Reading Strategies for the Internet

Reading Strategies for the Internet

I. Objective

Teachers will be able to develop reading strategies for the Internet and create Pre-Reading or Reading Guides to scaffold students through Internet text.

II. Introduction

While there are many exciting multimedia environments on the Web with highly engaging graphics, photos and videos, much of the information found on the Internet is text. Extended text may be overwhelming for students who are poor readers or those that need help when faced with long pages of scrollable text.

Teachers can adopt and expand traditional reading strategies to help students by creating Internet study or reading guides. These guides can be designed to help students:

Increase comprehension and reading performance by utilizing reading strategies to preview text, access prior knowledge, identify key words and self-monitor reading.
Identify the text structure of an Internet page
Develop new skills such as dealing with non-linear text, hyperlinks, buttons, multi-media and interactive texts

III. Reading

First, examine the following web sites to see how traditional print reading compares to Internet reading:

Reading on the Internet: The Link Between Literacy and Technology - author Elizabeth Schmar-Dobler compares print and Internet reading in this article (includes graphs and tables!) http://www.readingonline.org/newliteracies/jaal/9-03_column/

Applying Literacy Strategies to the Web – the author compares the skills needed for print and web reading in a convenient chart form. He also identifies new skills that students may need to navigate the Web. http://166.113.18.181/teach_learn/tlt%20guide/instructional_tools/Reading%20Internet/index.html

New Literacies and Reading Comprehension - Literacy and Technology Specialist, Julie Coiro, M.Ed. will engage you in a discussion by having YOU complete a pre-reading anticipation guide about new literacy skills. First preview her article at this site: http://www.lite.iwarp.com/compint.html

Then, read her complete article, Reading Comprehension on the Internet Expanding Our Understanding of Reading Comprehension to Encompass New Literacies at http://readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp?HREF=rt/2-03_column/index.html

Online Reading Strategies (A Think Aloud)

Debbie Abilock describes online reading as "a dynamic interplay between reading comprehension and information literacy strategies." View her dynamic demonstration of skills needed to read an Internet page. http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/basic/readstrat/readingstrategies.viewlet/readingstrategies_viewlet_swf.html

IV. Activity

Next, review Pre-Reading and Reading Guides. There are many types of guides created for traditional text including Anticipation, Reaction, Content, 3-Levels-of-Comprehension, and Point-of-View Guides. Review some of the sites below:

Instructional Reading Strategy: Anticipation Guides - this page provides a description, purpose, how-to section and an example. http://www.indiana.edu/~l517/anticipation_guides.htm

Comprehension Guides for Older Readers - from Suite 101.com, this article outlines the levels-of-comprehension guides and links to two samples. http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/reading/66244/2

Point-of-View Guide - page highlights this during reading strategy in which students answer questions from the perspective of another person. http://people.uncw.edu/sherrilld/edn356/notes/point_of_view_guide.htm

K-W-L: Strategies for Reading Comprehension - this page describes the Know-Want-Learned strategy and shows guides. http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/kwl.html

Graphic Organizers: Strategies for Reading Comprehension - this page provides definitions and a link to examples. http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/readquest/strat/graphic.html

*There are more reading guide strategies/samples listed at the end of this module.
V. Assignment

Now, that you've thought about how Internet reading compares to print reading and become familiar with traditional reading guides, you're ready to combine the two. Your assignment is to create a Pre-Reading or Reading Guide for a web page or site of your choosing. You have 2 options to create your guide:

Option A: Create a standard print guide for an Internet text

Option B: Create an electronic reading guide for an Internet text (see more information below)

Your goal is to provide instructional support to increase understanding of the text, as well as build Internet skills. Your guide should consist of 10-15 questions and at least 3 questions must utilize or address a specific Internet skill such as navigating non-linear text, hyperlinks, buttons, multi-media or interactive texts.

The overall content of the guide should focus on at least one of the following:

previewing text (scanning/skimming)
asking questions about reading
activating prior knowledge (developing keywords)
monitoring understanding
recognize text structures

Specify the age level of your students. Take a look at the examples below for more clarification.

OPTION A:

Choose a web site or page and a type of guide and then, create the questions/content.

Here is an example of a Content Guide for a Virtual Visit to the Detroit Institute of Arts. http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/pratik/content.htm

Here is an example of a Pre-Reading Anticipation Guide for a Virtual Visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art http://www2.mcdaniel.edu/slm/student/pratik/preread.htm

OPTION B:

An electronic Reading Guide utilizes resources available on the web within the guide, such as hyperlinks, photos and graphics. For more information and examples, review the site below:

Building Stronger Connections to Text with Electronic Experiences - this site provides examples of electronic reading guides and organizers that build on making connections from text-to-self, text-to-text, text-to-world and text to author. http://www.lite.iwarp.com/cra2002.html

VI. Submission

When you've completed your guide, save it as an HTML file. Post the HTML file to the McDaniel Web Server and create a link from your index page. Send your instructor an email notification containing a hot link to the assignment file's URL.

VII. More Reading Guide Samples/Other Resources

blocks4reading.com Anticipation Guide - this page walks through the steps to create a guide and provides an example. http://www.blocks4reading.com/fourblocks/anticipation_guide.htm

Levels of Comprehension Guide - this page describes each of the three levels of comprehension. http://academic.cuesta.edu/acasupp/AS/303.HTM

Skimming and Scanning - this page defines skimming/scamming and provides an example. http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/isa/staff/abita/key_words/kw_search_page6.htm

The Topic: Skimming and Scanning - this page defines skimming/scanning and provides links to examples, activities and other valuable resources at the bottom of the page. http://42explore.com/skim.htm

Think-Aloud 1 - describes how to model Think-Alouds. http://www.allamericareads.org/lessonplan/strategies/during/thinkaloud1.htm

Using Think-Alouds to Improve Reading Comprehension - more information about modeling Think-Alouds. http://www.indiana.edu/~crls/rogerfarr/mcr/usingta/usingta.html

Reading Comprehension on the Internet: Expanding Our Understanding of Reading Comprehension to Encompass New Literacies - http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/rt/2-03_Column/index.html

Various Reading Strategies can be Addressed Using the Internet http://www.cstone.net/people/miller/readstrat.htm

Reading Strategies for Web Activities http://www.clta.net/lessons/strategies.html

Emerging Reading and Writing Strategies Using Technology (ARTICLE)

http://journals.sped.org/EC/Archive_Articles/VOL.33NO.5MAYJUNE2001_TEC_castellani.pdf

Scrolling, Clicking, and Reading English: Online Reading Strategies in a Second/Foreign Language (ARTICLE) http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/anderson/article.pdf

VIII. Rubric

	Unacceptable	Developing	Accomplished
Content development of guide	Poorly thought-out questions that fail to direct students	Brief or shallow questions that don't point the student towards meaningful learning	Well-developed questions that help students understand the text
Clarity and instructional flow of questions	Random questions of insufficient number to aid students	Minimal number of questions, poorly organized	Appropriate number of questions to scaffold the text, organized in a logical sequence
Internet skills addressed	Does not address Internet skills	Includes two questions on Internet skills	Includes three or more questions on Internet skills

IX. ISTE Standards

This course activity addresses the following ISTE Standards

II. PLANNING AND DESIGNING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

AND EXPERIENCES

Teachers plan and design effective learning environments and experiences supported by technology. Teachers:

A. design developmentally appropriate learning opportunities that apply technology-enhanced instructional strategies to support the diverse needs of learners.

E. plan strategies to manage student learning in a technology-enhanced environment.

III. TEACHING, LEARNING, AND THE CURRICULUM

Teachers implement curriculum plans, that include methods and strategies for applying technology to maximize student learning. Teachers:

A. facilitate technology-enhanced experiences that address content standards and student technology standards

B. use technology to support learner-centered strategies that address the diverse needs of students