Reading Fluency

I have often worked on reading fluency with my students, but never to the detailed extent as presented in chapter seven of Becoming a Literacy Leader by Jennifer Allen.

The chapter presented the idea that we must make the students aware of how they will be assessed for reading fluency. I was impressed with the idea of using technology to make both a visual and auditory recording of the students as they read. This thought, although simple, was one that had ever occurred to me before.

The chapter goes on to offer suggestions for how to teach students (step by step) to evaluate themselves (via their recorded reading) for reading fluency. A reading fluency rubric is provided which is a helpful tool for students to be able to honestly and accurately access their own strengths and weaknesses. I also like the idea of involving students in their own reading-fluency goal-setting.


Building reading fluency in our students is an important focus because better fluency leads to better comprehension; which is ultimately the goal of reading.

Comprehension in the Contents

Are you a content-only teacher?

Sometimes when we teach content areas like math, social studies, and science, we tend to think the language arts teacher is the one responsible for teaching students comprehension. So we go about our business teaching what we love, while our middle school students feel more lost by the minute. Many times good readers struggle when they enter the middle school curriculum because their content area books become a challenge for them to comprehend unless we teach them. Yes, this even means the math teacher teaching comprehension!

Cris Tovani does an excellent job of teaching comprehension strategies in her book Do I Really Have to Teach Reading? The book is easy to read and gives strategies like the sticky note strategy, and templates like the Double-Entry Diary that can be used in the classroom immediately. Her strategies have been proven to help students catch their thoughts collectively and independently to help them comprehend content subjects in a way they didn't think they could. Even content teachers will find this resource easy to implement without having to add to their curriculum.

Isn't that what we all want? Proven strategies to help our students comprehend in any subject!

Variety is the Spice of Life

I recently read the chapter entitled "Eliminating Ability Grouping and Reducing Failure in the Primary Grades" from the book No Quick Fix. As I read the chapter, I continually thought of ways to modify the ideas presented to work within the context of a middle school classroom.

The selection records the efforts and successes of two elementary schools as they implement a program that combines four of the main approaches to reading instruction. Their program was daily divided up into four thirty-minute blocks which consisted of the following areas: a basal block, a self-selected reading block, a writing block, and a working with words block.

The programs grew out of the idea that all children possess individual differences in the ways that they learn, and therefore no one approach is best. Rather, a combination approach comprised of the best attributes of each individual approach is desirable.

These schools chose to discontinue the practice of grouping students by ability level for reading instruction - (which they found to be ineffective). Instead, they implemented multi-method, multi-level classrooms where students received whole-class instruction.

Since many middle school programs usually only provide (about) a 50 minute language arts block daily, the program (as it is designed) cannot work within the middle school framework unless major organizational changes are implemented by administration. However individual language arts/reading teachers can adapt the major concepts to implement with their students.

Several of the concepts that I will take away from the article to implement in my future middle school language arts class are as follows.

Allowing reading to take place in a variety of ways is a definite must. Even at the middle school level, students can benefit from large group reading, partner reading, individual reading, and even being read to by their teacher. Each method facilitates the acquisition and practice of different valuable skills.

All reading programs should include a variety of topics and genres. Reading should expose students to new topics so that they can become more knowledgeable about the world around them. They should be given plenty of opportunities, however, to pursue their existing interests. Students are more motivated to read when they self-select topics that are of great interest to them.

Middle school students should also have variety in the level of difficulty of their reading materials. Difficult materials facilitate skill acquisition and vocabulary development during large group instruction. Grade level material can be used for working on fluency during partner reading. A student's confidence and comfort can be improved by allowing them to individually read (successfully) with materials of a lower difficulty level. By providing reading materials of many difficulty levels, students have opportunities to be challenged, to learn new skills, to practice, and to gain confidence .

Our ultimate goal is to give students the skills they need to become life-long readers and writers. To begin this, we must first make reading and writing enjoyable for them. Reading is more enjoyable for them, if they experience successes in reading. Variety in how and what we present to them, is a step toward doing this.

An Extreme Comprehension Resource

What adolescent doesn't sit up and take notice to anything extreme?

Check out Tracy T's blog Extreme Reading from Park Campus. This focuses on 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who have developed this site with help from their teacher.

Find extreme poetry written by middle schoolers, and even post a comment about them, or have your students add some of their own!

Check out the extreme book talks to find books to motivate your students to read that are recommended and reviewed by the best in the business - teens!

And for the teacher in you, find lots of resources in the extreme teachers section.

No need to reinvent the wheel - get it straight from the teens' mouths, so to speak!

Using Writing to Increase Reading Comprehension

In our efforts to help middle school students better comprehend what they are reading, sometimes we forget to tie in a valuable skill that is connected to reading comprehension: writing. When a student gets involved in writing, he/she can use their new-found strategies being a writer to not only give them the tools to synthesize texts, but also motivate them to review others' written work.

Writing Fun gives tons of text organizers to assist in the writing process from informational writing to narrative to procedural to descriptions. By becoming more skilled in these areas of writing, students can be encouraged to be writing critics by reading samples of these forms of writing.

Teachers can motivate their students to look for strengths and weaknesses in texts written by different authors. Some ideas could be reading other student works, teacher works, and/or renowned literary works.

Get them writing and reading at the same time, and they may just begin comprehending even more!

Useful websites addressing reading comprehension

A website for teachers that explores comprehension and content reading strategies and when to use them.
http://www.readingquest.org/links.html

Here you will find reading comprehension teaching and learning tips, articles and links about giftedness and learning disabilities, learning differences, and difficulties.
http://www.resourceroom.net/comprehension/index.asp

This site provides reading comprehension resources for struggling readers.
http://www.literacy.uconn.edu/compre.htm

The following address offers effective teaching strategies, activities, lessons, lesson plans, worksheets, exercises, skills, tests, and assessments for reading comprehension and language arts.
http://www.readingrockets.org/helping/target/comprehension

This website provides strategies that can help readers to construct meaning.
http://readskill.com/Resources/LiteracySkills/TipsComprehension.htm

Here are some free reading resources, information, activities and articles for parents and teacher. Learn how proficient reading works and how to teach children and students to read.
http://www.righttrackreading.com/page2.html

Connecting with the text

Comprehensive Connections by Tanny McGregor discusses different strategies for reading comprehension. The author focuses on 6 key elements of reading comprehension and provides activities to improve reading comprehension in the 6 different areas.


1. Making connections
According to McGregor, there are 3 main types of connections made when reading.

• Text to self-making a connection between the reader’s personal experience and text
• Text to text-making a connection between text being read and a previous text
• Text to world-making a connection between the text and something occurring in the real world

Activity
Students can draw pictures or write words to show connection with the text. Have students share and discuss their connection chart with a classmate.

2. Creating Mental Images
In her book, Tanny McGregor said creating mental images of the text being read is a way to understand events and information presented in the text.

Activity
Students record their most vivid mental image from each text that had been read. After they have completed their chart, students are encouraged to take that mental image home and tell a family member what they read and what it was about. This can be done as little or as much as the teacher would like.

3. Questioning
Readers need to ask themselves questions as they read the text. However, they need to be able to know what kind of questions to ask and when to ask them for this to help increase comprehension.

Activity
The question chart is a place students can record a list of questions words. They can add to this chart at any time. Students should keep this list handy when reading a text. These questions words can be used while a student is reading a text to help increase comprehension.

4. Inferring
Students must make inferences when reading. Authors don’t always give every detail but instead give clues. Students must use those clues and prior knowledge to “read between the lines”. Inferences are predictions but must be supported by the text.

Activity
Ask the students a question about the text. In this inference chart, students will need to write down what they know. Then, they will need to write down what they know from the text. Students should use both pieces of information to make an inference.

5. Evaluating
Students need to know why they are reading and also decide which information and ideas are most critical in understanding the text.

Activity
Have students sit down in front of you, and dump everything out of your purse for students to see. Then, it will be their responsibility to fill out the determining purpose chart. They must decide what is necessary, could be necessary, or is unnecessary to have in the purse.

6. Synthesizing
Synthesizing is much like evaluating. In synthesizing, personal thoughts are included to form an understanding of the text. It can show how your thinking has changed throughout the reading of the text.

Activity
In this synthesizing target, students should write down words in the middle of the circle to show what they are thinking. Each time their thinking changes, it’s written in the next ring.

Six Reasons to Implement Informational Text

In order to provide students with opportunities to strengthen their reading skills and comprehension levels, teachers need to offer both narrative and informational texts. Many teachers feel it is easier to work with narrative text because they can talk about characters, the setting, the conflict, the resolution, etc. Informational text can be a little more intimidating. However, getting a better understanding of how using informational text can help students puts it all in perspective and can give teachers the confidence they need.

Scholastic.com offers six reasons why teachers should use more informational text.

1. It provides students with the key to success in later schooling. Textbooks, college articles, and tests are all concerned with information and facts. Understanding the format of these texts helps them in middle school, high school, and even college.

2. It prepares students with handling real-life reading. As children grow up, they will read the newspaper, magazine articles, manuals, the internet, etc.

3. It appeals to readers' preferences. Many male students prefer informational text and facts versus "girly" fiction and "feeling" stories. Girls will also feel more comfortable with informational text as they gain more exposure to it.

4. It also address students' questions and interests. Students are always asking deeper thinking question that even stump teachers. Supplying students with the resources to find answers through informational text takes their learning even deeper and gives them responsibility.

5. It builds on their understanding of the natural and social world. We know that kids love animals and nature. Reading about these topics will help them understand their own culture and world.

6. It boosts their vocabulary. Informational texts use vocabulary that is different than that of narrative texts. Students will discover a wider variety of vocabulary they can use in their own language and writing.

Some Informational Text Lesson Plan Ideas

A Road Map to Reading presents a lesson plan in studying the structure of informational texts.

Reading Informational Texts Using the 3-2-1 Strategy asks questions students can use to collect their own informational texts on computers or look through teacher supplied texts as they answer 3 new things they discovered in their reading, 2 interesting things, and 1 question they still have about the topic.

Reciprocal Teaching offers a deeper explanation of the importance of having students summarize and clarify their understanding of informational text. Additional resources and ideas are also included.

Assigned Text and Motivating Male Learners

The role of assigned text plays a big role in a child's comprehension and learning. Differentiated instruction meets each child at his/her level, works with his/her interest, and it done in response to his/her needs. This includes finding a way to get the learner excited about learning. One way to differentiate instruction is to allow students to choose what they read. If this is not able to occur, another way to differentiate is to provide texts that is of high interest for the child.

When assigning text to male students, their interests must be kept in mind. Having the desire to learn more about an interesting topic will help them progress through the process of comprehension so much more easily. The following ideas and topics are targeted for male readers in grade 5-9:

• Extreme sports: snowboarding, BMX biking, skateboarding
• Wilderness, hunting, hiking
• Bullies
• Al Capone, the mob, the mafia
• Sports: football, basketball, soccer, baseball
• Boogers, guts, bones, etc. :)

Some books boys enjoy are:

• Guinness Book of World Records
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
• Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
• Artemis Foul by Eoin Colfer
• Go Big or Go Home by Will Hobbs
  

Thoughtful Response to Text

How can I tell if a child has taken their comprehension to a deeper level? What does a thoughtful response to a text look like? Some questions/writing prompts to foster thoughtful response include:

Predictions

• What are some predictions you have about the next chapter?
• What do you think will happen to one of the character's during tomorrow's reading?

Making Connections to Self:

• How do you think the character felt during an important scene from the story?
• What thoughts went through his/her mind?
• How would you react if you were in his/her situation? What would you do?
• What motivated one character to make one of his/her decisions? Do you think he/she made the right decision?
• How does this story relate to your own life? Family? Town? Nation? World?

Making Connections to Another Story:

• What other story does this remind you of? In what ways?
• If having trouble comparing to another story, what movie does this story resemble?
• What character seems familiar from another story?

Envisioning the Story:

• After reading the novel/selection, which of the following best describes how you feel: angry, awed, amazed, baffled, disgusted, disturbed, dissatisfied, irritated, joyous, uneasy, untouched, sad? Elaborate on your answer.
• If I were in this story, I would/wouldn't have...
• I really admire the character of ___________ because...
• I realized...
• I did/didn't like the way...
• I know the feeling of...
• The biggest thing that the character of _____ learned in this story was...
• The most important lesson that I, the reader, learned in this story was...
• Which of the following descriptive terms makes you think of one of the character in the story or novel we just read: lonely, angry, helpless, uncaring, helpful, wise, responsible. unselfish? Describe the character and explain why you think this character feels or personifies this emotion.
  

Reading Comprehension Techniques

I have posted three video clips over reading comprehension techniques. The first technique designed to improve reading comprehension is called reciprocal teaching. The goal of reciprocal teaching is to prepare students to run their own discussion. Before students run their own discussion, the teacher models what a discussion will look like with other group members. There are four important steps in reciprocal teaching that the video will discuss and are listed below:
1. asking a question
2. clarifying meaning of unfamiliar words
3. summarizing-finding the main idea
4. prediction
The following video will model reciprocal teaching:



The second technique to improve reading comprehension is called theme scheme. It is designed for struggling readers. It focuses not only on plot but on the underlying theme of a story. The theme scheme technique focuses on a higher order of thinking. This technique challenges students to find examples of the themes in their own lives to make connections to the text. Theme scheme encourages rich discussion and is a technique that has been proven to increase reading comprehension.
Click on the words theme scheme technique to watch the video.


The third techinque was called model and discussion to build comprehension. In this technique the teacher should model his or her thinking out loud for the students. The teacher must model and show out loud his or her connection to the text. The teacher will also share what is important to him or her. It can also be called read/write/talk. It is important to pick compelling text to hook the audience to promote discussion.
Click on the words modeling and discussion to build comprehension to watch the video.

Other Great Blogs to Checkout

Teachers need to work on their comprehension, too! The following blogs are from teachers/librarians sharing new ideas about teaching, video clips, resources, and thoughts about the wonderful world of teaching reading.

School Library Monthly is a blog that shares current ways to integrate more technology into the classroom. Lots of great ideas are shared as well as categorized lists of information topics along the right hand column.

NeedleworksPictures.com is another blog about way to implement technology into the classroom.

A Year of Reading highlights new and upcoming children's books to foster good reading. This blog helps teachers and parents stay up to date on the vast amount of new books emerging every moment. The authors also share keynote presentation information and conferences they recommend. Writing activities are also offered.

Resources for Understanding Processing and Comprehension

Article

Fluent and Nonfluent Forms of Transfer in Reading: Words and Their Message explains two different experiments that studied how students are able to fully comprehend what they read. The article discusses rereading strategies and evaluates what determines a child as a struggling reader or good reader. It also discusses ways to help students become more fluent readers.

Websites

Another way to help students in comprehension is to teach instruction around themes. Books by Theme offers many different books choices categorized by theme.

Thematic Instruction offers best-practice and research based information as how and why thematic instruction helps students learn.

Book

Reading Comprehension: Strategies for Independent Learners by Camille Blachowicz and Donna Ogle This book offers research-based approaches for comprehension instruction to help K-9 students and teachers. Its updated second edition shares print and online sources, ideas for developing vocabulary, building study skills, and motivating readers.


Videos

The Reading Process is a presentation that explains how students process the sounds of letters and how they use that information to create meaning. The speaker, Dr. G. Reid Lyon has over 30 years of experience as a public school educator, professor, research scientist, psychologist, and policymaker.



Teaching Reading is a presentation by Phyllis C. Hunter who explains how reading gives children freedom, civil rights, and liberation. It also shares why teachers need to implement research-based instruction strategies in their classroom. Hunter was appointed by Congress and former President Bush to serve on the board of the National Institute for Literacy, and has served as an advisor on the President’s Educational Transition Team.