Reading Reading [In- Timent, “Reading Comprehension Re- Is Constructing Meaning

JAE_april_may_swcg 5/1/06 12:08 PM Page 1 THE JOURNAL OF

AdventistEducationWebsite: http://education.gc.adventist.org/jae/ April/May 2006

SPECIALSPECIAL ISSUEISSUE ONON READINGREADING

MOVING FROM THE HOW TO WHY OF READING INSTRUCTION GUIDED READING, LITERATURE CIRCLES, AND READING WORKSHOP READING COMPREHENSION PHONICS AND PHONEMIC AWARENESS FOR BEGINNING READERS VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION TEACHER READ-ALOUDS WRITING WORKSHOP JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 2

Contents Adv APRIL/MAY 2006 VOL. 68 NO. 4 FEATURES AND

4 READING INSTRUCTION: MOVING FROM “HOW” J TO “WHY” THROUGH PARADIGMATIC CLARIFICATION By Carol L. Campbell 10 GUIDED READING, LITERATURE CIRCLES, AND READING WORKSHOP 4 By Lisa M. Wright 15 HOW CAN I HELP MY STUDENTS WHO STRUGGLE 10 WITH READING COMPREHENSION? By Candice Hollingsead and Ray Ostrander

23 RUNNING FROM THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO TEACHING READING By Theresa J. Robidoux SO 26 THE ROLE OF PHONEMIC AWARENESS AND PHONICS IN BEGINNING READING By Carol Spaulding Serna 32 VOCABULARY INSTRUCTION By Frances Bliss 38 IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS: TEACHER READ-ALOUDS AS A POWERFUL INSTRUCTIONAL AR TOOL By Krystal Bishop and Kari Griswold EN 43 REVISITING WRITING WORKSHOP C. G By Ray Ostrander DUNB ERLE 48 READING AND WRITING: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SCHUL CONNECTION 23 By Thomas L. Baker 51 “LOST IN TRANSLATION”: HELPING STUDENTS CREATE MEANING IN THE CONTENT AREAS By Rebecca Wright Picture Removed 55 READING BOYS By Douglas A. Jones THE JOU 59 HELPING STRUGGLING READERS AND STUDENTS articles c Adventis WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY do not ne By June Fiorito official p General 62 BUILDING LITERACY THROUGH HOME/SCHOOL THE JO 0021-848 PARTNERSHIPS ART AND PHOTO CREDITS: Cover, pp. 4-6, 10-13, 15, 16, 18-20, May, plus By Joann M. Herrington 27, 32, 33, 35, 38, 43, 45, 47, 51, 57, Shutterstock; pp. 23-25, 29, 30, and Sep 34, 37, 39, 41, 59, James Sherwood; pp. 48, 50, courtesy of the au- eral Con Columbia thor; pp. 55, Ron Wheeler. PHONE DEPARTMENTS rumbleb CORRECTION: In Sally Lam Phoon’s article in the February/March $18.25. A 2005 issue, the last two endnotes were inadvertently omitted. They copy, U. are as follows: Spring, M 3 GUEST EDITORIAL send all 24. Lederman and Neiss. 76059, in 25. Ellen G. White, The Upward Look (Washington, D.C.: Review and editorial Herald Publ. Assn., 1982), p. 47. Copyrigh MASTER ADVENT 76059. 2 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 3

THE JOURNAL OF Adventist Education Guest Editorial EDITOR BEVERLY J. ROBINSON-RUMBLE ASSOCIATE EDITOR ENRIQUE BECERRA SENIOR CONSULTANTS Pathways to Excellence C. GARLAND DULAN ANDREA LUXTON, ELLA SMITH SIMMONS CONSULTANTS GENERAL CONFERENCE JOHN M. FOWLER, LUIS A. SCHULZ n its search for a curriculum to replace the current Life Reading Se- EAST-CENTRAL AFRICA HUDSON KIBUUKA ries, in use for more than 25 years, the North American Division EURO-AFRICA Office of Education established a Reading Steering Committee to ROBERTO BADENAS EURO-ASIA evaluate available reading programs. Using the established criteria, GUILLERMO BIAGGI not one was found that would meet the needs of the Seventh-day INTER-AMERICA MOISÉS VELÁZQUEZ Adventist school system without excessive compromise and ex- NORTH AMERICA Ipense. The prognosis was grim, and it did not seem an answer could be GERALD KOVALSKI NORTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC found. CHEK YAT PHOON After some time and infinite patience on the part of one Reading ERMA LEE SOUTH AMERICA CARLOS ALBERTO MESA Steering Committee member, a classroom teacher, the committee asked SOUTHERN ASIA for one more presentation from a company whose product seemed to have the potential for NAGESHWARA RAO SOUTH PACIFIC adaptation. The company made a presentation that encouraged us to dream. It offered a re- BARRY HILL search-based, innovative, and yet traditionally structured program, broad in concept, with the SOUTHERN AFRICA-INDIAN OCEAN potential to change the way curriculum in general and reading in particular is approached in SOUTHERN ASIA-PACIFIC the classroom. The mission of this publishing company, to meet the needs of the marketplace STEPHEN R. GUPTILL TRANS-EUROPEAN in a unique and progressive manner, matched our need for a program that could be adapted DANIEL DUDA to meet our needs. WEST-CENTRAL AFRICA CHIEMELA IKONNE The Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company offered us the opportunity to develop a reading COPY EDITOR program specifically for Seventh-day Adventist schools. By adapting their core program, we RANDY HALL were able to create a quality reading program for our teachers and students. ART DIRECTION/GRAPHIC DESIGN HOWARD I. BULLARD The Reading Steering Committee chose the name Pathways: Journey to Excellence Through Literacy for the series to indicate that the learning adventure extends throughout one’s lifetime. ADVISORY BOARD ANDREA LUXTON (CHAIR), The purpose of reading is to bring joy, entertainment, edification, enlightenment, knowledge, ENRIQUE BECERRA, HAMLET CANOSA, and personal and professional growth. It leads to a better understanding of self and a growing C. GARLAND DULAN, JOHN M. FOWLER, DUNBAR HENRI, GERALD KOVALSKI, ERMA LEE, knowledge of the purpose for which we were intended: to know, appreciate, and love our Cre- ERLEEN BURGESS, MICHAEL RYAN, LUIS A. ator and Redeemer. SCHULZ, CAROLE SMITH, CHARLES H. TIDWELL, JR., BONNIE WILBUR The Pathways series uses quality literature to develop cross-curricular themes that explore the many aspects of curriculum. This thematic integration gives teachers in single-grade or multigrade classrooms the opportunity to instruct students at varied ability levels but who have common interests and experiences. Given the scope and sequence of the language-arts skills integrated into this curriculum, it provides a comprehensive instructional program. It also in- cludes a management system that uses a variety of formal and informal assessments. Pathways also provides instructors with an abundance of teaching tools and strategies to use in other areas of the curriculum. While the focus is on reading, there is potential cross-over THE JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION publishes into other areas that will enhance and infuse the rest of the curriculum with new understand- articles concerned with a variety of topics pertinent to Adventist education. Opinions expressed by our writers ing and a broader scope. Specific guidelines and strategies are also provided to help students do not necessarily represent the views of the staff or the with deficient reading skills. official position of the Department of Education of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. As each grade level of Pathways: Journey to Excellence Through Literacy is introduced, NAD

THE JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION (ISSN elementary educators will be in-serviced. NAD college and university professors who teach 0021-8480) is published bimonthly, October through reading methods courses received an orientation in December 2004. A strategic planning in- May, plus a single summer issue for June, July, August, and September by the Department of Education, Gen- stitute was held in January 2005, followed by an October 2005 in-service for all lead teachers eral Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904-6600. TELE- for the conferences and unions. Those who have received the materials and been in-serviced PHONE (301) 680-5075; FAX (301) 622-9627; E-mail: have expressed acceptance and support for the series. With the vision of what Pathways can [email protected]. Subscription price, U.S. $18.25. Add $1.00 for postage outside the U.S. Single mean to our church’s instructional program, we look forward to an exciting phase in Seventh- copy, U.S. $3.75. Periodical postage paid at Silver day Adventist education.—Erma Lee. Spring, Maryland, and additional mailing office. Please send all changes of address to P.O. Box 5, Keene, TX ______76059, including both old and new address. Address all editorial and advertising correspondence to the Editor. Erma Lee is Associate for Curriculum at the North American Division Office of Education in Silver Spring, Mary- Copyright 2006 General Conference of SDA, POST- land. MASTER: Send address changes to THE JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION, P.O. Box 5, Keene, TX 76059. JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 3 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 4

Reading Instruction: Moving From “How” to “Why” Through Paradigmatic Clarification

remember little about 1st grade ex- change, but the plot—how to best context for reading practice. Finally, cept the battle my mother waged to teach reading—remains the same. As a we will examine the implications for ensure that I would be enrolled in result, curricula and instructional reading instruction. Miss Burkett’s class. Rumor had it methods have proliferated. Is this war that the new teacher across the hall winnable? A Brief History of Reading used a “newfangled” approach to The Office of Education of the Instruction teaching reading, in contrast to North American Division of Seventh- In countries that use an alphabet to Miss Burkett’s sequential phonics day Adventists has addressed these is- represent written language, reading in- Imethod. Later, as students of both sues in developing a new reading/lan- struction began with alphabetic or teachers sat side by side in other class- guage-arts program for its K-8 schools. phonics approaches. Over time, other rooms, I do not recall any significant To provide some background for this methods developed. In the basal reader differences in their ability to read. discussion, we will briefly trace the approach, students learn sight words as This scene has been played out history of reading instruction and pro- well as phonics skills and apply them again and again, for the “reading wars,” vide a philosophical and theoretical to the reading of short selections of in- as they have been called, creasing difficulty. A litera- have continued for decades. ture or tradebook approach, The actors and settings may BY CAROL L. CAMPBELL which has students read real

4 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 5

books, has received increased empha- In countries that use an al- sis in recent years. Finally, a language experience approach, which has stu- phabet to represent written dents compose and read their own language, reading instruc- texts, has been popular, as well.1 Based on the success of each of tion began with alphabetic these methods with some students, as well as research indicating that a com- or phonics approaches. bination of techniques works best, Over time, other methods many reading educators have called for a balanced approach incorporating the developed. best of all four methods.2 Recently, in the U.S., the emphasis has moved to a tors in some states have passed bills “waves atop an otherwise still ocean.” “research-based” approach,3 largely as mandating a certain approach. Methodology, however, is not really the the result of two reports on best prac- basis for the debate, for reading is tices in reading instruction—Becoming Paradigmatic Clarification more than technique. As stated by a Nation of Readers (1985)4 and the Re- In practice, then, methods of teach- Dorothy Watson, “[reading] . . . is not port of the National Reading Panel ing vary from setting to setting due to a program, package, set of materials, (2000).5 The No Child Left Behind6 influences such as tradition, research, method, practice, or technique; rather, legislation and the ensuing testing and legislation. The decision to adopt it is a perspective on language and movement, which holds American one approach over another is generally learning that leads to the acceptance of public schools accountable for stu- made after examination of the pro- certain strategies, methods, materials, dents’ reading performance, has also grams’ methods and materials. This and techniques . . .”7 Judith Newman had an impact. Consequently, legisla- phenomenon has been described as also pointed out that “[reading] . . .

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 5 JAE_april_may_swcg 5/1/06 12:09 PM Page 6

isn’t an instructional approach . . . izations, however, are generally both the physical and human sciences [but] a philosophical stance.”8 grouped in one of two worldviews—a have tried to demonstrate that “our vi- Although the practical, “how to” mechanistic or a holistic paradigm. Be- sion . . . is undergoing a radical change features of reading are important, edu- ginning with Rene Descartes’ and Isaac toward the multiple, the temporal, and cators rarely think about the philoso- Newton’s work, Western science has the complex”11—a holistic worldview. phy that informs their practice. In viewed the world as composed of sep- There is a general awareness of the lim- stressing the importance of philo- arate and independent parts—a mech- itations of the “paradigmatic bound- sophical inquiry to education, John anistic worldview. In the past several aries” that had previously guided in- Brubacher lamented that “too few edu- decades, though, many researchers in quiry.12 The actors and settings may change, but the plot— how to best teach reading—remains the same.

cators could formulate or pursue such questions or give adequate responses about why things are done as they are in most schools . . . The study of philosophy of education would help educators build more adequate theoretical bases, and hence, more adequate education.”9 Examining the philosophical basis for reading instruction helps to reveal underlying paradigms, since each approach is grounded in certain assumptions or beliefs. By analyzing these assumptions, educators can better understand how to address practical issues. Therefore, teachers need to understand the philosophical assumptions and paradigms underlying each approach to reading instruction. As argued by Thomas Kuhn in The Structure of Scientific Revolutions: “Differences in paradigms are differences in worldviews, involving differences in assumptions made, questions asked, evidence taken, and methodologies used.”10 This paradigmatic vocabulary or language thus serves to contextualize theory and practice, providing a way of discussing the world, the things in the world, and the relationships among those things. There are many diverse ways of discussing the world. Such conceptual-

6 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 7

Figure 1 The mechanistic and holistic Bottom-Up Model of too fragmented to describe the dy- paradigms can be described in Literacy Event namic nature of reading. No set of terms of two enabling assump- “basic building blocks” or discrete tions—a longitudinal (breadth) as- skills can be synthesized to gener- sumption and a latitudinal (depth) ate a linguistic structure because a assumption. The longitudinal as- literacy event is more than the sum sumption conceptualizes the uni- of its parts. Reading cannot be sub- verse in horizontal terms. Applied divided, for it consists of only mo- to the mechanistic paradigm, this mentary relations, which are in- belief projects that things exist in Semantic volved in acquiring and relating static states of being; applied to Cues new information to the whole and the holistic paradigm, this belief from which parts cannot be distin- projects that things consist of dy- guished—“an unbroken whole- namic processes or events of be- ness.” Linguistic skills, therefore, coming. The latitudinal assump- have no significance in isolation; tion identifies one state or event Syntactic Cues they are understood only through relative to others and implies more their integrated activity within the enduring relationships than the whole literacy event. This interde- longitudinal assumption. Specifi- cally, an event or state is characterized In practice . . . methods of by a particular vertical configuration of parts.13 teaching vary from setting

Longitudinal Nature of Reading to setting due to influences Applying the longitudinal assump- such as tradition, research, tion to reading suggests that it is an active, dynamic process rather than a and legislation. static state. With this temporal view, a linguistic structure is in a constant literacy event. There is a general con- pendence of the parts, where a change state of flux, which, in turn, entails sensus about what is necessary for in one part affects the whole structure, movement into a new unity or whole. reading to take place. Three basic implies that relations are primary, and The creation of these temporary rela- parts, known as cueing systems, have the parts and the whole are derived. tionships constitutes a series of literacy been identified: graphophonic or Based on this more holistic view of events. word-level cues (sound and letter pat- the reading process, reading research- Furthermore, the transition from terns), syntactic or sentence-level cues ers have developed several theories or one literacy event to another is not (sentence patterns), and semantic or models to illustrate the relationships uniform or linear; reading is not a suc- text-level cues (meanings).14 A literacy among the parts of a literacy event. cession of discrete linguistic structures. event, then, is characterized by a par- One theory has a series of interlocking Rather, there is a necessary and mean- ticular configuration of graphophonic, skills arranged in hierarchical levels. ingful connection between literacy syntactic, and semantic features. The This model uses a sequence of linguis- events, a complex interrelationship of organization of these parts, however, tic levels. The characteristics of each processes. Reading, therefore, is histor- has been conceptualized in several dif- level are included in higher levels, but ically situated; there is an integration ferent ways. not in lower levels, since they are in- of one reading structure in the becom- Traditionally, reading has been sep- fluenced by the general inclusiveness ing of another. The present linguistic arated into irreducible, individual parts and abstract complexity of the rela- state, constituted in part by past or skills (i.e., sounds, syllables, words). tions between the parts. events, is differentiated from the past In this view, a linguistic structure can Models utilizing this hierarchical by its history. Thus, because a literacy be understood as a synthesis of inde- structure manifest either bottom-up or event is not independent of its history, pendently functioning skills. Produced top-down processing. In bottom-up it cannot be understood when sepa- by an addition of parts, literacy events models, decoding of graphic symbols rated from its past. are aggregates; they maintain a sum- (lower-level processes) occurs first, mative rather than a constitutive na- followed by syntactic and semantic Latitudinal Nature of Reading ture. processes (higher-level processes). (See The reading process can be further Recently, some reading educators Figure 1.) Correct word identification conceptualized in terms of the configu- have acknowledged the limitations of a precedes and automatically ensures ration of the parts that characterize a mechanistic view, concluding that it is comprehension. Reading is seen as a

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 7 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 8

Figure 2 process of decoding or encod- Top-Down Model of tween levels, for every part is ing. During oral reading, chil- Literacy Event related to every other part. dren must decode graphic Reading, in the Interactive symbols into speech; when Model, is portrayed as a dy- reading silently, they must en- namic web of interrelated code graphic symbols into in- Semantic Cues processes. (See Figure 3.) ner speech. Each part or cueing system Perceptual (lower-level) “unfolds” the whole structure; and cognitive (higher-level) the whole encompasses each processes are autonomous in part, and each part encom- nature, with perception pre- Syntactic Cues passes the whole. This model ceding cognition. At each does not view either bottom- stage, the input is processed up or top-down processing as and recorded, then the infor- Grapho- playing a dominant role in mation is transferred to the reading comprehension. next level for further process- phonic Rather, there is a cyclical in- ing. The reading process takes Cues teraction of perceptual and on a unified character when cognitive processes. Each the subskills are processed au- level has the potential to in- tomatically.15 fluence all other levels. No In top-down models, read- one part of this linguistic web has priority; all parts develop Although the practical, in relation with others. One relationship may assume a significant part “how to” features of read- while representing the whole, but the ing are important, educators purpose is not to suppress the other relations.17 rarely think about the phi- Implications for Reading losophy that informs their Instruction practice. The “reading wars,” then, will nei- ther be resolved through research (i.e., examining practice) nor argument. The ing comprehension is influenced more acy event, however, is heterogentic in approaches espouse different world- by the cognitive than the perceptual nature, and there is no distinction be- views. But if educators can articulate processes. (See Figure 2.) Predictions concerning meaning are accepted or rejected during the processing of infor- Figure 3 mation. Graphic cues are used only Interactive Model of Literacy Events when either validating or rejecting predictions; if graphic cues do not corre- spond to syntactic and semantic processing, they are not likely to be employed in the reading process.16 Semantic Cues Despite the fact that these two models are supposed to represent the dynamic and holistic nature of the reading process, some reading educa- Meaning tors feel that they do not accurately portray the theoretical complexity of the relations among the cueing sys- Syntactic Cues Graphophonic tems. A linguistic hierarchy reduces re- Cues lationships to a single dimension— parts can be related only to what is above or below them, creating a homogeneous organization of skills. A liter-

8 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 9

Recently, their philosophy and beliefs concern- in Keene, Texas. The editors express their ing reading, they will have a frame of some reading appreciation for her careful and compre- reference from which to construct, uti- educators hensive work and advice in planning and lize, and evaluate the most appropriate preparing the issue. approaches to reading instruction. Af- have ac- ______ter clarifying their beliefs, they can knowledged REFERENCES move from the “how” (which focuses solely on practice) to the “why” (which the limita- 1. Patricia M. Cunningham and Richard L. Allington, Classrooms That Work: They Can All focuses on the paradigm that informs tions of a Read and Write, Second Edition (New York: Ad- their practice). dison-Wesley, 1999), pp. 12, 13. In order to link theory and prac- mechanistic 2. Ibid., p. 14. tice, the NAD has adopted a holistic view, con- 3. Sharon Ruth Gill, “Necessary and Irrecon- view of the reading process. Both the cilable Differences: Paradigms Within the Field cluding that of Reading,” Language Arts 82:3 (January 2005), longitudinal (breadth) as well as the p. 215. latitudinal (depth) aspects of reading it is too frag- 4. Commission on Reading, Becoming a Na- have been considered. In terms of tion of Readers: The Report of the Commission on breadth, reading is viewed as an active, mented to Reading (Washington, D.C.: National Institute of dynamic process, constituted by a se- Education, 1985). describe the 5. National Institute of Child Health & ries of meaningfully related literacy dynamic na- Human Development, “Report of the National events. In terms of depth, a literacy Reading Panel, Teaching Children to Read: An event is viewed as a dynamic web of ture of read- Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Re- interrelated parts or cueing systems. search Literature on Reading and Its Implications Combining the horizontal and vertical ing. for Reading Instruction,” accessed October 3, 2005, at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/ aspects of the reading process creates nrp/smallbook.htm. an integrated whole from which mean- 6. George W. Bush, “No Child Left Behind,” ing of written text can be derived. Sim- This framework reflects the NAD’s accessed October 3, 2005, at http://www.ed.gov/ ply defined, then, reading is gaining intent to address the whole while nclb/landing.jhtml. meaning from print. maintaining the integrity of the rela- 7. Dorothy J. Watson, “Defining and De- scribing Whole Language,” Elementary School There is not a direct correspon- tions among the parts. Many good Journal 90:2 (November 1989), p. 134. dence between philosophy and prac- practices already in use that exemplify 8. Judith M. Newman, Whole Language: The- tice. However, the adoption of certain this philosophy will be continued. ory in Use (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, beliefs does imply certain practices. New materials and research-based 1985), p. 1. First, because of its emphasis on whole- strategies will be introduced as well. 9. Howard A. Ozmon and Samuel M. Craver, Philosophical Foundations of Education, ness, the NAD reading program embeds The purpose of this theme issue on Third Edition (Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1986), reading instruction in a total language- reading is to provide a philosophical as p. 290. arts program that addresses the four well as a practical context for the new 10. William E. Doll, Jr., “Prigogine: A New modes of language (listening, speaking, Seventh-day Adventist reading pro- Sense of Order, a New Curriculum,” Theory Into reading, writing). The decision also gram. The ensuing articles will address Practice 25:1 (Winter 1986), pp. 10, 11. 11. Ilya Prigogine and Isabelle Stengers, Or- suggest a framework for instructional as critical aspects of the three cueing sys- der Out of Chaos: Man’s New Dialogue With Nature well as scheduling purposes: tems that constitute the breadth and (New York: Bantam Books, 1984), p. xxvii. Word Work depth of the reading process, as well as 12. Lous Heshusius, “The Newtonian Mech- Phonemic Awareness related topics. Curriculum, instruction, anistic Paradigm, Special Education, and Con- Phonics and assessment issues will also be dis- tours of Alternatives: An Overview,” Journal of Learning Disabilities 22:7 (August/September Word Study cussed. The focus is not specifically on 1989), p. 404. Spelling the various parts but why, and how, 13. Carol L. Campbell, A Philosophical Study Guided Reading they relate to the whole. ✐ of the Holistic Paradigm With Heuristic Implications Leveled Readers/Trade Books ______for Written Language (Unpublished doctoral dis- Comprehension sertation, 1993). 14. Michael L. Kamil, Peter B. Mosenthal, P. Vocabulary Dr. Carol L. David Pearson, and Rebecca Barr, Handbook of Independent Reading Campbell, the Co- Reading Research, Volume III (Mahwah, N.J.: Read-Alouds ordinator for this Lawrence Erlbaum, 2000). Reading Workshop special issue on read- 15. Harry Singer and Robert B. Ruddell, Fluency ing, is an Associate Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, Third Edition (Newark, Del.: International Reading As- Writing Professor of Educa- sociation, 1985). Writing Workshop tion at Southwestern 16. Ibid. Handwriting Adventist University 17. Ibid.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 9 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 10

Guided Reading, Literature Circles, and Reading Workshop

his past summer, I had new curriculum that is specifically de- the privilege of taking signed to meet the spiritual and cultural part in the North Amer- requirements of our schools as well as ican Division (NAD) the literacy needs of our students. It is Office of Education the purpose of this article to familiarize Elementary Reading Text- teachers with terms and practices that book Revision Commit- will make the implementation of this tee. The focus of the new curriculum as effective as possible. committee was to create Curriculum materials and instruc- a new reading series that meets the stan- tional strategies have been selected that Tdards of the NAD and that reflects cur- foster independent reading skills and a rent research on literacy. The NAD has lifelong love of reading. One specific been working with a publisher, Kendall/ area that is being addressed is the best Hunt, in Dubuque, Iowa, to produce a method for reading skill instruction. Sev- BY LISA M. WRIGHT

10 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 11

eral methods have been identified, supported by research-based “best practices,” that will be easy to adapt in classrooms with a wide range of reading abilities and/or grade levels. These formats are, in many ways, similar to methods already being used in many of our schools. However, some changes are being made to reflect what we currently know about successful reading instruction. This article will focus on three suggested formats for the deliv- ery of reading instruction: Guided Reading, Literature Circles, and Read- ing Workshop.

Guided Reading Guided Reading is the heart of the reading program. It is in many ways similar to the basal reading lessons in the current NAD reading program. Ac- cording to Cunningham, Hall, and Sig- mon, “In Guided Reading, teachers choose material for children to read and a purpose for reading, and then guide them to use reading strategies needed for that material and that purpose.”1 The main focus is on the development of comprehension strategies. “When you read, you do two things simultaneously—you say the words, and you ‘think about’ what you are reading. Saying the words aloud (or to yourself if you are reading silently) is the word identification part of reading. Understanding the meaning the words convey is the comprehension part.”2 Fountas and Pinnell provide an outline for the Guided Reading process in Guided Reading: Good First Teaching Guided Read- heightens interest in the book. A for All Children.3 During Guided Read- teacher may ask questions to set a pur- ing, the teacher meets with small ing is the heart pose for reading and to build anticipa- groups of students of similar reading of the reading tion. Sometimes, the teacher engages ability for direct instruction in reading, in specific comprehension strategy in- while other students work indepen- program. struction by having students use pic- dently in learning centers. Instruc- ture cues, read to the end of the sen- tional-level materials may include basal facilitate comprehension, he or she tence and re-read, summarize, use readers, anthologies, trade books, big may take the students on a “picture sound-letter or rhyming cues, and books, magazines, etc. The lesson plan walk” through the book or have them “chunking” or breaking the word usually incorporates “before,” “during,” examine the cover to connect the stu- apart. During this time, the teacher and “after” reading segments, with the dents’ prior knowledge and personal may also introduce new vocabulary “before” and “after” sections lasting experiences to what they will be read- and familiarize the students with any about five minutes and the “during” ing. As they look at the pictures to- unfamiliar concepts in the book. segment lasting 15-20 minutes. gether, they try to predict what the During the second segment of the During the “before” phase, the story will be about. This gets students Guided Reading lesson, the “during” teacher introduces the book or text. To engaged and asking questions, and phase, students take turns reading the

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 11 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 12

During Guided Reading, the This enables the struggling reader to teacher on large chart paper. As the comprehend and enjoy more difficult teacher records the students’ re- teacher meets text without slowing down the reading sponses, the students fill in words, let- with small process. ters, or punctuation. Other activities During the third or “after” phase of include art, sketching, drama, reader’s groups of stu- the lesson, the students engage in clo- theatre, and graphic organizers. dents of simi- sure activities. During discussion of the Below is a sample Guided Reading text, students are asked to connect the lesson for 1st graders using the book lar reading story to their own lives. The teacher Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You ability for di- may also review skills and strategies See? 5 introduced in segment one or assign rect instruc- written extension activities such as re- BEFORE: tion in reading, sponse to the story, keeping a journal, 1. Introduce the book. Read the ti- or interactive writing. During interac- tle and the author’s name (Bill Martin, while other tive writing, the group composes a Jr.). Ask “Can you guess who the illus- students work piece together, usually recorded by the trator is?” (Eric Carle) independently in learning centers.

selection. The teacher listens, guides, helps, and praises them as they read. Assessment also occurs during this time, in the form of running records4 (notes taken on children’s reading habits and progress). Teachers can use many grouping variations for this time segment. Students may read independently, in small groups with the teacher (shared reading), or they may be encouraged to partner-read, echo- read, or choral-read. In partner reading, two students sit shoulder to shoulder and take turns reading a page or a paragraph, helping each other with difficult words. Echo reading also uses partners, with the more proficient reader reading a sentence first, followed by the less proficient reader. Students are encouraged to “track” their reading, placing a finger or pointer under the words as they read them. This method helps students gain confidence in reading aloud, learning new sight words, and learning correct pronunciation and expression. In choral reading, a group or pair of students read softly aloud simultaneously. Scaffold reading is a variation of this approach. One student reads “under- neath” the other student, saying the words simultaneously but more quietly and supporting the other reader through difficult or unknown text.

12 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 13

During the 2. Talk about the book. “This is third or “after” have something to bring to the discus- like a song or poem about animals of sion. The better prepared their re- different colors.” phase of the sponses, the better the discussion and 3. Conduct a picture walk, reading lesson, the more learning that occurs. Prompts are a few pages aloud. one example of a response. Students 4. Introduce vocabulary and com- students en- are asked to complete prompts such prehension strategy. “What pattern do gage in clo- as: “I thought . . . ,” “I liked . . . ,” “I you see in this book? What keeps re- wonder . . . ,” “I felt . . . ,” “I noticed peating?” Review sight words on index sure activities. . . . ,” “I predict . . . ,” “A connection cards they are to use later in their writ- is . . . ,” “My favorite person is . . . ,” ing: what, do, you, see, I, at, me. Notice to read individually and are asked to “A question I have is . . . ,” “If I could the rhyming words see and me. bring their responses to the discussion change . . .” circle. The students must make prepa- Students may also be given Post-It DURING: ration through their responses so they notes to write down ideas, words that 5. Teacher reads book to students. 6. Students choral-read book. 7. Teacher takes notes while students are reading.

AFTER: 8. Students respond to the story by placing felt pieces about the story on a board as the teacher rereads the story. 9. Students write a new line to the story and illustrate it, i.e., “Lion, lion, what do you see? I see a yellow chee- tah looking at me.” “Green fox, green fox, what do you see? I see a lion looking at me.” These pages can be bound into a new book for classroom use. 10. Read a related book such as Po- lar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? 6

Literature Circles Students need to practice the skills and strategies introduced in Guided Reading. Literature Circles, small groups (three to six students) that are formed around a particular text choice, are one way students can apply what they have learned.7 Materials may include trade books, both fiction and nonfiction, poetry, content texts, magazine articles, etc. Typically, the teacher puts together sets of materials (four to six copies) that are related by a common theme or author. Students choose which text to read, and all students reading a common text are grouped together. (Schlick Noe’s Website contains many helpful tools for literature circles.8) The Literature Circle format is very simple, yet fosters learning. Students are assigned a chapter or chunk of text

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 13 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/26/06 2:18 PM Page 14

Discussion are interesting or that they do not logs are per- Reading instruction as well as an op- know, and favorite quotes or questions portunity for students to apply what to bring to their group. They don’t haps one of they learn in Literature Circles and/or have to write in the book and can find the most im- Reading Workshop. Some teachers the quotes easily, as the Post-It serves have found success in merging the Lit- as a bookmark, too. Making and deco- portant com- erature Circles and Reading Workshop. rating bookmarks based on certain Another option is to integrate Litera- chapters of the book is a traditional re- ponents of ture Circles into content-area subjects sponse in Literature Circles as well and the Literature such as science, social studies, or encourages student creativity. It can be Bible. Every instructional plan should done at the beginning or end of the Circle. address both strategy instruction as book as part of a celebration. well as practice in a variety of formats, Discussion logs are perhaps one of Literature Circles has been found to be as it draws students closer to God and the most important components of the more effective than a Guided Reading inspires a lifelong love of reading. ✐ Literature Circle. Using these record program alone, especially for strug- ______sheets, students enter their name, the gling readers. In addition, it helps stu- date, which chapter they are reading, dents who have not developed a love Lisa M. Wright and a written response such as a list of for reading, but who possess strong teaches grades 3-5 at words they wonder about; questions reading skills. Its strength lies in its al- Des Moines Adventist they have; or how the story relates to lowing students to self-select their Junior Academy in Des Moines, Iowa. She holds their lives, to something going on in reading, for research shows that choice a Master’s degree in the world, or to something else in the increases motivation. Furthermore, it reading education. book. Responses can be as simple as a helps students concentrate on compre- journal entry for each chapter. A vari- hension or gaining meaning from the ______ety of responses can be used through- text. They develop fluency and confi- REFERENCES out the reading of the text. This format dence as they read material on their in- can be applied across the curriculum dependent reading level. 1. Patricia M. Cunningham, Dorothy P. in Bible, science, or social studies. Below is a sample format for Read- Hall, and Cheryl M. Sigmon, The Teacher’s I really enjoyed using this format ing Workshop: Guide to the Four Blocks: A Multimethod, Multi- with my upper-grade students when Teacher Read-Aloud: level Framework for Grades 1-3 (Greensboro, N.C.: Carson-Dellosa, 1999), p. 42. we read the book A Thousand Shall The teacher reads aloud to students 2. Patricia M. Cunningham, Dorothy P. 9 Fall by Susi Hasel Mundy. The stu- from a variety of materials, including Hall, and James W. Cunningham, Guided dents asked many thought-provoking different genres, themes, and authors. Reading the Four-Blocks Way (Greensboro: Car- questions, learned interesting answers Children Reading: son-Dellosa, 2000), p. 43. to them, and acquired new vocabulary. Students self-select books or other 3. Irene C. Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell, Most importantly, they learned from materials on their own reading level to Guided Reading: Good First Teaching for All one another. There were moments read independently. Children (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1996). when discussion stopped and they Children Sharing: 4. Wright Group, Guided Reading: A Prac- weren’t sure of themselves, and mo- Several students share what they tical Approach for Teachers (Bothell, Wash.: ments when I wasn’t sure of myself, are reading with their classmates. Wright Group, 1995), pp. 55-81. but when they had new insights to To adapt Reading Workshop to 5. Bill Martin, Jr., Brown Bear, Brown Bear, share, they really shone. I particularly multigrade classrooms and a variety of What Do You See? (New York: Holt, Reinhart, enjoyed this experience because it al- reading levels, Cunningham, Hall, and and Winston, 1967). lowed me to shed the role of “Con- Sigmon recommend teaching young 6. Bill Martin, Jr., Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? (New York: Henry Holt, tainer of All Knowledge and Wisdom,” children, in particular, three ways to 1991). 10 and put the power in the students’ read : 7. Harvey Daniels, Literature Circles: Voice hands. I finally understood the mean- • “Pretend read” by telling the and Choice in Book Clubs & Reading Groups ing of teacher as facilitator, and was re- story of a familiar storybook; (Portland, Maine: Stenhouse, 2002). minded that truth belongs to all of us, • “Picture read” by looking at a 8. Katherine L. Schlick Noe, “Literature not just to those in authority. book about real things with lots of pic- Circles Resource Center;” accessed May 31, tures and talking about all the things 2005, at http://fac-staff. seattleu.edu/ kschlnoe/web/LitCircles. Reading Workshop you see in the pictures; and 9. Susi Hasel Mundy, A Thousand Shall During Reading Workshop, emer- • Read by reading all the words. Fall (Hagerstown, Md.: Review and Herald gent readers may choose what they Publ. Assn., 2001). want to read. Using Reading Workshop Conclusion 10. Cunningham, Hall, and Sigmon, p. in conjunction with Guided Reading or Teachers need to provide Guided 28.

14 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 15

How Can I Help My Students Who Struggle With Reading Comprehension?

avid* is in the 8th grade. his silent reading comprehension test CVCe patterns. Jill also has problems His test results indicate indicate an independent reading level with rhyming, and when reading text that his oral reading abil- using 8th-grade reading materials. orally, demonstrates word-by-word ity for word analysis (de- David has good receptive vocabulary, prosody. When the teacher uses 1st- coding) is instructional but has problems with expressive vo- grade materials to test Jill’s oral reading level** using 1st-grade cabulary, both written and verbal. comprehension, the results indicate Dreading materials. His tested oral read- Jill* is in the 2nd grade. She can- that she is functioning on a frustration ing rate and oral reading comprehen- not read even 10 percent of her Dolch reading level. sion test scores show that he can han- Sight Words, indicating a significant Matt* is in the 11th grade. His dle 3rd-grade reading materials at an concern in the area of word recogni- journey through the school system has instructional level. Yet, the results of tion. Jill does know the names of her been difficult. Matt reads well; how- ______letters, the sounds of beginning con- ever, he is a “word-caller.” He knows * Not their real names. sonants, and short and long vowel all of his Dolch Sight Words, so clearly ** Words in purple are defined in the Glos- sounds. However, she does not know he has no problems with word-recog- sary on page 21. her ending consonants or the CVC/- nition skills. He also has good phone- BY CANDICE HOLLINGSEAD AND RAY OSTRANDER

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 15 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:36 AM Page 16

mic awareness and can apply phonics A precise definition of read- and word analysis to almost any text. Matt’s reading rate, both oral and ing and reading comprehen- silent, matches that of his peers. How- sion will help teachers un- ever, results of his comprehension tests indicate that for him to be successful, derstand how to choose classroom materials will have to be at a appropriate classroom in- 4th-grade level, whether he reads them orally or silently, or hears them read terventions for individual aloud. needs. Reading and Comprehension Defined Each of these students has a comprehension problem. Their needs are different due to the complexity of the reading comprehension process. A precise definition of reading and reading comprehension will help teachers understand how to choose appropriate classroom interventions for individual needs. How is reading defined? Reutzel and Cooter asked their university students what reading meant. Here are some of the responses: “I think reading is when you make the sounds of the letters and put them together to make words.” “Reading is understanding what is on the page.” “Phonics is the first part of reading and comprehension is the last.”1 These students did grasp the fun- damentals of reading—taking words apart and putting them back together to understand the whole. However, it is not a simple process, though it seems so for those who are adept at it. Reading text requires an interactive and complex process of (1) decoding, the use of symbol/sound associations, (2) word recognition, the ability to in- stantly associate a printed word with its spoken corresponding word, (3) encoding, transforming phonologically coded information into a semantic code for storage in long-term memory, which is related to impairments in short-term (working) memory, and (4) information retrieval, which can be related to memory capacity, prior knowledge, and a host of other variables such as central executive function. A competent reader applies a coordi- nated structure of knowledge and

16 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 17

skills concurrently, using a number of The funda- essence of reading . . . it has to be interrelated information sources, in or- taught and cannot be left to chance!”10 der to gain meaning.2 mentals of Mastropieri and Scruggs echo this sen- The most important skill in reading reading [in- timent, “reading comprehension re- is constructing meaning. Success in quirements increase substantially as this area depends upon many factors: volve] taking students progress through school.”11 text structure understanding, vocabu- words apart Comprehension instruction will be lary comprehension, use of prior an integral part of the new reading/lan- knowledge, the ability to focus on and putting guage-arts program that will be intro- comprehension rather than decoding them back duced in North American Adventist (in order to read with confidence and schools this fall. The instructional fluency), and the value the reader together to framework for this program recom- places on the process of completing understand mends that comprehension instruction the task.3 Keene and Zimmerman liken take place during the Guided Reading the comprehension process to “a mo- the whole. segment. Mini-lessons in comprehen- saic constructed of diverse pieces, each sion strategies, conducted during the integral to the whole, each essential to cause they do not understand the “Before” segment of the Guided Read- the texture of learning.”4 meaning of the text.7 ing lesson, will teach the critical skills Good readers bring an internalized necessary for students to create mean- Relevance in Schools Today set of expectations to the reading ing from text. Although teaching students to read process, a “reader’s rudder” they use to remains a prime objective in U.S. ensure that they comprehend the con- Reading Comprehension Interven- schools, a 2000 U.S. Department of tent. They self-monitor what they read tions Education study indicated that “ap- and demand that the material “make Reading comprehension interven- proximately 37% of fourth-grade stu- sense.” A poor reader’s inadequate tions can significantly improve students did not achieve at the most basic silent reading comprehension skills fre- dents’ academic performance.12 Tw o reading level on a recent national quently go unnoticed because teachers approaches are supported by research: test.”5 Societal trends such as increased usually assess these skills by listening (a) small, interactive instructional group- immigration, the elimination of track- to children read aloud. Thus, many ing; and (b) specific format teaching to ing systems in U.S. schools, and the teachers do not recognize that students help students generate self-monitoring text inclusion movement have increased are underperforming in this important questions.13 Small interactive instruc- the number of classrooms with ethnic, area and lack a “reader’s rudder.”8 tional grouping strategies include linguistic, and academic diversity. The The “reader’s rudder” is the meta- Coop-Dis-Q, PALS, and POSSE. Spe- average public elementary classroom in cognitive component of reading com- cific format teaching strategies include the U.S. contains 22 students who, in prehension. Students with strong techniques such as visual-spatial or- one minute, can read between 0 and metacognitive reading skills are ac- ganization of passage content, in-text 183 words correctly. Teachers respond tively aware of how well they compre- mnemonic illustrations, instructional to this diversity in a number of ways, hend what they are reading, and are study guides, Multi-Pass, and metacog- the worst of which are to ignore it able to organize, direct, and evaluate nitive instruction. and/or plan their instruction to reach their own cognitive abilities. Several the “average student.”6 strategies can be used to improve Small Interactive Instructional Although today’s high-stakes test- metacognition by teaching students Grouping ing requires that students achieve ex- how to monitor their comprehension. Coop-Dis-Q consists of five steps cellent comprehension in all academic This improves their strategic process- that combine cooperative learning, dis- areas, comprehension is usually not ing of material and encourages them to cussion, and questioning. The teacher expressly taught. In 2000, the National become active readers.9 should actively participate in and mod- Reading Panel Report outlined five Since reading comprehension de- erate the discussion, modeling all be- critical reading skill areas. One of these pends upon the mastery of reading haviors expected from students. The was text comprehension strategies. Re- preskills, how important is it to teach recommended procedure is as follows: search has acknowledged the necessity reading comprehension rather than the 1. Create the groups: Choose five to of early intervention using the alpha- preskills? Many teachers ask this ques- six students for each heterogeneous or betic principle in order to improve tion, and in fact, reading comprehen- homogeneous group. word-level decoding and reading. sion skills are frequently left untaught 2. Prepare a set of questions: After However, there are still many “word for this reason. Opitz and Eldridge, carefully considering the essential in- callers” who can read whole words yet however, stress a critical point in read- formation in the reading passage, for- struggle with comprehension skills being instruction, “Comprehension is the mulate questions on different cognitive

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 17 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 18

levels (literal, inferential, critical). pairs and teams. The PALS session in- and to state the main idea of the para- 3. Groups discuss the story and divide cludes three activities: graph in 11 words or less. After five questions: Organize the groups and be- 1. Partner reading: Each student minutes, the students switch roles. gin a general discussion of the reading. reads the text aloud for five minutes. 3. Prediction relay: Students enlarge Following the discussion, provide the Then for two minutes, the lower per- the paragraph shrinking described groups with questions written on strips former retells the sequence of what above to larger chunks of text. This ac- of paper. Subdivide the groups into tri- was read. tivity requires students to make predic- ads to facilitate more discussion. 2. Paragraph shrinking: One student tions and check them for accuracy af- 4. Triads discuss, answer, and add reads aloud, a paragraph at a time, ter reading. Students switch roles after questions: Have each group choose a then pauses to identify who or what, five minutes.16 scribe, while encouraging all students The most important skill in reading is constructing meaning.

to take notes and generate new questions or ideas. 5. Triads present and discuss their answers: Ask members from each triad to rejoin their original group and discuss their answers to the teacher’s questions. Each group is to form a consen- sus answer for each question, which will be reported to the class by individuals assigned this role. The group may add questions and answers if they wish.14 PALS stands for Peer-Assisted Learning Strategy, which has proved effective in reading and math. It can transform instruction through the use of routines that improve reading comprehension and other reading skills. Students are paired, with each duo consisting of a high-performing and a low-performing student. Tutoring roles are reciprocal. The higher-performing student reads first, modeling the de- sired oral reading behavior. Because the first reader is higher performing than his or her partner, the text is on the independent reading level for this student; therefore, oral reading of the text should not present any problems for the high-performing student. The text used is at the lower-performing student’s instructional reading level.15 Students are also assigned to group teams where they earn points for cooperative effort and achievement. Every four weeks, the teacher assigns new

18 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 19

Good readers bring an inter- ing reading thereby enhance compre- nalized set of expectations hension and learning. The planned comprehension activities should trans- to the reading process, a form thinking rather than merely in- “reader’s rudder” they use form knowledge.25 MultiPass, a strategy similar to to ensure that they compre- SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, hend the content. Review), prompts students to progress through the reading material three

POSSE was originally developed and validated by Englert and Mari- age17 and has since been replicated.18 The acronym stands for Predicting, Or- ganizing, Searching, Summarizing, and Evaluating. During the reading comprehension period, students take turns leading a small-group discussion. They assume the role of teacher by asking relevant questions about the text. Cue cards provide students with practice and application activities until they achieve mastery. The application steps are: 1. Predicting ideas from prior knowledge, 2. Organizing predictions based on the forthcoming text structure, 3. Searching for the main ideas, 4. Summarizing the main ideas within the text structure, and 5. Evaluating comprehension.19 monic device to promote vocabulary times. Here are the instructions that development. The student remembers are given to students: Specific Format Teaching the definition of a new word by relat- 1. Survey Pass: Become familiar Visual-spatial organization provides ing it to a familiar word or “keyword” with the text organization and main a “code” that depicts passage content through the aid of an illustration. For ideas in the chapter. Search for rela- and interrelationships.20 Gersten, instance, to remember the meaning of tionships to previous learning and Fuchs, Williams, and Baker21 say that the word goatee (beard), a student summarize in your own words. knowledge of “text structure” or “story might use a picture of a beard on a 2. Size-up Pass: Read questions pro- grammar” is essential for comprehen- goat. Because most reading textbooks vided in the chapter/at the end of a sion. Using arrows, lines, colors, and do not include mnemonic strategies, section or chapter, skimming the mate- spatial arrangements of text content al- they must be overtly taught. rial to find the answers. Paraphrase the lows the students to construct their Instructional study guides help stu- answers without prompts. own understanding of the story gram- dents focus on critical information and 3. Sort-out Pass: Conduct a self- mar. This activity helps students to fo- relationships. The guides serve as ad- assessment of the chapter content to cus on relevant information and to link junct aids rather than independent ensure that you understand it and can previous knowledge with the newly learning guides. The activities should remember its content. learned information, thereby enhanc- be scheduled to occur before, during, Students who learn how to use ing recall.22 and after text reading. Some ideas to self-monitoring significantly boost Mnemonic illustrations can help include: semantic charts, interactive their reading comprehension achieve- students remember important facts by vocabulary procedures, predictive and ment.26 A necessary component of linking new information to some- evaluative questions, and self-monitor- comprehending what one reads is the thing familiar through the use of visual ing for comprehension accuracy.24 In- ability to reflect on a skill and to ex- cues.23 For example, the “keyword structional approaches that increase amine and evaluate how well one is strategy” is a commonly used mne- the reader’s cognitive engagement dur- using it. For students to do this, they

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 19 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 20

Several must be taught to notice how well they strategies hypothetical students described at the comprehend and then provided with beginning of this article? “repair strategies” when they realize can be used Eighth-grader David would benefit that they do not understand the text. to improve from a reading comprehension pro- This is referred to as “comprehension gram that included PALS and visual- monitoring” and involves reader meta- metacogni- spatial organization of passage content. cognition. Metacognitive instruction tion by teach- This method would pair him with overtly teaches how to apply a strategy someone who could model reading to text and provides structured prac- ing students comprehension using reading materials tice. Systematic teacher monitoring how to moni- on his instructional reading level. The and feedback must be provided until visual-spatial method would use his re- the student achieves mastery. At this tor their com- ceptive vocabulary strengths to build point, teacher support can fade as the prehension. his expression vocabulary. student assumes responsibility for his or her own learning. Throughout the process, it is important for the teacher to model and observe how students use metacognitive strategies. The purpose is to get students to use a deliberate and active processing procedure to attack the text and to remind them to monitor their comprehension as they read. Many metacognitive strategies encourage students to think aloud about what they have read. Verbalizing what they are thinking helps them to integrate information from different parts of the text, build their metacognitive skills, and improve their comprehension.27 Most researchers agree that one significant explanation for poor comprehension is students’ failure to read strategically and to spontaneously monitor their own understanding. Metacognitive instruction’s success can be attributed to its more overt method of structuring comprehension activities, which forces students to think. This approach provides them with helpful hints through the use of questions and/or steps that guide their judgment and engage them in the application of comprehension strategies. Two such strategies have been described in this article: POSSE and Mul- tiPass.28

Conclusion Improving student reading comprehension should be the goal of every teacher. Over the years, numerous interventions have been proposed, re- searched, corroborated, and employed to achieve this goal.29 What can the teacher do for David, Jill, and Matt, the

20 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 21

Second-grader Jill’s reading com- specific skills she needs to work on, metacognitive self-monitoring strate- prehension program should include while at the same time teaching her to gies. The teacher’s biggest challenges Coop-Dis-Q and the use of study self-monitor and evaluate her own per- will be teaching Matt how to think guides to increase her metacognitive formance. about what he is reading and how to skills. The Cooperative Discussion ac- Eleventh-grader Matt definitely self-monitor his comprehension in tivities will build her comprehension could improve his reading comprehen- small chunks, rather than waiting until skills in a non-threatening and socially sion through the use of POSSE, Multi- the end of a large section of text. accepting atmosphere. The study guide Pass, and study guides that include Changing to a new reading pro- will provide her with tools to build the visual-spatial organization tools and gram takes time and hard work; how- GLOSSARY Alphabetic Principle: Understanding, at least implicitly, Phonologically Coded Information: Readers transform that a letter (the minimal unit of print) represents a phoneme a spoken or written word into a string of phonemes by using (the minimal unit of speech) rather than a unit of meaning. phonologic and morphophonologic rules. They then com- Central Executive Function: The term psychologists pare the phonemic string to ones in their lexicons in order to use to describe self-regulation—the ability to problem solve identify the word. Phonological coding assists in the storage and control one’s emotions. and retrieval of information. CVC Pattern: A consonant-vowel-consonant letter pattern Receptive Vocabulary: Listening and reading (all of the in a word. spoken words a child can understand; all of the printed CVCe Pattern: A consonant-vowel-consonant-e letter pat- words a child can recognize and whose meanings he or she tern in a word. understands). Dolch Sight Words: A list of 200 frequently used words Semantic Charts (Mapping): Using a graphic organizer that E. W. Dolch believed should be mastered by 3rd grade. before or after reading to connect new vocabulary words to a Many of these words cannot be sounded out because they do variety of ideas and events. not follow decoding rules. Semantic Code: Linguistic representations of meaning- Expressive Vocabulary: Speaking and writing (all the ful concepts as encoded in both individual words and groups words that a person can use appropriately in speaking and in of words. (Coding is defined as changing information into a writing). code. Encoding is defined as changing a message into sym- Frustration Reading Level: The level at which a child’s bols.) Word meaning comes to exist in a complex network of reading skills break down. Fluency disappears, word-recog- interrelated associations, stored in long-term memory. These nition errors are numerous, comprehension is faulty, recall is become more elaborated and better defined during the sketchy, and signs of emotional tension and discomfort be- course of lexical development. Semantic coding is the process come evident. whereby meanings are attached to and conveyed by certain Heterogeneous: diverse, assorted, mixed (e.g., different language components. reading levels; both genders). Word-by-Word Prosody/Reading: The person reads very Homogeneous: uniform, identical, all the same (e.g., slowly, pausing noticeably after almost every word. He or she same reading level; only girls or boys). often uses finger pointing and lip movements during silent In-Text Mnemonic Illustration: A memorization strat- reading, and a monotonous voice during oral reading. The egy where a picture is devised to represent the meaning of a person frequently needs to reread materials in order to com- new vocabulary word. The child draws the picture on a piece prehend them. He or she often groups the wrong words to- of paper and places it next to the word in the book (e.g., aloft gether and may ignore or misinterpret punctuation. means “high in the air”). The student pictures “a leaf” blown ______high in the air, which sounds similar to aloft and reminds SOURCES him of its meaning. Friend, M. Special Education: Contemporary Perspectives for Independent Reading Level: The highest reading level School Professionals (2004 updated ed.). Boston: Pearson at which a child can read easily and fluently without assis- Education, 2006. tance, with few word-recognition errors, and with good com- Graves, M. F .; C. Juel; and B. B. Graves. Teaching Reading in prehension and recall. the 21st Century (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, 2004. Instructional Reading Level: The highest level at which Hallahan, D. P.; J. W. Lloyd; J. M. Kauffman; M. P. Weiss; and a child can do satisfactory reading with teacher preparation E. A. Martinez. Learning Disabilities: Foundations, Character- and supervision: word-recognition errors are not frequent, istics, and Effective Teaching (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson Edu- and comprehension and recall are satisfactory. cation, 2005. Phonemic Awareness: The ability to discriminate among Harris, A. J. and E. R. Sipay. How to Increase Reading Ability: A the sounds that make up the English language, such as com- Guide to Developmental and Remedial Methods (9th ed.). paring pan, pen, pin, and pun. White Plains, N.Y.: Longman, 1990.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 21 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 22

ing: A Meta-Analysis,” Remedial and Special Edu- ever, it is well worth the effort, con- daily to reach the seemingly unreach- cation 25:4 (July/August 2004), p. 252. sidering the potential for student able. It is your most powerful tech- 6. Douglas Fuchs and Lynn S. Fuchs, “Peer- improvement. Six essential steps are nique. With it and the application Assisted Learning Strategies: Promoting Word necessary to create a strong reading of proven methods, you will be able Recognition, Fluency, and Reading Comprehen- sion in Young Children,” Journal of Special Educa- comprehension program: to reach all your Davids, Jills, and ✐ tion 39:1 (March 2005), pp. 34-44. 1. Create an inviting learning com- Matts. 7. Fischer; Sharon Vaughn, Janette K. munity using books at appropriate ______Klingner, and Diane P. Bryant, “Collaborative reading levels and on topics that are of This article was peer reviewed. Strategic Reading as a Means to Enhance Peer- interest to your students. ______Mediated Instruction for Reading Comprehen- sion and Content-Area Learning,” Remedial and 2. Communicate your own passion Special Education 22:2 (March/April 2001), pp. Candice Hollingsead about reading. 66-74. 3. Use direct instruction and mod- is Professor and Depart- 8. Fischer. eling to show students how to en- ment Chair for the De- 9. Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, and Baker. gage in the assigned tasks—for exam- partment of Teaching, 10. Michael F. Opitz and Roger G. Eldridge, Jr., “Remembering Comprehension: Delving ple, talk about how to think aloud, Learning, and Curriculum in the School of Education Into the Mysteries of Teaching Reading Com- and provide many opportunities for prehension,” Reading Teacher 57:8 (May 2004), Candice Hollingsead at Andrews University in students to become engaged in the p. 272. Berrien Springs, Michigan. reading process (peer tutoring, visual- 11. Mastropieri and Scruggs, p. 197. Ray Ostrander is Di- spatial organization, vocabulary devel- 12. Ibid. rector of the Master of Arts 13. Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, and Baker. opment, study guides). in Teaching Program in the 14. Lane R. Gauthier, “Coop-Dis-Q: A Read- 4. Provide multiple opportunities Department of Teaching, ing Comprehension Strategy,” Intervention in for guided practice while gradually en- Learning, and Curriculum School and Clinic 36:4 (March 2001), pp. 217- 220. couraging students to take ownership at Andrews University. of their learning and independently 15. Fischer; Therrien. 16. Fuchs and Fuchs. use the comprehension skills they have ______Ray Ostrander 17. Carol S. Englert and Troy V. Mariage, mastered. REFERENCES “Making Students Partners in the Comprehen- 5. Collect and use student assess- sion Process: Organizing the Reading ‘POSSE,’” ment data to monitor and modify in- 1. D. Ray Reutzel and Robert B. Cooter, Jr., Learning Disability Quarterly 14:2 (Spring 1991), Teaching Children to Read: Putting the Pieces To- struction using line graphs and goal pp. 123-138. gether, Fourth Edition (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: 18. Carol S. Englert, Kathi L. Tarrant, Troy setting each time practice occurs. Use Pearson, 2004), p. 5. V. Mariage, and Tina Oxer, “Lesson Talk as the approaches validated by data derived 2. Cynthia Fischer, “Revisiting the Reader’s Work of Reading Groups: The Effectiveness of from student assessments. Rudder: A Comprehension Strategy,” Journal of Two Interventions,” Journal of Learning Disabilities 6. Celebrate students’ success and Adolescent & Adult Literacy 47:3 (November 27:3 (March 1994), pp. 165-185. 2003), pp. 248-256; Margo A. Mastropieri and 19. Mastropieri and Scruggs. encourage them to reflect upon and Thomas E. Scruggs, “Best Practices in Promoting 20. Ibid. 30 share techniques that work for them. Reading Comprehension in Students With 21. Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, and Baker. Remember that under the façade of Learning Disabilities: 1976 to 1996,” Remedial 22. Ae-Hwa Kim, Sharon Vaughn, Jeanne the unwilling reader is an individual and Special Education 18 (July/August 1997), pp. Wanzek, and Shangjin Wei, “Graphic Organizers who truly desires to learn and enjoy 197-213; Karen Rabren, Craig Darch, and and Their Effects on the Reading Comprehen- Ronald C. Eaves, “The Differential Effects of Two sion of Students With LD: A Synthesis of Re- reading as much as the other students Systematic Reading Comprehension Approaches search,” Journal of Learning Disabilities 37:2 in your classroom. It is your responsi- With Students With Learning Disabilities,” Jour- (March/April 2004), pp. 105-118. bility to nurture that desire by building nal of Learning Disabilities 32:1 (January/February 23. Mastropieri and Scruggs. upon small successes. 1999), pp. 36-47; H. Lee Swanson, “Reading 24. Ibid. Even though specific techniques Comprehension and Working Memory in Learn- 25. Fischer; Jeffrey J. Walczyk, Kathryn E. ing-Disabled Readers: Is the Phonological Loop Kelly, Scott D. Meche, and Hillary Braud, “Time and strategies are essential to reading More Important Than the Executive System?” Limitations Enhance Reading Comprehension,” acquisition and improvement and Journal of Experimental Child Psychology 72 (Janu- Contemporary Educational Psychology 24 (April have been proven effective by research, ary 1999), pp. 1-31. 1999), pp. 156-165. the most important tool you have is 3. Russell Gersten, Lynn S. Fuchs, Joanna P. 26. Mastropieri and Scruggs. prayer. God and His love in your class- Williams, and Scott Baker, “Teaching Reading 27. Fischer; Linda Kucan and Isabel L. Beck, Comprehension Strategies to Students With “Thinking Aloud and Reading Comprehension room can multiply all of your methods Learning Disabilities: A Review of Research,” Research: Inquiry, Instruction, and Social Inter- and hard work. Using reading strate- Review of Educational Research 71:2 (Summer action,” Review of Educational Research 67:3 (Fall gies, without prayer, for a student hav- 2001), pp. 279-320. 1997), pp. 271-292; Mastropieri and Scruggs. ing significant difficulty can be com- 4. Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmer- 28. Mastropieri and Scruggs. pared to providing health care to an mann, Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension 29. Gauthier. in a Reader’s Workshop (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heine- 30. Sharon Grimes, “The Search for Mean- individual with a broken leg, but not mann, 1997), p. 11. ing: How You Can Boost Kids’ Reading Compre- giving him a pair of crutches to use 5. William J. Therrien, “Fluency and Com- hension,” School Library Journal 50 (May 2004), during the healing process. Use prayer prehension Gains as a Result of Repeated Read- pp. 48-52.

22 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 23

Picture Removed

Running From the Traditional Approach to Teaching Reading

Claudia knew that she could never pull off the old-fashioned kind of running away. That is, running away in the heat of anger with a knapsack on her back. She didn’t like discomfort; even picnics were untidy and incon- venient: all those insects and the sun melting the icing on the cupcakes. Therefore, she decided that her leaving home would not be just running from somewhere but would be running to somewhere. To a large place, a comfortable place, an indoor place, and preferably a beautiful place.1

Picture Removed hus begin the adventures of Claudia and her brother Jamie in From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg. You’ll have to read the book if you want to know where they run to and what kind of adventures they have. For many years in Seventh-day Adventist schools, reading has been taught in a very traditional, teacher-directed way with anthologies and workbooks. Have you ever thought about running away from the traditional approach? TDeparting from tradition can be uncomfortable and scary. If well planned, however, it BY THERESA J. ROBIDOUX

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 23 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 24

can be an exciting adventure. Simply “A literature circle, Websites and a list of books to help get plan to go “to a large place, a comfort- you started. able place, an indoor place, and prefer- simply defined, is an The North American Division ably a beautiful place.” opportunity for a (NAD) Office of Education has pro- Literature circles can be just such a duced a number of Seventh-day Ad- place. “A literature circle, simply de- small group of stu- ventist Literature Guides that will be fined, is an opportunity for a small dents to come to- helpful.3 There are guides for various group of students to come together for grade levels and books. These simple the purpose of sharing or talking about gether for the pur- guides provide author information, a a novel, short story, or some other lit- pose of sharing or short summary, discussion questions, erary experience.”2 and related activities. talking about a novel, To a Large Place short story, or some To a Comfortable Place You may be asking, “Where would Chances are that if you try some- I begin?” The research and resources other literary experi- thing and it feels uncomfortable, you on teaching reading can be a large and ence.” will stop doing it. So, be sure that you intimidating place. The Literature Cir- are comfortable with your choice as cles Resource Center at Seattle Univer- you depart from the traditional ap- sity gives a wonderful overview of lit- Website at http://www.litcircles.org. In proach. Start slowly and use what you erature circles and how to get them addition to their own information, know and love. Ask yourself: started in your classroom. They host a they list a number of links to other • Do I read aloud to my students

Picture Removed

24 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 25

Picture Removed

(of all ages) daily? Choose a book that Fill your knapsack and get ready to • Do I have my students read self- run away from the traditional ap- selected books silently for a sustained you have read and proach. It will be a great adventure! period of time each day? love—your enthusi- Have fun! ✐ • Do I use trade books to teach ______reading? asm will readily trans- If you answered No to any of the fer to your students. Theresa J. Robidoux questions above, these ideas may be teaches the 8th grade as something you could try. well as language arts to grades 5 to 8 at Browning Choose a book that you have read beanbag chairs, or oversized pillows. Elementary School in and love—your enthusiasm will read- Create a special corner or zone espe- South Lancaster, Massa- ily transfer to your students. Be sure to cially for reading. Make it inviting to chusetts.At the time this begin with motivational activities. In the students, where the only thing they article was written, she was my classroom, when we read Water Sky are allowed to do is read. the Principal and grade 5-8 teacher at the by Jean Craighead George,4 the stu- Worcester Seventh-day Adventist School in dents couldn’t wait to get their hands To a Beautiful Place Worcester, Massachusetts. on the books and read after our pre- Nothing is more satisfying than a ______reading activities. class of happy students. They may NOTES AND REFERENCES look forward to silent reading time if To an Indoor Place they know that afterwards, they will 1. E. L. Konigsburg, From the Mixed-up Files Your classroom is where students have a few minutes to talk with a part- of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler (New York: Dell, come to learn to read. Make it a litera- ner or small group about what they 1987), p. 11. ture-rich environment by filling it with read. 2. Rebel Williams, Integrated Learning Work- shops: Launching Literature Circles (Bothell, as many quality books as you can. As you read aloud to your class, Wash.: The Wright Group, 1993), p. 5. However, use caution in choosing liter- they may beg you to read a new chap- 3. Ninety Seventh-day Adventist Literature ature for your classroom. Gateway to ter each day so they can see what hap- Guides for grades 1-8 are available from Pacific Reading5 is a wonderful resource for pens next. Press Publishing Association. good quality literature. As the room fills with writing, proj- 4. Jean Craighead George, Water Sky (New York: HarperCollins, 1989). Set up your classroom in a way ects, and activities that students have 5. North American Division Office of Educa- that encourages students to read. You produced, reading will become more tion, Gateway to Reading. Noncopyrighted mate- could bring in an old comfy couch, exciting and rewarding for them. rial.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 25 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/26/06 2:19 PM Page 26

THE ROLE OF PHONEMIC AWARENESS AND PHONICS IN BEGINNING READING

“The lack of phone- oi, a charming 6-year- mic awareness is sense of the English alphabetic system. old, has been in the The California Reading Program Advi- United States for three the most powerful sory states: “The lack of phonemic years. An ESL (English determinant of the awareness is the most powerful deter- as a second language) minant of the likelihood of failure to student, she is now en- likelihood of failure learn to read because of its importance rolled in a multigrade in learning the English alphabetic sys- Kclassroom in the Pacific Northwest. to learn to read be- tem or in learning how print represents Even though Koi speaks English flu- cause of its impor- spoken words. If children cannot hear ently, she had a difficult time with and manipulate the sounds in spoken phonemic awareness in kindergarten. tance in learning words, they have an extremely difficult The kindergarten teacher felt she was time learning how to map those sounds ready socially and intellectually for 1st the English alpha- to letters and letter patterns—the es- grade, despite her phonemic awareness betic system or in sence of decoding.”1 deficit. By participating in various oral learning how print The Difference Between Phonemic phonemic awareness activities in Awareness and Phonics kindergarten and 1st grade and using represents spoken Phonemic awareness has been de- invented spelling in her daily journal words.” fined as recognition that sounds make writing, Koi was able to develop phone- up the English language, and that the mic awareness. It was a sudden break- words we speak are each composed of through. One week, Koi still needed a parent volunteer to individual sounds. Children need to be encouraged to pay segment words for her to blend so that she could write attention to the sounds of words, separate from meaning.2 phonemically in her journal. The next week she wrote pho- Phonics is based on the premise that words can be decoded netically “When the opera lady sings, she breaks the glass” into sounds. When they study phonics, students learn for her “-ing” word family sentences in spelling class—all by spelling-to-sound correspondence.3 herself! She was able to transfer her decoding skills to other Rog states, “Phonemic awareness is not phonics. Phone- language-arts activities. Koi was on her way; she was able to mic awareness is an understanding about the structures and read orally and do written work independently because she patterns of spoken language. Phonics, on the other hand, had broken the code! refers to the connection between letters and spoken Phonemic aware- sounds.”4 Spiegel ness and phonics adds: “Phonemic enabled Koi to make BY CAROL SPAULDING SERNA awareness is a con-

26 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 27

Phonics is based on the premise that words can be decoded into sounds.

five basic levels of phonemic awareness: • Oral rhyming • Oddity tasks • Oral blending • Oral phoneme segmentation • Phoneme manipulation These levels move from the sim- plest to the most complex. Likewise, the research-based activities that support and develop them also become progressively more complex.6

Phonemic Awareness Instruction and Activities Hallie and Ruth Yopp, in their Reading Teacher article “Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development in the Classroom,” discussed some aspects of phonemic awareness instruction and activities. They recommend that phonemic awareness instruction and activities should be developmentally appropriate, “playful and engaging, interactive and social, and should stimulate curiosity and experimentation with language.”7 They recommend using songs, chants, and word play games to enhance students’ awareness of the sound structure of language. Neuman, Copple, and Bredekamp warn that “Few young children spontaneously acquire phonemic awareness. But when teachers plan activities and interact so as to draw attention to the phonemes in spoken words, children’s awareness develops.”8

sciousness of sounds as entities that can phonics instruction in teaching begin- Level 1 be blended and taken apart and ma- ning reading. In level one, oral rhyming, students nipulated. Phonemic awareness in- decide whether words rhyme.9 To help cludes the ability to use sounds. It is Five Levels of Phonemic develop students develop oral rhyming different from knowing about sounds, Awareness skills, the teacher can use an activity which may be what is taught in a tra- Marilyn J. Adams, in her landmark like “Extend the Rhyme,” where he or ditional phonics program.”5 The focus 1990 review of reading research, Begin- she says three rhyming words (frog, log, of this article, then, will be the impor- ning to Read: Thinking and Learning jog) and asks the students to provide tance of phonemic awareness and About Print, established that there are other words that rhyme with those

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 27 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 28

Hallie and Ruth Yopp . . . recommend For a picture of a fish, he or she would say “-ish.” The students would supply that phonemic awareness instruction the missing phoneme /f/. Phoneme manipulation also works with songs such and activities should be developmentally as “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” where appropriate, “playful and engaging, in- the words merrily, merrily, merrily are changed to nonsense words such as teractive and social, and should stimu- werrily, carrily, tarrily, etc.21

late curiosity and experimentation with An Important Link language.” Phonemic awareness is an important link to reading instruction. It is words (dog, hog, etc.).10 Much of chil- If you think you know this word, shout not meaningful in and of itself. In The dren’s literature brims with rhyme, alit out! Phonological Awareness Handbook for literation, and word play. Literature If you think you know this word, shout Kindergarten and Primary Teachers, Er- with predictable rhythms and rhyme it out! icson and Juliebo state, “Numerous patterns can be used as a springboard. If you think you know this word studies have shown that phonological Students are often able to supply Then tell me what you’ve heard, awareness teaching programs that in- words to complete the sentence. Some If you think you know this word, shout clude letter-name and letter-sound cor- children can make up their own silly it out! respondence have a greater positive rhymes based on the pattern of the The teacher says a segmented word impact on reading development than picture book.11 such as /w/-/i/-/g/, and the students interventions involving phonological shout out the blended word, wig.17 awareness or sound-letter instruction Level 2 alone.”22 The California Reading Pro- In level two, oddity tasks, students Level 4 gram Advisory determined, “After chil- find similarities or differences between In level four, phonemic segmentation, dren have demonstrated initial levels initial, ending, and medial sounds.12 students are asked to say in order each of phonemic awareness, both phone- Activities that help develop these skills sound in a word.18 One activity that mic awareness and phonics can be include games such as “Stand, Sit, and helps develop phoneme segmentation taught simultaneously. At this point, it Turn Around,” where the teacher says is “Segmentation Cheer.” is also essential that both phonemic a sound, such as /f/, and all the stu- Teacher: Listen to my cheer, then shout awareness and phonics be mutually re- dents whose names start with the /f/ the words you hear. inforced in the context of integrated, sound stand up, turn around, jump, Cat! Cat! Cat! Let’s take apart the shared reading and writing activities.”23 clap, or do some other designated ac- word cat! tion.13 Teachers can also ask students Give me the beginning sound. Is Phonics Here to Stay? to make hand signals each time they Students: /c/! According to Hall, Prevatte, and hear a word that begins with a desig- Teacher: Give me the middle sound. Cunningham: “Phonics instruction is nated sound in a read-aloud book.14 Students: /a/! clearly important because one of the Teacher: Give me the ending sound. big tasks of beginning readers is to fig- Level 3 Students: /t/! ure out how our alphabetic language Level three, oral blending, requires Teacher: That’s right! works. Adams reviewed decades of re- students to identify words in which Students: /c/-/a/-/t/ Cat! Cat! Cat!19 search and concluded that while some the phonemes have been separated.15 Each time the teacher says the children can figure out the letter-sound One activity that helps students prac- cheer, he or she changes the words in system without instruction, directly tice oral blending is the game “Put It the second line. teaching this system speeds up the lit- Together.” Using a puppet as a prop, eracy acquisition.”24 the teacher tells the students that the Level 5 At one time, the field of reading puppet likes to say only complete In level five, phoneme manipulation, was embroiled in the “Great Debate” words. The teacher says a word in students change words by adding, over which was best, the phonetic ap- parts, then the students “guess” the deleting, or moving a phoneme.20 One proach or the whole-word approach to word. The puppet restates the com- activity to help develop phoneme ma- early reading instruction. This debate plete word and models blending as nipulation is “Picture Search.” The spawned some major research initia- needed.16 Another oral blending activ- teacher turns to different pages in a tives. The current debate no longer ity is sung to the tune of “If You’re picture book and says the name of an centers around the value of phonics in- Happy and You Know It.” The class object, animal, or person in the pic- struction—that has been accepted— sings: ture, but leaves out the first phoneme. but which approaches to teaching

28 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 29

phonic relationships are the most ef- and Human Development (NICHD), in dents.”29 fective.25 consultation with the Secretary of Edu- The embedded phonics approach, Traditionally, there have been four cation, to convene a national panel to a subtype of the implicit approach, at- basic approaches to teaching phonics: assess the effectiveness of various tempts to teach reading skills by em- • Implicit (analytic, incidental, con- methods of beginning reading instruc- bedding phonics instruction in text textual) tion. After two years of reviewing rereading. Instruction tends to rely on • Embedded (incidental, discovery) search-based reports, the National incidental or discovery learning. The • Explicit (synthetic) Reading Panel concluded that “the de- embedded approach “assumes that stu- • Analogic (phonograms, word tailed analysis of studies involving dents will develop a self-sustaining, families) phonics instruction revealed that sys- natural, unique reading style that in- Current educational research sup- tematic phonics instruction produces tegrates the use of contextual and ports the use of explicit and analogic significant benefits for students in grapho-phonic cues, without the possi- approaches to phonics instruction. The kindergarten through 6th grade and bly disabling influence (it is argued) of California Reading Program Advisory for children having difficulty learning systematic instruction.”30 Current re- found that “The most effective phonics to read.”27 search does not support either the im- instruction is explicit—that is, taking plicit or embedded approaches to care to clarify key points and princi- Why Not Use the Implicit or Em- teaching phonics. ples for students. In addition, it is sys- bedded Approaches? tematic—that is, it gradually builds In implicit or analytic phonics in- Explicit Phonics Instruction and from basic elements to more subtle struction, the teacher does not present Activities and complex patterns. The goal is to sounds in isolation from words.28 Hem- Explicit phonics refers to the syn- convey the logic of the system and to pentall argues that “teachers who limit thesis or building up of phonics skills invite its extension to new words that their instruction to pointing out word- from their smallest unit.31 The teacher the children will encounter on their parts to students in the context of au- presents the skills sequentially, using own.”26 thentic literature as the situation arises isolated, direct instructional strategies. In 1997, the U.S. Congress asked (incidental or analytic phonics) create In addition, he or she employs con- the National Institute of Child Health particular problems for at-risk stu- trolled vocabulary stories in the begin-

Picture Removed

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 29 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 30

“Numerous studies ning stages of reading instruction to have shown that tend to pay attention to patterns in the help build students’ confidence in us- words, because the human brain func- ing the various decoding strategies.32 phonological tions as a “pattern detector.” When “Research shows that it is important awareness teach- students see an unknown word, they for children to practice the phonics search their “memory stores” for words they have learned. It is therefore essen- ing programs that with a matching pattern.36 “Familiarity tial that the intial books that children include letter-name with patterns promotes automaticity in attempt to read on their own be com- decoding.”37 When students learn rime posed of decodable text.”33 Further- and letter-sound patterns (word families—i.e., -ate fam- more, “flooding children with an un- correspondence ily: date, gate, late, mate, rate) and can controlled array of words does no use decoding by analogy, the decoding favours for struggling students . . .”34 have a greater pos- process requires less mental processing Beginning readers’ emergent decoding itive impact on and attention. The reader can, instead, skills require simpler text to allow focus on comprehending text.38 them to develop the competence and reading develop- An example of an analogic phonics confidence they need.35 ment than interven- activity is “Making Words,” “an active, hands-on, manipulative activity in Analogic Phonics Instruction and tions involving which children discover letter-sound Activities phonological relationships and learn how to look for According to Wagstaff, Patricia patterns in words. They also learn that Cunningham was the first researcher to awareness or changing just one letter or even just describe decoding by analogy. Cun- sound-letter in- the sequence of the letters changes the ningham found that when readers whole word.”39 In a beginning lesson, come across unknown words, they struction alone.” students are given a card with one red

Picture Removed

30 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/26/06 2:20 PM Page 31

Current research vowel letter, which must be used in 11. Neuman, Copple, and Bredekamp, p. does not support 82. every word they create. The teacher 12. Robinson, Ross, and Neal, p. 32. urges them to observe how words either the implicit 13. Blevins, p. 37. change as different letters are added. 14. Robinson, Ross, and Neal, p. 72. They begin to see the importance of or embedded ap- 15. Ibid., p. 32. letters’ location in words. After they 16. Blevins, p. 37. proaches to teach- 17. Robinson, Ross, and Neal, p. 73. have created their words, students sort 18. Ibid., p. 32. them according to patterns (words that ing phonics. 19. Blevins, p. 39. start alike, have the same vowel sound 20. Robinson, Ross, and Neal, p. 32. or the same spelling patterns, etc.). pal, and associate superintendent of education, 21. Blevins, p. 41. Every activity starts with small words and holds California State Reading and Lan- 22. Lita Ericson and Moira Fraser Juliebo, guage Arts Specialist credentials. Mrs. Serna has The Phonological Awareness Handbook for Kinder- and ends with using all of the letters to garten and Primary Teachers (Newark, Del.: Inter- 40 served on various curriculum committees, taught make one big word. college education classes, been a presenter at con- national Reading Association, 1998), p. 64. ventions, and authored nearly half of the litera- 23. Reading Program Advisory, p. 8. Implications for Teachers of Begin- ture units for the new NAD Pathways reading 24. Dorothy P. Hall, Connie Prevatte, and ning Readers series. Patricia M. Cunningham, “Eliminating Ability Grouping and Reducing Failure in the Primary Ellen White stated in the book Tr u e ______Grades” in No Quick Fix: Rethinking Literacy Pro- Education, “Teachers should see to it REFERENCES grams in America’s Elementary Schools, Richard L. that their work tends to definite re- Allington and Sean A. Walmsley, eds. (Newark: sults. Before attempting to teach a sub- 1. Reading Program Advisory, State Superin- International Reading Association, 1995), p. ject, they should have a distinct plan tendent of Public Instruction, California State 139. Board of Education, California Commission on 25. Lesley Mandel Morrow and Diane H. in mind, and should know just what Teacher Credentialing, Teaching Reading: A Bal- Tracey, “Strategies Used for Phonics Instruction they want to accomplish. They should anced, Comprehensive Approach to Teaching Read- in Early Childhood Classrooms,” Reading Teacher not rest satisfied with the presentation ing in PreKindergarten Through Grade Three 50:8 (May 1997), p. 645. of any subject until their students un- (Sacramento, Calif.: California Department of 26. Reading Program Advisory, pp. 6, 7. derstand . . . and are able to state Education, 1996), p. 4. 27. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, “The Report of the Na- 41 2. Ashley and Suzanne Bishop, Teaching clearly what they have learned.” Phonics, Phonemic Awareness, and Word Recognition tional Reading Panel: Teaching Children to This challenge to Adventist educa- (Westminster, Calif.: Teacher Created Materials, Read,” accessed April 23, 2005, at http://www. tors of her era still rings true today! 1996), p. 9. memory-key.com/parents/nrp.htm. The California Reading Program Advi- 3. Frank Smith, Understanding Reading: A 28. Kerry Hempenstall, “Some Issues in sory concluded their study, Teaching Psycholinguistic Analysis of Reading and Learning to Phonics Instruction: Implicit and Explicit Phon- Read, Fifth Edition (Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence ics Instruction,” accessed April 15, 2005, at Reading, with these words: “We must Erlbaum Associates, 1994), p. 18. http://www.educationnews.org/some_issues_in_ provide a balanced and comprehensive 4. Lori Jamison Rog, Early Literacy Instruc- phonics_instructi.htm. reading . . . program in our schools so tion in Kindergarten (Newark, Del.: International 29. Kerry Hempenstall, “The Relationship that every child will be ensured suc- Reading Association, 2001), p. 18. Between Phonics and Phonemic Awareness;” cess as an effective reader . . . and 5. Dixie Lee Spiegel, “Special Initiatives for Accessed April 11, 2006, at http://www. educationnews.org/writers/kerry/relationship_ thinker . . . We are in this process to- Special Needs” in The Administration and Supervi- sion of Reading Programs, Second Edition, Shelley between_phonics_and.htm. 42 gether, for the children.” B. Wepner, Joan T. Feeley, and Dorothy S. Strick- 30. Hempenstall, “Some Issues in Phonics As Christian educators, we have land, eds. (Newark: International Reading Asso- Instruction. . . .” an even greater need to develop bal- ciation, 1995), p. 267. 31. Ibid. anced and comprehensive reading pro- 6. Wiley Blevins, Phonics From A to Z: A 32. Morrow and Tracey, p. 646. grams in our schools. We must use the Practical Guide (New York: Scholastic, 1998), p. 33. Reading Program Advisory, p. 7. 28. 34. Hempenstall, “Some Issues in Phonics most effective instructional methods 7. Hallie Kay Yopp and Ruth Helen Yopp, Instruction. . . .” and materials available. Phonemic “Supporting Phonemic Awareness Development 35. Ibid. awareness and phonics instruction is in the Classroom,” Reading Teacher 54:2 (Octo- 36. Janiel Wagstaff, Phonics That Work! New one part of a total language-arts pro- ber 2000), p. 132. Strategies for the Reading/Writing Classroom (New gram. ✐ 8. Susan B. Neuman, Carol Copple, and Sue York: Scholastic, 1994), pp. 11, 12. Bredekamp, Learning to Read and Write: Develop- 37. Ibid., p. 13. ______mentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children 38. Ibid. Carol Spaulding (Washington, D.C.: National Association for the 39. Patricia M. Cunningham and Dorothy P. Serna teaches grades 1 Education of Young Children, 2000), p. 81. Hall, Making Words: Multilevel, Hands-On, Devel- and 2 at Redwood Ad- 9. Violet B. Robinson, Gretchen Ross, and opmentally Appropriate Spelling and Phonics Activi- ventist Academy in Santa Harriet C. Neal, Emergent Literacy in Kinder- ties (Torrance, Calif.: Good Apple, 1994), p. 1. Rosa, California. She has garten: A Review of the Research and Related Sug- 40. Ibid. had 31 years’ experience gested Activities and Learning Strategies (San Ma- 41. Ellen G. White, True Education: An Adap- in the Seventh-day Ad- teo, Calif.: California Kindergarten Association, tation of Education (Nampa, Idaho: Pacific Press, ventist school system as a 2000), p. 32. 2000), pp. 142, 143. multigrade teacher, princi- 10. Blevins, p. 36. 42. Reading Program Advisory, p. 25.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 31 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:41 AM Page 32

Vocabulary Instruction The teacher

ccording to informa- can help en- cluding vocabulary development. But tion released in a pam- sure students’ to do so, he or she needs to be able to phlet produced by the use a variety of tools and activities. U.S. Department of reading suc- First, the teacher must understand Education,1 American the goals and objectives of vocabulary children are not read- cess by provid- instruction. Second, he or she must ing well enough—only ing a variety of know what kinds of vocabulary helps A32 percent of the nation’s 4th-graders will equip students to communicate in perform at or above the proficient experiences, a variety of contexts. Third, the teacher level. The National Reading Panel has including needs a palette of strategies from which identified the five skills needed to en- to choose. Finally, he or she needs to sure early reading success: phonemic vocabulary create a developmental checklist to awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabu- development. record each student’s vocabulary devel- lary, and comprehension.2 Because of opment. the strong relationship between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension, every reading Goals and Objectives of Vocabulary Instruction program should emphasize vocabulary.3 “Good vocabulary According to Ruddell, there are three primary goals in and good reading go hand in hand.”4 vocabulary instruction.6 It must (1) “develop children’s back- Starting with a lump of clay, a sculptor goes through ground knowledge of concepts and word labels that enable many steps to produce a finished product: manipulating the them to comprehend narrative and expository text,” (2) clay by smoothing, shaping, and pinching, adding additional “teach children how to understand new word meanings in- clay as needed. Finally, the clay must be fired or glazed to dependently,” and (3) “build positive attitudes toward vo- complete the project. A painter begins with a blank canvas cabulary learning and encourage independent word learn- on which to project mental images. He or she selects a vari- ing.” He lists the following objectives for developing new ety of tools and a palette of colors to produce a final prod- vocabulary: uct. Writers use a different medium—words—to produce • Apply active learning and comprehension strategies to their creative projects. However, like a sculpture or a paint- expository and narrative reading material; ing, each writing product is flavored by the unique experi- • Connect students’ prior knowledge to new vocabulary; ences of the creator.5 • Use the context of the story or exposition to check The teacher can help ensure new vocabulary word meaning; students’ reading success by pro- BY FRANCES BLISS • Provide a variety of strategies viding a variety of experiences, in- that students can use indepen-

32 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 33

dently to determine the meaning of programs, and exposure to a variety of foods, or television characters. new words; and contexts); and Speaking vocabulary: words the • Motivate students to enjoy and • Learning words incidentally child hears, understands, and uses in value reading materials and to become through reading and oral language ex- speech. These include words that are independent readers. periences. modeled by a parent and siblings. The National Reading Panel recom- Reading vocabulary: words the child mends the following for vocabulary in- Kinds of Vocabulary recognizes such as his or her name or struction7: According to Farris, Fuhler, and favorite cereal. This vocabulary grows • Teaching and learning of word Walther, there are four kinds of vocab- to include all the words a child can meanings to achieve comprehension; ulary8: read. • Learning the meanings of words Listening vocabulary: words a child Writing vocabulary: words a child is before reading a selection; hears and understands but may not exposed to from textbooks and other • Teaching of word meaning use every day, which form the largest sources. This vocabulary is used in through a variety of direct methods personal vocabulary. These words may writing assignments and other written (i.e., repetition, specialized computer be names of pets, family members, communication.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 33 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 34

Every student has a personal vo- 20 words and their definitions on • Develop depth of meaning—help cabulary with four subsets9: (1) listen- Monday and giving a quiz at the end students understand words in different ing—spoken words comprehended of the week. He offers the following contexts. Definitions alone may be in- when heard, (2) speaking—words principles for vocabulary development: adequate without a contextual setting. used in talking, (3) writing—words • Build experiential background— • Present several exposures—make used in writing, and (4) reading— talk about experiences such as a trip to sure students repeatedly encounter the words recognized on sight. There is, of the zoo or a museum. Make the activ- word. Using the word multiple times is course, considerable overlap among ity as concrete as possible. crucial to understanding. the categories. • Relate vocabulary to background— • Create an interest in words— connect new words to experiences stu- choose motivating activities that in- Techniques for Teaching dents have had. You could introduce a spire vocabulary development. For ex- Vocabulary word such as compliment by saying ample, students can work toward Children learn their first 6,000 some nice things and then asking stu- gaining points for a Word Wizard words from their parents and peers, dents to work in pairs complimenting Chart by recording instances of seeing, adding labels for people and objects. each other. hearing, or using the words. Based on observations of these early • Build relationships—show how • Teach students how to learn new learning experiences, as well as the im- new words are related to each other by words—promote independent word- plications of research, Gunning10 pointing out synonyms and antonyms, learning skills. Many strategies such as points out that developing vocabulary classifying words, and creating graphic morphemic analysis, dictionary skills, is not simply a matter of listing 10 or organizers. etc., may be used. The National Reading Panel examined more than 20,000 research cita- tions to determine how vocabulary can best be taught and related to the reading comprehension process. Its find- ings were as follows11: • Optimal learning results from the use of a combination of methods (both direct and indirect); • Learning vocabulary can be incidental in the context of storybook reading or in listening to others; • Students benefit from being exposed to words before reading a text; • Substituting easy words for more difficult words can help low-achieving students; Picture Removed • Vocabulary acquisition is en- hanced when students learn in rich contexts, have repeated exposure to text, and use computers; • Teaching methods must be appropriate to the age and ability of the reader, and actively engage the student. Other researchers12 also report significant gains in students’ comprehension when they are taught new vocabulary terms before reading a selection. Reinforcing what is taught over a period of time will also enhance comprehension. Sight words should be built from words students already comprehend. Other recommended activities: • Repeated Readings: A student

34 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 35

rereads a text several times to improve Researchers . . . report signifi- his or her fluency and to decrease the number of errors.13 cant gains in students’ com- • Readers Theatre: A student has “the opportunity to read a selection prehension when they are several times in preparation for a per- taught new vocabulary terms formance. The performance consists of students standing or sitting in a row at before reading a selection. the front of the room and reading aloud from a script, usually adapted found on the Website http://www. then students read and reread it to- from a book. There are typically no aaronshep.com/rt.14 gether until they are satisfied that they props, scenery, or staging because em- • Choral Reading: “[S]everal indi- have read it in a fluent, natural, and phasis is placed on oral interpretation viduals simultaneously reading the pleasing manner.”15 of the text.” Free downloadable scripts same text aloud. The teacher first • Word Walls: Students and teachers for a range of grade levels can be models fluent reading of the text, and choose words to display on large sheets of paper posted in the classroom. Students refer to the word wall during word-study activities and when they are writing.16 • Semantic Maps: Students create a diagram or graphic organizer that shows how words are related in meaning to one another.17 • Read-Alouds: When teachers read aloud, this provides a model for fluent reading, correct pronunciation of new words, introduction of words in a

A variety of Internet resources are available. Listed below are some useful Websites:

http://www.manatee.k12.fl.us/ sites/elementary/palmasola/ rcompindex.htm. Worksheets and games that focus on vocabulary builders, antonyms, synonyms, ho- mophones, multiple-meaning words, compound words, contrac- tions, word analogies, prefixes, suf- fixes, base words, syllabic rules. http://people.bu.edu/jpettigr/ Articles_and_Presentations/ Vocabulary.htm. Two Dozen Tips and Techniques for teaching vocabulary. http://www.m-w.com. An online dictionary that provides a daily word as well as many other resources. http://www.vocabulary.com. Lev- eled puzzles that utilize words based on a given definition and a common root word.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 35 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/26/06 2:20 PM Page 36

______meaningful context, and clarification of creating a class assessment. The cycle 18 19 word meanings. starts again the next week.” REFERENCES • Vocabulary Self-Selection Strategy: • Developing Vocabulary Knowledge 1. U.S. Department of Education, “Proven “[A] group activity in which each stu- Through Literature: Literature expands Methods: Questions and Answers on No Child dent, and the teacher as well, is re- students’ vocabulary knowledge and Left Behind—Reading;” accessed May 18, 2005, sponsible for bringing two words to provides them with experiences that at http://www.ed.gov/nclb/methods/reading/ 20 reading.html#5. the attention of the group . . . . Stu- cannot be re-created in the classroom. 2. National Reading Panel, Teaching Children dents place their words on the board. to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scien- . . . Each pupil . . . talks about his or Diagnostic Checklist tific Research Literature on Reading and its Implica- her word, where it was encountered, Rubin21 has developed a helpful di- tions for Reading Instruction (U.S. Department of what it might mean, and why he or agnostic checklist for vocabulary de- Health and Human Services, 2000), pp. 13-15. velopment that primary and intermedi- 3. Arthur W. Heilman, Timothy R. Blair, and she thinks it is important for the class William H. Rupley, Principles and Practices of to know. . . . the class narrows the list ate teachers can use to record student progress. (See below and Teaching Reading, Tenth Edition (Upper Saddle to a predetermined number (five to ✐ River, N.J.: Merrill Prentice Hall, 2002), p. 207. on page 37.) 4. Dorothy Rubin, Diagnosis and Correction eight words per week is typical). . . . ______Students then enter the words in their in Reading Instruction, Fourth Edition (Boston, Frances Bliss Mass.: Allyn and Bacon, 2002), p. 330. vocabulary logs and practice using the is a Professor of Education at Oakwood Col- 5. Pamela J. Farris, Carol J. Fuhler, and words in activities ranging from cross- lege in Huntsville,Alabama. Maria P. Walther, Teaching Reading: A Balanced words to research word histories to Approach for Today’s Classrooms (New York: Mc-

Diagnostic Checklist for Vocabulary Development (Primary Grades) Yes No

1. The child shows vocabulary consciousness by recognizing that some words have more than one meaning.

2. The child uses context clues to figure out word meanings.

3. The child can state the opposite of words such as stop, tall, fat, long, happy, big.

4. The child can provide synonyms for words such as big, heavy, thin, mean, fast, hit.

5. The child can give meanings for homographs (words that are spelled the same but have different meanings based on their use in a sentence). Examples: I did not state what state I live in. Do not roll the roll on the floor. Train your dog not to bark when he hears a train.

6. The child has developed a sense vocabulary to describe various sounds, smells, signs, tastes, and touches.

7. The child is expanding his or her vocabulary by combining words to form compounds such as grandfather, bedroom, cupcake, backyard, toothpick, buttercup, firefighter.

8. The child is expanding his or her vocabulary by combining roots of words with prefixes and suf- fixes. Examples: return, friendly, unhappy, disagree, dirty, precook, unfriendly.

9. The child is able to give the answer to a number of word riddles.

10. The child is able to create a number of word riddles.

11. The child is able to classify various objects such as fruits, animals, colors, pets, and so on.

12. The child is able to give words that are associated with certain objects and ideas. Example: hospital—nurse, doctor, beds, sick persons, medicine, and so on.

13. The child is able to complete some analogies, such as Happy is to sad as fat is to ______.

14. The child shows that he or she is developing vocabulary consciousness by using the dictionary to look up unknown words.

36 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 37

Diagnostic Checklist for Vocabulary Development (Intermediate Grades) Yes No

1. The student recognizes that many words have more than one meaning.

2. The student uses context clues to figure out the meaning.

3. The student can give synonyms for words such as similar, secluded, passive, brief, old, cryptic, anxious.

4. The student can give antonyms for words such as prior, most, less, best, optimist, rash, humble, content.

5. The student can identify different meanings for homographs (words that are spelled the same but have different meanings based on their use in a sentence). For example: It is against the law to litter the streets. The man was placed on the litter in the ambulance. My dog gave birth to a litter of puppies.

6. The student is able to use word parts to figure out word meanings.

7. The student is able to use word parts to build words.

8. The student is able to complete analogy statements or proportions.

9. The student is able to give the connotative meaning of a number of words.

10. The student is able to work with word categories.

11. The student is able to answer a number of word riddles.

12. The student is able to create a number of word riddles.

13. The student uses the dictionary to find word meanings.

Graw-Hill, 2004), pp. 379-380. 6. Robert B. Ruddell, Teaching Children to Read and Write: Becoming an Effective Literacy Teacher, Third Edition (Boston, Mass.: Allyn and Bacon, 2002), p. 153. 7. National Reading Panel, p. 14. 8. Farris, Fuhler, and Walther, pp. 381, 382. 9. Rhonda Holt Atkinson and Debbie Guice Longman, Vocabulary for College and Beyond (St. Paul, Minn.: West, 1990), p. 44. 10. Thomas G. Gunning, Creating Literacy Instruction for All Children, Third Edition (Boston, Picture Removed Mass.: Allyn and Bacon, 2000), pp. 150-153. 11. National Reading Panel, pp. 13-15. 12. Betty D. Roe, Sandy H. Smith, and Paul C. Burns, Teaching Reading in Today’s Elementary Schools, Ninth Edition (Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin, 2005), p. 131. 13. Gail E. Tompkins, Literacy for the Twenty-first Century: A Balanced Approach (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1997), p. 179. 14. Ruth H. Yopp and Hallie K. Yopp, “Time With Text,” Reading Teacher 57:3 (November 2003), p. 285. 15. Ibid, p. 285. 16. Tompkins, p. 190. tice-Hall, 2006), pp. 154-156. 20. Donald J. Leu, Jr., and Charles K. 17. Roe, Smith, and Burns, p. 152. 19. Camille Blachowicz and Peter Fisher, Kinzer, Effective Literacy Instruction, K-8, Fourth 18. Frank B. May, Teaching Reading Cre- Teaching Vocabulary in All Classrooms, Second Edition (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, atively: Reading and Writing as Communication, Edition (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson Edu- 1999), p. 116. Seventh Edition (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pren- cation, 2002), pp. 32, 33. 21. Rubin, pp. 341, 342.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 37 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 38

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This: Teacher Read- Alouds as a Powerful Instructional Tool

t a professional conference, James Bovel* and Connie Yashima* have the opportunity to discuss their classroom challenges with literacy expert Lucy ACalkins. Although James teaches “How can we empower struggling grades 3-8, and Connie teaches grades readers and writers? What should we “Consider put- K-2, their concerns are similar. do about the number of students com- ting teacher Calkins listens as they try to frame ing to our classrooms with limited their challenges in a positive way. English skills? How about those who read-aloud at “With such diversity in age and ability, can read but don’t? the heart of how do we help students connect con- “And finally, so many of our stu- tent with real life? What can be done dents come to us with aching hearts your instruction to build a powerful repertoire of back- and stressed-out lives. How do we fit ground knowledge? What methods can in time to create classroom communi- throughout the we use to ensure that our students in- ties that help us bond as a class?” day.” vest more in the learning process? As Calkins listens, her eyes begin to twinkle, and a smile lights up her *Not their real names. face. “It’s as simple as changing one BY KRYSTAL BISHOP AND KARI GRISWOLD

38 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/26/06 2:21 PM Page 39

Focusing on part of your program. Consider putting strategies good Paulsen’s wise advice, “Read like a wolf teacher read-aloud at the heart of your eats.”3 Instead of spending all of your instruction throughout the day.”1 readers use will time pouring over teacher’s guides, cre- Calkins isn’t the only one offering ating activities that are used up in min- this advice. Many experts agree, in- enable you to utes, and grading endless papers—be- cluding Jim Trelease, Mem Fox, and teach effectively gin reading. The more you read, the Mary Lee Hahn. In fact, Laura Robb more voracious your own reading ap- bases an entire literacy program for at- as you read petite will become. You just won’t be risk emergent readers on reading aloud. able to get enough. aloud.2 Like the authors of this article, Permit yourself to be inoculated you will find yourself mesmerized with with the joy that such reading brings. the infinite array of teaching and learn- Inoculate With Passion But don’t stop there. Keep your stu- ing possibilities afforded by reading As teachers, we would be wise to dents in mind. How will you use what aloud to students. follow children’s book author Gary you know to help them learn what

Picture Removed

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 39 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 40

Use your enthu- good readers do? Examine your own siasm about that needs to be taught and learned. In reading life so you will know reading actuality, reading aloud provides many from the inside out. reading to inoc- opportunities for instruction and strat- To keep read-aloud at the heart of egy practice; it enhances both teaching your reading instruction, become more ulate your stu- and learning. metacognitive as you read. Highlight dents against Rather than something to fill empty vocabulary words. Make notes to help time, reading aloud should be the guide the listeners. Use sticky notes to aliteracy (being heart and soul of daily instruction. It mark where you use specific reading able to read but should be an intentional teaching tool strategies such as activating prior to help all students gain valuable read- knowledge, determining important choosing not to ing strategies to use in their own lives. ideas, asking questions, visualizing, in- do so). Use read-alouds to help students conferring, synthesizing, and asking ques- struct for themselves what good read- tions.4 Pause to wonder, clarify, ques- ers and writers do. Here is a small tion, and respond. Focusing on plot, and getting to know the charac- sampling of some strategies for reading strategies good readers use will enable ters. aloud: you to teach effectively as you read Ask fewer literal questions, and in- Read-aloud is a natural venue for aloud. You will find yourself eager to stead, emphasize open-ended literary modeling before, during, and after intentionally model what you do as a questions. Such questions will enable reading strategies. For example, a reader as you converse about the students to discuss multiple possibili- teacher may model the strategy of pre- shared experience of reading aloud. ties, listen to varying perspectives, and diction by doing a picture walk Now, use your enthusiasm about examine the text more carefully. Your through the book before reading a reading to inoculate your students questions will lead students to raise word of it. During the reading of the against aliteracy (being able to read but further questions.8 On some days, book, the teacher may model how choosing not to do so). Acquaint them there will be more talk than reading as readers monitor for understanding as with your favorite authors and illustra- you allow your students to follow a they read. When the book is finished, tors. Show them the books you are thread of important thinking. the teacher can have students do a reading now and the ones you want to Other ways to get students engaged think-pair-share to discuss how their read in the future. Let them hear you with the text include using props such predictions matched what really hap- agonize over which book to read next. as music, pictures, maps, diagrams, pened in the story and how predicting Invite them and their parents to join a and food. Use your creativity to keep helped them to understand the story book club. the students thinking and talking. better. Robb cites a 1982-1983 study in which Reading aloud is also the most ef- Just Let Them Talk Shirley Brice Heath found that children fective way to introduce students to Lucy Calkins is convinced that the who did well throughout school had the structures of text. Before you begin most powerful way to help students parents who read aloud and interacted to read, help students to become ac- think about and make meaning from with them as they read. This contrasted quainted with the book. Use the cover, text is to engage them in talking about with children who did well with work- dedication, and table of contents to in- what they read.5 Vygotsky emphasizes books and drill sheets in the early troduce the book. Survey chapter titles the role of language in learning as well, grades but began to fall behind by 3rd and illustrations. Read the information stating that “the more complex the ac- grade. These children had parents who on the back cover. Get to know the au- tion [comprehension], the greater the read aloud but failed to include inter- thor and illustrator by reading author/- importance played by speech . . . . action while reading.9 Thus, to maxi- illustrator notes. Use the book to show Sometimes speech becomes of such vi- mize the benefits of reading aloud, let the different structures for fact and fic- tal importance that, if not permitted to students talk about the text. tion books. use it, young children cannot accom- In addition to teaching reading plish the given task.”6 Learning Without Trying strategies, read-aloud can also be a Students talking during read- Every day, it seems the challenges great way to teach writing strategies. It aloud? What will they talk about? En- of teaching and learning multiply. Stu- provides an exceptional opportunity courage them to tell what is happening dents are expected to learn more, pro- for teachers to point out specific tech- inside their brain as you read.7 What duce more, and test better while sup- niques, interesting vocabulary, and do they hear, visualize, think? What port from outside of school seems to writers’ craft used by authors. Students questions do they have? What connec- diminish. It weighs heavily on the can record these ideas in writers’ note- tions are they making? What new un- hearts of many teachers that they don’t books to use in their own writing. derstandings are being created? Engage have time to do things like read aloud Although reading aloud should be the students in finding clues, analyzing to their students. There is just so much at the heart of reading instruction, it is

40 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 41

not the only step in the process of and enjoyable environment. It just teach retelling and summarizing. And teaching literacy strategies. Instead, it doesn’t get any better than this! often reluctant readers will pick up the is more like a lid that opens a treasure text and read it independently.10 chest full of tools to be used by readers The Long Farewell Creating a timeline of read-alouds, and writers. It is a time to introduce When students and teachers really a Read Aloud Gallery, and birthday strategies and model them. Eventually, get to know the text through interac- rereads are ways to return to favorite the teacher will turn over the responsi- tive read-alouds, it feels right to linger parts of books. You can also try book bility to the students as they use the with the book. Lingering increases the treasures. At the end of the read-aloud, lessons learned in read-aloud during benefits obtained during the reading. each student is given a card containing their own reading and writing. These Students are reluctant to bid farewell a powerful quote from the book. On strategies will enable students to ex- to ideas and characters with whom the card, they write the title of the periment with and perfect their own they have created relationships. Linger- book, rate it, and write an explanation literacy skills. ing activities include rereading favorite for the rating. Then each student re- As teachers practice reading aloud, passages, looking for specific informa- ceives a simple treasure that represents they refine their vision for instruction. tion, taking another look at the con- something in the book (i.e., a feather Teachers can use what they discover to tent, studying literary techniques, and for Blanca’s Feather, kernels of rice for help them dig more deeply, using read- using the text to construct understand- Nyla and the White Crocodile). Each stu- aloud to create a balance of pleasure, ings of literary craft and characteristics dent saves his or her treasures in a story, information, talk, teaching, and of genre. Discussions may focus on large, reclosable plastic bag. Through- learning. As a result, students become ways what was learned can be applied out the year, they are given time to re- better readers and writers while meet- to one’s reading life. Students will move the book treasures and revisit ing required content standards and ex- think of projects that extend the learn- the books. Their talk may center pectations in a rich, non-threatening, ing. Lingering is the perfect time to around text-to-text, text-to-self, or Ask fewer literal questions, and instead, emphasize open-ended literary questions.

text-to-world connections. Reading aloud makes it difficult to pry a book out of the hearts and minds of students. It just doesn’t get better than this—until you realize that there Picture Removed are even more benefits afforded by reading aloud.

It Just Keeps Getting Better Consider the benefits of reading aloud to your students. When teachers read aloud, it creates infinite learning opportunities in literacy skills and strategies as well as in the content areas. It is one of the easiest and most effective ways to model what good readers do. Teachers can introduce favorite books and authors to students. Stu- dents can be nudged to extend their reading to a new author or genre. Reading aloud can also meet the needs of a diverse student population be-

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 41 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:42 AM Page 42

Rather than cause it spans ages, interests, and read- something to fill your students have problems, use a ing levels. read-aloud that addresses the problem. Reading aloud promotes learning empty time, As you notice areas of weakness in without trying. It is a great way to ex- reading aloud your students’ reading and writing, tend content area learning as students find something to read with them that explore related books, both narrative should be the will address those weaknesses. As you and expository. It enhances critical vo- read like a writer, your students will cabulary development by increasing heart and soul begin to excel at writing. Take the time listening vocabulary, which then over- of daily instruc- to model yourself what readers do. flows into speaking, reading, and writ- Read—every day, throughout the day. ing vocabulary. It helps to increase flu- tion. You’ll prove to yourself and your stu- ency, another critical aspect of reading dents that it just doesn’t get better than development, and comprehension, monitor comprehension. Watch your this. ✐ since most children’s listening level is students’ faces and listen for reactions, ______higher than their reading level. Atten- comments, and questions that indicate Krystal Bishop, Ed.D., tion span increases with student in- that they are clarifying, inferring, or is a Professor of Education at volvement in frequent read-aloud ses- wondering about the meanings of Southern Adventist Univer- sions. Grammar expertise becomes words. Take note of other contexts in sity (SAU) in Collegedale, contagious as they repeatedly hear the which students talk/write about the Tennsesee. She developed the rhythm and flow of the written word. content of read-alouds. Encourage M.S.Ed. Program in Literacy Krystal Bishop Read-aloud also promotes the impor- them to create projects that extend the at SAU and is its principal Kari Griswold, tant strategy of rereading when stu- experience. Watch for evidence of new instructor. M.S.Ed., teaches kinder- dents decide to have a favorite read- skills and strategies that show up in garten at Eastside Elementary aloud reread to them or read it for your students’ independent reading School in Dalton, Georgia. 11 themselves. and writing. At the time this article was Reading aloud reaches us and our Periodically, Hahn surveys her stu- written, she was a graduate students at the very deepest level. It dents with questions such as, “What is student at SAU. promotes connections between teach- your favorite thing about read-aloud? Kari Griswold ______ers and students. For a few minutes, What happens inside your brain dur- the teacher can use voice to bring a ing read-aloud? Did you learn any- REFERENCES story to life. As this happens, students thing about reading during read-aloud 1. Lucy Calkins, The Art of Teaching Reading hear a different voice than that of the that you used during your own read- (New York: Addison-Wesley, 2001), p. 63. teacher. Positive connections are cre- ing? What else did you learn during 2. Laura Robb, Literacy Links: Practical ated with students—they enjoy being read-aloud?”13 Strategies to Develop the Emergent Literacy At-Risk read to. Bonding occurs as teachers Here is the ultimate proof of the ef- Children Need (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, and students laugh, wonder, gasp, and fectiveness of reading aloud. Your stu- 2003). 3. James S. Jacobs and Michael O. Tunnell, empathize. Important habits of mind dents Children’s Literature, Briefly, Third Edition (Upper are reinforced. The deepest hopes and • Read with expression and inter- Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2004), p. 10. fears are brought to the surface for est; 4. Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmer- both the reader and listeners. Students • Read for longer periods of time; man, Mosaic of Thought: Teaching Comprehension in a Reader’s Workshop (Portsmouth: Heinemann, learn how to make good moral choices • Read for information and pleas- 1997). as they examine the ways book char- ure; 5. Calkins, p. 226. acters deal with difficult situations. • Recommend books to one an- 6. Carol Avery, . . . And With a Light Touch, Through read-alouds, both the teacher other and to you; and Second Edition (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2002), p. 12. and the students are learning and shar- • Are passionate about reading. 7. Mary Lee Hahn, Reconsidering Read-Aloud ing. And the more you do it, the better (Portland, Maine: Stenhouse, 2002), p. 12. it gets. Just Can’t Get Enough 8. Regie Routman, Reading Essentials: The We challenge you to carve out Specifics You Need to Teach Reading Well (Ports- Proving It greater chunks of time throughout mouth: Heinemann, 2003). 9. Robb, p. 85. Beloved children’s author (and lit- each day to read aloud to your stu- 10. Hahn, pp. 43, 44. eracy expert) Mem Fox contends that dents. Make it the heart of your read- 11. Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, if every caring adult read aloud a mini- ing program and your instructional Fifth Edition (New York: Penguin, 2001), pp. 1- mum of three stories a day to the chil- day. Find time every day to read for 24. 12. Mem Fox, Reading Magic: Why Reading dren in their lives, we might wipe out fun. Locate irresistible information Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives For- 12 illiteracy in one generation. books to enhance content areas and ever (San Diego: Harcourt, 2001), p. 12. During read-aloud, you can easily build background knowledge. When 13. Hahn, p. 105.

42 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 43

REVISITING WRITING WORKSHOP

t the end of an- Too much cannot be said in re- other week of gard to the importance of thor- teaching, Mary oughness in these lines.”1 stands by her She expanded upon this ad- desk, looking at vice by expressing the following the pile of stu- wish: dent writing “In all our schools special care “It is my wish that the chil- Ashe has promised to grade over dren study and write some each the weekend. Sighing to her- should be taken to teach the day. . . If the children have a self, she wonders aloud, “Why purpose and a will they can ad- am I creating so much work for students to use the English lan- vance in knowledge daily. . . .If myself? Every weekend, that guage correctly in speaking, the children would practice in seems to be all I do, grade stu- writing following closely the dent writing. I just don’t know reading, and writing. Too much copy books and making use of if I can keep this up!” cannot be said in regard to the the instruction they have had in During the early years of writing they can by practice be- Adventist education, Ellen importance of thoroughness in come good writers. But patience White, when giving counsel for these lines.” is required in this, as well as teachers in the church’s fledg- other things.”2 ling church schools, considered These quotes are powerful writing instruction an essential ingredient of the language statements supporting the inclusion of writing in every curriculum: school’s curriculum. Notwithstanding, in more then a few “One of the fundamental branches of learning is lan- Adventist classrooms I have visited in North America, stu- guage study. In all our schools special care should be taken dents experience minimal direct writing instruction. When I to teach the students to use the ask teachers if they have ever English language correctly in BY RAY OSTRANDER considered using writing work- speaking, reading, and writing. shop, most say they have been

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 43 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 44

With the exception of introduced to it but don’t feel they reading and math, The writing workshop provides a have enough information to implement framework in which the teacher can it. So I believe it is time to revisit writ- students are asked to create and manage the structure in ing workshop. That, then, is the pur- do more with writing which the writing process takes place. pose of this article, to review some es- According to Donald Graves, using sentials of writing workshop along than with any other writing workshop creates an optimum with supplemental information to writing experience for students.9 make it easier to use. academic skill. More than a few teachers have told me that writing workshop is not easy Considering the Writing Reality pen, or depress a key, precisely and to implement. Upon investigation, I It’s probably no accident that most fluidly to render letters, remember have found three major factors that adults seek employment in jobs that rules of grammar and syntax, place our make writing workshop difficult. First, require little if any writing.3 Children, thoughts in an order that makes sense, many teachers have not been trained however, do not have that luxury. and think ahead to what we want to to use it and have not experienced it From 1st grade on, they are involved write next.”5 As writing tasks become themselves. While they have read in some form of writing nearly every more difficult and complex, students about it or heard it discussed in work- day. With the exception of reading and must invoke a wider range of skills— shops or conferences, they lack the ex- math, students are asked to do more not just writing legibly, logically, and in periential element. Second, many have with writing than with any other aca- an organized way, but also being able not seen other teachers use writing demic skill. And, as they progress to recall and apply rules of grammar workshop effectively, so they are miss- through school, not only do the num- and syntax as well as appropriate vo- ing an effective best-practices model. ber and diversity of writing assign- cabulary. Combining all these and Another fact that intimidates some ments increase, but also the sophistica- other elements of language use makes teachers is that in a writing workshop, tion of the writing skills required. writing the most complex and difficult teachers and children assume different Homework, class work, note taking, of the language process.6 roles. Children take more ownership essay tests—all increase across the cur- The implications for elementary and control of their writing. Teachers riculum as students progress. Further- teachers seem obvious. Students need spend less time with whole-group in- more, with the increased emphasis on help to master appropriate motor skills struction and more time conferencing high-stakes testing, more and more and language development skills. For with students, working one-on-one or students face tests that include ques- students who have not achieved mas- in small groups. tions requiring them to write short tery in previous grades, teachers must However, like any new skill, with paragraphs and essays.4 first address their instructional needs practice, teachers become comfortable There is much more to writing before they can help them reach their with and look forward to writing than coming up with a good idea. academic potential. Some students workshop time. Nancy Atwell and Learning to write is similar to learning seem to take to language like ducks to Lucy Calkins note that reports from to speak, read, or play a musical in- water, while other students react like a teachers and parents indicate that writ- strument. All involve developmental cat facing a bath. However, the “skill of ing workshop has a positive effect on skills and sequential processes. If writ- writing correctly will not come to them students’ development as writers.10 ing is taught appropriately, new skills without an effort on their part. . . .”7 Thus, establishing a writing workshop build on those acquired earlier. is well worth the effort. Writing is hard work! Compared to Creating a Positive Environment other academic activities, it requires What can teachers do to help stu- Creating a Positive Environment more fine motor control, attention, dents become successful writers? I be- To create a positive environment language, and memory. During early lieve that providing structure for the for writing, teachers must involve their handwriting exercises, children must writing process through the use of a students in reading. Don Murray, a combine complex physical and cog- writing workshop is the answer. For writing educator, states that “text can nitive processes to render letters pre- those who are unfamiliar with these supply us with information that we cisely and fluidly. From this early terms, writing process refers to five can use in any form of writing. Or it formation of letters to writing an argu- stages of writing: prewriting, drafting, can simply spark an idea.”11 Similarly, mentative essay, “writing involves per- revising, editing, and sharing/publishing. Jane Hansen states that students who haps more subskills than any other ac- While these five stages seem to suggest are immersed in a text-rich environ- ademic task. To write well requires a linear progression, Nancy Atwell re- ment (such as stories, magazines, combining multiple physical and men- minds us the writing process is actually newspapers, biographies, and poems) tal processes in one concerted effort to recursive.8 In other words, students can gain a much better understanding of convey information and ideas. We be editing while they are drafting, and sentence structure and writing conven- must, for instance, be able to move a can share before they revise. tions, as well as a sense of syntactical

44 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 45

competence. Texts provide models for erature for the first time, reading aloud dent writing in various stages.18 students to examine. By reading to them helps “build the important Be sure to set aside a regularly widely, they discover graphic and lin- foundation they need to grow as read- scheduled time for writing. This en- guistic features embedded in text, such ers and writers.”17 In short, students ables students to begin to mentally re- as how authors start stories and create who frequently read and listen to mul- view the tasks they have completed humor, how authors report about a tiple genres of writing become better and to plan future writing tasks. subject or create engaging dialogue, writers. Therefore, students need daily Writing should be scheduled for no etc. When students can explicitly ex- access to a wide variety of reading ma- fewer than three days a week. When plore, analyze, and study texts, they terial. they engage in writing less frequently, learn how authors construct books, students lose the momentum necessary what strategies they use, what ques- A Place for Writing for successful continuation of their tions they ask, and what decisions they Another important factor in writing writing projects. Long lapses mean must make about content, characteri- success is the environment. Nancy lengthy review to restart and the loss zation, and tone.12 Atwell posits that most professional of ideas that usually occur as students Furthermore, students’ reading ex- writers have a particular place they mentally rehearse their writing. periences act as a springboard for writ- prefer to be when they write. Here ing ideas, especially among younger they have access to the tools they need Enabling Student Ownership and writers.13 Jim Trelease points out that for writing and feel at ease, mentally Success when students have many experiences and physically. Student writers, too, For a successful writing workshop, with text, this enables them to inter- need such a place. If at all possible, teachers need to help students assume nalize the structures and sounds of reserve certain areas of the classroom ownership of their own writing. This print.14 Reading specialists such as for writing. In these areas should be occurs, in part, by making it possible Dressel,15 Piazza, and Tompkins16 state books, magazines, newspapers, and a for students to retrieve, store, and or- that students who hear texts read bulletin board for posting writing ganize their writing projects. These aloud frequently become better writers work; computer(s) and printer, mark- materials are kept in file or storage and are able to use longer, more com- ers, stapler, thesaurus, stencils, dic- boxes, ideally in hanging folders. Each plex sentences. Likewise, Ralph tionary, correction fluid, stationery, student should have two folders, one Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi both envelopes, private writing and confer- for work in progress and one for com- note that for students experiencing lit- encing spaces; and stack trays for stu- pleted work. When students are ready

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 45 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 46

to write, they go to the storage file and be introduced and used consistently. turned, the value of any feedback from retrieve their work. After the writing Having a common language about the instructor was lost. The lack of session is over, they place their work writing takes away some of its mystery prompt response is one reason why in the appropriate folder in reverse and levels the playing field to ensure students fail to put forth as much ef- chronological order. In this way, cur- understanding. Not only will ALL stu- fort as they could. Delayed feedback rent writing projects are always in dents know what their teachers are comes too late to do much good. One front. Having students assume this re- talking about, but students will also of the beauties of writing workshop is sponsibility not only ensures that they have a vocabulary to use in communi- that students submit papers for teacher take ownership of their writing, it also cating with their teachers, as well. evaluation at various times, not all on frees the teacher to circulate, confer- The teaching of writing usually fol- one day as with traditional writing ence, and work with small groups of lows the adage “do as I say.” This poses projects. This means that teachers do students on a mini-lesson follow-up in a problem. If students never see their not have 40 essays to grade all at one order to reinforce various writing skills teachers writing or hear them share time. as needed. personal experiences with writing, they Writing workshop is designed so Teachers’ response to student writ- may conclude that writing is not that that teachers provide immediate feed- ing is another factor that affects stu- back through frequent face-to-face dent success. All writing has an ele- Learning to write is conferences with students. The work- ment of vulnerability, no matter who is similar to learning to shop approach fosters student confi- doing it. Student writers are especially dence in the teacher’s comments and vulnerable. Therefore, they need nur- speak, read, or play a encourages the implementation of turing responses from their teachers. shared ideas. Since the face-to-face This does not imply that teachers musical instrument. All conferences occur while students are should give meaningless praise, but involve developmen- writing, teachers must learn to wait for they should try to find at least one student reaction and listen carefully positive element in every paper. tal skills and sequen- before responding. When students are churning out tial processes. During the workshop, teachers writing, correction has a chilling effect must relate to the pupils first as writers on their work. So does prolonged con- and then as students. Therefore, the versation. “I like how. . .” or “I like important and has no personal value student writer becomes the focus. His what . . .” is all that needs to be said. to their teacher. And if their teacher or her response has a lot to do with Thus, before reading the entire paper, does not value it, how can they be ex- the feedback received. Asking students the teacher should look for positives. pected to do so? Therefore, teachers who, what, where, when, why, and how Corrections can occur as students have to model writing tasks. This does questions helps them talk about their move to the revising and editing not mean writing about exotic, spec- writing. This in turn helps the teacher stages. When the teacher consistently tacular, earth-shattering events. How to restate what he or she is hearing. If uses an “accentuate the positive” ap- many people’s weeks are punctuated it is not what the student intended, the proach, students will be less likely to by extraordinary events? But everyone teacher uses the student’s words as re- tense up when he or she approaches has stories about everyday life, about focusing tools, encouraging the student their desks while they are writing, be- their passions, and about their past. to “write what you told me.” cause they have learned from prior ex- Such events can be written about in Teachers must remember not to perience that the instructor is looking journals, letters, diaries, poems, etc. make student writing mistakes the fo- for the positives.19 That is motivating. The key is to let students see their cus of a conference. Meaning is every- teachers writing, refer occasionally to thing. For example, meaning comes Creating a Culture for Writing writing, and even read aloud some- from knowing specifically what the How do teachers create a writing thing they have written. How can a student ate—i.e., macaroni, rather culture in their classrooms? First, they person teach about something he or than food. If macaroni is misspelled, should compile a common set of terms she knows nothing about? How can the editing cycle is the place to address related to writing and use them consis- teachers help students solve writing that mistake. The central goal is for the tently. This means that early in the problems they have not experienced students to convey meaning. If they fo- school year, when establishing writing and surmounted? cus on avoiding mistakes, they will be workshop procedures, teachers need to less likely to elaborate beyond the introduce students to the jargon of Facilitating Feedback “bare facts” and more likely to write writing. Terms like brainstorm, sloppy More than a few teachers have general, bland, “safe” accounts instead. copy, draft, revise, edit, author’s chair, written papers in graduate school and publish, conference, topic, response, audi- wondered how well they did. Weeks or Peer Input and Group Sharing ence, dialogue, insert, delete, etc., should months later, when the papers were re- Peer input is another forum for

46 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | FEBRUARY/MARCH 2006 46 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 47

feedback. One element of writing pressions. This means that teachers Ray Ostrander, who taught workshop I really appreciate is group must keep their own biases in check English Language Arts for 17 sharing. This can occur in small focus when listening and responding to stu- years in K-12 schools, is an Associate Professor and Direc- groups or as a large group through dents. tor of the Master of Arts in the use of author’s chair, a process Literacy teachers must keep several Teaching program in the De- whereby a student reads part or all of important considerations in mind: (1) partment of Teaching, Learn- his or her work to a large group. How- They themselves need to engage in ing, and Curriculum at An- ever, teachers must make certain to writing in some form—such as poems, drews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, where he teaches, among other courses, methods create an environment that allows such journals, or narratives. (2) Writing for the teaching of writing in K-12 classrooms. sharing to occur. Students can be bru- workshop should be included in every ______tal, so part of being a writing facilitator elementary and secondary literacy edu- REFERENCES is to ensure that put-downs such as cator curriculum, for when used as de- “that’s dumb” or “that’s stupid” do not signed, its structure eliminates the 1. Ellen G. White, Counsels to Parents, Teach- ers, and Students (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific occur. First, the teacher must discuss weekend paper-grading crunch and Press Publ. Assn., 1913), p. 216. why people blurt out words like dumb enables more extensive student writ- 2. Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, Vol. 5, Excerpts from E. G. White Messages Found in the Newly Discovered Collection, MR. No. 337 (Moun- tain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn., 1871), p. 429. 3. PBS, “Misunderstood Minds: Basics of Writing,” accessed October 13, 2005, at http:// www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/ writingbasics.html. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. Ibid. 7. Ellen G. White, Manuscript Releases, p. 429. 8. Nancie Atwell, In the Middle: New Under- standings About Writing, Reading, and Learning, Second Edition (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 1998); Lucy McCormick Calkins, The Art of Teaching Writing, Second Edition (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1994); Gail E. Tompkins, Teaching Writing: Balancing Process and Product, Fourth Edition (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2004). 9. Ibid.; and Donald H. Graves, A Fresh Look at Writing (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1994). 10. Atwell; Calkins; and Jack Wilde, A Door Opens: Writing in Fifth Grade (Portsmouth: Heine- mann, 1993). 11. Donald M. Murray, Write to Learn, Third Edition (Ft. Worth, Texas: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1990), p. 44. 12. Jane Hansen, When Writers Read, Second Edition (Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2001). 13. Carolyn L. Piazza, Journeys: The Teaching of Writing in Elementary Classrooms (Upper Sad- dle River, N.J.: Merrill, 2003). 14. Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook or stupid. Usually, these statements in- ing. (3) Frequent reading must be part (New York: Penguin, 1982). dicate discomfort or a lack of under- of a literacy program. Reading enables 15. Janice Hartwick Dressel, “The Effects of standing. The teacher’s role is to help writing. The more the two are linked, Listening to and Discussing Different Qualities of Children’s Literature on the Narrative Writing of students “unpack” such feelings. He or the greater competence students will Fifth Graders,” Research in the Teaching of English she can do this by establishing rules have with language. (4) Finally, don’t 24:4 (December 1990), pp. 397-414. for response and addressing putdowns despair if you try implementing a writ- 16. Piazza; Tompkins. as they occur, discussing and modeling ing workshop and it doesn’t seem to 17. Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi, alternative ways to express feelings. work. Change is always fraught with Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide (Ports- mouth: Heinemann, 2001), p. 77. Helping students learn more accept- uncertainty. Seek advice from books, 18. Atwell. able ways to respond often requires articles, and other literacy educators 19. Ibid.; Calkins; Murray; Piazza; and frequent modeling of alternative ex- who are making it work. ✐ Tompkins.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 47 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 48

Reading and Writing: The Autobiographical Connection

he dominance of prose and poetry in the cur- Finding Material riculum of the Seventh-day Adventist high My students read two autobiographies and write a series school leaves little time for the study of autobi- of four- to seven-page autobiographical anecdotes inspired ography. The neglect is puzzling because read- by these accounts.2 High school students, unfortunately, ing and writing autobiographies can open the tend to overlook their past as a source of insight about the eyes and hearts of many students. present and the future and often moan that nothing worth TIn the summer of 1988, sponsored by a grant from the writing about has ever happened to them. Most of what oc- Council for Basic Education, I traveled through Minnesota, curs in their lives may seem inconsequential: the first Iowa, Illinois, and Missouri interviewing retired employees boyfriend or girlfriend, the birth of a sibling, a Pathfinder of the Chicago Great Western Railway for an oral history trip into the wilderness, or working with a parent to build a project.1 Everyone, I learned, had a story to tell. After house or repair a motor. A well-chosen autobiography can spending six weeks on the project, I returned home with a inspire students to reflect on these experiences. Dennis wealth of experiences recorded on tape and the inspiration Ledoux notes that students often discover meaning as they to create a reading/writing write their stories.3 However, course, “The Art of Autobiog- BY THOMAS L. BAKER the teacher must first carefully raphy.” choose autobiographies for the

48 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/26/06 2:21 PM Page 49

My students students to read. A good choice will read two auto- square, well-shaped load.7 provide positive models for a variety of Chistensen’s “verb clusters” are the writing assignments. Not all personal biographies traditional participial construction, but accounts offer the inspiration begin- and write a se- most of his examples—and Hearst’s as ning writers need for writing their own well—place the participle after the stories. ries of four- to noun or pronoun they modify rather I chose autobiographies that would seven-page than before it. Professional writers ap- convince my students that they, too, parently find the post-modifier posi- could write personal stories about ex- autobiographi- tion more natural to English usage, al- periences similar to the ones they read. cal anecdotes though many grammar textbooks insist One was James Hearst’s Time Like a that the participial construction should Furrow; the other was Days of Rondo by inspired by precede the word it modifies. Evelyn Fairbanks.4 Hearst grew up in a these ac- To make my point, I use examples rural environment on a farm near from various narrative writers and re- Cedar Falls, Iowa; Fairbanks grew up counts. quire students to diagram them as il- in an urban setting in St. Paul, Min- lustrated in the examples cited above. nesota. Both writers selected incidents tion; and the appositive. These six ele- After some practice with sentences from their lives rather than relating an ments enliven a narrative and create a written by published writers, students entire life history. Hearst’s volume may sense of movement. are ready to incorporate similar struc- seem pedestrian, with its chapter titles tures in their own narratives. such as: “Church,” “Relatives,” “Coun- Sentence Structure for Narrative try School,” and “The Grove,” but the Writing Verb Action Patterns content resonates with the experiences Although they were published Another narrative structure also of most students. Fairbanks’ chapter ti- some 40 years ago, Francis Chris- conveys the impression of movement. tles are similarly unassuming: “God,” tensen’s insights about sentence struc- Two- and three-verb action patterns “Orphans Are Made by Social Work- ture offer a model for teaching stu- encourage students to select action ers,” and “Being Black in Minnesota.” dents how to write absolutes and what verbs rather than statal verbs. In a As they read, students begin to see Christensen calls verb clusters.6 The chapter entitled “Dansk,” Hearst de- that if Hearst or Fairbanks can find following examples taken from James scribes a contest of strength between meaning in such seemingly unimpor- Hearst, analyzed as Christensen advo- his father and a young Danish farmer: tant experiences, so can they. Every cated, illustrate two important types of “Father and Soren shifted and braced other fall semester since 1988, my stu- sentences often found in narrative their feet.” The simple two-verb action dents have created stories from the writing: pattern conveys an image of two men depths of their memories and their 1 He put the saw in the box, preparing for a struggle. A writer could hearts—accounts that amuse and occa- 2 the teeth protected by an old use any number of verbs in a rapid-fire sionally shock or sadden me and their horse blanket. description of action, but the three- classmates. The structure labeled “1” can stand verb action pattern seems to offer a Two major factors influence the alone. Christensen identifies it as the pleasing and resonant balance for a se- power and candor of students writing base clause. The structure labeled “2” ries of actions: “He [Hearst’s father] about their lives. First, a primary value cannot stand alone and must be at- climbed up on the load of logs, took of teaching nonfiction is the “direct- tached to a base clause. It has its own the lines, and spoke to the horses.”8 ness and sense of honesty that comes subject, teeth, and verb, protected. As When students have practiced writing with a single voice telling things as an absolute, it modifies the verb put in sentences using the two- or three-verb they are seen by that person.” Second, the base clause by detailing exactly action pattern, they are less likely to students begin to copy stylistic features how he, the subject of the base, put rely heavily on the soporific to be from the documents they are reading.5 the saw in the box. verbs. Students also need to practice In my course, I focus on six stylis- What Christensen calls a verb clus- sentences with appositives and dia- tic features present in the autobiogra- ter has a slightly different function. In logue, a more familiar topic in writing phies we read in class and common to a chapter entitled “Relatives,” Hearst classes. most narrative writing: The use of dia- describes his hard-working father: The purpose of this brief discus- logue to replace some indirect dis- 1 He could and did load twenty sion is to illustrate one way—though course, the two-verb action pattern, loads of hay a day, by no means the only one—to develop the three-verb action pattern, the par- 2 standing on a swaying wagon students’ awareness of structures that ticipial phrase placed where writers and pitching the hay up to the end of will enliven their narrative writing. generally place it—at the end of the a sixteen-foot rack, Professional writers use absolutes, verb base sentence; the absolute construc- 2 at the same time building a clusters, two- and three-verb action

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 49 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 50

I chose autobi- Notes Toward a New Rhetoric: Six Essays for Teach- patterns, appositives, and dialogue reg- ographies that ers (New York: Harper & Row, 1967), pp. 1-22; ularly. Beginning writers do not, but see also William B. Spivey, Strengthening Student finding such structures in narrative would con- Writing: Resource Handbook (Murrieta, Calif.: writing and emulating them when they A.E.S.W. Seminars, 1993), p. 5. In his one- and vince my stu- two-day workshops offered at various locations write their own life stories offers students tht they, around the country, Spivey has adapted Chris- dents ideas for practical application tensen’s rhetoric and emphasizes teaching stu- from the reading-writing connection.✐ too, could dent writers to use the two- and three-verb ac- ______tion pattern, the appositive, dialogue, the write personal absolute construction, and the verb cluster. Al- Thomas L. Baker is Su- stories about though Christensen’s ideas about sentence and pervising Instructor in Ger- paragraph structure appeared more than 40 years ago, a Google search of his name reveals man and English at Andrews experiences that contemporary scholars have adopted and Academy in Berrien Springs, similar to the adapted his analysis Michigan. 7. Hearst, pp. 220, 59. 8. Ibid., p. 220. ______ones they read. NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. The project was called “The Chicago Great Western and Its Communities: 1930- 1955.” 2. Denis Ledoux, Turning Memories Into Memoirs: A Handbook for Writing Lifestories (Lis- bon Falls, Maine: Soleil Press, 1993) offered me a rationale for my approach and is well worth reading for anyone wanting to develop a course in autobiography. Ledoux says that life stories “furnish us with the reassurance and the guid- ance we need to become adults and live full and happy lives” (p. 19). See also Hiller A. Spires, Josie B. Williams, Alecia Jackson, and Lois E. Huffman, “Leveling the Academic Playing Field Through Autobiographical Reading and Writ- ing,” Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy 42:4 (December 1998/January 1999), pp. 296-304. 3. Ledoux, pp. 116, 117. 4. James Hearst, Time Like a Furrow (Iowa City, Iowa: Iowa State Historical Department, 1981). The volume is currently out of print, but the Literary Estate of James Hearst has given me written permission to copy the book for classroom use; Evelyn Fairbanks, The Days of Rondo (St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1990). Fairbanks’ volume is still in print. I chose two Midwestern regional writers because their concerns relate well to the lives of my students, most of whom come from that part of the U.S. I recommend that teachers wanting to teach a course in autobiography turn to the local historical society for possible choices of works to be read in the classroom. The works are accessible and quite often reflect the interests and concerns of students who live in the region. 5. Leigh Howard Holmes, “Linkages of Non- fiction and Selfhood: The Places of Personal Es- says,” English Journal 91:4 (March 2002), pp. 64, 65; see also Miriam C. Dow, “Autobiography: A Course That Never Fails,” English Journal 85:6 (October 1996), pp. 85-88. Commenting on her use of autobiography, Dow says, “Texts in Auto- biography are examined for ideas for writing, not for themes, character development and symbol- ism. They are also examined for style” (p. 85). 6. For a detailed discussion of what Chris- tensen calls the rhetoric of the sentence, see

50 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 51

“Lost in Translation”: Helping Students Create Meaning in the Content Areas

uccessful communication in all four language modes—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—is essential for producing effective learning environments. Every teacher, regardless of grade level or Scontent area, must daily endeavor to apply this fundamental truth in both theoretical and practical ways. Teachers know what happens when students, for any number of reasons, experience difficulty in efficiently navigating the various required “communication tasks,” especially when those tasks involve reading assignments that are part of the curriculum. Every teacher has encountered the in- tense and often overwhelming frustration that results from a breakdown between the student reader and the written text. In every discipline, a student’s capacity to succeed academically depends in large part upon his or her ability to navigate various types evaluate content. The reader must be aware of the visual of textual material. To do so, he or she must master the req- and context cues and be able to respond accordingly.1 uisite skills. Depending on the course content, these skills While these skills may seem natural to teachers, they of- may include the ability to make sense of graphs, charts, ta- ten present students, particularly those for whom reading is bles, and diagrams; identify a topic sentence in a paragraph; already a challenge, with significant barriers to comprehen- use a book’s table of contents and index, and scan a text for sion. Therefore, teachers need basic strategies that allow specific information. Academic texts often require the reader them identify and respond to the difficulties that keep stu- to decide which material is dents from establishing a important, to discern fact BY REBECCA WRIGHT meaningful connection with from opinion, and to critically reading. This has a broader

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 51 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 52

meaning than “literacy,” per se, at least subject needs to both reflect and in- genres including textbooks and other when that term is defined solely as a form students’ daily experiences in the reference works, newspapers, magazines, student’s ability to read. world around them. Among other Websites, and popular trade books. Beyond acquiring basic reading things, they suggest that successful • Reading selections have a range skills, students need to understand content-area reading incorporate the of lengths, from short newspaper and what they read, transitioning from following concepts: magazine articles to whole books. “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” • Students use the textbook as a • Many of the readings take an in- Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman basic source, but also venture beyond terdisciplinary approach, using the explore this concept in their book Sub- it. tools of multiple disciplines, combin- jects Matter: Every Teacher’s Guide to • Rather than relying upon a single ing science, statistics, history, biogra- Content-Area Reading.2 These authors, authority, students consult a variety of phy, and more. who are also professional educators, sources and voices on a topic. To ensure that all students use the strongly believe that reading on any • Students sample a wide variety of best techniques, teachers must under-

Figure 1 K-W-L Chart

Score: ______/ ______

Date: ______

Name: ______

Class: ______

Chapter: ______

Think Sheet ______This is what I know This is what I would like to learn This is what I learned

52 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:43 AM Page 53

In every disci- stand how successful readers connect pline, a stu- of questions covering a range of in- with text. Proficient readers internalize quiry levels. Good study guides rereading strategies and use them consis- dent’s capacity quire students to make careful, critical tently in order to achieve comprehen- to succeed ac- assessments and to draw conclusions sion, while struggling readers either and defend them. Study guides can lack these intrinsic strategies, or apply ademically de- also serve as a springboard to class- them only to texts with which they feel room discussion. comfortable.3 pends in large Daniels and Zemelman7 suggest To assist students, content-area in- part upon his that students create Double Entry Jour- structors can divide reading assign- nals during reading as an alternative to ments into three major comprehension or her ability traditional note taking. Using this stages: Before Reading, During Read- to navigate strategy, students record notes about ing, and After Reading. By providing their reading in two vertical columns students with a range of tasks at each various types on a sheet of paper. On one side, they stage of the reading process, teachers summarize important textual informa- can greatly increase students’ probabil- of textual mation; on the other side, they jot down ity of comprehending the assignments. terial. their thoughts, reactions, and questions about the things they have read. Before Reading compare their “before” and “after” re- Double entry journals offer a valuable Daniels and Zemelman4 see this sponses. Students in my American tool for teaching students how to iden- stage as the most crucial. The teacher Classics class have performed this ex- tify key concepts in their reading. An- prepares the student to read by setting ercise with The Scarlet Letter6 in order other benefit is the immediacy of stu- the agenda, stimulating students’ ques- to explore their attitudes about the na- dent response. Because students can tions, beliefs, and predictions about is- ture of forgiveness, grace, and the role refer back to their journal if they forget sues they will encounter in the read- of the individual versus that of the a key question or concept, this greatly ing, and making connections with community. While there will always be enhances retention. students’ prior knowledge. For exam- students whose answers remain virtu- ple, using a pre-reading tool known as ally unchanged, it’s interesting to ob- After Reading—Not Just the Test! K-W-L5 allows students to document serve those who, after reading a text, Regardless of the subject, teachers what they already know, what they find their experiences, perceptions, need to make reading tasks as manage- want to know, and finally what they and worldviews enlarged (see Figure 2 able and relevant as possible. To do so, learned through study, class discus- on page 54). they can encourage students to inte- sion, and experimentation (see Figure grate and reflect on newly acquired in- 1 on page 52). During Reading formation, rather than simply testing Anticipation Guides can also serve as Once teachers have piqued stu- them on it and moving on to the next an effective pre-reading tool. These dents’ interest about the possibilities topic. guides include a few short questions or inherent in the assigned reading, they Allowing students to share what statements about the assigned reading, must find ways keep them involved. they’ve discovered in the process of using a yes/no or agree/disagree for- One of the easiest methods of doing reading is one of the best ways to so- mat. Anticipation guides encourage this is a well-constructed Study Guide. lidify that knowledge. It’s important for students to use their pre-existing ideas While study guides are often consid- students to recognize that the end of a about the topic as a springboard into ered “busywork,” they can, in fact, of- unit or chapter doesn’t signal the “end the actual assignment. Students in a fer students a wealth of information of learning” on that issue. By assigning science class, for example, might ex- and clues about what is important in students to compose a “wish list” of amine what they believe about theories the text. A well-written study guide what they’d like to learn about a topic of evolution. History students might gives students a model of intelligent or issue and then encouraging them to make predictions about the roles of the inquiry, points them toward relevant, follow up, teachers provide with a U.S. and England in the events leading timely information, and serves as an model for lifelong curiosity and life- to the War of 1812, while students in a excellent review for quizzes and tests. long learning. basic accounting class might examine Creating good study guides requires Creating a sense of community is their notions about what constitutes some time and careful thought, but also extremely important: The more “good” credit, or maintain a set budget they will more than “pay for them- students hear their teacher talk about prior to actually having to do so. selves” because of the number of times the concepts they are required to mas- It is useful to have students revisit they can be reused. ter, the more relevant this information their initial answers after an assign- One way to ensure the effectiveness becomes to them. Since each discipline ment has been completed so they can of a study guide is to include a variety has a shared “vocabulary,” it’s impor-

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 53 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/26/06 2:22 PM Page 54

Teachers need basic strategies ______that allow them to identify and NOTES AND REFERENCES

respond to the difficulties that 1. “Content Area Reading;” accessed April 25, 2005, at http://www.handheldeducation. keep students from establish- com/readingscene/abc/contentareas.html. 2. Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman, ing a meaningful connection Subjects Matter: Every Teacher’s Guide to Con- with reading. tent-Area Reading (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heine- mann, 2004). The authors offer a wealth of content-area strategies, complete with visual tant to introduce students to this lan- students with reading tasks. By guiding models, as well as an insightful rationale on guage early on and encourage them to students through the reading process, the subject of content-area reading. use it as part of a shared dialogue. This teachers ensure that they connect with 3. “Reading in the Content Areas: Strate- gies for Success;” accessed November 16, is crucial if teachers want their stu- the text, and set the foundation for ✐ 2005, at http://www.glencoe.com/sec/ dents to view themselves as members lifetime learning. teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/12. of the larger learning community. ______4. Daniels and Zemelman, pp. 100, 101. 5. Examples of K-W-Ls are available in Conclusion Rebecca Wright is an most content-area texts. Thanks to Alvin While the ideas discussed in this Instructor of English at An- Glassford, religion instructor at Andrews Academy in Berrien Springs, Michigan, for drews Academy in Berrien article only scratch the surface of con- sharing his version of this strategy. tent-area reading strategies, they do Springs, Michigan. 6. Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Let- suggest the range of possibilities that ter (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972). are available to teachers as they assist 7. Daniels and Zemelmann, pp. 118, 119.

Figure 2 Anticipation Guide The Scarlet Letter Pre-Reading Questions (American Classics I)

Carefully read each of the statements below, and tell whether you agree (A) or disagree (D). There is no “right” or “wrong” answer, per se, as long as you consider the questions carefully and answer honestly. However, you must agree with the entire statement as it stands in order to write an “A” next to it. If you disagree with any portion of the statement, you must mark “D” indicating that you disagree with the entire statement. However, make a note of those statements with which you struggled due to “shades of gray.”

1. _____ “Not judging someone” means agreeing with or approving of everything the person does. 2. _____ It is OK to forgive someone for something, but you shouldn’t let the person forget that he or she messed up. 3. _____ When you do something wrong, it is important to feel guilty. 4. _____ It is OK to forgive someone for something as long as the person is visibly hard on himself or herself about it. 5. _____ Some mistakes simply cannot and should not be forgiven. 6. _____ Once rules or laws are established, they should never be deviated from; to do so weakens the law. 7. _____ It is ultimately most important to forgive yourself for a mistake, whether or not you obtain forgiveness from others. 8. _____ You should still feel guilty a long time after you make a mistake; this is the only clear proof that you’re sorry for what you’ve done. 9. _____ Nothing good can ever really come from the wrong we do. 10. ____ Feelings of guilt are what keep people from making the same mistake over again. 11. ____ To forgive a mistake is to excuse it. 12. ____ It is possible to disagree with someone’s views or behavior without passing judgment on him or her. 13. ____ Most people need someone else to help them see how weak they are; they’d never figure it out on their own. 14. ____ Guilt is an essentially positive thing. 15. ____ The needs of the group must ultimately take precedence over the rights of the individuals who comprise that group. 16. ____ Regardless of the restitution we may try to make for any mistake, we can never fully make up for the wrong we have done.

54 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 55

Reading Boys

As I met him at the door to the class- stupid!” as the teacher asks him and his Educators today room, he tried to avoid my eyes. “Tim, friend Gregory, who sits across from him, where’s your book? I thought you chose if there’s a problem that requires them to know there is a prob- one at the library.” talk out loud during reading class. lem with boys and “Don’t make me find a book. . . just * * * let me sit in class today, OK?” Down the hallway from Jason and reading. “But that’s what we’re doing today. . . Gregory, 2nd-grader Elijah dutifully— we’re reading. Do you want to get another and slowly—sounds out each word on a book before class starts?” page filled with words, losing all continu- Educators today know there is a “Mr. Jones. . . do I have to? I hate ity and sense of story as the classroom problem with boys and reading. Many reading.” aide points to each word with her finger. male students do not like to read. * * * Many boys can read well but choose In a 6th-grade classroom not to do so. And sadly, oth- across town, Jason slumps at BY DOUGLAS A. JONES ers cannot read at the appro- his desk and mutters, “This is priate grade level.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 55 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 56

Of course, we all recognize that cial, negative element in many males’ According to data without appropriate skills and positive downward spiral of defeated and often experiences with reading, the rest of a deadly behavior. Statistics from the late recently released by young man’s formal education will be a 1990s cited in a recent article in the challenge—for him and for his teach- Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy the U.S. Department ers. Reading is at the heart of school. provide an unsettling picture of the of Education and re- When students do not see themselves hazards of being male today: as readers, too often they struggle to • Males commit 90 percent of all ported in USA Today, learn and to find meaning and belong- murders. American boys are ing in their education. According to • High school boys are four times data recently released by the U.S. De- more likely than girls to be murdered. falling farther and far- partment of Education and reported in • Boys are twice as likely as girls to ther behind girls in USA Today, American boys are falling be victims of violent crimes such as farther and farther behind girls in aca- robbery and assault. academics. demics. The report states that more • Ninety-four percent of the nearly boys have learning disabilities, that one million inmates in U.S. prisons are Many of us would probably note more females are earning bachelor’s de- males. significant differences between boys’ grees, and that boys trail girls in both • Nearly 125,000 youths, mostly and girls’ reading in the area of con- reading and writing. In addition, the males, are behind bars. tent. Traditionally, much of children’s article notes that more boys than girls • Males are responsible for the vast reading falls into “boys’ books” and are held back a grade.1 majority of cases of domestic violence. “girls’ books.” While this probably rep- We have all had students who slink • The suicide rate for boys 10 to resents an unfair generalization, certain through the day, avoiding the teacher’s 14 years of age is twice that of girls, subjects do appeal more to one gender eye or who disrupt the class with silli- four times higher for ages 15 to 19, than to the other. ness, anger, and/or menace. Many of and six times higher for ages 20 to 24.4 Research into boys’ reading offers the boys in our classes meet with huge While I do not believe that reading several telling points to consider when obstacles to becoming readers who will is the great panacea for society’s ills or addressing boys’ reading issues. In grow up to be productive, responsible, that fixing problems with boys’ reading “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys”: Literacy and happy men—fathers and uncles, will eradicate males’ deadly behavior, I in the Lives of Young Men, Michael W. grandfathers and brothers who value do believe that fostering in boys a Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm summa- the written word and all the power it greater ability for and appreciation of rize much of the recent research and holds, and who model this behavior reading will go a long way to curb cover many elements that contribute to for others. William G. Brozo speaks of much of society’s despair by allowing boys’ disinclination to read. They “the importance of literacy as boys de- young men a greater chance at obtain- found that: velop a sense of self.”2 ing a good education. At least reading • Boys do not comprehend narra- By focusing on boys and reading in is an area about which we teachers tive as well as girls; this article, I do not mean to suggest have knowledge and influence; I think • Boys are less interested in leisure that girls have no challenges with read- it is worth our time to pay attention to reading than girls; ing or that all boys are challenged in what is going on and do something • Boys prefer reading newspapers this area. Improving students’ reading about it. and magazines; they lean more to es- will not fix all society’s problems. capism and humor; However, we need to explore our obli- Solutions to Boys’ Problems With • Boys do judge a book by its gations as teachers to young male read- Reading cover; and ers. This article will suggest positive In order to do something about the • Boys tend to think of themselves steps teachers can take to foster in problems many boys have with read- as bad readers.7 their male students a greater engage- ing, we need to first review what is Many teachers are aware that many ment with reading. known Trelease reminds us that “stu- of their reluctant male readers can in- dents who read the most, read the deed read very well, but choose not to Why Don’t Boys Read? best, achieve the most, and stay in do so. It is important to distinguish Jim Trelease, author of The Read- school the longest.”5 Eve Bearne and between the illiterate male and the alit- Aloud Handbook, explains that “reading Molly Warrington’s research confirms erate male. Many boys apparently do is the single most important social fac- that “literacy cannot be separated from not find satisfaction in reading—espe- tor in American life today.”3 Without a issues of self-esteem and preferred cially as it is taught in school—and doubt, boys who fail to connect early learning styles.”6 How can we get boys that dissatisfaction makes them pro- with reading will encounter problems to read more and feel that it is worth gressively less likely to rely on reading in school. Difficulty in school is a cru- their effort? to help them find meaning in their

56 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 57

lives. As teachers, we need to recog- Difficulty in school is pose that Adventist schools lower their nize these points as we plan and exe- standards, I do think we need to rec- cute our classes. a crucial, negative el- ognize the pervasive influence and ap- Thomas Newkirk in Misreading ement in many males’ peal of mass culture as we look for Masculinity: Boys, Literacy, and Popular reading material that will engage boys. Culture focuses on the need for readers downward spiral of And, as any classroom teacher knows, to discover that satisfaction in reading defeated and often boys are not generally “tasteful” in is the key to success in school: “Unless their interests. That fact will require us we can persuade students that reading is a deadly behavior. to explore what is acceptable for boys’ form of deep, sustained pleasure, they will (and girls’) reading choices.14 not choose to read; and because they will phies and autobiographies intended for Thus, as teachers, we need to seek not choose to read, they will not develop young readers. out the many excellent books that ap- the skills to make them good readers.”8 Allowing boys to choose their own peal to a boy’s sense of adventure, Teachers need to explore how boys de- reading will also require us to rethink competition, humor, physical prowess, velop into readers who find pleasure in our policies about what kinds of read- and inspiration. I would invite class- their literacy. They need to identify ing material are suitable in the classroom teachers to get acquainted, or re- boys’ reading interests and expecta- room and library. That is a challenge acquainted, with titles such as Maniac tions. for many of us—especially in the Magee15 by Jerry Spinelli, A Day No Pigs Christian school. While I do not pro- Would Die16 by Robert Newton Peck, Books for Boys? This is especially true when teachers choose reading selections for the whole class: Will they appeal to boys? Because the majority of elementary teachers, school librarians, and children’s authors are women, choices of children’s reading material is mostly fil- tered through women. There is no doubt that whole-class reading assignments of Number the Stars9 by Lois Lowry, Sarah Plain and Tall10 by Patricia MacLachlan, or Jacob Have I Loved11 by Katherine Paterson are great reading, but we must go out of our way to find books that appeal strongly to boys as well. Brozo advises: “Reading engagement should be the highest priority to teachers of disinterested and struggling readers, because only as boys encounter literature that speaks to their unique male imaginations are they likely to become regular and lifelong readers.”12 Additionally, we ought to consider allowing students to select materials they want to read. If we expect boys to read deeply and for their own purposes, we must give them experience in choosing books to read. Our school and classroom libraries will thus need to include a broader selection—especially informational books, since many boys prefer this type of reading over stories and narratives.13 Our classroom bookshelves should include well-written nonfiction along with good biogra-

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 57 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 58

Hatchet17 by Gary Paulsen, Bud, Not How can we get boys levels, in addition to serving as Director of Uni- Buddy18 by Christopher Paul Curtis— versity Relations at Andrews University, and Vice and a host of other worthy and notable to read more and feel President for Academic Administration at Co- lumbia Union College,Takoma Park, Maryland. books about strong, likeable, and re- that it is worth their ______sponsible male characters. effort? NOTES AND REFERENCES Schedule Time for Reading We need to schedule time in class by the side of his bed, a grandfather 1. “Pay Closer Attention: Boys Are Strug- for personal reading. Many teachers who takes his grandsons to the li- gling Academically,” USA Today (December 3, have made reading workshop an inte- brary—these men provide boys with a 2004), p. 12A. 2. William G. Brozo, To Be a Boy, To Be a gral component of their language-arts positive and more complete image of Reader: Engaging Teen and Preteen Boys in Active curriculum at both the elementary and masculinity. As teachers, we need to Literacy (Newark, Del.: International Reading As- secondary levels. Allowing students to look for ways to incorporate reading sociation, 2002), p. 2. read for their own purposes ensures men into our classrooms. 3. Jim Trelease, The Read-Aloud Handbook, that there is a regular time for reading I was honored when one of my stu- Fifth Edition (New York: Penguin, 2001), p. each day. Teachers who have imple- dent teachers recently asked me to xxiv. mented this approach tell me that their guest read for her 2nd- and 3rd- 4. William G. Brozo, Patricia Walter, and students, both boys and girls, look for- graders’ “bedtime” story in the school Teri Placker, “‘I Know the Difference Between a Real Man and a TV Man’: A Critical Exploration ward to settling in with “a good read.” library early one evening. The students of Violence and Masculinity Through Literature This needs to happen at school be- and their families met together in their in a Junior High School in the ’Hood,” Journal of cause reading at home does not occur slippers and pajamas, some clutching Adolescent & Adult Literacy 45:6 (March 2002), in a large number of households. their teddy bears, and I read Mo Wil- p. 531. Books about males by males are lems’ Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the 5. Trelease, p. 7. possible choices. Newspapers and Bus.20 6. Eve Bearne and Molly Warrington, “Rais- magazines should be available as well; Many of the children did not have ing Boys’ Achievement,” Literacy Today 35 (June encyclopedias, almanacs, and atlases fathers or grandfathers at home to read 2003), p. 18. 7. Michael W. Smith and Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, appeal to the male readers who prefer to them, so I like to think that some of “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys”: Literacy in the informational texts over stories. If a the little boys there that evening Lives of Young Men (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heine- book, newspaper, or magazine grabs a caught a glimpse of how wonderful it mann, 2002), pp. 10, 11. boy’s attention, use it to redirect his at- would be to be someone who enjoys 8. Thomas Newkirk, Misreading Masculinity: tention and energies. It just may spark reading, laughs at stories, and wonders Boys, Literacy, and Popular Culture (Portsmouth: a lifelong commitment to reading. what story will next catch his imagina- Heinemann, 2002), p. 656. Along with providing time for tion. 9. Lois Lowry, Number the Stars (New York: reading in school, we need to allow Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1989). time for students to talk about what Conclusion 10. Patricia MacLachlan, Sarah, Plain and Tall (New York: HarperCollins, 1985). they have read. Bruce Pirie in Teenage We need to read to boys, and to 11. Katherine Paterson, Jacob Have I Loved Boys and High School English explains encourage men to read to boys. And (New York: Scholastic, 1980). that “it is crucial that there be sharing we need to read boys. By that, I mean 12. Brozo, To Be a Boy, To Be a Reader, p. 4. time. . . some way for kids (and we must take another look at how the 13. Smith and Wilhelm, p. 11. teacher) to hear what other people are boys in our classrooms negotiate read- 14. For example, Dav Pilkey’s series, The enjoying reading.”19 Kids need to know ing. We need to observe our boys who Adventures of Captain Underpants [New York: how adults who value reading be- are engaged readers and then look for Scholastic, 1997] are funny to kids; they speak have—they choose books that interest ways to duplicate their positive reading to boys’ imaginations, but the books may not fit into the “tasteful” model many teachers have for them and then talk about them to traits, expectations, and behaviors in their students’ reading experiences at school. other people. the rest of our students. Reading boys 15. Jerry Spinelli, Maniac Magee (New York: Our goal must be to get boys to offers great rewards—as we help these Scholastic, 1990). make a lifelong commitment to read- young men develop into caring, re- 16. Robert Newton Peck, A Day No Pigs ing. This is best achieved when boys sponsible men whose literacy is a Would Die (New York: Random House, 1972). see this modeled by other males. blessing to all. ✐ 17. Gary Paulsen, Hatchet (New York: Simon Whether it’s a teacher, a principal, a ______& Schuster, 1987). pastor—or more significantly—a fa- 18. Christopher Paul Curtis, Bud, Not Buddy Douglas A. Jones is Pro- (New York: Dell Yearling, 1999). ther, grandfather, uncle, or brother, a fessor of Teacher Education at 19. Bruce Pirie, Teenage Boys and High School man who reads provides boys with a Andrews University in English (Portsmouth, N.H.: Boynton/Cook, powerful image of what it means to be Berrien Springs, Michigan. 2002), pp. 79-80. male. A brother who reads the newspa- He has taught English on 20. Mo Willems, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive per, a father who has a stack of books the high school and college the Bus! (New York: Hyperion, 2003).

58 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 59

HELPING STRUGGLING READERS AND STUDENTS WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PROFICIENCY

Halfway through the English proficiency (LEP). school year, my phone rings. Therefore, this article will It is a distraught mother seek- examine reading expecta- ing help for her 7-year-old tions for students, partic- son, Stanley,* who is at risk of ularly in kindergarten failing 2nd-grade reading. Picture Removed through grade 3, as well as Stanley lacks the skills and ex- strategies that regular class- periences that a normal stu- room teachers can use to dent should have developed identify and assist struggling by this time. Stanley is Read- readers. ing Disabled. Maria* is a Spanish-speak- Learning to Read ing student in my grade 1 Children learn to read, class. A recent immigrant, she mastering the skills and has no English phonetic skills or awareness, and no parental or strategies necessary to be successful readers, by 3rd grade; sibling role models to help her read in English. Her parents are ea- they read to learn, using their reading skills and strategies to ger for her to learn English. I speak no Spanish. Maria is Reading further expand their knowledge and understanding in the Disadvantaged. content areas, after 3rd grade.1 Grade 3, then, serves as the transition from “tool learning” to “tool using” for students. eachers in the Seventh-day Adventist school Despite the change in the reader’s focus during this time pe- system must address the needs of students riod, these are related and complementary processes. from varied backgrounds and diverse cul- Two recent U.S. presidents have made it a priority to tural, ethnic, racial, linguistic, and socio-eco- promote literacy among early elementary-grade children. nomic groups. In addition, a growing number President Bill Clinton, in his America’s Reading Challenge, of students have visual, speech, and hearing stated: “Forty percent of all children are now reading below impairments, developmental delays, learning disabilities, basic levels on national reading assessments. Children who Tand emotional or behavioral disturbances. Some are gifted cannot read early and well are hampered at the very start of and need an enriched curriculum. This is the scene in al- their lives. This will be truer as we move into the twenty- most every 21st-century classroom. first century . . .”2 President George W. Bush, in his No Ensuring that all of these students read well deeply con- Child Left Behind Act of 2001, recognized that this prob- cerns many teachers, for academic success depends greatly lem had not yet been solved. Reutzel and Cooter suggest on reading ability. Due to the size of Adventist schools, they that this act was “intended to close the achievement gap be- usually have limited resources to address the needs of stu- tween disadvantaged and minority students and their peers dents such as Stanley and Maria. Many teachers know what . . . .”3 These initiatives were prompted, in part, by con- reading materials and strategies work with most students, cerns about the number of students failing literacy-related but lack the background to address the specific needs of assessments. struggling or disabled readers, those identified as reading In addition, research done by the National Institute of disadvantaged, and those for whom English is a second lan- Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) suggests guage (ESL) or who have limited that “Children who fall behind at an BY JUNE FIORITO early age (kindergarten and grade 1) *Not their real names. fall further and further behind over

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 59 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 60

Children learn to read, time. Longitudinal studies show that of mastering the skills and ventory (IRI), consisting “of a series of the children who are diagnosed as graded passages that students read and reading disabled in third grade, 74% strategies necessary to answer questions about,” is a good remain disabled in ninth grade.”4 Fur- be successful readers, place to begin the assessment process.12 thermore, Grossen’s research asserts Additional assessments may be admin- that children need “developmentally by 3rd grade; they read istered, depending on the results of the appropriate” activities, “using appro- to learn, using their IRI. priate instructional strategies at an reading skills and early age—especially in kindergarten.”5 Instructional Strategies for Strug- Due to the significance of reading in- strategies to further ex- gling Readers struction for children in the early pand their knowledge Reading instruction for students in grades, K-3 teachers need to be famil- kindergarten through grade 3 usually iar with recommended practices for and understanding in focuses on the “Big Five” areas: (1) struggling readers. the content areas, after Phonemic Awareness and Alphabetic Knowledge, (2) Phonics and Word Identification of Reading Problems 3rd grade. Attack Skills, (3) Vocabulary, (4) Com- Students who struggle to read at prehension, and (5) Fluency.13 “Pho- grade level often have difficulty decod- levels are low are relatively predis- nemic awareness refers to the under- ing words, utilizing cues from sentence posed to reading failure. Likewise, standing that spoken words are made structure, and making sense of text. youngsters with subaverage intellectual up of individual speech sounds,”14 According to NICHD research: “The capabilities have difficulties learning to whereas “phonological awareness in- best predictor in K or 1st grade of a fu- read, particularly in the reading com- cludes identifying and manipulating ture reading difficulty in grade 3 is prehension domain.”8 Among this larger parts of spoken language, such performance on a combination of group are students classified as ESL/- as words, syllables, onsets and rimes measures of phonemic awareness, LEP who struggle to read because Eng- . . . , rhyming and alliteration.”15 Lin- rapid naming of letters, numbers, and lish is not their first language. They of- damood-Bell identify children’s diffi- objects, and print awareness.”6 In com- ten lack the experiences that foster culty in identifying sounds within paring “dependent” readers with their English language learning and vocabu- words as the primary cause of decod- more skilled “independent” peers, Ky- lary development. Vacca and Vacca ing and spelling problems. “Weakness lene Beers says that independent read- point out that “cultural variation in the in phonological processing causes indi- ers “figure out what’s confusing them, use of language has a strong influence viduals to omit, substitute, and reverse set goals for getting through the read- on literacy learning” but add that “lan- sounds and letters within words. This ing, use many strategies for getting guage differences should not be mis- is also a cause of difficulty in learning through the text, know how to make taken for language deficits among cul- a second language. Individuals with the mostly invisible process of compre- turally diverse students.”9 Lenters weak phonological processing cannot hension visible.” By contrast, depen- warns that “it is important to note the get the words off the page: they cannot dent readers “stop, appeal to the teach- age and literacy background of the sec- judge whether what they say matches ers, read on through, keep the mostly ond-language learner; one observation what they see.”16 invisible process of comprehension at does not fit all.”10 Phonics instruction emphasizes the invisible level.”7 “Nevertheless, the research we do systematic and predictable relation- G. Reid Lyon provides further in- have shows that English reading and ships between spelling and speech sight about children who have difficul- writing development processes are es- sounds. Roe, Smith, and Burns assert ties in reading: sentially similar for both English learn- that, “For phonics instruction to be ef- “In general, children who are most ers and native English speakers . . . . fective, students need to be ready to at-risk for reading failure are those That is, in reading, all learners gradu- learn phonics, and teachers need to who enter school with limited expo- ally come to use their developing Eng- provide context and reinforcement—a sure to language and who have little lish language knowledge, of print con- reason to learn phonics.”17 These au- prior understanding of concepts re- ventions to put their ideas on pages.”11 thors advocate the use of two types of lated to phonemic sensitivity, letter Students’ reading difficulties can be phonics applications: Synthetic and knowledge, print awareness, the pur- identified in a variety of ways. Reading Analytic. In synthetic phonics, the stu- poses of reading, and general verbal assessments include phonemic aware- dent is taught “speech sounds associ- skills, including vocabulary. Children ness and fluency tests, informal reading ated with individual letters,”18 while in raised in poverty, youngsters with lim- inventories, anecdotal records, interest analytic phonics, sight words are ited proficiency in English with speech surveys, fluency, running records, port- taught first, followed by the sounds and hearing impairments, and children folios, and standardized diagnostic within the words. Bright Solutions for from homes where the parent’s reading reading tests. An informal reading in- Dyslexia suggests putting individual

60 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 61

letters and sounds together (synthetic), instruction to learn how to decode or incorporates language-oriented skills and breaking them into smaller pieces pronounce unknown words. The and activities. (analytic).19 Analogic phonics, where amount of instruction required varies sounds are taught within the context from student to student. Nearly all re- Conclusion of word families, is another option.20 medial readers require direct instruc- As we accept the challenge of Whichever approach is adopted, Mari- tion, in which the teacher clearly pre- teaching students with diverse back- lyn Jager-Adams states: sents information in small increments, grounds and abilities, we are reminded “[D]eep and thorough knowledge while guiding and monitoring the pace of Ellen White’s statement: “True edu- of letters, spelling patterns, and words, of student learning. All students cation is not the forcing of instruction and of the phonological translations of should be taught at, and should prac- on an unready and unreceptive mind. all three, are of inescapable importance tice reading at the level of difficulty The mental powers must be awakened, to both skillful reading and its acquisi- which ensures that they experience fre- the interest aroused.”28 After identifying tion. By extension, instruction de- quent success. All too often, disabled the needs of each student, teachers can signed to develop children’s sensitivity readers are assigned material that is choose from a variety of instructional to spellings and their relations to pro- much too difficult for them. From this strategies that address the specific ar- nunciations should be of paramount experience, they learn only frustration, eas where students are experiencing importance in the development of instead of how to read successfully. difficulty.29 “Exemplary classroom pro- reading skills. This is, of course, pre- All students need substantial grams cannot always ensure that all cisely what is intended of good phonic amounts of reading practice to ensure children will become proficient readers instruction.”21 that they learn and use important skills . . . but they can dramatically reduce Smith, Walker, and Yellin point out as well as to help them appreciate the the number of children who are cur- that, “Many beginning readers struggle value and joy of reading. Far too many rently classified as reading disabled or with decoding a text. Lack of appropri- struggling readers spend too little time remedial readers.”30 ✐ ate instruction; reading text at the frus- actually engaged in the act of reading.25 ______tration level; difficulty with phonologi- In addition, students should learn June Fiorito is a Profes- cal awareness, including the inability strategies that promote vocabulary, sor of Education at Cana- to segment phonemes (i.e., unable to comprehension, and fluency so they dian University College in divide a word into its individual can read independently: Lacombe,Alberta, Canada. sounds); and ineffective phonemic syn- “Good readers ask questions be- She is the Canadian repre- thesis (i.e., unable to connect the fore, during, and after they read . . . go sentative for the Potential sounds to form words) are a few ways back and reread for understanding . . . Reading Systems. that some readers get off to a rough use what they know to make predic- ______22 start.” The National Reading Panel tions . . . know when they make a mis- REFERENCES also cites “solid evidence that phonics take and go back to fix it . . .use many 1. Richard T. Vacca and Jo Anne L. Vacca, instruction produces significant bene- different ways to work out a word that Content Area Reading: Literacy and Learning Across fits for children from kindergarten they don’t recognize . . . read fluently the Curriculum, Seventh Edition (Boston: Allyn & through 6th grade and for children and with expression . . . use their Bacon, 2002), p. 190. having difficulties learning to read. The background and experiences to help 2. D. Ray Reutzel and Robert B. Cooter, Jr., The Essentials of Teaching Children to Read: What greatest improvements in reading were them understand the book . . . make Every Teacher Needs to Know (Upper Saddle seen from systematic phonics instruc- connections to other books they have River, N.J.: Pearson Education, 2005), p. xix. tion.”23 read . . . understand what they have 3. Ibid., p. xx. Phonemic awareness and phonics read and can talk about those under- 4. Bonita Grossen, “30 Years of Research: instruction for struggling readers standings . . . READ, READ, READ!”26 What We Now Know About How Children Learn to Read;” accessed April 28, 2005, at should always be taught in the context Additional suggestions for ESL/LEP http://daisy.ym.edu.tw/~jrlee/30years.html. of authentic text. We need to hook learners include the use of methods 5. Ibid. struggling readers to books that they “that bridge cultural background 6. Ibid. not only are able to read, but also want knowledge and whatever texts are be- 7. Kylene Beers, When Kids Can’t Read: What to do so.24 Shanker and Ekwall outline ing read . . . , contextualize instruction Teachers Can Do (Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 2003), p. 16. principles for teaching students with . . . within the composing and compre- 8. G. Reid Lyon, “Overview of Reading and reading difficulties. Their recommen- hending process . . . , [and] use au- Literacy Initiatives;” Accessed April 28, 2005, at dations emphasize both the part (i.e., thentic materials from the learner’s http://www.readbygrade3.com/readbygrade3co/ letter, word level) as well as the whole community.”27 The new Seventh-day lyon.htm. (i.e., sentence, text level) in the read- Adventist reading program for North 9. Vacca and Vacca, p. 10. 10. Kimberly Lenters, “No Half Measures: ing process: American Division schools uses a the- Reading Instruction for Young Second-Language Most students require a certain matic approach with much focused Learners,” Reading Teacher 58 (December 2004/ amount of systematic, sequential skill reading across the curriculum, which January 2005), p. 328.

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 61 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 62

11. Suzanne F. Peregoy and Owen F. Boyle, Reading, Writing, and Learning in ESL: A Resource Book for K-12 Teachers, Fourth Edition (Upper BUILDING LITERACY Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2005), p. 159. 12. Joan P. Gipe, Multiple Paths to Literacy: Classroom Techniques for Struggling Readers, Fifth THROUGH Editon (Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, 2002), p. 109. 13. Reutzel and Cooter, pp. xxi, 225-253. 14. Ibid, p. 32. 15. Ibid, p. 36. HOME/SCHOOL 16. Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, “Phonemic Awareness for Reading & Spelling & Speech,” accessed on October 4, 2000, from http://www.lblp.com/phonemicawareness.html. PARTNERSHIPS 17. Betty D. Roe, Sandy Smith, and Paul C. Burns, Teaching Reading in Today’s Elementary Schools, Ninth Edition (Boston: Houghton Mif- “The teachers in the home and the flin, 2005), p. 95. and activities the children enjoy, as 18. Ibid, p. 99. teachers in the school should have well as how much time parents spend 19. Bright Solutions for Dyslexia, “Teaching a sympathetic understanding of reading themselves and with their chil- Methods That Work,” accessed on September 30, one another’s work. They should dren. One student stated that her 1999, from http://www.dys-add.com/teach.html. labor together harmoniously, im- buddy’s enthusiasm about reading rose 20. Patricia M. Cunningham and Dorothy P. bued with the same . . . spirit, Hall, Making Words: Multielvel, Hands-On, Devel- significantly when she sought out opmentally Appropriate Spelling and Phonics Activi- striving together to benefit the books about space, one of his interests. ties (Torrance, Calif.: Good Apple, 1994). children physically, mentally, and She might not have known this with- 21. Marilyn Jager Adams, Beginning to Read: spiritually.” —Ellen G. White.1 out the help of the parent survey. Thinking and Learning About Print (Cambridge, Another way pre-service teachers Mass.: MIT Press, 1990), p. 416. 22. Melinda Smith, Barbara J. Walker, and ome/school collaboration and students from other disciplines David Yellin, “From Phonological Awareness to is a concept that the Edu- across Union’s campus interact with Fluency in Each Lesson,” Reading Teacher 58 cation Department of young students in the greater Lincoln (November 2004), p. 302. Union College (Lincoln, community is through First Book, a 23. National Institute of Child Health and Nebraska) is eager for its nationwide organization that since Human Development, “National Reading Panel Reports Combination of Teaching Phonics, Word students to experience and 1992 has distributed more than 20 Sounds, Giving Feedback on Oral Reading Most Hembrace. As part of their coursework, million books to disadvantaged chil- Effective Way to Teach Reading,” accessed on senior elementary education students dren. The parent organization collabo- April 17, 2005, from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/ enrolled in Reading Assessment class rates with the college’s local advisory new/releases/nrp.cfm. 24. Lori Jamison Rog and Paul Kropp, participate in Reading Buddies, an af- board, First Book-Union College, to “Hooking Struggling Readers: Using Books They ter-school program for 1st through 6th get books into the hands and homes of Can and Want to Read,” accessed on April 18, graders from Helen Hyatt and George children. 2005, from http://www.hip-books.com/hsr.html. Stone elementary schools.2 Modeled af- So far, Union College students 25. James L. Shanker and Eldon E. Ekwall, ter a program instituted by Donald have donated, raised funds, and re- Locating and Correcting Reading Difficulties, Eighth Edition (Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Bear at the University of Nevada’s Cen- ceived grant monies to place more 2003), p. 4. ter for Learning and Literacy, Reading than 5,000 books into the hands and 26. Heather Eide, Rhoda Youngquist, and Buddies gives seniors a chance to as- homes of children. Two examples of Shannon DeWall, Literacy Link, “What Do Good sess the elementary students’ reading the home/school possibilities of such Readers Do?” accessed on April 4, 2005, from vocabulary, comprehension, and flu- an initiative are the Hispanic Commu- http://he006.k12.sd.us/what_do.htm. 27. Gipe, p. 60. ency and make plans to address their nity Center and the Lincoln YMCA’s 28. Ellen G. White, Education (Mountain literacy needs. morning program at a local elementary View, Calif.: Pacific Press Publ. Assn., 1952), p. Following the assessment, the sen- school and community center, respec- 41. iors use the remaining sessions to read tively. The Hispanic Community Cen- 29. June L. D. Fiorito, A Comparison of the with and to their young buddies, con- ter (HCC) operated the Adelante Effect of Teachers’ Theoretical Orientations on Stu- dents’ Attitudes and Achievement in Reading Among duct word study, and help them with (meaning to advance or progress) after- Students in Grade Three and Four (Unpublished writing. Besides conferring with the school program, which Latino youth doctoral dissertation, La Sierra University, River- children’s classroom teacher, Union attended with their parents. Books side, Calif., 1997), pp. 56-59. students send home parent3 question- purchased with funds from First Book- 30. Ann M. Duffy-Hester, “Teaching Strug- naires, asking what types of interests Union College were read in an after- gling Readers in Elementary School Classrooms: A Review of Classroom Reading Programs and Principles for Instruction,” Reading Teacher 52 BY JOANN M. HERRINGTON (February 1999), p. 121.

62 JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 63

school setting. The center’s director fully decorated backpack and have it both provide and receive support in helped the Hispanic parents learn to circulate to the students’ homes. developing children’s literacy. ✐ create a list of discussion questions • Local or National Initiatives: ______that would engage their youngsters at Schools can get involved in First Book, Joann M. Herrington is an home.4 Pizza Hut Book-It, or other types of Associate Professor of Education At Elliott School, 100 students start programs. Local and state reading in the Division of Human De- each morning with breakfast, then councils make ideas and materials velopment at Union College in break into reading groups where they available to teachers through member- Lincoln, Nebraska. and the YMCA staff read from books ship in local chapters of the Interna- ______provided by First Book-Union College. tional Reading Association. NOTES AND REFERENCES After the groups finish reading each Other ideas include using parents 1. Ellen G. White, Counsels to Parents, Teach- book, the children get to keep their as readers, storytellers, tutors, or vol- ers, and Students (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific copies. unteers who access books. In her in- Press Publ. Assn., 1913), p. 157. “The partnership with First Book- spiring book, Conversations, author 2. Helen Hyatt Elementary is an Adventist Union College enables the kids to be- Regie Routman shares a letter from a school in the Lincoln, Nebraska, community; gin building their home library at a teacher inviting parents to participate George P. Stone Elementary is Union College’s laboratory school. very young age and take pride in their in a Read-In. The letter states that the 3. In this article, the word parent will in- literacy,” says Benjamin Zink, executive class will adapt its activities to meet clude grandparents, guardians, or other author- director of the Community Services the parents’ time and work schedules. ized caretakers of students. Branch YMCA.5 Parents can read one of their favorite 4. The Adelante program operated under the Union’s teacher candidates also dis- books, or the teacher will have one leadership of Holly Burns, formerly the director of the Hispanic Community Center in Lincoln, tribute information to parents at the ready for them to read. A sign-up sheet Nebraska. The current program director for the 6 college’s partner schools relating to accompanies with the letter. center is Nate Woods, who continues to collabo- reading with their children, as well as The possibilities are endless, as are rate with First Book-Union College. lists of books for children. Each of the benefits, when schools initiate joint 5. Quote from Benjamin Zink, director of these efforts exemplifies a successful ventures and strategic alliances. With YMCA, in press release, Lincoln, Nebraska, April 22, 2005. joint venture and strategic alliance, so much to be gained, it is important 6. Regie Routman, Conversations: Strategies with increased literacy as the goal. that educators work to strengthen for Teaching, Learning, and Evaluating (Ports- Would you like to increase collabo- school ties with parents. They will thus mouth, N.H.: Heinemann, 2000), p. 136b. ration between your school and community? It’s not difficult to begin. Try some of these ideas: • Newsletters: Send a weekly print or e-mail newsletter to parents. • Book Club: Set up a program like the one at George Stone School, where every student is asked to read one non-fiction juvenile book and one juvenile periodical monthly. In addition, one book, on a chosen theme, is selected for school-wide reading. “This month’s theme is the history of Mex- ico,” stated Susan Zimmermann, head teacher, “so we are asking parents to help students check out library books around that theme.” • Classroom or School Scrap- books: Take photos throughout the year and compile a selection of photos of students, together with captions written by the students. Send the book home to various families each night, asking the family to fill out a comment sheet. • Book in a Backpack: Place books and literacy activities in a color-

JOURNAL OF ADVENTIST EDUCATION | APRIL/MAY 2006 63 JAE_april_may_swcg 4/21/06 11:44 AM Page 64