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What should I do before I teach next?

A successful lesson begins with preparation. Effective literacy instruction begins with the teacher’s knowledge of the text. We must take time to read and understand the texts we ask our students to read. Once we have read the text, we can decide how to best teach it (or if we want to teach it). Use the steps outlined below to guide your preparation.

Establish a reading purpose for the text. (Purpose is provided with each instructional model).
Read and, when necessary, reread the text in order to gain a deep understanding of what the author is saying and/or arguing.
Mark the text (number the paragraphs, underline claims, and circle key terms) in the same way you will want your students to mark it.
Chart and summarize sections of the text in order to gain insight into what the author is doing in the text. You want to be very familiar with the text before reading it with your students. Write your annotations in the margins.
Identify elements or sections of the text that are challenging. Decide on strategies that will support students through these difficult sections.

English Language Learners

To prepare to teach English language learners, it is essential to provide scaffolds and strategies for reading, writing, and speaking that make the content relevant and accessible for a variety of language levels. Note: It is important to model your own thinking throughout these activities for the students on an overhead projector or underneath a document camera.

Here is a suggested timeline to scaffold the instructional lesson for English language learners:

Day 1: Build background knowledge

Day 2: Pre-teach vocabulary words and concepts

Day 3: First reading of article using “Marking the Text” strategies

Day 4: Second reading of article using “Writing in the Margins” strategies

Day 5: Writing and discussion activities using sentence frames/stems