A
Cross-Curriculum Approach to Improving Reading
By Jill
Jenkins
Students
who find reading difficult are not the sole-responsibility of the English or
Language Arts Department; they are the entire schools responsibility. At the request of one of my readers, I am
going to outline some proven methods to improve reading in your school, but to
really have an impact on the students in your school all departments must be
part of the solution.
Building a
Strong Vocabulary
Many
students who struggle with reading have a limited vocabulary. Teaching phonics helps students sound out
words if they happen to speak “the King’s English;” however, if they happen to
speak a different dialect, it is only somewhat useful. Since being a dialectical snob is not very
useful, I would suggest some other approaches might be more useful. However, one of my readers who teaches in India tells me that since many of his students are totally illiterate and come from families who are illiterate, he finds giving extensive phonics training useful. To be perfectly honest, my experience is with older students from 12 to 18 years old and by that time it is not as effective. Nevertheless, I once had an ELL student, a refuge from the Congo, who spoke a little used dialect and no English at all. He was part of class of 35 students, not an ideal teaching circumstance. Furthermore, since he was a refuge and a ward of state, the group home in which he resided did not complete the paperwork correctly and did not identify him as a student who required ELL services, even though he knew about three words of English. I resorted to using I-Pad Apps that not only used pictures, words and sound, but taught phonics. He worked alone until I got the class busy on an assignment, then I could work with him one-on-one.
Word Attack Skills that include understanding the etymology of root words, prefixes and suffixes improves students’ ability to decipher some words that are not familiar to them. One of the best methods that I have used was borrowed from Janet Allen’s webpage. The variation of her idea that my school found useful looks like this:
Word Attack Skills that include understanding the etymology of root words, prefixes and suffixes improves students’ ability to decipher some words that are not familiar to them. One of the best methods that I have used was borrowed from Janet Allen’s webpage. The variation of her idea that my school found useful looks like this:
Another visual organizer that helps student understand the
meaning of words when you are using a whole-word approach is:
Practice Makes
Perfect
Students need a variety of
opportunities to practice reading under a variety of different circumstances.
·
Read Along: Students
whose parents have read aloud to them while they follow along in the book
arrive at school better prepared than those who have had limited access to books. Likewise, the positive feelings associated
with their parents reading to them in a warm, bed makes reading a more
desirable behavior. As a teacher you can
play that role by reading aloud to your students or providing them with a
stimulating recording. It is extremely
important to read in an expressive manner and stop frequently and involve the
students in short discussions to keep them involved, so they don’t fall
asleep.
·
Independent Reading: Students should be given ten to twenty minutes
every day to read quietly alone. They
should be reading a book that is both age-appropriate and appropriate for their
individual reading level. As a teacher
you could choose to divide this reading into ten minutes in class and ten
minutes at home or you could do it all in class. Although most students have short attention
spans, so ten minutes is about as long as most of them can stay focused on a
reading activity, so dividing into two separate ten minute intervals is much
more productive.
·
Group Reading: In
the old days elementary teachers placed students in reading groups based on
their ability and secondary teachers didn’t worry about students’ ability to
read. As a result, the bright students
became better readers, the average students stayed average and the poor readers’
parents sued the school, because Johnny couldn’t read. Obviously, that wasn’t the answer. Some schools today have turned to pull out
programs that ignore the bright students and the average students and focus on
the struggling students. Some of the
more affluent schools are even trying to tutor these students one-on-one, but
that isn’t the answer either. Just like
the dogs that The
Dog Whisperer works with, students learn faster when they are competing
with more competent students. Placing
students into groups of three with one bright student, one average student and
one struggling student will improve the average student and the struggling
student’s ability greatly. The bright
student is staying up all night with a flashlight reading books voraciously,
and this little reading group isn’t going to stop him. His parents can’t and neither can a
teacher. Let students teach each
other. It is easier on the teacher and
because students are social beings, it is much more effective.
Schema
Before you begin reading, engage the students’ prior knowledge to enhance
the learner’s understanding of the concept you are trying to teach.
- For example, you are teaching about Geysers in a science class, so you ask, “Has anyone ever been to Yellowstone Park and watched Old Faithful?” After the students express some memories from their trips to the park, the teacher asks, “Did you ever wonder what makes that hot water fly up into the air? Let’s read about it.”
- In a history class, you are teaching about the Sahara Desert, so you ask your class, “Has anyone in the class visited the Sand Dunes in Utah?” After the class shares some memories, the teacher can compares the student’s experience to the expanse of sand in northern Africa and asks the class to read the description of the desert in the book.
- Perhaps you are teaching percentages in math, the teacher could ask “How many of you have ever shared a meal at a restaurant, and had difficulty determining how much to leave for a tip?” After the students share their experience, the teacher asks the class to read the directions for finding percentages from the textbook.
The advantage of engaging prior knowledge is the student can
connect the knowledge to something that they already know so they are likely to
remember it better. Advertise executives
use this techniques all of the time.
Furthermore, it makes the learning more personal and thus
more meaningful for the student.
Making
Connections
Students better understand a new concept if it is connected
to a previous experience: another book they have read, or a movie that they
watched. Help students make that
connection by stopping and asking questions that will help them relate the idea
to something familiar to them or by relating what connections you make to it. Modeling is a good way to engage the reluctant
reader.
- For example, you are reading a book about the elevation Himalayan Mountains in your geography textbook. You stop and reflect, “I once climbed the tallest mountain in Utah, King’s Peak. I was up so high that I got a nosebleed. How tall is that highest mountain in Utah? That is only half as tall as Mount Everest.” The students can discuss when they have been to high elevation and what happened to them when they were there.
- Another instance, you are reading about how to determine area in a math class. The teacher notes, “I once confused the formula to determine area with the formula to determine volume and nearly bought enough paint to fill my living room. Has anyone in here ever had an experience where they had to determine the area of a space?” Let them reflect on a time they made a doghouse or a dress and how they might have used the formula in real life.
Helping students connect what they read to their own lives, makes
it relevant.
Predicting
Stop reading before you finish a
section and ask the students to predict what might happen next or what might
happen if.
- In a health class, the class is reading a section on treating burns, but before reading the appropriate procedure for caring for burns, the teacher stops and asks, “John, what do you think would happen if I put baby oil on the burn?” After John answers, the teacher inquires, “Why do you think that would happen?” “Helen, what do you think we should put on a burn?”
- In a math class the teacher is reading a story problem with the class, “Harold bought three dozen balloons at $1.75 a piece.” The teacher asks an unsuspecting student, “What math procedure do you think this problem is going to require us to do, George?”
Making predictions keeps the
students actively involved in reading.
It helps students begin to look for patterns in writing that make them
more effective at making better predictions.
Identifying
the Organization Pattern
Some students do not understand how a textbook or a reading
selection is organized. If they get a
little help identifying where things are organized, they can become more
successful.
Explain how the textbook is organized:
- Where is the Table of Contents?
- Where is the Glossary?
- Where is the Index and how do I use it?
- What are subtopics and how can they help me on an open book test?
- Why are these words in bold face?
- Are these guide questions of any value?
Make students aware of
internal organization:
- Main Idea and Support
- Solving the Mystery
- Comparison and Contrast
- Question and Answer
- Step by Step
- Chronological Recounting of Evens
- Most Important to Least Important
- Visual Patterns
- Point and Counterpoint
- Main Events
If
you help the student find the structure, their comprehension will improve
dramatically. What seems obvious to you,
may not be to your student, so don’t assume they already know it.
Summarize
Many students can read words correctly, but when you ask
them what they have read, they don’t know.
They don’t know because they have not connected the words together to
create ideas. Unless you complete each
reading activity with a thinking activity, they won’t comprehend what they have
read. To determine if students have
understood what they have read, ask them to write a summary.
Students sometimes are unable to select what information in a
reading selection is important and what is supportive. By asking students to write a summary, the
teacher can easily see if the student is just reading words without decoding
them into meaningful ideas or if the student understands the issues.
- For example, in a math class, the students have just read a chapter about how to determine the angles of triangles. The teacher asks them to write these instructions as though they were teaching a six-year-old sibling. Make sure it is clear and concise.
- In a history class, the class has just read a chapter about what difficulties pioneers faced crossing the plains, so the teacher asks the students to write a list of five major problems these pioneers faced. Help the students focus on what is important by asking them to summarize.
The Journal Questions
The
learning journal is an effective way to increase students’ comprehension, but
the questions have to be carefully constructed to require the student to reread
portions of the text, select specific examples, and use the examples to support
a larger idea presented in the text.
Questions like:
- · What did you think of the book?
- · How did the story make you feel?
Are usually answered in trite meaningless patter, because they
hold no real meaning and require no real thought on the part of the
student. If you asked questions like:
- · Noah Claypole has been described as a bully. Describe at least three specific incidences in the book where he behaved like a bully and explain what affect it had on Oliver.
- · Using the description of a volcanic explosion, explain how and why they occur and predict what long-term outcomes could result to people, plants and animals when one occurs.
- · Is Friar Lawrence culpable for Romeo and Juliet’s death? Describe what actions he did that could lead to a conviction.
- · Does Mr. McGregor over-react to Peter Rabbits’ trespassing in his garden? You are the prosecutor, so support your answer with Peter Rabbit’s specific behavior and Mr. McGregor’s behavior.
Most importantly stay
enthusiastic about books they are reading and books you are reading. Talk to them individually about books. Make suggestions about books they could read
to learn more about a subject they are excited about. Reading is an addiction and as a teacher you
need to sell them on the product. Make
your classroom a rich environment filled with books, magazines, pictures and
articles. Allow student time to explore
a variety of sources beyond your textbook.
By varying the reading material, you can increase students’ stimulation
and reading comprehension skills.
