1. Effective Reading Instruction
Amy Shearer Lingo, Ed. D.
University of Louisville

2. Points to Ponder
Research indicates that IQ, mental age, perceptual styles, handedness, race, or parents’ education are ALL weak predictors of reading success
About 20% of elementary readers have significant reading problems (Moats, 1999)
About 20% of elementary students are not fluent enough to enjoy independent reading
Rate of reading failure for African-American, Hispanic, LEP, and low SES children ranges from 60-70%

3. Points to Ponder
1/3 of poor readers nationwide are from college-educated families
About 25% of adults in the US lack basic literacy skills required in a typical job

4. Comparisons of Reading Progress
Comparisons of 30+ countries
elementary students in USA rank in the top 20th %tile
middle school students in USA rank in the 50th %tile
Secondary students in USA rank in the bottom 20th %tile (Allington, 1999)
Poverty is the best predictor of reading failure (Lyon, 1998; Allington, 1999)

5. We know that…..
For 30% of students, learning to read is easy regardless of reading approach
5-10% start school as readers
For 40% of students, learning to read is a challenge and the reading approach used is important. The reading approach used is a function of the respective student needs.
For 30% of students, learning to read is very difficult. A systematic and structured approach that includes PA, phonics, fluency, and comprehension strategies is essential for them to succeed in reading

6. The National Reading Panel (NRP) Findings
Phonemic awareness instruction
Phonics instruction
Fluency
Comprehension
vocabulary instruction
text comprehension instruction

7. The National Reading Panel (NRP) Phonemic Awareness
Positive results for reading and spelling, overall effect size was large (.86)
Effects were more positive for focused and EXPLICIT instruction
Phoneme manipulation with letters was better than without
Small groups best instructional setting

8. The National Reading Panel (NRP) Phonics
Systematic phonics makes larger contribution to successful reading than unsystematic phonics or none at all
Phonics taught early (K-1) gets best results
Positive results for word reading, comprehension and spelling
Dispels idea that systematic phonics interferes with comprehension

9. The National Reading Panel (NRP) Fluency
Fluent reading makes word recognition easier and is related to improved comprehension
Recommended practices that improve fluency: (a) oral reading with teachers, peers, or parents providing feedback; (b) repeated readings of passages
Independent silent reading was NOT supported by the evidence

10. The National Reading Panel (NRP) Comprehension: Vocabulary
Support for teaching directly and indirectly
Example of direct: preteaching new or difficult words before reading text (definitions, synonyms)
Example of indirect: adult reads aloud to students
Repetition and multiple exposures
Learning in rich contexts is valuable

11. The National Reading Panel (NRP) Comprehension: Text
Explicit teaching of comprehension strategies improves performance
Key teaching behaviors:
thorough explanations of the strategy
vivid and detailed models, “think alouds”
interactive practice with feedback

12. Designing Reading Programs
For 30% of students, learning to read is easy (5-10% start school as readers) regardless of reading approach
For 40% of students, learning to read is a challenge and the reading approach used is important. The reading approach used is a function of the respective student needs.
For 30% of students, learning to read is very difficult. A systematic and structured approach that includes PA, phonics, fluency, and comprehension strategies is essential for them to succeed in reading

13. Phonological Awareness
Phonological awareness is the MOST potent predictor of success in learning to read and problems can be diagnosed by mid-kindergarten (Adams, 2000)
Three areas of phonological awareness processing that predispose children to reading disabilities are:
lack of phonemic awareness
difficulty with lexical access (ability to name pictures, objects, or letters rapidly)
deficits in phonological memory (holding lexical units in memory and then operate on these units, such as repeat a string of numbers or follow oral directions

14. Phonological Awareness
Sequence of Phonological Awareness Activities
repeating words
blending syllables
tapping number of words
tapping number of syllables
segmenting words into syllables
comparing word sounds

15. Phonological Awareness
Sequence of Phonological Awareness Activities (continued)
picking words that rhyme
saying the different word
selecting rhyming words
producing rhyming words
blending sounds into words
selecting words with same beginning sound

16. Phonological Awareness
Sequence of Phonological Awareness Activities (continued)
selecting word with different beginning sound
selecting words with same final sound
selecting word with different final sound
blending phonemes
saying a word with part or a beginning sound missing

17. Phonological Awareness
Sequence of Phonological Awareness Activities (continued)
saying a word with a final or middle sound missing
saying beginning, middle, or ending sound of a word
tapping number of phonemes
segmenting words into sounds (from Moods, Speech to Print)

18. Phonemic Awareness
Definition: understanding that words are made of sounds called phonemes
is NECESSARY, but NOT SUFFICIENT for learning to read…. Must integrate phonemic awareness with PHONICS principles!
Helps normally achieving children learn to spell and effects last, BUT was not effective for improving spelling is disabled readers (need to teach in conjunction with spelling strategies)
Explicit/systematic teaching phoneme manipulation primarily in small groups most effective

19. Phonics
Good readers attend to every word and letter unknowingly; thus, the code must be taught (NRP, 2000).
Systematic phonics is an organized program in which letter-sound correspondences for letters and letter clusters are directly taught; blended, practiced in words, word lists and word families; and practiced initially in text with a high percentage of decodable words linked to the phonics lesson.

20. Phonics Teachers should provide immediate and explicit feedback
Systematic phonics instruction gradually builds from basic elements to more subtle and complex patterns
Systematic phonics instruction enhances success in learning to read
Systematic phonics is significantly more effective than instruction with little or no phonics

21. Phonics
Systematic phonics instruction had a + effect on disabled reader’s reading skills, low-achieving students who are not disabled, and students with low SES
Programs that focus too much on the teaching of teaching phonics without ample instruction on their application are unlikely to be effective
Fluent application of phonic skills to text is critical to maximize oral reading and comprehension

22. Phonics Phonics instructional approaches include the following:
Analogy Phonics (unfamiliar words by analogy to know words (e.g, reading stump by analogy to jump)
Analytic Phonics (analysis of letter-sound relationships in previously learned words to avoid pronouncing sounds in isolation
Embedded phonics (phonic skills in text reading)
Spelling (segmentation of words into phonemes)
Synthetic Phonics (converting letters into sounds and then blending into recognizable words)

23. Fluency Fluency refers to speed, accuracy, and proper expression
Average student needs 4 to 14 exposures to automatize the recognition of a new word
Direct link between reading fluency and reading comprehension
Fluency rates vary depending on age and ability levels of students
Independent silent reading was not supported by the evidence in the research (more research needed)

24. Fluency Activities Repeated readings
Practice reading high-frequency sight words and sight word phrases
Set time goals for reading words, phrases, and passages
Model fluent oral reading
Incorporate many opportunities for reading aloud into reading program

25. Reading Comprehension
Comprehension is defined as “intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed through interactions between text and reader” (Harris & Hodges, 1995)
The ability to sound out and recognize words accounts for 80% of the variance in 1st grade reading comprehension and continues to be a major factor through the grades.

26. Reading Comprehension
NRP (2000) reports that comprehension improves through:
explicit teaching of specific cognitive strategies or teaching students to reason strategically when they encounter barriers to understanding while reading
teacher demonstrations of comprehension strategies until students are able to apply them independently

27. Reading Comprehension
To develop comprehension, teachers must systematically and explicitly teach strategies, promote metacognitive strategies, provide opportunities for in-depth discussions, and encourage authentic reading and writing activities (Pearson, 2000)
Good comprehension instruction includes:
ample time for reading text (to practice, build vocabulary, and acquire new knowledge)
teacher-directed instruction

28. Reading Comprehension
Four Phases of Comprehension Instruction:
teacher modeling and explanation of strategies
guided practice to “guide” students to assume more responsibility for task completion
independent practice with teacher feedback
application of strategies

29. Reading Comprehension
Teachers should not rely on one strategy to teach comprehension. Multiple strategies are most effective
Strategies should focus on recall, question-asking, question generation, story structure, organization of information, and summarization
Use of nonfiction (content areas) is important

30. Reading Comprehension
SOME comprehension strategies include:
graphic organizers
K-W-L
QAR’s (question/answer relationship)
Predicting
Think-Alouds
reading/writing connections

31. Explicit Teaching Explicit Teaching is: behavioral direct teacher help
teacher regulation of learning
directed discovery
direct instruction
task analysis
part-to-whole

32. Implicit Teaching Implicit Teaching is: holistic limited teacher help
student regulation of learning
self-discovery
self-regulated instruction
whole-to-part

33. Explicit Teaching Use Explicit Teaching when:
student has limited prior knowledge
student encounters initial failure
student is externally motivated
student requires much teacher help
when tasks are new and/or difficult
skill or task is important in the future
efficiency is important

34. Implicit Teaching Use Implicit Teaching when:
student has good prior knowledge
student readily succeeds
student is intrinsically motivated
student needs limited teacher help
task is well defined and familiar
task is readily learned
task involves general problem solving
student has time to self-discover

35. Explicit Reading Instruction
Bottom-up (code emphasis)
Part-to-Whole learning
teacher-directed instruction
skill emphasis
reading is viewed as a learning behavior
learning requires much teacher assistance
strategies for comprehension taught directly as skills

36. Implicit Reading Instruction
Top-down (meaning emphasis)
Whole-to-Part learning
student-directed instruction
immersion emphasis
reading acquired naturally
learning through exposure to text

37. Effective Reading Instruction Presentation
Portions of this handout were adapted from Mercer, C. D., & Mercer, A. R. (2001). Teaching students with learning problems (6th ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall and other published research
Effective Reading Instruction Presentation
Amy Shearer Lingo, Ed.D.
Copyright.
All rights reserved.
© 2008