Musquodoboit Rural High School
Literacy Handbook
Musquodoboit Rural High School
Literacy Handbook
Table of Contents
BDA (Before, During, After reading strategy)……………………………2
Key Reading Strategies……………………………………………………4
Features of Information Text……………………………………………...5
Strategies During Reading………………………………………………...6
Think-Aloud……………………………………………………………….7
Fix-up Strategies…………………………………………………………..8
Taxonomy of Thinking……………………………………………………9
Matters of Correctness…………………………………………………….10
List of Commonly Misspelled Words……………………………………..15
Essay Format………………………………………………………………16
Reference Formats…………………………………………………………23
Transition Words and Phrases……………………………………………..27
Essay Writing Checklist…………………………………………………...29
Sample Formatted Essay…………………………………………………..30
Reference Websites………………………………………………………..32
BDA in a Nutshell
Students need to be involved actively before, during and after they read, listen or view. We need to shift the time from all after to before and during.
Before reading:
The reader develops a plan of action by:
· activating and building upon prior knowledge and experiences
· predicting what text is about based on text features, visuals, and text type
· setting a purpose for reading
· linking experiences to the text
During reading:
The reader maintains and monitors a plan of action by:
· connecting new text with prior knowledge and experiences
· checking predictions for accuracy
· forming sensory images
· making inferences
· determining key vocabulary
· interpreting the traits of main characters
· self-monitoring own difficulty in decoding and comprehending text
· interpreting diagrams, maps, and charts
· posing how, why, and what questions to understand and/or interpret text
· recognizing cause-effect relationships and drawing conclusions
· capturing initial personal response to the text
After reading:
The reader evaluates a plan of action by:
· discussing accuracy of predictions
· developing and deepening initial responses to the text
· summarizing the key ideas
· connecting and comparing information from text to experience and knowledge
· explaining and describing new ideas and information in own words
· retelling story in own words including setting, characters, and sequence of important events
· discussing and comparing authors and illustrators
· reflecting on the strategies that helped the most and least and why
Ask Questions Before, During, and After Reading
Readers generate questions before, during, and after reading. Questions pertain to the text’s content, structure, and language.
Questions BEFORE reading: Activate prior knowledge, general world knowledge, text organization or structure knowledge, and author knowledge:
· What clues does the title / subtitle reveal?
· What genre of writing does this article represent?
· Based on the genre of writing, how will you read this selection?
· What information do you know about this topic?
· Why are you reading this article? What is your goal? Set a purpose for reading.
· What information do you hope this article will include?
· What questions do you hope this article will answer?
· What do you know about this author’s work?
· When you scan the text features, what details can be collected to help you prepare for reading?
Questions DURING reading: Monitor level of comprehension; apply problem-solving strategies when comprehension breaks down:
· What do you understand from the paragraph you just read?
· Could you summarize its key ideas?
· What three words represent key ideas?
· Do you need to re-read the paragraph to understand what the author is saying?
· Do you need to slow down your reading in order to understand?
· What images can you visualize from the reading?
· Do you need to stop and look up difficult words or read on to gather the meaning?
Questions AFTER reading: Respond, make connections, extend comprehension, analyse and evaluate ideas, read between and beyond the lines, assess literal and interpretive comprehension:
· Which pre-reading questions did this article answer?
· Which of my predictions were confirmed, or revised?
· What are the main ideas of this article?
· What relationships or generalizations are revealed by the text?
· What is the overall theme of this article?
· What connections did you make with the information in this article?
Copyright Journey North, 2003. Used by permission. Journey North: www.learner.org/jnorth
Key Reading Strategies
Activate prior knowledge / make connections
§ readers create their own poem/text
§ schema theory
Decide what’s important in a text
Synthesize information
§ remove irrelevant data and repeated information
§ categorize information into lists
§ try to locate topic sentences to use for summarizing
§ create topic sentences when they are not found in the text
Draw inferences during and after reading
§ reading between the lines
Self-Monitor comprehension
§ pinpoint confusing passages and vocabulary
§ repair faulty comprehension
§ use fix-up strategies
Ask Questions
§ pose questions before, during and after
Visualize
§ pictures in your mind as you read
Build Vocabulary
§ increase word knowledge
Develop Fluency
§ read smoothly and with confidence
Adapted from Pearson et al. 1992 & Robb 2001
Features of Information Text
Features of information text support readers in locating information and assist them in making meaning of the text. These features alert readers to important information and help them to navigate the text more effectively.
Some common features include the following:
Print Featuresfont coloured print italics
bullets bold print underlining
borders shading spacing
Visual Supports
diagrams tables photos
sketches cross-sections drawings
graphs time lines labelled drawings
figures overlays enlarged photos
maps coloured photographs paintings
charts coloured drawings collages
Organizational Supports
index titles guide words
table of contents headings brackets
preface subheadings figure references
glossary labels footnotes
pronunciation guide captions arrows
appendix page numbers white space
text boxes headers/footers
Vocabulary Supports
Verbal cues that signal importance include:
for example in fact most important
for instance in conclusion on the other hand
this includes similarly which means
©Active Readers Assessment Resource, Nova Scotia Department of Education
Strategies During Reading
©Tovani, Cris. 2004. Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? Content Comprehension, Grades 6-12. Portland ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
Think-Aloud
Think-alouds are done by the teacher (or student) to make their thinking visible.
Steps for Think-Aloud
1. Select an appropriate book based on a specific reading purpose. Plan the questions that will be asked and the points that will be emphasized before, during and after the reading.
2. Invite the students to listen to the story and tell them the reason the book was selected. Engage them in the lesson.
3. Introduce the text to students, discuss the title, content, the author, and illustrator. Emphasize needed points or ask planned questions.
4. Read the story with expression, interrupting the reading at selected points to emphasize a point by doing a think-aloud, asking a question, or allowing students to make personal connections.
5. Discuss what the students have learned, providing an opportunity for students to extend understanding, link their prior knowledge to new concepts and information presented in the text, and make connections to other literature.
In Think-Aloud you may:
§ activate prior knowledge§ observe
§ argue
§ philosophize
§ summarize
§ use fix-up strategies for confusion
§ predict
§ describe
§ compare / § monitor and correct
§ question
§ clarify
§ apply knowledge
§ identify what’s important
§ speculate
§ guess
§ wonder
§ make connections
Sample Think-Aloud Prompts
Prior Knowledge Prompts Main Idea Prompts
I know all about This is important because
This reminds me of The author wrote this because
Inferential Prompts Prove It Prompts
I am inferring that I think this because
I have this picture in my head
Adapted from JoAnne Caldwell, Cardinal Stritch University, 2002, http://students.lisp.wayne.edu/~ah3082/think_alouds.html
Fix-up Strategies
A “fix-up” strategy is any strategy used by a reader to help get unstuck when the text becomes confusing.
· slow down
· stop and think about what you have already read
· re-read (it is okay to go back)
· read on
· connect to something you already know (your prior knowledge):
o in your life
o your knowledge of the world
o another text
· predict or hypothesize
· make a picture in your head – visualize
· use text features (pictures, headings, titles, graphs)
· figure out the pattern (cause and effect, sequence, listing, comparison/contrast, description, problem-solution)
· identify the controlling idea
· find key words and signal words (first, second, in summary)
· separate long, wordy parts into fewer words
· restate in your own words (paraphrase)
· summarize
· ask yourself questions
· talk with someone else about the reading
· write (underline, use sticky notes, highlight, write in your own words)
· use a system to figure out an unknown word:
o read to the end of the sentence (context)
o try the first few sounds (phonics)
o break the word apart (structure)
o use the dictionary/glossary
o ask someone for help
· don’t panic- if the text doesn’t make sense at first, trust that the author will slowly reveal clues
Taxonomy of Thinking
Adapted from Bloom’s Taxonomy, 1956, from C.B. Olson, Ed., 1992, Thinking/writing: Fostering critical thinking through writing. Reprinted by permission of Addison Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc.
Category / Definition / Trigger Words / ProductsSynthesis / Reform individual
parts to make a new whole / Compose, design, invent, create, hypothesize, construct, forecast, rearrange parts, imagine, propose, formulate / Lesson plan, song, poem, story, ad, invention
Evaluation / Judge value of something based on criteria, support judgment / Judge, evaluate, give opinion, viewpoint, prioritize, compare, rate, predict, persuade, argue, recommend, critique / Decision, rating/grades, editorial, debate, critique, defence/verdict
Analysis / Break down material into its component parts, understand structure and motive, note fallacies / Investigate, classify, categorize, compare, contrast, solve, examine, map, characterize, research, analyze, interpret / Survey, questionnaire, plan, solution, report, prospectus
Application / Transfer knowledge learned in one situation to another, generalize / Demonstrate, use guides, maps, charts, etc., organize, dramatize, illustrate, build, cook / Recipe, model, artwork, demonstration, crafts
Comprehension / Demonstrate basic understanding of concepts and curriculum, translate to other words / Restate, give examples, explain, summarize, translate, show symbols, edit, paraphrase, recognize, tell, describe, review, report / Drawing, diagram, response to question, revision
Knowledge / Ability to remember something previously learned / Tell, recite, list, memorize, remember, define, locate, observe, outline, label, sort, match, repeat / Workbook pages, quiz, test, exam, vocabulary, facts in isolation
Matters of Correctness
Adapted from EZ Source, 2006, from Academic Series: English Grammar.
Punctuation
Period: Use a period after a complete sentence, a command, after most abbreviations, and after initials.
TYPE / EXAMPLESentence / He liked to study grammar.
Command / Close the door.
Abbreviation / Dr. Jr. Ms. Mrs. Mr.
Comma: Use a comma to separate words, phrases or clauses. Common usage: after introductory expressions, phrases and clauses, to interrupt words and expressions, with coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so and yet), to separate items in a series, when writing names and titles, addresses, numbers and dates, quotations, and around polite words (please, thank-you, yes, no).
USAGE / EXAMPLEAfter introductory expressions, phrases and clauses / Before Stacey moved to her new house, she sold her other one.
To interrupt words and expressions / Buying a new house, as you know, can be an expensive proposition.
With coordinating conjunctions / She bought a new house, but she did not change jobs.
To separate items in a series / She also bought new furniture, window coverings, flooring, fixtures, and more.
Name and title / Ms. Stacey Lashley, Investor
Address / She lives at 123 Main Street, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3M 1A3
Numbers and dates / Stacey was born on March 13, 1970.
She traveled over 10,000 km last year.
Quotations / “I was busy this year,” Stacey said.
To separate polite words / Please, come right in. No, thank-you.
Quick tips:
§ Use a comma to clarify meaning in a sentence.
§ Never use a comma before a clause that cannot be omitted.
§ Do not use a comma before the postal code in an address.
§ Do not use a comma when writing telephone numbers, page numbers or years.
Question Mark: Use a question mark after a question. Place a question mark inside of closing quotation marks if it is part of the quotation. Place outside of closing quotation marks if it is not part of the quotation.
How much time do you spend studying grammar?
“What is your favourite subject?” he asked.
Exclamation Point: Use an exclamation point after an exclamatory sentence. Place inside of closing quotation marks if it is part of the quotation. Place outside of closing quotation marks if it is not part of the quotation.
Hurry! Call an ambulance!
“Hurry! Call an ambulance!” he shouted frantically.
Semicolon: Use a semicolon when you need a harder pause than a comma, but not a full stop like a period. Some examples include the following: between closely related independent clauses, between the main clauses when the coordinating conjunction has been left out, to join independent clauses when one or both clauses contains a comma, between main clauses connected by a conjunctive adverb.
USAGE / EXAMPLETo join related independent clauses / Bob’s car broke down; the engine stopped.
To join related main clauses when the coordinating conjunction has been left out / Bob bought a used car; he painted it cherry red.
To join independent clauses when one or both clauses contains a comma / After he had it painted, he had it detailed; but he didn’t stop there.
Between main clauses connected by a conjunctive adverb / Buying a used car is good; however you must be careful that you don’t buy a lemon.
Colon: Use a colon for the following: before a list, to link independent clauses when the second clause modifies the first, business letter salutation and biblical citation.
USAGE / EXAMPLEBefore a list / She bought the following items at the store: bread, cheese, milk and eggs.
To link independent clauses when the second clause modifies the first / Happiness is the key to life: It makes everything seem much brighter.
Business letter salutation / Dear Prime Minister:
Biblical citation / John 3:16
Quotation Marks: Use quotation marks to enclose a direct quotation, and enclose quoted material (articles, poems, essays, songs and short stories). Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation. Use single quotation marks when quoting materials within a quotation. Indirect quotations do not require quotation marks. Place periods, commas, question marks and exclamation points inside of the end of quotation marks.