Reading Response

Name _______________________________________________________

Week 1
Bulleted Outline of: ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines

Novice

Intermediate

Advanced

Superior

Distinguished

Reading

Writing

Speaking

Listening

Reading Response

Name _____Thomas Rothwell_______

Week 2

Bulleted Outline of Response for Chapter(s) : Gibbons Chapter 1 & Gibbons Chapter 2
Language has a context of culture (expectations of how things are done/said) and context of
situation (shaped by the specific occasion of speech/writing).
Two main view of Learning:
1) the empty vessel or banking model in which knowledge and skills are transmitted by
teacher to the receiving student; criticized for minimizing role of interaction in language
acquisition, risks overemphasis of dominant culture
2) the progressive model in which the student is the focus in actively constructing knowledge,
while the teacher is a manager/facilitator of sorts.; criticized for shortage of explicit language
teaching
Vygotskys Zone of Proximal Development emphasizes the social aspect of learning: social,
historical and cultural experiences shape ones development and learning; what one can do
alone is then assisted by others to reach beyond to a new level of performance. The process of
joint-thinking with others in a goal-oriented activity becomes internalized and leads to an inner
resource that informs later tasks. This is the classic teaching HOW to think, rather than merely
WHAT to think.
Scaffolding is described as the temporary assistance by which a teacher helps one learn how to
do something with the goal that when the support is removed later on the student can perform
the task without assistance.
Producing language pushes ones processing much more deeply than merely listening;
opportunities to stretch ones discourse improves output. Varied contexts with well-modeled
comprehensible output leads to better learning.

Most interesting statistic/research/quotes in the chapter(s):

I love the idea of monitoring for the two thirds rule, where someone is talking most of the time
in a classroom. The question here is WHO is talkingthe teacher or the students? The goal
should be to give as much opportunity as possible to let students practice using what the
teacher initiates.
Something that validated my practice:
Or notIve had so many reluctant learners that group work has never been very effective. The
notion of expert and home groups is lost on me. Still trying to figure that one out.

Something I can immediately apply in my classroom:

Giving an instruction in several different ways (intentional message redundancy)

Reading Response

Name ___Thomas Rothwell________________________________

Week 3
Bulleted Outline of Response for Chapter(s) : Cognitive Load Theory
SWELLER: An element is anything that needs to be learned (low element interactivity refers
to isolated elements of a task, whereas high element interactivity refers to a task where
elements needs to be connected for comprehension); a schema (sometimes also known as
chunk or script) occurs when elements of information are organized in a specific way that
allows effective mental mappingwhich then allows new knowledge to be incorporated into
what is already known. Newly learned elements and schemas are difficult to use at first; they
pass into a mode of controlled processing, which involves concentrating on the info, whereas
some schemas/elements pass into automatic processing. Automated schemas, example, allow
proficient readers to work much less on decoding and attend to the more conscious processes of
comprehending the meanings of text. The goal of learning, then, is to move more schemas
into long-term memory so they can be used for automatic processing. Working memory tends
to utilize short-term bits of information for use in immediate tasks; therefore, the more schemas
one can draw on from long-term memory, the more effective working memory can function on a
given task. Cognitive load theory (if I understand this obtuse verbiage) draws on all these
ideas to suggest that learning activities should be geared toward automation and schema
acquisition, and will be defective if they assume a processing capacity greater than our
limits.(299)
GIBBONS: Listeners typically use a combination of sound recognition, schemas and language
system knowledge to understand whats being said. The difficulty of distinguishing sounds can
be a significant obstacle to comprehension. Nunan categorized listening into four contexts:
two-way (conversational) involving interpersonal topics and information-based topics and
one-way (listening only) for the same two topic sorts. The one-way variety is more challenging
because the listener cant ask for clarification or to have the speaker slow down. For that reason I
try to have students repeat directions or key bits of informationto be sure they heard correctly
and understand what was said.

Most interesting statistic/research/quotes in the chapter(s):

Something that validated my practice:

(Gibbons page 103) I too look for strategic points in a text where I can break to ask certain
cognitive reading questions: make a prediction, guess what a character will say (and how they
might say/ask it), ask if students can connect this with that (foreshadowing, flashback).
Something I can immediately apply in my classroom:
I liked the types of questions a teacher can use to model re-engagement with what has been
said: e.g., Im sorry, would you mind repeating that? or, Did you say? (Gibbons 107) Many
of my students are so weak at following a series of directions that activities like If you are

and Jigsaw Listening are tempting, but I feel I have much preparatory planning and modeling
before they would be anything but a trainwreck.

Reading Response

Name _______________________________________________________

Week 3
Four Excellent activities from Chapters(s) : Zwiers, Chapter 6 & Gibbons, Chapter 6
Theme: Comprehensible Input and Background Knowledge Resources
Strategy Title:

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Reading Response

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Name

_____Thomas Rothwell_______________________

Week 4
Four Excellent activities from Chapters(s) : Zwiers, Chapter 7 & Gibbons, Chapter 5
Theme: Scaffolding Receptive Input (Reading Resources)
Strategy Title: Rereading text/Mark-up
text

Strategy Title: Jigsaw Reading

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Good way to get students to read a

passage more than once, looking for
specific features/details of a sentence or
passage.

Read to them once,

Have them mark up using underlines, circles, colored highlighting
Possible points to examine: Main
subject, main action, opposing
thoughts, cause/effect, adjectives,
adverbs

Four different readings around

same topic
Create groups that allow for
differentiation of reading level (give
groups readings at their levelthey
can then still have something to
contribute to class discussion!)
Have students share what their
group read (from easiest passages
to hardest?)
All students take notes as sharing
proceeds

Key Qs: Who/What is doing what to

who/what?
What is what and why?

Source: Gibbons & Zwiers

Pages: 88/183-4

Source: Gibbons
Page: 90

Strategy Title: Story/Ending Innovation

Strategy Title: Word Walls in Categories

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Change key elements of a story to

recreate aspects of story while
keeping main plot intact. For
example, change something about
the characters or the setting that
forces students to recast the way
events unfold
OR, change the ending as
imagination allows (particularly
good for stories where students
hate the ending)
Can be done in groups or as whole
class

Create sections for classifying words (this

necessitates a discussion in itselfwhere
to put a given word?)
1)
2)
3)
4)

Content words (bricks)

General academic words (mortar)
Classroom discussion terms
Terms for writing
Allow for words falling between
categories

Source: Zwiers
Page: 191
Source: Gibbons
Page: 91

Reading Response

Name _______Thomas Rothwell______________

Week 5
Four Excellent activities from Chapters(s) : Zwiers, Chapter 5, Zwiers, Chapter 6 & Gibbons,
Chapter 3
Theme: Scaffolding Expressive Language (Speaking to Writing)
Strategy Title: Conversation Circles

Strategy Title: Interview Grids & Mixers

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Create several prompts that allow

students to process class material
or thought-provoking questions
Have students stand in two circles,
one inside the other
First prompt is shown and students
talk with the person across from
them in adjacent circle
One of the circles then rotates and
the next prompt is shown
Repeat until the prompts are all

Create question tables, matching

cards, or any medium that allows
students to seek/exchange
information
Students move about room looking
for the information that completes,
defines, matches, or supplements
their own in some way (e.g., one
has a vocabulary term and the other
has the definition or an example of
the term)

addressed

Source: Zwiers
Page: 122-3

Variations: Students find the proper

order for their cards that represent
the sequence of something (e.g.,
steps of solving an equation) or
they have to put thing in
chronological order (e.g., ordering
the events of a storyline)

Source: Zwiers
Page: 123-4

Strategy Title: Take a Side

Strategy Title: Structured Academic

Controversy

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Use sections of room to represent

where someone stands to take a
position on an issue or topic (these
should NOT have a clearly right or
wrong answer)there might be
several sides to an issue
Have students stand where they
want to defend a position
Then each student presents a
rationale for his/her stance
In one version students are free to
change their stance (have their
mind/opinion changedin this
variation consider having an
undecided section to start with);
in another variation, have students
change sides and argue against
their first thought; you can also
have each student share what the
student next to them said (rephrasing)

Source: Zwiers
Page: 125

Reading Response

Groups select a topic

Split into smaller groupings
representing sides tof the issue
Each group researches support for
its stance
Both groups then argue their sides
respectfully challenge and defend
Small groups now SWITCH sides of
issue; each takes a few moments
planning how to defend the
opposite of its first position
Both groups then argue new
positions
Finally, small groups meet as large
group to select and synthesize the
best arguments to arrive at a
SINGLE new position all can agree
on
This process is then drawn up in a
group report

Source: Zwiers
Page:130-1
Name _______________________________________________________

Week 6
Four Excellent activities from Chapters(s) : Zwiers, Chapter 8 & Gibbons, Chapter 4

Theme: Scaffolding Writing

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Reading Response

Name ___THOMAS ROTHWELL_____________________

Week 7
Four Excellent activities from Chapters(s) : Wiggins and Zwiers, Chapter 9
Theme: Effectively Assessing Language and Content Knowledge
Strategy Title: During Reading Notes

Strategy Title: Debate Issue/Question

Bulleted Key Features of Strategy:

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Teacher reads to class. In this scenario,

students focus on listening. THEN,
teacher pauses during reading to have
students take notes on what was just
read. This would seem to require a
careful planning of where best to pause.
Consider having some kind of organizer
or note set-up ready to use.

Possible option is to have students pairshare first, then write, but Ive found this
invites way too much off-task talk and
many students end up sitting there with
empty papers.

A chunk of time can be given after full

reading, but Ive found many students
resist looking back over the pages to
make sure theyre noting all key
information.

Source:
Page: 230

Zwiers

Students choose a side to a topic

Prepare arguments w/ counterarguments
Use evidence with citations
Develop a working rubric
Dissect descriptions/transcriptions of
debates (models)
Teacher helps notice/post useful
language/terms (persuasive language
tools)
Prepare notes
Later, they summarize their position
after the debate
Take a short quiz

Source:
Page: 235

Zwiers

Strategy Title: Write a Childrens Book

Strategy Title: PresentationsWhat the

Audience Does

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Using theme from a novel students have

read (independent reading?), they
design their own childrens books
Use exemplary childrens books as
inspirational models
Have students plot on storyline
Illustrate (tie in with art class?)
Final product should be accompanied by
a teacher guide in which students
explain the meaning of their book,
connection to current content and how
the themes of the story inform young
readers lives

Source:
Zwiers
Page: 236-7

Create context where students

want/need to listen!
Use presentations that provide
information students needs and can
use (information gap to fill)
With this in mind, have presenters
ask audience to:
do quick-writes
vote
stand up or do hand motions when
they hear certain words
participate with drama
fill in a graphic organizer

Source: Zwiers
Page: 242

GIVE 1 GET 1 ACTIVITY! (To be completed in class)

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