Tips for the Teacher: A Reading Comprehension Lesson

First What is a Reciprocal Learning?

Reciprocal Teaching (Please note that you put the steps in the order you want them to be!)

Predictions: I predict the text will be about the mysteries taking place in this area because………………………………. I expect it to be about some ship disappearances because…………………. I predict it to be about plane disappearances because……………….

Let’s read it silently, then we will read it aloud.

Ask them if their predictions are correct.

Clarification: the clarifier will give the vocabulary in these pages as a worksheet.

Questioning: the questioner will give the questions in these pages as a worksheet.

Summarization of the main ideas: ideas in yellow (for students who cannot rewrite the ideas using their own words)

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Part one: Reading Comprehension The Bermuda Triangle

The Bermuda Triangle is a legendary area of the Atlantic Ocean. The tips of the triangle are Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. A number of ships, small boats, and even large military aircraft have disappeared there.

The area was made famous by several magazine articles, books, and a documentary film that were produced from 1950 to 1974. Some authors believed that attacks by giant squid or abductions by space aliens caused these vessels and aircraft to disappear. But, in 1975, American Larry Kusche investigated the incidents and found that most of them were not mysterious. Insurance records also noted that this area was no more dangerous than any other part of the ocean. Since then, the U.S. Navy and many scientists have offered several reasons for the disappearances. The area is one of only two in the world where a magnetic compass points to true north rather than magnetic north. (Theother is off the coast of Japan and is known as the Devil’s Sea.) This likely caused some navigators to go off course, which is very dangerous because many of the islands in the Triangle have large areas of shallow waterwhere vessels can run aground. As well, violent storms, including hurricanes and water spouts (large spinning columns of water), often occur in the area.

Another reason involves the Gulf Stream, a current of warm water that circulates through the area. Weather can be more violent over it and the current is so powerful that a sinking vessel or crashed aircraft quickly disappearsbelow its surface. They can also sink a long way down as some of the ocean’s deepest trenches, from 19,000 to over 27,000 feet below sea level, are found here.

Finally, human error due to inexperience or poor equipment is likely a major reason why many pleasure boats have disappeared without a trace in the Bermuda Triangle.

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The Questions WorksheetCOMPREHENSION QUESTIONSA. True or False. Read the statements below. If the statement is true, write T beside the sentence. If it is false, write F. And correct the sentence. 1. The Bermuda Triangle is south of Puerto Rico. ( )

2. Many commercial airplanes have disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle. ( )

3. There has been a lot written about the Bermuda Triangle. ( )

4. If you travel in this area, you have to pay more for travel insurance. ( )

5. There are several reasonable explanations for the disappearances that have occurred in the Bermuda Triangle. ( )

B. Answer the following questions in full sentences. 1. How have some authors explained the disappearances that have occurred in this area? ________________________________________________________________2. What do the Devil’s Sea and the Bermuda Triangle have in common?

________________________________________________________________

3. What kind of weather disturbances often occur in the Bermuda Triangle?

________________________________________________________________4. Explain how the Gulf Stream may account for the disappearance of many boats.

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5. What is a likely reason for the disappearance of many pleasure boats in the area?____________________________________________________________

The Vocabulary Worksheet VOCABULARY. B. Choose the word(s) with the closest meaning to the underlined words in the following sentences. ( 5 points)1. Some authors believe that space aliens abducted the ships and planes.a) found suddenly b) took away by force c) drove away d) burnt on purpose

2. A water spout is a large spinning column of water.a) tall b) empty c) turning d) sinking

3. Larry Kusche, an American, investigated the incidents.a) studied carefully b) wrote a book about c) believed strongly in d) found a solution for

4. He said the disappearances were not mysterious . a) really discovered b) difficult to explain c) scientifically recorded d) worth to explain.

5. Some navigators may have gone off course. a) captains who guide a ship b) sailors who sail in the sea c) people who control the course for a ship or plane d) staff on a ship or a plane

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Reciprocal Teaching WorksheetStudent’s Name: ________________________________________________

Use the “Reciprocal Teaching Cards” to help you complete this sheet. This worksheet may be completed in any order as you read, but you must fill in each section.

PREDICT

Write one or two sentences that predict what the passage will be about. Base your response on the title or any other information contained in this text.

CLARIFY

Write down any words, phrases, or ideas that you do not understand as you read. After you have written down the words or ideas that need clarification, try to figure out what they mean by using the clarification clues you have learned. Do not use a dictionary. You may ask the teacher or a family member for help if you are not able to clarify a word. If you do not need to clarify any words, phrases or ideas, write NONE in the space provided.

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Page 1

SUMMARIZE

Complete this summary frame about the passage you have just read.

The passage about _______________________________________

_____________________________________________________

begins with_____________________________________________

__________________, discusses (or develops) the idea that _______

_____________________________________________________

______________________________and ends with _____________

_____________________________________________________

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Page 2

Assessment Tips: What to Look for When Observing Students Who Are Using Reciprocal Teaching Strategies

Predicting When predicting, students ___ use the language of prediction such as• I predict... • I think... • I’ll bet...___ use clues from the text to help form predictions and evidence from the text and/or illustrations to support predictions.• I predict ______________ because______________. ___ use prior knowledge about the topic or from experience to help make logicalpredictions. • I predict ______________ because ______________.___ check predictions after reading to see if they make sense. Metacognition___ tell steps to predicting. • When I predict I...___ tell how predicting helps them understand what they have read.Questioning When questioning, the students ___ use the language of questioning with question words such as who, what, when,where, why, or how. ___ ask logical “wonders” before reading based on clues from the text.• I wonder... ___ ask literal and higher level thinking questions after reading.Metacognition ___ tell steps to questioning.• When I question I... ___ tell how questioning helps them understand what they have read.

Clarifying When clarifying, students ___ use the language of clarifying.• I didn’t get ______________ (confusion), so I ______________ (strategy used to repair comprehension).___ identify words that are difficult to pronounce or understand. ___ use a variety of strategies to understand the words, including finding “chunks” they know, sounding out the words, using syllables, and rereading. ___ tell how they clarified a difficult word. ___ identify sentences, pages, or ideas that need clarifying.

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___ use a variety of strategies to understand the parts, such as rereading, reading on, or talking to someone to figure out the parts of the text that confused them. ___ identify confusions (words, parts, or ideas) and the strategies that they used torepair comprehension. Metacognition___ tell steps to clarifying. • When I clarify I...___ tell how clarifying helps them understand what they have read.Summarizing When summarizing, students ___ use the language of summarizing.• This part is about... • The most important ideas in this text are...___ reread to summarize main events or important ideas from the text. ___ include only main events or important ideas. ___ tell main events or important ideas in order. ___ use some vocabulary from the text.Metacognition ___ tell steps to summarizing.• When I summarize I... ___ tell how summarizing helps them understand what they have read.

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Pictures from a class exemplifying the lesson above: Al Majeda Wassila: Eleventh Grade

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