Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
BUILDING INTRODUCTION READING PROFICIENCY AT THE SECONDARY LEVEL A Guide to Resources Cynthia L. Peterson, Ph.D. David C. Caverly, Ph.D. Sheila A. Nicholson, M.S.Ed. Sharon O’Neal, Ph.D. Susen Cusenbary, M.Ed. Southwest Texas State University Southwest Educational Development Laboratory 211 East 7th Street Austin, TX 78701 ©Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 2000. This guide is produced in whole or in part with funds from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract #RJ96006801. The con- tent herein does not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Education, any other agency of the U.S. Govern- ment or any other source. You are welcome to reproduce Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level and may distribute copies at no cost to recipients; please credit the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory as publisher. SEDL is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer and is committed to affording equal employment opportunities to all individuals in all employ- ment matters. Available in alternative formats. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv INTRODUCTION 1 • How to Use the Guide 2 • How Resources Were Selected 3 PART I: PERSPECTIVES 6 • Struggling Secondary Readers: A Closer Look 6 • Informal Assessment 7 • Building Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level 9 • Principles of Effective Reading Instruction 17 • Principles of Effective Professional Development 19 PART II: RESOURCES 22 • Five Questions Organize the Programs and Strategies 22 • Programs 23 • Strategies 23 • Definitions of Terms 70 PART III: PROCEDURES FOR COMPILING THE GUIDE 133 BIBLIOGRAPHY 136 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS his project was sponsored by South- • Dr. Shernaz García, The University of west Educational Development Lab- Texas at Austin oratory and prepared by a team of • Dr. Wes Hoover, Southwest Educational Tinvestigators in the College of Edu- Development Laboratory cation at Southwest Texas State University, • Dr. Marty Hougen, Austin Independent San Marcos, Texas. School District, Austin, Texas The following individuals provided assis- • Tom Leyden, Texas Association of tance in the development of this resource. Secondary School Principals INTRODUCTION • Dr. Ellen Bell, Texas Association of • Brenda Jean Tyler, The University of Supervision and Administration Texas at Austin. • Dian Cooper, Texas Association of • Dr. Judy Walis, Spring Branch Supervision and Administration Independent School District, Spring • Enrique Garcia, Seguin High School, Branch, Texas Seguin, Texas INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION e set out to document the ing Association (Moore, Bean, Birdyshaw, & resources available to educa- Rycik, 1999). Our project, initiated by the tors who work with struggling Southwest Educational Development Labora- Wsecondary readers. These tory (SEDL), was prompted by requests from readers struggle in general education and secondary educators for tools to support their reading classes, grades six through twelve. students who struggle with print in the class- Some are students with mild disabilities, clas- room. Its purpose is to establish what we sified as learning disabled, for whom regular know and to describe what is currently classroom teachers have instructional respon- available. sibility. Some are students whose culture or With the goal of building a guide to language differ from the culture of the class- resources, we reviewed the scholarly litera- room. Many are students who have become ture to determine: (a) current theoretical per- skilled evaders of reading, who know the spectives and research findings on building stress of not being able to read successfully. reading proficiency at the secondary level and By the secondary grades, students are (b) their implications for classroom instruc- presumed to have acquired basic reading skill. tion. Rather than reporting all the factors that Over the last decade, researchers and policy- can impact secondary-level reading profi- makers have all but abandoned attention to ciency, we present those for which a research secondary-level remediation to focus on pre- base establishes essential importance and for venting the need for it. Unfortunately, the which there are pedagogical implications. We need remains. The need for a new look at identified and described programs and strate- adolescent literacy was the focus of a recent gies that aligned with those findings. position statement of the International Read- HOW TO USE • Campus programs require an administra- THE GUIDE tive commitment at the district, campus, or department level for implementation Part I across classrooms. • Classroom programs are designed to be Part I provides background information selected and implemented by individual on building reading proficiency at the sec- classroom teachers. ondary level. Struggling Secondary Readers: A Closer Look Strategies are consistent plans, consciously describes the scope of the problem and the adapted and monitored by readers for consequences of being a struggling secondary improving performance in reading. Two types reader. of strategies were defined: Informal Assessment provides an overview • Teacher strategies are implemented by of common reading behaviors of struggling teachers to develop student reading abil- secondary readers, with specific suggestions ity. They are instructional interventions for informal assessment that teachers can use. for the whole class, small groups, or the Building Reading Proficiency at the individual student. Secondary Level is a synthesis of the theory and • Student strategies are internal procedures research on secondary reading around four used by students in the process of read- major factors for building reading proficiency. ing. Students assume responsibility for Principles of Effective Reading Instruction using strategies as they become indepen- characterizes effective instructional practices dent readers. for developing the reading of struggling secondary readers. Organization of Entries Principles of Effective Professional Develop- Each entry begins with a table that allows ment outlines four tenets of effective profes- a quick review of essential information about sional development for teachers who are the resource. The body of the entry is orga- implementing new strategies. nized to address the following five questions. The factors and principles we found in our research overview are listed in brackets. Part II 1. What is it? How does it work? Part II provides detailed descriptions of some of the resources available for teachers to 2. What professional development is use with struggling secondary readers. The required? What is provided? instructional resources for struggling sec- [Four principles of effective professional ondary readers were broadly categorized as development: continuous and sustained, programs and strategies. locally based initiatives, adaptation rather Programs are instructional packages of than adoption, teacher as researcher]. multiple components prepared by an entity, See pages 19–20 for the discussion of often commercial. They provide materials, principles. instructional routines, and support for the professional development of teachers. Two 3. How does it develop reading proficiency? types of programs were defined: [Four major factors: motivation, decoding skill (including fluency), language com- Bibliography prehension (including linguistic knowl- The bibliography includes the sources edge, background knowledge, making consulted for the preparation of the guide. It inferences, self-regulated comprehend- also includes recent publications of practical ing), and transaction with text]. See pages value to educators, marked with an asterisk(*). 9–17 for the discussion of factors. Sources consulted to document each of the programs and strategies are listed separately, 4. How does it support effective reading in reference lists at the end of each resource instruction? description. [Eight principles of effective reading instruction: recognition and honor of cul- Project Web Page tural and linguistic diversity; assessment In addition to this printed Guide, the during teaching; scaffolds (strategies such project is supported by a Web page at as questioning, discussion, and writing) http://www.sedl.org/. before, during, and after reading; reper- The Web page features a database by toires of strategies; explicit instruction of which users can search and sort for specific strategies; reading practice; student choice information and compare resources. For and authentic tasks; scaffolding across the example, to see what is available to build classroom curriculum]. See pages 17–19 background knowledge, the user can sort on for the discussion of principles. that field. 5. How effective is it? [Type of documentation, recency of doc- umentation, effectiveness with the target HOW RESOURCES population, extent of implementation]. WERE SELECTED See pages 4–5 for the discussion of criteria. Criteria for Inclusion of Programs and Strategies Definitions of Terms. A definition for each term used in the Programs and strategies were included resource descriptions begins on pages 133. in the Guide if aligned with the following This section is organized by the five ques- criteria: tions used to organize the resource entries. 1. Developmentally, contextually, and socially appropriate for improving the Part III reading of struggling secondary readers, grades 6–12. Part III of the Guide explains the proce- dures used for reviewing the research on sec- 2. Grounded in reading theory and consis- ondary reading,