promoting literacy

Question 1

Interest survey

Answer 1

questions that ask students the types of books they enjoy reading

Example: given by the teacher at the beginning of the year to determine what books to assign to meet the interests of the class

Question 2

Signal words

Answer 2

words or phrases that show the connection between ideas

Example: To teach text structures, a teacher can have students find signal words within the texts and examine topic sentences that clue the reader to a specific structure.

Question 3

Graphic organizer

Answer 3

a visual display of the relationships between facts and ideas

Example: Graphic organizers, such as story maps, timelines, venn diagrams and K-W-L charts, help students organize information.

Question 4

literature circles

Answer 4

strategy in which a teacher organizes students into small groups to discuss a common text

Question 5

literal comprehension

Answer 5

Understanding of the facts in the written text such as stated main idea or specific details.

Example: What were the names of the main character’s parents in the story we just read?

Question 6

Inferential Comprehension

Answer 6

Understanding parts of the written text without it being stated explicitly such as determining cause and effect, drawing conclusions, and making predictions.

Example: What was the cause of the children in the story being locked out of their house?

Question 7

genre

Answer 7

Various forms of texts including short stories, essays, folktales, fairy tales, poetry, historical fiction, biographies and autobiographies, memoirs, comedies and tragedies.

Example: Night by Elie Wiesel is an example of a memoir.

Question 8

evaluative comprehension

Answer 8

The ability to analyze text by questioning whether it is fact or opinion, determining if there is faulty reasoning, and explaining how the characters are developed.

Example: Explain why you think this story is factual or an opinion.

Question 9

independent reading

Answer 9

reading done by students independent of the teacher. This reading can be either assigned or student selected. Typically silent.

Question 10

retell

Answer 10

a comprehension strategy in which students retell or tell differently what they have read or listened to

Example: When students retell a story, they are demonstrating their comprehension of the most important parts.

Question 11

guided reading

Answer 11

Reading done by students with teacher support. This reading will be done within the framework of a lesson and often in a small group setting with the teacher.