Effective Instruction for

Adolescent Struggling Readers

Professional Development Module

Christy S. Murray, Jade Wexler, Sharon Vaughn,

Greg Roberts, Kathryn Klingler Tackett
The University of Texas at Austin

Marcia Kosanovich
Florida State University
 The Center on Instruction is operated by RMC Research Corporation
in partnership with the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State
University; Horizon Research Inc.; RG Research Group; the Texas Institute for Measurement,
Evaluation, and Statistics at the University of Houston; and the Vaughn
Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts at The University of Texas at Austin.

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2008

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 Adolescent Literacy:
Research and Practice

One in three fourth-graders is

reading below a basic level.
Only 31 percent of eighth-
graders are proficient readers.

(Lee, Grigg, & Donahue, 2007)

Essential Components of Reading
Elementary Level vs. Secondary Level

Component Elementary Secondary

Phonemic Awareness

Word Study

(Advanced)
Fluency

Vocabulary

Comprehension

Motivation

 Objectives

Enhance your understanding of selected research-based

instructional practices associated with positive effects for
adolescent struggling readers.
Learn how to implement these research-based practices.

NOTE: Assessment and its influence on instruction will not be a focus of this presentation.
 Reading Interventions for
Adolescent Struggling Readers:
A Meta-analysis With Implications for Practice

1. Overall, how effective are the reading interventions for adolescent

struggling readers that have been examined in research studies?
2. What is the specific impact of these reading interventions on
measures of reading comprehension?
3. What is the specific impact of these reading interventions on
students with learning disabilities?

Available for download: www.centeroninstruction.org.

(Scammacca, Roberts, Vaughn, Edmonds, Wexler, Reutebuch, & Torgesen, 2007)

Scientific Rigor of Highlighted Studies

All highlighted studies used

random assignment
and
standardized measures.
 General Findings of the Meta-Analysis

Various levels of intervention effectiveness:

Students with LD vs. students without LD;

Researcher-implemented vs. teacher-implemented; and
Students at the middle school level vs. students at the high school
level.
 Highlighted Studies: Caveat

The instructional practices used in the studies we selected

represent some of the practices associated with improved
outcomes for students in grades 412.
The scope of this presentation does not allow us to present
all studies and referenced practices from the meta-analysis.
Essential Components of
Reading for Adolescents

Word Study

Fluency

Vocabulary

Comprehension

Motivation
 What is Word Study?

What do I do when my students with reading disabilities and

difficulties cannot read grade-level words accurately?
 Word Study
Practices that improve word-level reading

Research indicates that

Older students in need can benefit from word study instruction

(Edmonds et al., in press; Scammacca et al., 2007).
 COI Meta-analysis

FINDING IMPLICATION

Interventions focused on For older students struggling

word study had a at the word level, specific
moderate overall effect. word study intervention is
associated with improved
reading outcomes.
 Word Study
Successful Readers
Read multisyllabic words and use strategies to
figure out unknown words.
Make connections between letter patterns and
sounds and use this understanding to read
words.
Break words into syllables during reading.
Use word analysis strategies to break difficult or
long words into meaningful parts such as
inflectional endings, prefixes, suffixes, and roots.
(Bhattacharya & Ehri, 2004; Nagy, Berninger, & Abbott, 2006; Boardman et al., 2008)
Struggling Readers
Often read single-syllable words effortlessly but
have difficulty decoding longer, multisyllabic
words.
May lack knowledge of the ways in which sounds
map to print.
Have difficulty breaking words into syllable parts.
Often do not use word analysis strategies to
break words into parts.
 Reasons for Word Study Difficulties

Students might not have been effectively taught how to

decode in the earlier grades.
Students might not have been given adequate opportunities
for practice.
Students may struggle to understand letter-sound
correspondences or the rules of the English language.
 Strategies for Teaching Word Study

Following are examples of two types of word study practices

that can be used with older readers.
 Word Study:
Instructional Practice #1

Instruction in orthographic processing, or the ability to

recognize letter patterns in words and their
corresponding sound units.

Instructional focus: Various advanced

word study components such as
syllable types and blending
multisyllabic words.
Instructional Practice #1: Example

Mumble = mum ble

Locate = lo cate

Invalid = in val id
 Instructional Practice #1:
How do I Teach it?

Teach students to identify and break words into syllable

types.
Teach students when and how to read multisyllabic words
by blending the parts.
Teach students to recognize irregular words that do not
follow predictable patterns.
Teach students to apply these practices to academic words
(e.g., tangent, democracy, precision).
 Syllable Types and Examples

Closed (e.g., cat) short vowel

Open (e.g., no) long vowel
Vowel-consonant-e (e.g., like): e makes vowel long
Consonant-le (e.g., mumble)
R-controlled (e.g., ar, or, er, ir, ur)
Double vowel (e.g., team)
 Word Study:
Instructional Practice #2

Expose students to information and strategies that will help

students gain access to the meaning of words and make
the connection between decoding and comprehension.

Instructional focus: Prefixes, suffixes,

inflectional endings, root words,
and base words.
 Instructional Practice #2: Example

Transplanted =
trans (across) + plant (base word)
+ ed (happened in the past)

Useless = use (base word) + less (without; not)

Careful = care (base word) + ful (full of)

 Instructional Practice #2:
How Do I Teach It?

Teach students the meanings of common prefixes,

suffixes, inflectional endings, and roots.
Provide instruction in how and when to use structural
analysis to decode unknown words.
 Highlighted Study:
Bhattacharya & Ehri (2004)

Participants
60 struggling readers (non-LD),
grades 6 through 9

Received one of two interventions Received

provided by a researcher for current school
four sessions totaling 110 minutes. instruction.
(Comparison Group)
Syllable Whole
Chunking Word n = 20
n = 20 Reading
n = 20
 Syllable Chunking Intervention

Students were taught to:

1. Orally divide multisyllabic words into syllables;
2. State the number of syllables;
3. Match syllables to their spelling; and
4. Blend the syllables to say the whole word.
 Five Steps
in Syllable Chunking Intervention

Students read the word aloud.

If incorrect, they were told the word and repeated it.

Students explained the words meaning.

If incorrect, they were provided corrective feedback.

Students orally divided the words pronunciation into

its syllables or beats by raising a finger as each beat
was pronounced and then stated the number of beats.
If incorrect, the experimenter modeled the correct response.
(e.g., fin ish = two beats)
 Five Steps in Syllable Chunking
Intervention (continued)

Students matched the pronounced form of each beat

to its spelling by exposing that part of the spelling
as it was pronounced, while covering the other letters.
(Different ways of dividing words into syllables were accepted.)
If incorrect, the experimenter modeled and explained the
correct segmentation and students copied the response.

Students blended the syllables to say the whole word.

If incorrect, they were told the word and repeated it.
 Syllable Chunking Intervention
Learning Trials

Words were presented on index cards one at a time over four learning
Read
trials and analyzed
in random orders. 25 words on each of the 4 days.

Trial 1: Perform all five steps.

Trials 24: Perform all steps except step 2.
Whole Word Reading Intervention

Students practiced reading multisyllabic words

with no applied strategy.
 Three Steps in
Whole Word Reading Intervention

Students read the word aloud.

If incorrect, they were told the word and repeated it.

Students explained the words meaning.

If incorrect, they were told the meaning.

Students read the word again by looking at the print.

If incorrect, they were told the word and repeated it.
 Whole Word Reading Intervention
Learning Trials

Read and analyzed 25 words on each of the 4 days.

Words were presented on index cards one at a time

over six learning trials in random orders.
Trial 1: Perform all three steps.
Trials 24: Perform all steps except step 2.
Trials 56: Read words as quickly as possible
and record time.
 Highlighted Study:
Bhattacharya & Ehri (2004)

Participants
60 struggling readers (non-LD),
grades 6 through 9

Received one of two interventions Received

provided by a researcher for current school
four sessions totaling 110 minutes. instruction.
Whole (Comparison Group)
Syllable Word n = 20
Chunking Reading
n = 20 n = 20
Current School Practice
(Comparison Condition)

Students received the schools

typical reading instruction.
 Which Strategy do You Think
was Most Effective? Why?

Study Findings

Syllable training enhanced readers decoding ability on transfer

tasks.
Syllable training enhanced readers ability to retain spellings of words
in memory.
Whole word training was not found to help struggling readers on any
of the decoding or spelling transfer tasks.
 Implications for the Classroom

There is value
Authors note
in teaching
Instruction in that the intervention
adolescent
word study for the could be enhanced
struggling readers
weakest readers is by also teaching
to read
needed as well as students information
multisyllabic words
comprehension about root words
by matching
strategy instruction. and affixes,
syllables to
syllable types, etc.
pronunciations.
 Participant Activity

You are teaching a sixth-grade reading class,

and several of your students are having
difficulty reading words.
You decide to try a syllable chunking
strategy with these students.
Syllable Chunking Intervention
Syllable Chunking Strategy

Instruction Dictionary

Federal Compensate
 Conclusions About
Word Study Instruction

For adolescent readers who struggle at the word level,

instruction in word study skills can improve word
identification skills.
There are a variety of instructional methods for this
purpose, but most involve teaching students to decode
words by recognizing syllables types or by analyzing parts
of words.
 What is Fluency?

What do I do when my students with reading disabilities

and difficulties cannot read words with automaticity?
 Fluency
The ability to read text with speed,
accuracy, and prosody (expression)

Research indicates that

Word study and comprehension are related to fluency (Shinn
& Good, 1992).

Fluency does not cause comprehension, but is one

necessary component of successful reading (Rasinski et al., 2005).
 COI Meta-analysis

FINDING IMPLICATION
More research on Fluency practices
fluency is needed associated with improved
with older students. outcomes with younger
students may apply to
older students struggling
with fluency.
 Fluency
Successful Readers
Read 100160 words per minute (at the middle
school level), depending on the nature and
difficulty of the text.
Decode words accurately and automatically.
Group words into meaningful chunks and
phrases.
Read with expression.
Combine multiple tasks while reading (e.g.,
decoding, phrasing, understanding, and
interpreting).
(Boardman et al., 2008)
Struggling Readers
Read slowly and laboriously.
May continue to struggle with decoding or
may decode correctly but slowly.
May not pause at punctuation or recognize
phrases.
Often lack voice or articulation of emotion
while reading.
May lack proficiency in individual skills,
resulting in dysfluent reading and limit
comprehension.
 Reasons for Fluency Difficulties

Students are focusing too much cognitive effort on

decoding the text.
Students are not cognizant of punctuations role in reading.
Students have a weak sight word vocabulary.
Students have had limited exposure, instruction, and
practice with reading text fluently or at all.
Students are unfamiliar with the meaning of words in text.
 Fluency: Differing Instructional Needs

Adolescents whose oral reading rate on grade-level text is:

Below 70 wcpm* need more practice with word
recognition in addition to fluency practice;
Between 70 and 120 wcpm* may benefit from regular
fluency instruction; and
Greater than 120 wcpm* may benefit more from
increased vocabulary and comprehension instruction
rather than increased fluency instruction.

* Ranges are approximations.

 What are
Repeated Reading and Wide Reading?

Repeated Reading Wide Reading

Reading and listening to the Reading many different types

same passage several times of text
 Rationale for Repeated Reading at the
Secondary Level

Repeated reading may be appropriate when providing students

with practice on a targeted list of words.
Students will have multiple exposures to words that may build their
sight vocabulary and automaticity.
Repeated reading interventions have been shown to have positive
outcomes for students with reading difficulties in the younger
grades (Chard, Vaughn, & Tyler, 2002). Therefore, repeated reading
interventions may have a similar effect for students in the
secondary grades at an early reading level. (Please note that more
research in this area is needed).
 Challenges Associated
With Repeated Reading

Repeated Reading
Increases in speed generally fail to transfer to other texts unless
there is word overlap (Rashotte & Torgesen, 1985).
May not be more effective than wide reading for increasing reading
speed (Homan, Klesius, & Hite, 1993).
Limits students exposure to content, vocabulary, and different text
types.
 Rationale for Wide Reading at the
Secondary Level

Wide Reading
Students are exposed to a variety of text structures and vocabulary
(which coincides with the expectations of reading a wide variety of
text in the upper grades).
Students are exposed to more content (when compared to repeated
reading), which may increase word/background knowledge.
Background knowledge can have a positive impact on
comprehension (Hansen & Pearson, 1983).
There is less likelihood that students will see the same words over
and over again across a variety of texts.
 Wide Reading vs. Repeated Reading
Which is More Effective?

More research is needed in the area of fluency

instruction for older students.

Recommendation:
Use a combination of repeated reading and wide reading.

Repeated reading provides opportunities for students to improve

and automate their sight vocabulary.
Wide reading exposes students to new and different content,
vocabulary, and text types.
 Repeated Reading
Considerations for Use

Combine with word learning.

Select passages that include targeted vocabulary and/or passages
at the students independent level.
Monitor progress and provide feedback to students.
Support reading with modeling and feedback from teacher or peers.
Involve students in progress monitoring of fluency goals.
As students improve, increase passage difficulty.
 Wide Reading
Considerations for Use

Select passages at the students independent or instructional reading

level.
Practice fluency with successive passages but do not reread the
same passage repeatedly.
Monitor progress and provide frequent feedback.
Support reading with modeling and feedback from teacher or peers.
Involve students in progress monitoring of fluency goals.
As students improve, increase passage difficulty.
 Fluency Interventions Alone Do Not
Improve Comprehension

Fluency practice is most effective when combined

with instruction in decoding (for select students)
and/or comprehension instruction.
 Partner Reading

Partner reading is a widely used strategy that provides the

opportunity to practice oral reading with immediate and
explicit feedback and incorporates the opportunity to
engage in comprehension practice. Partner reading:

May benefit both partners in fluency development;

Engages students in fluency monitoring practices; and
Improves self-monitoring practices during reading.
 Partner Reading
Considerations for Use

Use at least 3 days per week with students who need

practice developing their ability to read fluently.
Should last no more than 1520 minutes per day or every
other day. Spend a majority of instructional time on other
components of reading.
Pair partners based on data: Place slightly higher-level
reader with lower-level reader. (Having a model of good
reading is essential.)
 Partner Reading
Considerations for Use (continued)

Use reading materials that are at the independent or

instructional level of the more struggling reader.
Set individual and partner goals for reading fluency. Have
students graph their best results.
 Specific Skills to Teach

What counts as an incorrect response.

How to sit with partners and locate materials.
How to time each other.
How to underline incorrect words.
How to use correction procedures.
How to calculate words correct per minute.
How to graph results.
 How Do I Implement
Partner Reading?

Discuss fluency and its importance.

Model use of partner reading strategies.

Provide guided practice.

Provide independent practice with support.

 Teacher Responsibilities

Prepare student folders with new passages (one for

each student to read and/or follow along with their
partner).
Observe students during partner reading to monitor
fidelity of procedures and accuracy of error checking.
Check folders (accuracy, graphs).
Move students to next level.
Practice: Who Needs Fluency Instruction?
Example 1

Anna is a ninth-grader reading 40 wcpm on eighth-grade-level text.

Her teacher has noticed that she often has difficulty decoding words.
She did not pass the state test. Does Anna need fluency instruction?

YES, but she also needs explicit instruction in word study.

She would also benefit from instruction to boost her
vocabulary knowledge and overall verbal
reasoning/comprehension ability.
 Example 2

Jose is a 10th-grader reading 111 wcpm on 8th-grade-level text and

is more than 95 percent accurate. He did not pass the state test.
What does this tell us about Jose? Does he need fluency instruction?

Jose is fairly fluent. He may need some fluency instruction,

but the fact that he is reading at least 100 wcpm
and is very accurate and still not passing the state test
tells us that Jose may need instruction
to boost comprehension, verbal reasoning, and word
knowledge in addition to fluency instruction.
 Example 3

Maria is reading 62 wcpm, but she is 96 percent accurate. She did

pass the state test, but she had an extended time accommodation.
Does Maria need fluency instruction?

YES, Maria would most likely benefit from fluency instruction.

She might benefit from some instruction in word study
(especially in sight words), but because she is so accurate,
she needs practice to increase the rate at which she is reading.
Although she is slow, with accommodations she
was able to demonstrate good comprehension
by passing the state test, which is a positive indication
of her comprehension ability.
 Fluency Instruction:
Conclusions

The level of fluency required for secondary struggling

readers to read effectively and understand text is not
entirely clear.
For some students, fluency may help build a link
between decoding and comprehension, but fluency
does not cause comprehension.
Teachers should not spend a lot of time on fluency
instruction and should pair it with instruction in decoding
and/or vocabulary and comprehension-enhancing
practices.
 What is Vocabulary?

What do I do when my students with reading disabilities

and difficulties do not know what a majority of words
in text mean and cannot use word-meaning knowledge
to enhance their comprehension?
 Vocabulary is

The ability to understand and use a

word effectively and appropriately
to foster comprehension.
 Research on Vocabulary:
A Vocabulary Continuum

1. Ive never heard of this word.

2. Ive heard of this word, but Im not really sure what it
means.
3. I can recognize the word in context.
4. I know the word well, including its various forms,
definitions, and uses.

(Dale, 1965)
 COI Meta-analysis
FINDING
Vocabulary interventions had
the largest overall effect size.
IMPLICATIONS
We know that directly teaching
students the meaning of words
and how to use strategies to
uncover meanings of words can
improve students knowledge of
the words taught.
What we dont know is whether or
how vocabulary instruction
influences comprehension.
 COI Meta-Analysis

FINDING
Vocabulary interventions had the
largest overall effect size.

CAVEAT
Standardized measures are not typically
used for measuring vocabulary knowledge and use.
Only researcher-developed measures were used
in the studies in the meta-analysis.
 Vocabulary
Successful Readers
Are exposed to a breadth of vocabulary words in
conversations and print at home and at school
from a very early age.
Understand most words when they are reading
(at least 90 percent) and can make sense of
unknown words to build their vocabulary
knowledge.
Learn words incrementally, through multiple
exposures to new words.
Have content-specific prior knowledge that
assists them in understanding how words are
used in a particular context.
(Boardman et al., 2008)
Struggling Readers
Have limited exposure to new words.
May not enjoy reading and therefore do not select
reading as an independent activity.
Read texts that are too difficult and thus are not
able to comprehend what they read or to learn
new words from reading.
Lack the variety of experiences and exposures
necessary to gain deep understanding of new
words.
Often have limited content-specific prior
knowledge that is not sufficient to support word
learning.
 Reasons for Vocabulary Difficulties

Lack of exposure to words (through reading, speaking,

and listening).
Lack of background knowledge related to words.
Lack of direct vocabulary instruction.
 Teaching Vocabulary
Words and Meaning

Effectively teaching vocabulary words does not mean

asking students to memorize definitions, nor does it mean
teaching students unfriendly and complex descriptions of
words.
Effectively teaching vocabulary words assures that
students have opportunities to know what words mean and
how to use them in oral and written language.
 Vocabulary Instruction
Use All of These Approaches That Match Instructional Needs

Word Additive
Consciousness Vocabulary

Generative Academic
Vocabulary Vocabulary
 Word Consciousness

Word consciousness refers to an awareness that words

have multiple meanings in various contexts.
Example: Assembly
Use various instructional approaches.
 Additive Vocabulary Instruction

Explicit instruction of specific words.

Think about your goals for instruction when selecting
words.
Becks Three Tiers of Vocabulary.
Three Tiers of Vocabulary Words

Tier 3 Words
Rarely in text or
are content
specific.

Tier 2 Words
Appear frequently in
many contexts.

Tier 1 Words
Words students are likely to know.

(Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002)

 Selecting Tier 2 Words

Tier 2 words are:

Frequently encountered;
Crucial to understanding the main idea of text;
Not a part of students prior knowledge (not Tier 1
words); and
Unlikely to be learned independently through the use of
context or structural analysis.
REMINDER: Tier 2 words should be taught before students read, and
discussed and used frequently afterward.
(Beck, McKeown, & Kucan, 2002)
 Seventh-Grade Text

Alexander Graham Bell is known as the inventor of the

telephone. His assistant was named Thomas A. Watson.
Together, Bell and Watson discovered how sound,
including speech, could be transmitted through wires, and
Bell received a patent for such a device. In 1876, the
telephone was officially invented and the first telephone
company was founded on July 9, 1877.
 Ninth-Grade Text
from Tuck Everlasting

The road that led to Treegap had been trod out long before
by a herd of cows who were, to say the least, relaxed. It
wandered along in curves and easy angles, swayed off and
up in a pleasant tangent to the top of a small hill, ambled
down again between fringes of bee-hung clover, and then
cut sidewise across the meadow.

(Babbitt, 1975)
 Which Words are Tier 2 Words?

The road that led to Treegap had been trod out long before
by a herd of cows who were, to say the least, relaxed. It
wandered along in curves and easy angles, swayed off and
up in a pleasant tangent to the top of a small hill, ambled
down again between fringes of bee-hung clover, and then
cut sidewise across the meadow.

(Babbitt, 1975)
 Additive Vocabulary Instruction:
Specific Strategies

Teach multiple meanings of words and provide many

exposures to target words.
Provide engaging activities: creating definitions and
nondefinitions, drawing pictures, and other games.
Restructure and clarify tasks, as necessary.
 Generative Vocabulary Instruction

Teaching words and related words

Example: Involuntary
volunteer = Choosing an action
in = Not
ary = Associated with
Involuntary refers to something that happens not by
choice.
Example sentence:
Blinking your eyes regularly is an involuntary action.
 Generative Vocabulary Instruction:
Specific Strategies

Promote wide reading of texts.

Promote opportunities to use target words.
Connect new words to oral language or reading materials.
Play word games and explore interesting uses of words.
Use key word strategies that provide phonetic or visual links
to target words.
Show students how to break words into parts and to use other
strategies to identify meaning.
 Academic Vocabulary Instruction

Concentrate on meanings of words within a

specific context.
Can be taken from content-area materials.
May be Tier 3 words.
Example: Conductor.
 Academic Vocabulary Instruction:
Specific Strategies

Use content-area materials to identify vocabulary.

Obtain depth of understanding by providing multiple
exposures and various contexts.
Use assessment procedures to identify words that students
need to know.
Provide explicit instruction.
Use computer technology.
 Conclusions About
Vocabulary Instruction

A good reader uses vocabulary to foster comprehension.

Teachers can do the following to effectively enhance students
vocabulary:
Promote word consciousness;
Use additive vocabulary instruction;
Use generative vocabulary instruction; and
Teach academic vocabulary.
Teachers should carefully choose the type of vocabulary instruction
they provide by examining the goals of their lessons.
 What is Reading Comprehension?

What do I do when my students with reading disabilities and

difficulties do not use strategies to enhance comprehension?
 Comprehension is

The ability to construct meaning and learn from text

using a variety of applied strategies.
The ultimate purpose of reading.

Research indicates that to teach students to construct meaning from

text, teachers need a firm grasp of:
Strategies that successful readers use when creating meaning
from text; and
Effective instructional methods to teach such successful
strategies (National Reading Panel, 2000).
 COI Meta-analysis
FINDING
The effect for reading
comprehension strategy
interventions was medium to
large.
IMPLICATIONS
Reading comprehension
interventions can have a
significant impact on adolescent
struggling readers.
Providing comprehension
strategy instruction throughout
the day provides opportunities
for multiple exposures and use
of strategies with a variety of
texts.
 Comprehension
Successful Readers
Continuously monitor reading for
understanding.
Link content with their prior knowledge.
Use a variety of effective reading strategies
before, during, and after reading.
Set a purpose for reading and adjust their
rate and strategy use depending on the text
and content.
(Boardman et al., 2008. Adapted from Denton et al., 2007; Pressley, 2006.)
Struggling Readers
Fail to use meta-cognitive strategies as they read.
May not be aware when understanding breaks
down.
May lack subject-specific prior knowledge.
Do not readily make connections between what
they are learning and what they already know.
Have limited knowledge and use of strategies for
gaining information from text.
Often do not enjoy reading and lack understanding
of the utility of reading.
 Reasons for Comprehension
Difficulties

Lack of appropriate prior knowledge.

Inability to relate content to prior knowledge.
Over-reliance on background knowledge.
Inability to read text fluently.
Difficulty with decoding words;
Inability to attend to meaning while reading.
Inability to apply comprehension strategies.
Difficulty with understanding meaning of words.
 Components of
Comprehension Strategy Instruction

Activate
Answer/Generate
Prior
Questions
Knowledge

Multicomponent
Instruction

Summarize
Monitor
Using Graphic
Comprehension Organizers

(Adapted from Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006)

 Anticipate What You Will Learn

Preview slides and handouts.

Make a prediction: What will you learn during this portion of the
professional development?
Knowledge Before PD Statement Knowledge After
PD
Agree Disagree Agree Disagree
Teachers should explicitly teach students comprehension
strategies.
Having students make predictions about what they will learn
should take about 30 minutes when introducing text.
All students who can decode words can also comprehend
text.
Students who know comprehension strategies generally apply
them when they read.
 Component # 1:
Activate Prior Knowledge

What is it?
Existing information students have about a topic, skill, or
idea.

Why is it important?
Helps students make connections between what they already
know and what they are reading.
Activate Prior Knowledge:
Effective Strategies

Previewing Text

Making/Monitoring Predictions
 Previewing Text

Instructional Steps

1. Model by thinking aloud.

Highlight headings, pictures, key words.
2. Provide small-group practice.
3. Provide independent practice.
 Making/Monitoring Predictions

After previewing text, ask students to make informed

comments about the text and what they will learn.
Do not solicit guesses.
Keep it brief.
Revisit after reading to confirm or disconfirm predictions.
Provide key ideas or concepts to build background
knowledge.
Other Ways to Activate Prior Knowledge

Preview the material by identifying key words or concepts.

Have students briefly discuss what they know about a topic.
Explain the use of a word splash.
Describe the use of a KWL chart.
Demonstrate the use of an anticipation guide.
 Component #2:
Answering and Generating Questions

What is it?
Strategies that assist students in answering
comprehension questions and generating their own questions
about the text to facilitate understanding.
Why is it important?
Teaches students where and how to find answers.
Answering and Generating Questions:
Effective Strategies

Levels of Questions

Self-Questioning
 Strategy #1: Determining Levels of
Questions

Level 3: Making Connections

Cannot be answered by looking in text alone

Level 2: Putting it Together

Put pieces of information
from text together to come up with answer

Level 1: Right There

Easier questions, one- or two-word answers

(Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006; UTCRLA, 2003; Blachowicz & Ogle, 2001; Bos & Vaughn, 2002;
NIFL, 2001; NRP, 2000; Raphael, 1986)
 Goals of Using Leveled Questions

Help students ask and answer increasingly sophisticated

types of questions.
Help students become better consumers of text by being
able to ask and answer both simple and complex
questions.
Show students how to approach different types of
questions.

(Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006)

 Explicitly Teach Each Question Level

Introduce one level of question at a time.

Model how to answer each level of question.

Provide guided practice.

Provide supported, independent practice.

Provide immediate feedback to students.
(Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006; UTCRLA, 2003; Blachowicz & Ogle, 2001; Bos & Vaughn, 2002;
NIFL, 2001; NRP, 2000; Raphael, 1986)
 Strategy #2: Self-Questioning

The act of asking yourself questions as you read, such

as:
Where is this story taking place?
Why is this information important for me to know?

This strategy is also used to

monitor comprehension.
Explicitly Teaching Self-Questioning

Model how to self-question.

Provide guided practice.

Provide supported, independent practice.

Provide immediate feedback to students.
What Does Self-Questioning Look Like?

Materials:
Handout 9, Tornadoes
Scratch paper and pencils
 Component #3:
Monitoring Comprehension Strategies

What are they?

Strategies that enable students to keep track
of their understanding as they read and to implement
fix-up strategies when understanding breaks down.

Why are they important?

By monitoring their understanding, students become
more independent in understanding what is being read.
 Effective Strategies for
Monitoring Comprehension

Main Idea

Fix-up Strategies
 Strategy #1: Finding the Main Idea

Identify the most important who or what.

Identify the most important information

about the who or what.

Write this information in one short sentence

(e.g., 10 words or less).
(Klingner, Vaughn, & Schumm, 1998)
 What Does Finding
the Main Idea Look Like?

Materials:
Handout 9, Tornadoesone per participant
Handout 10, Finding the Main Ideaone per participant
Strategy #2: Fix-Up Strategies

Rereading, restating

Stopping when you come to a

word that you do not know

Using strategies to figure out

unfamiliar words or phrases
(e.g., context clues, breaking the word apart)

(Klingner, Vaughn, Dimino, Schumm, & Bryant, 2001)

 Component #4:
Graphic Organizers and Summarization

Graphic organizers
can be used
to aid students
with summarization.
 Graphic Organizers

What are they?

Visual representations of ideas in text.

Why are they important?

Assist students in identifying, organizing,
and remembering important ideas.
 Graphic Organizers can be Used to:

Activate relevant background knowledge;

Guide students thinking about the text;
Help students remember important elements and information
in texts;
Help students see and understand how concepts relate to
one another within a text;
Promote both questioning and discussion as students
collaborate and share ideas; and
Provide a springboard for organizing and writing summaries.
(Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006)
 Graphic Organizer for Summarization

Main idea of Main idea of

first section second
section

Big Idea
(provided by
the teacher)

Main idea of Main idea of

third section fourth
section

(Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006)

 Summarization Instruction

What is it?
Strategies to help students identify
the most important elements of what they read.

Why is it important?
Enhances ability to synthesize large amounts
of information during and after reading.
 Before Summarizing:
Using the Graphic Organizer

1. Teacher introduces the graphic

organizer (GO) and explains its Main Main
purpose. Idea Idea

2. Teacher provides the big idea

of the passage and writes it in Big Idea
the center of the GO.
3. Students read the passage, Main Main
paragraph by paragraph, and Idea Idea
record the main idea of each
paragraph on the GO.

(Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006)

Summarization Steps for Students

1 Write a topic sentence using the big idea.

2 Include main ideas in an order that makes sense.

3 Delete information that is redundant or trivial.

4 Reread for understanding and edit if necessary.

 How do I Teach it?

Model summarization.

Provide guided practice.

Provide supported, independent practice.

Provide immediate feedback to students.

Provide examples and nonexamples.

 What Does Summarization
With Graphic Organizers Look Like?

Materials:
Handout 9, Tornadoesone per participant
Handout 11, Graphic Organizer: Main Idea and
Summarization (for Tornadoes)one per
participant
Handout 12, Graphic Organizer: Main Idea and
Summarization (blank)one per participant
Summarization Steps for Students

1 Write a topic sentence using the big idea.

2 Include main ideas in an order that makes sense.

3 Delete information that is redundant or trivial.

4 Reread for understanding and edit if necessary.

 Highlighted Study:
Klingner & Vaughn (1996)

Participants
26 students (some LD),
grades 7 and 8

Reciprocal
Teaching

15 days
 Reciprocal Teaching
Strategies Taught

Predict what a passage is about.

Brainstorm what you know about the topic.
Clarify words and phrases.
Highlight the main idea of a paragraph.
Summarize the main idea.
Identify important details of a passage.
Ask and answer questions.
 Reciprocal Teaching
Strategies Taught (continued)

Participants
26 students (some LD),
grades 7 and 8

Reciprocal
Teaching

15 days
Cross-Age Cooperative
Tutoring Groups

n = 13 n = 13
 Reciprocal Teaching
Strategies Taught (continued)

Cross-Age Tutoring Cooperative Learning

Participants provided tutoring to Participants implemented the

sixth-grade students on comprehension strategies in
comprehension strategies. cooperative learning groups
(35 students) for 12 days.

For both interventions, the researcher:

Circulated around the room;
Monitored behavior; and
Provided assistance, as needed.
 Findings

Initial reading ability and oral language proficiency

seemed related to gains in comprehension.
A greater range of students benefited from strategy
instruction than would have been predicted.
Students in both groups continued to show
improvement in comprehension when provided
minimal adult support.
 Implications for the Classroom

Implementing comprehension strategy practice

within peer groups frees up the teacher for monitoring
student performance.
Teachers may want to consider comprehension
instruction for a wide range of students, including those
with very low reading levels.
 Components of
Comprehension Strategy Instruction

Activate
Answer/Generate
Prior
Questions
Knowledge

Multicomponent
Instruction

Summarize
Monitor
Using Graphic
Comprehension
Organizers

(Adapted from Simmons, Rupley, Vaughn, & Edmonds, 2006)

 Multicomponent Comprehension
Strategies are

The combination of several reading comprehension

strategies in order to gain meaning from text.

Why is it important?

The combination of strategies increases the level of

comprehension.
It leads to eventual automaticity.
 How do I Teach it?

After teaching two or more comprehension strategies,

give students opportunity to practice and apply knowledge.

Model using the strategies together.

Provide guided practice.

Provide supported, independent practice.

Provide immediate feedback to students.
Teach students to self-regulate their use of strategies.
 Revisit Your Anticipation Chart

Knowledge Before PD Knowledge After PD

Agree Disagree
Statement Agree Disagree

Teachers should explicitly teach students comprehension

strategies.
Having students make predictions about what they will learn
should take about 30 minutes when introducing text.
All students who can decode words can also comprehend text.
Students who know comprehension strategies generally apply
them when they read.
 Confirm/Disconfirm Predictions

Prediction:

Based on:

Confirmed?
___ Yes
___ No
 Conclusions About
Comprehension Instruction

TEACH STRATEGIES

Do not just ask comprehension questions.

Eventually, show students how to combine these

strategies and use them concurrently.
 What is Motivation?

How can I incorporate motivation

into my lessons for my students with reading
disabilities and difficulties?
 Research on Motivation

Motivation:
Makes reading enjoyable;
Increases strategy use; and
Supports comprehension.

(Guthrie & Wigfield, 2000)

 Motivation
Successful Readers
Interact with text in a motivated and
strategic way.
Have improved comprehension and reading
outcomes when engaged with text.
Read more and, thus, have more access to a
variety of topics and text types.
Are interested and curious about topics and
content in texts and read to find out more.
(Boardman et al., 2008)
Struggling Readers
May engage in reading as a passive process
without effortful attention given to activating prior
knowledge, using reading strategies, or employing
other strategic thought processes.
Often have low comprehension of text.
Fail to access a variety of wide reading
opportunities. Given the choice, prefer not to read.
May not be interested or curious to find out about
topics or content by reading.
 Instructional Practices Associated
With Improved Motivation

Four critical instructional practices can improve

students motivation.

1. Provide content goals for reading.

2. Support student autonomy.
3. Provide interesting texts.
4. Increase collaboration during reading.

(Guthrie & Humenick, 2004)

 Instructional Practice #1:
Content Goals

A content goal is a question or purpose for reading. It

emphasizes the importance of and increases interest in
learning from what we read. A teacher could:
Facilitate the use of relevant background knowledge.
Arrange hands-on experiences.
Make content goals interesting and relevant.
Model behaviors of a curious reader.
Involve students in creating and tracking content goals.
Provide feedback on progress of meeting goals.

(Guthrie & Humenick, 2004)

 Instructional Practice #2:
Support Student Autonomy

Student autonomy refers to students making instructional decisions

for themselves.

Provide opportunities for students to select which text they

read.
Allow students to choose aspects of the task in which they
are to engage.
Provide opportunities for students to either select partners
or groups, or to work alone.

(Guthrie & Humenick, 2004)

 Instructional Practice #3:
Use Interesting Texts

Students enjoy reading texts they find interesting and

choose to continue reading these texts during free time.
Here are several guidelines for selecting appropriate
and interesting material:
Choose texts for which students possess background
knowledge.
Choose texts that are visually pleasing and appear readable.
Choose texts that are relevant to students interests.
Provide stimulating tasks.

(Guthrie & Humenick, 2004)

 Instructional Practice #4:
Increase Collaboration During Reading

Adolescents are motivated by working together.

Collaboration increases the number of opportunities
struggling readers have to respond.
Allow students to collaborate by reading together, sharing
information, and presenting their knowledge.
Teach collaborative group work skills.
Use collaboration to foster a sense of belonging to the
classroom community (Anderman, 1999).

(Guthrie & Humenick, 2004)

 Motivation:
Practical Ideas

Provide Provide Allow students

weekly/monthly student choice. to choose
rewards. incentives.

Schedule Allow students Allow students to

student to graph their participate
conferences. progress. in goal setting or
lesson planning.
 Effective Reading Instruction at the
Secondary Level: Putting it all Together

A Review of Instructional Recommendations

Teach word study skills to adolescent readers who struggle at the word level.
There are a variety of methods to teach this information, but most involve
teaching students to decode words by recognizing syllable types or by
analyzing parts of words.
Use data to decide how much fluency intervention students should receive and
whether it should be paired with instruction in decoding, vocabulary, and/or
comprehension-enhancing practices.
Teach the meanings of words to students to enhance their vocabulary. Your
instructional goals will guide the words and instructional approach you select.
Teach students specific comprehension strategies that they can use to
enhance their comprehension. Once individual strategies are taught, combine
two or more into a single lesson.
Use instructional practices that promote student motivation.
 Considerations for Implementation

Adjust the focus and intensity of interventions

according to individual student needs.
Assess and monitor the progress of students.
Provide targeted support in well-planned, small-group
sessions over a long period of time.
Considerations for Implementation
(continued)

Provide professional development and support

to teachers in general education classrooms
to provide classwide interventions.
 Considerations for Implementation
(continued)

Create ways for general education teachers and

specialists to collaborate and coordinate on:
Instructional techniques and content.
Programwide decisions.
Implementation of reading instruction.
 Continue to Learn!

Use Center on Instruction resources to build your background

knowledge of reading instruction for older struggling readers.
Academic Literacy Instruction for Adolescents: A Guidance
Document from the Center on Instruction
Adolescent Literacy Resources: An Annotated Bibliography
Interventions for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Meta-analysis
With Implications for Practice
Effective Instruction for Adolescent Struggling Readers: A Practice
Brief

Continue to seek out other sources of support and knowledge.

Visit www.centeroninstruction.org.