SC CEC Conference Myrtle Beach, Feb. 2007 1 Improving reading comprehension of severely struggling readers or non- readers Presenters from Winthrop University

SC CEC Conference Myrtle Beach, Feb. 2007

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Improving reading comprehension of severely struggling readers or non-

readers

Presenters from Winthrop University

Dr. Elke Schneider (Ph.D.)

Ashley Costley

Shannon Clayton

Pam Wade


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Presentation Outline

What is reading comprehension?

What causes non-reading or severe struggles with reading?

What strategies can we use that integrate balanced literacy and respect age and cognition differences?

Literature references

Questions?


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What is reading comprehension?

According to (Maria, 1990; Blachowicz & Ogle, 2001):Ability to draw meaning/information from written text and its surrounding cues to– Draw inferences about implications,

consequences, future events (science, social studies, ELA, math)

– Find solutions to stated problems (math, science, ELA)

– Learn information to retrieve for different types of tests (social studies, sciences, math)

– Memorize for oral performance (theater)


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What causes non-reading and severe reading struggles?

Uncorrected or -able vision problems– Birth defects, genetically based

Cognitive overall deficits due to – Birth defects, disease, accident, psycho-emotional

traumata (abuse), MR as part of other disability (e.g., spina biphida)

Cognitive deficits in the left hemisphere due to – Genetically based disability (e.g., dyslexia)– Environmentally induced (e.g., Fetal Alcohol

Syndrome)


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Causes:Basic brain hemisphere responsibilities for reading

LEFT HEMISPHEREDetails of letter/word shapesDetails of meaningDetails of sentence structuresAbstract meanings

and concepts

RIGHT HEMISPHEREGlobal picturespicturesMain ideas, general flow of argumentsGeneral layout of a textIndirect messages when supported by pictures/gesturesDirect, concrete meanings, hands-on, processes


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What are effective remediation strategies?

General considerations

Tap into strong learning channels (generally R-side) to accommodate weaker learning channels (generally L-side): – Practice attention to detail of letter patterns/ word

patterns through detail on pictures– Using non-text picture books first, move to short

text picture books -> increasingly more text with pictures -> newspaper with picture support -> texts/chapters w/o pictures


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General considerations cont.Moving from “easy” to more complex tasks so that student experiences the “I can do it!”– Picture interpretation: orally– Picture interpretation fluency: orally– Reading picture books with brief large print text

(McClelland-Tiedt, 2000)– Reading Fluency practice with attention to

punctuation of dialog-like text with picture cues


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General considerations cont.Moving from self-composed text to “other author-composed text (kinesthetic-tactile approach)Writing progresses from phrases/keywords to complete sentences to advanced complex sentences on the premise that “what I can write I can understand when I read it”Materials used are laminated sentence strips & dry erase markers, post-it notes + pencils, computer– Text for advertisement pictures & compare/contrast activ.– Text for pictures in picture books (post-it notes)– Text for newspaper pictures -> headlines


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Strategies: Part 1

UTILIZE INTEREST IN ADVERTISING– Students predict content of ad-picture.– Students then see product.– Students write their ad for the product– Students compare their ad with the one from the

magazine => authentic reading interest– Teacher must prepare any non-phonetic, unusual

vocabulary in the magazine ad to assure success for struggling reader (see Henry, M. (2003) Unlocking literacy for prep. Ideas)

– Teacher highlights 1 reading strategy that was effective other than predicting based on ad picture (which often is misleading in advertising on purpose)


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Strategies: Part 2

UTILIZE INTEREST in natural speech & dramatic performance– Students see pictures of a book that has text BUT

it is kept from them.– They first give it a try to create a dialogue for each

scene. – The teacher assists in this stage with spelling and

essential punctuation to mark intonation (not “..” yet)

– 2 students work together and practice the dialogue until they can perform it with natural fluency.


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Strategies: Part 2

– In this stage, the teacher provides the picture cues for each stage on OH so that entire class can follow;

– After reading performance, students provide a reason for their dialogue content per scene (interpretation of non-verbal messages in characters)

– Later, they compare it with the versions of their peers => reading different peers’ passages;

– Once teacher has collected all the different versions for each of the dialog scenes, the students read/listen to the original book version


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Strategies: Part 2

– the task is then to compare that version with their version. Did they interpret the gestures differently? Did they use more complex language? How did that show?

– Next comes the task to change their dialogue into different registers/ styles based on the dialogue

• first colloquial (same age partners), • Then respectful of a person older than them

(grandparent of a friend, person in neighborhood, a mentor, a coach),

• then professionally formal (for a job interview with vocabulary and expressions essential for success in this setting)


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Strategies: Part 3

UTILIZE INTEREST in CREATING something NEW - INDIVIDUALStudents use 6-8 pictures and place them in a sequence that makes sense to them.Based on that sequence, they give the story first oral, then written text using sentence strips of post-it notes.Students retell story to different classmates and modify story based on feedbackTeacher encourages increasingly more complex sentence structures.


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Strategies: Part 3

Students read their story to individual peers & teacher.Student then compares and contrasts his/her story with that in the actual book by designing a VENN diagram analysis.This is first reflected on orally, then in writing in simple statements. The student reads his/her findings repeatedly to different classmates as they all compare their different analyses with the original author’s version.Use of computer program Inspiration is motivating and encourages reading;


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Strategies: Part 4

UTILIZE INTEREST in UNUSUAL PICTURES

Excellent resources: advertisement pictures, pictures from National Geographic magazines, and non-text books from authors like David Wiesner

Students learn that multiple interpretations of pictures are possible and that these can be expressed first in simple and then in increasingly more expanded ways.


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Strategies: Part 4While good readers and writers are responsible for the

text interpretation and writing of the entire book, struggling readers are responsible only for 1-2 pages. They turn out a story to read based on those 1-2 pages.The drafting of ideas progresses from – using post it notes with phrases to– Using post t it notes with simple sentences– Using sentence strips to expand simple sentences to more

complex ones that are attached with sticky tack to the book page or with transparency strips.

– Digital photos can document the process.– Flip charts can be used to work out each stage as well to

document for students how they moved from one stage to the next.


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Strategies: Part 4Another practice with picture books for non-readers is to make

them comfortable with specific types of sentences with specific structures by– Writing them for each picture and then having to read them out to

peers in an attempt to compare and contrast all possible kinds of sentences for a set of pictures.

– The structure elements of the sentence to be practiced is being highlighted through color coding.

EXAMPLES: QUESTIONS (playing detective): Why is the whale so close to shore? What is the black thing swimming on the surface there? When did it show up first? Under what circumstances…?

STATEMENTS in one sentence, in 2-part sentences with 1 conjunction (and, or but, yet) or 1 conjunction that shows one part as a dependent of the other (because, while): Because the black thing showed up, the whale came close to the shore.

LINKING STATEMENTS with TRANSITION WORDS that then are to be emphasized during reading. One hour ago, the black thing showed up on the surface. Then, the whale appeared.


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Strategies: Part 4EXAMPLES CONT.:

COMPARISON PATTERNS: as…as, ….-er than…, …-est of all…, most…. of all, more…. than any….

…looks as if….., appear like a…., IDIOMS: acted like a bull in a china shop, had a sweet toothCLEFT SENTENCE: It is/was this…. that….IF CLAUSE SENTENCES: If ……, ……would ….WHEN CLAUSE: When…., …..AFTER/BEFORE CLAUSE: After/before ……, BECAUSE CLAUSE: Because …., …..PREPOSITION CLAUSE: Under these circumstances, ….

On these conditions, … For these reasons, ….

In this case, … According to this author,According to these pictures/this

information,


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Literature ReferencesA. Picture Books with no or few words

– FLYLEAFPUBLISHING.com publications by Laura Appleton-Smith with picture cards for story telling and writing;

– Lindsay Barrett George (2004). Inside Mouse, outside mouse. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books/Harper Collins.also as paperback

– Dog Carl- series: wordless: Day , Alexandra (1997). Good Dog, Carl. New York, NY: Alladin Paperbacks.

– Du Quette Keith (2002). They call me woolly. What animal names can tell us. New York, NY: Putnam Sons.

– Freyman, Saxton & Elffers, Joost (1999). How are you peeling? Foods with moods. New York, NY: Scholastic.

– Raschka, Chris (1993). Yo! Yes? New York, NY: Orchards Paperbacks.

– Wiesner, D. (2006). Flotsam.New York, NY: Clarion Books.


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Literature ReferencesA. Picture Books with no or few words cont.

Wiesner, D. (1999). Sector 7.Houghton Mifflin.Wiesner, D. (1991). Tuesday. New York, NY: Clarion, 1991) ISBN 0-395-55113-7Wiesner, D. (1988). Free Fall, Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books. ISBN 0-688-05583-4Lehman, B. (2004). The red book.Houghton Mifflin ISBN 0-618-42858-5FROM HERE ON: BOOKS in ALPHAB. ORDER, not by author: Abstract Alphabet (Chronicle, 2001) Illus. by Paul Cox. ISBN 0-8118-2940-5Anno's Journey (Philomel, 1978) Illus. by Anno. ISBN 0-399-20762-7Anno's Spain (Philomel, 2004) Illus. by Anno. ISBN 0-399-24238-4


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The Boy, The Bear, The Baron, The Bard (Roaring Brook, 2004) Illus. by Gregory Rogers. ISBN 1596430095Changes, Changes (Macmillan, 1971) Illus. by Pat Hutchins. ISBN 0-02-745870-9Clementina's Cactus (Viking, 1999) Illus. by Ezra Jack Keats. ISBN 0-670-88545-2Clown (Holt, 1996) Illus. by Quentin Blake. ISBN 0-805-04399-3A Day, A Dog (Front Street, 2000) Illus. by Gabrielle Vincent. ISBN 1-886910-51-0Deep in the Forest (Dutton, 1976) Illus. by Brinton Turkle. ISBN 0-525-28617-9Dinosaur! (HarperCollins, 2000)Illus. by Peter Sís. ISBN 0-688-17049-8


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Do You Want to be My Friend? (Philomel, 1988) Illus. by Eric Carle. ISBN 0-399-21598-0Follow Carl! (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998) Illus. by Alexandra Day. ISBN 0-374-34380-2The Forty-Six Little Men (HarperCollins, 1991) Illus. by Jan Mogensen. ISBN 0-688-09283-7Four Hungry Kittens (Dial, 1996) Illus. by Emily Arnold McCully. ISBN 0-8037-2505-1Freight Train (Morrow, 1978) Illus. by Donald Crews. ISBN 0-688-80165-XGood Night, Garden Gnome (Dial, 2001) Illus. by Jamichael Henterly. ISBN 0-8037-2531-0The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher (Simon & Schuster, 1980) Illus. by Molly Bang. ISBN 0-02-708140-0


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Home (Greenwillow, 2004)Illus. by Jeannie Baker ISBN 0-06-623935-4Island Dog (Two Dog Press, 1999) Illus. by Rebecca Goodale. ISBN 1-89109-003-8Little Star (Hyperion, 2003)Illus. by Antonin Louchard. ISBN 0-7868-1939-1Magpie Magic: A Tale of Colorful Mischief (Putnam, 1999) Illus. by April Wilson. ISBN 0-8037-2354-7Midnight Adventures of Kelly, Dot, and Esmeralda (McElderry, 1999) Illus. by John S. Goodall. ISBN 0-689-82564-1Mysteries of Harris Burdick (Houghton Mifflin, 1984) Illus. by Chris Van AllsburgAn Ocean World (HarperCollins, 1992) Illus. by Peter Sis. ISBN 0-688-09067-2


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Oh! (Abrams, 2000) Illus. by Josse Goffin. ISBN 0-810-93660-7Pancakes for Breakfast (Harcourt Brace, 1990) Illus. by Tomie de Paola. ISBN 0-15-259455-8Peep! (Peachtree, 2003) Illus. by Kevin Luthardt. ISBN 1-56145-046-4Rain (Doubleday, 1982) Illus. by Peter Spier. ISBN 0-385-15484-4Re-Zoom (Viking, 1995) Illus. by Istvan Banyai. ISBN 0-670-86392-0The Red Balloon.The Ring (HarperCollins, 1996) Illus. by Lisa Maizlish. ISBN 0-688-14217-6Silent Night (Antheneum, 2001) Illus. by Sandy Turner. ISBN 0-689-84156-6


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Sidewalk Circus (Candlewick Press, 2004) Presented by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes. ISBN 0-7636-1107-7A Small Miracle (Random House, 1997) Illus. by Peter Collington. ISBN 0-679-88725-3The Snowman (Random House, 1986) Illus. by Raymond Briggs. ISBN 0-394-93973-5Tabby: A Story in Pictures (HarperCollins, 1995) Illus. by Aliki. ISBN 0-06-024915-3Time Flies (Random House, 1994) Illus. by Eric Rohmann. ISBN 0-517-59598-2The Tooth Fairy (Alfred A (Knopf, 1995) Illus. by Peter Collington. ISBN 0-679-97168-8Tuba Lessons (Creative Editions, 1997) Illus. by Monique Felix. ISBN 0-152-01643-0


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Window (Greenwillow, 1991)Illus. by by Jeannie Baker. ISBN 0-688-08918-6Why? (North-South, 1996)Illus. by Nikolai Popov. ISBN 1-55858-534-6The Yellow Balloon (Front Street, 2003) Illus. by Charlotte Dematons. ISBN 1-932425-01-2Yellow Umbrella (Kane/Miller, 2002)Illus. by Jae-Soo Lui. ISBN 1-929132-36-0Zoom (Viking, 1995) Illus. by Istvan Banyai. ISBN 0-670-85804-8 TANA HOBAN BOOKS on shapes, colors, numbers: good for compare-contrast language support orally in reading and in writing; completely textless; originally for K-3 BUT pictures can be used for challenging text patterns;


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Literature ReferencesB. Simple-word powerful Poetry

Shel Silverstein poems or Jack Prelutzky poems = age-neutral(2004)Secrets of serenity by Running Press [www.runningpress.com](or any other short poems about life philosophical ideas)Poetry by Mattie J. T. Stepanek– (2002). Journey through heartsongs. New York, NY:

Hyperion Books.– (2001). Heartsongs. New York, NY: Hyperion Books.Any of

C. Picture Books for Middle School reference:McClellan Tiedt, I. (2000). Teaching with picture books in middle school. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.


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Literature ReferencesD. Selected Research Support

Blachowitcz, C. & Ogle, D. (2001). Reading Comprehension. Strategies for independent learners.New York, NY: Guildford Press.Culham, R. (2004). Using picture books to teach writing wirh the traits. An annotated bibliography of more than 200 titles with teacher tested lessons. New York, NY: Scholastic.Maria, K. (1991). Reading Comprehension Instruction. Issues and Strategies. Parkton, MD: York Press (now ProEd)Sheppard, R. Ruebel, K, Sheppard, K., Stratton, B. & Zigo, D. (2004). Using Literature to connect young adolescent concerns through the curriculum.Westerville, OH: National Middle School Association.

Documents

SC CEC Conference Myrtle Beach, Feb. 2007 1 Improving reading comprehension of severely struggling readers or non- readers Presenters from Winthrop University