RDG 380

Name(s): Megan Lambert

Subject Area: Special Education

Grade Level: All Level

Strategy Resource File Format

Direction: Choose 3 strategies from each area (Activating Prior Knowledge and Interest; Reading Comprehension; Vocabulary and
Concepts) to use with content area reading or content learning; one per chart. Choose ones relevant to your content/grade level.
Strategy Name

Guided Imagery

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source
(Textbook, journal, observed
teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my

Samples, R. (1977). The whole school book: Teaching

and learning late in the 20th century. Reading, MA:
AddisonWesley.
Vacca, R., Vacca, J., & Mraz, M. (2013). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (11th Edition).
Boston: Pearson. 185
Activating Prior Knowledge

Before Reading
Students are asked to "demonstrate" a given concept through teacher-directed illustration. The text gives an
example of guided imagery over symbiosis, wherein students are asked to close their eyes and pretend that they
are a fish swimming through the Great Barrier Reef, starving until able to feed off of food scraps from a Great
White Shark's meal. This is ended with an inquiry discussion regarding what happened in the simulation, the
term "symbiosis" representing a relationship between animals, and more.
Students get to visualize the concepts in content area reading first hand, making the concept more "real" to
them. Students get to discover concepts through discovery, rather than be given a concept and then a definition
for it. Students are able to connect background knowledge of the visualization to the new concept, even if they
had never heard of it before.

For special education students, who may have trouble applying concepts in their lessons to
real-life, guided imagery is a powerful tool which can connect their existing knowledge to a

RDG 380
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

new concept. Imagining themselves in a given situation is often more powerful than reading
about someone else in it, or in trying to imagine it in a non-guided manner (which may not be
accurate).

RDG 380

Strategy Name

ReQuest

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source
(Textbook, journal, observed
teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

Manzo, A., Manzo, U., & Estes, T. (2001). Content area

literacy: Interactive teaching for interactive learning.
New York: Wiley.
Vacca, R., Vacca, J., & Mraz, M. (2013). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (11th Edition).
Boston: Pearson. Page 194
Activating Prior Knowledge

During Reading

The student(s) and the teacher both read a set passage, then close the book. The students
then ask questions of the teacher, and the teacher asks questions of the students. The
process repeats with another section of text, until students have received enough information
to make predictions about the rest of the text in the assignment. The rest of the assignment is
then read independently, and students go back to their predictions to see if they were correct
or incorrect.
The students will be thinking of questions to ask the teacher as they read, as well as pay attention to material in
case they are asked a question themselves. In the stage of making predictions, students will be thinking about
what might come next based on information inferred from the text.

I think this strategy can be powerful for students of all ages, as it allows students to think of their own questions
on the material. By thinking of questions to "stump" the teacher with, the students are engaging more with the
material and thinking of how one can be tested over it. When students get into this mindset, they are more likely
to do well.

RDG 380

Strategy Name

Inquiry Charts

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source
(Textbook, journal, observed
teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

Hoffman, J. (1992). Critical reading/thinking across the curriculum: Using I-charts to support learning. Language Arts, 69,
121-127. Dropbox.com folder 2

Activating Prior Knowledge

Before Reading
Students select a topic, provide students with blank I-Charts to record their questions on the topic, and brainstorm existing
knowledge. After this, students will go through a variety of materials (newspapers, magazines, web resources, etc) to
answer their questions. Student then will synthesize the information from questions into a summary, and write about the
topic based on the answers to their questions
Students activate and expand their background knowledge by discovering it themselves. Though guided by the teacher, the
students themselves ask questions and find answers in printed material.

I think this would be great for students in special education who do not always have access to the same background
knowledge the other children do- rather than simply activate it, this strategy actually allows children to develop it. Students
get to discover what they wish to on the topic with their questions, not always a teacher-directed discovery, which I think is
useful for students as they move through different levels. Most importantly, this activity can assist students in getting into
research, which will carry them on through secondary and post-secondary education if they choose.

RDG 380

Strategy Name

Guided Reading Comprehension

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source
(Textbook, journal, observed
teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

Vacca, R., Vacca, J., & Mraz, M. (2013). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (11th Edition).
Boston: Pearson. Page 218; Manzo, A. V. (1975). Guided reading procedure. Journal
of Reading, 18, 287291.
Reading Comprehension

After Reading
Students are assigned a section of reading and told to try and comprehend as much of the information
presented as possible. The students then say what they remembered orally, with the teacher writing down the
information on the board. After realizing that they misrepresented some information and left out other details, the
students are old to go back to the book and put in the information completely and correctly. The remembered
information is then outlined, the information is extended into an analysis and synthesis, and an assessment is
taken as a short-term memory reinforcer.
Students read the text more closely than they would otherwise, with a focus on details and recounting the
information to others. The student has multiple chances to go back to the material and get the information that
they got incorrectly, or missed the first time. Students also get to see the success or failures of their strategy
before getting a chance to try again.
The strategy shows students how limited short term memory is, but also does not penalize them for their errors.
Students get an additional chance to read the material and get the details down. This strategy can also be easily
adapted for both struggling and gifted learners, by either assigning more or less reading material, or expecting
more or less detail from the students' first and second readings. Students may also receive additional attempts
at reading the material if needed, making this a perfect strategy for use with students in special education

RDG 380

Strategy Name

Intra-Act

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source
(Textbook, journal, observed
teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

Vacca, R., Vacca, J., & Mraz, M. (2013). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (11th Edition).
Boston: Pearson. Page 222. Hoffman, J. V. (1979). The intraact procedure for critical
reading. Journal of Reading, 22, 605608.
Reading Comprehension

After Reading
Teachers assign small groups of students, each with a leader, called "intra-act teams". The intra-act teams The
students read the text individually before discussing the main points with a group leader leading the discussion.
The discussion then shifts to personal reactions, and finally the students begin to place value on the different
parts of the material. The teacher distributes a pre-made worksheet of 4-6 short, declarative sentences on the
chapter content, and students will "rank" these in value. The group members then take turns scoring each
other's pre-made sheets, with the teacher acting as the facilitator of these discussions.
Students get the benefit of reading to see what is important in the text, as well as collaboration with other
students on the same material to see if they were correct or incorrect.

This strategy assigns the importance of sentences in a given text material, a skill which many in special education lack. This
is also a major skill necessary for content area reading. The value of working in groups also assists students with the social
skills which all students need, but especially those in special education courses. Being able to take criticism, and to
critically think about other students work, are skills students will need in all classes.

RDG 380

Strategy Name

Text Annotations

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source
(Textbook, journal, observed
teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

English Journal Vol. 93 No. 5 - Beyond the yellow highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills to Improve Reading
Comprehension By Carol Porter ODonnell
http://writing.colostate.edu
http://www.greece.k12.ny.us
Dropbox folder 2
Reading Comprehension

Before/ During/After Reading

Students look over text before reading, making a note of headings, subtitles, and illustrations, making notes in the margins
of the text as necessary. The students repeat this process during reading, as a strategy for making predictions, questioning
the author, keeping on track, summarizing, and more.

Students get to keep track of their thinking visually with this method, writing down what the important points ont eh text
are, and in what ways they are important. The student gets to keep track of what is unclear, what is clear and why, and go
back to it an unlimited number of times.

Using this as a student myself, I have employed the use of color coding with my annotations; a red pen mark means
something different than a blue pen mark, etc. etc. For times when the book must remain un-marked, post-it notes or pencil
markings, which can be erased, may be applied. This is a powerful reading comprehension strategy, as it makes the
students thinking visible to others, as well as to the teacher. This is particularly helpful for students in special education
programs who may have trouble with short-term memory. It also allows for personal connections, questions for teacher and
author, expanding vocabulary knowledge- the possibilities are endless.

RDG 380

Strategy Name

Word Maps

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source

Tompkins, G. (2014). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach. Boston:Pearson. page 224.

(Textbook, journal, observed

teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

Vocabulary

During Reading
When coming across an unfamiliar word, the student will write this word in the center of the piece of paper or the word
map. Around the word, the student will write a morphemic analysis, root word, prefixes/ suffixes, a word history, related
words, and an example of use in sentence. If this information does not apply to a specific word (cat), the information will
change; word usage, synonyms, antonyms, etc.
Students get a deeper look at their vocabulary words as they read. Not only do they explore the word definition but they
connect it to other words which may be familiar (connecting with background knowledge) or unfamiliar (helping expand
knowledge).

I believe connecting words to other concepts, and possibly activating background knowledge as well, is going to help
students with exceptionality. Students with disabilities will have a tangible reminder of how this unfamiliar word became a
familiar word, and students who are gifted would have the opportunity to do a deeper study on some of what they uncover. I
think students could keep their word maps in a booklet or spiral to keep throughout each course and have a visible reminder
of their progress throughout the year, which may also serve as a reinforcer.

RDG 380

Strategy Name

Frayer Model Map

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source
(Textbook, journal, observed
teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

Longwood University: Projects by Amy Boxley

http://www.longwood.edu/staff/jonescd/projects/educ530/aboxley/graphicorg/fraym.htm
Dropbox Folder 2
Vocabulary

During Reading
Students fill out the Frayer Model map, which has boxes for word, definition, characteristics, examples, and nonexamples.
Maps may be filled out in pairs or small groups, as well as individually. Teachers can serve as facilitators as they ensure the
words on the maps are correct

Students gain knowledge of the new vocabulary concepts by explaining the word definition and giving it characteristics.
Putting examples and non-examples activates background knowledge for students, giving them something tangible to do
with the maps as they move forward.

I like the Frayer model maps as students can connect the words to what they already know about the subject with the place
for examples and nonexamples. I think this could work not just for nouns, but for adjectives, adverbs and verbs as well. The
students could keep a vocabulary journal with these maps throughout the year, adding to the examples and nonexamples lists as they move throughout.

RDG 380
Strategy Name

Analogy Graphic Organizer

(Give proper name of strategy, if

taken from formal source. Name
it if it is something informal you
do or have observed.)

Source

Buehl, D. (2001). Classroom Strategies for Interactive Reading. Newark Del: International Reading Association

(Textbook, journal, observed

teacher/professor, Internet,
Dropbox.com, etc.)

Focus Area
(Anticipation, activating prior
knowledge, reading
comprehension, or vocabulary/
concept.)
Guided Reading (Before,
During or After Reading)

Procedure
(List steps of implementing this
strategy. Be specific enough that
you could recall how to
implement it from this chart.)

Student Thought Process

(What do students get out of
this strategy? What happens in
their minds as they participate/
student metacognition?)

Reflect/Extend
(How this can be used in my
classroom/my grade/my content
area. List lesson objectives,
when possible.)

Vocabulary

After Reading
Upon coming to an analogy in text, students go to a blank Analogy Graphic organizer, which has the new concept, the
familiar concept, similarities, differences, and relationship categories. The organizer may need to be modeled by the teacher
for student use the first few times. Students will discuss with their peers on how to fill out the chart, and then write a
summary on what they learned based on chart information
Students connect a new word or concept to what they already know, citing limitations and differences in the analogy. They
also gain practice in writing compare/ contrast summaries.

I think this method could work not only for analogies, but for vocabulary words as well. Furthermore, if the unfamiliar
vocabulary word has no explicit analogy in the text, the student could create one himself or herself, expanding the activity. I
believe connecting the familiar with the unfamiliar is key to all students, especially in special education. The notation of
limits of the analogy is also important, as students must realize that all analogies break down at some point, just as no two
vocabulary words are analogous to each other.