces comes from the text, and another piece might come from prior knowledge (something from a student's long term memory). For a child that prior knowledge comes fro being read to at home, taking part in other literacy experiences, such as playing computer or word games, being exposed to print rich environment at home; and observing parents' reading habits. Children who have had extensive literacy experience are better prepared to further develop their literacy skills in school than children who have not been read to, have few books or magazines in their homes, are seldom exposed to high level oral or written language activities, and seldom witness adults engaged in reading and writing. Children with a scant literacy background are at a disadvantage. The teacher must not make any assumptions about their prior knowledge, and should use intense, targeted instruction. Otherwise, the student may have trouble improving their reading comprehension

Explain the role of fluency in literacy development

Fluency is the goal of literacy development. It is the ability to read accurately and quickly. Evidence of fluency include the ability to recognize words automatically and group words for comprehension. At this point, the student no longer needs to decode words except for complex, unfamiliar ones. He or she is able to move to the next level and understand the meaning of a text. The student should be able to self check for comprehension and should feel comfortable expressing ideas in writing. Teachers can help students build fluency by continuing to provide: *Reading experiences and discussions about text that gradually increase in level of difficulty *Reading practice, both silently and out loud *Word analysis practice *Instruction on reading comprehension strategies *Opportunities to express responses to readings through writing

Identify some skills that students must learn in order to write in the informative/explanatory mode, and some skills that teachers need in order to teach this writing mode using mentor texts

For students to write in an informative context, they must be able to locate and select pertinent information from primary and secondary sources. They must also combine their own experiences and existing knowledge with the new information they find. They must not only select facts, details, and examples relevant to their topics but also learn to incorporate this information into their writing. At the same time, students need to develop their skills in various writing techniques, such as comparing and contrasting, making transitions between topics or points, and citing scenarios and anecdotes related to their topic, In teaching informative writing, the teacher must "read like writers" to use mentor texts to consider author craft and technique. They can find mentor texts in blogs, websites, newspapers, novels, plays, picture books, and many more. Teachers should know the grade-level writing standards for informative writing to select classroom-specific, appropriate mentor texts

Explain the ways that a reader can use graphic organizers to order the ideas that are presented in a text

Ideas from a text can also be organized using graphic organizers. A graphic organizer is a way to simplify the information and take key points from the text. A graphic organizer such as a timeline may have an event listed for a corresponding date on a timeline, while an outline may have an event listed under a key point that occurs in the text. Each reader needs to create the type of graphic organizer that works the best for him or her in terms of being able to recall information from a story. Examples include the spider map, which takes a main idea from the story and places it in a bubble with supporting branching off the main idea. An outline is useful for diagramming the main and supporting points of the entire story, and a Venn Diagram compares and contrasts characteristics of two or more ideas

Summarize a major advantage of using observational checklists as informal assessments of student learning, including a few examples, an advantage that is also a disadvantage, and a simple way to address the disadvantage

In informal assessment, using observational checklists to identify skills attained has an advantage over formal written tests because informal, naturalistic observations enable teachers to record behaviors that traditional written tests cannot include. For example, if a teacher wanted to know whether students can follow all steps of a science experiment in the correct sequence, how many baskets they can make in free throws on the basketball court, or whether they can remember all of the significant parts to include in a speech they write and deliver to the class, they can record these by observing and marking such items on a checklist they have designed in advance- but they could not record any such behaviors through the standard "pencil and paper" tests. The structure of checklists has the advantage of being consistent, but also the disadvantage of being inflexible. Teachers can remedy the latter by including a place at the end of the checklists to write open-ended comments on their observations of student performance

Discuss strategies for identifying an authors position

In order to be an effective reader, one must pay attention to the author's position and purpose. Even those texts that seem objective and impartial, like textbooks, have a position and bias. Readers need to take these positions into account when considering the author's message. When an author uses emotional language or clearly favors one side of an argument his or her position is clear. However, the author's position may be evident not only in what he or she writes but the source also in what he or she doesn't write. In a normal setting, a reader would want to review some other texts on the same topic in order to develop a view of the author's position. If this was not possible, then you would want to at least acquire some background about the author/. However since you are in the middle of an exam and the only source of information is the text, you should look for language and argumentation that seems to indicate a particular stance on the subject

Describe portfolio assessment and identify some of its applications, requirements, procedures and advantages.

In portfolio assessment, teachers or students create a folder or box and deposit a student's best work products, accumulated over time. In language arts, teachers often collect student writing samples in portfolios for a whole year. Some language arts teachers additionally transmit year-long portfolios to the following year's teachers to aid in student assessments. Teachers can use portfolio assessments in any subject to enable students to assume greater responsibility for planning, organizing, and implementing what they learn. The combined products in the portfolio afford concise depictions of what students have achieved during specific time periods. Portfolios can include handwritten or printed essays, stories, articles, videos; or computer files of multimedia presentations. Teachers should help students develop guidelines about which materials to place in portfolios, and how to self-assess their own work. The advantages of portfolios over tests include helping students develop self-assessment skills, giving clearer pictures of student progress, and learning from mistakes without the damage of bad test grades.

Define inferences. Explain generally the process of how readers draw inferences from a literary text and discuss how inferences can impact the reader's experience with the text

Inferences about literacy text are logical conclusions that readers make based on their observations and previous knowledge. An inference is based on both what is found in a passage or a story and what is known from personal experience. For instance, a story may say that a character is frightened and can hear howling in the distance. Based on both what is in the text and personal knowledge, it is a logical conclusion that the character is frightened because he hears the sound of wolves.A good reference is supported by the information in a passage By inferring, readers construct meanings from the text that are personally relevant. By combining their own schemas or concepts and their background information pertinent to the text with what they read, readers interpret it according to both what the author has conveyed and their own unique perspectives. Inferences are different from explicit information, which is clearly stated in a passage. Authors do not always explicitly spell out every meaning in what they write; many meanings are implicit. Through inference, readers can comprehend implied meanings in the text, and also device personal significance from it, making the text meaningful, and memorable to them. The inference is a natural process in everyday life. When readers infer they can draw conclusions about what the author is saying, predict, what may reasonably follow, amend these predictions as they continue to read, interpret the import of themes, and analyze the characters' feelings and motivations through their actions

List four theories of language development and give a brief summary of each

Learning Approach- this theory assumes that language is first learned by imitating the speech of adults. it is then solidified in school through drills about the rules of language structures Linguistic Approach- Championed by Noam Chomsky in the 1950's, this theory proposes the ability to use a language is innate. This is a biological approach rather than one based on cognition or social patterning Cognitive approach- developed in the 1970's and based on the work of Piaget, this theory states that children must develop appropriate cognitive skills before they can acquire language Sociocognitive approach- in the 1970's, some researches proposed that language development is a complex interaction of linguistic, social and cognitive influences, This theory best explains the lack of language skills among children who are neglected. have uneducated parents, or live in povertyt

Explain the importance of using special teaching strategies to promote listening skills of ESL students. Discuss topic choice and manner of speaking in particular

Listening is a critical skill when learning a new language. Students spend a great deal more time listening that they do speaking, and far less time reading and writing than speaking. One way to encourage ESL, students to listen is to talk about topics that are of interest to the ESL learner. Otherwise, students may tune out the speaker because they don't want to put in that much effort to learn about a topic they find boring. Another way to encourage ESL students to listen is to to talk about content or give examples that are easy to understand or are related to a topic that is familiar to ESL students. Culturally relevant materials will be more interesting to ESL Students, will make them feel more comfortable, and will contain vocabulary that they may already be familiar with

Explain three additional considerations related to learning by listening by that are especially relevant to ESL students

Listening is not a passive skill, but an active one. Therefore, a teacher needs to make listening experiences as rewarding as possible and provide as many auditory and visual clues as possible. Three ways that the teacher can make the listening experience rewarding for ESL students are: *Avoid colloquialisms and abbreviated or slang terms that may be confusing to the ESL listener, unless there is enough time to define them and explain their use *Make the spoken English understandable by stopping to clarify points. repeating new or difficult words, and defining words that may not be known *Support the spoken word with as many visuals as possible. Pictures, diagrams, gestures, facial expressions and body languages can help the ESL learner correctly interpret the spoken language more easily and leaved an image impression that helps them remember the words

Explain three additional considerations related to learning by listening that are especially relevant to ESL students

Listening is not a passive skill, but an active one. Therefore, a teacher needs to make the listening experience as rewarding as possible and provide as many auditory and visusal clues as possible. Three ways that the teacher can make the listening experience rewarding for ESL Students are:

Describe the compare-and contrast structure

Many texts follow the compare- and contrast model in which the similarities and differences between two ideas or things are explored. Analysis of the similarities between ideas is called comparison. In an ideal comparison, the author places ideas or things in an equivalent structure I.e the author presents the ideas in the same way. If an an author wants to show the similarities between cricket and baseball, then he or she may do so by summarizing the equipment and rules for each game. Be mindful of the similarities as they appear in the passage and take note of any differences that are mentioned. Often, these small differences will only reinforce the more general similarity

Discuss how literature can appeal to the human experience and how student's ability to relate to literature may increase their interest in literature and their ability to analyze and apply literature

Observing relationships between literature and reality can also allow students to see similarities between their observations, their peer's experiences, and various pieces of literature. Many of these similarities are relevant to common human experiences, including emotions, psychology, various relationships, and the stages and progression of life. Once students learn to observe these similarities and themes within the literature, they are better equipped to analyze and interpret the function of these elements in a particular work. One way to foster a student's analysis and interest in the work's purpose is to create assignments relevant to the message, plot, or moral of the literature they are studying. These may include analysis essays, student-taught lessons, or interpretative illustrations of concepts or messages. This analysis may be aided by identifying rhetorical and figurative devices in the same work and connecting the use of these devices to the present themes. The application of literary theories and criticism can also reveal the function or relevance of these themes and show a text's treatment of the human experience

Describe how an author demonstrates cause and effect

One of the most common text structures is cause and effect. A cause is an act or event that makes something happen, and an effect is a thing that happens as a result of the cause. A cause-and-effect relationship is not always explicit, but there are some terms in English that signal causes, such as since, because, and due to. Furthermore, terms that signal effect include, consequently, therefore, this leads to. As an example, consider the sentence Because the sky was clear, Ron did not bring an umbrella. The cause is the clear sky, and the effect is that Ron did not bring an umbrella. However, readers may find that sometimes the cause and effect relationship will not be clearly noted. For instance, the sentence He was late and missed the meeting does not contain any signaling words, but the sentence still contains a cause (he was late) and an effect (he missed the meeting)

Compare and contrast topics and main ideas

One of the most important skills in reading comprehension is the identification of topics and main ideas. There is subtle difference between these two features. The topic is the subject of a text (i.e what the text is all about). The main idea, on the other hand, is the most important point being made by the author. The topic is usually expressed in a few words at the most while the main idea often needs a full sentence to be completely defined. As an example, a short passage might be written on the topic of penguins, and the main idea could be written as Penguins are different from other birds in many ways. In most nonfiction writing, the topic and the main idea will be stated directly and often appear in a sentence at the very beginning or end of the text. When being tested on an understanding of the author's topic you may be able to skim the passage for the general idea by reading only the first sentence of each paragraph. A body's paragraph first sentence is often-but not always- the main topic sentence which given you a summary of the content in the paragraph However, they are cases in which the reader must figure out an unstated topic or main idea. In these instances, you must read every sentence of the text and try to come up with an overarching idea that is supported by each of those sentences. Note: the main idea should not be confused with the thesis statement. While the main idea give a brief, general summary of a text, the thesis statement provides a specific perspective on an issue that the author supports with evidence.

Explain the relationship between oral and written language development

Oral and written language development occur simultaneously. The acquisition of skills in one area supports the acquisition of skills in the other. However, oral language is not a prerequisite to written language. An immature form of oral language development is babbling, and an immature form of written language development is scribbling. Oral language development does not occur naturally but does occur in a social context. This means it is best to include children in conversations rather than simply talk at them. Written language development can occur without direct instruction. In fact, reading and writing do not necessarily need to be taught through formal lessons if the child is exposed to a print-rich environment. A teacher can assist a child's language development by building on what the child already knows, discussing relevant and meaningful events and experiences, teaching vocabulary and literacy skills, and providing opportunities to acquire more complex language

Describe persuasive essays, including some common pitfalls of persuasive writing

Persuasive essays, in which an author tries to make a convincing argument and change the minds of readers, usually include cause and effect relationships. However, these relationships should not always be taken at face value. Frequently, an author will assume a cause or take an effect for granted. To read a persuasive essay effectively, readers need to judge the cause and effect relationships that the author is presenting. For instance, imagine an author wrote the following: The parking deck has been unprofitable because people would prefer to ride their bikes. The relationship is clear: the cause is that people prefer to ride their bikes and the effect is that the parking deck has been unprofitable. However, readers should consider whether this argument is conclusive. Perhaps there are other reasons for the failure of the parking deck: a down economy, excessive fees, etc. Too often, authors present casual relationships as if they are fact rather than opinion. Readers should be on the alert for these dubious claims

Describe the teaching of reading through phonics

Phonics is the process of learning to read by learning how spoken language is represented by letters. Students learn to read phonetically by sounding out the phonemes in words and then blending them together to produce the correct sounds in words. In other words, the student connects speech sounds with letters or groups of letters and blends the sounds together to determine the pronunciation of an unknown word. Phonics is a method commonly used to teach decoding and reading, but it has been challenged by other methods, such as the whole language approach. Despite the complexity of pronunciation and combined sounds in the English Language, phonics is a highly effective way to teach reading. being able to read or pronounce a word does not mean that the student comprehends the meaning of the word, but context aids comprehension. When phonic is used as a foundation for decoding, children eventually learn to recognize words automatically and advance to decoding multi-syllable words with practice

Explain the benefits of print and book awareness for children

Print and book awareness helps a child understand: *That there is a connection between print and messages contained on signs, labels, and other print forms in the child's environment *That reading and writing are ways to obtain information and communicate ideas *That print written in English runs from left to right and from top to bottom *That a book has parts, such as title, a cover, a title page and table of contents *That a book has an author and contains a story *That illustrations can carry meaning *That letters and words are different *That words and sentences are separated by spaces and punctuation *That different text forms are used for different functions *That print represents spoken language *How to hold a book

Draw a conclusion based on an excerpt and defend the conclusion in regard to logic

Read the excerpt and decide why Jana finally relaxed. Jana loved her job, but the work was very demanding. She had trouble relaxing. She called a friend, but she still thought about work. She ordered a pizza, but eating it did not help. Then, her kitten jumped on her lap and began to purr. Jana leaned back and began to hum a little tune. She felt better. You can draw the conclusion that Jana relaxed because her kitten jumped on her lap. The kitten purred, and Jana leaned back and hummed a tun. Then she felt better. The excerpt does not explicitly say that this is the reason why she was able to relax. The text leaves the matter unclear, but the reader can infer or make a "best guess" that this is the reason she is relaxing. This is a logical conclusion based on the information in the passage. It is the best conclusion a reader can make based on the information her or she has read. Inferences are based on the information in a passage, but they are not directly stated in the passage. Test-taking tip: While being tested on your ability to make correct inferences, you must look for contextual clues. An answer can be true, but not the best or most correct answer. The contextual clues will help you find the answer that is the best answer out of the given choices. Be careful in your reading to understand the context in which a phrase is stated. When asked for the implied meaning of a statement made in the passage, you should immediately locate the statement and read the context in which the statement was made. Also, look for a answer choice that has a similar phrase to the statement in question

Discuss how readers can infer character traits based on dialogue

Read the following sentence from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and draw a conclusion based on the information presented: You know the reason Mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was that it is going to be a hard winter for everyone, and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure when our men are suffering so in the army Based on the information in the sentence, the reader can conclude, or infer that the men are away at war while the women are still at home The pronoun our gives a clue to the reader that the character is speaking about men she knows, In addition, the reader can assume that the character is speaking to a brother or sister since the term: Mother" is used by the character while speaking to another person. The reader can also come to the conclusion that the characters celebrate Christmas since it is mentioned in the context of the sentence. In the sentence, the Mother is presented as an unselfish character who is opinionated and thinks about the well-being of other people

Describe how a sequence is presented in writing

Readers must be able to identify a text's sequence, or the order in which things happen. Often, when the sequence is very important to the author, the text is indicated with signal words like first, then, next and last. However, a sequence can be merely implied and must be noted by the reader. Consider the sentence He walked through the garden and gave water and fertilizer to the plants. So the implied sequence is that he first collected water, then he collected fertilizer, next he walked through the garden, and last he have water or fertilizer as necessary to the plants. Texts do not always process in an orderly sequence from first to last. Sometimes they begin at the end and start over at the beginning. As a reader, you can enhance your understanding of the passage by taking brief notes to clarify the sequence.

Explain why, when, and how readers can make connections, and what kinds of connections, to enhance reading comprehension when reading literature

Reading involves thinking. For good comprehension, readers make text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world connections. Making connections helps readers understand the text better and predict what might occur next based on what they already know, such as how characters in the story feel or what happened in another text. Text-to-self connections with the reader's life and experiences make literature more personally relevant and meaningful to readers. Readers can make connections before, during, and after reading-including whenever the text reminds them of something similar they have encountered in life or in other texts. The genre, setting, characters, plot elements, literacy structure and devices, and thems an author uses allows a reader to make connections to other works of literature or to people and events in their own lives. Venn diagrams and other graphic organizers help visualize connections. Readers can also make double-entry notes: key content, ideas, events, words, and quotations on one side, and the connections with these on the other.

Among Common Core Standards for reading informational texts, identify some standards for "anchor" performance skills (skills that all students must learn) in citing textual evidence to support informational text analysis by grade levels 6-12. Identify what students must be able to do to meet these standards

Reading standards for informational texts expect 6-9th graders to cite textual evidence to support their inferences and analyses. 7th graders are expected additionally to identify several specific pieces of textual evidence to defend each of their conclusions. 8th graders are expected to differentiate strong from weak textual evidence. 9th and 10th graders are expected to be able to cite thorough evidence as well as strong evidence from the text. 11th and 12th graders are expected in combination, with the previous grade-level standards to determine which things are left unclear in the text. Students must be able to connect text to their background knowledge and make inferences to understand text, judge it critically, draw conclusions about it, and make their own interpretations of it. Therefore they must be able to organize and differentiate between the main idea and details in a text to make inferences about them. They must also be able to locate evidence in the text

List some effective classroom practices that benefit second language acquistion

Since some students may have a limited understanding of English a teacher should employ the following practices to promote second language acquisition *Make all instruction as understandable as possible and use simple and repeated terms *Relate instruction to the cultures of ESL children *Increase interactive activities and use gestures or nonverbal actions when modeling *Provide language and literacy development instruction in all curriculum areas *Establish consistent routines that help children connect words and events *Use a schedule so children know what will happen next and will not feel lost *Integrate ESL children into group activities with non-ESL children *Appoint bilingual students to act as student translators *Explain actions as activities happen so that a word to action relationship is established *Initiate opportunities for ESL children to experiment with and practice new language *Employ multi-sensory learning

Describe the problem-solution text structure

Some nonfiction texts are organized to present a problem followed by a solution. For this type of text, the problem is often explained before the solution is offered. In some cases, as when the problem is well known, the solution may be introduced briefly at the beginning. Other passages may focus on the solution, and the problem will be referenced only occasionally. Some texts will outline multiple solutions to a problem, leaving readers to choose among them. If the author has an interest or an allegiance to one solution, he or she may fail to mention or describe accurately some of the other solutions. Readers should be careful of the author's agenda when reading a problem text. Only by understanding the author's perspective and interests can one develop a proper judgement of the proposed solution

List some general teaching strategies that can be used in any classroom to help ESL Students

Some strategies can help students develop more than one important skill. They may involve a combination of speaking, listening, and viewing. Others are mainly classroom management aids. General teaching strategies for ESL students include: *Partner English Speaking Students with ESL students as study buddies and ask the English-speaking students to share notes. *Encourage ESL students to ask questions whenever they don't understand something. They should be aware that they they don't have to be able to interpret every word of text to understand the concept *Dictate key sentences related to the content area being taught and ask ESL students to write them down down. This gives them practice in listening and writing, and also helps them identify what is important *Alternate difficult and easy tasks so that ESL students can experience academic success *Ask ESL students to label objects associated with content areas, such as maps, diagrams, parts of a leaf, or parts of a sentences. This gives students writing and reading experience and helps them remember key vocabulary

Relate some expectations and recommendations for students in grades 6-12 to learn to write informative/explanatory text

Standards for high school students include using informative or explanatory text to communicate and investigate complex concepts, information and ideas. They should be ale to effectively choose, analyze, and organize content and write accurately and clearly. Informative or explanatory text is recommend to comprise approximately 40% of high school students' writing across curriculum content subjects. Teachers can present brief mentor texts that use informative writing in creative, engaging ways to students as demonstrations. Using mentor texts as templates, teachers can model composing similar texts about other topics. Teacher then have student apply this format to write about topics the students select, giving them support of scaffolding. Thereafter, teachers can have students write short texts or various topics that necessitate using prior knowledge and doing research. "Thinking aloud" to model the cognitive writing process is also important. Teachers should assign frequent short research instead of traditional longer library-research term papers. Authentic writing tasks include conducting and reporting survey/interview research, producing newspaper front pages, and composing web pages

Describe how students can use a paired reading strategy to help them identify the main ideas and details in an informational text to enhance their comprehension

Students can support one another's the comprehension of informational text by working in pairs. Each student silently reads a portion of the text. One student summarizes the text's main point, and then others must agree or disagree and explain why until they reach an agreement. Then each person takes a turn at identifying details in the text portion that support the main ideas that they have identified. Finally, they repeat each step with their roles reversed. Each pair of students can keep track of the central ideas and supporting details by taking notes in two columns: one for main ideas and the other for the details that support those main ideas

Relate some instructional techniques to promote student discussion, including enable student preparation; and using class self-evaluation and student evaluation of class discussions to evaluate their effectiveness

Students often feel intimidated if "put on the spot" to answer questions without warning. Teachers can put them at ease by allowing time to prepare. They can announce topics and questions for class discussion, giving students five minutes to jot down notes for responses and another five minutes for exchanging and reflecting on notes with classmates before the beginning of the whole-class conversation. Teachers may distribute discussion topics at the end of one class for the next day's conversation or post questions online the night before class. One technique for evaluative discussions is asking students early in the term to write papers about the characteristics of good and bad class discussions, and then discuss what they have written. Teachers then compose a list of classroom discussion goals and give copies to all students. Another technique is an informal survey, asking students midway through the semester to evaluate the overall quality of class discussions. Share response with the class, and inform them of plans incorporating their feedback to enhance discussions

Identify a Common Core state standard in English Language Arts for reading information texts related to how authors connect and distinguish elements in the text, and give an example of how teachers can help middle-school students analyze informational text for these

Students should be able to analyze how an informational text makes connections and distinctions among ideas, events, or individuals, such as by comparing or contrasting them, making analogies between them, or dividing them into categories to show similarities and differences. For example, teachers can help 8th graders analyze how to divide animals into categories of carnivores, which only eat means; herbivores, which eat only eat plants and omnivores which eat both meat and plants. Teachers and students can identify the author's comparisons and contrast of groups. Teachers can help students analyze these processes by supplying sentence frames for example " A _____ is a ______, so" and "A______ is a _______ which means" The students fill these empty spaces in, creating sentences such as " A frog is a carnivore, so it eats only meat' and " A rabbit is an herbivore, which means it eats only plants"

Discuss how technology can be used to increase student's interest in literature and promote reading comprehension

Students today have considerable access and exposure to technology. Students often use technology for entertainment and social interaction, but technology can also be used and enjoyed in education. Technology can be used to increase students' engagement and interest in literature and to promote their comprehension of the material. Different types of technology can appeal to different students and their learning styles. Games and activities related to literature and lessons make the material interactive and give students an opportunity to see the material applied and presented in an alternative way. Projects and assignments that require students to use technology give students an opportunity to create a unique product and reflect on what they value most about the literature. Technology also allows students to interact with each other and the material outside of class, encouraging their engagements by enabling them to collaborate and make their own connections Technology can also promote students' comprehension by presenting literature in various mediums. Many e-books and digital texts integrate tools that allow users to look up definitions, pronunciations, and other information while they are reading without distracting from the text. This promotes comprehension by providing helpful resources that support the reader's comprehension. Some students are more receptive to the information they hear, rather than the information they read. Students who read a text and listen to a narration of that text simultaneously may be able to focus on the text more deeply and comprehend the information better

Identify some educator techniques to improve and augment classroom discussions and how to evaluate their effectiveness

Students who feel comfortable with the teacher and the class are more likely to engage in open discussion. Teachers can encourage student openness and creativity by learning students' names and by posing questions rather than making comments. Lively discussions with all students by participating are evidence that students are comfortable. A variety of student answers is evidence that the questioning technique words. When student discussions stray off the subject, learning goals will not be met. Teachers can redirect discussion by restating topics and questions previously announced, and by introducing new questions related to identified topics. When conversation refocuses on stated topics, the teacher can identify specified learning goals/objectives students are meeting in their discussion. In most classes, a few students will dominate conversations. Teachers can pose less challenging questions, which can be answered even without preparation, to engage more reticent students, and then graduate to higher-level questions. They can evaluate all students' participation using checklists generated from attendance sheets.

Define formative and summative assessments. Identify the importance of formative assessments, and whether formal or informal assessments are indicated in formative assessments and for grouping students. Include a few teacher considerations for student grouping

Summative assessments evaluate what a student has learned at the end of a lesson, unit, course, or term. A final examination is an example of a summative assessment. Formative assessments are ongoing evaluations to demonstrate what a student is in the process of learning and what he or she has learned thus far. Formative assessments are not just for evaluation; they are also important for use in the classroom as a teaching tool. As teachers conduct ongoing evaluations via formative assessments, they should use both formal and informal assessment instruments. Teachers should never use the results of only one formal or informal assessment to form permanent student groups. They should only place students students into groups after administering, scoring, and interpreting a number of different assessments. Teachers should also create student groups that account for individual differences among the students in every group and should accordingly make these groups sufficiently flexible to accommodate individual student differences.

Discuss the identification and evaluation of supporting details

Supporting details are smaller pieces of evidence that provide backing for the main point. In order to show that the main idea is correct or valid, an author must ass details that prove their point. All texts contain details, but they are only classified as supporting details when they serve to reinforce some larger point. Supporting details are most commonly found in informative and persuasive texts. In some cases, they will be clearly indicated with terms like for example, and for instance, or they will be enumerated with terms like first, second, and last. However, you need to be prepared for texts that do not contain those indicators. As a reader. you should consider whether the author's supporting details really back up his or her main point. Details can be factual and correct, yet they may not be relevant to the author's point. Conversely, details can be relevant, but be ineffective because they are based on opinions or assertions that cannot be proven An example of the main idea is: Giraffes live in the Serengeti of Africa. A supporting detail about giraffes could be" A giraffe in this region benefits from a long neck by reaching twigs and leaves on tall trees. The main idea gives the general idea that the text is about giraffes. The supporting detail gives a specific factabout the giraffes eat.

Describe some ways that teachers can include methods of review and active student listening supports supports into their lessons and lectures

Teachers can allow students to take photos, videos and audio recordings of lessons to review as needed. To encourage students to reword and recall instructional input, teachers can let students download class outlines from Google Docs. These outlines may include hard to spell terminology or vocabulary words, jargon of specific disciplines, and links reminding students to follow up by accessing resources and readings to inform the notes they take. Teachers should give outlines a two column format: on the right, a wider column with teacher notes, to which students can ass, and on the left, a narrower column for students to record their own notes in similar formats. Students ant teacher alike can learn through speaking, writing, listening and reading when they contribute narratives to supplement visual graphics (photos, concept maps, charts, advance organizers, illustrations, diagrams, etc ( that supports the concepts they analyze and explain

Discuss how teachers can use assigned readings to promote respect for other cultures and teach about other cultures

Teachers can also promote respect for other cultures and their differences through assigned readings. Literature has been shaped by literary movements from cultures all over the world, providing a diverse volume of world literature. Even within American literature, there is a variety of authors whose works can meet other educational criteria and introduce students to different cultures and ways of thinking within their own country. Having students read these works will inform them of different perspectives on historical periods and events, allowing them to see the experiences and talents of people unlike themselves. Assigning students readings from a variety of world literature, including British literature, will help them understand and respect international diversity. To help students understand and respect international diversity it is helpful to assign works from literary periods that are sometimes overlooked, such as Native American literature, the Harlem Renaissance, the Dark Romantics, and the Lost Generation. Authors who have given overlooked groups a voice through their writings include Maya Angelou, Mark Twain, Martin Luther King Jr, William Carlos Williams, John Steinback, and Amy Tan. Incorporating diverse contemporary literature can also help students respect their peers and community members

Describe some procedures and ground rules for teachers to modify a whole-class learning circle for smaller student group collaborative discussions to elevate the learning level

Teachers can develop student discussion skills integrating listening, reading, and speaking skills by assigning small discussion groups to tackle assigned problems. Teachers may use established groups, assign new groups, or allow students to form groups o 4-5 students. Teachers can read a text passage, describe a scenario, or pose a question for discussion. They can give students several minutes to review homework and notes, briefly read new related material, and review essay drafts. Teachers then give each student in each group a specified number of uninterrupted minutes to speak in turn. After every student has taken a turn, the teacher opens general discussions, setting the following ground rules: 1. Students can only speak about others' ideas 2. Teachers and classmates can ask students to clarify their ideas, give examples, connect them more closely to what they read, or elaborate 3. Small groups can summarize overall points for other groups, including shared points, differences, and potential topics they missed

Describe some teacher methods to encourage class discussion through establishing a sense of community and through varying levels and types of questions

Teachers can encourage in-class discussion by promoting group meetings and discussions outside the classroom. Interacting with students outside of class also promotes a sense of community. Teachers can demonstrate to students that they care about them as individuals and about their educational development by asking them about their holiday or summer plans, how they are feeling during midterm and final exam periods, and about their other classes. Teachers can find outline articles related to class material and email or text links to these for review. They can allow time at the beginning of each class for announcements and arrange classroom chairs in a semicircle to encourage conversation. These methods have all been found effective in promoting a sense of community, which in turn encourage class discussions. To address different student learning styles and abilities, teachers can vary the levels and types of questions they ask their students; asking them to give simple information, describe, compare, justify, generalize, predict or apply information

Identify some considerations and their rationales that teachers should explain to students in writing for various occasions, purposes and audiences

Teachers can explain to students that organizing their ideas, providing evidence to support the points they make in their writing, and correcting their grammar and mechanics are not simply for following writing rules or correctness for its own sake, but rather for ensuring that specific reader audiences understand what they intend to communicate. For example, upper- elementary grade students writing for lower- elementary grade students should write in print rather than a script, use simpler vocabulary, and avoid writing in the long, complex, compound, or complex-compound sentences. The purpose of writing guides word choices, such as encouraging readers to question opposing viewpoints or stimulate empathy or sympathy. It also influences narrative, descriptives, expository, or persuasive or argumentative format. For instance, business letters require a different form and language than parent thank you notes. When writing to affect the reader's opinion, words that evoke certain emotions, descriptions that appeal to beliefs, and supporting information can all help to persuade

Describe some strategies a teacher can use to improve reading comprehension

Teachers can model the strategies students can use on their own to better comprehend a text through a read-aloud. First, the teacher should do a walk-through of the story illustrations and ask, "what's happening here?" The teacher should then ask students to predict what they story will be about based on what they have seen. As the book is read, the teacher should ask open-ended questions such as, "Why do you think the character did this? and "How do you think the character feels?" The teacher should also ask students if they can relate to the story or have background knowledge of something similar. After the reading, the teacher should ask the students to retell the story in their own words to check for comprehension. Possible methods of retelling include performing a puppet show or summarizing the story to a partner

Offer some guidelines and examples that teachers can use with students in grades k-5 to introduce inquiry and discussion related to informative/explanatory writing. Identify the performance skills expected of students in lower and upper elementary grades for this writing mode, and a few things students need to develop these skills

Teachers can pose questions related to the content area subjects they are teaching for students to answer, and they can invite and make use of interesting elementary grade student questions like "Why did immigrants come to America"? "Why does my face turn red in cold weather?" or "Why does my dog drool?" In lower elementary grades, students may choose or be assigned topics, give some definitions and facts about the topics, and write concluding statements. Students in upper elementary grades should be able to introduce topics, focus on them, group information logically, develop topics with enough details, connect ideas, use specific academic vocabulary, and write conclusions. To develop these skills, students must have many opportunities for researching information and writing informative or explanatory text. Up to one-third of elementary students, writing should be informative or explanatory text. Children must read information texts with depth and breadth, and use writing as a learning tool, to fulfill the objective of building knowledge through reading and writing

Describe some instructional methods that teachers can use to guide students in writing informative/explanatory text

Teachers can use mentor texts, which they can find from multiple everyday sources, and align them with the writing standards for their students' grade levels. The teacher can compose informative or explanatory texts in front of their classes to a model composition for them. They can use the "thinking out loud" technique for additional modeling. This demonstrates the process of defining and expressing ideas clearly in writing and supporting those ideas with details like explanations, descriptions, definitions, examples, anecdotes, and processes., Teachers should employ scaffolding with students in which they begin with explicit instruction, procedd to modeling, and then provide activities for practice. These activities can include guide writing experiences, shared writing experiences, cooperative practice (collaborating with classmates) feedback that refers to the learning objectives that the teachers have established, or peer conferences

Describe several teaching strategies for educator planning to address student and family diversity

Teachers must recognize that each student is unique. When a teacher respects individual student differences, he or she communicates this attitude to the class. Cultural differences influence human behavior, and thus play a part in classrooms. Acknowledgement of cultural differences helps prevent student isolation. To educate students from diverse backgrounds, teachers need to understand a student's culture and individual characteristics- as well as any existing disabilities. Teacher and school involvement with students' families promotes student success during and after school. This requires educators to avoid ethnocentric approaches. Diverse families may need instruction in the school culture of collaboration and communication. Schools also must initially meet family needs physically, socially, and economically to enable involvement, requiring school knowledge of supportive community programs. Communications must be translated for families speaking different languages. Educators need the willingness to interact outside of school hours and grounds. They can also recruit parent liaisons with similar cultural backgrounds. Teachers should open parent communications with positive feedback about children

Describe the benefits of teaching students to use their writing skills outside of the classroom and encouraging students to write for leisure

Teaching students to write effectively and study the writings of others can inspire them to use their writing skills in other areas of life. Students can use writing for a variety of purposes, such as personal growth, reflection, learning, problem solving and expression. Writing leisurely may entail practices such as keeping a journal or writing creatively. This allows students to reflect on their daily lives and express their thought's and feelings freely. Writing for leisure also allows students to practice metacognition or thinking about their own thought processes. This helps student recognize patterns in their own thoughts and clarify thoughts that they many not have fully considered or developed. Journalling can also help students keep a record of their thoughts so they can compare their past entries to the present and evaluate their own growth.

Discuss considerations for selecting readings that will best enable students to make text-to-self and text-to-world connections

Text to self and text to world connections also encourages students to understand the personal and societal relevance of a particular work. Students can be encouraged to make text-to-self connections when they can relate the text to their personal lives. This can be facilitated by teaching texts that feature protagonists that are close in age to the student in the class of texts that take place in a familiar region. By teaching or assigning texts that align with current events, teachers can promote students' interest in literature's timeless applicability to the world, national, and local events and developments. Alternatively, when teaching texts that do not have characters or events that bear strong resemblance to the students or current events, teachers can still ask students to identify smaller similarities between their lives and the text

Explain the alphabetic principle and discuss alphabet writing systems.

The alphabetic principle refers to the use of letters and combinations of letters to represent speech sounds. The way letters are combined and pronounced is guided by a system of rules that established relationships between written and spoken words and their letter symbols. Alphabet writing systems are common around the world. Some are phonological in that each letter stands for an individual sound and words are spelled just as they sound. However, keep in mind that there are other writing systems as well, such as the Chinese logographic system and the Japanese syllabic system

Discuss why organizational structures vary as well as why readers need to be familiar with different types

The way a text is organized can help readers understand the author's intent and his or her conclusions. There are various ways to organize a text, and each one has a purpose and use. Usually, authors will organize information logically in a passage so the reader can follow and locate the information within the text. However, since not all passages are written with the same logical structure, you need to be familiar with several different types of passage structure

List some teaching strategies to help ESL students understand subject matter through reading

There are supplemental printed materials that can be used to help ESL students understand subject matter. The following strategies can used to help ESL students develop English reading skills *make sure all ESL students have bilingual dictionary to use. A thesauruses would be helpful *Try to keep content area books written in the ESL students' native languages in the classroom. Students can use them side by side with English texts. Textbooks in other languages can be ordered from the school library or obtained from the classroom textbook publisher *If a student lacks confidence in his or her ability to read the textbook, the teacher can read a passage to the student and have him or her verbally summarize the passage. The teacher should take notes on what the student says and then read them back. These notes can be a substitute, short-form, in their-own words textbook that the student can understand

Describe how contrast can be used as a critical thinking tool

Thinking critically about ideas and conclusions can seem like a daunting task One way to ease this task is to understand the basic elements of ideas and writing techniques. Looking at the ways different ideas relate to each other can be a good way for readers to begin their analysis. For instance, sometimes authors will write about two ideas that are in opposition to each other. Or, one author will provide his or her ideas on a topic, and another author may respond in opposition. The analysis of these opposing ideas is known as contrast. Contrast is often marred by the author's obvious partiality to one of the ideas. A discerning reader will be put off by an author who does not engage in a fair fight. In an analysis of opposing ideas, both ideas should be presented in lear and reasonable terms. if the author does prefer a side, you need to read carefully to determine the areas where the author shows or avoids this preference. In an analysis of opposing ideas, you should process through the passage by marking the major difference point by point with an eye that is looking for an explanation of each side's view. For instance, in an analysis of capitalism and communism, there is an importance in outlining each side's view on labor, markets, prices, personal responsibility, etc. Additionally, as you read through the passage you should note whether the opposing views present each side in a similar manner

Identify some effective research- based techniques for assessing various student learning relative to reading, writing, speaking, and listening

To assess student attitudes, educators can create various situations and observe and document their responses, requiring students to choose which behaviors to demonstrate. To assess cognitive strategies, teachers can give students learning tasks, require them to select useful strategies for learning new information independently, and expect them to explain and discuss what methods they use for different learning tasks. To assess student comprehension, teachers give them topics and ask them to restate and summarize information. Or teachers, may have students apply information in new contexts, such as giving statements with words that are different than those used in the original lesson and asking students to identify their meanings. To assess student concept understanding, teachers give students new examples, and "non examples", having students classify these into the right categories. To assess student creativity, teachers can give students new problems- including products, presentations, or performances- to study, resolve, or "turn upside down". They can also have students fit solutions and products into specified resources and functions and give them situations that require novel responses or approaches

Identify some ways that teachers can apply research-based strategies for assessing student learning in procedural knowledge, scientific inquiry, thinking skills and verbal knowledge

To assess student knowledge of principles, rules, and procedures, teachers supply situations that require students to correctly apply these to everyday problems. Students are asked to state principles, rules, and procedures, and choose which apply to various scenarios. To assess student-specific inquiry skills, teachers give problems or situations that require students to speculate, inquire and formulate hypotheses. Teachers should also give hands-on activities to conduct research and draw conclusions. To assess student thinking skills, teachers can ask students to give summaries of different kinds of thinking strategies. Teachers can provide situations in which students must select the best thinking strategies to apply. Teachers assign students to observe examples of open-mindedness versus closed-mindedness, accurate versus inaccurate, and responsible versus irresponsible applications of thinking methods. Teachers can design scenarios requiring student persistence for analyzing and discovering answers, as well as the application of thinking strategies in real-life circumstances. To assess verbal knowledge, teachers require information recall, restatement, and comprehension

Describe several research-based strategies proven effective for teachers to assess different student outcomes in reading, writing, speaking and learning

To assess students' critical thinking, teachers can ask students to evaluate outcomes or information and have them perform research and analysis. To assess student insight, teachers should give students opportunities to engage in inquiry and discovery activities, and offer situations for them to manipulate. To assess student metacognition, teachers should give a variety of problems or situations to address and assign students to identify different kinds of thinking strategies for analysis and evaluation of their own thought processes. To assess multiple intelligences (Gardner), teachers should give students learning experiences in each of the modalities they target, like verbal, musical and physical. They should offer students choices of several different modalities. They should also require students to perform in the modalities selected. To assess motor skills, teachers must supply resources and situations in which students can perform the skills while the teachers evaluate, using checklists. To assess problem-solving teachers ask students to choose appropriate strategies to solve different problem situations including simple, complex, structures and unstructured.

List the facts children should know about letters

To be appropriately prepared to learn to read and write, a child should learn *That each letter is distinct in appearance *What direction and shape must be used to write each letter *That each letter has a name, which can be associated with the shape of a letter *That there are 26 letters in the English alphabet, and letters are grouped in a certain order *That letters represent sounds of speech *That words are composed of letters and have meaning *That one must be able to correspond letters and sounds to read

List some teaching strategies to help ESL students understand subject matter through speaking

To help ESL students better understand the subject matter, the following teaching strategies using spoken English can be used *Read aloud from a textbook, and then ask ESL students to verbally summarize what was read. The teacher should assist by providing new words as needed to give students the opportunity to practice vocabulary and speaking skills. The teacher should then read the passage again to students to verify the accuracy and details *The teacher could ask ESL students to explain why the subject matter is important to them and where they see it fitting into their lives. This verbalization gives them speaking practice and helps them relate to the subject *Whenever small group activities are being conducted, ESL students can be placed with English-speaking students. It is best to keep the groups to two or three students sp that the ESL student will be motivated by the need to be involved. English speaking students should be encouraged to include ESL students in the group work

Describe an example of how a teacher can use a running record as an informal assessment of student speaking and oral reading. Include the three reading levels identified for student performance

To identify what students are able and unable to do, one informal assessment measure teachers can use is a running record. For example, the teacher can listen to a student reading aloud from text such as an essay, a speech, a novel, or a class subject textbook. While listening, the teacher marks a copy of the text to show words the student mispronounces. The teacher draws a line through each word the student skips and draws an arrow under words the student repeats. Teachers may also mark student hesitations at certain words. If the teacher then calculates that the student correctly read 95% of the words, the reads the test at the "independent" level. If the student correctly reads 90-94% of the words, he or she reads this text at the "instructional" level, indicating satisfactory performance with teacher assistance. Correctly reading 89% or fewer words indicates the "frustration" level, where the comprehension may be inadequate. This group of assessment levels is also known as the reading continuum.

Discuss issues related to identifying an author's purpose

Usually, identifying the author's purpose is easier than identifying his or her position. In most cases, the author has no interest in hiding his or her purpose. A text that is meant to entertain, for instance, should be written to please the reader. Most narratives or stories are written to entertain, though they may also inform or persuade. Informative texts are easy to identify, while the most difficult purpose of a text to identify is persuasion because the author has an interest in making this purpose hard to detect. When a reader discovers that the author is trying to persuade, he or she should be skeptical of the argument. For this reason, persuasive texts often try to establish an entertaining tone and hope to amuse the reader into an agreement. On the other hand, an information tone may be implemented to create an appearance of authority and objectivity

Discuss some techniques that teachers can use to ensure that students listen actively and participate productively in group discussion

When assigning students to participate in cooperative learning projects or discussions, teachers should consider their cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and social developmentaL levels. If a teacher assigns a topic for age levels younger than the class, students will be bored and unengaged. If the topic assigned is for older age levels. they will be confused, overwhelmed or lost. Before initiating class or group discussions, teachers should model and explain appropriate behaviors for discussions- particularly for students unfamiliar or inexperience with group discussions. For example, teachers can demonstrate active listening, including eye contact, affirming or confirming the speaker's message for confirmation or correction. Teachers should establish clear ground rules, such as not interrupting other when they are speaking, not monopolizing the conversation, not engaging in cross-talk, not insulting classmates verbally, and taking turns and waiting for the appropriate time to make a comment. For young children an students with behavioral issues, this would include refraining from physical contact like hitting, kicking and biting

List strategies for promoting student's interest in literature

When instructing students in the study of literature, it is important to encourage student's interest in literature. This can help students engage in the literature more deeply and better appreciate what they learn about it. Educators can promote students' interest in literature by allowing students to choose what they read. Letting students individually choose or vote on reading materials gives them an opportunity to make choices and gain a sense of responsibility for their education. Students may also gain interest in literature from participating in peer discussions. Giving students the opportunity to share their observations and ideas with each other, and potentially build upon each other's thoughts, also contributes to a sense of responsibility for their learning and education. Students should also be encouraged to appreciate the value of the literature they are reading. If students can relate literature to themselves, the world, history, or other topics and concepts that interest them, they may be better enabled to see the value of what they are reading and its ability to have an impact. Emphasizing text-to-self, text to world and text-to-text relationships equips students to make their own connections with literature, which promotes their interest in literature

Describe the importance of voice and style in writing and methods for helping students develop their own writing voice and style

When instructing students to develop their writing skills, it is important to help them develop style and their own voice. Style and voice make writing unique to the author and allow writers to be creative. Style and voice can be carefully incorporated when writing academically or formally, but should not compromise the authority, accuracy, or formality of the composition. Voice and style can include elements such as tone, mood, or even literary devices and figurative language. to help students develop their voice, it is helpful to have them refer to what they know. students can look to writing they can enjoy and consider the author's style and voice. students who can recognize style and voice in others' work are more equipped to detect their own style or voice. Students can also identify what makes their speaking voice or patterns unique and determine whether these elements are transferrable to their writing. Having groups or pairs of students look at samples of each other's writing to look for style and voice can be effective, also. This collaborative approach helps students practice detecting style and voice while learning what style and voice others see in their writing. Students should remember to keep grammar and context in mind as they develop their voice, as these elements are still important for clear and appropriate writing. Voice and style can also grow from each student's personal experience and perspective, as they impact the way individuals understand and communicate information

Discuss how textual evidence can be use to support predictions

When making predictions, readers should be able to explain how they developed their prediction. One way readers can defend their thought process is citing textual evidence. Textual evidence to evaluate reader predictions about literature includes specific synopses of the work, paraphrases of the work or parts of it, and direct quotation's from the work. These references to the text must support the prediction by indicating clearly and unclearly, what will happen later in the story. A text may provide these indictions through literary devices such as foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is anything in a text that gives the reader a hunt about what is to come by emphasizing the likelihood of an event or development. Foreshadowing can occur through descriptions, expositions and dialogue. Foreshadowing in dialogue usually occurs when a character gives s warning or express a strong feeling that. a certain event will occur. Foreshadowing can also occur through irony. However, unlike other informs of foreshadowing, the events that deem the most likely are the opposite of what actually happens. Instances of foreshadowing and irony can be summarized, paraphrased, or quoted to defend a reader's prediction

Describe the process of comparing two stories and identifying similarities and differences between them

When presented with two different stories, there will be similarities and differences between the two. A reader needs to make a list or other graphic organizers of the points presented in each story. Once the reader has written down the main point and supporting points for each story, the two sets of ideas can be compared. The reader can then present each idea and show how it is the same or different in the other story. This is called comparing and contrasting ideas The reader can compare ideas by stating for example " In Story 1, the author believes that humankind will one day land on Mars, whereas in Story 2, the author believes that Mars is too far away for humans to ever step foot on." Note that the two viewpoints are different in each story that the reader is comparing. A reader may state that. "Both stories discussed the likelihood of humankind landing on Mars" This statement shows how the viewpoint is different. The reader will complete a comparison of two stories with a conclusion`

Discuss why, when, and how readers can summarize literature to support their reading comprehension

When reading literature, especially demanding works, summarizing helps readers identify important information and organize it in their minds. They can also identify themes, problems and solutions, and can sequence the story. Readers can summarize before, during, and after they read. They should use their own words, as they do when describing a personal event or giving directions. Previewing a text's organization before reading by examining the book cover, table of contents, and illustrations also aids summarizing. Making notes of key words and ideas in a graphic organizer while reading can benefit readers in the same way. Graphic organizers are another useful method; readers skim the text to determine main ideas and then narrow the list with the aid of the organizer. Unimportant details should be omitted in summaries. Summaries can be organized using description, problem-solution, comparison, sequence, main, ideas, or cause and effect

Relate some types of questions that teachers can have writing students ask themselves to help them choose what content they will include in their writing and what writing format to choose

When student writers have chosen a viewpoint or idea about which to write, teachers can help them select what content to include and identify which writing format is most appropriate for their subject. they should have students ask themselves what their readers need to know to enable them to agree with the viewpoint in the writing, or to believe what the writer is sayings. Students can imagine another person hearing them say what they will write about, and responding "Oh yeah? Prove that!" Teachers should have students ask themselves what kinds of evidence they need to prove their positions and ideas to skeptical readers. They should have students consider what points might cause the reader to disagree. Students should consider what knowledge their reading audience shares in common with them. They should also consider what information they need to share with their readers. teachers can have students adopt various writing formats, organizing techniques, and writing styles to different purposes and audiences to practice choosing writing modes and language

Discuss the standards educators must abide by when using digital resources and the purposes of these standards

When using resources created by others or creating original media for instruction, it is important to abide by ethical and legal standards. These standards include copyright laws and standards for fair use and liability. While many of these laws and standards are enforced nationwide, states and local governments may have unique expectations and requirements for media usage. Complying with these regulations demonstrate respect for the law and the creators of the media. Fostering this respect in students and teaching them to avoid plagiarism and violation of these regulations is also valuable

Discuss some aspects of making predictions as a literacy skill to support reading comprehension

When we read literature, making predictions about what will happen in the writing reinforces our purpose for reading and prepares us mentally. A prediction is a guess about what will happen next. Readers constantly making predictions based on what they have read and what they already know. We can make predictions before we begin reading and during our reading. Consider the following sentence: Staring at the computer screen in shock, Kim blindly reached over for the brimming glass of water on the shelf to her side. The sentence suggests that Kim is distracted, and that she is not looking at the glass that she is going to knock over the glass. Of course, not every prediction will be accurate: perhaps Kim will pick the glass up cleanly. Nevertheless, the author has certainly created the expectation that the water might be spilled.

Discuss how a student's interest in assigned readings may help teachers and students identify other literature the student may enjoy

While students may choose to read classic British or American literature for leisure, their opinions on assigned readings can inform what they do choose to read on their own. Commonly assigned novels and short stories fall into genres that are still popular today. Students can determine which works they enjoy, consider what genre that work may belong to, and choose their leisurely reading accordingly. For example, 1984 by George Orwell takes place in a dystopian society. This is a common theme in young-adult fiction, so students who enjoyed 1984 may look for novels with similar settings. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is an example of early science fiction, so students who like Frankenstein can be encouraged to read other science fictions novels. These similarities may also be used to pique student's interests in assigned readings by highlighting the similarities between classic literature and contemporary fiction

Describe the benefits of encouraging students to write for personal purposes

Writing for personal use and reflection also helps students learn about themselves by leading them to understand and consider their thoughts more intentionally. This can also promote problem solving by allowing students to write their thoughts in one place and see connections or patterns that reveal solutions to problems, or more clearly reveal their problems. Writing a journal also helps students explore their thoughts more willingly because the writing is private and done on the student's own time

Discuss the value of young adult literature and its potential to be an effective resource in education

Young-adult literature includes a variety of genres and themes. One prominent trend in young adult literature is plots that take place in a dystopian society in the future. These novels compare to commonly taught novels such as 1984 by George Orwell and offer a commentary on the time at which they were written. Many young adult novels also compare to books like Charles Dicken's Great Expectations, which features a young boy growing into adulthood and navigating society and his relationships with others. This is also a common element in several young-adult novels. Many modern young-adult novels also include topics that are valuable for consideration but are not thoroughly discussed in old works or are presented in a way that is no longer accurate or accepted. However, young-adult literature is prone to change frequently, as it includes works from a variety of genres and is subject to the trends in the society from which it emerges. The complete body of young-adult literature is very diverse. Some popular examples of young-adult literature include Lois Lowry's The Giver (1993), Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games (2008), and Brandon Sanderson's The Rithmatist (2013). While these books are often written for teenage readers, the subjects they cover and their popularity give them the potential to be effective educational resources

Briefly define a rubric for assessing student writing. Summarize how teachers can create and apply

a rubric is a checklist used to evaluate what students have learned or accomplished. Teachers can take lesson objectives to form the basis of a rubric. The teacher should explain the rubric to guide what and how they write. After the students have completed their writing assignments, the teacher can then apply the rubric to assess their work, checking to see if they have met all of the learning objectives. Students will be less confused and frustrated when teachers have given them well-planned, clearly expresses guidelines. In addition to clearly stating their learning goals, objectives, and expectations for each assignment, teachers should model the kind of performance they expect. Teachers should connect lesson and assignment goals obviously and clearly with student achievement