Teaching Reading in Content Areas

I have lots of strategies — but they depend *Very* much on the demands of the course in which teh ‘content area’ text is being used. If I’m really trying to teach the content… welp, most of my students dont’ actually *learn* it from text very well so I end up doing other things :)

This is one of those where I very much like the idea in theory but have seen it very badly implemented.

I would *like* to see effective phonics teaching and re-teaching — Shay who used to post here did it right up to Grades 11 and 12, and got her previously non-readers graduating. I would *like* to see guided oral reading with the teacher helping students learn to sound out and study new vocabulary, and stopping to discuss the material paragraph by paragraph, to teach **HOW** comprehension is done. I have done this myself with a German-speaking student in AP Biology (He got a 4!!) and it is a trial, takes time and hard work, but yes, he clued in and took over independently after two or three months.

What I do see is more kids staring blankly at books, more busywork filling in more sheets, and far too many pre-digested summaries and “test-guides” (cheat sheets) for kids to memorize and fake the knowledge.

Yes, usually there is only time to do survival skills — how to get the words from the text to complete the assignment, as opposed to how to learn the stuff — because there “isn’t time.” Only time for the charade - and then they plop into college and don’t have the worksheets… but don’t even know what it is to know something.

Rewards Plus from Sopris West teaches reading in the context of social studies. However, it is used as a follow-up to the Rewards program, so you would have to do both. These are *excellent* programs for middle and high school. Website with more info is http://www.rewardsreading.com/

Nancy

and going paragraph by paragraph. Can you tell me where to get more information on this from?

Thanks so much everyone!

Guided oral reading isn’t a program but a *methodology* to use with whatever reading materials are appropriate for the student or class. It is most effective tutoring a single student or a small group, but can work in a class too. If you are working one to one, either the student reads everything, or to avoid fatigue and improve listening skills you and the student alternate reading. In a group students take turns reading orally.
The oral part is vital; not loud or shouted (which is a counterproductive habit), but read aloud clearly and distinctly.
The guided part means that you as the teacher are there to both help and correct. Help: If the student stalls, you slowly guide him through sounding out the word — sound of the initial letter, vowel sound, point out the silent helper vowel or diphthong pairs for a clue to a long sound, etc; if he misses a syllable or makes a wild guess at the end you repeat the correct part and aim him back at the missed part, and so on. At first this can be very slow, but with a few hours practice students get the idea and start to look before they leap.
What you do NOT do is the horrible practice of having the other kids show off by jumping in and saying the right word and making fun of the other’s mistakes. It’s important that everyone is in the same boat, everyone gets help when they need it, and nobody is the target for abuse. If you have a student who is really badly below the others you can let him do picture captions or diagrams, but this is a last resort because he is then the poor who get poorer with even less practice.
You break at meaningful points depending on the material, the end of a page or the end of a paragraph, or in very dense material like science texts the end of a sentence. You stop and discuss the material naturally: What does that word mean? Is there an explanation within the sentence or the paragraph? Can you find root words/word parts to help analyze it? Now you know what it means, what is the sentence telling you? Are there any special spelling issues to note in the new words? Now that you have the words and sentences figured out, what is happening in the paragraph or page? Can you summarize what we have got so far? What key words or concepts should we note for later? Are there any pictures, diagrams, charts, graphs, tables, maps which clarify or extend the message?
At first this may seem very very slow and you may despair of ever finishing even a chapter and so you want to go to something “faster” or “more efficient”. The trouble with the speed-up methods is that while the *teacher* is covering the material, the *students* are even more lost. I keep reminding people that there is no value or real efficiency in a fast mistake. If you persevere with actually teaching self-questioning and comprehension techniques, usually the students themselves tell you when they’ve got all that and are ready to pick up the pace. Average is within a few months, variable of course because of many factors.
Yes, I do this myself constantly, every day. I come home and lie flat onthe couch, but go back and take the next baby step the next time.

It appears that Sue J is correct once again.

Reading First is an ambitious national initiative to help every young child, in every state become a successful reader. This effort is based on high expectations for what can and should happen for… Bush on January 8, 2002, established Reading First as a new, high-quality evidence-based program for the students of America. The Reading First initiative builds on the findings of …
www.ed.gov/programs/readingfirst

http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?srch=105&FORM=AS5&q=reading+first

Thanks for the links, Art :)

Like Victoria I’ve seen Guided Reading as a really good thing… and as an awful thing.

When it helps the student figure out the reading — as in, helps the *student* do the reading — it’s a good thing. (Victoria lists good ways to do that.) When it helps a student get through reading, and helps a teacher Get Through That Stupid Requirement Of Four Blocks (or whichever Manifestation of reading s/he’s attempting to implement), it can be pretty horrible.

GuestS:

My whole school inservice program this year has been Teaching in the Content Areas. My materials are at school, presently, but I will try to remember to bring them home.

Also, I have been using Skills for School Success (published by Curriculum Associates) with my 7th grade resource students since January. This series teaches specific study skills, and then leaves room for Application lessons to try them out. Usually, on those days, they bring their 7th grade geography text, and we do the same activities that they’ve been working on. I am using the 5th grade book. I really love this series. They have levels ranging from 3rd grade to high school. Anita Archer is the head author of the program. Interestingly enough, I began the year with the REWARDS program, also, an Anita Archer program. Once, the students have learned some of these study skills, it is easy to apply them to other learning situations.

Marilyn

Cris Tovani has written a new book for content area teachers called ,Do I Really Have To Teach Reading? This book is great. She gives lots of ideas for content area teachers to teach reading skills and ways to make content area text accessible to all students. You can read it online at http://www.stenhouse.com
Nan