Chapter 1 Flashcards
(17 cards)
True or False: Teachers are often taught that the content they are teaching doesn’t really matter. If they can find the main idea, make inferences, or any one of a number of other skills– they’ll eventually be able to grasp the meaning of any text put in front of them.
True
After No Child Left Behind was passed in 2001, the amount of time spent on reading and math grew. What happened to the time spent on other subjects?
Decreased significantly.
By 2012, how much time did teachers self-report (probably an overestimate), on average, in social studies and science?
Social Studies- 16 minutes. Science 19 minutes.
Kids who are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade are how much more likely to not graduate high school?
4 times. If the child is poor, the odds are even worse.
True or False: Because we have devoted many hours of practice and an enormous amount of money on resources, American students reading ability has improved drastically.
False
What fraction of students nationally fall below the proficient reading level?
two-thirds
What core subject areas to Americans score the lowest on?
History (18%), Civics (23%), and Geography (27%)
T or F: It is commonplace in American classrooms that texts are used as delivery mechanisms for skills.
True
T or F: There is an assumption that if students read about random subjects- birds one day, clouds the next, bridges that day after that- and practice identifying certain structures and features- they’ll become expert readers of nonfiction.
True
Even though social studies is supposed to be a combination of civics, economics, geography, and history, what has it morphed into in the younger grades?
Children’s lives, their families, and their communities. And as a result, educators haven’t seen social studies as particularly important, and, if even taught, ends up being used as a medium for skills instruction.
What two faulty assumptions do educators make when explaining why they don’t teach real history in the young grades?
- Children prefer subjects related to their own lives.
- It is developmentally inappropriate.
What percentage of low-income 4th and 8th graders fall below the proficient level on reading tests compared to their higher-income peers?
80% poor compared to 50% higher-income
What percentage of 8th graders score below proficient on writing exams for poverty and higher SES respectively?
90% and 65%
What percentage of students score at or above proficient on history exams for poor and higher SES respectively?
5% and 27%
What are the future consequences for students who obtain low test scores?
- Less likely to pursue higher education.
- Less likely to obtain and keep jobs.
- Less likely to provide for their families.
- Less likely to exercise their civic rights.
- Less likely to lead fulfilling lives.
What is the only hope for ending multi-generational poverty?
A good education!
What is a WAY better way to educate our kids than using reading passages as a tool to teach skills/strategies?
Content-rich/knowledge building curriculum using spaced and varied retrieval practice!
