New Strategies

     This week featured amazing presentations of several new strategies that I hope to implement in my classroom. Each of the strategies that I saw modeled and I experienced could be adapted for use in the second-grade classroom. They all fostered engagement by actively involving students in learning. In the discussion web, we had to speak and listen to one another in groups as we developed our decisions and arguments. In the lesson featuring history frames, we were reading, writing, and reporting on our findings. As we journaled during art, we had to read, think, and write quickly so that we provided thoughtful responses to our partners. Further, all of the strategies developed literacy skills and content-area knowledge. This is particularly significant as we strive for that high minimum standard of 50% of the school day spent in reading and writing.

     
     One lesson built on the vocabulary self-collection strategy from Vacca et al. (2017), but it expanded that strategy to include collaborative reading and discussion. In groups, we read short passages from primary sources in Texas history, identified and defined unknown vocabulary words, and then discussed the meaning of the text. This strategy was particularly appealing to me because it supports student-directed learning, provides choice, and builds backgrounds knowledge while scaffolding reading comprehension.

     In second grade English language arts, vocabulary is a weekly instructional component, and the words should be contextualized in reading materials. This strategy offers a positive alternative and variation to always pre-selecting the vocabulary words for students. It empowers students by giving them ownership of the learning process. In second grade, students could preview the text in groups, just as we did, identifying words that they do not know. They too could use technology to identify words for discussion and elaboration. Together, we could build and record the list of six to ten words for the week, adding the words and definitions to our word wall and our vocabulary journals. I would also adapt the strategy for younger students by limiting the discussion about the meaning of the text. As we read together, we would review the words again and build our strategic understanding of the text. We would also revisit vocabulary words several times throughout the week to provide additional and varied contexts.

     Every strategy presentation was interesting, insightful and motivational for me. My classmates offered creative applications of the strategies, and I plan to incorporate many techniques that I observed in these lessons. The lessons also reminded me that even in the elementary classroom, it is important to create and maintain momentum. These strategies offer the means to active learning, student engagement, collaboration, and a positive classroom climate.

Vacca, R.T., Vacca, J.L. and Mraz, M. (2017). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum (12th ed). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.