Solutions for Reading Comprehension

Solutions for Reading Comprehension for Striving Readers


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Developing Content Area Literacy

Developing Literacy in Content Area Classrooms Presentation by Nell Gardner

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Assessment Module 2

What is Bias?

Bias is an inclination or prejudice for or against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair. Influence and experience can affect a person’s bias. As a parent, I can attest to it only takes a single event to occur for a person to develop a strong opinion. If a person or persons are taught to believe something is fact when it is actually opinion, that they have no experience in, they tend to have a false sense of reality.

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How do stereotypes affect students?

 Research has given us a better understanding of who is most vulnerable to stereotype threat.  The data has shown that stereotype threat can harm the academic performance of any individual for whom the situation invokes a stereotype-based expectation of poor performance.

How can we change?

Encouraging individuals to think of themselves in ways that reduce the salience of a threatened identity can also attenuate stereotype threat effects. Doing so involves emphasizing the importance of effort and motivation in performance and de-emphasizing inherent "talent" or "genius." A general means for protecting the self from perceived threats and the consequences of failure is to allow people to affirm their self-worth. This can be done by encouraging people to think about their characteristics, skills, values, or roles that they value or view as important.  Constructive feedback appears most effective when it communicates high standards for performance but also assurances that the student is capable of meeting those high standards. 

In situations involving teaching and mentoring, the nature of the feedback provided regarding performance has been shown to affect perceived bias, student motivation, and domain identification. Providing role models is another effective way to reduce stereotypes/bias.

Ideas attributed to http://www.reducingstereotypethreat.org

Why is considering bias important to improve literacy teaching and learning?

Effective literacy instruction builds upon the cultural and linguistic backgrounds, ways of making meaning, and prior knowledge that all children bring to the classroom. Such instruction also acknowledges the important role of culture in language and literacy learning. Understanding and respecting the array of different cultures and languages represented in their classrooms helps educators adopt strategies for teaching literacy that will encourage and support student achievement.

Ideas attributed to http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li400.htm

Media literacy skills can help:

• Understand how media messages create meaning

• Identify who created a particular media message

• Recognize what the media maker wants us to believe or do

• Name the "tools of persuasion" used

• Recognize bias, spin, misinformation and lies

• Discover the part of the story that's not being told

• Evaluate media messages based on our own experiences, beliefs and values

• Create and distribute our own media messages

• Become advocates for change in our media system

Media literacy education helps to develop critical thinking and active participation in our media culture. The goal is to give youth greater freedom by empowering them to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media.

Ways to improve

Our school’s mission statement states we expect all students to perform at high levels of academic performance. By including the “all” we are not letting any one student or group of students off the hook.

Currently, our school has created a school/parent partnership initiative. We will model and encourage two-way communication between school personnel and parents or caregivers. Health service providers, social program coordinators and educators with vast experience will present ideas, advice, and take questions.

As a Literacy Committee Member, I have chosen to research books from various multicultural backgrounds, as well as books that promote non-gender bias material. With the money allotted for new home reading and classroom library books, I would like to build a literacy environment rich in diverse ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Media literacy education helps to develop critical thinking and active participation in our media culture. The goal is to give youth greater freedom by empowering them to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. I would like to go over our Essential Learning Outcomes (ELO) to ensure we are including this important skill in our ELO’s in our Language Arts, Social and Science classrooms.