Think-alouds
During a think-aloud, teachers share their inside thoughts while reading aloud to the class. Some strategies teachers model while thinking aloud are rereading, highlighting, writing, surveying, making connections, and/or monitoring comprehension (Routman, 2003). Students should know that not only is it okay to reread, but it is actually encouraged. It also benefits students to see and hear the teacher highlighting important data, skimming sections of the text, making connections to past experiences, and taking the time to pause and think about what is being read.
Graphic Organizers
To define them, “graphic organizers are visual displays of information, often arranged in bubbles or squares with connecting lines between them that are used to portray conceptual relationships” (Fisher, Bronzo, Frey, & Ivey, 2011, p. 10). Graphic organizers help students interrelate concepts and outline the important information in the text (Vacca et al., 2011). There are numerous different graphic organizers, and the teacher should select the one that is best suited for the lesson and the text that is to be read.
Vocabulary Instruction
Words in mathematics often have a different meaning than how they may have been originally learned, which can create great confusion to students (Friedland et al., 2011; Massey & Riley, 2013; Phillips, Bardsley, Bach & Gibb-Brown, 2009). For example, the word similar is defined as “related in appearance or nature; alike though not identical,” but is defined in math as “having corresponding angles equal and corresponding line segments proportional” (TheFreeDictionary.com, para. 1). Metsisto (2005) wrote that it is not effective to simply give students a list of vocabulary words and have them look up the definitions in the text. Students need to develop the conceptual meaning behind the words if they want to remember and use the terms accurately.
Pierce and Fontaine (2009) note, “The depth and breadth of a child’s mathematical vocabulary is more likely than ever to influence a child’s success in math” (p. 239). Teachers should make sure to include rich vocabulary instruction in the mathematics classroom. They should plan for this instruction, make it as lively as possible, and provide student friendly explanations as opposed to dictionary definitions (Pierce & Fontaine, 2009). It is also important that students are able to encounter these words in multiple situations.
One strategy that can help students with vocabulary terms is doing a word sort. This is where students are asked to sort vocabulary terms into different categories. “Word sorts can help students recognize the relationships among key concepts” (Fisher et al., 2011, p. 147). These can be used to assess what students already know, activate background knowledge, or even as a form of review.
Another highly used vocabulary
strategy is Frayer Model
Vocabulary Cards which "help
students to see connections be-
tween the word, examples of the
word, nonexamples of the word, and critical attributes associated with a word” (Fisher et al, 2011, p. 135). Vocabulary cards such as the Frayer Model create a visual reference for students for concepts and vocabulary.
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"It (also) benefits students to see and hear the teacher highlighting important data, skimming sections of the text, making connections to past experiences, and taking the time to pause and think about what is being read."
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