Reading Instruction (NOT Instructions!) Key Concepts for Teaching Reading at the Secondary Level

2 Unskilled Readers Students who struggle with reading are often unaware of the role the reader plays in comprehending and learning with texts. Unsuccessful readers rarely consider what they need to do to be successful. Instead of taking an active role in constructing meaning, they remain passive and disengaged. Require EXPLICIT instruction.

3 “Rate This Text” What did you need to understand this text? Prior knowledge and/or context

4 Strategic Readers Use Schema Schema is how people organize and store information in their minds. Schema activation is the mechanism by which people access what they know (prior knowledge) and match it to the information in a text. Misunderstanding/ no understanding can result from lack of prior knowledge or inability to access the appropriate prior knowledge.

5 “How To Ruin an Association” Were you able to decode the entire text? Where did meaning begin to break down? Where did your ability to make meaning fail altogether (without using a “decoder ring”?)

6 The Paomnnehal Pweor of the Hmuan Mnid Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

7 Unskilled Readers Unskilled readers approach reading word-by- word as if it were a word perfect act. Often they can “word call”—read aloud with perfect inflection—yet have no idea of what the words they have spoken mean. Skilled readers read for “gist.” They make meaning.

8 “The House” Read this passage and circle what is important. Read it again, and underline things a robber would find important. Read it again and mark in a different way things a prospective home buyer would find important.

9 Strategic Readers Strategic readers read for a purpose. Strategic readers constantly pose cognitive questions (Frank Smith, 1988) that allow interaction with the content of the communication.

10 Cognitive Questions What is this text about? What is the author trying to say? What is going to happen next? What does the author mean? So what? How does this fit with what I already know? What questions do I have, or what don’t I understand?

11 Explicit Instruction TEACH unskilled readers how to ask these questions and use them to guide developing understanding.

12 Strategic Readers Strategic readers have strategies to make meaning of complex texts: 1. They reread. 2. They make use of the way the author organizes ideas (structure). 3. They ask, “What is the main point of this passage? How does the author develop it? 4. They try to use syntax cues (the grammar of the sentence). 5. They try to use semantic cues (the meaning of the text). 6. They ask for help.

13 Explicit Instruction TEACH unskilled readers these strategies and how to use them.

14 Difficult Texts A text may be difficult for readers because: 1. The content and/ or vocabulary are unfamiliar (readers don’t have enough prior knowledge). 2. The text is poorly organized. 3. The text is poorly written. 4. The text is overly superficial. 5. They are unfamiliar with strategies for reading a particular genre.

15 Unskilled Readers Students who struggle with reading lack strategies for understanding different genres and approach all texts the same way. 1. They read literary texts for information, not for the human experience they provide 2. They read informational texts without thinking about the human voice—the writer—and his or her standpoint and how that influences what information is presented and how it is presented.

16 The Teacher’s Responsibility When the text is difficult, scaffolding the text (prior knowledge, conceptual vocabulary) is the primary responsibility of the teacher. Teachers must use instructional strategies (chunking, text structure analysis, say-mean-matter) to guide students through the reading. Talk with students about the strategies you are using and why. Time spent early in a course teaching student HOW to be effective readers is regained as the year progresses.

17 Into, Through, Beyond INTO Access prior knowledge Connect to students’ life experiences Establish a “comfortable” relationship between learners and new ideas (frontload conceptual vocabulary; have students read an accessible text on the same topic before reading a difficult text, teach students to USE questions as a point of inquiry)

18 Into, Through, Beyond THROUGH Promote active participation in the learning process Foster student’s ability to comprehend new information and ideas by teaching specific comprehension strategies and tools and providing multiple opportunities for successful practice Encourage questions

19 Into, Through, Beyond BEYOND Allow students to reflect on new content. Extend ideas beyond the content. Act on, apply, synthesize new ideas. Reinforce new understandings.

20 Learner Benefits “Get students off teacher welfare!” -Donald Graves