Facebook, texting, TV, sport and club activities, jobs, family obligations, schoolwork, and hanging out with friends -- these are the activities that make up a teenager’s world today. Add sleeping time into this mix, and the once popular leisure activity called reading ranks among most teenagers’ lowest priorities. In the high-tech, high-speed 21st century, reading proficiency is an essential tool to compete in today’s global marketplace. Yet numerous study results show a continual decline in students’ reading performance. The 2007 reading study by the National Endowment for the Arts noted that “reading has slipped to a mere eight minutes per day for 18-24-year-olds” (To Read or Not to Read: A Question of National Consequence, p. 10). A survey of reading by the National Assessment of Educational Progress conducted between 2005-2007 indicated more students are reading below basic benchmarks, and the number of students performing at or above the proficient level is declining (National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2009). Clearly, reading intervention for students is needed.
Many school districts actively encourage an independent reading program for students such as SSR (silent sustained reading), DEAR (Drop Everything and Read), FVR (Free Voluntary Reading), or others of a similar nature. These programs share common features such as student choice in selection of books, silent reading time without interruption for periods of 10-30 minutes daily or weekly, and free reading not tied to literature not studied as part of a class. Recently, many school districts have reduced time once dedicated to students’ independent reading as part of an ever-increasing trend to focus on preparation for standardized testing. Also, a landm...
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Differentiated instruction caters to differences among students, how students learn, different learning styles, and the interest of each learner. Running records support differentiating lessons for each learner during guided reading. Running records are diagnostic tools designed to identify a student’s reading deficiencies and monitor progress. The implementation of running records allows the teacher to differentiate each child’s reading lesson and hone in on the child’s needs and abilities. It is the educator’s responsibility to fine-tune instructional needs so that classroom, small group, and one-to-one teaching occur when and for whom they are needed in a timely way and with the high quality every child deserves (Fountas & Pinnell, 2009). Each child enters a classroom with varying needs; differentiating guided reading lessons based on the results of running records will help meet the individual needs of each child. Kelly M. Anderson (2007) states, teachers who differentiate believe each child is unique, with differing learning styles and preferences. Teachers can differentiate based on students’ readiness by varying the level of difficulty of the material covered in class. Guided reading offers the opportunity to vary the children’s reading based on their reading level. Differentiating instruction is not lowering expectations for some students. Differentiating instruction is establishing high expectations for all students while varying the process to which each child learns the same concept. Differentiating involves addressing the individual needs of diverse learners. Watts-Taffe, et al. (2012) notes although differentiating instruction is not new; it has become increasingly i...
On October 10th, 2017 at Springhurst Elementary School, I conducted a “Reading Interest Survey” and the “Elementary Reading Attitude Survey.” These surveys were conducted on a 1st grade student, Jax, to determine what his feelings are towards reading in different settings, what genres he prefers to read, and interests. It was found that Jax doesn’t mind reading, but prefers a few different topics. This was evident through his raw score of 30 on recreational reading, and a raw score of 31 on academic reading.
The book Readicide by Kelly Gallagher is the ugly truth of the policies adopted in the school system to prioritized test taking strategies for the most part of the day and killing the enjoyment of students reading. The author points out that students’ reading has shifted negatively and the reading percentage has decreased. Students hate to read and classic novels are slowly vanishing from classrooms. The findings to Gallagher’s discoveries are research based and heartbreaking as the movement of standardized testing has been reinforced in most states. There are too many standards to teach and teachers are held accountable for students testing performance. Therefore, educators are forced to do test preps where students are provided with facts to be memorized and lack of comprehension. The author emphasized that students are no longer able to choose a book for the enjoyment of reading. Students’ interests are no longer taken into consideration. Students are reading less and less at school to make time for test prep. Gallagher says that as an educator and parent young
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“Literacy—the ability to access, evaluate, and integrate information from a wide range of textual sources—is a prerequisite not only for individual educational success but for upward mobility both socially and economically,” states Sean Reardon (18). Literacy plays a significant role in civilized society. As Reardon mentioned, literacy is an important part of social and economic progression; therefore, it is unsurprising that thousands of dollars are poured into the education system each year to ensure that students can be considered literate. Reardon continues on to claim, “by third grade virtually all students can “read” in the procedural sense—they can sound out words and recognize simple words in context” (20). However,
Literacy, or the capability to comprehend, translate, utilize, make, process, assess, and speak information connected with fluctuating settings and displayed in differing organizations, assumes an essential part in molding a young's persons trajectory in life. The ability to read speaks to a key factor of scholarly, social, and financial success (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). These abilities likewise speak to a fundamental segment to having a satisfying life and turning into an effective worker and overall person (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1999). Interestingly, recent studies have demonstrated that low reading skills lead to critical hindrances in monetary and social achievement. As stated by the National Center for Education Statistics, adults with lower levels of reading skills and literacy have a lower average salary. Another study evaluated that 17 to 18 percent of adults with "below average" literacy aptitudes earned less than $300 a week, though just 3 to 6 percent of adults with "proficient" reading abilities earned less than $300 a week (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).
In the article Reading Intervention Models: Reading Intervention Models: Challenges of Classroom Support and Separated Instruction by Melissa M. Woodward and Carolyn Talbert-Johnson discussed whether or not pull-out was necessary. Research was conducted by distributing a survey to teachers and reading specialist. They agreed that collaboration was necessary between reading specialist and teachers and that there was a considerable amount of positives in having a pull-out reading program some of which have been listed below.
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.
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.
Teenage Illiteracy has a major effect in many teenagers’ lives today. Literacy is a learned skill, and illiteracy is passed down from parents who many not are able to read nor write. In America two thirds of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will end up in jail or on welfare. As Americans we often don’t take the time to realize that schooling at a younger age through high school will improve a child’s opportunities and chances at life. Schooling in younger ages, middle school, and high school play a major part in a child’s life as an adult and how they function.
It is a “reading world” we live in and students should be guaranteed every opportunity to succeed in this information driven society. Children today are overwhelmed with more reading material than ever before on billboard, television, the Internet and at school, causing reading to become a relevant and essential need in the life of every child (Lumpkin 1972). Being able to read has become the core of our information driven society. Yet, reading difficulties continue to plague the foundation of our education system creating a problem that only seems to be escalating. Hasselbring affirms that reading difficulties are a serious concern to our nation’s students claiming that, “as many as 20 percent of 17 year olds... [are] functionally illiterate and 44 percent of all high school students…[are] described as semi-illiterate”(2004). This is a harsh reality to face – a reality that stems from difficulties developed at the elementary level where reading complications arise and usually go unchecked. These reading difficulties are carri...
readers: A perspective for research and intervention ―[Electronic version]. Scientific Studies of Reading, 11(4), 289-312.
Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2006). The Daily 5: Fostering Literacy Independence in the Elementary Grades. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers.