12:5 RAFT

When and where did I find the word:  The acronym was found in the assigned readings for this week.  It was found in the following book:

Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., & Steineke, N.  (2007).  Content-area writing.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann

What it means: According to Daniels, Zemelman, & Steineke (2007), Doug Buehl reports that RAFT stands for role, audience, formant, and topic.  Each is defined as follows:

Role - the idea of role describes the character's viewpoint and personality. 

Audience - this decribes who is going to be reading a a given literary work, the purpose of the work, who is 

                going to be persuaded by the work.  

Format -  This describes the format (news story, letter to the editor, etc) in which the text will be presented. 

Topic - this describes the subject that is covered by the work.  

In this context, a RAFT is a piece of writing that is based on the student's choices for each of the four characteristics of RAFT.  

Level of Familiarity: I was not familiar with the acronym RAFT, but I was familiar with the individual components of RAFT.  I was also not familiar with the use of RAFT.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why?   I can see the utility of RAFT as a closure activity for a unit.  It is a good way for students to use faction.  The students can take the facts that they've learned and weave a fictional story into them.  I can see how students might find the process of "RAFTing" engaging and how this might facilitate learning.  As such, I do want to know about this word.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  I think building a RAFT is a useful closure tool and that content area teachers might be able to make use of this concept to help solidify learned materials.   I think that this is a great way to differential students' learning and scaffold the writing process.  

12:4 Faction

When and where did I find the word:  Faction was found in the assigned readings for this week.  It was found in the following book:

Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., & Steineke, N.  (2007).  Content-area writing.  Portsmouth, NH:  Heinemann

What it means: According to Daniels, Zemelman, & Steineke (2007), faction is the combination of factual research and imagination that is most popularly used in genres such as historical and science fiction.  A write who uses faction researches a topic and then creates a story around the topic.

Level of Familiarity: I was not familiar with the formal definition of faction; however, after reading about it, I realized that my husband is an avid reader of novels that utilize faction.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why?  I think that faction is an important concept because it is a way to present what might be mundane information in an interesting fashion.  Daniels, Zemelman, & Steineke (2007) use the example of Michael Crichton's Jurrasic Park as a faction-containing novel.  Crichton's Jurrasic Park is a vivid story about reviving long-extinct dinosaurs in an amusement park type setting.  The story is interesting, but after reading the book (or watching the movie, I suppose) you realize that you've not only been entertained by it, but you've also learned about dinosaurs, chaos theory, and cloning.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  I think that teachers and writers of educational materials should know this word.  Teachers might select classroom texts that utilize faction as a way of engaging student interest.   Writers of educational texts might also use faction as a way to engage reader interest (and perhaps increase profits).  

12:3 Quick Writes

When and where did I find the word:  Quick writes was a term found in this week's assigned reading.  It was found in the following article:

Knipper, K.J., & Duggan, T.J. (2006).  Writing to learn across the curriculum:  Tools for comprehension in content area classes.  The Reading Teacher, 59(5), 462-470.

What it means: According to Knipper & Duggan (2006), quick writes are one of many informal means of engaging students in thinking about an upcoming topic.  Quick writes are teacher-directed questions.  Students' responses can be recorded in various formants and can be used for teacher reference or sharing with other students.  

Level of Familiarity:  Quick writes are similar to 1-minute papers or admittance or exit slips.  I have successfully used these strategies in my classroom.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why?  I like the idea behind quick writes as I think that they are a useful tool in engaging students in a topic.   I also think that quick writes are a good way of assessing prior knowledge of a subject and assessing progress in learning a given subject.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  I think that many teachers can benefit from using quick writes in their classroom as ways to engage students and assess their knowledge of a given subject.  I can see how quick writes can be helpful in preparing students for reading assignments.   

12:2 Checklist

When and where did I find the word:  Checklist was a term found in this week's assigned reading.  It was found in the following article:

Knipper, K.J., & Duggan, T.J. (2006).  Writing to learn across the curriculum:  Tools for comprehension in content area classes.  The Reading Teacher, 59(5), 462-470.

What it means: According to Knipper & Duggan (2006), a checklist is a tool used in the strategy of writing to learn and is a set of concrete, observable behaviors that are organized in a sequence that is logical.

Level of Familiarity: Even thought I was not familiar with the idea of writing to learn, I am familiar with the idea of creating a checklist in this context.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why?  I think that writing to learn is an important strategy that can be used to create interest in a content for students.  Using checklists is one method of assessing one's progress in writing to learn.  As such, I think the checklists in this context are important as they combine the idea of writing to learn with concrete, observable behaviors.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  If someone is going to use the strategy of writing to learn, the idea of using checklists would be important to him/her as it is a good way to measure progress on writing to learn.  Checklists, when provided to the student, gives students goals for writing as well as demonstrate a good finished product.  In essence, a checklist can also be used as a rubric for the finished product.  

12:1 Writing to learn

When and where did I find the word:  Writing to learn was a term found in this week's assigned reading.  It was found in the following article:

Knipper, K.J., & Duggan, T.J. (2006).  Writing to learn across the curriculum:  Tools for comprehension in content area classes.  The Reading Teacher, 59(5), 462-470.

What it means: According to Knipper & Duggan (2006), writing to learn is a catalyst for further learning and making meaning out of what one has read.

Level of Familiarity: I have never heard of the term writing to learn before; however, after reading Knipper & Duggan (2006), the process seems familiar and is similar to exercises that were used during my undergraduate education.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I think that writing to learn is an important concept.  According to Knipper & Duggan (2006) writing is often left out of content classrooms as a way to de-emphasize the process writing; however writing to learn is an opportunity for student to gain interest in an already familiar subject.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  I think that content area teachers can make good use out of this strategy of writing to learn. From my experience as a student in secondary education and at my undergraduate institution, I think at lot of emphasis was  put on the final product of the writing process rather than what I learned from the process of writing about a given subject.  Knipper & Duggan (2006) provided some interesting insight on the process of writing to learn and how to make valuable assessments from this process.  

11:4 Goal setting

When and where did I find the word:  Goal setting was a term found while researching for my reciprocal teaching presentation.  I found it in the following article:

Davis, S.J. (1990).  Applying content study skills in co-listed reading classrooms.  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 33(4), 277-281.

What it means: According to Davis (1990), goal setting is setting a reasonable purpose for studying.

Level of Familiarity:  I think the idea of setting a goal is a term that is pretty well generalized across disciplines.  I set goals not only related to my professional/academic life, but also in my personal life.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why?  Goal-setting is an important process.  Setting a small, acheivable goal by which one can measure his/her own achievement is an important task.  Not only is it a way to measure success, but appropriate goal setting can be a way in which to gain motivation.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  In this context, it is important for teachers to know this term and to be able to use it effectively.  Setting goals for the individual is important to measure growth for that individual, but also setting goals (and determining if those goals were met) for a group of individuals is important to measure the effectiveness of one's own teaching.    

11:3 Idiosyncratic Process

When and where did I find the word:  Idiosyncratic Process was a term found while researching for my reciprocal teaching presentation.  I found it in the following article:

Davis, S.J. (1990).  Applying content study skills in co-listed reading classrooms.  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 33(4), 277-281.

What it means: According to Davis (1990), choosing the study method that is personal, individual, and meaningful to each student is an idiosyncratic process.  


Level of Familiarity: I have never heard of the term idiosyncratic process prior to reading this article; however, the term seems to make sense at face-value.  

Do I want to know this word well and tell why?  The process by which a student either actively or passively chooses a study strategy is an important one as it, in part, determines the success of that student for a given task.  The term idiosyncratic implies that this process is individual to each student, which exemplifies the importance of taking the individual into account during the learning process.  

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  This is an important term for teachers to know.  When relaying information about study strategies, it is important to take into account the idiosyncratic nature by which the best study strategy for a given student is selected.  This helps the individual learner best succeed at the task in front of him/her.  As we are all life-long learners, it is important for most everyone to know.  

11: 2 Study Skills

When and where did I find the word:  Study skills was a term found while researching for my reciprocal teaching presentation.  I found it in the following article:

Davis, S.J. (1990).  Applying content study skills in co-listed reading classrooms.  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 33(4), 277-281.

What it means: According to Davis (1990), study skills are a special form of reading that is done in order to perform an identifiable cognitive task.  

Level of Familiarity:   I have been using study skills throughout my academic career as both a student and a teacher.  As I student, I utilize study skills in order to learn new content.  As a teacher, I teach students study skills to help them succeed in the classroom. 

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? This is an important strategy for everyone to know.  Study skills are paramount for learning new material.  

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Anyone can benefit from study skills.  As life-long learners, it is important to be able to learn new materials and utilizing study skills is one way to facilitate that process.  As a teacher, it is important to be able to teach students how to use study skills in the learning process.  

11:1 Conspiracy Days

When and where did I find the word:  Conspiracy days was a term found while researching for my reciprocal teaching presentation.  I found it in the following article:


Simmers-Wolpow, R., Farrell, D.P., & Tonje, M.J. (1991).  Implementing a secondary reading/study skills program across disciplines.  Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 34(8), 590-594.

What it means: According to Simmers-Wolpows (1991), conspiracy days are days where faculty can exchange instructional strategies for use in their classroom.  

Level of Familiarity: I have never heard of the term conspiracy days before; however, I am familiar with the the ideas behind a conspiracy day.  As a middle school teacher we have days designed around professional development that would fall into the definition of a conspiracy day.  Also, in my building, teachers share instructional strategies frequently on an informal basis.  

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? This is an important strategy to know.  My colleagues and I, as a collective, make up a large melting pot of experience that stems from a wide variety of origins.  Tapping into this melting pot of experiences via sharing ones' own knowledge and learning from someone else's will help facilitate learning in the classroom. 

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Anyone can benefit from this strategy.  It is important to be able to share one's own knowledge with others just as it is important to be able to learn from others' experience.  The idea behind a conspiracy day applies to teaching just as much as it does to other professions.   

10:2 Word Wall

When and where did I find the word: Word Wall was part of the reading assignment for this week. The word was found in the book Word Wise and Content Rich: Five essential steps to teaching academic vocabulary. By Fisher and Frey.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2008).  Word wise and content rich:  Five essential steps to teaching academic vocabulary.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

What it means: According to Fisher and Frey (2008), word walls are organized collections of words displayed in large letters on a wall.

Level of Familiarity: I have heard of word walls before in school. When I was in school, we had word walls; however, they were only used to display the new and old vocabulary that we had learned that year/week. We never did anything more with the word walls. Through experience in my classroom, I have learned that word walls are only as effective as they are used in the classroom.  

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I definitely want to know this strategy well. The word walls are a very good resource to help students acquire new vocabulary, as long as they are used well within the lesson. Using word walls increases students exposure to the words, and when used properly, they are highly useful tools to introduce, review, and use words.

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers should know this strategy well. Again, it is important to use the word wall in lessons throughout the unit to ensure the students get the most use of the word wall in the classroom. Word walls need to be actively used in the classroom, and shouldn't be considered passive, but relevant classroom decoration.  

10:1 Shades of meaning paint chip

When and where did I find the word: Shades of meaning paint chip was part of the the reading assignment for this week. The word was found in the book Word Wise and Content Rich: Five essential steps to teaching academic vocabulary. By Fisher and Frey.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2008).  Word wise and content rich:  Five essential steps to teaching academic vocabulary.  Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

What it means: According to Fisher and Frey (2008) Shades of meaning paint chips is a strategy used to help students understand the differences between related words.

Level of Familiarity: I have never heard of the shades of meaning paint chip strategy. When I read the chapter in Fisher and Frey (2008), I thought that it was great to find that strategy to use in my classroom.  I think that it will be beneficial and will help my students understand vocabulary and maintain their interest when attempting to keep track of new vocabulary.

Do I want to know this word well and tell why? I definitely want to know this strategy well. This is a new strategy that I can use in my classroom and my students can keep and benefit from all year long.  

Do I think others should know this word well....if so who and why?  Teachers should know this strategy well. Again, it is a great way to have the students concretely see the differences between related words. This is also a great way to have students keep track of new vocabulary and use it in their daily writing.