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Instructional Support Module in Reading: “The Comeback Humpbacks”

The main focus of this model is GLE 2.1.7.

Other GLEs are embedded throughout the

instructional model and are assessed during

the pre-reading, formative, and post-reading

assessments. The model provides a

pre-reading and post-reading assessment,

an instructional model with embedded

formative assessments, teacher instructional

strategies, and student learning tools for

reading comprehension and growth.

The purposes of the reading instructional strategies are:

’

To help students activate and build background knowledge

’

To model for students how to preview the text

’

To pre-teach difficult vocabulary to assist in reading fluency

’

To show students how to set a purpose for reading

’

To provide students with comprehension strategies during reading

’

To facilitate students’ use of post reading discussion/activity to assess

understanding

Text: “The Comeback Humpbacks”

This informational text gives details about the humpback whales and their incredible

emergence from near extinction. The text tells about the whales’ behavior, eating habits,

breeding grounds, and migration patterns. The text defines most technical vocabulary

words, and the content is suited for

upper elementary or middle school

.

Main GLE Focus for Instruction

Component 2.1:

Demonstrate evidence of reading comprehension.

GLE 2.1.7

Apply comprehension monitoring strategies for informational and

technical materials, complex narratives, and expositions:

determine importance and summarize

the text.

•

Create an

informational summary

that includes an

introductory statement, main ideas, and supporting text-based

details; makes connections among the key ideas from the entire

text; uses own words in an objective voice; is accurate to the

original text; avoids interpretation or judgment; and uses an

GLE Focus

2.1.7 Summary

1.3.2 Vocabulary

2.1.4 Inference/Prediction

2.2.2 Text Features

2.4.1 Drawing Conclusions

2.4.5 Generalization

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To help students activate background knowledge:

The teacher will use a

KWL

chart. This activity is a

pre, during and post

reading

strategy that provides the opportunity for students to activate prior knowledge, to focus

their thinking during reading, and to reinforce what has been read. Teachers may use the

following suggestions to guide this activity:

•

Each student lists on paper what he/she already knows about whales.

•

In triads, students will work together to compare/contrast information from the

lists and develop a common list of information about whales.

•

Students may create their own charts or use one provided by the teacher.

Know

Think I know

Future

**The KWL chart is only effective if teachers VISUALLY DISPLAY THE CHART,

and USE THE CHART AFTER READING SO STUDENTS MAY RECORD

WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED FROM THE TEXT.

Pre-Reading:

The activities for pre-reading include

activating background knowledge,

previewing the text, pre-teaching difficult vocabulary, and setting a purpose for reading.

These activities are important to engage and motivate the reader by making relevant

connections, clearing the way for reading fluency, and providing the reader with a clear goal

for reading the text.

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Formative Assessment

Teachers can do a quick check for understanding of this activity through observation as

students present their

KWL

charts to the class

OR

the teacher may conduct a walk

around assessment as students complete the activity.

To model for students how to preview the text:

The teacher will guide the students through a

skim and scan

of the text looking for key

text features such as pictures, captions, subheadings, and text boxes. Discuss with

students the importance of the text features and how they can aid comprehension and

provide important details about the text topic. Students will now focus on one text

feature—subheadings—and will make predictions about the text by turning the

subheadings into questions

(GLE 2.1.5)

.

Example:

Flying Leaps—

Why do humpbacks fly out of the water?

Prediction—humpbacks fly out of the water to move faster.

Formative Assessment

This activity provides an excellent opportunity for a

pre-reading discussion

about

subheadings and their importance in providing clues for understanding the text. Students

should share their predictions as teachers listen and observe.

To pre-teach difficult vocabulary to assist in reading fluency:

The teacher will introduce the technical vocabulary using

direct instruction

. The words

from the “Whale Words” text box should be placed on an overhead transparency and

directly taught to the students. Technical words are generally not part of a student’s

working vocabulary and must be given to the students to ensure smooth fluency during

reading. Teachers should discuss the meaning of each word and connect it to other real

life experiences/situations.

Example:

Migration

happens when animals move to a different area to avoid cold

weather, find food, or find a safe place to breed and raise their young.

Besides whales, what other animals

migrate

?

Formative Assessment

Teachers should assess the students’ understanding of the technical vocabulary through

observation during the class discussion of each word. A vocabulary game might be used

to assess individual student understanding of the words.

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To show students how to set a purpose for reading:

Students should be told why they are reading a specific text, and this often requires the

teacher to set a purpose for reading. This is especially important to struggling readers

because it gives them a focus before they begin to navigate the text. Purpose setting

questions or statements could be recorded on the

KWL

charts under

Want to Know

.

Example:

As you read, search for

whale is an amazing creature.

Teachers will model a

marking the text strategy

by taking the whole class through the

first three paragraphs of the text. Using

guided practice for marking text

, the teacher

will read the section out loud, model an appropriate response, and instruct students to

create a response of their own based upon the teacher model.

•

Students may write directly on the text or use post its.

•

Responses should reflect thinking.

•

Responses may take the form of

or statements about what is learned from the reading.

•

Students will have SEVEN responses—one after each section with a subheading.

Example:

Make an overhead of the first three paragraphs. Teacher should read the

first section out loud, and then brainstorm and record a response in the

margins or on post its. Sample response—

I did not know that the

humpback whale weighed as much as eight elephants! How can it be

so big and still breach out of the water so high? I think the whales

should continue to have protection because they are so beautiful and

entertaining.

This response gives a statement about whales from the section, asks an interesting

question beyond the text, and provides an opinion about the future of the whales.

Students should now continue reading the text and provide a relevant response after each

section read. Use the subheadings as guides.

During Reading:

The activity for during reading provides students with the tools to

become active readers and engage with the information in the text. Students will be

instructed on how to become

slow and careful

readers, how to

re-read difficult text

, and

how to

capture their thinking by marking the text

as they read.

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Formative Assessment

Teachers should circulate the room as students read using the

text marking strategy.

To

ensure students complete the activity, teachers should collect the marked text at the end

of the module and grade the students’ effort in marking the text.

Post-Reading Activities

•

Direct students to fill in the

Learned

column of their KWL chart.

•

Review the whole chart to see if what they knew or thought they knew

corresponds with what they learned.

•

Lead a discussion by asking students for questions or responses from the

during reading

activity.

•

Brainstorm a list of reasons that the

creature.

Four-Step Summary Activity

This activity should be modeled with another article first using

direct instruction

so

students receive focused instruction on writing an excellent summary. Then, they can

transfer that knowledge to “The Comeback Humpback” Students can be given the blank

4-Step Summary Template* to use as they are guided through the process, and then, try it

on their own.

Name It!

The article

“The

Comeback

Humpback”

Verb It!

describes

Finish It! (Main Idea)

the life of the humpback whale

and how it has come back from

near extinction.

Post-Reading:

These activities provide the students with the opportunity to discuss

what they have learned, to make connections, and to clarify questions that may still

remain unanswered. Students will revisit their

KWL

charts and fill in the

Learned

column. They will also use their responses during reading to

ask questions

,

make

appropriate comments

during discussion, and

discuss the purpose-setting statement

.

Students will then complete a

formative assessment

by writing a

four-part summary

of the text.

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Step 2: Final Copy

Transition

1. One

fact

2. Also

3. Last

Step 3:

Event/Fact Outline

-

-

-

-

-

Step 4:

Formative Assessment

The Four-Step Summary is the formative assessment for the main GLE focus of this

module (

GLE 2.1.7)

. Teachers should collect and score the Four-Step Summary using a

task-specific scoring guide outlining the expectations for the summary.

**Teachers may need to make a student graphic organizer of the Four-Step Summary

using the example provided in this module OR teachers may simply ask students to draw

the graphic organizer (from the example) in their