Reading Strategies Good Readers Use

A few years ago, educational researchers David Pearson and Nell Duke asked the question, "What kind of thinking happens when proficient readers read?" This question led to ground breaking research results that have changed the way teachers teach children to read.

They discovered seven key strategies that good readers use during the reading process. Innovative teachers teach the strategies directly using metacognitive thinking (thinking out loud about your thinking) by modeling their own thinking out loud during the reading process. Students apply the new strategies by practicing their own thinking orally and in writing. Books like Mosaic of Thought by Zimmerman and Keene, Strategies that Work by Harvey and Goudvis, and Reading with Meaning by Miller explore these ideas in great depth and apply best teaching practices to teaching reading strategies.

Strategy One: Making Connections

Reading Strategies Good Readers Use

Readers bring their own experiences and background knowledge to the text. They make personal connections, they connect one text with another, and make connections with the world. These connections enrich the text and helps the reader to understand the text at a higher level of meaning. Teachers teach these connections directly: text to self connections, text to text connections, and text to world connections.

Strategy Two: Visualizing or Envisioning

Readers see pictures in their minds when they read. The best part of reading is watching the "movie in your head." Good readers experience seeing strong visual images. Children can be taught to visualize as they read. Often poor readers do not "see" when they read. We live in a visual world, yet it's the visuals that many readers lack when they read.

Strategy Three: Questioning

Readers are constantly questioning, predicting, confirming their thinking, and adjusting their thinking. Good readers have a purpose for continuing to read. The purpose lies within their ability to question and predict throughout the reading of the text. The adjustments made helps readers to understand the text at a deeper level. Their basic and deeper comprehension soars when their minds are constantly making meaning through questioning.

Strategy Four: Inferring

Good readers read between the lines. The answers are not always black and white, and good readers are able to infer meaning based on background knowledge and text clues. When a reader is inferring they are thinking, predicting, adjusting, and confirming. This leads to deeper understanding of the text.

Strategy Five: Determining Importance

Good readers understand the main ideas of a text and can determine what is important. Readers are answering questions, determining key points, and stretching their thinking as they connect the important ideas with their own knowledge.

Strategy Six: Synthesizing

Good readers are able to synthesize their reading and produce their own ideas or products from their knowledge. Synthesizing is a higher order thinking skill that requires you to reach beyond basic knowledge and create new thinking.

Strategy Seven: Fix-Up Strategies

Good readers know how to tackle difficult text. If they run across a word they don't know they chunk the word and use context clues to determine the meaning. If the just finished a paragraph and don't have a clue as to what they just read, they reread the paragraph and focus on thinking about its' meaning. They identify what they don't understand and read back or ahead to try and clarify meaning. They look at pictures or other text features (like graphs or sidebars) to help them understand the concepts or ideas. Fix-up strategies can be directly taught to help students break down a piece of text and find its' meaning.

These strategies are often taught separately, but they must be integrated and automated in the reader's mind. Once students are aware of these strategies and learn to apply them during their own reading process they begin to become an automatic part of their thinking. The strategies help readers to understand text and gain meaning by applying their own background knowledge or schema, as well as understanding the author's message.

Reading Strategies Good Readers Use
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Lisa Frase is a National Board Certified Teacher in Literacy. During her 14 year tenure she has earned a Masters in Reading, presented at state and national conferences, and earned the 2006 Texas Council for the Teachers of English Language Arts Elementary Teacher of the Year Award. She continues to teach, write, and maintain a website for teachers packed with free resources at http://www.effectiveteachingsolutions.com.

You can find her publications at http://www.etspress.com.

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What Makes A Good Friend?

Good friendship counts!

Being a good friend is not just about having a good time with others, it's also about how willing you are to put your friends first or point out when they're doing something you don't agree with. Have a read through the following checklist and see how good a friend you really are.

Are you a good listener?

What Makes A Good Friend?

Part of being a good friend is about being willing to listen rather than just talk. This takes time and effort but if you can make time just to listen to others and respect what they have to say, then it's a sign of a good friend.

Are you approachable?

Do your friends often turn to you first to share a problem or seek help? Are you willing to make yourself available to friends at short notice and welcome them if they turn up at your door?

Are you trustworthy?

If a friend tells you something personal are you good at keeping it in confidence, or do you go and tell everyone at the first opportunity? People need to know that they can trust a friends with important information and you will only store up trouble for yourself if you are seen as unreliable. A good friend is both trustworthy and reliable.

Do you avoid gossiping about others?

This is one of the biggest signs of a good friend and really does stand out. Do you avoid speaking badly about others or spreading rumors in order to hurt them? Do you defend friends when you hear others gossiping about them? If you avoid gossiping others will notice how different you are and soon realize what a truly good friend you are.

Are you selfless rather than selfish?

Do you put your friends needs above your own? Do you try to find a compromise if you can't agree with a friend? Are you willing to do something your friend wants to do for a change rather than forcing them to do what you want? If you are willing to put your friends first in most things then this is a sign of a good friend.

Can you sensitively tell a friend what you really think?

Good friends don't just go with the flow, sometimes they have to be honest and tell someone what they really think. Sometimes your friends might want to do something that is morally wrong or illegal or just plain unfair on another person. Are you able to tell your friend honestly what you think about it, without just going along with it? The sign of a good friendship is when you can be totally honest with the other person, without them being offended because they know you have their best interests at heart.

What Makes A Good Friend?
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This was written by J Dawkins who created Friends and Money in March 2007. His site is dedicated to providing reviews of paid survey, social networking, and cash back shopping communities.

His aim is encourage visitors to Make Friends, Earn Money online.

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55+ Communities: The Difference Between Nursing Homes, Continuing Care Retirement And Active Living

If you're approaching retirement age, you might be wondering about the difference between the types of housing options for seniors. From continuing care to 55+ communities, there are a number of options to help seniors, no matter what they're looking for. Living in one of these places can provide seniors with a variety of activities to keep them busy, but how do you know which is right for you?

55+ Communities

These are specially planned areas with seniors in mind. They're typically in warmer weather climates and offer amenities like fitness centers with pools, spas, tennis courts, bocce courts, golf courses, meeting rooms, ball rooms, arts and crafts centers, dancing lessons, on-site restaurants and more. Residents can choose to live in their own home or apartment and many offer gated security that's available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Although these 55+ communities are for people as they live out their retirement years, they are not retirement homes. They do not have nursing staff or other medical personnel on site and are not intended for residents with serious medical conditions that require constant care.

55+ Communities: The Difference Between Nursing Homes, Continuing Care Retirement And Active Living

55+ communities have age requirements that must be met before residents can move in. Consideration is made if one member of a couple is over 55, however many have restrictions on the length of time guests under 55 can stay in the community. This sometimes mean that other family members need to stay in a hotel for an extended visit, so check on these restrictions before buying a home if you expect to have long-term out of town guests.

Some 55+ communities that offer active living lifestyles offer special weekend getaways for people who are thinking of moving to the area. If you're interested in trying out the active living lifestyle before committing yourself to buying a home and moving in full-time, consider one of these weekends. This will let you try out a number of 55+ communities to make sure you've found the one that's right for you.

Nursing Homes

Nursing homes provide round the clock care to residents. They're ideal for people who need continuous care like physical, occupational or other therapies. Nurses and other staff will help residents bathe, get dressed, eat and more. Once someone goes to live in a nursing home, they often stay there for the rest of their life, although some residents can be rehabilitated to the point where they no longer require long-term professional care.

Continuing Care Retirement Communities

A continuing care retirement community blends aspects of active living with the care available at a nursing home. They're the ideal situation for seniors who require daily assistance, yet do not need the constant, round the clock care of a nursing home. Seniors can live independently, yet move into assisted living as it's necessary. These typically don't offer as many amenities as 55+ communities.

Choosing where to live after retirement can be a big decision. Many seniors have active living lifestyles before retirement, and want to continue this lifestyle afterwards. Knowing the difference between these types of housing options can help you make a knowledgeable decision on the one that best fits your needs.

55+ Communities: The Difference Between Nursing Homes, Continuing Care Retirement And Active Living
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Chris Harmen writes for Solivita, a community that offers Florida active living. 55+ communities like Solivita offer a number of amenities such as private golf courses, luxury fitness centers and more.

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Ackee and Saltfish - Jamaica's National Dish

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica; ackee and saltfish is the national dish.  The ackee tree grows in various places in the world where it has many non-edible uses but it appears to be used for food only in Jamaica.  

Ackee trees originated from West Africa in the 1700s aboard slave ships. Its botanical name is Blighia sapida, named for Captain William Bligh who introduced this strange plant to England in the 18th century. The whole ackee fruit is not edible because the unripe fruit contains toxins. The outer skin of an ackee starts off as a yellowish-green color and turns red as it ripens. When ripe, the ackee breaks open naturally while still on the tree. Inside this unusual fruit are three very large shiny black seeds, each surrounded by a creamy yellow "aril" (almost like a fleshy bag covering each seed).  These fleshy arils are the only part of the fruit you can eat.    

Once ripe, the big shiny seeds are thrown away along with the outer part of the ackee. The remaining golden arils are then carefully cleaned, boiled and cooked properly. Usually you will find it sauteed with onions, tomatoes and dried, salted codfish to create Jamaica's delicious national dish, ackee and saltfish. This is a Sunday breakfast favorite, often served with roasted breadfruit and, if you didn't know better, looks almost like scrambled eggs on your plate!  

Ackee and Saltfish - Jamaica's National Dish

If eaten before it's ripe, ackee is poisonous. It contains Hypoglycins A & B which can cause what is known as Jamaican Vomiting Sickness, a type of fatal hypoglycemia which triggers vomiting and seizures. This is quite rare, however, because Jamaicans know how to properly harvest and prepare ackee! And, in fact, ackee is very nutritious. It contains a lot of protein, unsaturated fats, and is rich in essential fatty acids, zinc and vitamin A.

If you just can't get to Jamaica to enjoy this beloved delicacy, canned ackee is a major export of Jamaica, at more than US million in value, and remains popular in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and wherever there are large communities of Jamaicans. While U.S. imports were banned for many years, the FDA now certifies ackee processors and carefully inspects their final product. Jamaica's processing plants vigilantly monitor the quality, ripeness and hypoglycin levels of the fruit they purchase from growers.  Today, Jamaica has competition from Mexico, Costa Rica, Florida, and other Caribbean islands that have recognized the nutritional value of the fruit as well as its mounting value as an export product.   

Ackee and Saltfish - Jamaica's National Dish
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Visit http://www.keepitjiggy.com for loads of information about Jamaica, its history, its food, travel information reggae music, its artists, and resources for locating those hard-to-find collectibles in the genre.

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Professional Learning Communities - What Are They and How Do They Work?

Professional learning communities are intended to promote collaborative learning between educators and other key people within the same work environment. It brings educators, administrators and other colleagues together to work as a group based on their field. Professional learning communities courses can demonstrate how working as a community not only enhances a curriculum, it improves the overall learning experience. By working collaboratively in this community, you are responsible for your own results. In professional learning communities the focus is on learning and performance rather than solely on teaching.

More specifically, professional learning communities are designed to yield results in student learning and achievement. This includes developing a school action plan specific to an educator's school site and classroom or area of expertise.

This reform-minded approach to the education system can be lucrative if practiced correctly. Some schools offer graduate courses about professional learning communities. This may help people interested in education to become aware of how to create more challenging curriculums and collaborative learning techniques and methodologies. This type of training can really transform a school or organization that may be ready for reform.

Professional Learning Communities - What Are They and How Do They Work?

It is important to know about the diverse teaching styles and explore your own learning style as well as how it impacts professional team dynamics and student/teacher rapport for essential learning. Another significant aspect of professional learning communities is how they affect the organizational management for both the organization and classroom setting. Certain education courses and books discuss the changing role of school restructuring and learning practices, as well as the conceptual framework and research behind implementing programs and practices that lead to highest student achievement and staff development in the most progressive educational settings. To make the most of a professional learning community environment it is essential to study this aspect as well.

Educators in this reform system use results-oriented action steps to clarify exactly what each student must learn, monitor each student's learning on a timely basis, provide systematic interventions, and use collective inquiry/feedback to create a collaborative atmosphere of continual improvement. The main goal of professional learning communities is to create a clear and compelling vision of how an organization must shift in order to help all students learn, whether it be a private or public school.

Some of the key objectives of professional learning communities are as follows. To clarify the purpose of educators and develop an action-based mission statement, to evaluate the importance of Systems Thinking and Constructivist Teaching within schools, and to clarify and reach consensus on what the students must learn. It is also important for educators in these communities to underscore the importance of meshing personal learning styles and create a safe environment for effective communication. Personal learning and communication styles play a key role in how effective the learning is because different learning styles affect group performance. Overall, it is clear that team learning can be extremely valuable to everyone involved including the students, educators, and the school. It creates a new environment where people can work together and understand which methods are useful and which need to be improved.

Professional Learning Communities - What Are They and How Do They Work?
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Teacher Education Institute (TEI) offers rigorous, graduate-level professional development courses for K-12 classroom teachers. For more about TEI, professional learning communities, visit http://www.teachereducation.com

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