Research paper(first draft)

Joyceburu Chen(中文四 陳怡如)
Professor Emma Liang
English composition 2A
9 January 2009
Is doing the work sheet an effective way
to help improving reading, writing, and learning skill?

The work sheet is usually used as an assistant tool for teaching in different kinds of subject nowadays. The paper here will focus on the issue that whether it is really an effective way to help improving reading ability by writing the learning sheet after reading or not. Writing down the feeling after reading perhaps a direct way to check how much we understand about the reading text. Besides, writing down the information or feeling is a realistic process which helps us trying to express. Therefore, we can say that doing the work sheet can aid in advance reading and writing skill at the same time.
Why we need to improve our reading and writing skill? Both them are important in our life! First, we discuss reading. Learn to read, and read to learn. It is a process to explore the world. Reading is the necessary way to learn, and the time you start to learn to read is a key point for learning in the future. The study shows that the early readers and especially the precocious reader not only continue to hold their advantage in reading skills, but improve at an increasingly fast rate when provided appropriate interventions. Children who were taught to read at age three or four read better than children who were taught at age five or six. Those taught at age seven or eight were farther behind. This was true even when comparing children of the same IQ and same socio-economic status. After eight years, the children taught earlier were ahead of children who were taught later. The children who were taught to read earlier were more likely to “devour books.” That is to say, reading is important, and we need to cultivate the skill as early as possible.
Second, we talk about writing. Writing is a way to communicate with the world. We can express our feeling and ideas. Making our writing skill better can help people understand our idea clearly, so that we can avoid understanding. In addition, we usually learn more from writing! If we want to share some idea, that means those ideas come from us. We want to share more, that means we need to gain more. That’s why we usually learn more from writing.
According to the above, we realize that both reading and writing skill are quite
important in life. Now we turn to the main point- is doing work sheet really helpful to improve reading and writing skill? Basically, it depends on using the right thing on the right target. For example, the different age and level of the readers need different work sheet. Elementary school students and college students have different learning requirement. They apply to different kind of work sheet such as closed/ opened type question.
The open questions, for example: What do you learn from the story? Who is your favorite character in the novel and, why? The open type question aid to think deeply and widely and the purposes are to train reader thinking critically and logically. Then, express their own ideas to communicate with each other by writing the work sheets to gain more information. The close question is such as True or False question. The close type question usually has a correct answer of a specific direction. Then guide learner to catch main point by the question, and rethink the ideas on the reading text by writing the work sheets.
A learning sheet with profundity and significance may help reader to deeply think twice toward the text. That is to say, the learning sheet can arouse the curiosity and creativity, and those are the important elements for writing. For example, how to summarize can help us to catch the main point of the text. Try to analyze and admire a text can help us logical writing. I think an effect learning sheet can really help us to improve the reading and writing skill.
The function and meaning of work sheets for younger children or lower level focus on being guide. Learner can follow the question on the sheet to catch or understand the main idea of the reading text. Then, rethink the main point of the reading by writing work sheet. The function and meaning for college students or higher level reader can regard as an accelerator which assist them learn more and fast. Learner can follow the question and information to advance their learning quality. So, discussing the effects of the work sheet should notice the targets’ age and reading level. If we can change the content of the sheet depends on their age, level and requirement, the work sheet will be helpful for learning.
After analyzing the importance of reading and writing skill and some matters need to know to use work sheet, the following will discuss more about the advantage and shortcoming of doing work further. Then we can realize whether the work sheet can be effectively for improve our reading, writing and learning skill.
The shortages of doing work sheet are three. First, it may make readers lazy to think. If it is a closed type question, that means there are the correct answer which can be find on the reading text. Learners will be opportunistic and doing the work sheet hurriedly without thinking.
Second is doing the work sheet after reading may become a pressure to reader. Actually, teenagers in nowadays like to use the Internet or film with vivid sound and image to get information. They think that reading book is too bored to keep as a hobby. Some even argued that, when reading a book, the reader constructed an image in their own mind and this could often be worse than something portrayed in a film. Besides, most teenagers see the Internet as being easier to use than reference books.
This is a society which cares the rate and efficiency. The fast food restaurants are the symbol of the fast food culture. People who are eager for gaining information quickly may lazy to read. Thus, we need to advocate reading reviving! The question is people now lack of desire to read, so reducing the pressure as far as possible may be a way to encourage people to read. It may be a heavy burden for them, if we ask teenagers or readers to do the work sheet after reading. In fact, when reading becomes a burden, the interest in reading process will disappear at the same time. However, the interest is the most important element during the process of reading.
The third shortage is the questions on the learning sheet may restrict or hinder thinking. That is to say, it may obstruct our creation. The original intention to design the learning sheet is making learning interesting, but it can be an opposite result when the reflection or idea has a correct answer. A formal reading situation, the reflection will change depends on readers’ reading experience and life background. Therefore, literacy will not have one explanation or one answer. The questions on the work sheet may guide readers to the same direction, and that will cause to poor imagination. In conclude, the main point to reduce using work sheet is it will become a limitation in our thinking and learning.
The above are the shortages of work sheet I sort. After understanding the shortage of work sheet, we need to think further. If there are many faults in using work sheet, I am wondering the reason why the work sheet still be used as an assistant tool for teaching so general. The following, I will present three advantages of work sheet to compare with shortages.
The first benefit is work sheet can help reader to understand or catch the main content easily and quickly. As I have presented in above paragraph, one of an important function to using work sheet is guiding! That is to say, the questions on the sheet offer a wide direction instead of an only answer. We can describe the function of work sheet in improving reading, writing, and learning as “scaffold.” Why I need to talk about this instructional theory “scaffolding”? When we discuss the issue of teaching reading and writing, the theory is quite important. It is a teaching way about helping learner learn a skill or receive a concept. The reading learning sheet is a material to help writing, because we may be raised more idea by answer the question. Besides, we can make sure whether the readers catch the main point of the book or not by writing the reading learning sheet. The process of training reading and writing is liked the scaffold of the building. The scaffold can help construct the building, and the leaning sheet also plays the same role on reading and writing.
There is still an evidence to support that work sheet can bring reading and writing together. The article is written by Cheri Cooke, who teaches courses in study skills, learning skills, and reading at Oak-Land Junior High in Minneapolis. Cooke previously taught English in Robbins dale, Minnesota, and English as a second language in Ecuador. It talked about how to bring reading and writing together. The teacher asked the students choose their favorite books to read. After reading the book, they have to give some comments. That is what “book reviews” means.
“Students were reading books of their choosing. They enjoyed the books, talked about their reading, and recommended books to one another. Why not undertake a project that encouraged them to write about their books? As I worked on the project, I prepared very detailed models and directions to assist students in successfully completing it.”
According to the above, we can find out that the teacher may give some detailed models and directions to assist student in writing. I think that the function of writing directions correspond to learning sheet. The question on the learning sheet approach the directions what the teacher offered, because the functions are liked the scaffold of the building. Those methods are the guide and support for reader to learn how to write.
And then, the other merit is doing the work sheet after reading is a useful and directly way to practice expression. We can’t absolutely deny the effects writing after reading. If we modify the questions on the learning sheet, it can be useful to promote writing ability. While reading, we can memorize the words the author used, and it can help us using accurate words to depict what we want to talk. Besides, it is a complex process from reading to expressing, hence try to write the idea and feeling is a good way to train our logical thinking. The idea is quite important for making a good composition, because the purpose of writing is to express your own idea. If we can train ourselves to think logically, it can make our composition well organized and fluent. Besides, how to express clearly and share what we have known can’t be neglect because we can gain more knowledge and ideas from the process of exchanging the opinions. I think the meaning to communicate with each other is same with “teaching is learning.” We will learn more from sharing ideas, and writing the work sheet is exactly the way to practice express well.
The last advantage of work sheet is it is a complete process for learning in life time. In the beginning, we learn how to read; and then, we learn by reading. What an interest connection. We can learn the rhetoric, the logical process, and the attitude of the author. After reading, we can try to think some question on the learning sheet. It not only can help us to think, but also improve our writing skill. In addition, we use work sheet to test our comprehension.
After presenting the shortage and advantage of work sheet, I tend to support the great function of work sheet. I will put two articles as evidence to support my opinion in the following. First is Scaffolding Reading Experiences to Promote Success: A Flexible Approach to Fostering Comprehension. The article is written by Michael Graves, professor and head of the Literacy Education Program at the University of Minnesota, and Bonnie Graves, a freelance writer specializing in instructional materials and fiction for children. In the article, it mentions that the Directed Reading Activity (DRA), a preset plan for teaching basal reading selections. It says a scaffold reading experience is a flexible framework for planning reading experiences in today's classrooms. A scaffolding reading experience has two phases. The first phase is planning, which contains reading selection and purposes reading. The second is implementation, which includes post-reading activities.
Pre-reading activities means to make students read what upcoming to read. During the activities, students can learn more than merely read only one book. It also can lead student remind what they already known and help them understand and enjoy the reading selection.
Post-reading activities serve many purposes. They provide opportunities for students to comprehend and organize information gather from the text so that they can understand and recall important points. They allow both teachers and students to evaluate students' understanding of the text. It also provides opportunities for students to respond to a text in a variety of ways-to reflect on the meaning of the text, to compare differing texts and ideas, to imagine themselves as characters in the text, to realize information from different.
Writing the work sheet is one of post-reading activities. The work sheet can provide a strong evidence to present their comprehension. That is to say, we can know whether the readers catch the key points from the article or not, and then to offer some effective advices for them. To conclude, from the article, we can gain a great evidence to show the work sheet is useful to help reading effectively.
The second article is Before-During-After (BDA) Reading Strategies, Instructional Strategies to Improve Reading Comprehension in Any Subject Area. The article above mentions a complete reading strategy includes three phases. During my paper, I focus on the last phase, after reading. Before-During-After (BDA) Reading Strategies, A - After (Post Reading). From the article, we can find out that we need to write down some information after reading, to not only improve understanding but also test whether we really know or not. We can share with the class and discuss with our partner, and then write down what we get from the communicating. It can help us to catch some points we miss or ignore from the book or article.
We also can set up a reflection activity. The value of reflection is evident when it brings about an awareness of new learning; it also helps if there is an opportunity for the students to make use of their reflections in some future task, or when the teacher directs students to connect some reflections sequentially as part of a summarization activity.
Writing after reading is helpful for people to comprehend. Besides, doing some activities such as writing work sheet can make our reading complete. We may rethink what we have read, and we also may discuss with other people to exchange ideas. We can gain more then just reading without doing post-reading activities hence.
In conclusion, doing the work sheet is an effective way to help improving reading, writing, and learning skill because it provides opportunity for learner to practice thinking logically and writing to express clearly. Combine well reading and writing skill can assist learning, therefore I am optimistic to the function of work sheet and agree that it is an effective way to help improving reading, writing, and learning.





References

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