Instructional Leadership Turbocharged Interventions for Middle & High School Students Managing Effective Middle and Secondary Reading Intervention Programs Stuart Greenberg, Deputy Director Eastern Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center Florida State University and The Florida Center for Reading Research www.fcrr.org 1
Presentation Topics 1. Components of effective intervention instruction. 2. What is the best way to identify and monitor students who need immediate intensive interventions? 3. What is the most effective size for small group instruction? 4. How long should the intervention last? 5. Next steps when progress is slowed. 6. What are the resources for implementing immediate intensive interventions? 2
It is much harder to correct serious reading problems in older students, but it can be done. 3
Middle/High School Comprehensive Reading Approach Instructional Goal Reading Instruction: All Students Setting Teachers Methods/ Materials Reading Assessment All Students Good Readers Struggling Readers Individual Diagnostic Assessment (using multiple tools) Vocabulary Growth Comprehension strategies Background knowledge Goals for reading Reading/Writing connection Regular classrooms Content teachers Inclusion teachers Comprehension strategy instruction methods Direct & Indirect vocabulary instruction Differentiated Instruction & scaffolding Intervention Programs: Struggling Readers Instructional Goal Setting Teachers Methods/ Materials Adapted from Joan Sedita Word Study Skills: phonemic awareness, phonics/spelling, word attack Fluency Language structures knowledge Comprehension strategies Individual & small group Supplement to classroom instruction Reading specialists Special Ed teachers Title I Paraprofessionals Supplemental reading programs Intervention software 4
Who will benefit? Why are you here? What will you learn? How do you start? 5
Reading is fundamental. This message is not new, but in the last decade research clearly has shown that our schools should be able to teach every child to read. Achieving that goal will require changes in reading instruction at many levels. 6
What does it take to teach all children to read? What does comprehensive reading reform look like? To teach all children to read, six key areas must be addressed: Early assessment to identify each child s individual needs and detect problems early Classroom reading instruction that meets the needs of all children Intervention for older children who are not reading at grade level Progress monitoring to ensure that students are learning and applying skills and strategies Teacher education that prepares new teachers to meet every child s reading needs Professional development that helps teachers continually improve their skills in teaching reading Each area requires individual attention, just as children do, but it also is important to recognize that they all are closely linked and that the last two teacher education and professional development are central to each of the others. 7
The Hard Part: Putting It All Together Years of reading difficulties not only make grade-level material far too difficult but also leave students with significant gaps in the basic knowledge needed to comprehend advanced content. Although it is difficult to overcome the cumulative deficit from years of reading below grade level, research has proved that it is possible to help older students correct serious reading problems. To do so requires a correct diagnosis of the problems and appropriate intervention measures. 8
The Older Struggling Reader What can be done? Plenty, if we are committed to applying best practices supported by reading research. Converging evidence from psychological studies of reading explains the nuts and bolts of learning to read at any age and in any alphabetic language (Lyon, 1998). 9
Steps for Improvement: The Older Struggling Reader The intervention must match the students level of reading development, because each stage of growth requires a special focus (Curtis & Longo, 1999). Very poor readers must have their phonological skills strengthened because the in ability to identify speech sounds erodes spelling, word recognition, and vocabulary development. For less severely impaired readers, educators must often target text reading fluency. If students can decipher words, educators must aggressively address vocabulary deficiencies with direct teaching and incentives to read challenging material in and out of school. If students do not know the words they are reading and cannot derive meaning from context, they must expand their vocabularies and learn a repertoire of comprehension strategies (Williams, 1998). Students cannot and should not bypass any critical skills necessary for fluent and meaningful reading just because of their chronological age. 10
We are going to have to work both harder and smarter before we are successful We need improvements in: 1. State level policies and support 2. District level support and organization 3. School organization, scheduling, and management 4. Quality and consistency of classroom instruction 5. Intervention systems and supports All parts of our very complex school/instructional systems need to work together much more effectively 11
The Many Strands that are Woven into Skilled Reading (Scarborough, 2001) LANGUAGE COMPREHENSION BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE VOCABULARY KNOWLEDGE LANGUAGE STRUCTURES VERBAL REASONING LITERACY KNOWLEDGE increasingly strategic Skilled Reading- fluent coordination of word reading and comprehension processes WORD RECOGNITION PHON. AWARENESS DECODING (and SPELLING) SIGHT RECOGNITION increasingly automatic 12 Reading is a multifaceted skill, gradually acquired over years of instruction and practice.
A study of Florida s accountability measure of reading comprehension Gave 2-hour battery of language, reading, nonverbal reasoning, and memory tests to approximately 200 children in each grade (3 rd, 7 th, and 10 th) at three locations in the state Language Wisc Vocab and Similarities Listening comprehension with FCAT passage Reading Oral Reading Fluency, Decoding Fluency NV Reasoning Wisc Matrix Reasoning, Block Design Working Memory Listening Span, Reading Span 13
A couple of important points about the FCAT It requires students to read relatively long passages before asking them to answer questions. This places special demands on reading fluency. Passage length at different levels: 3 rd grade 325 words 7 th grade 816 words 10 th grade 1008 words The percentage of questions requiring complex thinking skills increases from 30% in 3 rd grade to 70% in 10 th grade. 14
What skills are particularly deficient in Level 1 and Level 2 readers at 7 th grade? Skill/Ability FCAT Performance Level 1 2 3 4 5 WPM on FCAT 88 113 122 144 156 Fluency percentile 7 th 25 th 45 th 82 th 95 th Phonemic decoding 27 th 53 rd 53 rd 74 th 84 th Verbal knowledge/ 34 th 45 th 64 th 88 th 93 rd reasoning 15
What skills are particularly deficient in Level 1 and Level 2 readers at 10 th grade? Skill/Ability FCAT Performance Level 1 2 3 4 5 WPM on FCAT 130 154 175 184 199 Fluency percentile Phonemic decoding Verbal knowledge/ reasoning 8 th 30 th 68 th 87 th 93 rd 18 th 27 th 45 th 56 th 72 nd 30 th 60 th 66 th 84 th 89 th 16
How can we improve secondary school reading intervention? Answer # 1: Increase the amount of instruction. 17
Increasing Literacy Time 1. Teach students how to read math, science, and social studies. 2. Give strugglers an extra literacy period. 3. Even more instruction for those who still struggle. 18
How can we improve secondary reading interventions? SOLUTION # 2: Teach essential skills and strategies with support for generalization. 19
Teaching Essential Skills and Strategies Based Upon Data Reading comprehension Vocabulary Oral reading fluency Decoding (phonics) Phonemic Awareness &Decoding 20
Teaching Comprehension Across All Subjects/Periods Teach multiple major thinking strategies: --summarization --questioning --previewing/predicting --text structure --visualizing --inferring --monitoring 21
Teaching Vocabulary Teach deep definitions. Build networks of meaning. Provide lots of repetition, application, review and generalization. 22
Teaching Fluency Oral reading Guidance and coaching Goal setting and thinking Emphasize both decoding and prosody. 23
Teach Decoding Based Upon Data Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Phonics Systematic instruction More than individual sounds --complex spelling patterns --multisyllabic words 24
How can we improve secondary reading interventions? SOLUTION # 3: Improve quality of teaching. 25
Improving Quality of Teaching Thorough, coherent, systematic instruction Appropriate teaching level Motivation and engagement Teacher knowledge 26
Thorough, coherent, systematic instruction Enough lessons to ensure success. Well organized so the intention is obvious. Clear day-to-day plans. 27
Motivation and Engagement Curiosity: content should interest students Competence: students should be successful Challenge: students should feel like they are learning something worth learning 28
Teacher Knowledge Teachers need to know how to model, explain, re-teach Teachers must be able to recognize and differentiate learning Professional development matters 29
Why Should We Improve Secondary Reading Instruction? Because we care about kids Because they need for us to do it Because we can 30
How Can We Improve Secondary Interventions? 1. Increasing amount of instruction 2. Focusing instruction on key learning 3. Improving quality of teaching 31
When Should We Improve Secondary Reading Interventions? The time is now We know how And, the kids are here now 32
NAEP 4 th Grade Level Just what Tom s thoughts were, Ned, of course, could not guess. But by the flush that showed under the tan of his chum s cheeks the young financial secretary felt pretty certain that Tom was a bit apprehensive of the outcome of Professor Beecher s call on Mary Nestor. So he is going to see her about something important, Ned? That s what some members of his party called it. And the re waiting here for him to join them? Yes, and it means waiting a week for another steamer. It must be something pretty important, don t you think, to cause Beecher to risk that delay in starting after the idol of gold? Important? Yes, I suppose so, assented Tom. Victor Appleton, Tom Swift in the Land of Wonders 33
NAEP Grade 12 Pierre had been educated abroad, and this reception at Anna Pavlovna s as the first he had attended in Russia. He knew that all the intellectual lights of Petersburg were gathered there and, like a child in a toyshop, did not know which way to look, afraid of missing any clever conversation that was to be heard. Seeing the selfconfident and refined expression on the faces of those present, he was always expecting to hear something very profound. At last he came to Mono. Here the conversation seemed interesting and he stood waiting for an opportunity to express his own views, as young people are fond of doing Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace 34
What do we know about the effectiveness of interventions for older students who continue to struggle in reading? 35
A comprehensive literacy solution for middle and high school 1. Remember that the thinking and knowledge demands for literacy increase every year Content area teachers must teach content more powerfully, and they must help students think about text more effectively 2. Remember the struggling readers are far behind their peers in many areas Teach them reading skills as intensively and skillfully as you can manage 36
Beyond 3rd grade, poor readers can be taught if the program has all necessary components, the teacher is well prepared and supported, and the students are given time, sufficient intensive instruction, and incentives to overcome their reading and language challenges. Given the right approach, students will buy in. Setting high goals is especially important in reading, but expectations about the pace of change also must be realistic. 37
Middle/High School Comprehensive Reading Approach Instructional Goal Reading Instruction: All Students Setting Teachers Methods/ Materials Reading Assessment All Students Good Readers Struggling Readers Individual Diagnostic Assessment (using multiple tools) Vocabulary Growth Comprehension strategies Background knowledge Goals for reading Reading/Writing connection Regular classrooms Content teachers Inclusion teachers Comprehension strategy instruction methods Direct & Indirect vocabulary instruction Differentiated Instruction & scaffolding Intervention Programs: Struggling Readers Instructional Goal Setting Teachers Methods/ Materials Word Study Skills: phonemic awareness, phonics/spelling, word attack Fluency Language structures knowledge Individual & small group Supplement to classroom instruction Reading specialists Special Ed teachers Title I Paraprofessionals Supplemental reading programs Intervention software Adapted from Joan Sedita Comprehension strategies 38
Questions? 39