ADVERB

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?. This function is called the adverbial function, and may be realized by single words (adverbs) or by multi- word expressions (adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses).

Adverbs are traditionally regarded as one of the parts of speech. However, modern linguists note that the term “adverb” has come to be used as a kind of “catch-all” category, used to classify words with various different types of syntactic behavior, not necessarily having much in common except that they do not fit into any of the other available categories (noun, adjective, preposition, etc.)

Functions

The English word adverb derives (through French) from Latin adverbium, from ad- (“to”), verbum (“word”, “verb”), and the nominal suffix -ium. The term implies that the principal function of adverbs is to act as modifiers of verbs or verb phrases.[1] An adverb used in this way may provide information about the manner, place, time, frequency, certainty, or other circumstances of the activity denoted by the verb or verb phrase. Some examples:

She sang loudly (loudly modifies the verb sang, indicating the manner of singing) We left it here (here modifies the verb phrase left it, indicating place)

I worked yesterday (yesterday modifies the verb worked, indicating time)

You often make mistakes (often modifies the verb phrase make mistakes, indicating frequency)

He undoubtedly did it (undoubtedly modifies the verb phrase did it, indicating certainty)

Adverbs can also be used as modifiers of adjectives, and of other adverbs, often to indicate degree. Examples:

You are quite right (the adverb quite modifies the adjective right)

She sang very loudly (the adverb very modifies another adverb – loudly)

They can also modify noun phrases, prepositional phrases,[1] or whole clauses or sentences, as in the following examples:

I bought only the fruit (only modifies the noun phrase the fruit)

She drove us almost to the station (almost modifies the prepositional phrase to the station)

Certainly we need to act (certainly modifies the sentence as a whole) Adverbs are thus seen to perform a wide range of modifying functions. The major exception is the function of modifier of nouns, which is performed instead by adjectives (compare she sang loudly with her loud singing disturbed me; here the verb sang is modified by the adverb loudly, whereas the noun singing is modified by the adjective loud). However, as seen above, adverbs may modify noun phrases, and so the two functions may sometimes be superficially very similar: Even camels need to drink Even numbers are divisible by two

The word even in the first sentence is an adverb, since it is an “external” modifier, modifying camels as a noun phrase (compare even these camels

…), whereas the word even in the second sentence is an adjective, since it is an “internal” modifier, modifying numbers as a noun (compare these even numbers …). It is nonetheless possible for certain adverbs to modify a noun; in English the adverb follows the noun in such cases,[1] as in:

The people here are friendly

There is a shortage internationally of protein for animal feeds

Adverbs can sometimes be used as predicative expressions; in English this applies especially to adverbs of location:

Your seat is there.

When the function of an adverb is performed by an expression consisting of more than one word, it is called an adverbial phrase or adverbial clause, or simply an adverbial.

REVIEW READING STRATEGIES

Reading strategies

There are a variety of strategies used to teach reading. Strategies vary according to the challenges like new concepts, unfamiliar vocabulary, long and complex sentences, etc. trying to deal with all of these challenges at the same time may be unrealistic. Then again strategies should fit to the ability, aptitude and age level of the learner. Some of the strategies teachers use are: reading aloud, group work, and more reading exercises. Reciprocal teaching

In the 1980s Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar and Ann L. Brown developed a technique called reciprocal teaching that taught students to predict, summarize, clarify, and ask questions for sections of a text. The use of strategies like summarizing after each paragraph have come to be seen as effective strategies for building students’ comprehension. The idea is that students will develop stronger reading comprehension skills on their own if the teacher gives them explicit mental tools for unpacking text.

Instructional conversations

“Instructional conversations”, or comprehension through discussion, create higher-level thinking opportunities for students by promoting critical and aesthetic thinking about the text. According to Vivian Thayer, class discussions help students to generate ideas and new questions. (Goldenberg, p. 317). Dr. Neil Postman has said, “All our knowledge results from questions, which is another way of saying that question- asking is our most important intellectual tool”[citation needed] (Response to Intervention). There are several types of questions that a teacher should focus on: remembering; testing understanding; application or solving; invite synthesis or creating; and evaluation and judging. Teachers should model these types of questions through “think-alouds” before, during, and after reading a text. When a student can relate a passage to an experience, another book, or other facts about the world, they are “making a connection.” Making connections help students understand the author’s purpose and fiction or non- fiction story.

Text factors

There are factors, that once discerned, make it easier for the reader to understand the written text. One is the genre, like folktales, historical fiction, biographies or poetry. Each genre has its own characteristics for text structure, that once understood help the reader comprehend it. A story is composed of a plot, characters, setting, point of view, and theme. Informational books provide real world knowledge for students and have unique features such as: headings, maps, vocabulary, and an index. Poems are written in different forms and the most commonly used are: rhymed verse, haikus, free verse, and narratives. Poetry uses devices such as: alliteration, repetition, rhyme, metaphors, and similes. “When children are familiar with genres, organizational patterns, and text features in books they’re reading, they’re better able to create those text factors in their own writing.” Another one is arranging the text per perceptual span and the text display favorable to the age level of the reader.

Non-Verbal Imagery

Media that utilizes schema to make connections either planned or not, more commonly used within context such as: a passage, an experience, or one’s imagination. Some notable examples are emojis, emoticons, cropped and uncropped images, and recently Imojis which are humorous, cropped images that are used to elicit humor and comprehension.

Visualization

Visualization is a “mental image” created in a person’s mind while reading text, which “brings words to life” and helps improve reading comprehension. Asking sensory questions will help students become better visualizers. Students can practice visualizing by imagining what they “see, hear, smell, taste, or feel” when they are reading a page of a picture book aloud, but not yet shown the picture. They can share their visualizations, then check their level of detail against the illustrations.

Partner reading

Partner reading is a strategy created for pairs. The teacher chooses two appropriate books for the students’ to read. First they must read their own book. Once they have completed this, they are given the opportunity to write down their own comprehensive questions for their partner. The students swap books, read them out loud to one another and ask one another questions about the book they read.

This strategy:

Provides a model of fluent reading and helps students learn decoding skills by offering positive feedback.

Provides direct opportunities for a teacher to circulate in the class, observe students, and offer individual remediation.

Multiple reading strategies

There are a wide range of reading strategies suggested by reading programs and educators. Effective reading strategies may differ for second language learners, as opposed to native speakers. The National Reading Panel identified positive effects only for a subset, particularly summarizing, asking questions, answering questions, comprehension monitoring, graphic organizers, and cooperative learning. The Panel also emphasized that a combination of strategies, as used in Reciprocal Teaching, can be effective. The use of effective comprehension strategies that provide specific instructions for developing and retaining comprehension skills, with intermittent feedback, has been found to improve reading comprehension across all ages, specifically those affected by mental disabilities.

Reading different types of texts requires the use of different reading strategies and approaches. Making reading an active, observable process can be very beneficial to struggling readers. A good reader interacts with the text in order to develop an understanding of the information before them. Some good reader strategies are predicting, connecting, inferring, summarizing, analyzing and critiquing. There are many resources and activities educators and instructors of reading can use to help with reading strategies in specific content areas and disciplines. Some examples are graphic organizers, talking to the text, anticipation guides, double entry journals, interactive reading and note taking guides, chunking, and summarizing.[citation needed]

The use of effective comprehension strategies is highly important when learning to improve reading comprehension. These strategies provide specific instructions for developing and retaining comprehension skills across all ages. Apply methods to attain an overt phonemic awareness with intermittent practice has been found to improve reading in early ages, specifically those affected by mental disabilities.

Comprehension Strategies

Research studies on reading and comprehension have shown that highly proficient readers utilize a number of different strategies to comprehend various types of texts, strategies that can also be used by less proficient readers in order to improve their comprehension.

Making Inferences: In everyday terms we refer to this as ―reading between the lines‖. It involves connecting various parts of texts that aren‘t directly

linked in order to form a sensible conclusion. A form of assumption, the reader speculates what connections lie within the texts.

Planning and Monitoring: This strategy centers around the reader‘s mental awareness and their ability to control their comprehension by way of awareness. By previewing text (via outlines, table of contents, etc.) one can establish a goal for reading-―what do I need to get out of this‖? Readers use context clues and other evaluation strategies to clarify texts and ideas, and thus monitoring their level of understanding.

Asking Questions: To solidify one‘s understanding of passages of texts readers inquire and develop their own opinion of the author‘s writing, character motivations, relationships, etc. This strategy involves allowing oneself to be completely objective in order to find various meanings within the text.

Determining Importance:

Pinpointing the important ideas and messages within the text. Readers are taught to identify direct and indirect ideas and to summarize the relevance of each.

Visualizing: With this sensory-driven strategy readers form mental and visual images of the contents of text. Being able to connect visually allows for a better understanding with the text through emotional responses.

Synthesizing: This method involves marrying multiple ideas from various texts in order to draw conclusions and make comparisons across different texts; with the reader‘s goal being to understand how they all fit together.

Making Connections: A cognitive approach also referred to as ―reading beyond the lines‖, which involves (A) finding a personal connection to reading, such as personal experience, previously read texts, etc. to help establish a deeper understanding of the context of the text, or (B) thinking about implications that have no immediate connection with the theme of the text.

Assessment

There are informal and formal assessments to monitor an individual’s comprehension ability and use of comprehension strategies.Informal assessments are generally through observation and the use of tools, like story boards, word sorts, and interactive writing. Many teachers use Formative assessments to determine if a student has mastered content of the lesson. Formative assessments can be verbal as in a Think-Pair-Share or Partner Share. Formative Assessments can also be Ticket out the door or digital summarizers. Formal assessments are district or state assessments that evaluates all students on important skills and concepts. Summative assessments are typically assessments given at the end of a unit to measure a student’s learning.