TEACHING READING IN TODAY’S ELEMENTARY SCHOOLSChapter 9 – Major approaches and Materials for Reading Instruction

BASAL READING SERIES

For many years, basal reading series have been the most widely used materials for teaching reading in the elementary schools

Provide anthologies of stories Include a teacher’s manual with detailed

lesson plans Many include workbooks and masters skills

sheets Some series offer suggestions for

differentiating instruction

USES AND MISUSES OF BASAL MATERIALS Teachers should assess skill mastery and determine

if additional practice is needed Strategy instruction should be planned to fit the

needs of their class Discussion of completed workbook pages should

follow completion Provide additional enrichment activities to stimulate

critical thinking Do not have to follow all suggestions in the manual-

provide students with a variety of reading materials Basal instruction is a good as the teacher using it Should be looked at as a total reading program Basal series will not provide appropriate instruction

for all students

TYPES OF BASAL READING PROGRAMS Linguistic series- linguistics (study of human

speech) has been applied to many basal series. Beginning readers should be presented with material

that uses only a single sound for a letter at a time Irregularly spelled words should be avoided in

beginning reading material Word attack skills are taught with minimally

contrasting spelling patterns Sounds should not be isolated from words Intensive phonics series- synthetic phonics

approach, strong emphasis on decoding Literature based-quality literature selections in

their entirety

INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES WITH BASAL SERIES

DRA- directed reading activity, used to extend and strengthen a student’s reading ability.

5 components to DRA Motivation and development background-

activating schema Directed story reading-teacher provides

purpose, and directs reading Strategy or skill building activity-direct

instruction Follow up-practice strategies and skills-

worksheet, games Enrichment activities- connect the story with

music, art, or creative writing

GUIDED READING

Involves matching students with books that provide an appropriate level of challenge and familiarity to support reading strategies

Guided reading groups are flexible During reading the student’s miscues guide

strategy instruction After reading there is a discussion of the

book Extension activities- re-read, read new book,

writing, vocabulary exercises

DIRECTED READING-THINKING ACTIVITY DRTA

Focuses on student control rather than teacher guidance

5 steps Making predictions from title clues Making predictions from picture clues Reading the material Assessing the accuracy of predictions,

adjusting predictions Repeating the procedure until all parts of the

lesson have been covered Teacher selects points in which to pause for

students to make new predictions

LITERATURE – BASED APPROACHES

Places emphasis on connecting stories to students’ personal background knowledge, analyzing stories and selections for particular elements, and on monitoring students’ understanding of the reading materials.

Foundation of a literature based approach is trade books

Reading skills and strategies are taught within the context of the material that students are actively reading

Can be hard to assess that all needed strategies and skills are being covered

Sustained Silent Reading

WHOLE CLASS READING OF A CORE BOOK Teachers select books based on quality of

material, fit in overall curriculum, related to topics.

Every student has a copy of the same book Rereading activities used to activate prior

knowledge, introduce vocabulary, essential questions, purpose for reading

During reading activities- pauses for discussion to evaluate comprehension, literary analysis, reader responses

Postreading activities- elaborate ideas, retelling, apply information, create presentations

When using a whole class book- modifications will be necessary

LITERATURE CIRCLES Teacher chooses several books for which

multiple copies are available Four or five groups of no more than 6

students each Each group reads a different book Groups may be heterogeneous Groups meet two to five times a week Student leader conducts discussion of book Reading response journals or literature logs

allow for collections of the reactions Books may be chosen by theme, genre,

setting, author

THEMATIC LITERATURE UNITS Structured around themes based on topics

like homes, families, survival, social studies or science topics, authors.

Allows students to delve more deeply into ideas and thus develop deeper understandings and connections

Enhances metacognition Promotes positive attitudes toward reading

and writing Time is less fragmented – teacher can embed

instruction from one subject into another Can use a single book as a focus or read

aloud multiple books of the same topic

INDIVIDUALIZED READING APPROACH Encourages each student to move at her or his own

pace through self-chosen reading materials Self selection- students choose material Self-pacing- each student reads at his or her own pace Strategy and skill instruction-teacher helps as needed Recordkeeping-teacher keeps individual records of

student’s progress Student-teacher conferences- one or two times a

week teacher meet with each student Sharing activities-each week students share books

that they have read Independent work-students do a great deal of work at

their seats instead of in a group with the teacher

LITERATURE BASED PROGRAMS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS

Read alouds, literature circles, book talks, retellings, and other literature response activities help support ELL students

In selecting books- consider the students’ maturity levels, cultural background, interests, and current reading ability

Picture books make great choices Books with themes such as moving, being

different, family concerns Books that offer survival vocabulary Nonfiction trade books can be useful in

scaffolding learning from content textbooks

LANGUAGE EXPERIENCE APPROACH LEA Interrelates the different language arts, uses the

students’ experiences as the basis for reading materials

Consistent with the schema theory Works well with students who have a variety of

learning styles Kindergarten-children see the transformation from

oral language to print, students dictate stories and teacher records, class edits

Primary grades- after students have participated in shared experience they compose a group story. Teacher records title, students contribute content

Higher grades- group comparison charts use of technology to present information

PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION AND COMPUTER USE

Programmed instruction offers individualized instruction

Follow up reinforcement for instruction Does not lend itself to complex

comprehension instruction CAI- computer aided instruction, READ 180,

Expert 21, Reading Plus

ECLECTIC APPROACHES

Combine the desirable aspects of a number of different methods rather than strictly sticking to a single one

An effective teacher integrates material and methods as is appropriate to meet students’ needs

Effective teacher are eclectic Requires teachers who are adaptive decision

makers

SUMMARY CHAPTER 9 Basal reading series are the most widely used

materials for teaching reading in the elementary schools in this country. DRA is the teaching strategy presented in many basal manuals. An alternative to DRA is guided reading-matching students to reading material in leveled books. Literature based reading approaches include whole class reading of a core book, literature circles, thematic literature units, and individualized reading approach. The LEA interrelates the different language arts and uses students’ experiences. CAI individualizes skill based instruction. An eclectic approach combines desirable aspects of a number of different methods.