Evidence-Based Practices: Basal Readers Stephanie D. Young SPED 566

Evidence-Based Practices This presentation seeks to: Define evidence-based reading instruction Determine if Basal Readers provide evidence-based reading instruction Identify best practices for evidence-based reading instruction Determine if Basal Readers are effective for students with special needs Provide a sample Basal Reader lesson and evaluation

Questions to Consider What is Evidence- Based Reading Instruction?

Evidence-Based Practices Evidence-Based Reading Instruction is a specific program or a collection of instructional practices that have proven to be successful (IRA, 2006).

Evidence-Based Practices The National Reading Panel studied specific reading programs to examine their effectiveness. They concluded that it is not the specific programs that make reading instruction effective but rather their instructional practices (IRA, 2006).

Evidence-Based Practices Proven Research-Based practices: A. Phonemic awareness B. Phonics C. Fluency D. Vocabulary building E. Comprehension

Evidence-Based Practices Basal readers are a collection of highly organized reading textbooks. They include stories in a strict pre- determined sequence that are chosen to teach students specific reading skills. They include comprehension questions and student assignments following each story or poem. Basal Readers include stories with limited vocabulary and they escalate in difficulty (example: Think Dick and Jane). Supplementary materials include: Workbooks, Activity sheets, and activities (PennState, 2008).

Evidence-Based Practices Basal Readers 20 years ago Basal Readers also include the memorization of sight words which is why many refer to the method as the “look and say method (PennState, 2008).”

Evidence-Based Practices Criteria A: Phonemic Awareness A study examined the kindergarten basal reading programs published in 1991 and 1993. They wanted to determine the adequacy of phonological awareness instruction for students at risk for reading disabilities. Criteria Included: the presence of phonologic activities (b) dimensions of phonological awareness (i.e. ., metalinguistic skills © the conspicuousness of instruction (d) the presence of scaffolds to support student learning (e) instructional and practice examples (Smith et. al, 2001).

Evidence-Based Practices Criteria A: Phonemic Awareness Conclusion: The basal reader programs did not: address integral dimensions of phonological awareness integrate critical findings from empirical research (Baker et. al, 2001).

Evidence-Based Practices Criteria B: Phonics One study examined phonics instruction in relation to five basal reader series A-E for grades K-6. Conclusion: All five programs failed to make phonics apparent to students. In these programs phonics instruction proved to be a waste of time. There were great discrepancies between the phonics that was taught and new vocabulary (Durkin, 1990).

Evidence-Based Practices Criteria C: Fluency According to Samuels (2006), text such as Basal Readers have a high percentage of high frequency words, controlled vocabulary, consistency and decodable patterns. These are best for aiding struggling readers in becoming fluent readers (Samuels, 2006).

Evidence-Based Practices Criteria D: Vocabulary Building According to Doty (2001), vocabulary is best developed when it is taught through the presentation of words in context. Basal Readers serve as a major source of vocabulary development in elementary schools (Doty, 2001).

Evidence-Based Practices Criteria E: Comprehension A study sought to calculate, categorize and compare the types of reading comprehension activities and questions included in the new basal reading series. Conclusion: (1) the lower level thinking-comprehension skills are more emphasized than the higher level skills (2) each series is different from the other series in terms of its comprehension questions and activities (Hatcher, 1971).

Evidence-Based Practices Conclusion: Basal readers do not meet the criteria of an evidence-based practice in terms of Phonemic Awareness, Phonics and Comprehension. Basal readers met the criteria of an evidence-based practice in terms of Fluency and Vocabulary Building.

Evidence-Based Practices NC Extend vs. Basal Readers NC Extend Standards: Phonemic Awareness Phonics Instruction Text variety Reading Comprehension Connection to text, self & world Vocabulary Word Recognition Decoding Print Awareness (NCDE, 2008). Basal Standards (K-5): Phonemic Awareness Phonics Instruction Text variety Reading Comprehension Connection to text, self & Community Life Vocabulary Word Recognition (Pathway Reader, 2010). Conclusion: NC Extend standards and Basal Standards are very similar. Their similarity could warrant the effectiveness of Basal Readers for students with special needs.

Evidence-Based Practice Click for Sample of Basal Reader Lesson Click for the evaluation of a Basal Reader Curriculum

References Baker, S; Chard, D.; Gleason, M.; Gunn, B.; Kamehenui, E.; Peinado, J.; Peinado, R.; Simmons, D.; Smith, S.; Sprick, M (2001). An Analysis of Phonological Awareness Instruction in Four Kindergarten Basal Reading. Programs Reading & Writing Quarterly, Volume 17, Issue 1 January 2001 , pages 25 - 51 Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content =a713845093&db=all Doty, D. & Popplewell. S. (2001).Classroom Instruction and Reading Comprehension: A Comparison of One Basal Reader Approach and The Four-Blocks Framework. Reading Psychology, Volume 22, Issue 2 April 2001 , pages 83 – 94. Durkin, D. (1990). Phonics Instruction in New Basal Reader Programs. Technical Report NO. 496. Retrieved from ERIC Database ED315731

References Hatcher, C. (1971). The Development of Comprehension Skills in Selected Basal Readers. Retrieved from ERIC Database ED075791 International Reading Association (2006). What is Evidence-Based Reading Instruction? Retrieved March 23, 2010 from http://www.reading.org/downloads/positions/ps1055_evidence_based.pdf North Carolina Department of Education (2008). ELA K-5 with Draft Demonstrators. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://www.ncpublicschools.org/curriculum/ncecs Pathway Reader (2010). Teaching Proper use of the English Language to the Next Generation. Retrieved April 3, 2010 from http://www.pathwayreaders.com/ Penn State (2008). Research Guides: Basal Readers. Retrieved March 23, 2010 from http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/researchguides/matbytype/basalreaders.html Samuels, S. (2006). What Research Has to Say About Fluency Instruction. Newark, DE: IRA Books