How Students’ Identities as Readers Shape Their Engagements with Texts

1. How Students’ Identities as Readers Shape Their Engagements with Texts Leigh A. Hall University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Email: lahall@email.unc.edu

2. The Role of Identity in Reading Students construct their identities as readers at an early age. Reading identities are often constructed in terms of skills with little attention to the social and cultural factors that can influence individuals’ reading development (O’Brien, 2006; Street, 2005). Students’ understandings about who they are as readers contributes to their beliefs about what they can or cannot do with texts.

3. Models of Identity • Models of identity are, “explicit accounts of what some people are like,” (Wortham, 2006, pg.6) • They are collective agreements regarding characteristics associated with common identities in a given context • The norms connected to these models are deeply entrenched and difficult to change.

4. Some Key Principles of Identity Theory • Some identities are more valued • Individuals who exhibit qualities of valued identities possess identity capital • People who enact valued identities are likely to receive more privileges

5. The Role of the Individual • Individuals can shape their identities to meet their social or academic goals. • They can accept models of identity they believe will meet their goals. • They can reject models that will not meet their goals.

6. Students Who Self-Identify as Poor Readers • May: (a) choose to disengage from reading (b) limit their participation with texts (c) not apply comprehension strategies as they read (d) not seek out assistance

7. Conflicting Goals • Sometimes, students believe they must choose between achieving their social and academic goals: • “I like reading and want to get better at it. But not if it means showing everyone I can’t do it.” ~ Sarah

8. Models of Identity in Reading • Select two students: One you see as a good reader, and one you see as a poor/struggling reader • Share one scenario about each student • Create a composite of what a good reader and a poor reader looks like.

9. Models of Reading Identity

10. Models of Reading Identity: Poor Reader

11. Models of Reading Identity: Good Reader

12. Goals I wanted to: (a) create reading experiences for students that were responsive to their identities as readers (b) better understand how students’ identities as readers contributed to their comprehension development

13. Methods • Study took place over a period of three months at two middle schools. • Both schools had failed to make AYP in reading in the last four years. • Participants: (a) three sixth-grade social studies classes at two middle schools (b) 52 students (c) reading abilities were assessed with the Gates-MacGinitie (2000) (d) Reader Self-Perception Scale (Henk & Melnick, 1995) assessed how students saw themselves as readers

14. Students’ Reading Abilities and Identities as Readers

15. Classroom Procedures • Students engaged in six steps: (a) received comprehension strategy instruction (b) read a piece of text and documented strategy use (c) engaged in a small group discussion (d) read second piece of text/documented strategies (e) engaged in second discussion (f) reflected on and discussed what they had learned about texts and strategies

17. Classroom Procedures • Strategies taught: (a) Becoming metacognitive (b) Making/checking predictions (c) Activating prior knowledge (d) Asking/revising/answering questions before, during, and after reading • Texts were selected that were written on a sixth-grade level and matched the curriculum.

18. Examining Students’ Discussions • Read the transcripts and consider: • (a) What do you notice? What stands out to you? • (b) What strikes you as interesting/important? • (c) What questions do you have? • (d) if these were your students, what would you want to in response?

19. Findings: High-Performing Readers • Students who identified as high-performing readers, regardless of their reading abilities, engaged in the following actions: (a) used comprehension strategies to clarify/deepen their knowledge of content (b) used strategies to support their interpretations of text (c) selected strategies based on what they believed would best address their comprehension problem

20. Findings: Average and Low-Performing Readers • Students who identified as average or low-performing readers, regardless of their reading abilities, engaged in the following actions: (a) separated their talk about strategies from their talk about text (b) did not use strategies to support their interpretations of text (c) used strategies that were their favorites regardless of their comprehension problem

21. Findings that Cut Across Groups • Students who read below grade-level, regardless of their reading identity, were often the leaders of their groups • Students placed a higher value on pop culture texts (cartoons, video-games, comic books, etc…) than on school-based texts

22. Summary of Findings • Students may enact the characteristics they perceive to be a part of their reading identity • Understanding and attempting to respond to students based on their grade-level as readers may result in failing to see how: (a) some students who read below grade-level engage with texts and strategies in more sophisticated ways than might be expected. (b) students who read on or above grade-level may need assistance that may not be recognized because of their status in the class.

23. Some Things to Pay Attention To… • How you talk to your students about reading and what it means to be a certain kind of reader • How your students understand what it means to be a certain kind of reader • How your students identify themselves as readers.

24. How Strategies Were Taught • Name and define strategy “Today we will be learning how to make and check predictions. Predictions are intelligent or informed guesses you make based on what you think the reading will be about.”

25. How Strategies Were Taught • Explain purpose of strategy: “Making and checking predictions while you reading helps you actively engage with the text by thinking about what will happen next. Predictions are not always accurate, but that’s ok. By paying attention to our predictions, and why they are or are not correct, we can learn more things when we read.”

26. How Strategies Were Taught • Model the strategy to students. • For example, a teacher had students read a text called “The Roman Republic.” • The teacher read the title out loud and said: “The title makes me think that I am going to learn something about Rome. I know the word Republic usually has something to do with government. So I predict that I will be reading about government in Rome. I am going to read the first paragraph out loud. As I read it, I am going to see if my prediction is correct.”

27. How Strategies Were Taught • Provide Guided Practice • Continue reading the text aloud • Ask students to share how they are using the strategy • Our teacher asked students to write down their predictions, read some text aloud, and had students check their predictions and then make more.

28. How Strategies Were Taught • Wrap-Up • Remind students that the strategy taught can help them become more engaged with what they are reading. • Remind students that the strategy taught can help them better understand what they are reading.

29. Finding Out About Our Students Questions for Written Responses and Class Discussions: How would you describe or identify yourself as a reader? Why do you think this description/identity fits you? What are the benefits of having this identity? What are the drawbacks of having this identity? What reading identity do you want to develop for yourself? What are the characteristics associated with the reading identity you want? How might you achieve your reading identity or develop characteristics associated with it?