Reading 101: Vocabulary, Reading Comprehension, and Library Skills | Ages 9-13

Dr. Weldon taught college freshmen how to read and write for six years at a local community college.  She found out that the students were not prepared for college reading and writing.    After submerging herself into a local school system, she found out what her college students were missing by becoming a school librarian (library media specialist). Read her study in the Washington Post at  https://tinyurl.com/yx348k7b

Through the gamification approach of using a video-game atmosphere, learners will encounter a range of study strategies that they can use to help them successfully complete content course work at their grade level with a “C” or better.  They will also be able to employ a variety of reading strategies to understand textbooks and popular source material.  

Week 1.     Demonstration and discussion on the use of context clues and word analysis to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words in a reading selection.

Week 2.     Demonstration and discussion on the use of recognizing and identification of the main ideas of a reading selection.   Demonstration and discussion on the use of the recognition and location of supporting details of a reading selection.

Week 3.     Demonstration and discussion on the use of drawing conclusions and generalizations and identifying transitions and patterns of organization of a reading selection;  Demonstration and discussion on the use of evaluating reading materials for basic elements of critical reading/thinking.

Week 4:  Demonstration and discussion on the use of drawing conclusions and inferring meanings from reading selections.  The learners are shown how to analyze a reading selection by using the SQ3R Method (annotate a reading selection; outline a reading selection; summarize a reading selection).


Based on the following Common Core Standards:  
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.1
Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.3
Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character's thoughts, words, or actions).
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.5
Explain major differences between poems, drama, and prose, and refer to the structural elements of poems (e.g., verse, rhythm, meter) and drama (e.g., casts of characters, settings, descriptions, dialogue, stage directions) when writing or speaking about a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.6
Compare and contrast the point of view from which different stories are narrated, including the difference between first- and third-person narrations.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.7
Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.8
(RL.4.8 not applicable to literature)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.9
Compare and contrast the treatment of similar themes and topics (e.g., opposition of good and evil) and patterns of events (e.g., the quest) in stories, myths, and traditional literature from different cultures.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.4.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4-5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Key Ideas and Details:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.1
Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.2
Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text, including how characters in a story or drama respond to challenges or how the speaker in a poem reflects upon a topic; summarize the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3
Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.5
Explain how a series of chapters, scenes, or stanzas fits together to provide the overall structure of a particular story, drama, or poem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.6
Describe how a narrator's or speaker's point of view influences how events are described.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.7
Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.8
(RL.5.8 not applicable to literature)
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.9
Compare and contrast stories in the same genre (e.g., mysteries and adventure stories) on their approaches to similar themes and topics.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, at the high end of the grades 4-5 text complexity band independently and proficiently.


Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/geralt-9301/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4126482">Gerd Altmann</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=image&amp;utm_content=4126482">Pixabay</a>