Teaching Reading Comprehension in the Middle School Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago shanahan@uic.edu

Why teach reading in the middle school? REASON # 1: Full social participation requires a high level of reading—higher than can be accomplished in the lower grades.

Why teach reading in the middle school? REASON # 2: Reading is developmental and individuals acquire it at different speeds—necessitating later instruction for at least some students.

Why teach reading in the middle school? REASON # 3: Often early reading instruction is not very good or there is something wrong in learning.

Why teach reading in the middle school? REASON # 4: At advanced levels, reading is particularized and these specialized reading routines have to be learned.

How can we improve middle school reading comprehension? Answer # 1: Increase the amount instruction.

Increasing Literacy Time Teach students how to read math, science, and social studies. Give strugglers an extra literacy period. Even more instruction for those who still struggle.

How can we improve middle school reading comprehension? SOLUTION # 2: Teach essential skills and strategies.

Teaching Essential Skills and Strategies Reading comprehension Vocabulary Oral reading fluency Decoding (for some)

Teaching Comprehension Greater focus on expository text. Teach multiple major thinking strategies: --summarization --questioning --previewing/predicting --text structure --visualizing --inferring --monitoring Teach strategies as strategies.

Teaching Comprehension (cont.) Modeling Clear explanation --what, when, how, why Guided doing Independent practice

Teaching Vocabulary Teach deep definitions. Build networks of meaning. Provide lots of repetition and review.

Teaching Fluency Oral reading Guidance and coaching Repetition Emphasize both decoding and prosody.

Teaching Decoding Only for very lowest students Systematic instruction More than individual sounds --complex spelling patterns --decoding

How can we improve middle school reading comprehension? SOLUTION # 3: Improve quality of teaching.

Improving Quality of Teaching Thorough, coherent, systematic instruction Appropriate teaching level Motivation and engagement Teacher knowledge

Thorough, coherent, systematic instruction Enough lessons to ensure success. Well organized—so the intention is obvious. Clear day-to-day plans.

Appropriate Teaching Level Instructional materials can be too easy to learn from. Instructional materials can be too hard to learn from. Materials at or near student reading levels allows optimum progress.

Motivation and Engagement Curiosity: content should interest students Competence: students should be successful Challenge: students should feel like they are learning something worth learning

Teacher knowledge Teachers need to know how to model, explain, re-teach Teachers must be able to recognize learning Professional development matters

In summation,

Why should we improve middle school reading instruction? Because we care about kids Because they need for us to do it Because we can

How can we improve middle school literacy? Increasing amount of instruction Focusing instruction on key learning Improving quality of teaching

When should we improve middle school reading? The time is now We know how And, the kids are here now

Thank you very much!

Teaching Reading in the Middle School Timothy Shanahan University of Illinois at Chicago shanahan@uic.edu http://www.reading.org/presentations/