Building Reading Engagement for all Learners

1. John T. Guthrie University of Maryland Building Reading Engagement for all Learners

2. Reading in South Africa Progress of teachers and students • PIRLS* Survey with 70 Nations • NEEDU^ report - literacy recommendations • Student needs for fluency and comprehension. • Student needs for engagement. • Teacher learning opportunities. * Progress in International Reading Literacy Study, 2012 ^National Education Evaluation and Development Unit. Report 2012

3. Reading engagement • What are the characteristics of the most successful, enthusiastic readers in your classroom? • What are the characteristics of the least successful, enthusiastic readers in your classroom? • How do you motivate your students to read?

4. Community and School Preconditions of Reading Engagement • Students in school, in class • Books available—students read 1 book per week • Students speak language of the books • Teaching focus on reading for understanding • Teachers become ‘child-centered’.

5. Learning Activity Bird Feathers Text on Feathers Long feathers of the outer wing provide flight power. Inner wing feathers are generally shorter. The inner coverts overlap the front feathers of the inner wing. Their down shows that they are also used for insulating the body.

6. Learning Activity • What do you see in the picture? Talk with your partner. Tell 3 things. • Read the passage. What did you learn from the passage that was not in the picture? • Share this with your partner. • Share what you learned with the whole group.

7. Review of learning activity • Was the passage interesting? • How did talking with your partner help you? • Conclusion—collaborating increases engaged reading and understanding.

8. Classroom instruction and teaching: Five engagement principles • Help students read together • Provide choices in reading • Show importance of reading • Match texts to student abilities • Enable students to read a lot Guthrie, J. T. (2013). South African Reading: Teaching practices K-12 for engagement and expertise. Unpublished manuscript. www.corilearning.com

9. Engagement principle #1 Help students read together Grades K-2 • Partners rhyme words; partners alternate reading pages of a story book; Grades 3-5 • Partners read same pages silently, and write a summary together Grades 6-12 • Partners separately identify 3 main points of a text and compare them and reasons for choosing them. Teams of 4 develop an opinion about a topic, write a persuasive essay and present to another team.

11. Engagement principle #2 Provide choices in reading Grades K-2 • Students choose a book for the teacher to read aloud Grades 3-5 • Students select one section of a history book to learn and teach to team Grades 6-12 • Students identify topic and select several texts to learn from and then write an integrative statement.

13. Engagement principle #3 Show importance of reading Grades K-2 • Teacher reads a story aloud; students state one thing they enjoyed. Students read page in an information book; report 1 amazing fact to a partner. Grades 3-5 • Have students state what they learned from a picture in comparison to a page of text on the same topic. Grades 6-12 • Have students write a statement explaining how what they read in a text connects to their observations or experiences outside of school.

15. Ben Carson • Age 10 Baltimore school • Lowest in class • Mother—TV 1 hour per day; Book 1 per week • Teacher – Rock, Obsidian • Class smartest • Harvard graduate • Neurosurgeon: Johns Hopkins University

17. Engagement principle #4 Match texts to student abilities Grades K-2 • 90 percent accuracy word recognition Grades 3-5 • 90 percent accuracy read aloud fluency Grades 6-12 • 90 percent accuracy in brief summaries of a page of text

19. Engagement principle #5 Empower students to read a lot Grades K-2: Expectations: On grade reader: Home = 30 min; School = 30 min. Total = 1.0 hr. Grades 3-5 : Expectations: On grade reader: Home = 30 min; School = 60 min. Total = 1.5 hr. Grades 6-12: Expectations: On grade reader: Home = 90 min; School = 90 min. Total = 3.0 hr. • Diverse books, magazines, internet for enjoyment, knowledge, usefulness Teacher support • Teachers provide time daily for independent reading, based on interest and curriculum. Teachers assign home reading daily.

21. Engaged Readers • Read widely and deeply • Interested • Confident in themselves • Value reading • Share reading • Grow quickly Reading Engagement = Skill + Will

22. Implementation plan for engagement practices

23. Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction • Concept goals (Animal survival—Birds) • Comprehension emphasis • Motivation supports • Cognitive strategy instruction • Information and literary texts at many levels • Reading a lot • Writing multiple genre

25. Promoting Reading in School and Community • Reading is Fun • Guest reader– at Celebration • Book Fair—show books, give a book • Dress up—characters in stories • Explore your world • Birds, Rivers, Lions, Wind • Observe, Read, Share

26. Conclusions • Teachers have advanced in competencies • Reading materials are expanding • Students need to improve their reading proficiency (skill) and engagement (will) • Teachers who foster the skill and will to read enjoy success and empower their students.

27. Closing thought “It is through education that that a child of farm workers can become the president of a great nation.” -- Nelson Mandela