Juli started this discussion off by asking her MiddleWeb colleagues
for their ideas on how to help "at-risk" readers in the middle
grades.
For the next 6 weeks I will be working to get reluctant readers ready
for middle school in September. They can go on to the middle only if they
are proficient readers on the end of 3rd grade benchmarks in fiction and
non-fiction text. Sounds like a low level of expectation doesn't it.
Text example: Beverly Cleary books
I think it is Keith from Philadelphia who has the title of "Gear-Up"
Coordinator (?) I wondered if this was a getting ready for middle school
thing. Or actually what it was... Maybe Deb knows more if Keith is not available.
Anyway, I want to do some data gathering this summer so we can put a much
stronger program in place starting in September.
Anyone else worked on this type of project? Thanks,
-Juli
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Larry provided information on the 'GEAR UP" grant program.
"GEAR UP" is a federal grant program through the State that
is meant to help prepare middle schoolers to not only succeed in high school,
but to succeed through their first year of college. It follows a cohort
of students from middle through high school. I was part of writing a California
State model "GEAR UP" grant that has just finished its' second
year. I now supervise a group of schools that have been awarded two "GEAR
UP" grants. Each grant is different and requires a tie to community
agencies and local universities. It has been a wonderful grant for the schools
that I am aware of.
-Larry
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Keith directed MiddleWeb readers to a number of resources that focus
on reluctant readers in the middle grades.
"Gear Up", in Philadelphia, does spend time focusing on the
issue you raise. Our work with reluctant readers draws from a number of
sources. As I'm sure you know, it's tough to get middle school kids to read
"Clifford the Big Red Dog" because they know it's for younger
children and thus resist learning to read even more.
We've tried to follow the recommendations outlined in:
Reading
For Understanding: A Guide to Improving Reading in Middle and High School
Classrooms by Schoenbach, Greenleaf, Cziko, and Hurwit.z
The authors are teachers who developed a reading program for their students
in CA that proved highly effective. The recommendations are great.
We also consult with Carlton Jordan of the Education
Trust. He does a tremendous job with in-class coaching, lesson/unit
design, and rigorous Language Arts--even for reluctant readers. His work/outlook/philosophy
matches the aforementioned book. In fact, we put he and Cziko together for
a professional development series that was tremendous. As a teacher in northern
NJ, Carlton was responsible for the de-tracking of a high school that proved
all students can excel. You can email him at cjordan@edtrust.org
Parts of Philadelphia implement the 100
Book Challenge Reading Program. In the program, mobile classroom libraries
are color-coded for reading levels, but books can be purchased on the same
topic. For example, the whole class can be studying the civil war while
reading books about it on their level. Everyone can still be an expert and
keep up. The program takes committed buy-in, but with it, there have been
strong gains, even for English language learners. Contact Jane Hileman at
(215) 568-7144 or jhileman@100bookchallenge.com
I wish I could tell you that all of our children are now on level and achievement
is way up. That's not close to the case, but the interventions listed here
give us hope that we're moving in a positive direction.
-Keith
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Deb identified internal roadblocks that can prevent individual reading
needs from being addressed in the middle school classroom.
I used the Internet and my own classroom library to approach instruction
in a way that allowed all my kids to read something on their level. I enjoyed
pulling the resources together for this layered, thematic approach, but
have found that other teachers don't want to do this and feel it is not
their responsibility. Have you encountered this resistance at the middle
and secondary levels? The notion that reading should be taught only at the
elementary level is pretty pervasive.
-Deb
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The best way to convince educators that all teachers are reading teachers
is by walking every educator through a simulation reading activity. Keith
explained such an activity to MiddleWeb readers.
Yes, I've found that resistance. One way we've approached that issue
is to work teachers through a few stages (stolen from Cziko):
Stage 1: Have teachers read a complex piece that is hard to understand
for adults. Such piece can be literary (e.g. Toni Morrison) or factual (e.g.
the explanation of nuclear reactions). Before teachers read, they are told
to pay particular attention into how they read the piece. Teachers are given
time to read, and then group conversation follows.
Teachers will say things like:
-I read the subheadings first b/4 I read the piece
-I underlined/circled/starred words I didn't know
-I re-read the first paragraph 3 times before proceeding
-I scanned the pictures to gain context for the material
-I highlighted sections I thought were particularly pertinent
-I wrote questions in the margin that arose while I was reading, and then
went back to see if I could answer them.
Facilitator will code the responses into a series of categories, like inferences,
comparisons, facts, pre-existing knowledge, etc. that show the kinds of
meta-thinking ways we approach what we read through the physical tools we
use to decode the reading.
Stage 2: Facilitator questions.
1. Where did you learn these techniques? (I don't recall)
2. Who taught them to you? (maybe I learned them in school somewhere?)
3. Do our students use/know these techniques? (some, maybe)
4. When do you teach them to your students? (I don't really.)
Stage 3: All teachers as reading teachers. Facilitator uses answers
from stage 2 to show that all teachers, even those in middle and high school,
have to be reading teachers--but it looks different from elementary school
(with phonemic awareness, blends, etc.). Teachers are responsible for teaching
their students how to read their materials. Students should approach reading
a science textbook differently from a novel. It's the teacher's job to provide
decoding strategies for the material they assign.
Stage 4: Connect stage 3 and 1. You don't have to be a reading specialist
to teach reading--at least at the level of reading skills required to get
through the material you assign. Teachers can go back and look at their
texts, articles, etc. and determine the decoding strategies they need to
make explicit for students and design activities where students actually
practice these techniques when introducing the material.
I've been (slowly) building a videotape of one of these workshops. It's
pretty neat. Unfortunately, I didn't follow the teachers back into their
classrooms to see if they tried any of it. I have seen a few teachers who
did, and it seemed to work out pretty well--maybe most of all in reducing
students' anxiety and therefore making them more likely to ask questions
about parts they couldn't decipher.
Sound possible?
-Keith
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Ellen pointed Juli towards a reading series geared for students who are
reading below grade level.
Jamestown Publishers
has a series of books written on levels from 1-9 or so that all look the
same. They are geared towards reluctant readers who are below reading level,
so the stories, print, and illustrations don't look like the types of books
we use with younger readers.
The books have titles like "Adventures", "Chills", "Surprises",
etc. They are pretty reasonably priced, with soft-covers (I think $9-10
each and less if you buy in bulk). I have the catalogue here if you would
like more information. I'm going to purchase sets of 5 for several levels
to use in small group guided reading instruction. I found out about this
series and strategy from Nancy Roberts who presented at NMSA in Orlando.
She found the books extremely effective.
-Ellen
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Betsy, a middle school principal, asked Larry for further information
on the "GEAR UP" program.
Larry,
How can I find out how I could apply for this for my middle school?
Thanks,
-Betsy
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Larry responded to Betsy's query.
The next phase of awards to GEAR UP will be announced shortly. To find
out if and when phase IV of GEAR UP will become available, I think that
I would go to the U.S. Dept. of Ed web site and search for GEAR UP or e-mail
someone there. If you do a GEAR UP search on your search engine, you will
probably find some sample GEAR UP programs from around the country.
Good luck. It can be a very valuable and useful grant to gain.
-Larry
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Bev expressed her belief that teaching students how to read is the responsibility
of all teachers.
The idea that kids should be able to read when they come to middle and
it's the responsibility of elementary teachers is a pervasive misconception
that probable causes the sharp drop in achievement among many middle schoolers.
Just as destructive to learning and attitudes toward school is the idea
that "The English teachers teach reading and the other teachers teach
content--science, social studies, art, etc. If a kid can't read the history
book, it's not the history teacher's job to teach them how. That point of
view really grinds my gears! Spending the first couple of week teaching
the kids strategies to read the various texts and materials is a job for
EVERY teacher.
-Bev
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Avis asked some hard questions.
Bev... Amen to your message about whose responsibility is it to teach
a student reading (math or any other subject) in the elementary school.
We have students coming into 6th grade that are on a 2nd or 3rd grade level....
and our task is to pick them up at that level and move them forward. If
they are not ready to read, they won't. If they are LD, they will have to
work harder to even keep pace.
I understand what some are saying about how they can't teach reading if
they are teaching Science, but if they are two grade levels behind, how
can they read the text? So if (we) don't find a way to bring their level
up, and we let them slide, then are we guilty of helping them fail?
Methods to help them out would be what? Cooperative Learning groups taped
books centers?
What else would help these students succeed?
-Avis
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Kefrin, a middle school administrator, recognized the importance of teaching
reading in all content areas as well as the challenges that accompany that
responsibility.
I have found as an administrator of a middle school now and previously
at two elementary sites:
We must continue to communicate to all staff that reading is everyone's
responsibility. Most teachers are fostering reading in their content areas
by using texts and vocabulary development. I do understand, however, how
difficult it is to cover the standards in your content area and the reading
content area also. It's not impossible, but it does require training and
group support. In addition, I have seen reading and language arts teachers
use content area texts as the reading books. This is a unique approach.
I firmly believe that the key to current national concern in reading is
to increase our efforts at the kindergarten and first grade levels. At my
last site we did precisely that over a three-year period and saw incredible
results.
-Kefrin
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Leighann suggested a number of strategies aimed at improving reading
comprehension across the content areas.
I think vocabulary instruction on non-familiar terms, use of reading
strategies that will aid in breaking down content texts (KWL, SQ3R, turning
headings into questions to show them how to locate information)... so many
things can be woven into the content area classroom fairly seamlessly and
quickly. Rather than using round robin, the teacher could use that time
to instruct them in a reading strategy for the content they are going to
tackle...
-Leighann
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Providing scaffolding for middle school students has become a familiar
topic on MiddleWeb Listerv. Bev suggested that scaffolding might be the
key to middle school students experiencing success in learning and literacy.
I want to believe that most teachers would do anything in their power
to improve student learning and literacy. Why don't we? Is it lack of building
or district leadership to influence us all to work on literacy first? My
principal says if he could just convince the faculty to focus on two areas
for a couple of years, Literacy and math, our kids would blossom. He's been
saying that for a year--I'm beginning to respond with "Why can't you
convince them?"
There are various professional development materials about reading in the
"content areas" around, as well as books like "Mosaic
of Thought" and books that explain reading comprehension strategies
and note-taking strategies such as Cornell notes that can help kids make
meaning out of textbooks, even those on too high a reading level. Preparing
directed reading study guides and directed note-taking guides for full-class
and small groups is a little time-consuming bit of work for the "content
area teachers," but the pay off in terms of mastered content is big.
Kids who don't read well are terrible handicapped and can't (often won't)
participate in activities most of kids consider "fun learning activities."
They become frustrated, confused, and turn off. No wonder they repeatedly
ask to go to the bathroom or nurse--anything to get out of the classroom
where they think the teacher isn't even trying to reach them. High expectations?
Yes--but make them achievable by scaffolding a bit.
-Bev
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Deb shared some further thoughts on teaching comprehension.
While I agree with the strong push in early literacy, I think that part
of the problem surfaces around grade four when informational texts become
the norm. In many instances we've dropped the ball on teaching comprehension
strategies across the content areas.
I think the strategies we learned in "Mosaic of Thought" and "I
Read It, But I Don't Get It" along with the approach Keith suggested
will go a long way toward helping our kids, but we have to spread the word/responsibility
to all staff members.
-Deb
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Kefrin added to Deb's comments.
Good point, but if the push is in the earliest grades with informational
and literary text, that problem never arises.
-Kefrin
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Avis challenged MiddleWeb readers to compile a list of methods designed
to address reading concerns in middle school. She even started us off.
How about a list? Then we could print it and post it ;-)!
Methods to help students improve their reading:
1) Cooperative Learning groups
2) Taped text books
3) Centers
4) Vocabulary instruction on non-familiar terms
5) Use of reading strategies (KWL, SQ3R, turning headings into questions
to show them how to locate information)
6) Hire help to work with the students who are behind (Admin!!)
7) Bringing back word attack skills to work with #4
8) Probably impossible but if students would take tapes home to use or taped
text books... a book pack or something? I suppose that MS kids would not
go for that?
I agree that we need to start with kindergarten and first grade and work
with them harder, that is where it begins. Our students have low language
skills. This year our kindergarten classes will be going pretty much full
time to help those skills grow.
-Avis
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Mary Anne proposed some thought-provoking ideas.
This is an interesting discussion. One of the things that I have found
helps content area teachers see them selves as teachers of reading is to
help them define "reading." I use the definition ...constructing
meaning. What this allows them to see is that in order to understand the
content kids have got to construct some kind of meaning and if they can
help the kid do that then the rest is easy.
My social studies teachers, particularly 8th grade American History, picked
up on this immediately. They have taught the kids to "read" art
prints and songs from various times in our country's past. They have showed
the kids the power of a photograph and primary documents. One student, who
is reading on a third grade level, did a study of why Disney World is where
it is! All because they realized that constructing meaning is more than
reading a book word for word.
Okay, I can see some of you saying, but he has to read words! Yes, I am
not saying kids don't have to read words. But, they have to construct meaning
out of something in order to want to understand it. Words come--but maybe
not first. In three short years, the time we have them at middle level,
maybe, just maybe we might try to give them a reason to read other than
passing a test. Feed their curiosity--rose colored glasses? I know I hear
it all the time. But I believe that if a child wants to learn to read--unless
there is a severe impediment that will not allow him to do so--they will.
It is up to us to find a reason for them to read. Then, let them do it!
-Mary Anne
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Carolyn asked for information regarding book lists.
We are determined to put reading trade books into each of our core classes.
Does anyone have a list of leveled books suitable for a library in each
of the content area classes?
-Carolyn
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Melba recommended a book on the subject of teaching reading comprehension
in the classroom.
I have never been one to read a book and participate in book chats,
but I am presently reading a terrific book on teaching reading comprehension.
I highly recommend it. It is by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis entitled:
"Strategies That Work:
Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding".
The best part of these strategies is that they are applicable to all grade
levels and all subjects!
-Melba
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Ellen pointed Carolyn to a sixth grade level book list.
The following is a link to a pretty extensive sixth grade level book
list. I do encourage you, however, to include titles at higher and lower
levels to accommodate those kids who are above or below level.
http://www.fwsd.wednet.edu/silverlake/2tierpages/3tierpages/arsixthgrade.htm
EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS LINK NO LONGER WORKS. BUT TRY:
http://scnc.mcs.k12.mi.us/grade005.htm
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Avis had a question for Ellen.
Thanks Ellen... is that one in your state standards? Just curious
-Avis
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Ellen responded to Avis' question.
Avis,
No, it isn't one of our state standards, just a reading strategy. As I was
sorting through and organizing my bookmarks, I found a site that describes
SQ3R if you are interested in learning more:
http://www.iss.stthomas.edu/studyguides/texred2.htm
-Ellen
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Bill shared some reading skills taught in his science/history classes.
When I taught science and history to ESL students, I worked in skimming
and scanning skills in addition to many of the suggestions above. Pre-reading
activities (focusing questions, vocabulary introduction, etc.) can also
go a long way toward improving reading comprehension, with a big payoff
for the time so used. Take care,
-Bill
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Avis responded to Bill's posting.
Bill, I will add that to the list. Do you have any particular strategies
that you could share? I don't stress that enough!
-Avis
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Bill elaborated on his ideas regarding ways to develop student's scanning
skills.
One way to work in scanning skills was to ask the kids to identify important
words in questions at the end of a passage, and then scan to try to find
those words - this as a method to try to quickly locate some of the key
sentences in the passage.
Skimming... lots and lots of practice. I would work with making predictions
based on the title of a passage as well as section headings. Then, first
as a group and then individually, we would look at the first line of each
paragraph, determine what it meant and whether we felt it was a main idea,
and then if necessary check subsequent lines in order to compare. Eventually,
they understood that by looking at titles, headings, and first lines of
paragraphs they could often get the drift of a reading passage.
Culturally, these kids were often so detail focused that I didn't always
succeed in convincing them these were useful strategies. Sometimes telling
them skimming and scanning could help with the TOEFL convinced them. Not
my favorite reason, but the only way I could find to reach them.
Good luck, and take care,
-Bill