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June 17 - Morning
In The News
Rhinebeck MS/HS Library Website - From Diane Stevens:
http://www.rhinebeckcsd.org/library
Making Difficult Books Accessible
Reading to Students
By reading to students, the teacher eliminates any word analysis problems they
may have. Students aren't held back by a lack of phonics or syllabication skills.
In addition, through discussion and explanation, the teacher can help with vocabulary
and concepts that might be too difficult for them.
Recording Reading
Students read along with taped or CD-ROM versions of stories. CD-ROM stories
can be highly motivational and interactive. In addition, the word or phrase
being read is usually highlighted so students can follow along. Althought not
as motivational, taped books provide the most benefit when students read along
with the tape. The best taped books have an introduction and a dramatic reading.
Some also have sound effects. Taped books are an excellent way of making difficult-to-read
books accessible to struggling readers. Recorded books help students who are
having decoding problems. They help them read words that they know when they
hear them, but do not recognize in print. Recorded books do not help students
with difficult concepts, or unfamiliar vocabulary - words that they do not recognize
when the they hear them. If a recorded book has difficult vocabulary or concepts,
the teacher needs to provide preparation in much the same way as they would
in a guided reading lesson. Recorded books are one way that poorer readers can
have access to the same high-quality selections that the better readers encounter.
To eliminate the possible stigma that might be associated with listening ot
the taped version of hte book, allow everyone teh opportunity to use the taped
version.
Choral Reading
In choral reading, the group reads a selection aloud together. Choral reading
works best with repeated parts of stories, poems and verses, and songs.
Echo Reading
The teacher reads a sentence of a story and then the studenet reads the sentence.
This works best with brief selections.
Paired Reading
An adult or older student who is a more proficient reader is paired with a student
who needs assistance. The student chooses the book to be read. The book selected
should be one that the student would have difficulty reading on their own. After
a brief discussion of the title and cover illustration, the adult and student
read the book aloud togeether. The adult adjusts their reading level to match
that of the student. When the student feels that they can read a portion of
the text on their own, they signal to the teacher. When they want the adult
to resume reading with them, they again signal the teacher. The teacher provides
assistance when the student is unable to read the word within five seconds.
The help provided is given quickly and directly without any judgemental comments.
The adult simply says the word and has the student say it. The reading then
continues. Quick correction alleviates the student's anxiety and keeps the activity
moving. The adult also praises and encourages the student periodically.
Alternate Reading
An adult takes turns reading a selection. The adult reads the first page, and
the student reads the second page. The adult supplies whatever help the student
needs by helping them sound out words or by explaining difficult or confusing
passages. The adult also explains difficult or confusing passages and discusses
key events in the story from time to time.
Matching Students with Books
It is important that students read books at their reading level so they will
learn to enjoy reading.
Helping students who are reading below grade level
There are fewer books that students below grade level can read. They want to
read the same books that their friends are reading, even though these books
may be far too difficult for them. The teacher needs to make sure that there
are plenty of books available that are mature and interesting, but are written
on an easy level. These books should be available to everyone and occasionally
highlighted. In addition, individually discussing books that they might enjoy
reading is helpful.
The five finger rule
The five finger rule is based on the widely accepted principle that students
should know at least 95 percent of the words in any book that they are reading.
Sudents turn to a page, or portion of a page, with approximately 100 words and
make a fist. For every word they cannot read, they raise one finger. If they
raise all the fingers on their hand andthere are still some difficult words,
then the book is too hard for them to read.
Subjective Readability Factors
1. Clarity of presentation
2. Use of illustrations
3. Numer of new concepts
4. Number of new words
5. Familiarity of subject matter
6. Author's style
7. Length of book
Dale-Chall Readability Formula
The Dale-Chall Formula is based on an average sentence length and the number
of unfamiliar words, using a list of 3,000 words commonly known by fourth grade
children. The idea behind this formula is that readers typically find it easier
to read, process and recall a passage if the words are familiar. The Dale-Chall
formula is for grades three and up.
Fry Graph for Estimating Readability: http://school.discovery.com/schrockguide/fry/fry2.html
Edward Fry created one of the most widely used, and easy-to-use readability
graphs for educators. The Fry readability method is a manual tool that determines
the grade level of writing by analyzing three, 100-word passages from a selected
writing, taking the average number of syllables and the average number of sentences
for each passage and plotting those numbers on a Fry graph.
Determining Students' Read Levels
Three key reading levels are:
1. Independent - the point at whech students can read on thier own, without
any help from teachers, parents, or peers. The recognize at least 99 percent
of the words, and comprehension is nearly perfect.
2. Instructional - Students can read at least 95 out of 100 words and they recall
at least 70 to 75 percent of what they read. If given instructional assistance,
they can read with confidence and competence.
3. Frustration - The material is too difficult of the student to read, even
with assistance. Students miss 10 or more words out of a hundred and/or remember
only half of what they read, 50 percent or below.
Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) - cloze test; yeilds DRP units
Metropolitan Reading Tests - yields grade equivalent scores
Scholastic Reading Inventory: http://www.cardinalvalley.fcps.net/Software/SRI/
- cloze test; comes in six levels, on for each grade; very poor readers may
need to reassessed on a lower level test that than the one idicated for their
grade level; yields lexile scores
STAR (Advantage Learning Systems) - cloze test; administerd and scored by a
computer; if a student does well, they are given a higher level passage but
are given lower level passages if they do poorly.
Study Strategies
Before pupils may read efficiently in the content area, they must be skillful
in a number of fundamental reading practices.
I. Paragraph Structure and Underlining
Some paragraphs are built like equilateral tiangles. They begin with a minor
point and then broaden out, adding more details until tney reach a firm base,
the main idea. Other paragraphs resembel an inverted triangle, that begins with
a broad statement, or the main idea, and then add a series of details supporting
the opening sentenc. Some paragraphs can be compared with an arrangement of
two triangles balanced on each other, point to point. such a paragraph begins
wiht a strong statement (the topic sentence), and then offers a series of details
to support the main ideas. These details then build into a strong conclusion
or statement, the summary sentence.
A. Enumerative or Lissting Patterns - Some paragraphs simply enumaerate or list
a number of facts.
B. Descriptive Patterns - Paragraphs of description are common in story-type
materials. They help to give the reader some idea of the setting, and the traits
of the characters as well as their appearance. In expository materials, descriptive
paragraphs often show how some process or pocedure works.
C. Time Order or Sequential Patterns - How-to books (such as home repair), cookbooks,
and detective stories often use a time-order or sequential pattern in thier
paragraphs. In a narrative or detective story, the sequence may be called the
plot; in other types of books, the pattern may simply be a series of instrucitons
or events.
D. Cause and Effect Patterns - Some paragraphs explain how things came to be,
or what caussed certain results. Both cause and the outcome are illustrated
in this type of writing.
E. Comparison and Contrast Patterns -Some paragraphs offer a comparison or contrast
between before-and-after events or objects or persons.
II. Previewing - an organized, rapid coverage of reading materials, such as
chapter in a book, a report, a newspaper article, or other source.
A. In practice, it involves reading some or all of the following before deciding
how or whetehr to read the entire selection: title, headings and subeadings,
summary or introductory statemenats, illustrative and graphic materials, and
sometimes opening and claosing sentences of each paragraph.
B. The purpose of previewing is to answer such aqustions as:
1. What information my be obtained from this material?
2. How is this information organized?
3. Is this information significant to the readers' pruposes?
4. Should the entire selection be read?
5. What are the main ideas presented?
C. Previewing is an important initial step in reading almost any type of content
material. When used before actual reading,comprehension and retention of the
material is greatly increased and the reader's time is conserved by eliminating
irrelevant materials. It is also an effective decvice for reviewing for a test,
as a quick brush-up before recitain, and for evaluating materials collected
for a report.
III. Skimming - a broadened previewing in which not only the mainideas are discovered
but also some of the supporting details. By learning to skim, pupils develop
skill in strenthening the comprehension of main ideas that they might have grossly
identified by previewing. Skimming ability promotes flexibility in reading.
It increases skill in shifting to high speed in familiar material for quick
exploration of an idea to determine its relevance. It promotes ability to select
protions from more careful reading and to eliminate portions that are not related
to the reader's purpose.
A. Read the first few words and the last words of each sentence. This may or
may not result in comprehension depending upon the sentence complexity and structure.
B. Having read the opening and closing sentences of each paragraph (previewing),
the reader returns to pick up the facts by skimming rapidly through the main
body of each paragraph.
C. The reader reads only the central third of each line; this reading only the
middle of the page.
D. Key words or phrases set off by numbers, quotation marks, italics, capital
letters, etc., are read. This may result in fragmentary comprehension, and that
mainly of details rather than main ideas.
IV. Scanning - used in quickly locating specific information in printed materials
without reading the entire page. We use scanning constatnly in such tasks as
reading indexes, telephone directories, and dictionaries, and in finding a word,
a date, a number, or a cerain phrase. By learning to scan, pupils read lists
or columns intelligently or can find with ease a specific fact somewhere in
the printed page. Three steps are involved in scanning:
A. Knowing clearly what is being sought and the form in shich it is likely to
appear,
B. Looking swiftly over the page, list, or column, expecting the fact to stand
our from the rest of the page,
C. Verifying the answer when it is found by reading it carefully.
V. Reading Graphic Materials
VI, Library Skills
VII. Organizing and Reporting
A. Note-taking
B. Graphic organizors
This site began in March 1998 and was created by Janet Luch.
It was last updated on
June 16, 2006
.
Email to studyplans@yahoo.com.