Reading Instruction

Updated 20 August 2010

On Using Textbooks in Middle School - a research-based case made for abandoning the practice of issuing everyone the same textbook.

Success in high school is very much dependent on the ability to read on an independent level. People arriving at September of seventh grade still need reading instruction, especially the 20-30% who cannot yet read a middle school level textbook independently.

The best current research on reading at this age level gives me clear direction on promoting the continued progress in reading of the people I am teaching in grades seven through nine:

1) People who have access to materials they can actually read have a good chance of advancing their reading ability and having access to the information they are to learn in the course. Helping young people to read texts that are too hard for them does not help them learn to read better.

Therefore, my classroom is stocked with textbooks on three levels: a "basic" level text, a middle school level text, and a high school level text. In addition, there are materials at a college reading level for students seeking more challenge and depth. Students are not issued texts (we don't stock a full set of each textbook).

2) People who have explicit training in how to read the kind of materials one typically reads in middle school subjects have a good chance of advancing their reading ability. Elementary level reading instruction often heavily emphasizes narrative text (stories). Reading in social studies or science or health or whatever subject requires an added set of skills that struggling readers should be taught directly how to do.

Therefore, the first ten weeks of seventh grade includes periodic lessons in how to read social studies material and how to organize it and study.

3) People must already possess background knowledge on the topic they are reading in order to understand it.

Therefore, the class grading system practically ignores "tasks completed" and focuses almost exclusively on measures that show what a person really knows and can do with what he knows. The efforts of the course are directed toward knowing and understanding.

4) People who struggle with reading still need quality access to the information taught in the course, especially in a course so heavily focused on knowing.

Therefore, I continue to collect and create audio and video materials for each class. These materials include teacher-designed video lessons, college-level audio lectures, and commercially-produced video presentations. In addition, all students are welcome to record class lessons in audio and video format.

Bibliography

Allington, Richard L. What Really matters in Response to Intervention: Research-Based Designs. Knoxville: Pearson, 2009.

New York State Education Department. Grade 3-8 Math and English Test Results Released: Cut Scores Set to New College-Ready Proficiency Standards. 28 July 2010. 17 August 2010 .

Lee, Carol D. and Spratley, Anika. Reading in the Disciplines: The Challenges of Adolescent Literacy - Report from Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2010.

New York State Education Department. NYS School Report Cards. 15 April 2010. 17 August 2010 .

O'Connor, Rollanda E., Kathryn M. Bell, Kristin R. Harty, Louise K. Larkin, Sharry M. Sackor, and Naomi Zigmond. Teaching Reading to Poor Readers in the Intermediate Grades: A Comparison of Text Difficulty. Journal of Educational Psychology Vol. 94 (2002): 474-485.