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Framing Main Ideas and Essential Details - Reading Rockets

1 1998 Edwin S. Ellis1 Framing main Ideas and Essential Details to PromoteComprehensionByEdwin S. EllisThis article was adapted from The Framing Routine published byMasterminds, LLC. This book provides a variety of specific instructionalstrategies for using a highly versatile graphic organizer called the Frame. The book provides a wide array of ways the Frame can be used at thebeginning, middle, and end of instruction to make content-area learningmore motivating and meaningful. The book also provides many suggestionsfor using the Frame to develop literacy and thinking skills. The appendixcontains black-line masters of various versions of the Frame a copy of this book, contact:Masterminds, Box 20433 Tuscaloosa, AL 35402-0433phone/fax 205-750-0233e-mail address: 1998 Edwin S.

2 © 1998 Edwin S. Ellis 2 Framing Main Ideas and Essential Details to Promote Comprehension Abstract This article focuses on the use of “The Frame” graphic ...

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Transcription of Framing Main Ideas and Essential Details - Reading Rockets

1 1 1998 Edwin S. Ellis1 Framing main Ideas and Essential Details to PromoteComprehensionByEdwin S. EllisThis article was adapted from The Framing Routine published byMasterminds, LLC. This book provides a variety of specific instructionalstrategies for using a highly versatile graphic organizer called the Frame. The book provides a wide array of ways the Frame can be used at thebeginning, middle, and end of instruction to make content-area learningmore motivating and meaningful. The book also provides many suggestionsfor using the Frame to develop literacy and thinking skills. The appendixcontains black-line masters of various versions of the Frame a copy of this book, contact:Masterminds, Box 20433 Tuscaloosa, AL 35402-0433phone/fax 205-750-0233e-mail address: 1998 Edwin S.

2 Ellis2 Framing main Ideas and Essential Details to PromoteComprehensionAbstractThis article focuses on the use of The Frame graphic organizer to helpstudents understand and main Ideas and Essential Details associated with thegeneral education curriculum. Use of the technique can be a powerful way tohelp all students in inclusive settings, and especially those with learningdisabilities, understand important information. The device is also anexcellent tool for developing Reading , writing, and thinking 1998 Edwin S. Ellis 3 Framing main Ideas and Essential Details to PromoteComprehensionGraphic organizers are communication devices that can be particularlybeneficial to many students with learning disabilities, as well as mostindividuals, because they show the organization or structure of concepts aswell as relationships between concepts (see Figure 1).

3 For example, thegraphic organizer depicted in the figure below will help the LD-ONLINE reader follow this discussion, and allow the reader to review the essence ofthe rationale for using graphic organizers later by just looking back at 1 Advantages of Graphic OrganizersContent easier tounderstand andlearnReduced informationprocessing demandsStudents become more strategic learnersInformation is more precise , less fuzzy Helps students separatewhat is important from not Essential t need to process as much semantic information to understandthe to understand info if its structure is readily apparent As a result, content can be addressed at more sophisticated o rrcomplex levelsReading and writing skillsCommunication skillsAnalytical, critical, and creative thinking skills One reason why graphic organizers are powerful teaching tools isbecause the devices make it more clear to students what it is they are expectedto learn.

4 Information depicted on the graphic usually represents essentialknowledge that all students are expected to learn, thus graphic organizersallow students to focus on what is important. Each item on the graphic canserve as a link to remembering related information discussed in class, but notnoted on the graphic. Thus, the information students remember whengraphic organizers are used when teaching is often much more than sum ofthe items depicted on the 1998 Edwin S. Ellis4 Graphic organizers can be powerful teaching tools because they alsoreduce the cognitive demands on the learner. In the absence of visual aidslike graphic organizers, the learner has to both comprehend the informationand determine how it is organized. By showing (as opposed to just telling)students how the information is structured, you can often teach informationat much more sophisticated and complex levels than you may haveanticipated.

5 Graphic organizers clearly show how the information isorganized, so the learner does not have to process as much semantic data tounderstand the third reason why graphic organizers are particularly useful forstudents with learning disabilities is because they clearly serve as effectivetools for developing literacy and thinking skills. For example, when studentsidentify main Ideas and supporting Details from text they are Reading and listthem on a graphic organizer, comprehension of the written material tends todramatically increase. Research shows that Reading assignments that requirestudents to complete graphic organizers in lieu of answering traditional studyguide questions can significantly increase Reading comprehension as assignments increase students awareness of information structures andtheir semantic cues associated with , when students use graphic organizers as Think Sheets forplanning their writing (see Ellis article elsewhere on LD-ONLINE titled ThePLAN Writing Strategy Think Sheets ) , the quality of the students writingtends to improve not only in organization of Ideas , but also in fluency and inother areas such as writing mechanics (punctuation, spelling, capitalization,etc.)

6 In one study, middle school students with LD wrote an average of 97words more on their posttest writing samples after they had learned to usethe Frame graphic (discussed below) when planning their writing ( thecontrol group wrote an average of 5 words less!).When students learn to organize information using graphicorganizers, they are also basic information processing skills as well asanalytical thinking skills. In short, graphic organizers can help students withLD become strategic learners when use of graphic organizers becomes secondnature to them. For example, to construct graphic organizers, students haveto engage in powerful information processing and higher order thinkingskills such as using cues to recognize important information, makingdecisions about what is important or Essential , consolidating information andidentifying main Ideas and supporting Details , and making decisions aboutthe best way to structure the the information has been effectively organized on graphics, verypowerful higher order thinking instructional activities can information onto the graphics allows you to implement a varietyof robust activities that otherwise might not be possible.

7 For example, when5 1998 Edwin S. Ellis 5the information is clearly organized, a wide array of instructional activitiescan be employed to extend students understanding of important include engaging in in-depth discussions, debating the importance ofvarious points, drawing conclusions, making connections to other Ideas ,forming inferences, predictions or forecasts, and creating organizers can contribute to increasing both classroom andachievement test scores (see Figure 2). Classroom test scores ( weekly tests,unit tests) often improve for several reasons. First, the graphics help studentsunderstand and learn the subject.

8 Second, they help students focus theirenergies on studying the Essential information. Third, they serve as effectivedevices for helping students focus on the relationships between main ideasand Details , main Ideas and other main Ideas , and so forth. Thus, the focus ofstudy is how it all fits together rather than on just memorizing isolated,decontextualized bits of 2If graphic Organizers are used test scores will go upBecause the content instruction is more effectiveDepicting complex concepts via graphicsEases information processing demands Scaffolding student use of graphics Teacher ->Class->Groups->Individuals Using graphics to facilitate Reading , writing, & thinking skillsUsing graphics to promote think ahead, during, and after instruction reflectionsGraphics help students understand and learn the subject.

9 Focus students energies on studying the Essential informationFocus on the relationships between main Ideas and Details , main Ideas and other main Ideas , of study is how it all fits together rather than on just memorizing isolated, decontextualized bits of information. Improved performance on classroom test scoresImproved performance on basic skills standardized test scores ( Reading & writing)Research shows that increased performance on classroom tests will bealmost immediate for many students, whereas increased scores onstandardized achievement tests occur more gradually as students gain skillsusing graphic organizers summarize, graphic organizers like the Frame graphic are powerfultools for facilitating learning of content area subjects, and they are powerfultools for developing literacy and thinking skills.

10 These tools should beviewed as part of an overall package of pedagogical tools and routines thatimprove learning and 1998 Edwin S. Ellis 6 THE Framing GRAPHICA visual device called the Frame graphic is an example of a graphicorganizer designed to dramatically improve the success of students with LDin content-area classes. It is used to promote understanding (and recall) of thekey topic and its Essential features. The graphic can also be used inconjunction with literacy-development assignments in Reading and content-area classes, Frame graphics are co-constructed by the teacherand students, who simultaneously fill in information on blank copies of theform.


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