An Environmental Reading Program

• Published in: The Reading teacher Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 338 - 342
• Main Author: Marturano, Arlene
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: International Reading Association 01-12-1985
• Subjects: Art sketches; Habitats; Natural resources; Reading programs; Seed cones; Seedlings; Timber; Tree trunks; Trees; Yarns
• ISSN: 0034-0561; 1936-2714

A reading program that utilizes three-dimensional objects & events from both natural & synthetic sources as the primary reading material in developing the student's conceptual readiness for the interpretation & comprehension of printed material is outlined. Reading is defined as an active thought process of constructing meaning from phenomena as well as from the two-dimensional world of pictures & one-dimensional world of printed text. The reading of phenomena is accomplished through a spectrum of thinking skills, eg, observing, describing, comparing, classifying, sequencing, & inferring. "Language frames" is introduced as the teaching methodology for activating & operationalizing the thinking skills. Language frames are single words or patterns of words that serve as viewing lenses for interpreting phenomena. Some basic language frames for description are color, shape, & texture. Verb tense patterns signal time sequences & comparisons over time as in the language frame trilogy. Reading units are organized around a central focus (eg, a tree) & a series of lessons evolve around concomitants of the focus (eg, leaves, bark, roots, seed pod, core sample). Individual lessons have various phases: an initial close viewing phase of observing & describing phenomena yields data to be used in subsequent comparing, classifying sequencing, or generalizing lessons. Concurrently, students create two-dimensional materials (sketches, photographs, collages, paintings) & one-dimensional materials (books, stories, poetry) to represent phenomena under study. Four close-viewing & four meaning-construction lessons are detailed. The Environmental Reading Program stands on its own as an alternative to the basal approach or may be used in conjunction with a basal series. AA