Video—Visual Foundations
Readtopia Video Lessons actively engage students in a whole group lesson (Emergent through Conventional levels working together) in building world knowledge and creating accurate mental models to support reading comprehension.
Lesson Objective: Clear objectives let you align lessons to your alternate state standards so you can easily write and track IEP goals.
Teacher Preparation: Actions and materials required to implement each lesson are clearly described so that you can prepare in advance to deliver a successful learning experience to your students.
IMPORTANT!
You can use the Readtopia Print Center to pre-print lesson materials at the beginning of every unit to streamline the process!
Anchor: A whole group activity helps students to make personal connections to the content and become more aware of how to effectively use video as a strategy to boost reading comprehension.
Watch with Purpose: A clear, compelling and common purpose for viewing focuses student attention on key concepts introduced in each video. (Whole group activity)
Students can watch videos over and over again to sharpen mental models and broaden world knowledge!
In order for students to watch videos on their own, follow the directions on how to create a video that can be linked for students’ viewing. See item #3 under Frequently Asked Questions.
Respond to the Video: Leveled Video Response Sheets guide small groups of students in sharing what they remember about the concepts and events presented in the video, making personal connections to video content, and practicing new vocabulary as they engage in purposeful dialog with peers and adults.
Video Images for Discussion: Use these images to encourage and support discussion, sequencing, writing and more!
“The images that form in your mind as you read—we call them "brain movies"—can be more exciting and memorable than a Hollywood film. More to the point for teachers, guiding your students to visualize as they read is an engaging and enjoyable way to boost comprehension and retention.” (Wilson, 2014)
Videos help to build background knowledge which “is one of the strongest indicators of how well [students] will learn new information relative to the content.” (Marzano, 2004)
Continually Responding to YOUR Teaching Needs
Readtopia developers are constantly working to improve the learning experience for both teachers and students. As a result, you may find additional support provided in lessons in new units as we make them available. Click here for examples of supports that have been added since the release of early Readtopia units.