Skills and Strategies introduced in Unit One: Cultural Conversations

 

Reading                                                                      

-          close reading: Solzhenitsyn       

-          guided reading: “By Any Other Name,” “My Name,”

-          marking the text/annotating

-          skimming/scanning

-          SOAPSTone: Solzhenitsyn

-          TP-CASTT: “Where I’m From” & “Ego-tripping”

-          Paraphrasing: Solzhenitsyn, Name stories

-          Activating Prior Knowledge

-          Putting Text in Context: SpringBoard standards,  Solzhenitsyn biography

 

Oral Literacy

 

-          read aloud: by request

-          discussion: poems, why study culture?, Solzhenitsyn, name stories

-          presentation: Culture Map, small group work

 

Writing

 

-          letter: “Dear Reader”

-          frame poem: “Where I’m From”

-          graphic organizers: circles of influence, SOAPSTone, TP-CASTT

-          quickwrite/freewrite: based on class discussion and in preparation for discussion

-          self assessment/peer assessment: “Dear Reader” letter & “Where I’m From” poem

-          reflection: “Dear Reader” Letter

 

 

 

Collaborative Learning

 

-          small group work: defining vocabulary, discussion

-          partner work: report out homework, brainstorm, present initial ideas

 

Look over the skills and strategies listed above, then look at the work you have completed using these skills/strategies. This is all the work, mostly formative and daily practice, which I have asked you to complete over the last four weeks. In preparation for your conferences tomorrow, reflect on the work you have completed thus far. Then, answer the two questions below based on your work, your desire to achieve high standards, and your goals for the future.

 

  1. In reflecting on and looking over the work you have completed thus far, identify two skills and/or strategies that you have found helpful in completing your work. In what ways do they help you? How do you anticipate using those skills/strategies in the future? Please be very specific.
  2. Which skills and strategies do you anticipate needing more practice to master? In other words, what areas of growth would you like to focus on in our next unit? Again, please be very specific.

Example:

 

  1. In reflecting on the skills and strategies I have practiced over the last few weeks I feel that paraphrasing text, especially while I’m annotating, helps focus my comprehension. It also allows me to make significant connections between texts and myself. In paraphrasing, I first identify what the author’s most important points may be, and then consider how those ideas affect me. Furthermore, in putting an author’s idea into my own words I am better suited to remember and utilize the text during discussions or in a written response. In the future, I see paraphrasing as pivotal to my learning. While I may understand the basis of a text by merely reading it through one time, the real learning and connections come from my in depth work in reading it closely, which includes paraphrasing.