Buehl, D. (n.d.).
Developing Readers in the Academic Disciplines (p. 120-162)
Frontloading
Instruction That Activates and Builds Academic Knowledge
The question: “What instructional practices should precede
the reading of complex disciplinary texts?”(p.120)
As teachers we should know by now
how important it is to lecture and assign reading assignments to our students
no matter the subject area we teach in. It should also be noted that it is
important to teach our student the background (lecture) of our subject matter i.e.,
when and how it started, where it’s has been, and where it’s going in the
future etc. If students lack a solid background of knowledge in the subject
matter they will be less likely to build that knowledge through reading
assignments. What is the balance of lecture and self-reading 50-50, 40-60? I
don’t have the answer I think there is no one right answer. However we do need
to strike a balance between the two. Frontloading works like this: Assumed
knowledge, Frontloading, to New Knowledge (Disciplinary Reading). When we teach
we should not assume that our students already have a solid background in our
subject matter. Take the time to review the basic concepts of what you are
going to cover over the course. Frontloading is also the responsibility of the
students as well. “The good reader knows to relate what is being read to prior
knowledge, and he or she is aware that good readers predict what might be in
upcoming text and relate ideas encountered in the text to their prior knowledge.”(p.123)
This quote embodies what we should
strive for when regarding our students. We can lead our students to share their
previous background knowledge with a simple question like this, PE: Something I
know about physical fitness is? This gives the educator a starting point. There
are many different ways to find out where our students are in terms of their
background knowledge in our subject matter. Brainstorming, confirming, in
inquiring, revising, resolving, extending, and thought-provoking statements are
but a few of the things that are under the umbrella of frontloading
instruction. Putting all this together will come over time as we spend more
time in the classroom with our students. Frontloading is worth the time and
effort and is overlooked too often in my opinion. “Reading often and reading
well are prerequisites for achievements in areas far beyond literature and
literacy alone” – National Endowment for the Arts, 2007, p.91
Well you sure are keeping up with your blogs! AWESOME!! I'm having a hard time getting my responses in because some people aren't posting on their blogs! As teachers we will need to assign reading assignments to our students, since it is a NM state standard! And we need to keep up with our competencies! I think i will have my students have some type of double diary to write in and assign articles according to the content being taught! How would you bring in reading in your class??
ReplyDeleteFrom the blogs I found the reading connecting with one another when it comes to reading - most strategies are similar. As teachers, we do need to take these strategies to help our students with learning to read, comprehend the text and interacting with the text.
ReplyDeleteI would say that giving the students a good solid back round of the reading is important. This goes back to, if the student doesn't understand why they are reading what you have assigned them to read, then they are not going to have a clear purpose to read it other then you telling them to do so.
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