4 Judy Brenner 20 s Princip! Leadership twovewaen 2010Supporting literacy rneans jettisoning the strategies that don't work and adopting the strategies that do. hat do reading and swimming have in common? Fics, both are important 4 skills; second, both skills must be practiced to achieve proficiency; and third, students should continue to receive support and instruction until they can ‘swina or read eafely and without further assistance. Bven after achieving mastery, practice is required to maintain proficiency Although no one would doubt the need forthe swimming instuctor to stay close athand until students are no longer in danger of drowning, it may be niore difficult to understand the need to help secondary students master content literacy. But both skills are important, and no teacher should withhold appropriate support until students routinely demonstrate they are ready to suecesefully swim or read on their own. What We Know ‘Over the years, researchers and practitioners have leamed and developed a variety of classroom practices that support student literacy. Some ideas are new, some are vin- ‘age, and some are more precticel then others. In the 21st century there is no reason 10 ignore the needs of secondary students when i comes to reading fiction and more ‘challenging nonfiction text. Consequently, the time has come to resist the temptation ‘to merely assign portions ofthe text or to blame students or thelr previous teachers for snot getting the job done Master teachers routinely and strategically support students while they read. ‘Teachers and adroinistrators understand accountability and are willing to accept esponsibility for student leaming, particularly when they belteve that they have the necessary tools to improve the instructional environment. So what tools do educators need to support students while they reed content-area text? When an administrator walks into a classroom and students are interacting with text, what should he or she see? (See figure 1 for a form of observable behaviors.) What should the teacher be doing? What should the students be doing? Berone ReAoina, Activate background knowledge. Before reading « passage, the teacher should help students reflect on what they already know about the topic in class discussions or snother venue, such as a blog, Establish purpose and choose appropriate strategies. Students must understand. ‘Copyright National Association of Secondary School Principals the preeminent organization for mide evel and high ‘cho leadership. For information on NASSP produc and servic, Vist why prnenal or. oven 200 4 Pinel Lendentip #31 |2 + Paco Lendeip« yovewees 2018 chy they should read the information and the degree to which they will be held accountable for knowing it. Discussions shotld include chat type of strategies students will need ‘Should they skim? Read slowly? Take notes? Predict content. After reviewing the head- ings, graphics, and bold and italicized words, students should make predictions of what they believe will be included in the content of the text. This task supports the purpose for reading when students are asked to verify the accuracy of their predictions. Motivate. The teacher has the expertise to help students understond why the resding content is important, and teacher enthusiasm for the subject is key: No one should expect a student to be excited sbout learning a difficult concept without the teacher providing an ap- propriate “motivational set.” Dunia ReaD Monitor comprehension. The more difficult the reading, the more teachers must provide stopping points for discussion. When necessary, the teacher and the students can stop their reading to discuss what has been read end its significance in terms of the overal topic and to ‘ake aulditional predictions of the upcoming content. Make personal connections, Ssudents must bbe encouraged to make personal connections to the content by relating the known to the unknown. Some may be able to do this without assistance, but others may need teacher support. Regardles, ll will benefit from the exercise. ‘Question. Teacher inquiry should always {include questions thet facilitate higher order fdeas, Thinking beyond the text isan impor tant sill that requires effort from both teacher and student, Use “Bsup" strategies. During the reading process, even the best readers may need to use fix-up strategies to understand the material, Some of the more common strategies include ‘using the context of the sentence to clarify @ definition, using phonetic analysis to help with pronunciation, skipping the word or phrase under the assumption itwill be understood alter further reading, or looking unknown, ‘words up in a dictionary or a glossary. Students need to know several fix-up strategies as well as how and when to use them, ‘Use the structure ofthe text. Students need direct instruction in how to use support- ive structures to enhance their comprehien- sion, Supportive structures include headings, sxaphics, summaries italicized or boldfaced ‘words, and questions and statements writen in the margin of the text. Autinors and publish- cers understand the importance of supportive structures and use them strategically Arter Renna ‘Write, When students summarize or interact ‘with the text in written format, they build their comprehension. It should be a part of the teacher’s expectation and classroom routine for students to respond in writing to what wes read in or out of class. Reflect and summarize. Students should Integrate new information into whet they already know. To support students’ overall uuoderstanding of the text, the teacher should ask them to discuss what part of the content is most important. Discuss the text in small and large groups. ‘Because purposeful and meaningful discus- sion of the text increases understanding and. comprehension, students should discuss the content with others. This can be done in small groups, large groups, or classroom blogs. Dos and Don'ts ‘Unfortunately, some longstanding and inef- fective teaching practices are still used in far ‘00 many classrooms, Well-ntentioned and dedicated educators use the best they know, ‘but some strategies yield fev, if any, positive results Do 1 Give students time to preview the text before asking them to read oslly. There is negative social stigma associated withTeacher Name Date: Time: 1 Begining C1 Middle G1 End — #of Students: Subject:___ Okservabie Teacher & Student Behaviors Bafore Reading Post and Review Educational Objectives Activate of Background Knowiedge Preview Text (including Text Structure) Preteach Vocabulary ‘Ask Students to Maks Predictions Provide Purpose for Reading Using High Level Questions Break Reading into Manageable Parts 1B) During Reading | Use Predetermined Stopping Points for Discussion (Whole Clase and Peer-to-Peer) After Reading ‘Ask Students to Reflect in Weiing Discuss (Whole Class and Pear to Pas) Discuss Relevance and Connection to Previous Learning or Reading ‘Observable Teacher Behaviors Motivational Strategies, Including Relating Material to Student's Lives Research-Based Reading Strategies (Vocabulary and Comprehension) Instructional Activities That Are Aligned to Learning Objectives Questioning Includes Muttipie Levels of Bloom's Taxonomy Remember Understand Apply Analyze Evaluate Create Comments:poor reading sil, and teachers must be sensitive to students’ sel-consciousness. No student should ever be put into a position of being asked to read aloud when there 4s doubt that he or she might be abe to perform the tsk satisfactorily. ‘Activate the stidents' background knowl ‘edge before assigning the text. [na science class, do the lb fst. After students have cen the experiment being performed or completed it themselves, they will have the necessary mentl images to understend the scientific principles involved when they encounter ther in a txt. Remember that comprehension is higher when reading is done silent, ather than, reading aloud, Secondary students need 10 spend litle if any, time reading aloud in clase exeept when reading poetry plays, or choral reading Students may also read 4 portion of the text aloud to justify an answer toa question or read privately to a literacy coach ofa special education teacher to improve fluency. Always give students a specifi purpose for reeding the assignment. [twill not be enough to say, Read ths 0 that we can discuss it later” Be more specific Give them alist of questions to guide their reading, The wall not only increase their comprehension of the text related to thote specific questions but wil also ep sta- ents answer other questions as wel. ‘Ask students to predict whet will bein the text. This ean be done a the beginning of ‘the reading assignment or during the stop~ ‘ing points when students are discussing what they have read. Remember that teaching a concept ora Skill to someone i an effective way to retsininfoemetion. Consequently, students should be provided ample opportunity to teach the information they have read to others. Reread the text each year with the current students in mind, Read the information through the eyes ofthe students, and try to anticipate where they will have the most difficulty, Understending where students may be frustrated with the reading asign- ment will help guide lesson planning, Dow's @ Donotexpect students to take notes fn class unless they have been taught a research-based method for doing so, Many secondary school teachers assume that stis- dents have been taught how to take notes. Even if they have been taught note-taking skal they may not be proficient. Ftaking ‘notes is important to the successful under- standing of course content, students should bbe taught how to do so in a manner that facilitates their understanding and learning BE Do not assume that secondary students understand how to use text structure to support their leaming Many teachers believe that students know how to use text structures, but many students do not. With each reading assignment, the teacher should discuss che text structure and how it can aasist in the understanding of diffcult reading material. Using text structures is @ shill that needs disect instruction—even at the secondary level. Do not let students attitudes about reading bbe a deterrent, Many will resist assignments ‘hat involve texts, but educators must remember that reading should be practiced frequently. As with most skills, without frequent practice, proficiency and efficiency will be reduced Reading on Grade Level Even with my knowledge of literacy Tam re- luctant to unequivocally define what it means ‘to read on grade level. In fact, my own reading bility vasies depending upon what I might be reading, Given a book on literacy, lean suc cessfully read at the university level. Give me book on the topic of nuclear physics, and 1 ced something written at approximately the sixth- or seventh-grade reading level, Why? My lack of preexisting knowledge on the topic has‘a detrimental effect on my ability to under- stand and remember the content. Does this mean I'm a remedial reader? 1 don’t know; I suppose that depends upon one's definition of remedial.” What [ do know is that the background knowledge anyone brings to the task of reading will have a significant impact on his or her comprehension. Ifthe preliminary discussion with students indicates that they have a significent lack of previous knowledge, they will not be ready to success- fully interact with text, and lesson plans may need modification, Conclusion ‘The purpose of swimming is to travel safely through water; the purpose of reading is to construct meaning. Both sills require perse- verance from the student and patience fram the teacher. Not having the necessary swim- sing skills may result in tragic consequences. Not having the ability to read and understand text—although probably not fatal—will most certainly have a negetive effect on a person's self-esteem, career options, and overall quality of if ‘Teachers and administrators cannot leave any student unassisted until they are confident that the student is ready to read succesfully ‘without assistance. They must continue to adjust and respond to students’ needs. If that ‘meas teaching and supporting reading in all content areas throughout the K-12 experience, then that is exactly what it means. Teachers and administrators know what needs to be done, and they know how to do it. No more excuses. PL ay Brunner afm high school prland soo ‘nance fieructenal Souitors Gp, oveween 216 + Principal Leadent