The Missouri Reader Vol. 35, Issue 2 | Page 21

Genres   Realistic  Fiction   Drama   Historical  Fiction   Poetry   Fantasy  and  Science  Fiction   Nonfiction   Multicultural  (Diversity)   Global     Useful  Reading  Strategies   • Power  point  Presentations:  Used  to  present  various  genres.     • Book  talks:  Students  pick  a  favorite  fiction  or  nonfiction  young  adult  book  and  that  relates  to  material  being   studied.    They  include  background  information  on  the  author  and  the  book  and  then  tell  enough  of  the  story   to  obtain  class  interest.     • Literature  circles:  The  purpose  of  literature  or  inquiry  circles,  according  to  &  Harvey,  S.  &  Daniels,  H.,  (2009),   is  to  create  a  special  activity  where  teachers  reallocate  large  amounts  of  class  time  to  genuine  student-­‐led,   small-­‐group  book  discussions.  The  teacher  serves  as  a  facilitator.  Literature  or  inquiry  circles  can  be  used  in   all   content   areas   with   a   variety   of   trade   books   specific   to   the   content   area.   Allow   four   to   five   students   to   choose  one  of  several  trade  books  for  the  class  and  organize  a  book  club  format  for  sharing.  Each  student  in   the  literature  circle  has  a  specific  task  in  addition  to  an  introduction,  where  the  group  describes  the  author   and  the  book.  The  different  roles  used  could  include:       Discussion  Director:  Responsible  for  asking  questions  (strategy)     Connector:  Responsible  for  making  connections  (strategy)  that  include  personal     connections,   text   to   text  connections,  and  global  connections     Illustrator:  Responsible  for  drawing  or  bringing  pictures  of  different  parts  of  the  story,  or  showing  visuals  if  in   a  smart  classroom  setting  (visualizing  strategy)     Vocabulary   Finder   (or   Enricher):   Responsible   for   finding   different   words   in   the   book   that   are   unknown,   unusual,  interesting,  funny,  or  different  (strategy  of  noticing  the  author’s  craft)     Literary  Laminator:  Selects  different  paragraphs  from  the  text  to  share  with  the  class  and  explain     why   they  are  meaningful  (strategy  of  determining  importance)       All   of   these   reading   strategies   can   be   used   within   every   content   area   to   not   only   help   students   comprehend   material,  but  to  become  active  readers  who  are  able  to  make  meaning  from  a  variety  of   literacies.  Each  class  session   one  of  the  books  will  be  chosen  and  students  assigned  to  the  book  will  sit  at  different  tables.  The  rest  of  the  class   will   move   from   table   to   table   to   participate   with   the   leader   of   each   particular   role   (i.e.   Discussion   Director,   Illustrator,  etc.).  In  addition,  teachers  can  work  together  in  content  areas  based  on  similar  themes  for  students  to  be   able   to   see   the   relationships   of   looking   at   a   common   piece   of   material   based   on   understanding   (English),   history   (Social   Studies),   an   artist   (Art),   a   musician   (Music),   changes   in   environments   (Social   Studies)   and   various   ways   of   solving  environmental  problems  (Math