BUILDING READING COMPREHENSION IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY Literacy - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
BUILDING READING COMPREHENSION IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY Literacy - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
BUILDING READING COMPREHENSION IN THE AGE OF TECHNOLOGY Literacy Can Influence You in More Ways Than the Classroom 2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. Over 70% of
Literacy Can Influence You in More Ways Than the Classroom
2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on
- welfare. Over 70% of
America’s inmates cannot read above a 4th grade level.
1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read.
Students who don't read proficiently by the 3rd grade are 4 times more likely to drop out of school.
https://www.dosomething.org/ us/facts/11-facts-about-literacy- america
A Look at Where We Are Now
In a study of literacy among 20 ‘high income’ countries;
the United States ranked 12th
Illiteracy costs American taxpayers an estimated $20 billion
each year
45 million are functionally illiterate and read below a 5th
grade level
Approximately 50% of Americans read so poorly that they
are unable to perform simple tasks such as reading prescription drug labels
50% of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth
grade level
http://literacyprojectfoundation.org/community/statistics/
The Positive Effects of Reading
Twenty-six percent of
children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet. This is compared to 14 percent of children who were read to less frequently.
The Educational Testing
Services reported that students who do more reading at home are better readers and have higher math scores.
The more types of
reading materials there are in the home, the higher students are in reading proficiency, according to the Educational Testing Service.
Before We Get to Strategies
It is important to know where your students stand
with their literacy. For this reason, teachers should make sure to give all of their students reading assessments to determine how best to help struggling readers succeed and help proficient readers read better.
Assessments for Reading
There are several assessments that need to be
administered before an in depth plan of action can be
- determined. These include:
Cloze Test – The Cloze test is an assessment in which the
teacher takes a work of literature and removes every fifth
- word. The test this then given to the student to solve. This
assessment is great for two reasons:
It allows the teacher to determine how readable the literature
is and it helps the teacher assess the students reading level.
Interest Inventory Survey – This gives the student the
- pportunity to tell you what they’re interested in.
This is important for reading because you can get books that
the students will find interesting and engaging.
It also shows the student that their likes and dislikes are being
taken into consideration. This is good for building rapport.
The San Diego Quick Assessment is a great way to determine
where your students are with site reading. This assessment requires students to read from a list of words to determine where they are currently. This assessment works well with our next assessment.
The Spelling Inventory is as it sounds. You have your students
spell words from the list provided. After they’ve missed ten in a row, you end the assessment.
These two assessments, combined, give you two of the three
assessments you need to pinpoint your students’ reading levels.
The last assessment we’ll be discussing is the Running
- Records. Running records are a great way to determine how
well your student comprehends what he or she reads. You have your student read a short story that matches the basic reading level determined by the San Diego Quick Assessment and the Spelling Inventory and you keep track of words mispronounced or any miscues and you ask him or her the questions at the end of the session. This will help determine the complete reading level.
Planning and Strategy
Now that you’ve gotten what you need to help
learn all you can about your student, you’ll need to determine a strategy to use to improve his or her reading. There are many strategies out there, but I’ve found that two in particular are useful and effective.
The Read aloud strategy The Think aloud strategy
A combination of both of these would be ideal for any
reader.
The Power of Reading Out Loud
As many of you already know, the read aloud
strategy is the foundation for literacy development and is the single most important activity for reading success (Bredekamp, Copple, & Neuman, 2000)
It is important that we spend time reading to the
students in our classroom so that they can build this foundation and improve themselves as readers.
Listening to others read develops key understanding and skills,
such as an appreciation for how a story is written and familiarity with book conventions, such as "once upon a time" and "happily ever after" (Bredekamp et al., 2000).
Keep two simple questions in mind:
Is it a good story? Is it worth sharing with my student?
Other ideas to consider when selecting good books include: Is the book worthy of a reader's and listener's time?
Does the story sound good to the ear when read aloud? Will it appeal to your audience?
Will children find the book relevant to their lives and culture?
Will the book spark conversation?
Will the book motivate deeper topical understanding?
Does the book inspire children to find or listen to another book on
the same topic? By the same author? Written in the same genre?
Is the story memorable? Will children want to hear the story again?
Using Think Aloud to Model Making Connections
“By modeling how fluent readers think about the text and problem solve as they read, we make the invisible act of reading visible. Modeling encourages children to develop the "habits of mind" proficient readers employ.”
“Helping children find and make connections to stories and books requires them to relate the unfamiliar text to their relevant prior knowledge. There are several comprehension strategies that help children become knowledgeable readers. Three are:
Connecting the book to their own life experience
Connecting the book to other literature they have read
Connecting what they are reading to universal concepts (Keene & Zimmermann, 1997)
“Helping children discover these connections requires
planning and modeling.
Parents and teachers can encourage and support thinking,
listening, and discussion, and model "think-alouds," which reveal the inner conversation readers have with the text as they read (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000).
Parents and teachers can point out connections between prior
experiences and the story, similarities between books, and any relationship between the books and a larger concept.” Having relied on the Read Aloud and Think aloud
strategies while tutoring students, I’ve found that it works very well and offers a lot of gains in a short amount of time.
A Few Videos to Get You Started
Think aloud strategy -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZHimY5YZo
Cloze Assessment -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUiYhge4lvk
Read aloud -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZ2rL0eByfc
References
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-
about-literacy-america
http://literacyprojectfoundation.org/community/s
tatistics/
http://www.nea.org/grants/facts-about-childrens-
literacy.html
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/using-
think-alouds-improve-reading-comprehension
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/reading-
aloud-build-comprehension