Struggling Adolescent Readers
Although we were successful last year in many areas of our practice, we intend to experiment specifically with more strategies for improving the reading competence of our students. Struggling Adolescent Readers: A Collection of Teaching Strategies edited by David W. Moore, Donna E. Alvermann, and Kathleen A. Hinchman is a very useful compendium of tested and tried strategies. Sharing our understandings of the topics in this volume that mean most to us is our first preparation for implementing some of them. The protocol of our forum is described below.
First we give the title of the article we have read. Second, we identify the main ideas in the article, explaining the pedagogical need being addressed. Many of the articles decribe stages in the implementation of their intervention, so we outline these. Finally, although the articles in Struggling Adolescent Readers suggest that they target remedial needs, they speak to all of us, because the information they present is applicable to some student or students from Form 1 to Form 6 that we teach. Therefore, we tell how the article impacts our reflection on our classroom practice and our students' needs.
First we give the title of the article we have read. Second, we identify the main ideas in the article, explaining the pedagogical need being addressed. Many of the articles decribe stages in the implementation of their intervention, so we outline these. Finally, although the articles in Struggling Adolescent Readers suggest that they target remedial needs, they speak to all of us, because the information they present is applicable to some student or students from Form 1 to Form 6 that we teach. Therefore, we tell how the article impacts our reflection on our classroom practice and our students' needs.
posted by Cynthia James | 7:54 PM
11 Comments:
I read A Case Study of Middle School Reading Disability by Morris, Ervin and Conrad. It highlighted the case of Brett, a dyslexic boy of average ability in lower secondary school, who was having difficulty with school work because of reading difficulties.
I observed 4 issues outside of the instruction itself that I think were crucial to the improvement the boy made over a 2-year period. The first is the importance of parental support in any kind educational intervention. It was Brett’s mother who took him to the university reading program, although neither she nor the father had secondary education. The second point is that the teacher didn’t just begin to teach. She asked for prior reading evaluation and did her own evaluation. Therefore, she was able to use Brett’s strengths and weaknesses in her program of work.
Third, I noted the importance of individualized tuition. When I compare this with our system, I realize that our teachers have too many children in one class. In any case I myself do not know enough about differentiated instruction. My fourth observation is that even when Brett’s reading improved, there was a follow-up; he was not left stranded and on his own.
As for the tuition itself, the teacher used guided reading, composed of (a) previewing the story, (b) alternating and partnering her reading with Brett’s to give him support, (c) stopping to check comprehension, (d) using prediction strategies. She also did word study, emphasizing vowel and syllable patterns. The teacher also incorporated writing on topics of the boy’s choice, helping him to edit his work on his own interests. Finally, Brett was given encouragement through the use of easy reads that could build his confidence as a reader.
What made the biggest impact on me, however, was the use of audio taped readings that the teacher let the boy take home with him, so that he could practice when he was not under tuition. I think that teachers in Trinidad need to pay more attention to the benefits of audio for purposes of modeling and support.
I could like to close by quoting: ‘Balanced instruction and appropriate tutor support were important, but the essential element in Brett’s successful reading program was the tutor’s diligent, unrelenting attention to instructional level’ (p. 14). After reading this I asked myself: Do I know the instructional level of the children in my class? When they are underperforming how do I know what is their real difficulty? What do I know about the reading levels of the students in any of my classes?
I read Students With Learning Difficulties Meet Shakespeare: Using a Scaffolded Reading Experience by Sally Sue Rothenberg and Susan M.Watts. At the core of this article is one teacher's(Sally) attempts to employ Scaffolded Reading Experience(SRE) coupled with interdisciplinary instruction to teach Macbeth to eighth and ninth graders.
These students were under performing and often had difficulties with writing, reading and fluency.
Sally believed that by engaging in the proper assistance in reading the text, students would then gain a better insight and understanding of the play, leading to appreciation for the work and the playwright. This was done through SRE. The early reading must be done by the teacher until the student becomes responsible for his/her learning and are brought to a level of mastery through guided practice.
By using this strategy, Sally was able to have greater flexibility and autonomy in the classroom. Three variables are used in guiding the teacher:
1. Pre-reading
2. During Reading
3. Postreading activities .
All of these will be determined by the teacher depending on the needs of the student, the text being studied.
The article offers a plethora of activities that a teacher can engage in depending on the text. A good suggestion for prereading is to stimulate prior knowledge that has relevance to the text or by prequestioning and relating issues to students' lives.
The second phase involves during reading activities which will encompass read alouds, discussion of homework, making predictions and quetions with guided comments.
The third phase is the post reading activities which will included summarizing the work, discussions, looking at an adaptation of the text and writing based on teacher questions and discussions.
This was an interesting case study as it charted and documented the SRE strategy used by Sally in generating interest and enthusiasm in Shakespeare. It was successful as students were then interested in writing their own tragedies and developed an appreciation for drama.
The article was useful in tracing the success of the SRE. This strategy is used by many teachers but perhaps not in the same detail as Sally. Scaffolding is generally employed in the teaching of a lesson and the three variables are part of the equation depending on the students, the text and class size. Overall, it is worth a read and it gives some wonderful tips in making Shakespeare more interesting for modern readers.
After reading "Students with learning difficulties meet Shakespeare: Using Scaffolded Reading Experience " by Sally Rothenberg and Susan Watts the idea was once again reinforced that students must be motivated to pursue any course of study.The article was based on Ms. Rothenburg's class that comprised of 8th and 9th graders who were going to be exposed to Shakepeare's Macbeth . She realised that students at this stage have "ceased in their developmental reading instruction" and their interaction with literature focuses heavily on the study of literary styles , genres and universal themes. Appreciation as well as played an important part in students' learning.
This is indeed a challenge for myself as a teacher because at the end of the class I do not want children to be bored and lose interst in my class. Therefore the teacher must provide appropiate support for reading the literature without giving up the time necessary for study and appreciation.Many of us like Sally sometimes have average to above average children but they do not perform according to their intellect. In my teaching of Shakepaeare I have also focused on content rather than the students" needs.I believe this happens in my classroom because I have time constraints and a syllabus to complete.Sally realised that motivation was the key to the teaching of Shakespeare. She decided that the challenge in teaching Macbeth would be to sufficiantly facilitate their reading so they can be successful and fully appreciate the text.
Graves&Graves describe a Scaffolded Reading Experience hereafter referred to a (S.R.E.)as a set of pre - reading ,during reading and post reading activites specifically designed to assist a particular group of students in successfully reading , understanding learning from and enjoying a particular selection.
They noted that the role of the teacher is most important since he/she determines the specific material and the students are at the centre of the plan where the teacher acts as a guide.
Graves &Graves suggest 10 reading activites from which to choose for the particular type of students you would have in your class.Ms Rothenberg attempted the following key elements of the S.R.E. becasue she knew about her class and their capabilities.
1) She attempted to activate prior knowledge and realized that here the students can develop their own working definition of the topic.
2) She used Predictions as well as questions and comments are necessary to guide reading.
3)V visual version of the play can be shown and the enthusiam of the student is necessary.
From the beginning of the class, as a teacher partnerships should be formed. In this case Sally provided an expansive range of responses throughout the reading of the play.
At the end of the article I realized that Shakespeare could be made very interesting for students at this age.I especially enjoyed the in which she mapped her days of teaching and this proved to bring order and structure to a difficult class. In my experience with teacing Shakespeare I have always focused on the content and I can see the S.R.E. benefitting my class because of the way it seperates the play and allows time for understanding.
From the articles I read, I was able to sift out some ideas that apply to my particular classes. The Sustained Silent Reading (Vocabulary Teaching and Learning in a Seventh-Grade Literature-Based Classroom-Janis M.Harmon) is a strategy that should be beneficial to my Form 1class.I particularly like the idea of using teacher-selected articles as a starting point to launch the programme. In this way the students can have common ground for the discussion topics that would follow. This should help since students will learn ideas from interacting with each other and sharing ideas and new vocabulary. I can see this exercise being done by using local and international figures that provide good role models. Since the reading skills could definitely be increased: providing them with interesting material could stimulate interest in reading. Students could also be asked to bring in biographies of their role models but this may require setting certain stipulations in order to ensure worthy or exemplary figures. Catering to students’ reading interests is a must to improve reading skills and to stimulate interest.
The concept of the vocabulary enricher in the aforementioned article is worth experimenting with. I feel the more confident students can take the lead here and help to inspire others to follow suit. In the article: ‘A Case Study of Middle School Reading Disability,’ Brett’s reading is improved with the help of taped samples. The samples of reading on cassettes- being used as an aid to help the student improve his reading at home- can feasibly be implemented at a later stage, once the teacher feels that an interest in reading has been ignited.
In my present Form 1 there is a definite and urgent need to improve literacy level. I wish to concentrate on this group since at their age they are more malleable and efforts and energy expended should prove more rewarding. Also older students have less time because of examinations.
Parental intervention and interest in students’ literacy is definitely worth pursuing. In : ‘Vocabulary Learning With the Verbal-Visual Word Association Strategy in a Native American Community’ the use of visual aids that the reader can bring to mind is recommended. Drawings associated with the words can be employed.
Sandra Soondar Deonarine
I read Information Charts:A Strategy for Organizing Student Research by Sally N. Randall. The article addressed a frequent problem students have when assigned research. It discussed a strategy that helped students take notes more efficiently and develop important critical thinking skills such as questioning,summarizing and identitifying irrelevancies in information they are gathering.
The strategy used was a way of helping students use various sources and subtract relevant information for their question based research. The method also involved collaboration between different subjects,it demonstrated how both areas can help the other. The students involved researched topics for science while using skills from language arts such as paraphrasing, interviewing,reading and understaning,summarising as well as library skills.
The strategy used was called the I-chart,inquiry chart.The same topic was studied in both science and language arts,in this case, the wilderness.In science class the topic was introduced and students narrowed down areas of interest through brainstorming questions. In language class the students learnt skills necessary for reasearch such as letter writing, paraphrasing and bibliography format. They also read fiction related to wilderness survival.
With the topic area narrowed, students developed specific questions that they wanted answered. The I-chart process assisted students in finding out what they wanted to know, then helped them organize (strategy awareness)and assisted as well in evaluating if material had been learned(performance awarenss).
Copies of the I-chart were given to students. Some of the Reaserch process was done together with the class spending time in the library. As students read information, the I-chart was used to help determine and remind students to look for information relevant to their question.This part of the process forced students to think critically about what they read, question and eliminate.The chart also helped them not to randomly copy information. There was also room on the chart for students to take note of any other interesting facts and perhaps develop another chart. They were also able to note key words. The Structure of the chart also helped them evaluate if the sub topic was adequately answered. Students were also able to deal with conflicting information by checking sources for acurracy. After this process of gathering and sifting through facts, the students were able to write their research paper. In an assessment of the I-Charts, students found it exteremly useful as it made gathering infromation simpler as they never lost focus on the purpose of the research.
I found this article very interesting because I often observe that students have difficulty in narrowing down information. I also liked the idea of linking subjects areas that way showing students the links where they see none. Very often before studying a book,I ask students to do background research.When I asked for research on WWII for Silver Sword, I thought I was clear enough but I got pages of material taken off the net or history texts. Many students had not really read the information. I think the I-chart is a great way of getting them involved and helping them. Maybe it can also be applied to older students who usually research periods of history before syudying various authors. This will also be helpful to my Caribbean Studies students who have difficulty in organizing the facts they are bombared with. They often face confusion when they need to source info from various texts. This strategy is most interesting because it makes students think and question while researching and not simply copy. it is also a great way of helping them organize a task and formulate a strategy.
I read the article " Vocabulary Learning With the Verbal-Visual Word Association Strategy ..." by Hopkins And Bean.
I found it to be quite interesting and informative.I was first impressed with the teacher's interest in understanding his students this evidenced by his reading up on their history and culture. I believe when we understand where our students come from we can address our teaching strategies to meet their needs. For instance in teaching literature in a Comprehensive school one must be aware that students may not buy the text or may not bother to bring it.A teacher knowing this must have contingency plans in place , such as photocopies or class sets , if he/she expects work to get done.
This Is generally not the case in the 'prestige' schools.Here students will generally have the text and may have even read the text before it is taught in class.Thre teacher then will have to come prepared to move at afaster pace.
The strategy employed by the teacher is interesting.He discovered that .like many of my students, his students did not do much reading and this resultedin limited vocabulary.He tried to improve the students' vocabulary by using both verbal and visual word association.He mainly dealt with the meaning of the prefix and the root word.When these were established he showed and instructed students to create diagramatic representations of the words.The strategy was done using a square divided into four parts.This is a useful way of getting students to recall meanings of words as they are able to visualize them.It can also go a step further in that when the student comes across words with the same root word or prefix he/she can conceptualize a basic understanding of it.
I will definitely employ this strategy to help my students improve their vocabulary.I believe it will be effective as it takes away from the monotony of rote instruction.Students may also be more willing /enthusiastic about discovering new words.
The article opened up a new and interesting way of teaching vocabulary. It also brought in the concept that learning should be fun.
I have read the article Students With Learning Difficulties Meet Shakespeare: Using a Scaffolded REading Experience by Sally Sue Rothenberg and Susan M. Watts. This articles attempts to show an interesting use of Scaffolded Reading Experience (SRE), which is not done in isolation but uses an interdisciplinary approach to teach Shakespeare's Macbeth to eight and ninth grade students
The teacher had previously had a problem motivating her students to understand and appreciate Macbeth. She now attempted to change her teaching strategy taking into consideration the students difficulties with writing,reading and fluency. She did this through SRE which is a three phrase programme of studies planned as a unit. In order to get the students comfortabe with Macbeth, Sally did most of the initial reading until she felt the students were better able to read and understand for themselves.
The most important aspect of this strategy is the fact that the teacher is the one responsible for the activities. This is important because they can consider the needs of the students in terms of reading difficulties, as well as syllabus requirements to guide their teaching instructions. There are three distinct stages in the SRE and they are :
1) pre-reading
2) during reading
3) post reading activities
In the first phrase the idea is to elicit concepts and ideas that students already know about the text and concretising it by making refrence to their lives.
Secondly, during the second phrase students are encouraged to voice their views through activities such as discussionof homework, making predictions and questions that they may have.
In the final stage, which is the post reading activities, students are required to summarize the play discuss their opinions of the play, view a film adaption of the play,and write based on questions relating to the work.
I was very interested in this article because stimulating interest and motivating students to study Shakespeare can at times be daunting. This article offers me an interesting way of approaching Shakespeare in the future. It will mean many hours of planning and preparation on my behalf, however i believe it will be worth the time, especially if the students understand and appreciate the play. Furthermore, i see the possibility to stimulate critical thinking through this method as well as holding the students interest and encourage them to want to learn. I will also like to be known as a teacher whose classes students look forward to attending and the SRE strategy offers me a step in that direction.
Hi everybody! I read the article 'Vocabulary learning with the Verbal-Visual Word Association Strategy in a Native American Community' by Gary Hopkins and Thomas W. Bean. Their research was centred around helping students to create personal associations for unfamiliar words. The high school students came from communities and families that have little grasp of the English Language. Their main problem was in interpreting idioms and connotations. Hopkins and Bean therefore used the V-V WA Strategy, to help students visualise the words that they had to learn. They used a vocabulary square: depending on the nature of the word [subject area, type of word] in one corner the word was written, in another it was defined, in another it was used in a sentence, and in the last corner a picture depicting its meaning was drawn. Appropriately, Hopkins allowed the students to create their own sentences and drawing, thereby allowing them to create their own meaning for the word, and also creating in them autonomy. The students reacted positively to this strategy, and they were able to use it in their own time, to solve other word problems. While I find this strategy to be useful, it isn't one that I would use for my present classes.
What I found to be interesting though, was the depth of cultural reserach that Hopkins did: he found out about the students that he was going to teach, and that was instrumental in his teaching them. He said in the article: "Combining sociocultural knowledge and an interest in experimenting with the promising learning strategies should increase our teaching effectiveness in diverse classrooms." I think this is extremely important for us here in T&T, because our students live and operate in different cultures from ours [teachers]; it's in their music and their jargon. We have to familiarise ourselves with their culture if we are to connect with them.
Hi Everybody,
I have been reading the book, Struggling Adolescent Readers: A Collection of Teaching Strategies” and have been overwhelmed by the number of techniques that are geared towards improving students’ vocabulary, comprehension skills, creative writing/description and reading abilities. However, if I had to choose one chapter that made the biggest impression on me, it would be “Children’s Informational Picture Books Visit a Secondary ESL Classroom” by Nancy L. Hadaway and Jane Mundy. Though the focus is to overcome the hindrance of ESL (English as a Second Language), the strategies seem applicable to any topic.
Techniques are offered in sub-categories, namely, “How’s the weather?”, “What will the weather be?” and “Researching weather disasters,” using the topic of weather to illustrate its use. First, “How’s the weather?” involves using daily weather reports to find vocabulary that would furnish an overview of the weather. Then students brainstorm for words that they already know which are associated with the weather. Third, picture books are used to make connections between vocabulary found and the meaning from the pictures. These words are next placed along a continuum before finally illustrating each word with a picture. (a lightning bolt may be drawn next to “thunderstorm”)
The following is an example of the Vocabulary Continuum:
Drizzle
Shower
Rain
Rainstorm
Thunderstorm
Flood
Words are written in vertical order and in varying font size according to increasing intensity. Thus the meaning of each word is interpreted based on individual connotations/context.
“What will the weather be?” offers two maps, namely the H-map and the Semantic map of Seasons. First, the H-map allows students to not only look at the vertical intensity of words/synonyms but also the horizontal relationship with others/its antonyms. In the example given, characteristics of a Cold Front are contrasted against those of a Warm Front while similar traits are shown in the middle thus making an H formation.
COLD FRONT WARM FRONT
Sudden changes BOTH Slow changes
Move fast MAKE Move slowly
Very windy WEATHER Light wind
Thunderstorm CHANGE Drizzle
After the H-map is constructed, students make a collage of weather words and pictures using environmental print sources (magazines, newspapers) which they later present to the class.
In the Semantic Map of Seasons, the categories of each season are further sub-divided into festivities, weather conditions, colours and clothes. For example, "Autumn" has several extensions from it ranging from "orange, brown, yellow" to "Halloween" and "thunderstorms, raincoat, galloshes". In this way, students have a wealth of knowledge to apply to the weather based on associations.
Lastly, in “Researching weather disasters”, a jot chart is used for research activity. This is where a table is constructed that allows students to compare the characteristics of various weather phenomena. An example of a jot chart is given below:
Flood Hurricanes
Define:
Causes:
Effects:
Geographic regions:
I find these charts very compelling since I am constantly seeking new ways to incorporate visual aids and art work in my teaching strategies. The students have fun with their multi-coloured gel pens, markers and highlighters; and retention of work down is better because of the added graphics. However, I must admit that when it comes to teaching vocabulary and setting (for Creative Writing), my teaching technique is somewhat traditional assimilating words and their meaning into sentences (boring!). With these new strategies, I can use the H-map for synonyms and antonyms that allows more comparative work; the Vocabulary Continuum can be used to motivate students to move “higher” from mono-syllabic words to multi-syllabic words. I can use the Semantic map of Seasons to demonstrate the numerous aspects of setting which students can depict in their Creative Writing that goes beyond “It was a bright and sunny Sunday morning.” Finally, the Jot chart can be used not only in Narrative Writing where the most popular topic is “The Storm” but it can also be used in Argumentative Essays to prepare students for more popular O-level examination topics such as “Drugs”.
My only problem is the use of colourful pictures in magazines. I am skeptical that my students can get access to magazines that are important enough to have such information and yet inconsequential enough to allow them to mutilate them (cut and paste). I must admit, too that this goes against my values to mutilate a book of any kind (with the exception of newspapers). I am sure that even sourcing magazines might prove a problem for some students especially those who come from backgrounds that negate education.
I read "Students with Learning Difficulties Meet Shakespeare: Using a Scaffolded Reading Experience" by Sally Sue Rothenberg and Susan M. Watts. The main focus of the article is that teachers can get students who experience difficulties in reading, writing and spelling to appreciate literature, in this case Shakespeare, by implementing scaffolding strategies in the classroom. In the article, Sally Rothenberg, an eighth grade teacher whose students have learning disabilities, uses a Scaffolded Reading Experience or SRE, to get her students to appreciate Macbeth.
According to (Graves and Graves, 1994), the Scaffolded Reading Experience is "a set of pre-reading, during reading and post- reading activities designed by teachers too assist a particular group of students to successfully read, understand and learn from a selection" The teacher's role is critical as he/she determines the pre-reading, during reading and post-reading activities based on the characteristics of the readers. The SRE Model is based on Pearson and Gallagher's 1983 model of explicit instruction which emphasizes the importance of supporting or scaffolding students as they move from one level of competency to the next. They also suggest that early reading experiences must be modeled and explained by the teacher and after students can assume responsibility for their own learning.
Specific teachers design the SRE, after taking the needs of his/her students, the characteristics of the text the students will read and his/her instructional purposes into consideration.The teacher's role is to guide the students throughout the process.
Sally Rothenberg also incorporates the K-W-L strategy,(Ogle, 1986), to find out what her students know about Shakespeare and what they wanted to know in order to guide the development of her instructional strategy. At the end of Rothenberg's implementation of the SRE, her students fully appreciated and enjoyed Macbeth, which clearly shows the benefits of teachers varying their instructional methods to suit their specific students.
I found the article interesting, informative and enlightening as it showed me a different approach to teaching Shakespeare. I know that implementing the SRE will definitely benefit my classes.
I read the article 'Vocabulary learning with the Verbal-Visual Word Association Strategy in a Native American Community' by Gary Hopkins and Thomas W. Bean. This article proved to very interesting and informative as it focused on trying to help students understand difficult words by making personal associations with the words. This is the main focus of the Verbal-Visual Word Association Strategy.
The strategy employed by the teacher, in the article, is interesting. The teacher tries to understand his students and their interest by first reading up on their history and culture. This is instrumental in our practice as ‘good’ teachers. Having an understanding of where our students come from is essential to the learning process. Through his research the teacher discovered that his students did not do much reading and this resulted in limited vocabulary. In addition, these students had little knowledge of the English language. As a result, the students had tremendous problems interpreting idioms and connotations. To help solve this problem the teacher used the Verbal-Visual Word Association Strategy to help students visualise the words that they had to learn. The strategy was done using a square divided into four parts. In one part of the square the word was written, in another it was defined, in another it was used in a sentence, and in the last corner of the square a picture depicting its meaning was drawn. Creating diagrammatic representations of the words to be learnt proved to be a useful way of getting students to recall meanings of words as they are able to visualize them. In addition, since to students had to draw their own associations for the particular word, it was easier for them to recall its meaning
This strategy for vocabulary learning with the Verbal-Visual Word Association,
is something I will definitely employ in the classroom to help my students improve their vocabulary skills. Students will be involved in the process of vocabulary learning and it might actually prove to be an interesting and fun way to encourage them to learn.
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