Understanding Reading Problems

Jean Gillet has been an elementary reading specialist in central Virginia. She has also served as a classroom teacher, staff development specialist, and university educator. Her professional interests include the diagnosis and correction of reading difficulties, children’s developmental spelling, and children’s writing. Jean’s extensive published work includes topics such as including contributing to classroom instructional materials on writing and spelling. The coauthor of several textbooks for teachers on language arts, reading, writing, and spelling, she received her doctorate from the University of Virginia.     Charles Temple teaches courses in literacy and peace studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. Dr. Temple studied with the late Edmund Henderson at the University of Virginia, where he explored reading instruction, reading disabilities, invented spelling, and what was to become emergent literacy. His published books cover such topics as emergent literacy, writing instruction, language arts, diagnosis and remediation of reading disabilities, and children’s literature. He is a director of Critical Thinking International, Inc., a non-profit corporation that develops materials and fields mid-career professionals for teacher training around the world.   Codruta Temple taught English as a foreign language and was principal of a bilingual lyceum (high school) in Romania.  She taught French as a Fulbright Scholar in California before moving permanently to the United States, where she earned a PhD. in English Education and linguistics at Syracuse University. Professor Temple now divides her time between teaching ESL methods and linguistics at New York State University College at Cortland and at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva.   Alan Crawford is Emeritus Professor of Education at California State University, Los Angeles. A Past President of the California Reading Association, he has done extensive teaching, consulting, and writing on teaching reading in the elementary school, especially for English language learners. Alan has written curriculum for teaching reading in Spanish and serves on the Editorial Review Board of Lectura y Vida. He served as IRA’s representative to UNESCO for many years and was a Senior Literacy Specialist at UNESCO in Paris during International Literacy Year (1989-90). He is a director of Critical Thinking International and frequently presents workshops on a volunteer basis for international development projects in Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Africa  

Contents

  Preface   

chapter 1   Reading and Its Assessment  

Framing the Issues    

Reading Assessment    

Different Assessments for Different Phases of Instruction   

Approaches to Assessment   

The Process of Learning to Read at Different Stages 

Emergent Literacy   

Beginning Reading    

Fledgling Reading   

Developing Reading  

Mature Reading 

Differentiated Instruction    

Response to Intervention  

Summary    References     

CHAPTER 2  Response To Intervention (RTI) and Struggling Readers

From a Discrepancy Model to Response to Intervention: The Origins of RTI

   Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1997(IDEA)

   Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA)

   Response to Intervention (RTI)

   No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and Reading First

Characteristics of RTI: What It Is, What It Isn’t

Recommended Principles of RTI from the International Reading Association

The Multi-Tiered Structure of RTI

   Tier One: General Education Program

   Tier Two: Small-Group Intervention

   Tier Three: Intensive Intervention

Approaches and Models for Implementing RTI

   Interactive Strategies Approach (ISA)

   Comprehensive Intervention Model (CIM)

The Role of Assessment in RTI

   Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) (benchmark assessment)

   Diagnostic Assessment

   Progress Monitoring

   False Positives

Evidence-Based Literacy Programs

Members of the RTI Team and Their Roles

RTI in Middle Schools and High Schools

   Middle Schools

   High Schools

Implications of RTI for Special Education

English Language Learners and RTI

RTI and the Gifted

The Role of Technology in RTI

Summary

Reference

 

 

CHAPTER 3  Assessing and Teaching Emergent Readers

   Understanding Emergent Literacy

   Aspects of Emergent Literacy

Assessing Emerging Readers

   Assessing Print Concepts

   Alphabet Knowledge

   Assessing Alphabet Knowledge

   The Concept of Word

   Assessing the Concept of Word

   Phonological Awareness

   The Importance of Phonological Awareness

   Assessing Phonological Awareness

   Distinguishing Rhyming Words from Non-rhyming Words

   Producing Rhymes

   Phoneme Isolation

   Phoneme Comparison

   Phoneme Addition

   Phoneme Subtraction

   Phoneme Segmentation

   Assessing Phonemic Awareness by Means of Invented Spelling

   Oral Language Development

   Vocabulary

   Assessing Vocabulary

   Syntax, or Grammar

   Decontextualized Language

   Assessing for Knowledge of Decontextualized Language

   Narrative Comprehension

   Picture Walk

   Story Retelling

   Prompted Comprehension

   Widely Distributed Tests of Emergent Literacy

Teaching for Emergent Literacy

   Teaching Print Orientation Concepts

   Teaching the Alphabet

   Alphabet Books

   Letter-Matching Games

   Sounds and Letters

   Teaching the Concept of Word

   The Voice-Pointing Procedure

   Cut-Apart Words

   Dictated Experience Accounts

   Morning Message

   Teaching to Build Phonological Awareness

   At the Syllable Level

   At the Onset-and-Rime Level

   At the Phoneme Level

   Teaching for Many Things at Once

   Reading Storybooks

   Reading Many Books, Repeatedly

   Reading Expressively

   Shared Reading

   Conducting a Shared Reading Lesson

   Dialogic Reading

   Teaching to Nurture Vocabulary Development

   Teaching Decontextualized Language

   Storytelling for Comprehension

   Learning Stories to Tell

Summary

References

CHAPTER 4: Assessing and Teaching Beginning and Fledgling Readers and Writers

 

Components of Beginning and Fledgling Reading

   Word Recognition

   Sight Words

   High Frequency Sight Words

   Sight Words as Learned Words

   Word Recognition by Decoding

   Comprehension, the Ability to Derive Meaning from Text

   Reading Fluency

Assessing Beginning and Fledgling Readers

   Running Records

   Running Records to Document Progress

   Running Records and Text Difficulty

   Further Assessments of Beginning and Fledgling Readers

   Assessing Knowledge of Sight Words

   Assessing Word Knowledge through Invented Spelling: The Monster Test

   Applying the Results of The Monster Test

   Assessing Word Knowledge By Means of Novel Words: Demtup

Instruction for Beginning and Fledgling Readers

   Tutoring Lesson

   Writing

   Shared writing with individual children

   Interactive Writing With a Small Group

   Attention to Handwriting

   Word Study

   Sound Boards

   Making and Breaking Words

   Push It Say It

  Teaching High Frequency Words

   Reading aloud

   The Language Experience Approach

Planning and Record Keeping

Summary

References

 

 

CHAPTER 5: Informal Assessments of Reading

Informal Reading Inventories

Selecting an Informal Reading Inventory

  Quality of Passages. 

  Types of Text.  

  Quality of Questions.  

  Format and Instructions.  

Administering an Informal Reading Inventory

  Where to Start

Starting with Word Lists.  

Starting with Passages.  

  Where to Stop

Step-by-Step Administration

Reinspection and Comprehension

Retelling and Comprehension

Marking Oral Reading Miscues

Assessing Listening Comprehension

Assessing Recognition of Words in Isolation

Scoring an Informal Reading Inventory

Levels of Reading Ability

The Independent Level

The Instructional Level

The Frustration Level

The Listening Level

The Usefulness of Reading Levels

Oral Reading Accuracy

Reading Fluency

Reading and Listening Comprehension

Scoring the Word Recognition Inventory

Keeping Track of Scores

Interpreting an Informal Reading Inventory

Establishing Reading and Listening Levels

Qualitative Analysis of Oral Reading Miscues

Comparing Miscues.  

  Scoring Miscue Acceptability.  

What Makes a Miscue Acceptable?  

Dialects and Miscues.  

What about Names?  

Analyzing Reading Comprehension

Comprehension Skill Patterns

Patterns in Listening Comprehension

Analyzing Word Recognition in Isolation

Observations of Reading Behaviors and Strategies

Observing Readers

Physical Behaviors

Cognitive Behaviors

Reading Strategies Observed

Recording Observations

Monitoring Types and Difficulty of Texts Read

Guided Reading Levels

Readability Estimates

The Fry Readability Chart

Lexiles

Cloze Procedures

Constructing a Cloze Passage

Administering a Cloze Passage

Scoring and Interpreting a Cloze

Maze Tests

Student Portfolios

Showcasing Achievement

Documenting Progress

Demonstrating Effort

Fostering Self-Evaluation and Reflection

Kinds of Portfolios

Organizing a Portfolio Program

What Goes into a Portfolio?

Primary Grades

Middle and Upper Grades

Evaluating Portfolios

Teaching Self-Evaluation

Teaching Goal Setting

Teacher Evaluations

Parent Evaluations

Portfolio Conferences

Teacher-Student Conferences

Peer Conferences

Parent Conferences

Measuring Attitudes and Interest in Reading

Summary

References

 

 

 

CHAPTER 6: Teaching Developing Readers

Phonics And Word Knowledge For Developing Readers

  Word Knowledge At Different Levels

   Logographic Reading

   Transitional Alphabetic Reading

   Alphabetic Reading

   Orthographic Reading

   Derivational Reading

Teaching Phonics

  Word Study At More Advanced Levels

  Guiding Word Study

   Teaching Words With Shared Phonogram Patterns

   Teaching Words With Grammatical Affixes And Derivational Affixes

   Teaching Homophones And Homographs

  Developing Sight Vocabulary

   Dictated Stories and Language Experience

   Support Reading: Echo Reading and Choral Reading

   Developing Word Analysis Strategies

   Using Context

  Approaching Word Attack Strategically

Assessing Reading Fluency

Developing Reading Fluency

  Modeling Fluent Oral Reading

  Providing Oral Support For Reading

  Providing Practice In Oral Reading

  Repeated Reading For Fluency

  Predictable Books, “Easy Readers,” And Other Easy Reading Fare

Developing Readers’ Vocabulary

  Levels of Vocabulary Knowledge

   Dissecting Children’s Vocabulary

   Approaches to Teaching Vocabulary

   Teaching the Use of Context Clues to Vocabulary

Developing Reading Comprehension

  For the Phase of Anticipation

  For the Phase of Building Knowledge

  For the Phase of Consolidation

Developing Listening Comprehension

Time Spent Reading

Summary

References

 

 

CHAPTER 7: Assessing and Teaching Middle and Secondary School Readers and Writers

 

 

The Reading and Writing Issues of Older Students

Why Should We Be Concerned About Older Students’ Reading and Writing Ability?

Responding to the Needs of Readers and Writers in Middle and Secondary Grades

A Range of Responses to Older Students’ Reading and Writing Needs.

Reading Strategies for Use Across the Curriculum

Strategies for the Anticipation Phase

Advance Organizers

   The Anticipation Guide

   Group Brainstorming

   Paired Brainstorming

   Terms In Advance

   Think/Pair/Share

Free Writing

Semantic Map

K now/Want to Know/Learn. 

Strategies for the Building Knowledge Phase

   The I.N.S.E.R.T. Model

   Text Coding

Study Guides

Dual-­Entry Diaries

Cooperative Learning: Jigsaw II

Strategies for the Reflection Phase

   The Discussion Web

Academic Controversy

Providing Close Support for Students’ Reading Development

Organizing Focused Strategic and Intensive Instruction

Assessing Readers for Focused Instruction

Planning Lessons for Disabled Readers

Teaching Strategies to Build Reading Competence

   Thinking Aloud

   ReQuest Procedure

   Visualizing

Questioning the Author

Reading and Questioning

Audio Books

Introducing  and Focusing Attention on New Vocabulary

Word Conversations

Vocab-o-gram

Webbed Questions  

The Frayer Model

Helping Older Students Write

Eleven Elements of Effective Adolescent Writing Instruction

Teaching Writing Strategies and Teaching the Writing Process Approach. 

Rehearsing

Drafting

Revising

Editing or Proofreading

Publishing

Focused Lessons

Having Goals for Writing

Keyboarding Skill

Writing For Inquiry

   Ten-­Minute Essays and Other Free Writes

   The Five-­Minute Essay

Three-­Part Diaries

   The I-Search Paper

Motivational and Emotional Issues of Adolescent Students with Reading Problems

Guiding Principles and Theories

Establishing Trust

Providing Literate Role Models

Reducing the Feeling of Learned Helplessness or Passive Failure

Legitimizing Personal Knowledge and Experiences

Developing a Learning Environment

Summary

References

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 8: Assessing Spelling and Writing

Monitoring Spelling Progress and Problems

Developmental Spelling Stages

   Early Emergent Stage

   Later Emergent Stage

   Letter-Name Stage

   Within-Word Pattern Stage

   Syllables and Affixes Stage

   Derivational Constancy Stage

Assessing Spelling Progress

   The Word Knowledge Inventory

Developmental Spelling Analysis

The Gentry Spelling Grade-Level Test

Monitoring Writing Progress

Writing Samples

Writing Checklists

Six Traits Writing Evaluation

Writing Rubrics

 

 

CHAPTER 9: Working with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Culture and schooling

Cultural differences in the mainstream classroom

   Conceptualizing literacy

   Communication styles

   Participation structures

   Task-engagement preferences

   Discourse organization

   Accommodating cultural differences in the mainstream classroom

Linguistic differences in the mainstream classroom

   Languages and dialects

   The Ebonics debate

   Accommodating non-standard dialects in the mainstream classroom

   English language learners

   How does English compare to other languages?

   Phonology

   Morphology

   Syntax

   Pragmatics

   Writing systems

   Accommodating linguistic differences in the mainstream classroom

   How do people learn a second language?

   Supporting English language development in the mainstream classroom

   The role of the first language in second language and literacy development

   Including English Language Learners’ first languages in the mainstream   classroom

   Creating a multilingual classroom environment

   Translation

   Bilingual books

   Multilingual newsletters

Assessment of culturally and linguistically diverse students

Instructional suggestions

   Strategies for developing listening comprehension

   Strategies for developing phonemic awareness and phonics

   Strategies for developing reading fluency

   Strategies for developing vocabulary

   Developing reading comprehension

   Strategies for teaching grammar

   Strategies for developing awareness of text structure

   Strategies for supporting writing development

Summary

List of figures

References

Appendix A

 

 

CHAPTER 10: Understanding Formal Measures of Literacy Ability

Understanding Formal Measures

Characteristics Of Tests

Reliability

Validity

Interpreting Test Results

Distributions Of Test Scores

Measures Of Central Tendency: Mean, Median, And Mode

Measures Of Dispersion: Range And Standard Deviation

Forms Of Test Scores

Norm-Referenced Tests

Achievement Tests

Diagnostic Tests

Criterion-Referenced Tests

Goals And Objectives

Benchmarks And Rubrics

State Standards And Assessment

Summary

References


 

  

 

  Chapter 11   Factors Related to Reading Problems   

Philosophical and Legal Issues Related to Special-Needs Students 

Past Legislation Affecting Special-Needs Students    

IDEA 2004 and NCLB   

Student Participation in General Education   

Identifying Special-Needs Students    

Assessment of Special Educational Needs   

Intellectual Factors 

Tests of Intelligence and Learning Aptitude    

The Role of Experience    

Physical Factors    

Vision and Visual Problems   

Hearing and Auditory Problems 

Language Factors   

Language Acquisition and Difficulties in Infancy and Early Childhood    

Language Development and Difficulties in Preschool and Primary Grades    

Language Development and Difficulties in Later Childhood 

Special Learning Problems   

Learning Disabilities     Dyslexia   

Designing Individualized Interventions   

 Interventions for Phonological Awareness   

Interventions for Improving Fluency 

Summary   

References       Index