Teacher's Resource - Nelson Education

Life in a Rotting Log
Student Book 4a, pages 44–45
Understanding Reading Strategies
Instructional Focus
VISUALIZING
Visualizing is the process of using
words, structures, and meanings
in a text to create mental pictures
as one reads in order to aid
comprehension.
Instructional Approach
TEACHER MODELLING/
GUIDED PRACTICE
Transparency 6: Hello from P.E.I.
“Life in a Rotting Log” Student
Book 4a, p. 44
Selection available on audio CD.
Prescribed Learning Outcomes
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
OL: Oral Language R/V: Reading/Viewing W/R: Writing/Representing
OL A3: Listen to visualize and share
OL
A4: Use strategies to make/share connections when interacting with
others
R/V B5: Use strategies before reading/viewing to access prior knowledge to
make connections
R/V B6: Use strategies during reading/viewing to visualize
W/R C2: Write a variety of clear informational writing for a range of purposes
and audiences
SCIENCE CONNECTION
Life Science: Compare the structures and behaviours of local animals and
plants in different habitats and communities.
About This Selection
This highly descriptive article tells how a dead tree in a forest helps keep
various organisms alive.
This article will be accessible to most
students. It is written in clear yet vivid
sentences. Some vocabulary may be
unfamiliar to some students.
ACCESSIBILITY
Easy Average Challenging
ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING
Ongoing Observation
Students who understand will
• identify words that help them create
pictures in their minds
• add to their mental pictures when they
get more information
• connect the reading to personal
experience
• explain how visualization helps them to
understand the text and monitor
comprehension
Differentiated Instruction
If students do not understand,
• use Listening and Drawing (see
Differentiated Instruction: Extra
Support, p. 19)
Assessment
Key Assessment Questions
• What words in the article helped you to
create a picture in your mind
• How did the picture in your mind
change when you read more
information
• How did connecting your reading to
personal experience help you to
visualize
• How did visualizing help you
understand what you read
Assessment Tools
BLM 2: Oral Language Tracking Sheet
BLM 3: Small-Group Observation Tracking
Sheet
BLM 6: Strategy Rubric Strip—Visualizing
What Research Says about Visualization
Visualization is a comprehension strategy that enables readers to make the
words on a page real and concrete. (Keene & Zimmerman, 1997)
NEL Life in a Rotting Log 17