addressing the gap reading interventions for struggling grade three & four students

Addressing the Gap

Reading Interventions for Struggling Grade Three & Four Students

Introduction

Evidence of decline in reading achievement for some children around the age of 9-10

Few specialised interventions in place to address this systemic failure.

Beyond Reading Recovery, these children face a lonely battle to succeed.

There were attempts by committed teachers to personalise learning through focussed and targeted differentiation within their classrooms.

Future data will provide further evidence as to whether this mainstream approach is able to effectively meet the needs of ‘at risk’ students.

What are these students like

They are: a diverse group the majority are boys disengaged disruptive lack self-management strategies have low self efficacy have trouble with text books have trouble understanding in what is involved in tasks feel distrustful of teachers have a dependence of decoding absent a lot Extremely passive Lack initiative

Fluent Vs Impaired Readers

• Left FMRI shows fluent reader: occipito-temporal region is activated, responsible for visual processing

• Right MRI shows dyslexic reader: more sounding out in Broca’s area in frontal lobe

Overview

‘Without effective, specialised help, they are doomedto school failure, illiteracy and severely limited lifechances.’ (Clay, M.M., and Tuck, B. 1991)

Our project was based on the philosophy that all children can learn given the

‘right’ conditions. addressed the needs of ‘hardest to teach’ students by linking

effective teaching pedagogy with an understanding of the precise difficulties experienced by these children during their struggle to be competent readers.

Believed the challenges of bringing about successful outcomes for these children is achievable and critical.

Requires greater recognition by the educational system of the problem

Challenges the system to invest knowledge and resources

Acknowledgments

Strengths the commitment and collaboration of the team the generosity of the schools and colleagues

we visited. access TPL (Teacher Professional Leave)

which made our combined efforts possible We also thank our own schools and

students for allowing us to be absent for the duration of our study.

Thanks Schools visited:Woodend -Andy Kozack and Bev SaddlerNew Gisborne – Suzanne Cooke and Jill

PlumberOur Lady of the Rosary Kyneton – AnneMildura South - Marie Therese O’LearyIrymple South - Robyn GallagherRed Cliffs East – Kim RyanNichols Point – Jo McQuinnHoly Rosary Heathcote-MelanieHeathcote-Michael SaundersSpring Gully – Ann RochfordCamp Hill – Jill Scobie and Sue PrenticeTasmania-Louise AndersSpeech Therapist: Christine SertoriSRA Rep: Di McphersonLioncrest Rep: Liz Corrective Reading Tutor : Genevieve

Hosking

Regional OfficersSue HintonHelen Bandrowski (Catholic Education))Pam ToosePeter NicolsonAnne SmithAnne BairdJohn Walsh Rob SbagliaPhilip Holmes-SmithTamara DowneyAndrea ChalmersYvonne MaddenTrish PriestERIK Tutors: Kim Cheep and LeonieNAPLAN Documentation: Kangaroo Flat –

Brooke Benendick

Proposal

Major factors identified as negativelyimpacting on reading success for students inGrades 3 /4 Inconsistency in teaching practices Assessment Teacher Capacity Parental Involvement Student self-efficacy / engagement

Inconsistency in teaching practices

Is evident by:Lack of Whole School agreement

Can be Addressed byEstablish a Professional and

Development Culture Whole school Literacy Plan with levelled

scope and sequence charts

Assessment

Is evident by:Insufficient provision of supportInadequate assessment materialsCan be Addressed byProvision of appropriate diagnostic tools

and support from administrationWhole School assessment schedule

Teacher Capacity

Is evident by: Ineffective models of pedagogy Lack of differentiation Lack of support for intervention beyond grade one Lack of student accountability, task ownership and specific

feedback

Can be addressed by Opportunities to grow as a teacher in order to grow students Coaching and mentoring Targeted Professional Development Structured Professional Reading Instructional Leadership Teacher Professional Leave

Parental Involvement

Is evident by: Parents less visible at school

Can be addressed by Parent education Parent involvement in classrooms with training Continued emphasis on parent / school

partnerships

Introduction

Reading

Writing

Speaking & Listening

Student self-efficacy / engagement

Is evident by: Poor motivation and reluctance to read

Can be addressed by Additional Support Accurate diagnostic assessment Targeted direct teaching and practice Teachers who engender a love of literacy in

all students

Effective Teaching

Six characteristics indentified in the more effective early years teachers.

PARTICIPATION - They ensured high levels of student participationAttentionEngagement StimulationPleasureConsistency

ORCHESTRATION - They can simultaneously orchestrate the complex demands of classroom teaching

Awareness Structure Flexibility Pace Transition

Effective Teaching

DIFFERENTIATION They can target and differentiate their instructionChallenge Individualisation Inclusion Variation

Connection

KNOWLEDGE They are deeply knowledgeable about literacy learningEnvironmentPurposeSubstanceExplanationsModellingMetalanguage

Effective Teaching

SUPPORT They can support and scaffold learners at word and text levelsAssessmentScaffoldingFeedbackResponsivenessExplicitness – WordExplicitness – TextPersistence

RESPECT They can do all of this in classrooms characterisedby mutual respectWarmthRapportCredibilityCitizenship

Independence

Learning Intentions

We Are Learning ToWALT

Success Indicators

WilfWhat I’m Looking For

Reflection

TibThis Is Because

Intervention Programs Enhancing Reading Intervention for at Risk Students (ERIK)- University of

Melbourne and Catholic Education Office Melbourne Bridges ( Intervention )-Department of Education Tasmania Rainbow Reading (Intervention) Reading Recovery (Intervention)- Marie Clay Corrective Reading SRA (Intervention) Catch a Falling Star (Intervention)- Catholic Education Office Melbourne Children’s Literacy Success Strategy ( CLaSS )University of Melbourne and

Catholic Education Office Melbourne Science Research Associates SRA Reading Labs- McGraw Hill, Columbus ,

Ohio Curriculum Scientific Investigation ( CSI )- Lioncrest STARS- Hawker Brownlow Education WA First Steps Early Years Department of Education, Employment and

Training Victoria. (Longman) MULTILIT – Making Up for Lost Time in Literacy

Formal Assessment

Developmental Assessment Resources for Teachers (DART )_ Australian Council for Education Research

Progressive Achievement Tests in Reading (PAT-R )-Australian Council for Educational Research

Progressive Achievement Tests in Reading (PAT-R 4 ) Tests of Reading Comprehension (TORCH )-Australian Council for Educational Research Neale Analysis of Reading Ability - Australian Council for Educational Research Writing and Reading Assessment Profile (WRAP)- Probe Reading Assessment - 2nd edition- Pool and Parkin, 2002, Triune Initiatives LEXILES CARS-Series B Teacher Guide 2006Hawker Brownlow Education Peter’s Dictation South Australian Spelling Test Read and Retell- Literacy Professional learning Resource – Assessment On Demand Testing -Education Department PM Benchmark Kit- Nelleye & Smith 2000,nferNelson Observation Survey- Marie Clay Assess Now

Making a Difference

TIME LESSON FORMAT Four Components

WHAT? WHY? ASSESSMENT Δ

10 mins

Familiar or Shared Reading

Opportunities are provided for students to read aloud in a safe and supportive environment

Allow students to practise fluent processing behaviour through repeated readings

Children can read to peers or use audiotapes

Repeated and monitored oral reading improves fluency and comprehension

Helps the reader to remember the main ideas and encourages critical awareness and analysis of the text

Students who have read and reread passages out loud as they receive guidance and feedback become better readers

Running Records Torch Pat-R Dart Writing analysis Peters’ Dictation Words per minute/ fluency

20 mins

Guided Reading: Reciprocal Teaching

Teachers and students read a text together. They are involved in reading, talking and critically thinking about a text

Text needs to be instructional i.e. at a level that has some challenges for students but most vocabulary can be read correctly

Text is selected for its specific language structures and features with a teaching focus in mind

Teachers and students read together using punctuation, expression and intonation

Prompts and discussion are used to develop students’ interpretations

Interactive, scaffolded instruction where the teacher guides students as they dialogue their way through a text to understand it

To become active participants in the process of reading

To gain deeper understandings of the language, features and meaning of text

To engage more deeply in the roles of text analyst, text user, text participant and text decoder

Predicting: Students hypothesise about the content based on what

they know; use of headings, the cover, blurbs, visualisation Clarifying: Areas of uncertainty are made clear at any time during the reading to maintain understanding-vocabulary, terminology, concepts or connections. Use of other resources or looking in index, glossary

Question Generating: Nominated person or leader asks thought-provoking questions during discussion Literal: ‘Right there’ questions Inferential: ‘Between the lines’ or ‘think and search’ Evaluative: Beyond the lines’ or ‘on your own’

Summarising: Nominated person highlights main ideas, keywords and prompts. Others encouraged to join in the complex task of synthesising all 4 strategies. Graphic organisers can be used when reading to jot down ideas for text summary or summarising orally. Website: http://wwwwritedesignonline.com/organizers/

10 mins

Text summary or Focused Writing

Generate a written text that can be used for familiar

reading Students use a lined exercise book open to double page.

One is a working page and the other is for student’s writing. Teacher assistance occurs only on the work page at point of uncertainty or error.

Identify the key ideas Provide opportunities for

learning about text structures and features

Model or share construction of a ranges of text types

Student has the successful experience of producing a readable written product-a great motivation for writing more.

During writing, teacher focuses on building specific skills at point of need:

Conversations about content grammar phonetic strategies, text structure, sequencing strategic spelling/ hearing and recording sounds in words vocabulary building, suffixes and prefixes mnemonics

TIME LESSON FORMAT Four Components

WHAT? WHY? ASSESSMENT Δ

5-10 mins

Student Self-Reflection

Students make thoughtful judgements about their work Teacher demonstrates (think aloud, modelling, scaffold,

provide prompts) for students to learn and value the process

Teacher facilitates opportunities for students to think and talk about what they have learnt and how this knowledge can be transferred to future learning situations

To impact on future learning To develop a common language

for talking about reading and writing

To eventually ask their own questions, monitor their own understanding and take responsibility for moving their learning forward

QUESTIONS What do I already know about the topic? Do the headings, pictures and labels help me to predict the content? What do I need to do when I get stuck on a word? What is happening in the text? What would make sense here? What strategies did I use that worked? Why did they work? Do I agree with the author’s message? What questions do I still have about the text? How can I show what I have learnt?

Short, sharp, predictable routines to keep students and teachers on task Students have a degree of control and responsibility Instruction is focused, teacher directed and delivered at point of need Climate is challenging and supports risk-taking

Text Analyst

What message does the author want to tell you?

Could this story happen in real life? Why?

Where might the author have found this information?

How do you feel about...? Why? Do you agree or disagree with the

author? For whom is the author writing? What other information could be

included in this text? Why did the author choose this text

type?

Text User What information is contained in

the illustrations? What kind of text is this? What

features tell you this? What could you use this text to help

you do? What other information do we still

need? How do you read this text to use the

information? Which information was the most

important? What would a person learn from

reading this text?

Text Participant What is the text about? What is the text telling you? What do you know about the topic:

what connections can you make? (self, text, world)

What words do you know the meanings of?

Where have you read something like this before?

Text Decoder How is this type of text set out? What are the features of this text? What type of punctuation can you find? Where are the sentences and the

paragraphs? What strategies can you use to work

out unknown words? What word knowledge did you use to

‘crack’ this text?

Making a Difference

Reading

Literacy Circles

What are Literacy circles?sophisticated book club type discussions structured reading activity powerful, high-level discussion and

thinking short stories, shorter pieces of non-

fiction and extracts from novels and plays

Literacy Circles

Students select, read and discuss their own texts connect with stories, articles, novels take responsibility as readers and group

members construct meaning together begin to debate and challenge one another develop interpersonal skills develop higher order thinking skills develop reflective and met cognitive skills

Literacy Circles

Group members take specific responsibilities during discussion sessions. meet regularly, discussion roles change at each meeting.showcase their work for the rest of the class after finishing

Literacy CirclesRoles Questioner writes questions that will lead to discussion by the

group. Illustrator uses some form of artwork to represent a significant

scene or idea from the reading. Passage selector points out interesting or important passages

within the reading. Word wizard discusses words in the text that are unusual,

interesting, or difficult to understand. Connector finds connections between the reading material and

something outside the text, Summariser prepares a brief summary of the reading - the gist,

key points, and the essence.

Literacy Circles to E5

Engage

Stimulate interest and curiosity, promote questioning

Connect learning to real world experiences

Connect to past experiences Present a purpose for learning Determining challenging goals Making assessment and

performance requirements clear Be explicit in what they children

are going to learn

All participants are included and expected to have input

Group dynamics, boundaries and respect is explicitly taught and modelled

Students are clear on roles and gradually take ownership of the circle

Ensure reading is linked to ability and connected to interests

Model by reading aloud so everyone can follow


Explore

Provide tools and procedures for students to organise information and ideas

Monitor own thinking Find out what the kids know Clarify understanding

Organise students with particular roles for Reading Circles ie. Questioner, passage selector, illustrator, connector, word watcher and summariser.

Students make decisions, give reasons

I wonder questions - What are you wondering about?

Explore

Provide tools and procedures for students to organise information and ideas

Monitor own thinking Find out what the kids know Clarify understanding

Organise students with particular roles for Reading Circles ie. Questioner, passage selector, illustrator, connector, word watcher and summariser.

Students make decisions, give reasons

I wonder questions - What are you wondering about?


Explain

Explicitly teach relevant knowledge, concepts and skills

teacher provides strategies to enable students to connect and organise new and existing knowledge

Presents new content/strengthens connections

Talk about what they have learnt Think-pair-Share Role of Questioner – after writing

questions to the person beside and share questions and add more to the text

Explain their choices and provide evidence

Role of word wizard selects vocabulary, work from text, then source out word


Elaborate

Extending and refining student’s understanding

Progressively build students ability to transfer and generalise their learning

Cultivates higher order thinking Teacher monitors student

understanding, providing explicit feedback and adjusting instruction accordingly

Make connections using vocabulary Investigate what inferences are

being made Engage in critically thinking students come together and

discuss what they have learnt Role of summariser to elaborate on

what was learnt


Evaluate

Students self assess and reflect on their learning processes and the impact of effort on achievement

Teachers provide feedback and assist students to evaluate their progress and achievements

Guide students to identify future goals

Teacher provides regular and constructive feedback via roaming and taking notes

Monitors group behaviours and discussions

At conclusion ask for general comments-what they did well and one thing they think they need to improve on next time

Reflective journal – using stems (wondering starters )

Reciprocal Reading

I think …because…

I’ll bet …because…

I wonder if …because…

I imagine …because…

I suppose ...because…

Adapted from the work ofL. Oczkus & A. Bruce

I think…

Reciprocal Reading

Problems:I don’t understand the part about …, so I:

This doesn’t make sense, so I … :I can’t figure out …, so I:

Solutions:Reread, reread, reread.

Read on for clues.Check the parts of the word I know.Blend the sounds of the word.Reread the sentence to see if it makes sense.Try another word.

Mmmm,that’s clearer.


Reciprocal Reading

When questioning with fiction and nonfiction:

Ask questions based on the text.Ask questions that are based on the

main idea.Ask some detail-oriented questions.

Ask some inferential questions.

When questioning with nonfiction only:Ask questions based on text featuressuch as maps, captions, and diagrams.

Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? What if?


Reciprocal Reading

When summarizing fiction:Retell the story in your own words. Include the setting, characters, problem, key events, and resolution.

Give only key points that add up (+) to a short summary. Use logical order.Reread to remember main ideas.Refer to illustrations to summarize.Use Somebody Wanted But So.

When summarizing nonfiction:Leave out unnecessary details.

Refer to illustrations, headings, and other text features.

First,… Next,… Then,… Finally,…


Guided Reading

Purposes and benefits of guidedreading using and developing the reading strategies interact with the teacher and the text exploration of the structures and features oflanguage talk, read and think their way through a text observation, assessment and support

Guided Reading

Suggested structure Identify a suitable text and focus for the session

(individual copies of the book) text will be one that the children have not read

before Familiarise yourself with the text Consider questions you will ask to support the

children’s reading Consider elements that will help children as they

read

Guided Reading

Independent reading Each child reads independently at their

own pace, The teacher moves around the group,

listening to individual children, prompting assessing understanding and progress

Guided Reading

Early-finishers’ activities Re-read the book Read with a partner Retell the story to a partner Choose a favourite part or character Identify the most interesting fact (nonfiction) Identify words with particular spelling patterns

eg double letter words; silent letters etc

Guided Reading

Discussion Share responses to the text Focus on the children’s understanding

Guided Reading

Teaching Consolidate the children’s skills and strategies Introduce new concepts, vocabulary,

punctuation Praise successful problem-solving and self-

correction

Planning for Reading

Five key components of reading: Phonemic Awareness – Attentiveness to the sounds of spoken

language Phonics – Decoding unfamiliar words using knowledge of the

alphabet principle. Fluency – Grade appropriate oral reading with appropriate speed,

accuracy and expression. Vocabulary Development - Knowledge of word meanings to

facilitate effective spoken and written language communication. Text Comprehension – Use of a variety of comprehension

strategies to monitor comprehension to construct meaning from print.

Phonemic Awareness

What Students Need to Learn The spoken words consist of individual sounds

(phonemes). How words can be segmented (pulled apart)

into sounds, and how these sounds can be blended (put back together) and manipulated (added, deleted, and substituted).

How to use their phonemic awareness to blend sounds to read words and to segment sounds in words to spell them.

Phonics

What Students Need to Learn Accurate and rapid identification of the letters of the

alphabet. The alphabetic principle (an understanding that the

sequence of sounds or phonemes in a spoken word are represented by letters in a written word.

Phonics elements (e.g., letter-sound correspondences, spelling patterns, syllables and meaningful words parts).

How to apply phonics elements as they read and write.

Fluency

What Students Need to Learn

How to decode isolated words accurately.

How to read connected text automatically with appropriate speed, accuracy, and expression.

Vocabulary Development

What Students Need to Learn The meanings for most of the words in a text

so they can understand what they read. How to apply a variety of strategies to learn

words meanings. How to make connections between words and

concepts. How to accurately use words in oral and

written language.

Text Comprehension

Conclusion

OUR PROJECT based on anecdotal evidence gathered from a

variety of colleagues drew on our own experiences as professional

people who are close to the action. carried out an extensive review of literature,

particularly focussing on engaging struggling readers.

looked at success factors for reading used NAPLAN evidence to verify these state

wide claims.

Investigate characteristics of a balanced literacy program

detailed planning focussed teaching, checking for understanding, structuring lessons to maximise learning

outcomes, making connections and engaging students’

interests and backgrounds.

Recommendations

Recommendations

allow more opportunities for building teacher capacity

recognise and promote the educational benefits of the parent teacher partnership

identify and track low achieving students throughout their schooling

provide additional assistance embrace instructional leadership provide student accountability and ownership

of tasks and constructive, specific and targeted feedback

addressing the gap reading interventions for struggling grade three & four students

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