Adolescent Literacy and Teaching StrategiesPresenter: Anna Montalbo, NBCT Early Adolescence: English/Lang. Arts Reading Coach/Littleton Elementary amontalbo@littletonaz.org

Adolescent Literacy Startling Statistics4th grade reading achievement levels (Percent) Showing most recent 5 years

Achievement Level

2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

Below basic 46% 48% 44% 44% 42%

At or above basic54% 52% 56% 56% 58%

Below proficient 77% 76% 76% 75% 74%

At or above proficient

23% 24% 24% 25% 26%

Early Reading Indicators: State of Arizona 2010 KIDS COUNT Special Report

datacenter.kidscount.org

8th Grade Rdg. Achievement Level Data Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). datacenter.kidscount.org

Level 2005 2007 2009 2011

Below Basic

35% 35% 32% 29%

At or above Basic

65% 65% 68% 71%

Below Proficient

77% 76% 73% 72%

At or Above Proficient

23% 24% 27% 28%

Achievement Level 2002 2007

Below Basic 23% 15%

At or Above Basic 77% 85%

Below Proficient 80% 77%

At or Above Proficient 20% 23%

8th Grade Writing Achievement- Data Source U.S. Dept of Education-National Center for Educational Statistics-National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) datacenter.kidscount.org

Occupational Changes during the 20th Century

“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)

Primary Characteristics of Struggling Readers in Middle and High School- Torgeson (2009)They are almost always less fluent readers—sight word vocabularies many thousands of words smaller than average readers

Usually know the meanings of fewer words

Usually have less conceptual knowledge

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

Will typically not enjoy reading or choose to read for pleasure

What do we know from research about the impact of directly teaching reading comprehension strategies? The review of the National Reading Panel (2000)

“For teachers, the art of instruction involves a series of “wh” questions: knowing when to apply what strategy with which particular students. Having students actually develop independent, integrated strategic reading abilities may require subtle instructional distinctions that go well beyond techniques such as instruction, explanation, or reciprocal teaching…strategies are not skills that can be taught by drill; they are plans for constructing meaning. 4:47

Proficient comprehension of text depends on: Accurate and fluent word reading skills Oral language skills (vocabulary, linguistic

comprehension) Extent of conceptual and factual knowledge Knowledge and skill in use of cognitive strategies to

improve comprehension or repair it when it breaks down.

Reasoning and inferential skills Motivation to understand and interest in task and

materials

What factors affect reading comprehension?

1. Students must use better strategies when reading a variety of texts and materials.

2. Most students will need to learn to use better reading strategies for comprehension.

3. Most must acquire better reasoning and thinking skills

4. Most must acquire more conceptual knowledge in science, history, social studies, math, English

5. Most must acquire stronger vocabularies 6. Most must become more confident and engaged

in reading for meaning.

What does it take to accelerate reading development in adolescents? Torgeson 2009

Studied 16 Common Strategies of Instruction, and identified 7 that had a “firm scientific basis” for concluding they improve comprehension in normal readers.

Comprehension Monitoring Cooperative Learning Graphic Organizers Question Answering Question Generation Story Structure Summarization

National Reading Panel- 2000

Explicit vocabulary instruction emphasizing word meanings and multiple meanings.

Word study- Affixes, Word relationships, Syllabication, Word families

Opportunities for fluent reading and interactions with a variety of text (stories, reader’s theater, informative text, functional text, content)

Comprehension monitoring using before, during, and after reading explicit techniques

Questioning strategies using prediction, text features, learner interactions, and confirming reader response

One size does not fit all-Personalize the learning and context through group structures (partners, individual, triad, small group, and opportunities with technology.

What are the Best Practices to Empower Reading for this group?

Model the learning using examples, academic language, visual and/or mental models

Engage the learner through notetaking guides, anticipatory guides, learner response and reflection

Promote Student Discussion and Student-led questioning and confirming

Use Teacher Think Alouds to model the reflection and the learning process

Teach students to think and problem solve using thinking, reading, and writing strategies

Incorporate fluency and retell strategies to check for understanding and word study skills

Teacher Strategies

Choose strategies that work naturally with the text that is being read or studied

Commit to planning and using the strategies consistently- strategies should be an ongoing part of every lesson plan

Do not let the strategy overtake the meaning of what is being read or studied…always check for understanding

Emphasize vocabulary through pre-teaching, word logs, graphic organizers, word walls, grammar connections and word decoding.

How do I start?

Fix-it Strategies that work-Tovani (2000) Six Signals of Confusion

Good readers don’t disguise or ignore their confusion

Good readers stop and make a plan to repair meaning

The Inner Voice stops its conversation with text and only hears words

The Camera inside the head shuts off-the reader is not visualizing what is being read

The reader’s mind Wanders and thinks about things far removed from the text

The reader Cannot Remember or Retell what has been read

Clarifying Questions remain unanswered

Characters reappear and the reader Cannot Recall who they are when reencountered in text

Make Connections Between Text- Tovani (2000)

When rereading does not work?

Know when to use other strategies.

Text to Self- Use background knowledge, memories, experiences to make a connection

Text to Text- Use other stories, patterns, plots, relationships to connect thoughts

Text to World- Use what is known or true about the world, global connections

Stop and think about what has been read

(Reflect and Connect) Ask Questions (Reason, Confirm,

Predict, Analyze) Visualize and create

images to see the text-Use pictures and other images to connect

Great Websites http://www.adlit.org/strategy_library/

http://www.sccoe.org/depts/ell/kinsella.asp http://tovanigroup.com/index.html http://relwest.wested.org/system/event_atta

chments/64/attachments/original/California-DOE-Torgeson.pdf

http://www.centeroninstruction.org/effective-instruction-for-adolescent-struggling-readers---second-edition