In the battle over how we teach reading in America's schools, politics
and pedagogy struggle for the high ground. As more and more middle school
educators see the need to develop strong reading programs as a way of increasing
success for all students, they find themselves no longer enjoying non-combatant
status. Here are some resources collected by MiddleWeb
that we hope will lead to peace in our time.
The Reading Debate
The Teaching of Reading
MiddleWeb Listserv Resources
Check out these discussions from the MiddleWeb Listserv
MiddleWeb's
Reading Workshop Project
Enticing
Students to Read
"I
Read It But I Don't Get It" chat (with author)
Great Read-Aloud
Ideas for the Middle Grades
More about
strengthening reading in the middle grades
How Much
Reading for Homework?
A Conversation
about "Mosaic of Thought" and struggling readers
New
Panels to Form to Study Reading Research
While it is viewed as a landmark work among many reading researchers, educators,
and policymakers, the National Reading Panel's 2000 report "Teaching
Children to Read" has drawn considerable criticism as having too
narrow a focus. This story in Education Week (1/28/02) describes the Bush
Administration's push to rekindle the reading wars by bringing a new wave
of researchers into the war zone.
Report
Urges Specialists for Older Readers
This report on the teaching of reading by the National
Research Council -- which calls for a combination of phonics and whole
language strategies -- suggests that middle schools reexamine their need
for reading specialists and/or extra teacher training in reading instruction.
"Schools that lack or have abandoned reading specialist positions need
to reexamine their needs for specialists to ensure that well-trained staff
are available for intervention with children and for ongoing support to
classroom teachers," the report concludes. Read the executive
summary or access the entire 400-page
report. New York Times report.
Phonics
and Whole Language
An Education Week "issues page," this is the best place to begin
exploring the debate over reading instruction. Straightforward explanation
of phonics and whole-language, with links to many Ed Week stories and other
resources.
Phonics
Vs. Whole Language
This September 1997 issue of School Administrator magazine examined the
Reading Wars.
Reading
by Nine: A Baltimore Sun series
The Baltimore Sun's series about learning to read seeks "to shed light
on the frequent failure of schools to teach children to read by third grade."
The series, which has been underway for several years, examines older-reader
issues as well.
New
teachers aren't ready to teach reading
New teachers are not prepared to teach reading, some say. A 1998 Education
Week story looked at criticisms of colleges of education. Also
see this 2001 story "Study Links Teacher Preparation to Reading
Instruction" (Education Week, 5/01)
Can
Education Reduce Social Inequity?
Robert Slavin considers education, poverty, and reading issues in this January
1998 Educational Leadership article.
The
Great Debate Revisited
Contention between proponents of the "meaning first" and the "phonics
first" approaches to literacy goes back more than a century. That the
former is now in the ascendant, the author argues, should be cause for concern.
This 1994 article helped stir up the "great debate" once again.
(The Atlantic Monthly, December 1994)
Reading War
Rekindles: Literature or Phonics?
As special education classes bulge and push budgets to the brink, many educators
suspect the real problem lies with schools themselves -- in ineffective
reading instruction. Good overview with national and local coverage. (Hartford
Courant, 4/20/98)
The
Alabama Reading Initiative
Don't think a good education idea can come out of Alabama? Think again.
The Alabama Reading Initiative has produced some remarkable results in schools
that carefully follow the program's combination of intense staff development,
continuous student assessment, and the use of reading strategies that recognize
the importance of both fundamentals and the infusion of good literature
and content-area reading material. This link leads to a page where you will
find a final
evaluation of the Initiative's start-up phase.
Improving
the Reading Skills of Adolescents
A research summary from Educational Leadership. (October 1999)
What
Works Best in Reading Instruction?
Excellent series of articles by former California state superintendent Bill
Honig on the converging research about reading. (At the American Association
of School Administrators website.)
Literacy Research
and Best Practices
Resources developed by the North Central Regional Education Laboratory,
now is a wholly owned subsidiary of Learning Point Associates.
Why
Reading Is Not a Natural Process
Learning to read is much tougher than people think, writes G. Reid Lyon
of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Lyon reviews
four decades of reading research in this article from the March 1998 issue
of Educational Leadership. Also see this
interview about reading and neuroscience in the October 1999 special
issue on literacy.
What's
Basic in Beginning Reading? Finding Common Ground
Of limited usefulness for middle school teachers, but if you're interested
in the reading debate, this Educational Leadership article by Rutgers
reading professor Dorothy S. Strickland is part of the new call for "common
ground." "The model known as whole-part-whole instruction provides
a balanced conceptual framework for thinking about and planning skills instruction.
It addresses the need for teaching that (1) is grounded in fundamental understandings
about whole texts such as stories, informational books, and poems; (2) allows
for in-depth focus on specific skills; and (3) includes planned practice
within the context of meaningful reading and writing."
The
Computer Doesn't Embarrass Me
This November 1997 Educational Leadership article reports that
with the guidance of skillful teachers and innovative computer software,
middle school students who had never learned to read are moving beyond shame
to conquer literacy problems. By Ted S. Hasselbring, Laura Goin, Rose Taylor,
Brian Bottge, and Patrick Daley.
Comprehension
Reciprocal Teaching: An Effective Pathway to Reading
Kathie Babigian, the Literacy Center Coordinator at Tioga Middle School
in Fresno, CA, wrote this article for the California chapter of ASCD. It
begins: " 'I Read It, But I Don't Get It!' If you have students who
have difficulty reading, especially informational text, reciprocal teaching
PLS (Powerful Literacy Strategies) may be the answer. Reciprocal teaching
is a process, not a program, designed to help struggling readers with reading
comprehension."
Teaching
Reading: New Ideas
A special issue of the journal "Research Practice" (1995). Includes
several middle grades articles.
Working
Together to Become Proficient Readers (PDF File)
A study by the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At
Risk examines the early impact of the Talent Development Middle School's
"Student Team Literature Program." According to the CRESPAR
study, "analyses that control for prior reading achievement reveal
that students in STL classes display significantly better reading comprehension
after the first year of implementation. . . (T)he impact of participating
in STL on students' reading comprehension is sizable for students across
the entire prior achievement spectrum...."
Center for the
Improvement of Early Reading Achievement
A center dedicated to resolving reading instruction issues, based at the
University of Michigan. They offer several products, including a "Toolkit
for Tutors."
Reading
On-Line: An Electronic Journal
Published over the World Wide Web by the International Reading Association.
Searchable.
ERIC
Resources about Reading
Here's a good place to start if you'd like to explore the federal ERIC education
information about reading.
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