English teacher offers tips on helping students read with a purpose
Cris Tovani, an English teacher at Smoky Hill High in Aurora, Colo., discusses
the vital importance of showing young readers how to distinguish "big ideas
from minutiae" in their reading. Tovani urges teachers to help students find a
sense of purpose when they read by getting them to ask specific questions as
they read, or to have a mission to find a specific piece of information. She
also says teachers should take extra steps to clarify what they're looking for
in assignments, and to give students explicit guidance on what they should look
for in the text. Educational Leadership (October 2005)
Secondary school students struggle with reading
Experts say numerous factors -- including immigration, low expectations and
formal instruction that stops after elementary school -- are behind middle and
high school students' poor reading skills. Many believe the key to helping
older students lies in stressing comprehension, rather than focusing on the
mechanics of reading. Washington Post, The (07/13)
Some teachers overemphasize speed in reading fluency
Many teachers focus too much on getting children to read quickly without
ensuring children comprehend the material in terms of its accuracy and
expressiveness, reading experts say. Some educators say NCLB, with its emphasis
on reading fluency and phonics, has influenced schools to use approaches that
stress and test reading speed. Washington Post, The (10/24)
Learning From What Doesn't Work
In these achievement-driven times, educators are looking for strategies
to improve reading comprehension that raise test scores, improve comprehension,
and motivate students to read. This article in ASCD's Educational Leadership
outlines five ineffective strategies and analyzes each one by providing
examples of approaches that work. The following key points emerge:
- Students benefit from having a scheduled time to read on their own each day.
- Teachers should assign reading that is relevant and exciting to
students.
- Students tend to get more out of books that are on par with their reading
level, rather than books that are too difficult.
- Interrogating students with literal-level questions often results in
confusion and frustration, not a positive reading experience.
- Computer programs should be used to supplement reading lessons, not as the
primary teacher.
Educational Leadership (Summer 2006)
NYT: U.S. pressured schools into phonics-based curriculum
Federal officials and contractors used Reading First to pressure schools to
adopt phonics and to discard whole language or lose millions in funding, The
New York Times reports. By sticking with a curriculum blending phonics and
whole language, Madison, Wisc., forfeited $2 million in federal grants,
according to the article. New York Times, The (03/09)
Editor's Note:
The SmartBrief news archive contains content appearing previously in SmartBrief publications. SmartBrief editors were not involved in the selection of these articles for the Sponsored Feature.
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