Fisher and Frey

Chpt. 1- Ensuring All Students Read, Write, and Think:
     This chapter states that we will be using language to comprehend the content. Stated in the chapter, students not only struggle with expository text but older students struggle with narrative texts. This is because the students nedd to know the background knowledge on the content. Students need to be aware ot the complex literacy devices. I believe I struggled with this in highschool because I was not taught how to recognize these devices. Therefore, I had difficulty understanding reading materials such as Hamlet in highschool. Developing comprehension in the classroom is a key for students to become successful. It is not how fast a child reads that matters, it is if they comprehend the material they read. If a child can't comprehend what was read, then they are getting nothing out of reading. We are to teach them strategies they can use to learn how to comprehend.
     There are many structures for literacy development. Think-pair-share allows students to think and share answers before having a class discussion. This allows more students to answer aloud after getting peers opinions. I have personally used Jigsaw in Dr. Hanna's class and I feel that it was a success. Each member of the group was required to read a section of the text then share with the rest of the group members. This ensures that you know your content and can teach/share it. Chapter 1 focuses on what to expect from the rest of the book.

Chpt. 8- Powerful Pens: Writing to Learn with Adolescents:
     Writing to learn differs from learning to write. You learn to write your whole life but writing to learn allows students to question and state what they already know about a topic. Declarative knowledge is the easiest to teach. It is simply just stating facts and names. Procedural knowledge is applying one's knowledge on a topic and conditional knowledge is why something is done. There are many strategies teachers can engage students in to help them become better writers. These strategies will enhance students writing and help students learn through writing. I enjoyed reading the different writing prompts. These are great examples of how teachers can have the students write in class. RAFT is also an interesting writing assignment that allows students to write to learn by using a specific format to state facts. Writing to learn in math allows students to think how to solve an answer. Students write down how they think to get an answer. This involves higher order thinking. This chapter explains why it is important to write to learn and not just write.