CPS Partner Preparation September 2007

partners and clock artifact
Dr.Hughes listens in as partners discuss
the expository text in groups

Our STEP=UP theme for 2007 - 2008 is reading comprehension of expository (informational/non-fiction) text. In today's workshop, we focused on the fall semester theme of pre-reading strategic and conceptual knowledge for support learners. After a brief round of introductions, participants read through a non-fictional excerpt from a social studies textbook. In small groups, they focused on particular students and how those students might handle the text before them. They considered the challenges and strengths different students show as they read. Given those situations, we asked participants how they help students to comprehend non-fiction text before they even begin reading or listening.

On September 18, 2007, we held a Partner Professional Development workshop. Participants were excellent special educators from Chicago Public School who will act as STEP=UP partners to UIC students during 2007 - 2008. The teacher partners brought a wide range of experience, teaching populations diverse in abilities, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and ages.

UIC Partners and CPS Partners
Dr.Parker-Katz discusses some of the challenges
with reading content area text

Artifact example
partners brainstrom pre-reading strategies


Teachers emphasized helping students with difficult vocabulary and with understanding the organization and structures of text (reading columns of text versus across the page, reading captions, seeing quotations, realizing larger font headings, for example.) They discussed helping students interpret charts and other graphics. Another broad topic involved supplying background knowledge, including the need for conceptual knowledge, a need for relative sense of time (chronology) and distinguishing amongst multiple concepts presented simultaneously. Teachers shared several strategies such as guided practice of how to physically read the text, retyping text and using larger fonts, using synonyms for certain words, using visual images to helps students make associations (e.g., comparing a current item with something from a different time period) , replacing difficult vocabulary words with synonyms to broaden vocabulary, viewing videos, using readers' theater (a strategy for scripting and acting out material), highlighting main themes ahead so students know what to look for as they read. We ended our time brainstorming ways for novice special educators to see both the purposes of using these kinds of strategies, and how to implement them.