Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Professional Development > Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop > 7. Teaching Diverse Learners > 7.1 Before You Watch | Teaching Diverse Learners

English Language Arts

3-5

Teaching Diverse Learners Before You Watch | Teaching Diverse Learners

Session Preparation

To prepare for this workshop session, you will review the key terms, identify the strategies that you already use, and then read two articles on diverse learners.

Key Terms:

Notebook

What Do You Do?

Consider the diverse strengths and needs of students in your classroom related to culture, language, learning ability, interests, and approach to learning. Think about how you address the differences among your students and promote effective learning. Then jot down your answers to the following questions and, if you are taking this workshop for credit, save them for your Literacy Practices Portfolio:

In what ways do you honor the diverse cultures, languages, and background experiences of your students?
What instructional practices or strategies do you use to support your struggling readers and writers?
How do you provide additional challenges for your strongest readers and writers within the grade-level curriculum?
How do you differentiate instruction (for example, through grouping or learning tasks)?
How do you use support personnel to enhance learning and help individual students?

Assignment

Examine the Literature

Print out two copies of the Examine the Literature Response Chart (PDF). Then read each article listed below, recording your ideas on the charts during and after reading. When you have finished, save your charts to submit as an assignment.

Help for Struggling Upper-Grade Elementary Readers (PDF)
This article examines a strategy for developing questions based on the main idea of the text to improve struggling readers’ comprehension.

Lubliner, Shira. “Help for Struggling Upper-Grade Elementary Readers.” The Reading Teacher 5, no. 57 (February 2004): 430-438.

Questions Teachers Ask About Struggling Readers and Writers (PDF)
In this article, the authors address teachers’ questions about meeting the needs of their struggling readers and writers.

Ganske, Kathy, J. K. Monroe, and D. S. Strickland. “Questions Teachers Ask About Struggling Readers and Writers.” The Reading Teacher 2, no. 57 (October 2003): 118-128.

Series Directory

Private: Teaching Reading: 3-5 Workshop

Credits

Produced by WGBH Educational Foundation. 2006.

Closed Captioning
ISBN: 1-57680-815-7

Related Materials

Sections

7.1 Before You Watch | Teaching Diverse Learners

7.2 Analyze the Video | Teaching Diverse Learners

Watch the video, "Teaching Diverse Learners," taking notes as you watch. After you watch, jot down your answers to the questions below. If you prefer to watch the video in segments, pause the video when you see the next chapter heading.

7.3 Extend Your Knowledge | Teaching Diverse Learners

7.4 Put It Into Practice | Teaching Diverse Learners

7.5 Reflect on Your Learning | Teaching Diverse Learners

Supplementary: Examine the Literature Response Chart

Handout

Supplementary: Help for Struggling Upper-Grade Elementary Readers

Handout

Supplementary: Questions Teachers Ask About Struggling Readers and Writers

Handout

Supplementary: Lesson Plan Chart

Handout

Workshops

Workshop 1 Creating Contexts for Learning

This session examines how classroom organization, routines, and grouping practices can enhance literacy skills in the middle grades. Literacy expert Jeanne Paratore discusses teaching strategies that foster reading and writing skills. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 2 Fluency and Word Study

This session focuses on how students in the middle grades develop vocabulary and reading fluency. Literacy expert Richard Allington discusses specific teaching strategies that help build fluency and vocabulary, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 3 Building Comprehension

Comprehending text is one of the main goals of reading. In this session, literacy expert Nell Duke discusses what good readers do and strategies teachers can use to help students build comprehension skills. Classroom footage provides examples of comprehension strategies.

Workshop 4 Writing

This workshop examines the relationship between reading and writing in the middle grades. Literacy expert Nadeen Ruiz discusses the connections, conventions, and inventions that provide a framework for teaching writing, illustrated by classroom examples.

Workshop 5 New Literacies of the Internet

This workshop focuses on the evolving use of networked technology in education. Literacy expert Donald Leu discusses strategies that help students effectively read, write, and communicate on the Internet. Classroom examples illustrate strategies for using Internet resources in the classroom.

Workshop 6 Teaching English Language Learners

Changing classroom demographics call for a range or teaching strategies. In this session, literacy expert Robert Jim�nez discusses strategies teachers can use to create a successful learning environment for all students, while supporting English language learners. Classroom examples illustrate the research.

Workshop 7 Teaching Diverse Learners

In this session, literacy expert Dorothy Strickland discusses how teachers can meet the diverse needs of readers and writers in their classrooms. Classroom examples and teaching strategies address different aspects of diversity, including culture, language, background, ability, and learning approaches.

Workshop 8 Assessment and Accountability

This session explores assessment, standards, and outcomes. Literacy expert Kathy Au discusses the strategies teachers can use to assess students' understanding in reading and writing. Classroom examples illustrate how students can participate in their own assessment.