Embedded Reading Laurie Clarcq/Michele Whaley

Transcripción

1 Embedded Reading Laurie Clarcq/Michele Whaley What is Embedded Reading? Embedded Reading is the use of a series of three or more readings of increasing difficulty, created from the same outline. Students are exposed to repeated versions of the text and engage in a variety of activities with the text in order to build language and gain a deeper understanding of it. What are the Key Concepts of Embedded Reading? 1. The purpose of language, used in communication, is to create a picture in the mind and/or heart of another person. 2. People who read acquire more language and develop better language skills. 3. People who are successful readers read more. 4. People who enjoy reading read more. 5. The scaffolding of reading material develops reading skills. 6. The success of an Embedded Reading is dependent upon the quality of the base reading. 7. The base reading should be 100% comprehensible to all students and create a clear picture in the mind of the reader. 8. The most effective scaffolded versions of the reading include a variety of simple and complex sentences inserted into the previous level of the reading so that the reader is constantly coming across new information. 9. Readings created from student-generated ideas or materials are highly motivating. 10. Readings can and should be approached using a variety of techniques and activities. How are Embedded Readings created? There are two ways to create an Embedded Reading. The first is a Bottom Up reading. The base reading is created first, and additional details and information are injected into each level. The second way to create an Embedded Reading is from the Top Down. This approach provides a way for teachers to make literature or other text that students perceive to be beyond their capabilities, accessible to students. (Please be sure to credit the original author.) 2013&&Clarcq,&Whaley&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

2 Ponder before Planning: 1. Why should students work with a particular text? (Students will want to know the answer to this question.) 2. Why will students want to work with this piece? (If there is not a good reason, it will be hard to convince them to do it.) 3. What should students to be able to do when they are finished working with this piece? (Use the text in whatever ways necessary in order to make that happen.) 4. What activities do students already do that help them to achieve the goal(s) identified in #3? (Adapt those to use with any version of the reading. The things that you ALREADY DO SUCCESSFULLY are the best place to start.) What are the goals of an Embedded Reading lesson? 1. To create a successful and engaging atmosphere for reading. 2. To engage students in a close and thorough reading of the text. 3. To prepare studentsto comprehend text that the students perceive to be beyond their level of understanding. 4. To develop literacy skills and to facilitate language acquisition. How is an Embedded Reading Used? Because the reading exists in several forms, the teacher has numerous opportunities, and numerous ways, to use it with students. Use your professional judgment to determine the length, number and frequency of Embedded Reading lessons in your curriculum. The most important place to begin with an Embedded Reading is to make sure that every student clearly understands the base reading. In a second-language classroom this can be accomplished through any of the following: Illustrations Identification of photographs or illustrations Acting out the reading Questions about the text itself Questions about students reactions to the text Direct translation 2013&&Clarcq,&Whaley&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

3 When the teacher is sure that the language is totally comprehensible and the reading has created a similar picture in the minds and/or hearts of the students, it is appropriate to move on to the next reading, where any of the preceding or following activities could be used: Identify new information. Consider how new information adds to or changes the reading. Discuss why events occurred. Predict what will happen or be added next. Compare/Contrast base reading with more detailed versions. Compare/Contrast the reading with other texts. Add details to illustrations. Use context clues to understand more complex language. Identify language which adds suspense, humor or irony. Change/Add a detail, sentence or paragraph. Discuss the thoughts, feelings, words and actions of the characters (in fiction or non-fiction). Discuss the thoughts, feelings and reactions of the students in regards to the text. Recreate the text as a script. Rewrite a piece of the text from the perspective of a different character. In summary: Choose texts carefully, scaffold for success for all students, and align with a meaningfulenjoyable VARIETY of activities. & & & & 2013&&Clarcq,&Whaley&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&!

4 Writing Embedded Readings How is an Embedded Reading created? 1. TOP-DOWN: Take an authentic or original text and pare it down by Removing 1-3 sentences/clauses per inch of the reading.without falsifying the piece. Repeat until you have reached the base reading. 2. BOTTOM-UP: Take a skeleton/base story and build it up. Create base story using target structure(s). Insert details/additional information in order to create additional levels. What type of text is appropriate for creating a Top-Down Reading? Embedded Readings can be made from (or into) many types of texts: Short stories News articles Novellas/Novels Song lyrics Notes/Letters Legends Blogs Conversations s Poetry Comic books Plays Biographies Essays Children s books and more. How do I know if a text will lend itself well to becoming an Embedded Reading?

5 Evaluation Template for TOP-DOWN Embedded Readings Article/Text URL Topic/Unit Easily Understood Vocabulary And Phrases Cognates Possible Target Vocab and Phrases Extra

6 Is the level of difficulty of the original text important? YES!!! When evaluating which texts to adapt for students who are in their first 2-3 years as readers, look for text that: is heavy on highly familiar words and structures. is heavy oncognates. Contains high-frequency target structures. Uses synonyms of highly-familiar words or structures. has a narrow cultural/political/historical focus. discusses a topic of high interest to the reader. The purpose of creating the Embedded Reading is to make the text ACCESSIBLE, so it is important to start with a text that is not significantly above the comprehension level of the readers. What do the different versions of an Embedded Reading look like? A. Base Story/Reading Has 3-10 sentences for every year of study in the language. Should be comprehensible to all students. Needs a character, a situation and at least one action. Does NOT need details nor an ending/solution. B. Subsequent Versions Insert/Replace 1-3 details or new pieces of information per inch of the readings. Insert/Replace a variety of elements: adjectives/adverbs, interjections, questions, dialogue etc. Insert/Replace pieces of varying levels of difficulty. C. Final Version Contains the final key/surprise/punch line to the story. Does not have to be the original version if created Top-Down.

7 What are student-generated Embedded Readings? A. From Students Writings 1. Students write on the same topic or using a similar template or base story. (Can be done in groups/pairs as well.) 2. Teacher collects students work. 3. Teacher arranges students work from Simple to Complex. 4. Teacher creates Base Reading from Simple pieces. 5. Teacher adds details added from Complex pieces to create additional versions. B. From a Class Story 1. Teacher provides the Base Reading. 2. Teacher asks class for details and new information. (while story-asking ) 3. Teacher creates additional versions w/ this information. (Student notes or illustrations help teacher to recall details.) 4. Teacher can combine details from several classes to create the more complex versions of the reading C. From Students Base Story Ideas 1. Teacher provides a list of target words/structures. (2-5 works best) 2. Students create a short base story. (3-10 sentences are fine.) 3. Teacher uses these as the basis for base story ideas for activities A and B above. The most interesting stories to students are the ones created with their ideas!! Then they are not just reading for new information, but also reading to see where their own ideas are used! (This applies to non-fiction as well as fiction writing by students.)

8 EXAMPLE : Summary of a Novel TUMBA by MIRA CANION Base reading: Es el 31 de octubre. Alex está nervioso. La familia de Alex celebra el Día de los Muertos. El abuelo de Alex está muerto. Al abuelo le gustaba explorar cuevas. Alex quiere explorar cuevas también. Hay un espíritu malo en la cueva? Es posible? Which structures/vocabulary will your students have already acquired? Which structures/vocabulary will you focus on before reading the base reading? How will you read the Base Reading the first time through with students? What will students do in order to demonstrate comprehension? Version 2: Es el 31 de octubre y el primero de noviembre es el Día de los Muertos en México. Alex es un estudiante de México. David es un amigo de Alex. David y Alex no tienen clases. Alex está contento. La familia de Alex celebra el Día de los Muertos. El abuelo de Alex está muerto. La abuela de Alex habla mucho del abuelo. Al abuelo le gustaba explorar cuevas. Alex quiere explorar cuevas también. David y Alex van a explorar una cueva. Alex piensa que un espíritu malo está en la cueva. Alex está nervioso. Hay un espíritu malo en la cueva? Es posible? What structures/vocabulary will be new to your students in this reading? What information about the novel will be new to your students in this reading? What are the important concepts/pieces of information that students will need to be able to express from this reading? Version 3: Es el 31 de octubre y el primero de noviembre es el Día de los Muertos. El Día de Los Muertos es una celebración popular en México. A Alex no le gusta celebrar el Día de los Muertos Alex es un estudiante de México. David es un amigo de Alex. David y Alex no tienen clases. Alex está contento. Quiere jugar videojuegos en casa. La familia de Alex celebra el Día de los Muertos. El abuelo de Alex está muerto. La familia prepara celebrar la vida del abuelo. La abuela de Alex habla mucho del abuelo. El abuelo se llamaba Félix. Al abuelo Félix le gustaba explorar cuevas. Actualmente, le gustaba explorar una cueva especial. Alex quiere explorar esa cueva especial también. Alex encuentra un mapa de la cueva especial. David y Alex van a explorar la cueva. Alex piensa que un espíritu malo está en la cueva. Piensa que el espíritu defiende la cueva. Alex está nervioso. Cuando caminan hacia la cueva, oyen una voz. La voz grita, Quién entra? Hay un espíritu malo en la cueva? Es posible? First refer to questions on the Base Reading and Version 2. Which of these questions needs to be addressed for this version of the reading? How can this reading be used in a way that differentiates instruction? How can this reading be used in order to generate interest in continuing with the novel itself?