Middle school students can struggle with reading. They can struggle with decoding, with vocabulary instruction, and with fluency. And all these struggles add up to a significant struggle with comprehension, which provides purpose and meaning to the act of reading. Kylene Beers, author of When Kid's Can't Read, was certainly surprised at this fact during her first year of teaching and I think many other new teachers are shocked to make this discovery as well during their first years. Many mid-level teachers expect their middle school students to know how to read independently and successfully; they assume they are equipped with the tools and strategies necessary to comprehend appropriate level text and, therefore, will not need to teach the students these things. But once in the classroom, they discover that the reality of the situation is not parallell to their expectations. Being aware that there will be struggling, dependent readers in the middle school classroom and that a mid-level ELA teacher will need to teach decoding, vocabulary, orthography, fluency, and comprehension skills is the first consideration when entering this setting. As Rachel Malchow Lloyd stated in class, one out of every ten middle school students struggles with decoding and reading. This statistic shows the prevalence of this unfortunate issue.
Once the mid-level teacher is aware of this fact, the next logical step is to assess the struggling students to determine which area or areas require attention and strengthening. Through our small group and large group discussions in class, it can be argued that one of the most effective methods of assessing a student's decoding skills is to simply listen to them read orally and note the miscues to determine what the student can and cannot do. This rather simple assessment can tell you so much about a student and his or her reading abilties. Our group also discussed the importance of exposing students to reading; whether through the teacher reading aloud or students reading a book of their choice silently, we need to provide the students with opportunities to observe the modeling of quality reading and then to practice those skills. In terms of vocabulary instruction specifically, it is important to know that students cannot effectively learn a monstrous list of new words; they need the opportunity to hear the words used in context frequently and make connections between the words and their lives.
The readings and discussions of this course have provided effective and meaningful practices and strategies to be implemented with struggling readers in the middle school. My only concern at this time is what step to take if and when the strategies learned are not successful with a particular student? What if you try a variety of instructional methods to help a struggling student and the student does not show any progress? Specifically, how do you help those struggling students who become frustrated and simply want to give up? How do you encourage them to keep trying?
Courtney, you took the words out of my mouth! I could not agree with you more, about the shock factor about not realizing that you will have middle school students who are not independent readers, and who struggle with many of the elements of reading. Until this class, I had never thought of having students struggle so much with reading. To me, it is a scary thought that these students are struggling with such a fundamental part of the education system. After hearing our class discussions, and doing the readings, what do you think is the most effective and beneficial way to assist these students with their struggle with reading? I personally worry, about trying to find the balance of helping the struggling readers, with the non-struggling readers, as well as the advanced readers. I want to be accomodating to all students, and most importantly have them benefit from my class.
ReplyDeleteI thank you for such a well written and interesting post!
Thanks for your comment, Ashley!In response to your question, I do not think that there is one easy fix or solution to helping those struggling readers. I do, however, believe that exposure to text at their instructional level is arguably the most sensible method. Give studnets plenty of opportunities to hear people read out loud, to read out loud themseleves, and to read silently. As with anything in life, reading requires practice if you want to be successful at it. Help students grow accustomed to a variety of texts and just become exposed to reading. I think the reason I love to read and write so much is because I grew up in an environment rich with stories and literature. Providing the students with that type of environment in your classroom is the first step that I would take to help these students.
ReplyDeleteYou do provide a legitimate concern, also, about how to balance instruction for struggling readers and advanced readers simultaneously. This is a challenge and one that we can hopefully face by the end of this course.
Thanks again Ashley!
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI feel like so many of us have the same concerns, which is actually quite reassuring. The questions you asked at the end of your post were ones that got me thinking. I think when it comes to struggling readers in the middle levels, you do just as you would with the younger ones. I think you have to attempt, and possibly exhaust, every strategy before you employ the help of the reading specialist. Or maybe, you talk with the specialist first and then work with the specialist to develop a plan for the struggling students.
I don't know how often we will encounter students that really just don't get it. I believe that we are very well prepared, even if at times it may seem otherwise, to handle these situations when they arise. I think by continually being students' biggest fan, supporter, and advocate, they will succeed. By tapping into their interests and providing them with materials that they want to read, we will eventually be successful.
Thanks for your thought-provoking post!