Increasing Research Based Comprehension Practices: From Theory to - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Increasing Research Based Comprehension Practices: From Theory to Practice

May 4, 2005

International Reading Association Mary C. Norton, Ed.D.

New York University, Metro Center

The Story

Once upon a time there was…….. A PROBLEM

in the kingdom.

The kingdom

• A large city school district with many

underperforming schools

The problem

• From 50% to 85% of the children in

the kingdom were struggling to understand what they read based on State wide standard based assessments.

The Setting: 3 urban schools

Similarities

• Hi-poverty, low SES
• Over 90% of students receive free lunch
• 99% minority, 8% ELL
• 13% recent immigrants (Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and

Tobago, Guyana)

• Over 30% teachers have less than 2 years

experience

The Plot

• To improve the reading

comprehension of the children of the kingdom and have students read text with understanding

• To translate research based reading

comprehension knowledge into practice in the schools of the kingdom

The Characters

MAIN CHARACTERS

• CLASSROOM

TEACHERS

• STUDENTS
• BUILDING PRINCIPALS
• PROJECT

CONSULTANTS/ COACHES SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

• Project Director
• School Literacy coaches
• Support/special teachers
• District office staff

Problem Solving Actions

• Needs Assessment
• Use of existing student data
• Identify focus areas
• Provide 2 tiers of support
• Select comprehension research based on

school data

• Some of research used in Literacy

Institutes in 2 schools

Partnership and Collaboration Goals

• Increase the internal capacity of school

staff in reading instruction.

• Use common research based knowledge

to improve ELA instructional coherence from grade to grade

• Develop cadre of literacy leaders in

schools to share and increase total ELA expertise

Institutes and Meetings

Used the following research to develop:

• K-5 common knowledge of essential

components of reading across grades.

• Vertical understanding of ELA Standards

by all staff

• Entry expectations and exit outcomes

based on standards and ELA assessment

• Practical application to Balanced Literacy

PYRAMID OF COMPREHENSION SUCCESS

Improved Student Reading Achievement Success Achieved Balanced Comprehension Instruction Sufficient Materials and Opportunities Reading Volume; Concept Oriented Reading Instruction Comprehension Strategies and Routines Student Questioning Foundational Skills…Decoding Ability, Fluency Enhanced Vocabulary .. Oral Comprehension

C

• m

p . S t r a t e g i e s

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S k i l l D e v e l

• p

m e n t H i g h e r E x p e c t a t i

• n

s – H i g h Q u a l i t y T a l k

Some of the Causal Links Between Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension

Metalinguistic Awareness Vocabulary Word Recognition Reading Comprehension

William Nagy Graves

Some of the Causal Links Between Vocabulary Knowledge and Reading Comprehension

Metalinguistic Awareness Vocabulary Word Recognition Reading Comprehension

Phonological Awareness Receptive Vocabulary Word Recognition (Dickenson Model)

Knowledge About Print Knowledge of Phonemes and Morphemes

Adapted from:William Nagy

Reading volume: Reciprocal effects

The result:

Strong reading skills Improved reading volume Increased reading comprehension More rewarding reading experience Increased motivation to read Increased reading volume Increased decoding skills Increased fluency Increased vocabulary

Teacher understanding

• f comprehension

elements and how to teach them. Adequate reading materials and time Student/text match

Instructional Implications for Improving Students’ Reading Comprehension

Teacher knowledge of research based best practices

Strong foundation

• f decoding. fluency,

and vocabulary skills Use of Multiple Comprehension strategies, building background knowledge

IMPROVED READING COMPREHENSION

The Teacher’s Role in Improving Reading Comprehension

The Teacher’s Role

Model thinking process aloud Read narrative and informational text to match students’ experiences and interests Provide

• pportunities for

students to transfer these abilities to independent reading Ask High Quality questions. Encourage and Increase student questioning abilities.

The Student’s Role in Improving Reading Comprehension

The Student’s Role

Explain thinking

• process. Ask high

quality questions.

Select appropriate narrative and informational text for interest and information. Respond to text using a variety of strategies. Access appropriate strategies to increase text understanding.

Examples of High Quality Talk Strategy for Teacher and Student

• Are you talking about this topic
• I agree…because…
• I disagree…because….
• Please repeat that using your own words.
• Can you give an example?
• How do you know this?
• Why do you think this?
• Can you say more about …….?
• I don’t understand. Can you say that another

way

Trouble Shooting Strategies Comprehension

• Reread the sentence if you have stopped

to figure out words.

• Look back in passage for information
• Consider options. What is possible, what

is probable?

• Come to a conclusion.
• See if it makes sense

The Story (to be continued) Findings and Implications:

• Levels of progress
• What we learned
• Next Steps

Resources

• Adams, M.J. (2000). Beginning To

Read:Thinking and Learning about Print. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press

• Beck I.L. et al. (1996) Questioning the Author:A

yearlong classroom implementation to engage students with text. The Elementary School Journal, 96, 385-414.

• Dickenson,D.K.& Smith,M.W.(1994)Long-term

effects of preschool teachers’ book readings on low-income children’s vocabulary and story

• comprehension. Reading Research

Quarterly,29(2),104-122.

Resources

• Duke,N.K.& Pearson,P.D.(2002). Effective practices for developing

reading comprehension, In A.E.Farstrup& S.J.Samuels(Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction(3rded))pp.205- 242)Neward,DE:International Reading Association

• New York State Education Department. Early Literacy Guidance,

Prekindergarten- Grade 3. available, http:// www. nysed.gov

• Report of the National Reading Panel, (December, 2000). Teaching

Children to Read: Chapter 4.

• www.early reading.info – website developed by Pacific Resources

for Education and Learning (PREL).Provides online support for those responsible for young children’s reading achievement. The reading research and literature found on this website will help teachers, principals, parents with decisions about developing young

• readers. It includes the 5 components of reading and reading

instruction for pre-K to grade 3 learners.