Language Arts Framer’s Meeting

State of the State in ReadingNovember 12, 2008Evan Lefsky, Ph.D.

Reading K-3Reading K-3

Reading K-3 vs. 4-12Reading K-3 vs. 4-12

Acquire strategies for “decoding” unfamiliar wordsAcquire strategies for “decoding” unfamiliar wordsBuild “sight word vocabulary” of many thousands Build “sight word vocabulary” of many thousands

of wordsof wordsLearn to coordinate skills for fluent reading of textLearn to coordinate skills for fluent reading of text

Begin extension of vocabulary beyond oral Begin extension of vocabulary beyond oral language limitslanguage limitsAcquire variety of strategies for enhancing Acquire variety of strategies for enhancing comprehension, or repairing it when it breaks comprehension, or repairing it when it breaks downdown

Develop or maintain a positive attitude about Develop or maintain a positive attitude about reading and view it as an important skill for reading and view it as an important skill for learning and for pleasurelearning and for pleasure

Reading 4-12Reading 4-12

Reading K-3 vs. 4-12Reading K-3 vs. 4-12

Extend “sight vocabulary” to unfamiliar words in Extend “sight vocabulary” to unfamiliar words in increasingly challenging textincreasingly challenging text

Learning meanings of thousands of new words – Learning meanings of thousands of new words – vocabulary expansionvocabulary expansion

Increasingly detailed knowledge of text structures Increasingly detailed knowledge of text structures and genresand genres

Expansion of content knowledge in many domainsExpansion of content knowledge in many domains

Thinking and reasoning skills increaseThinking and reasoning skills increase

Reading specific comprehension strategies become Reading specific comprehension strategies become more complexmore complex

Why Oral language experience is not Why Oral language experience is not enoughenough

Frequency of Word Use in Major Sources of Oral and Written Language (Hayes & Ahrens, 1988)

Rare Words per 1,000I. Printed texts II. Television texts

Newspapers 68.3 Adult shows22.7

Popular magazines 65.7 Children’s shows20.2

Adult books 52.7Children’s books 30.9 III. Adult speechPreschool books 16.3 College graduates

17.3talk with friends/spouses

“Ensuring adequate ongoing literacy development for all students in the middle and high school yearsis a more challenging task than ensuring excellent reading education in the primary grades, for tworeasons: first, secondary school literacy skills are more complex, more embedded in subject matters,and more multiply determined; second, adolescents are not as universally motivated to read better or as interested in school-based reading as kindergartners.”Biancarosa & Snow, (2005)

Each year skills and knowledge Each year skills and knowledge required to meet standards required to meet standards increasesincreases

1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th

Must learn to recognize many new words automatically

Must acquire many new vocabulary words

Must learn to deal with longer sentences and more complex ideas

Must be able to draw upon more extensive background knowledge

Teaching Reading is UrgentA student at the 10th percentile reads about 60,000 words a year in 5th grade

A student at the 50th percentile reads about 900,000 words a year in 5th grade

Average students receive about 15 times as much practice in a year

(Anderson, Wilson, & Fielding, 1988)

The consequences of early and The consequences of early and continuing reading difficultiescontinuing reading difficulties

Lack of reading practiceLack of reading practice-affects fluency-affects fluency

Lack of wide readingLack of wide reading-affects growth of -affects growth of vocabulary and knowledge of the worldvocabulary and knowledge of the world

Loss of interest in reading and learningLoss of interest in reading and learning

Lack of wide readingLack of wide reading- affects growth of - affects growth of strategic reading skillsstrategic reading skills

Limited reading of classroom Limited reading of classroom assignments- assignments- affects growth of essential affects growth of essential knowledgeknowledge

Primary Characteristics of Struggling Primary Characteristics of Struggling Readers in Elementary, Middle and High Readers in Elementary, Middle and High SchoolSchoolThey are almost always less fluent readers—They are almost always less fluent readers—sight word vocabularies many thousands of sight word vocabularies many thousands of words smaller than average readerswords smaller than average readers

Usually know the meanings of fewer wordsUsually know the meanings of fewer words

Usually have less conceptual knowledgeUsually have less conceptual knowledge

Are almost always less skilled in using Are almost always less skilled in using strategies to enhance comprehension or strategies to enhance comprehension or repair it when it breaks downrepair it when it breaks down

Will typically not enjoy reading or choose to Will typically not enjoy reading or choose to read for pleasureread for pleasure

Why Kids Struggle with Reading Inadequate understanding of the words used in text Inadequate background knowledge about the domains

represented in text Lack of familiarity with the semantic and syntactic

structures that can help predict the relationships between words

Lack of knowledge about different writing conventions that are used to achieve different purposes via text

Verbal reasoning ability which enables the reader to “read between the lines”

Ability to remember verbal information

(Lyon, 2002)

What Will It Take? Strong assessment system Content area reading (will not get the job

done for some students) Reading intervention classes (will never

get the job done alone) Differentiated intensity based on need “Adequate” progress is different with a

struggling reader

Reading, Writing, and Discussion as the Norm Every day, every classroom Reading to kids every day Kids asking the questions, not the teachers Kids reading leveled content texts everyday to practice

skills and build domain knowledge Strong core instructional principles in every classroom first Integration across content areas

This is what we want in terms of instruction!

(Deschler, 2008)

1. Lecture/read2. Give directions3. Listening4. Ask questions5. Monitor6. Model7. Verbal rehearsal8. Simple enhancer9. Advance organizer10. Role Play11. Content Enhancement (complex)12. Elaborated Feedback13. Write on board14. Describe skill/strategy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

Observation of Teacher Practice Study

1. Lecture/read2. Give directions3. Listening4. Ask question5. Monitor6. Model7. Verbal rehearsal8. Simple enhancer9. Advance organizer10. Role Play11. Content Enhancement (complex)12. Elaborated Feedback13. Write on board14. Describe skill/strategy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

1. Lecture/read2. Give directions3. Listening4. Ask question5. Monitor6. Model7. Verbal rehearsal8. Simple enhancer9. Advance organizer10. Role Play11. Content Enhancement (complex)12. Elaborated Feedback13. Write on board14. Describe skill/strategy

Engagement/Motivation Students need one of the following to attach

to:A topicAn adultA reason to keep them going

Engaging curriculum=kids keep going when text gets tough

Amount of engaged reading correlates higher with reading achievement than gender, family income, or parental education (Guthrie)

Classroom Practices that Build Engagement Relevance Microchoice Lack of Success-Single biggest source of

disengagement Relationships Thematic Units

Challenges of FCAT

EnduranceReading and writing for 160 minutesText Length average=900 wordsNo connection to textMOTIVATION!

What Teachers Can Do

Ensure students: Read extensively “in all classes” to build text

knowledge and fluency Read for longer periods of time Read longer texts Read texts that are linked to the curriculum Build background knowledge and vocabulary Have access to self-selected texts related to the

content unit being studied

Test preparation

Test preparation versus test practice Teach deeply to the standards Stay away from test practice books Good teaching doesn’t mean lower

scores Avoid FCAT Explorer abuse

Research-Based Reading Classroom (Guthrie, 2002) Which factors effect FCAT reading scores?

40%

20%

15%

10%

15%

Reading ability

Contentknowledge

Motivation

Format

Error

Research-Based Reading Classroom Which components should we focus on?

40%

20%

20%

10%

10%

Guided instructionEngaged readingStrategiesMotivationFormat

What We Know from Research

The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that most vocabulary is learned indirectly and that some vocabulary must be taught directly.

(National Reading Panel, 2001)

Indirect Vocabulary Learning

Students learn vocabulary indirectly when they hear and see words used in many different contexts – for example, through conversations with adults, through being read to, and through reading extensively on their own.

Direct Vocabulary Learning

Students learn vocabulary directly when they are explicitly taught both individual words and word-learning strategies. Direct vocabulary instruction aids reading comprehension.

Vocabulary

Big, Large Little, Small

Huge Tiny

Enormous Miniscule

Gigantic Minute

Colossal Petite

Vocabulary

Pretty, Beautiful Happy, Glad

Gorgeous Ecstatic

Lovely Blissful

Exquisite Joyous

Attractive Content

Fair Pleased

Reading, Writing, Oral Language Connection

Require complete sentences and academic language, both orally and in writing

Show and discuss with students models of good writing

Forcing support for ideas and identification before writing or discussion

Why is fluency important?

Fluency affects comprehension. When one must concentrate on decoding the text there is less memory available for constructing meaning.

Fluency affects flexibility. Good readers change their reading rates according to the difficulty of the text, the importance of the material, and the task at hand. Disfluent readers cannot be flexible.

100

110

120

130

Cor

rect

Wor

ds p

er M

inut

eC

orre

ct W

ords

per

Min

ute

140

150

6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

F W S F W S F W S

Correct Words per Minute on Grade Level Text

160

18 WPM

22 WPM 23 WPM

Tindal, Hasbrouck, & Jones, 2005

Text difficulty Text difficulty increasesincreases

Text difficulty Text difficulty increasesincreases

Keith Topping - What Research Has to Say About Fluency Instruction

Factors Facilitating the Development of Fluency Management of text difficulty – the text must be

matched to the reading ability of the student Time exposed, time on task, and time engaged in

reading Vocabulary (listening or reading) Memory – visual, verbal, short- and long-term Motivation (individualization and ownership) Confidence (self-efficacy and resilience) Support (modeling, prompting, and scaffolding)

What does it mean to understand?

“… in our discussions, in our assignments, in our ‘learning’ materials, we ask students to do little more than 1. answer questions;

2. restate, retell, or summarize text in some way; and

3. learn content-related vocabulary.

And when they can do those three things, we conclude that they understand.”

Ellin Oliver Keene, 2007, p. 32The Essence of Understanding

in Adolescent Literacy: Turning Promise into Practice

Classroom Connection

If we want our students to move beyond basic knowledge and summary learning . . . What do students need to be able to do

differently? What needs to change in our instructional

practices? How do our assessments need to change?

Characteristics of Proficient Readers Search for connections between what they know

and new information Ask questions of themselves, the authors, and the

texts they read Draw inferences during and after reading Distinguish important from less important ideas Synthesize information Repair faulty comprehension Monitor their comprehension Visualize and create mental images

“Thoughtful literacy is more than remembering what the text said. It is engaging the ideas in texts, challenging those ideas, reflecting on them, and so on.”

Richard Allington, 2006, p. 135What Really Matters for Struggling Readers

“For centuries, the central question directed at the young has been, How much do you remember? The proper questions for this era are, What’s going on here? Why? Where is it likely to take us and what should we be doing?”

Marion Brady, 2008, p. 66Cover the material – or teach students to think?

Educational Leadership, 65(5)

Reading Standards: Critical Areas Are they clear and measurable Explicit and systematic instruction in decoding skills in the

primary grades Use of various comprehension strategies Use of meaningful reading materials Expectation for daily independent reading in grades K-12

(in and out of school)Guidance on minimum quantity (differentiated)Guidance about quality

Progressive development of reading vocabularyWord studyBroad readingListening

Reading Standards: Critical Areas Balance of literary and non-literary texts should be achieved

in the upper grades through varying content areas Categorized by bodies of research in reading Focus on how to participate in group discussions of varying

purposes and in different roles Address reading to understand and use information (K-12) Progressive development of reading skills

Phonemic awarenessPhonics instruction Fluency Comprehension and study strategies (skimming,

questioning, summarizing, note-taking, and paraphrasing)

Reading Standards: Critical Areas Knowledge and use of text features, genres, and

reading strategies for academic, occupational, and civic purposes

Customary features of informational text (purpose, organization, table of contents, index)

Different types of informational text are represented (newspapers, instruction manuals)

Research process (developing questions and locating, evaluating, and synthesizing information)

Clear expectations about the reading levels of texts required at a particular grade level through examples (both literary and academic)

Fluency is the key! Read, Write, and Discuss Everyday!

Resources

Getting Students Ready for College-preparatory/Honors English: What Middle Grades Students Need to Know and Be Able to Do (SREB, 2007)

Reading Between the Lines: What the ACT Reveals About College Readiness in Reading (ACT, 2006)

The State of State English Standards (Stotsky, 2005)