Reading Power

… insight into the Research

Rose Dodgson TDSB

Learning to read is “the greatest single effort

that the human mind undertakes,

and he must do it as a child.”

John Steinbeck

Reading Power … insight into the Research

What does the current research tell us about reading?

What are the implications for the school library program?

How can teacher-librarians become literacy partners in school?

David Loertecher

Reinvent your school's library in the age of technology: A guide for principals and superintendent

Danger Signs

Keith Curry Lance: The Colorado StudiesSchool Libraries and Student Achievement

Findings“Students at schools with better funded school libraries

tend to achieve higher average test scores, whether their schools and communities are rich or poor and whether adults in the community are well or poorly educated.”

more school library media centre staff and more books, periodicals and videos

the teacher librarian engages with classroom teachers to collaboratively plan and teach

networked computers link school libraries with classrooms

Further studies (Alaska 1999, Pennsylvania 2000, Oregon 2001, Iowa 2001)

Findings: Better test results are also achieved where there is a quality

collection of resources to support curriculum, accessible to students and teachers all day.

Leadership involvement on the part of the teacher librarian has a strong impact on collaboration, which in turn is an indicator of student success.

Library program development (staffing, collections, expenditures) and technology are strong predictors of student achievement regardless of other factors including

socio-economic.

Research … School Libraries and Reading

Krashen, Stephen: The Power of Reading, 1993 (analysis of 20 years of reading research)

“ The research supports the commonsense view that when books are readily available, when the print environment is rich, more reading is being done.”

Number of Books in Homes

“Children living in two economically depressed communities (in Los Angeles) had respective averages of 0.4 and 2.67 age-appropriate books in the home; those living in the high-income district had 99.2.”

The Literacy Crisis, Jim McQuillan, 1998

“ Reading aloud to children will change their lives forever.”

(Mem Fox)

IEA Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2001

Differences Between High- and Low- Scoring Countries large school libraries large classroom libraries regular book borrowing frequent silent reading in class frequent story reading aloud by teachers

Gender Differences Girls achieved at higher levels than boys.

Importance of books The availability of books is a key factor in reading

literacy

YITS (Youth in Transition Survey):

Approximately 30 000 Canadian 15 year olds from more than 1000 schools.

(Ontario sample approx. 4000 students.) Canada ranked second in Reading, sixth in

Mathematics and fifth in Science. Ontario students performed at the same level as

Canadian students overall in reading. In all countries including Canada and in all

provinces including Ontario, girls performed much better than boys on the reading test.

The study concluded: Reading behaviours such as reading enjoyment, reading

diversity and time spent reading for enjoyment had strong effects on reading, mathematics and science results.

Reading enjoyment had a positive effect on reading achievement in all countries, with a higher level of reading enjoyment associated with a higher level of achievement

There was a significant difference in reading achievement between those who borrowed books from public and

school libraries once per month and/or several times per month and those who never borrowed books.

Student achievement in all three domains increased with the number of books at home.

Ontario Provincial Literacy Tests EQAO 2002 Gr. 3 and 6

Reading 50% of the students achieved the provincial

standard in reading, in Grade 3. 55% in Grade 6.

Writing 55% of the students achieved the provincial

standard in reading, in Grade 3. 53% in Grade 6.

In Gr. 3 & 6 reading and writing, girls significantly outperformed boys.

EQAO recommends:

that teachers use a variety of reading materials across genres and employ teaching strategies to motivate and interest both girls and boys

that teachers have students focus on understanding the different organizational and presentation forms (non-fiction, for example) or understanding graphic organizers and how they connect information in boxes and sidebars to the information in the text.

that teachers continue to read aloud to students throughout the elementary grades and emphasize to parents the importance of reading aloud to their children at home

OSSLT 2002: Gr. 10 Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test

75% of students passed both reading and writing components of the test

87% of students in academic program passed both the reading and writing component

44% of students in applied programs passed both 12% in locally developed program passed both

a higher percentage of girls are performing at or above expected level

OSSLT Recommendations:

recognize the strong connection between literacy and the use of technology

determine how students' home reading especially in information text can be used to encourage to develop more effective reading strategies, increased reading comprehension and a greater enjoyment of reading

extend the reading development strategies in Ontario's Early Years Reading Strategy across all grades (eg…a variety of reading materials for all students)

Dr. G. Kylene Beers: Types of Readers Avid - enjoy reading, have positive feelings about people

who enjoy reading and like to talk to people about their reading

Dormant - like to read but school and life are too busy at the moment

Uncommitted -don't like to read but are open to change their mind if someone would just give them something interesting to read

Unmotivated -do not like reading, prefer TV and video, have difficulty imagining the abstractions, people, and events in literature

Unskilled - difficulty reading, do not read often, read to practice skills

Ron Jobe: Types of Reluctant Readers I can’t readers - passive, avoidance experts, afraid to take

risks I don’t know how readers -easily frustrated, reliant on

teacher, not responsible I’d rather readers - hands on, interested in the world, like

arts and crafts I don’t care readers - disinterested or bored, habitual

failures, expert at coping skills, usually older readers I don’t understand readers -lack vocabulary, lack cultural

meaning The real I have problems readers -specific physical or

mental disabilities, inability to use language effectively, possible visual or hearing difficulties

Boys and Reading David Booth. Even Hockey Players Read-What factors in the home and in the classroom influence the literacy lives of boys?

-Why do so many boys select different reading materials than girls?

-Why do girls score higher than boys do on tests of reading achievement?

-Why do so many males consider themselves non-readers?

-Are society's expectations for boys' and girls' literacy lives different?

-Do we minimize the literacy needs of girls if we focus on the difficulties with boys?

Boys and Reading Brozo, William.To Be A Boy, To Be A Reader

Adolescent males need to be exposed to literary images they can identify with and look up to.

He presents10 positive male archetypes that engage boys in reading and capture their unique male imaginations

Reading Don't Fix No Chevies: The Role Of Literacy In The Lives Of Young Men

2002Findings: Boys tended to prefer short texts Boys enjoy reading for a purpose Boys desire choice and freedom in classroom texts,

assignments and projects Boys liked highly visual texts, and those that offered humor,

a new perspective, and interesting facts. Knowing how to read was important; reading itself was not. School reading involved mostly books and textbooks; life

reading involved media, video, TV, music lyrics, Internet sites and a variety of popular culture texts, magazines and newspapers.

University of Victoria Study Morphing Literacy: Boys Reshaping Their Literacy 2002

The study found that boys can read, but are selective in what they read.

– boys are less interested in fiction or traditional literature

– boys are engaging in literacy outside of the classroom

– boys use texts as a point of connection

– they use reading strategies that they have adopted in school and have "morphed" them to help make sense of new literacies that appeal to them

– boys displayed expertise and interest in digital literacies

5 literacy practices emerged

5 literacy practices personal interest action success fun purpose

impacts all of the others and is the strongest

Cautions:

be wary: of overly simplistic solutions that suggest that

boys can be motivated to read simply by introducing "boy-friendly" literature

to be wary of literature that serves to reinforce undesirable stereotypes for boys

of putting “boys” and “girls” into rigid, gendered categories

Implications for SLIC Program

Build Access:– Collection Development

Environment – Motivate Reading

Program – Instructional Strategies

“ The more you read, the more you know,

and the more you know, the smarter you grow.”

(Jim Trelease)

“ No single place at the school is more important in

developing reading than the school library.”

(Paul Kropp)