24 Providing Independent Reading Comprehension Strategy Practice through Workstations Chase Young Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Abstract This article describes an action research project undertaken by a second grade teacher looking for research-based ways to increase his students’ reading comprehension. He designed fifteen comprehension workstations and evaluated their effect on his second graders’ reading comprehension scores as measured by district Imagination Station assessments. Results from the comprehension subtests indicate more than the expected one-year’s growth in comprehension. The descriptions of each workstation and the implementation are shared as well as growth in comprehension. At the beginning of the 21st Century, the that included proven strategies to increased National Reading Panel (NRP) indicated comprehension. However, although the that reading comprehension strategy programs included the strategies, the instruction is an effective way to teach methods for teaching them were deemed young readers (National Institute of Child inadequate in every program reviewed. Health and Human Development According to the analysis, the lessons [NICHHD], 2000). The report had a large skipped from teaching to assessment, impact on policy, research, and practice leaving out several integral steps in the (Allington, 2002), but teaching reading teaching process. comprehension through direct instruction was hardly a new concept (Becker, 1977; Missing Steps in Published Programs Pearson & Dole, 1987). Nonetheless, the Researchers (Duffy & Roehler, 1982; Duke report incited an influx in basal programs & Pearson, 2002) suggested that reading that advertised the direct instruction of comprehension instruction should begin comprehension strategies. Schools across with direct explanation. That is, every the nation adopted these “research-based” strategy should be explained in child- programs, and quickly implemented them friendly language. Explanations may seem and awaited positive results. However, like a natural way to begin the “teaching educators who understand the critical phase,” however this phase was absent in the aspects of effective reading instruction reading programs reviewed (Dewitz, Jones, might question the need for packaged Leahy, 2007; Durkin, 1981). programs as well as their comprehensiveness. For many years, researchers (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983) recommended extensive Dewitz, Jones, and Leahy (2009) analyzed modeling of the strategy in order to provide five core reading programs. The researchers a lens for students to view the complex agreed that each were “research-based” idiosyncrasies present in the mind of a because the programs provided lesson plans proficient reader. It was imperative that Texas Journal of Literacy Education Volume 2 – Issue 1 www.texasreaders.org © 2014 ISSN 2374-7404 Young 25 students see the process before trying to instruction was important to consider. emulate it. Effective teachers used think- Dempster (1987) discussed a concept called alouds, read alouds, and other strategies to “distributed practice.” This meant that prepare students for the next step (Paris, instruction should be sustained for adequate Cross, & Lipson, 1984), guided practice. time and the strategy should be repeatedly practiced on a spiraling rotation. Several Guided practice was also lacking in the five researchers investigated the time needed for major reading programs (Dewitz, Jones, & different types of strategy instruction, but Leahy, 2009), even though Pearson and the results varied greatly, ranging from a Gallagher (1983) previously argued that matter of days to a number of months (Buss, guided practice was an integral stage in the Ratliff, & Irion, 1985; Hanson & Pearson, learning/teaching process. During guided 1983; Taylor & Beach, 1984). Regardless practice, students attempted to use reading of the exact time needed, all the research comprehension strategies on their own, but indicated that students needed at least some the teacher was there ready to provide time to practice. So, then, where do guidance as needed. The teacher provided educators find the time to allow for repeated support for the students, answered questions, independent practice of reading posed guiding questions, and helped clarify comprehension strategies? The answer for misconceptions. After sufficient me was during “center time”—a time I explanation, modeling, guided practice, and dubbed, “comprehension workstations.” reteaching when necessary, the students moved into the final phase, independent Implementing Comprehension practice. Workstations Importance of Independent Practice I spent 15 weeks teaching my students Students needed independent practice of different strategies and slowly integrated the reading comprehension strategies (Gropper, strategies into our daily workstations. As 1983; Smith & Rothkopf, 1984). The you know, managing workstations is no easy students required time to practice the newly task. So, I made sure that the students learned strategies in order to internalize understood the material, could work them. Dewitz, Jones, & Leahy (2009) collaboratively, and could access exemplars argued that basal programs did not provide to complete the stations successfully. I ample time for independent practice, trained students to choose books on their however finding time for independent independent reading level from various practice during the instructional day can be sources, such as our classroom library, the difficult. school library, or from home. Most of the time there were no restrictions on book- Dewitz, Jones, and Leahy (2009) also types other than reading level, but as you mentioned that the programs covered a wide will see, some workstations required fiction range of strategies, but did not go very deep, or nonfiction books. Of course, you can use perhaps meaning that many strategies are any method for selecting text that works best taught, but not to the degree of for you and your students. sophistication necessary for students to internalize and strategically use them while The Lessons reading. In addition to the need for a I developed minilessons for several different thorough teaching sequence, the “spacing reading comprehension strategies. In an and timing” of the comprehension effort to make sure my stations were Texas Journal of Literacy Education Volume 2 – Issue 1 www.texasreaders.org © 2014 ISSN 2374-7404 Providing Independent Reading Comprehension Strategy Practice 26 research-based, I chose many of the together? Well, it happens, and on several strategies from the NRP report. There is no occasions it was more than two; four of my time to describe each lesson in detail, but I rambunctious boys shared the same pod. can provide a brief overview of the weekly This leads into the second reason I loved the format and the stations themselves. The method—they learned to work with one format was based on the gradual release another, regardless of “history.” It was an model (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983). expectation. And if not, I knew that next week they would be separated, and as I was On the first day, I conducted a think-aloud a teacher of young children, I can handle to demonstrate the reading comprehension anything for a week. strategy upon which we were focused. On the next day, I engaged the students in an My favorite reason, however, was because interactive read aloud—where I invited them the tables doubled as their workstation to contribute verbally to the lesson. For group. The groups were heterogeneous, example, if we were learning how to make random, and frequently changed. I am a good connections, I stopped several times firm believer in learning through social throughout the book to listen to student interaction, and thus I wanted to create as responses and give feedback. The third day, many opportunities for varying collaboration I introduced the graphic organizer used to as possible. think through the comprehension strategy. I allocated 30 minutes to workstations, and We completed the graphic organizer each group completed one per day. The together on chart paper and hung the final next section describes 15 workstations that I product on the wall. Subsequently, the used throughout the year, so clearly the math students worked in groups to complete their does not add up for a weekly routine. I used own graphic organizers. On the fourth day, the stations on a three-week routine. Thus, students worked in pairs, and on the fifth after three weeks, the students completed all day the students completed the graphic fifteen stations. My goal was not to engage organizer independently. them in each station every day or even every The Rotations week, but to spiral the strategy throughout After several years of modifying the the school year. management of the comprehension The Workstations workstations, I finally found a way that st worked best for me. I randomly assigned Summary – 1 Comprehension Strategy. students to a new pod (collection of desks Students in the summary workstation chose that makes a table) each week. On a book, and wrote a summary. The teacher Mondays, I shuffled and passed out expected students to write summaries based notecards with a pod number written on a on a constructed story arc (Figure 1). The card. The students walked in, found their story arc included characters, setting, new pod assignment, and dragged their desk conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, to form their new tables. and the resolution. After the students finished reading the book and completed