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Questioning
| Reading Expository Text | Vocabulary
How to Read a Textbook | Reading
and Interpreting Diverse Materials
Students
regularly come into contact with a wide array of materials that
they need to read, analyze, and interpret. Along with books, students
read materials such as magazines, newspapers, web sites, images,
and statistical data. No two forms of reading material require the
exact same set of skills in order to successfully understand the
information presented. That means students need opportunities to
learn how to read and practice reading each type of material.
Teachers
can help students gain the requisite skills in two important ways:
- Through
lessons that include more than one type of material, for example,
lessons that use books, movies, and maps
- By
providing students with experiences that allow them to compare
and contrast information on the same topic that is presented in
two or more different formats
Sites
That Matter
The
resources listed below can help teachers teach students the skills
they need in order to be successful readers and interpreters of
diverse materials. The resources are divided into the following
categories:
Multimedia—e.g.,
Movies, TV, Radio, Music
Audiobooks:
Ear-resistible!
This brief article discusses why audiobooks are an important tool
for the classroom and highlights how they can be used to improve
student learning.
www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?
HREF=webwatch/audiobooks/index.html
Know TV: Changing
What, Why, and How You Watch
The author of this article, Renee Hobbs, looks at television
and provides nine critical questions to help students analyze television content and become media literacy critics.
www.med.sc.edu:1081/knowtv.htm
Media
Literacy: Yes It Fits in Math and Science Classrooms
Scroll down for connections to science and math. In the science section, learn how to use popular
movies to help students understand and analyze scientific misconceptions.
In the math section, you will learn how to use data presented in
popular media to help students gain skills in analysis and computation.
medialit.med.sc.edu/math_science_connections.htm
Movies
as the Gateway to History: The History and Film Project
Learn how one teacher uses film in his class to help students better
understand history. Among the questions students are asked to answer
are: How does the film portrayal compare to what the books you have
read say about a particular time period? Does the film capture "the
feel" of the time period it covers?
www.historycooperative.org/journals/ht/35.1/weinstein.html
10
Classroom Approaches to Media Literacy
This article includes tips for integrating critical thinking skills
as students learn to use different types of materials. It also lists
several curriculum areas with ideas for teaching students how to
use diverse types of resources within each.
www.medialit.org/reading_room/article338.html
21st
Century Literacies—Media Literacy and Visual Literacy Lessons
The lessons provided here help students understand how to analyze
the images they see every day. For example, one lesson looks at
how a camera shot—a close-up vs. a long shot—has an impact
on the message that the image sends to its viewers.
www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/21stcent/sitemap.html#media
Web Sites
The
Web--Teaching Zack to Think
This site, created by Alan November, illustrates the perils of reading
on the Web. It offers great strategies to help students interpret
and analyze the validity of web pages.
www.anovember.com/articles/zack.html
Classroom
Internet Integration
This is a brief outline of the benefits of integrating web sites
into the curriculum. It covers the skills students learn when learning
how to use web sites successfully.
edsitement.neh.gov/reference_shelf.asp
Cyberbee:
How do I integrate the Internet into my classroom curriculum?
Infused into each of the curriculum areas that Linda Josephs includes
on this site are ideas on how to help students better use web sites
in order to gain content understanding.
www.cyberbee.com/intclass.html
Jo
Cool or Jo Fool - For Teachers
Jo Cool or Jo Fool is a web-based "cyber-tour" that asks
students to make specific decisions and judgments about web sites
they visit on the tour. The teacher page provides information on
the goals of the site and includes a link to a teachers' guide with
information on how to integrate the web site into the classroom.
www.media-awareness.ca/english/special_initiatives/
games/joecool_joefool/jo_cool_teachers.cfm
Webquest
This site provides information on how webquests can help students
focus on the content of a particular web site and how to integrate
webquests into one's own teaching.
www.webquest.org/
Newspapers and Magazines
Cartoons
for the Classroom
The Detriot Free Press has put together an extensive resource that
helps you use newspaper cartoons in the classroom. Included on this
site are lesson plans and lesson plan templates, an index of political
cartoons, and a directory of cartoons from around the world.
nieonline.com/detroit/cftc.cfm
Teaching
with The New York Times: Daily Lesson Plan Archive
This is a collection of lesson plans that use articles from The
New York Times as the jumping off point. Each lesson helps teach
students how to read and interpret information presented in newspaper
articles.
www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/archive.html
Using
Newspapers in the Classroom
This site provides brief explanations of some activities you might
try when teaching students how to read newspapers effectively. Parts
of speech, outlining, sequencing, and visualizing are a few of the
areas covered.
www.teachersdesk.org/news.html
Charts, Maps, and
Graphs
Create
a Graph
This site from the National Center for Education Statistics gives
students the chance to learn how to design and then create graphs
online. They then have the opportunity to interpret the data shown
on the graphs they have created.
nces.ed.gov/nceskids/graphing/
Exploring
Maps
Lessons on navigation, location, and exploration are included in
this resource geared to students in grades 7 through 12. It is provided
by the United States Geological Survey.
interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/exploremaps.htm
What
Do Maps Show?
This is another set of lesson plans from the United States Geological
Survey. This group is geared to students in grades 5 through 8.
It covers how to read topographical maps and working with maps.
interactive2.usgs.gov/learningweb/teachers/mapsshow.htm
Primary Sources
Literacy
Matters—Content Literacy—Social Studies
To find out how to help students use primary sources, visit the
Social Studies section of the Literacy Matters web site.
www.literacymatters.org/content/socialstudies.htm
Trade Books
Literacy
Matters—Adolescent Literacy—Classroom Connections
A large selection of materials on trade books is available in this
section of the Literacy Matters web site.
www.literacymatters.org/adlit/selecting/connections.htm
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