[RESUME] Metacognitive Strategies and Cognitive Strategies

Metacognitive Strategies

• Metacognitive Strategies consist:
• About-Point
• Think Alouds
• QAR: Question-Answer Relationships
• GIST: Generating Interaction Between Schemata and Text
• Reading Guide-O-Rama
• QuestiPreviewing Text

About-Point

About-Point is a tool to enhance comprehension for silent reading. It teaches students to identify what the content information is "about" and the "point" of the subject matter. Students stop at logical points while reading the text and respond to the statement: This section is about__ and the point is__.

About-Point is a useful strategy for ELLs because it uses small, manageable amounts of text and teaches students to identify both the content matter and the point of the information, while at the same time stimulating recall.

Examples of About-Point:

Social Studies: This section is about the military strategy of the Revolutionary War, and the point is that the colonies used unconventional methods of warfare.

• Math: This section is about fractions, and the point is that fractions show a part of the whole
• Science: This section is about water pollution, and the point is that many people in poor countries die from drinking contaminated water

Think Alouds

This strategy teaches students to monitor their own thinking and understanding by following along as you, model strategic thinking through difficult text or problems. Think Alouds are versatile and can be applied to numerous learning tasks. ELLs who are learning a new language and new content simultaneously will benefit from extra support from the strategy. Say you know that a mixed number contains a whole number and a fraction. Choose a strategy to solve the problem of how to reduce a fraction to a single whole number. For ELLs, ask students to share the strategies they used when learning in their first language or in prior school experiences.

Example: Science To compare and contrast the processes of photosynthesis and respiration processes of photosynthesis and respiration.

• CLARIFY THE PROBLEM. Say: "This task is asking me to compare the processes of photosynthesis and respiration processes of photosynthesis and respiration.
• ACTIVATE PRIOR KNOWLEDGE. Continue: "I already know that in respiration carbon dioxide is given off, and in photosynthesis oxygen is given off. They seem to be the opposite of each other."
• CHOOSE A STRATEGY. Suggest: "Maybe I'll use a T-chart or other graphic organizers to compare and contrast the similarities and differences. It may be a good idea to write both formulas and begin by comparing those." (Demonstrate the strategy).
• MONITOR COMPREHENSION. Follow up: "I think this is working. I can the similarities and differences now between the two processes."

QAR: Question-Answer Relationships

QAR strategy teaches students that there are two sources of information for answering questions: the text and their own background knowledge. QAR divides questions and responses into two broad categories: In the Text and In My Head. These two categories are then each subdivided into two components, as shown and explained below:

IN THE TEXT: This information (answers) is found written in the passage or text.

Right There: This information can be found in a single sentence or with another connecting sentence.

Putting the Parts Together: This information is found in various parts of the passage, perhaps in two separate paragraphs. It is often associated with these types of questions compare contrast, cause/effect, list/example, and problem/solution.

Putting the Parts Together: This information is found in various parts of the passage, perhaps in two separate paragraphs. It is often associated with these types of questions: compare/contrast, cause/effect, list/example, and problem/solution.

IN MY HEAD: These questions and answers involve thinking on the part of students.

Author and Me: The information is found in the written text and from readers' background knowledge. These questions would make no sense to readers unless they read the text. For example, if the class read about the Revolutionary War and the winter at Valley Forge, you might ask, "How do you think the soldiers at Valley Forge were feeling?" A student might respond, "Discouraged, afraid, sick." The student would have read the text explaining the hardships and then interject how the soldiers might be responding to the situation based on his or her background knowledge of how a person might respond when faced with these challenges.

On My Own: This information must come from the readers' personal knowledge or background knowledge. It will not be found in the test. Opinion questions are an example.

GIST: Generating Interaction Between Schemata and Text

Purpose GIST provides an opportunity for students to identify important vocabulary and synthesize important pieces of information into summary statements to show the gist of the reading.  The process of summarization can greatly assist ELLS in comprehending expository text. ELLs can use this strategy to see how the "parts" fit together to make the "whole". This strategy also shows them how to distinguish between important and less important pieces of information.

Reading Guide-O-Rama

The purpose of a reading guide is to provide you with an opportunity to give students an idea of how to obtain information through text. Reading guides provide a form of scaffolding between student readers, a teacher's specific purposes, and the content text. Reading guides point out important information as well as unimportant information. ELLs must tackle the challenges of new content language but also decide what is important and unimportant to the assignment.

Example: Science Reading Guide-O-Rama

• Page 110, paragraphs 1 and 2: Read this section quickly to get an idea of what the chapter is about.
• Page 111, paragraph 3: Read this paragraph carefully. It explains the graph on page 112. After you read the paragraph, look at the graph. In your own words explain the information it gives you.
• Page 113, column 2: Read these instructions carefully. Discuss with your lab partner how you will conduct this experiment. Write down your plans and then discuss them with me before you begin.

Question Guides

The purpose of this strategy is to give students a purpose for reading and direct their attention to the information that is targeted by the questions. This strategy allows you to guide the students' reading by assigning specific sections of text for them to read and asking questions that focus on the purpose and intent of the assignment. Material that might be included in a test can be incorporated into the question guide. A completed question guide can serve as an excellent tool for review for ELLS.

Previewing Text

The purpose of previewing text is to teach students to generate questions and set purposes that will lead to more-proficient processing of information. ELLs learn to monitor their comprehension and gain more independence in a reading situation. At the beginning of the school year, as a whole-class activity, preview the content classroom textbook and explain the text organizers.

Cognitive strategies

Cognitive strategies consist:

• Coding text
• Herringbone Technique
• Opinion-Proof
• Semantic Feature Analysis
• Guided Imagery
• Anticipation-Reaction Guide
• Mapping
• Selective Highlighting and Note-Taking
• Using Graphic Organizers and Signal Words to Teach Text Organization/Structure
• Question-Research-Outline-Write!

Coding text

Coding text is a form of annotation that allows students to monitor their comprehension while reading. Coding text gives students a method to react to text and express their thinking while reading, it helps ELLs to identify unknown language or concepts. Students may want to devise their own personal system. After learning the coding strategy, students may want an opportunity for them to brainstorm codes with you.

Sample codes:

• I or ! for important
• C or ? for confusing
• U or draw a circle around an unknown word or term

Using Sticky Notes with Code Text

When students are not allowed to write in textbooks, use sticky notes to mark text. For example, an unknown word can be written on a sticky note with the correct code and placed by the section of text where it is found. Model this process using the following steps: Select a portion of text from the textbook and mark it as necessary using sticky notes.

Using Sticky Notes with Content Vocabulary

Using sticky notes with a focus on vocabulary helps students see keywords in context. You can also incorporate illustrations in the text. For example, if the term is American flag students search the text and locate a picture of the American flag, placing a sticky note on or near it.

Herringbone Technique

The Herringbone Technique is a graphic organizer that supports comprehension of text by providing a framework upon which the who, what, when, why, where, and how questions can be visually organized. This strategy is particularly well suited for expository text but can also be used with narrative text.

Example:

The Growth of Factories in the Northeast

Samuel Slater worked in the mills of England for seven years. He knew how to build cotton-spinning machines and how to use water to power them. In 1789, he boarded a ship for the United States. Slater located a spot to build a mill along the Blackstone River in Rhode Island. Most people spun yarn by hand, which was a slow process. Slater's mill had water-powered machines that spun yarn quickly. This made the cost of yarn lower.

 

example of herringbone technique

Opinion-Proof

Opinion-Proof is a framework for students to develop and organize opinions and transform these opinions into persuasive speaking and writing. It requires students to use higher-order literacy skills including evaluation, verification, and persuasion. It is very important that ELLs engage in the practice of higher-order literacy skills. This includes the writing process, which can be a challenge for ELLs. In addition, distinguishing between fact and opinion and being able to support that opinion are essential literacy skills. Opinion-Proof requires the student to form an opinion (evaluative). support the opinion (verify), and write convincingly about their opinion (persuasion). This strategy also provides an opportunity for ELLs to evaluate their own work, share it with a classmate (peer editing), and then revise the paragraph before submitting a final draft.

Semantic Feature Analysis.

The purpose of semantic feature analysis is to give students an opportunity to construct a visual representation that identifies a specific member of a category or concept by analyzing and defining their characteristics. ELLs have the opportunity to actively investigate and define concepts. Semantic feature analysis is beneficial for ELLs because it offers them an opportunity to create a visual representation of new terms or concepts and connect them to other related terms. This strategy aids students in keeping the information in long-term memory.

Semantic mapping can be a foundation for writing a paper about the topic. For beginning ELLs, use sentence frames, such as:

1. Supersonic planes and the space shuttle can travel faster than the speed of sound.
2. A seaplane can land in the water.

Guided Imagery

Use this strategy to teach students to create mental images that will produce associations between new concepts or facts and students' prior knowledge. This strategy is particularly helpful for English language learners who may have formed mistaken images due to misunderstandings related to language. Guided imagery, when presented orally, focuses attention on the skill of listening.

For expository text, use imagery that illustrates the characteristics of key concepts (Wood, K.D., 1989). For students unfamiliar with imaging, it is often beneficial to develop their visualization skills by first asking them to create images of familiar objects such as a dog or a tree.

Using a Textbook and Imaging

After students are comfortable with imaging, you may use longer sections of text. Students are asked to imagine keywords in a text and describe everything that comes to their minds as they read them. Students may work individually, in pairs, or in triads to form images of the text. You may evaluate students by asking them to write about the content covered.

Anticipation-Reaction

Anticipation-Reaction guides activate prior knowledge of a specific topic by asking students to identify their existing ideas or attitudes. These guides are generally made up of three to five statements that are teacher generated. Students re-evaluate their responses and explain how their thoughts or ideas have changed after reading the material. English language learners bring varied perspectives to the reading situation. This strategy allows them to identify their ideas and see them in relation to the information offered in the text. It also allows them an opportunity to discuss these perceptions with others.

Students are asked to create an Anticipation-Reaction guide for the content area and narrative text. The activity involves identifying three to five major concepts and writing a clear, short, declarative sentence for each of them. Before reading the selection, students react to the statements and check the appropriate box-Agree/Disagree.

 

Mapping

Semantic mapping serves as a means to give students a spatial and visual venue in which to organize ideas, show relationships, and retain important information. Mapping can be used before, during, or after reading to activate prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading. This strategy gives ELLs both spatial and visual formats in which to organize and share information.

Word/Idea Map

When initially teaching this strategy, begin with a simpler form of organization, such as a word/idea map, and then move to more difficult forms. (Adapted from Berkowitz, 1986)

Picture Maps

Students can also use pictures to represent words and ideas. This is an excellent format for beginning ELLs. Model this process on the board or overhead using the example below, or one more closely matching your curriculum.

Use maps as a springboard for writing simple sentences and paragraphs. This is very beneficial for ELLs. Use maps as planning sheets to help students organize before writing.

Selective Highlighting and Note-Taking

The purpose of selective highlighting (in this case, by underlining) is to enable students to differentiate between important information and less significant details. Note-taking is an efficient way for students to organize content information and place it in a meaningful organizational structure. When students highlight text, they are actively engaged in a decision-making process. Highlighting helps ELLs break large amounts of information into manageable units that are easily located within the text.

This is a simple format that is beneficial when used to introduce note-taking or for students who have problems with organizational skills.

Two-column notes are particularly effective for science and social studies and can take a variety of formats including main idea/detail, fact/question, problem/solution, and compare/contrast.

Some formats for the third column of notes may be personal responses, questions, summaries of information, or results.

 

Margin notes (In Textbooks and Duplicated Copies)

Margin notes should include suggestions for understanding and identifying key concepts and vocabulary. Explain to students that notes in margins are often written in language chunks and not full sentences. When using duplicated copies, encourage students to write their own margin notes. This process helps students keep track of questions or difficulties encountered.

Traditional Note-Taking

Traditional note-taking in outline form can be very difficult for English language learners if a lecture is not highly organized. ELLs may need to learn additional skills before attempting traditional outlining. These skills include Roman numerals, upper- and lower-case letters, and cardinal numbers.

Using Graphic Organizers and Signal Words to Teach Text Organization/Structure

This strategy uses graphic organizers and signal words to teach the structural organization of text: Enumeration/List and Describe, Time Order/Sequence, Compare/Contrast, Cause/Effect, and Problem/Solution. This helps students to identify the structural organization of a passage and the relationships between texts. The expository text contains complex structures that indicate relationships between concepts. The understanding text structure is essential to the comprehension of content for ELLs. A graphic organizer provides a visual representation of how the text is organized. Signal words that indicate the type of structure are very useful when coupled with visual representations.

The following is a description of each type of text structure featured in this lesson:

• Enumeration/List and Describe: Lists facts usually by a qualifying characteristic, such as size or importance.
• Time Order/Sequence: Uses criteria such as dates and time to order concepts, facts, or events. Can also be cycle compare
• Contrast: Usually compares two general topics comparing similarities and differences between concepts, events, people, facts, and so on.
• Cause/Effect: Usually shows the change in events, facts, concepts, people, and so on, as a result of something else.
• Problem/Solution: Sometimes contains elements of the other organizational structures, such as cause-effect, enumeration, or sequence. The author poses the main elements of a problem and cues readers into a solution using a cause-effect format

Question-Research-Outline-Write!

This strategy gives students an organizational strategy to assist them with content area research and writing. It moves students through the basic steps of forming questions, conducting research, documenting sources, organizing information, and reporting the results in written form. Perfect for ELLs who are just beginning to learn the skill of nonfiction writing.

Source: Comprehension Strategies for English Language Learners by Margaret Bouchard