A Crash Course in Reading Liz Version

Diane Dahl, M.ED.Supervisor of Special Services,Reading Specialist

Ultimate goal of reading instructionThe ultimate goal of reading instruction is for children to become sufficiently fluent to understand what they read.To read grade-level material with comprehensionTo motivate students to want to readTo prepare students to be successful in college and career

Our research shows that, under current conditions, the level of academic achievement that students attain by eighth grade has a larger impact on their college and career readiness by the time they graduate from high school than anything that happens academically in high school. From: The Forgotten Middle (ACT, 2008)Scary statistics

Adults with lower levels of literacy and education are more likely than adults with higher levels of literacy and education to be unemployed or to earn an income that falls below the poverty level (Kutner et al., 2007). Furthermore, adults without a high school diploma or postsecondary education are more likely to be incarcerated than adults with higher levels of education (Harlow, 2003).

From: Reading on Grade Level in Third Grade: How Is It Related to High SchoolPerformance and College Enrollment? (2010)

Average annual 2008 earnings of workers 18 and older

without a high school diploma- $21,023

with a high school diploma- $31,283

with a bachelors degree- $58,613

with an advanced degree- $83,144

From: Back to School (U.S. Dept. of Commerce, 2010)

Reading is a complex skill/processRequires many sub-skillsRequires coordination of many simultaneous processesFailure of any one of these skills or processes results in some type or degree of reading difficulty

Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.

The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled Reading(Scarborough, 2001)

Process of skill acquisitionNovice levelConscious processingTime-intensive

Expert levelMostly unconscious processing- automaticityMuch faster

How memory worksYou sense something (see, hear, smell, etc.)That piece of information stays in immediate memory for 15-30 seconds.If rehearsed immediately, info moves to short term memory (15-30 minutes)If the info is elaborated upon or processed, it can move to long-term memory.Info should be reviewed 10/24/7 for true retention

Motivation and student self-efficacyFactors that affect motivationIntrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation

Self-efficacy what a person believes they are capable of doing

Attribution theory (Weiner, 1980, 1992)An individuals success at a task can be viewed asInternal or external (factors in us vs. in the environment)Stable or unstable (directly related to our behavior)Controllable or uncontrollable (changeable or not)and can be attributed to one of four factorsAbility (internal, stable, no personal control)Task difficulty (external, stable, no personal control)Effort (internal, unstable, learner-controlled)Luck (external, unstable, no personal control)

Attribution theory (cont.)How people attribute their success or failure will determine future behavior in regard to this type of task

People will attribute success or failure to whatever factor enables them to retain a positive self-image.

It is best for students to believe that their behavior and effort (not external factors) leads to success or failure.

How is reading typically acquired?

NOT a natural process- requires instruction

FIVE PILLARS OF READING INSTRUCTIONPhonicsFluencyVocabularyComprehensionPhonemic awareness

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Phonological/Phonemic awarenessPhonological awareness- Overall understanding that oral speech can be broken down into smaller units- sentences, words, syllables, individual sounds (phonemes)Phonemic awareness- The understanding that words are composed of individual sounds (phonemes) which can be manipulated to create new words.

PhonicsThe relationship between the spoken sounds (phonemes) and the written letters (graphemes) that represent those sounds.Used in reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding). A childs phonics knowledge can be assessed by analyzing his errors in reading and spelling- random errors are rare.

FluencySpeed, accuracy, and prosody (phrasing) while reading Automatic word recognition and decoding leaves cognitive resources for comprehensionMillers number of items (7+/- 2) in working memoryReduces the time required to read a text, decreasing fatigue and frustrationBenchmark fluency rates by grade

Developed and reported by: Hasbrouck, J., & Tindal, G. (2006)ORF Norms: A valuable assessment tool for reading teachers. The Reading Teacher, 59(7), 636644. Hasbrouck, J., & Tindal, G. (2005) Oral Reading Fluency Normshttp://www.brtprojects.org/publications/technical-reports.

Source:Adapted from AIMSweb: Charting the Path to Literacy, 2003, Edformation, Inc. Available atwww.aimsweb.com/norms/reading_fluency.htm. Data are also adapted from Curriculum-Based Oral Reading Fluency Norms for Students in Grades 2 Through 5, by J. E. Hasbrouck and G. Tindal, 1992, Teaching Exceptional Children, 24, pp. 41-44.

GradeFall (WCPM)Winter (WCPM)Spring (WCPM)1 2 3 4 30-60 50-90 70-11010-30 50-80 70-100 80-12030-60 70-100 80-110 100-1405 6 7 880-120 100-140 110-150 120-160100-140 110-150 120-160 130-170110-150120-160 130-170 140-180

VocabularyMost vocabulary is learned orally through conversation and read-aloudsCan be learned through reading, but more difficult (dependent on ability and text density)Must be taught and reinforced repeatedlyBe aware of idioms and culturally American concepts when working with ELLs (drive-in, cut-offs, gonna, wanna, etc.)

The Effects of Weaknesses in Oral Language on Reading Growth(Hirsch, 1996)567891011121314151616151413121110 9 8 7 6 5Reading Age LevelChronological AgeLow Oral Language in KindergartenHigh Oral Language in Kindergarten5.2 years difference

ComprehensionStrategies should be taught orally while students are still learning to read fluently.Listening comprehension does not replace reading comprehensionBe aware of idioms and culturally American practices/schema when working with ELLs (birthday parties, Field Day, Mischief Night)Be cautious about interpreting accurate read-aloud as comprehension. Require students to explain or summarize to demonstrate comprehension

Skilled beginning reading requiresAutomatic sight-word recognition

Automatic or fluent decoding of non-sight words

Many poor comprehenders really lack one of the above skills- if oral comprehension is not a problem, its probably not a comprehension issue.

High-frequency words (sight words)Comprise at least 60-70% of all text.Automatic recognition is required for fluent reading.Some decodable, others not Require repeated exposures to masterIncidental exposures vs. intense, concentrated exposures Make sure each exposure is paired with the CORRECT pronunciation- practice makes permanentSeveral lists- Dolch, Fry, others.

Teaching sight wordsStudent needs to accrue the magic number of exposures, paired with correct pronunciation to cement the word in long-term memoryIn isolation until automaticity is reached- flashcard procedureIf student has letter-sound knowledge, this should happen more quickly.Daily multiple opportunities to read aloud should reinforce current sight wordsOther ways of teaching sight words quickly

Phonic skills acquisition sequenceSingle consonant soundsConsonant blends ((bl, cr, st, etc.)Consonant digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh)Short-vowel soundsLong- vowel patternsR-controlled vowel soundsWeird vowel sounds (vowel digraphs and diphthongs) (ow, oy, oo, etc.)

Phonics assessment and instructionAssessment Informal phonics inventory (Stahl)- others?Frequency- end of each MPAnalyze errors to determine starting pointInstructionGoal is MASTERY- 90% or better to move onAccuracy then speed (fluency) Accountability and documentation

So..How do we improve student reading scores????

1. Kids need to read a lot

2. Kids need books they can read

3. Kids need to learn to read fluently

4. Kids need to develop thoughtful literacy.

1. Kids need to read a lotJohn Guthrie suggests that increased practice results in increased proficiency. In order to accelerate struggling readers, they need more practice. The problem is that struggling 4th graders may need 3-5 hours a day of successful reading practice.

Achievement PercentileMinutes of Reading per DayWords per Year90th40.42,357,00050th12.9601,00010th1.651,000

Reader-text mismatch causes frustration.

Text choice- 95% accuracy= just right (5 finger rule)

Student choice enhances motivation

Multiple sources of leveled books

DRA book levelsBased on word count, text complexity, sentence length

Essential for teachers to understand

Students should be able to read multiple books FLUENTLY at a level before he is assessed and moved up.

Assessment levels correspond to text levels

DRA book levelsBased on word count, text complexity, sentence length

Essential for teachers to understand

Students should be able to read multiple books FLUENTLY at a level before he is assessed and moved up.

Assessment levels correspond to text levels

Stages of book levelsRepeated, patterned, memorized books with picture support (DRA A-2)Books containing only sight words with picture support (DRA 3-6)Books containing mostly sight words, but requiring decoding of short and long-vowel words (DRA 8-14)Books with sight words, requiring decoding of short, long, and r-controlled vowel words, diminishing picture support (DRA 16-24)Books with sight words, requiring decoding of all simple vowel patterns, plus decoding of multi-syllable words, little picture support. (DRA 28+)

DRA levels 1-16

DRA levelWord countDolch words(# and %)Short/long decodable wordsTotal11612 (75%)3 (19%)15/16 94%23630 (83%)3 8%)33/36 92%34634 (74%)1 (2%)35/46 76%45340 (75%)7 (13%)47/53 88%67147 (66%)12 (17%)59/71 83%88652 (60%)30 (35%)82/86 95%1013482 (61%)15 (11%)97/134 72%1213765 (48%)19 (14%)84/137 61%14203130 (64%)9 (4%)139/203 68%16266164 (62%)30 (11%)194/266 73%2-1 Reader(random story)653104 (53%)35 (18%)139/196 71%3-1 Reader(random story)578367 (63%)114 (20%)481/578 83%

Enhances comprehension and vice-versa

Shortens task-completion time

Increases student motivation to read

more likely to read material too difficult for them.

asked to read aloud more.

interrupted more often and quickly.

more likely to wait for prompts.

more likely to be told to sound it out!

read books at their level.

are asked to read silently.

are expected to self-monitor and correct.

are only interrupted at the end of a waiting period.

are asked to reread and cross-check, not to sound out!

4. Kids need to develop thoughtful literacy.No more read, remember, and recite (p.129)Conversation and connections Summarize, analyze, synthesize, evaluateVocabulary instructionLiterate conversations

Conclusions

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