Building Background Knowledge

Who's Going to Summer Camp?

  • by Kelly Harmon
  • May 11, 2022, 1:14 p.m.

As we wind down this school year, many of our students will need to participate in extended learning during the summer. But who wants to go to summer school? Just the thought of it brings to mind "failure." So, this summer, let’s disrupt what’s been known as summer school and let’s call it summer camp!

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What is Missing in Reading Instruction?

  • by Kelly Harmon
  • March 10, 2022, 2:11 p.m.

When I began my teaching career in 1991, guided reading was a new practice that was being introduced in schools across the country. The focus of the guided reading groups was to help students develop metacognitive strategies they needed to process a text on their instructional reading level. In these groups, the teacher provided necessary scaffolds. It was up to the teacher to decide the type of scaffold the student might need. For example, a student might not have background knowledge related to the events or topic of the text. The teacher would then provide some background information to support comprehension.

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