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Question Generation: A Key Comprehension Strategy

For this post, I want to focus on teaching students to generate their own questions while reading to improve comprehension. There is significant evidence that learning to generate questions while reading improves memory, integration and identification of main ideas, and overall comprehension (Rosenshine et al., 1996; National Reading Panel, 2000; Trabasso & Bouchard, 2002). Question generation is one of the four student strategy activities in The Key Comprehension Routine. You can take an online professional development workshop about how to teach question generation by going to the Keys to Literacy Teachable website.

Joan Sedita | September 6, 2018 | 5 Comments

A literacy planning model to support MTSS

In an earlier Literacy Lines post (What is MTSS? November 16, 2016) we explained an instructional framework that includes a universal screening of all students, multiple tiers of instruction and support services, and an integrated data collection and assessment system to inform decisions at each tier of instruction. An MTSS framework can be used for literacy, math, or supporting positive behavior. In order to successfully implement an MTSS framework for literacy, schools and districts must first complete a process to develop a literacy plan.

Joan Sedita | July 31, 2018 | 0 Comments

The Great and Powerful Topic Web

I recently read a piece at the Cult of Pedagogy blog site by Jennifer Gonzalez titled “The Great and Powerful Graphic Organizer” in which she explains why graphic organizers are such powerful teaching and learning tools. Everything she noted rang true to us at Keys to Literacy, especially as related to the foundational graphic organizer used in our Key Comprehension Routine and in our Keys to Content Writing as a pre-writing strategy: the Top-Down Topic Web.

Joan Sedita | June 13, 2018 | 1 Comment

Background Knowledge and Reading Comprehension

A recent article “Why American Students Haven’t Gotten Better at Reading in 20 Years” in The Atlantic addressed the critical role that background knowledge plays in the ability to comprehend. The article subtitle was “Schools usually focus on teaching comprehension skills instead of general knowledge – even though education researchers know better.”

Joan Sedita | May 22, 2018 | 6 Comments

Teaching Writing in Kindergarten

I just read another good blog post from Tim Shanahan, this one about how to teach writing in kindergarten…. on the same day that our new Keys to Early Writing book is going to the printer! So, I thought I’d devote this entry to kindergarten writing instruction. You might be asking this question: Do young children in kindergarten even have the skills to be able to write? Part of the answer is how you define writing. When you substitute the word composing, it’s easy to see that the answer is yes! Kindergarteners definitely have the ability to compose, even if they can’t yet read or write letters.

Joan Sedita | April 2, 2018 | 3 Comments

Fostering Academic Language Development in Primary Grades

Language skills and literacy achievement are highly correlated. The Report of the National Early Literacy Panel (Lonigan & Shanahan, 2008) found that oral language – the ability to produce or comprehend spoken language, including vocabulary and grammar – is correlated with later literacy achievement. The more children know about language, the better equipped they are to succeed in reading and writing.

Joan Sedita | February 28, 2018 | 0 Comments

Explicit Instruction of Note Taking Skills

Note taking, and two-column note taking in particular, is integrated into several Keys to Literacy professional development programs. It is used in The Key Comprehension Routine as a strategy for improving reading comprehension. It is used in Keys to Content Writing as a strategy and scaffold for gathering information from sources before writing. It is also used in The Key Vocabulary Routine as a template that can be used to deeply teach academic vocabulary terms. This post provides some suggestions for teaching note taking.

Joan Sedita | January 16, 2018 | 7 Comments

Patterns of Organization

Expository text typically incorporates five common patterns of organization, and transition words and phrases often signal the use of these patterns in text. These patterns are sometimes referred to as text structures. They are more commonly found in informational and opinion types of writing, but may also be used in narratives.

Joan Sedita | November 20, 2017 | 6 Comments

Differentiated Literacy Instruction: I, We, You

The Reading Rockets website has a short, introductory article titled “Differentiated Instruction for Reading” that includes this description of differentiated instruction: “Differentiated instruction is a process through which teachers enhance learning by matching student characteristics to instruction and assessment. Differentiated instruction allows all students to access the same classroom curriculum by providing entry points, learning tasks, and outcomes that are tailored to students' needs. Differentiated instruction is not a single strategy, but rather an approach to instruction that incorporates a variety of strategies. Teachers can differentiate content, process, and/or product for students.”

Joan Sedita | October 19, 2017 | 1 Comment

Digital Note Taking

Beth Holland’s recent blog piece Digital Note Taking Strategies that Deepen Student Thinking, written for Mind/Shift, includes some helpful suggestions for how technology can support student note taking. I wrote a post in October, 2016 that referred to earlier pieces written by Holland on a similar topic, Note Taking Technology. Her current suggestions are so good that I had to revisit this topic again.

Joan Sedita | September 18, 2017 | 0 Comments

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