Effective Interventions for Struggling Readers Comprehension: The Essence of Reading

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2. 2 Impact of Reading Interventions Factors That Interfere With Comprehension Assessment Strategies and Practice Processing Agenda

3. 3 Goal: To provide participants with the tools to improve reading comprehension for struggling readers. Objectives: Participants will: Learn how effective reading interventions impact all stakeholders Learn why some students have difficulty comprehending text Learn how to effectively assess the comprehension skills of struggling readers Learn and apply evidenced-based comprehension strategies Goal and Objectives

4. 4 Warm-Up Activity Read the selection on HO #1 Be prepared to respond to several comprehension tasks

5. 5 The Connections Between Reading Interventions, NCLB, and YOU!

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7. 7 Essential Components of Reading Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary Comprehension Comprehension: “Components of an Effective Reading Program” http://www.k8accesscenter.org/training_resources/effectivereadingcomponents.asp

8. 8 Discussion Share with your partner examples of students you know who struggle with comprehension. Discuss why you think they may be having difficulty. Share with your partner any comprehension strategies you currently use, or know about.

9. 9 Students Who Struggle  Students with disabilities: Dyslexia Traumatic brain injury Learning disability Cognitive deficit Attention deficit disorder Sensory Impairment Students with skill deficits in the reading components Students who are not task persistent Students who lack appropriate background knowledge Students who are not engaged in reading Students who are not motivated to read

10. 10 What Can Practitioners Do Students with disabilities: Increase your knowledge base Provide accommodations Skill deficits: Conduct screening assessments Provide remediation Lack of appropriate background knowledge: Conduct screening assessments Implement pre-reading activities Lack of engagement: Select appropriate text Allow for choice

11. 11 Comprehension AssessmentsThings to Consider Different tests tap different abilities. Tests do not usually help pinpoint difficulties in individual students. Tests are not geared toward distinguishing specific comprehension processes that might underlie poor comprehension in both listening and reading. Spear-Swerling (2006)

12. 12 What Practitioners Can Do Look for and use tests that are technically adequate If possible, use more than one test Assess key component skills Take everyday classroom performance into account Consider both current and upcoming grade expectations For more information about comprehension assessments, go to the Web site of the Southwest Education Development Laboratory: http://www.sedl.org/reading/framework/assessment.html

13. 13 How Do YouAssess Comprehension

14. 14 Instructional Strategies andPractice

15. 15 National Reading Panel (2000)Key Findings Teaching a combination of reading comprehension techniques is the most effective. When students use comprehension techniques appropriately, they assist in recall, question answering, question generation, and summarization of texts. When reading comprehension techniques are used in combination, these can improve results in standardized comprehension tests. Teachers must be provided with appropriate and intensive training to ensure that they know when and how to teach specific strategies.

16. 16 Evidenced-BasedComprehension Strategies Cooperative Learning Comprehension Monitoring Graphic Organizers Answering Questions Summarization National Reading Panel (2000)

17. 17 Cooperative Learning A successful teaching strategy in which small teams use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a subject Key Elements: Positive Interdependence (sink or swim together) Face-to-Face Interaction (promote each other's success) Individual and Group Accountability (no hitchhiking or social loafing) Interpersonal and Small-Group Skills Group Processing

18. 18 “The Jigsaw” All students: Learn about pieces of the puzzle of material Share their findings Solidify their learning by teaching to other students

19. 19 Instructions for“Home Teams” Introduce yourself Select a leader Have group leaders assign team members to “Expert Group” (including yourself) Join your “Expert Group” Select a leader “Expert Group”: Read the background information, complete the activity, and develop a dissemination plan Return to your “Home Team” and share your findings with your team

20. 20 Your Cooperative Learning Experience Refer to Slide 17 Take a few minutes to discuss which of the key elements of Cooperative Learning you experienced during the “Jigsaw” strategy exercise

21. 21 Culminating Activity Think of a student/s you have in your class, or have worked with in the past. Which of the strategies you learned about today may be helpful to them? Explain to your team why this particular activity would work for this student/s. Describe how you would implement this strategy in your classroom.

22. 22 Questions/Comments