Maximizing Effectiveness of Reading Comprehension Instruction in Diverse Classrooms

by Sheri Berkeley, Ph.D., George Mason University
and Ana Taboada Barber, Ph.D.
Baltimore·London·Sydney

Excerpted from Maximizing Effectiveness of Reading

Contents

1. What Is Comprehension?

   • Overview of Reading Comprehension.
   • How Is Language Development Related to Reading Proficiency?
   • Why Do Some Students Struggle with Learning Language?
   • What Does This Mean for Classroom Teachers?

2. Basic Reading Skills.

   • What Are Basic Reading Skills and Why Are They Important for Reading?
   • How Are Basic Skills Taught at the Secondary Level?
   • How Do I Select Texts for Students that Are Not Proficient in Basic Reading Skills?
   • What Are Considerations When Modifying Text or Providing Accommodations?
   • What Are Other Considerations for Selecting Texts for Struggling Readers?

3. Teach Vocabulary.

   • What Is Vocabulary and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Types of Vocabulary Words Should Be Explicitly Taught?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Learn Important Vocabulary?
   • What Are Potential Problems with Students’ Understanding of Vocabulary?
   • How Can Teachers Assess Students’ Understanding of Vocabulary?
   • What Else Do Teachers Need to Know About Vocabulary?

4. Teach to Activate Students’ Prior Knowledge and Help Them Make Connections.

   • What Is Prior Knowledge and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Activate Prior Knowledge?
   • What Are Potential Problems with Student Activation of Prior Knowledge?
   • How Can Teachers Help Create Shared Prior Knowledge to Support Instruction?
   • What Are Other Aspects of a Reader’s Prior Knowledge to Consider?

5. Teach Students to Ask and Answer Questions.

   • What Are Questioning Strategies and Why Are They Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Are Types of Questions that Teachers Should Ask and Teach Students to Answer?
   • How Can Students Be Taught to Ask Their Own Questions About Text?
   • How Can Questioning Help Students Summarize Text?
   • What Challenges Might Arise Related to Questioning?
   • What Else Do Teachers Need to Know About Questioning?

6. Teach Students to Recognize Text Structure.

   • What Is Text Structure and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Understand Narrative Text?
   • What Instructional Techniques Can Help Students Understand Expository Text?
   • What Are Potential Problems When Using Graphic Organizers to Teach Students to Recognize How Text Is Organized (Text Structure)?
   • What Else Do Teachers Need to Know About Text Structure?

7. Teach Students to Read Strategically and Monitor Their Comprehension.

   • What Is Strategy Instruction and Why Is It Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • Why Is Comprehension Monitoring Important for Reading Comprehension?
   • What Does This Look Like in Instruction?
   • What Is the Bottom Line with Strategy Instruction?

8. Motivation and the Struggling Reader.

   • How Do Students Respond to Past Failures in Reading?
   • Why Does Motivation and Engagement Matter for Reading Success?
   • How Can Teachers Address Motivation and Engagement in the Classroom?

About the Authors

Sheri Berkeley, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Division of Special Education and disAbility Research, George Mason University

Ana Taboada Barber, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Counseling, Higher Education, and Special Education, University of Maryland

Motivation and the Struggling Reader

Although reading skills are certainly important, it is also important to consider and address issues of motivation and engagement. Many older students who have struggled in reading throughout their schooling lack motivation to persist on difficult tasks and become disinterested in reading. It is important for teachers to be aware of this and to take steps.

Good readers generally are motivated readers. Students who are poor readers, however, read too little, rarely read for deep understanding, seldom read to expand their sense of self or identities, and have more negative self-concepts of who they are as readers. Therefore, we cannot only focus on the cognitive dimensions of reading, but we also need to monitor how students think of themselves as readers.

Students with learning disabilities (LD) often attribute failure to lack of ability rather than inconsistent effort. If effort is not valued as a cause for school success, then a student is unlikely to persist on academic tasks, particularly if the task is perceived to be challenging.

Research has shown that feedback that helps students make connections between effort and success enhances motivation, self-efficacy, and skills.

Strategies to Help Students with Motivation

• Help students set short-term goals that are achievable.
• Teach students how and when to use specific cognitive reading strategies.
• Provide opportunities to observe models completing tasks.
• Teach students to recognize positive and negative thoughts and use positive self-talk.

Engagement versus Motivation

Engagement refers to student involvement, participation, and commitment. It is a manifestation of motivated action. Students who are engaged readers are motivated to read by showing interest, involvement, attention, concentration, and perseverance.

Final Thoughts

Many students struggle to understand what they read either due to basic reading difficulties that hinder their access to the text or a failure to strategically approach text. Teaching these students strategies that they can independently use when reading is essential.