Last school year, I took a college class that required hours of field experience in a high school English class. I was able to observe different English classes and different high school grade levels. What made a big impact on me was to hear some of those high school students struggling with reading more than the third grade students I was teaching that same school year. These students were expected to read and comprehend grade level text when they were reading at an elementary level. Illiteracy “is considered the blackest mark of a person’s finally in school and the greatest failure in the American school system” (Tchudi, and Tchudi 75) and there are around twenty-five million functional illiterates in the United States (75). Why are our middle school and high school students still struggling with reading? What can English/Language arts teachers do to help these struggling readers? The causes of reading difficulties often arise because of learning disabilities such as dyslexia, poor preparation before entering school, no value for literacy, low school attendance, insufficient reading instruction, and/or even the way students were taught to read in the early grades. The struggles that students “encounter in school can be seen as socially constructed-by the ways in which schools are organized and scheduled, by assumptions that are made about home life and school abilities, by a curriculum that is often devoid of connections to students’ lives, and by text that may be too difficult for students to read” (Hinchman, and Sheridan-Thomas166). Whatever the reason for the existence of the reading problem initially, by “the time a [student] is in the intermediate grades, there is good evidence that he will show continued reading g... ... middle of paper ... ...ilding Reading Proficiency at the Secondary Level: A Guide to Resources." Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (2001): 1-150. ERIC-Education Resources Information Center. Web. 17 Feb 2011. Portal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED458562>. Serafini, Frank, and Cyndi Giorgis. Reading Aloud and Beyond: Fostering the Intellectual Life with Older Readers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003. Print. Tchudi, Susan J, and Stephen Tchudi. The English Language Arts Handbook: Classroom Strategies for Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1999. Print. Tovani, Cris. I Read It, but I Don't Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers. Portland, Me: Stenhouse Publishers, 2000. Print. United States. Reading to Achieve: A Governor's Guide to Adolescent Literacy. Washington: National Governors Association, 2005. Print.
Fountas, I., C., & Pinnel, G. S., (2009). When readers struggle: Teaching that works. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Opportunities abound to stamp out illiteracy at the federal, state, and local level. Are these enough? For those in need, maybe not. Most everyone’s needs are unique. National Family Literacy Program helps those families nationwide with literacy problems. In our own state of Florida, Governor Jeb Bush has set up the Governor’s Mentoring Initiative Program which has helped over 9,000 adults and children improve their reading programs.
With such high numbers of adolescents falling below basic in reading, illiteracy is a battle that must be fought head on. The largest dilemma with the struggle is the number of variations that cause adolescents to become reluctant, unmotivated or struggling readers. Fortunately, a large number of strategies exist to encourage and strengthen readers of all ages, proving that adolescence is not a time to give up on faltering students. Rather, it is a time to evaluate and intervene in an effort to turn a reluctant reader into an avid one (or near enough). Ultimately, educators must learn to properly assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses (Curtis, 2009) and pair them with the proper intervention techniques. If one method does not work, countless others exist to take its place.
Gomez, L. M., & Gomez, K. (2007). Reading for learning: Literacy supports for 21st-century work. Phi
"Reading." The Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence. Ed. Jerome Kagan and Susan B. Gall. Online Edition. Detroit: Gale, 2007.
When people think of a handicap or disability the last thing they are thinking about is Illiteracy. It has become a huge problem in our country that has developed over many decades and effects every age, race, ethnic group, income levels, and educational level. Those who can not read and write may not realize how harmful illiteracy could be to both themselves as well as others. Some will not be able to read the instructions on a prescription bottle, warning signs on the road or even a bedtime story to their own children. There are many reasons for illiteracy including the lack of education, a failure in the education system or even from the child's own parents. How do these people make it through life and even graduate from high school but still do not know how to read and write?
For my community involvement project, I volunteered at Memminger Elementary School for a program called “Reading Partners.” The program focuses on helping children build strong literacy skills to carry with them into their academic careers. It requires the tutor to read to the student that has been assigned and in turn the student reads to the tutor. The program assists in teaching the students valuable reading skills. Being able to read is critical to a child’s educational success. The program works with more than 100 schools within seven states. The program is geared toward students of low-income families. The statistics for children’s literacy in the United States are astonishing. “In 2011, just thirty-four percent of the nation’s fourth graders in public school could read proficiently” (National Center for Education Statistics, 2011). The program itself has had exponential success. Principals and teacher have reported that “Reading Partners” has helped increase students’ reading levels. During my time at the program I accumulated twelve volunteer hours.
"Guided Reading: 6 Ways to Improve Literacy Skills." Tchers Voice. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2014.
Wehby, J. H., Lunsford, L. B., & Phy, E. (2004). Comparing the reading profiles of students with concomitant behavior and reading problems to a normally achieving, reading-matched sample. Manuscript in preparation.
Tompkins, G. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach. (5th ed., pp. 12-286). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc.
When I was younger, I didn’t like reading much at all. I always questioned my teachers what was the purpose of reading; I never got an answer from either teacher until I was in the seventh grade. Starting junior high school was different from elementary. In seventh grade, we were in our reading class for two hours a day. I asked the teachers why didn’t we have the privilege to stay in our other classes for two hours; I never received an answer from my teachers.
While I believe every child is a reader, I do not believe every child will be enthralled with reading all the time. All students have the capability to read and enjoy reading, but just like any other hobby, interest will vary from student to student. The students in my classroom will be encouraged in their reading, be provided with choice, taught how books can take you into another world but, my students will not be forced to read. This paper will illustrate my philosophy of reading through the theories I relate to, the way I want to implement reading and writing curriculum, and the methods I will use motivate my students to read and help them become literate.
Every child deserves a positive, safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment where they will grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. My role as an educator is to provide my students with this type of environment as well as an education that will help them succeed academically and become life long learners. It is the responsibility of a literacy educator to provide students with this type of environment, but also to provide instruction that will help students become successful readers and writers. There are numerous programs and philosophies about literacy and reading. Through years of experience and research, one begins to develop their own creative approach on teaching these skills. After looking at different programs and seeing the positive and negatives of each, an integrated and balanced approach of literacy seems to be the best way to teach the differing needs of each student.
Literacy is an on-going skill that teachers and students alike should commonly study and practice in all grades. Problems faced by teachers, especially teachers in higher grades, are not having the skills to be effective teachers of literacy. To effectively teach literacy across content areas, a teacher would need skills such as knowledge of the reading process and the ability to cultivate the knowledge gained in order to make informed decisions within their classrooms (Clary, Oglan, Styslinger,
comprehension instruction: A comparison of instruction for strategies and content approaches ―[Electronic version]. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(3), 218–253.