Scaffolding

Instruction

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
What Is a Scaffold?
 A scaffold is a temporary learning aid
designed to help the student grow in
independence as a learner.

 Once the skill the scaffold is intended to

help has been mastered, the scaffold
should be withdrawn.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
What Is Scaffolding Instruction?
 A set of pre-reading, during-reading, and
post-reading activities specifically
designed to assist a particular group of
students in successfully reading,
understanding, learning from, and
enjoying a reading passage.
(Graves & Graves, 2003)

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Why Use Scaffolding Instruction?
 Scaffolding a reading passage offers the
teacher a flexible plan that takes into
consideration:
1. The particular group of students
2. The text they are reading
3. The purpose for reading the text

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Why Use Scaffolding Instruction?
Scaffolding a reading experience also
provides:
1. Temporary support for students to use in
understanding and discussing the reading
selection.
2. Methods to enhance student engagement
with the text, allowing for deeper
understanding of knowledge.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
What Advantages Does
Scaffolding Instruction Offer?
 A temporary support structure to assist the
student’s comprehension of text.
 A support structure that allows students to
complete tasks and gain knowledge.
 Activities which can be used to self-monitor and
internalize reading skills.
 Activities which provide ways for students to
discuss and write about reading passages.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
What Advantages Does
Scaffolding Instruction Offer?
 Scaffolding provides for a plan to develop
independent readers
 Scaffolding is a temporary support plan
which should be removed when the leaner
reaches an independent reading level and
can self-monitor their reading.
 Scaffolding includes an instructional
framework.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
What Are the Components of an
Instructional Framework Scaffold?
 Initiating students toward reading at
independent levels.
 Constructing meaning from the text.
 Utilizing text meanings to apply or act
upon the meanings students have
constructed.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Initiating Component
Teachers should:
 Introduce content
 Assess prior knowledge
 Identify purpose for
reading
 Stimulate curiosity
 Develop a strategic plan
Students should:
 Preview the content
 Assess prior knowledge
 Build upon prior knowledge
 Determine purposes
 Raise questions/issues
 Recognize a need to know
 Develop a strategic reading
plan
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA
Constructing Component
Teachers should Students should :
consider:  Engage
 Class size  Interact
 Needs of students  Process information
 Diverse learning styles  Associate with life
 Complexity of subject experiences
matter  Organize
 Time spent on a reading  Think about the
assignment passage

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Utilizing Component
Teachers should:
 Explain
 Clarify
 Model
 Demonstrate
 Guide the student using
the scaffold activity
selected
Students should:
 Write ideas
 Synthesize information
 Clarify and organize
ideas
 Refine concepts
 Move toward
independence from
using the scaffold
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA
How Are Scaffolding Instruction
Activities Sequenced?
 Before Reading Scaffolds
 During Reading Scaffolds
 After Reading Scaffolds

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Before Reading Scaffolds
 Two Minute Preview
 K-W-L

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Two Minute Preview Description
 Provides students with an overview of the
selection
 Helps students develop a plan for reading
a selection
 Previewing a reading passage can help
students become active and engaged with
the text.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Two Minute Preview Procedures

 Can be used with pairs or whole class

 Good scaffold for predicting text structure
and organization of content
 Teacher leads the class in discussion of
preview findings

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Two Minute Preview Guide
What is the author talking about?
What are the heading and subheading topics?
Can I interpret graphs, charts, tables and maps?
Are there any margin notes?
Is there a passage overview and summary ?
Do questions cover the major ideas in the
reading?
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA
K-W-L Scaffold
 A widely used strategy to foster active
reading, consists of three steps:
 K- What do I already know?
 W-What do I want to find out?
 L-What did I learn, and still need to learn?

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Why Use the K-W-L Scaffold?
Provides a structure which:
 Activates prior knowledge

 Builds upon prior knowledge

 Elicits student input

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
 Sample K-W-L Scaffold Chart
 K K: What do I W: What do I L: What did I
 W already know? want to find out? learn?
 L

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
During Reading Scaffolds
 Key Questions
 Note Taking: Do it Yourself

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
The Key Questions Scaffold
This scaffold strategy is designed to help
students process the basic elements of of
( Who? What? When? Where? And How?)
of what they read.

Students use this scaffold to note and

present information to a small group or
whole class.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Why Use the Key Questions
Scaffold?
This scaffold is used:
 When working with readers who have
trouble comprehending at the literal level.
 To present the new information helps
integrate it into existing schemata.
 When teachers need a quick,informal
assessment tool to judge student reading
performance on a text passage.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
The Key Questions Procedure
 Teacher models five key questions in a selection
 Students read and record information to answer the five
key questions using the key questions worksheet.
 Students may design a flipchart of notes.
 Students present the information orally to the class

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
 The Key Questions Scaffold:
Student Worksheet
Use the key questions scaffold below with the reading assignment.

Who ? What ? When ? Where? How?

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Note Taking: Do It Yourself
 Effective note taking is one of the most
important skills students can develop.
 Real value in note taking is revisiting the notes
and reacting, organizing, and using them in
some way.
 Revisiting notes and using them in classroom
instruction leads to deeper understanding and
integration into one’s schema.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Note Taking: Do It Yourself
 There are many types of note taking
systems.
 Any note-taking system should present
information in an organized manner that
can be adapted for verbal and visual
presentations.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Note Taking Using the R3 System
Students perform the following actions:
 Read the text passage
 Record important notes
 Respond to the notes by writing questions and
answering those questions
 React by writing a summary about what they are
learning.
 Make associations to learn new material by
linking to existing knowledge

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Note Taking Using the R3 System
Use the R3 note taking scaffold below.

Notes: Questions Reaction Summary:

and
Answers:

Associations:

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
After Reading Scaffolds
 Think Aloud Strategy
 Writing to Learn Strategy
 The Last Word

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Think Aloud Strategy
 This scaffold helps students understand
the thinking required by a specific task.
 The teacher models the thinking process
as she/he reads aloud.
 Students see how the teacher constructs
meaning from unfamiliar vocabulary, and
new text content.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Think Aloud Strategy Scaffolding
 Includes the following activities:
 Reading aloud
 Developing questions
 Verbalizing thoughts
 Making predictions as you read
 Explaining how one connects new content
with prior knowledge.
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA
Think Aloud Activities
Coping strategies you can model include:
 Making predictions

 Forming a hypothesis

 Creating analogies

 Verbalizing Fix-Up Strategies

 Using retelling to review a process or

procedure
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA
Think Aloud Guide Sheet
None A Little Most of Always
the time
Make predictions

Form mental pictures

Connect to prior
Knowledge
Create Analogies

Verbalize Confusing
points

Use fix-up strategy

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Writing To Learn Strategy
 Can be incorporated across the curriculum
 Helps students personalize learning
 Encourages high-level thinking skills
 Assists in helping students construct
meaning from the text
 Writing activities are brief

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Writing To Learn Strategy Steps
1.Select the concept you want students to
explore.
2. Assign the Writing to learn activity
any time during the class.
3. Give students three to five minutes think
time to consider a response
4. Have students write five minutes on the
topic.
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA
Writing To Learn Strategy
 Writing to learn discussion can be
centered on the written response
 Writing to learn helps students reflect on
information under discussion.
 Writing to learn can be effect in helping

Students construct summaries of their

reading assignment.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
The Last Word Strategy
 The Last Word is a writing to learn activity
used at the end of a discussion or reading.
 Students spend the last ten minutes of class
completing the Last Word Writing guide.
 In the guide, students write the teacher a brief
letter about information they do not understand,
need clarified, or reviewed.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
The Last Word Strategy Guide
The Last Word
Name _________, Date____, Class______

Today, I understood:__________.

Today, I did not understand:________.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Writing to Learn: Guidelines
1. Identify appropriate topic and writing
activity.
2. Keep content the central focus.
3. Provided sufficient writing time.
4. Design the writing activity to review,
question and summarize knowledge
5. Provide time to students to discuss their
written responses.
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA
Scaffolding Instruction Review
In this program, we have presented:
1. A rationale for scaffolding.
2. A reading frame work for using
scaffolding: before, during and after the
reading process
3. Six scaffolding activities teachers can
integrate with their content reading
assignments.

Temple CTE Reading Project

D. Garnes, FRA
Resources Used in This Program
 Billmeyer, Rachel & Barton, Mary Lee. ( 1998) Teaching Reading in
the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who?, McREL, Aurora, CO.

 Brozo, W.G., & Simpson, M.L. (1999) Readers, Teachers and

Learners: Expanding Literacy Across the Content Areas, Prentice
Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ.

 Graves, Michael & Graves, Bonnie. ( 2003) Scaffolding Reading

Experiences: Designs for Student Success, Christopher-Gordon
Publishers: Norwood, MA.

 Stephens, Elaine & Brown, Jean. (2000) A Handbook of Content

Literacy Strategies: 75 Practical Reading and Writing Ideas,
Christopher-Gordon Publishers: Norwood, MA.
Temple CTE Reading Project
D. Garnes, FRA