READING MORE, READING BETTER: Increasing Comprehension Levels of West Virginia’s Students Elfrieda H. Hiebert Elfrieda H. Hiebert University of California, University of California, Berkeley Berkeley (www.textproject textproject.org) .org) (www.
Comprehension…. 1. results from reading often, 2. is about getting new knowledge, and 3. is strategic. Read often. Build new knowledge. Be strategic.
1. Comprehension results from reading often. a. Typical Patterns of Opportunity to Read (OtR) b. OtR and Fluency c. OtR and Stamina
Typical Reading School 1 and home reading 2 … 1a. 750000 500000 250000 0 Proficient & Above Basic Below Basic Gr4School Gr4Home 1 Guthrie, J.T., Schafer, W.D., Huang, C.W. (2001), Benefits of opportunity to read and balanced instruction on the NAEP. Journal of Educational Research , 84, 145-162. 2 Anderson, R.C., P.T. Wilson, and L.G. Fielding. 1988. Growth in reading and how children spend their time outside of school. Reading Research Quarterly 23(3):285-303.
Recent evidence from Reading First Classrooms Length of Time with Instructional eyes on text Blocks (in minutes) 90-minute 17.57 100-minute 16.25 120-minute 19.25 Overall 18.33 (Brenner, Tompkins, & Hiebert, 2006)
1b. OtR and Fluency � Buck & Torgesen (2004; www.fcrr.org) Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) & FCAT: r = .70 [also: Good, Simmons, & Kame � enui (Scientific Studies of Reading , 2001) ORF & Oregon Statewide Assessment: r = .67] � Kuhn & Schwanenflugel (in press): Data from the seven classes most successful in increasing reading rate were compared to 7 least successful classes: students in former read 7 minutes more daily than students in latter.
NAEP Fluency/Silent Reading Comprehension Comparison NAEP (Gr.4) WV !"#$%#& %'#( %#)$%*+ Proficient & Above Basic Below Basic
1c. OtR and Stamina for Reading � The majority of students displayed stamina across an extended text EXCEPT for students in the bottom quartile. For them, discrepancy between oral and silent reading was substantial in both rate (56 wpm) and comprehension. � Struggling readers need to be guided in attaining stamina. Wilson, Trainin, Rankin-Erickson, Hiebert, & Laughridge, 2008
Guiding Struggling Readers in Silent Reading: Scaffolded Silent Reading � Compared the efficacy of Scaffolded Silent Reading (ScSR) using wide, monitored silent reading with“Guided Repeated Oral Reading” (NRP, 2000, 3- 15) on 3rd graders � fluency and comprehension. � No significant differences between these two forms of reading practice on third graders � fluency or comprehension. � Qualitative results indicated that any single approach used exclusively tends toward tedium and reduces overall student enjoyment and motivation. These results seem to argue for using ScSR as an alternative or companion to Guided Repeated Oral Reading. (Reutzel, Fawson, & Smith, 2009)
A Plan for Increasing Stamina (& Fluency & Comprehension) Grade Teacher-guided “Scaffolded” Silent Reading (e.g., Centers, “Seatwork”) 1 10 minutes daily @35 7 minutes daily @ 30 100,800 wpm: wpm: 37,800 63,000 2 15 minutes daily @80 15 minutes daily @80 432,000 wpm: wpm:216,000 216,00 3 20 minutes daily 20 minutes daily @100 720,000 @100 wpm: 360,000 wpm: 360,000 TOTAL 639,000 613,800 1,252,800
2. Comprehension is about building new knowledge. a. Examining Current Story Comprehension b. WV KNOWS
2a. The current model of comprehension in core reading/language arts programs Number of Number words of questions 1.3 The Garden (from Frog 401 25 & Toad Together) 1.4 The Lady in the Moon 290 21 4.3 How Night Came from 1249 19 the Sea 4.4 The King in the Kitchen 2186 27
2b. WV KNOWS Did I draw on students' existing knowledge i. and experience? � Did I identify what new knowledge can be ii. gained from this text and guide students in gaining it? Did I support students in organizing their iii. new knowledge with their existing knowledge/experiences? Did I show students ways to widen their iv. knowledge? Did I support students in sharing their v. knowledge?
crops i. Capturing existing that are crops Knowledge grown that can crops grown during be grown in certain year greenhouses seasons round heritage verus non- seeds heritage When plants flowers trees seedlings How tools Planting not for and use of What food Gardening chemical organic growth non enhancements organic for food Where natural use of use of pest partial natual chemical fruits containers control sun/ products pest vegetables shade to help control plants in the grow full sun ground full shade
ii. WV KNOWS: Establish New Knowledge SELECTION WHAT NEW INFORMATION MIGHT STUDENTS GAIN? The Gardener: The story is a collection of letters that chronicles Lydia Grace Finch’s move from her family’s farm to the city to live with her Uncle Jim. Lydia Grace plants a garden on the rooftop of Uncle Jim’s apartment building to “plant” a smile on Uncle Jim’s face. Pushing Up the Sky: This Native American tale explains how the sky got so high. The Snohomish worked together to push the sky upwards. The stars in the night sky are holes that were made as a result of the poles that were used to push the sky up. Night Letters: Lilly is fascinated with the natural world—ant trails, a hawkmoth, cracks in a rock, flashing fireflies, and the bark of a tree. As she sits outside with her cat, she jots down notes (i.e., night letters) about these phenomena. A Symphony of Whales: The ice traps thousands of Beluga whales and they cannot swim back out to sea. Glashka rallies the village to chip away at the ice so that the whale can surface and breathe. When the icebreaker ship tries to lure the whales back out to sea, the whales are afraid of the ship’s engine and do not follow the ship. Glashka tells the ship’s captain to play music to help lure the whales back out to sea. Volcanoes: Nature’s Incredible Fireworks: This is an in depth look at volcanoes. The author describes how volcanoes form and how explosive and destructive they can be. There is also mention of Mt. St. Helen and Mt. Vesuvius.
iii. Organize new and prior knowledge
iv. Ways of widening the knowledge base
Supporting Students in Sharing their Knowledge
3. Comprehension is a strategic process. a. Identifying the key strategies b. Strategic teaching of strategic processes
3a. Identifying the strategies Read to be informed, perform a task, and read for literacy/literary experience K 1 2 3 4 • sequencing • identifying • inferencing • comparing & • using text main ideas with contrasting elements to make • predicting • analyzing supporting characters meaning and characters • retelling to detail justify author’s • identifying understand • skimming & purpose • concluding critical features after scanning (settings, • explaining listening to a • describing • establishing characters, plot) theme story. characters author’s purpose • interpreting to • evaluating • paraphrasing • recognizing connect across self, connections • purpose- literary elements text, & world among facts, setting • connecting to ideas, events, • connecting self & other concepts between self & cultures simple text From West Virginia Reading/Language Arts events Content Standards
3b. Strategic teaching of strategic processes
INSTRUCTION THAT FURTHERS CONTEXT USE IN ESTABLISHING WORD MEANING Example 1 Text: “When the cats pounced on the dog, the dog leapt up, yelping, and knocked down a shelf of books. The animals ran past Wendy, tripping her. She cried and fell to the floor. As the noise and confusion mounted, mother hollered upstairs, “What’s all the commotion?” Teacher modeling: “I’m going to use clues in the sentences to help me figure out the meaning of commotion. Let’s see, commotion must mean something to do with noise and confusion. The first several sentences tell me that the animals are noisy and running around. Wendy is making noise. I also predict that the meaning is ‘noise and confusion’ because at the beginning of the sentence where the word is used, there is the phrase ‘As the noise and confusion mounted.’ My prediction is that the word commotion means noise and confusion. After I’ve read the passage, I will check the dictionary to see if my prediction from using the context is correct.
Example 2 Text: “The worried rider couldn’t control the tenacious horse.” Teacher modeling: “I’m going to use clues in the sentence to help me figure out the meaning of tenacious. Let’s see. Tenacious must mean something that a horse could be that would make it hard for its rider to control. Maybe scared, a horse could be scared, and because it was scared, it might act up and be hard to control. Or a horse could be stubborn, because horses sometimes do get stubborn, and when they do it’s hard for a rider to get them to do what she or he wants. A horse could be well-trained, but a rider shouldn’t have any trouble controlling a well-trained horse, so tenacious wouldn’t mean well-trained. Well, those are all the clues I can think of, and I still don’t know what tenacious means. So I’ll have to read on.
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