Para eLink: Where Minnesota's Paraprofessionals Learn Online

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9.1R: Ability to support and reinforce the instruction of students in reading following written and oral lesson plans developed by licensed teachers.
9.2R: Ability to utilize effective developmental, age-appropriate, and culturally sensitive instructional strategies in reading that support the instruction of licensed teachers.

Lesson 4b Reinforcement

Activity 1: QuickQuiz

Activity 2: Developing Higher Order Thinking Skills Through Text

As a paraprofessional working in a high school English class, you are asked to work with a group of four sophomores who are having a discussion about the novel they are reading in their literature class. One of the students in the group, Kate, is a straight A student. She feels the book that the class is reading is too easy for her, and she is not eager to discuss it with her peers. Two of other students in the group, Vanessa and María, are friends. They seem to be genuinely interested in the book but they pick up on the fact that Kate is not interested in participating with them. Pam, who also seems to like the book, is often behind the others in her reading ability. She needs more time to process information and to formulate a response. You want the students to actively participate and think critically about the novel they are reading. Consider the following options. Which would you use to work with these students in a group discussion?

Assign roles of summarizer, questioner, reader, and encourager to the students. The summarizer recaps what happened in the latest chapter of the book. The questioner develops three discussion questions to ask the group. While all students are responsible for participating in the discussion, the encourager makes sure that all voices are heard and validated. The reader finds specific quotes in the text based on responses to questions. What roles would you assign to whom?
Ask each student to develop two discussion questions. The students will give you their questions. You facilitate a discussion based on their input, giving guidance and asking further questions where appropriate.
Use what you know about higher order thinking questions to lead the discussion, encouraging participation from all group members.
What is another strategy you think would be effective in facilitating a group discussion among these four students?

What would you do? Print worksheet & write it down.

Get a worksheet that you may print for this activity.