Teaching Strategies
How can I use FoR strategies in my pedagogy?
In order to build a literacy culture at our school, we need to make sure we are using the language of Focus on Reading. Consistency will help us help our students succeed.
The beauty of Focus on Reading is that it allows all teachers of all KLA's to incorporate comprehension strategies into their lessons. Try using some of these teaching strategies in your lessons!
Teaching the Word of the Week - Some Strategies
Feel free to use your own strategies to incorporate the Word of the Week into your teaching. These are some suggestions you can use if needed.
Robert Marzano is an educational researcher who has spent many years observing student and teacher interactions, particularly in the area of vocabulary instruction.
After conducting a large study in 2004, he concluded that there are six stages of vocabulary instruction.
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Provide a description, explanation, or example of the new term.
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Ask students to restate the description, explanation, or example in their own words.
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Ask students to construct a picture, pictograph, or symbolic representation of the term.
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Engage students periodically in activities that help them add to their knowledge of the terms in their vocabulary notebooks.
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Periodically ask students to discuss the terms with one another.
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Involve students periodically in games that enable them to play with terms. (Credit: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept09/vol67/num01/Six-Steps-to-Better-Vocabulary-Instruction.aspx)
For step one, a great idea is to try and use the word in an anecdote or story from your own life or experience. This links to the Significance portion of the Quality Teaching model. It also works to engage our Indigenous students and relates to the 8 Ways pedagogy that includes story sharing. Encourage students to discuss the word and have them participate in discussions, perhaps with their peers, while using the word.
The key to remember is to make learning the word fun and engaging.