Tiered+Texts+and+Listening

Two articles that appear in the May 2011 issue of English Journal have relevance to all disciplines: "Tiered Texts: Supporting Knowledge and Language Learning for English Learners and Struggling Readers", and "The Power of the Listening Ear".

The concept of **tiered texts** is built on the Gradual Release of Responsibility reading model, including the following steps: Tiered texts provide scaffolding for teachers to support students beyond literal interpretation. Rather than merely **de**constructing text, teachers are able to support adolescent readers as they **re**construct text in order to make meaning of it.
 * 1) Explicit modeling
 * 2) Guided instruction
 * 3) Independent practice

Different texts of varying degrees of difficulty help build background knowledge. The 6th Grade Team is doing this with students as we build an exciting, new, cross-curricular unit on the Inuit. We'll use pictures, stories and legends.
 * Tier 1**

Graphic novels, raps and poetry mimic language of the 'real' text that students will read in Tier 3. These easier reads provide a common language and language play. Students draw on their background knowledge from Tier 1. We'll use narratives from a book on the culture of the Inuit people.
 * Tier 2**

Using background knowledge from Tier 1 and an understanding of the elements of fiction from Tier 2, students read aloud portions of the intended text. Again, the 6th grade team had to take tiers into consideration because of the advanced Lexile level of the intended text, ICE DRIFT.
 * Tier 3**

We'll let you know how our new unit is received and hope to share positive stories about student engagement and success. In the meantime, would you be willing to share your suggestions for tiered reading on this wiki?

//How// can teachers compete with the iPod generation? Shameless exploitation! //Why// should teachers care about teaching listening skills to the iPod generation? By teaching active listening skills to students of the Wired Generation, we enable them to listen and to respond to another person, improving the kind of understanding that supports conflict resolution. Teachers will want to assess their own listening skills first, and this article suggests numerous websites for teachers and students to do just that. (http://www.ccsf.edu/NEW/en/student-services/learning-resources/learning-assistance-center/college-success.html) (http://www.learningthroughlistening.org) The next step is to prepare students to listen. **KWL** charts are easy to implement and set the stage for listening/reading. '**Pair share**' is a useful strategy to improve listening and reading comprehension. After a 'chunk' of lesson is presented or a 'chunk' of text is read, students take 2-5 minutes to discuss the most important take-aways. **Audiobooks** and **podcasts** produce results similar to those students gain from **reading aloud**.
 * __The Power of the Listening Ear__**