Brief Summary of Unit

Students will understand that they can become better readers with reading cues/strategies.  Students will be able to interpret text better.

Students will be able to comprehend text better.

Enduring Understandings: Students will understand that...

Students will understand that they can become better readers using reading cues/ strategies to interpret and comprehend text.

Essential Questions

-How do you know that you have been successful with a strategy that you have used?

-Which strategy is best to use when you come to a difficult word?

-Are certain strategies easier to use than others?

-What is the purpose we want to use these strategies?

-How will my students benefit from using these reading strategies?

Content Area:  Language Arts

Source:  SD Content Standards

Goal: Reading

Indicator: Students will apply various reading strategies/cues to interpret and comprehend text.

Benchmark(s): recognize that different cues can be used to make predictions about and clarify text, determine when it is appropriate to use a specific sue/strategy, and draw upon prior knowledge and experience to understand unfamiliar texts.

Standards (knowledge and skills): Students will know and be able to do...

-Uses pictures, illustrations, and personal knowledge to make and confirm predictions about stories.

-Blend beginning, middle, and ending sounds to form words while reading.

-Use context clues and prior knowledge to understand unfamiliar texts, e.g., pictures, diagrams, and more.

-Use knowledge of consonants, consonant blends, and common vowel patterns to decode unfamiliar words.

-Recognize common contractions, compound words, and abbreviations.

Performance Task Vignette(s):

-Students will first be taught the strategy.  Students will then have a chance to practice these strategies with a partner.

-Students will then be allowed to read small passages to the teacher, where they will discuss what strategies are needed to figure out unknown words.

-Informal Reading Inventories will be given to each student at their reading level.  These are used to monitor student’s progress for their IEP’s and skills being taught.

-Students will read passages into a tape recorder to hear whether they are using the strategies taught.

-Students will read Accelerated Reading Books.  The student will read these books on there own, and then pick out a favorite part of the book to read to the teacher.  This is just another way to monitor the progress of the student, and see if they are really using the reading strategies.

Other Evidence: Quizzes, Tests, Academic Prompts and Work Samples

-Simple type of assessment on identifying and defining the reading strategies taught.

-Individual tests over each phonics skills taught.

-Monitoring of Accelerated Reading tests taken on the computer.  This is a requirement is our classroom, therefore if the students are able to read the words they should be able to pass the quizzes.

Unprompted Evidence

Self-Assessment / Peer-Assessment

Our students are constantly asked to read out loud to the staff in all areas of instruction.  Some of these areas include: reading, math, writing and spelling.  This allows us to watch the student and observe how the student is applying these reading strategies.  This also allows for communication between the teacher and student about the students reading.

Observations and dialogue could include: what strategies does the student use most; which strategy is the most difficult for that student; are the strategies being used correctly; and is it benefiting the student’s reading?

Self-assessment:

Students can record themselves reading a passage into a tape recorder.  This will help them hear if they are using the strategies taught.  Students will be able to see if they are passing their Accelerated Reading tests.

Peer-assessment:

Students can assess each other when reading small passages.

Learning Activities:

Students will know WHERE we the unit is headed and WHY:

I will have my students brainstorm ideas about what they already know with reading strategies.  This is from "Inspiration" called rapid fire.  The question asked will be "How do you figure out words you don't know?"  This will help students narrow down a list of strategies they might already know and use.

Students will be HOOKED through engaging and provocative entry points:

I will present a fun power point about the unit and the students will create their own visual cues to help them learn about the unit.

Students will EXPLORE and be ENABLED/EQUIPPED for final performances:

Students will have a chance to practice each strategy with a partner in a controlled situation.  Individual readings will be assigned to each student to be read with a teacher followed by an interview.  Use of Informal Reading Inventories will be used to monitor progress.  Use of Accelerated Reading Books to be read independently, and then a favorite part will be read to the teacher.

Students will REFLECT and RETHINK:

Students will read passages into a tape recorder and then play it back following along to see if they are using the reading strategies.  This can also be played to the teacher for evaluation to see if the strategies are successful or not.

Students will EXHIBIT and EVALUATE:

Students will be given Informal Reading Inventories to assess their porgress.  This is done based on their IEP's, as well as 3 year evaluations. They will work very well with this unit.  They are authentic measures of how the student does with word identification skills and comprehension skills.  They're done one-on-one, so it allows for the student and teacher to have an interview about how the student is doing with their reading skills.

Unit activities will be TAILORED to meet student needs, interests and learning styles:

 This unit is tailored for individual students’ strengths and needs.  After the strategies are taught students are allowed to use any strategy to help them with their troubled reading area.  Some students will only get to a few strategies, while other students will use all the strategies in reading.  The strategies are varied, so it depends on the level the student is currently reading at.

Instruction and learning activities will be OGRANIZED to be engaging and effective:

Students read Accelerated Reading books that will get harder throughout the school year.  This will allow students to use these strategies when they need reading help.  This will help my resource students throughout their academic career.

Learning Sequence:

1.      Have students brainstorm strategies they would use when they come to a difficult word.  This will be done with an activity through Inspiration called “Rapid Fire”.

2.      Present the power point presentation on strategies the students will be learning throughout this unit.

3.      There are 7 strategies that will be taught and will follow this format.

o       Discuss each strategy in detail.

o       Students will make a study card for each strategy as a visual cue.

o       Students will work with a partner practicing each strategy.

o       Students will individually practice each strategy with teacher input/interview.

o       Each strategy will take approximately three, 20 minute sessions to complete.

4. After all of the strategies have been taught, students will have many opportunities to apply them to their reading assignments.  This will be done throughout the entire school year. These include: use of a tape recorder for self-monitoring, completing Informal Reading Inventories with the teacher, reading Accelerated Reading books to the teacher and completing computerized tests over the books and students will take periodic phonics tests over skills learned.

Web Based Resources

Include internet resource links that are key to the implementation of the unit. Provide your own webpage link if further Unit of Study information and resources may be found there.

This is a list of sites used for our Unit of Study.  I have also included some sites that students/parents might want to go to in order to help them with more strategies.

      www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/teach

      www.et.sdsu.edu/shillstrom/reading/course6.htm

      www.starfall.com

      www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/reading

      www.ddncurriculum.k12.sd.us/view

      www.pickens.k12.sc.us/hesteachers/laboonac

      www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/rparent.html

Publications and Print Resources

Provide bibliography information for print resources that will be used in the implementation of this unit.

Guided Reading by Gay Su Pinnell and Irene C. Fountas

Credits

Please see my resources and web links above.

Unit Designer Comments

This seems like a very narrow topic for an Enduring Understanding Idea.  Most of the students who come to my room need to work on reading instruction.  The one thing they all struggle with is identifying difficult words when reading; therefore I wanted to do a unit on what would help them the best.  Hopefully this unit will give them the organization skills they need to increase their reading success.