Comprehension - It's so important!

Seems we've been focusing a lot on comprehension lately in the class.  It's such an important topic, and one that I think is key to being a successful student.  I have one student in my first grade class this year who has proven to be a good word decoder, but struggles with the meaning of words.  I have students who are reading above grade level that have trouble with meaning of words in their Nate the Great text.  It all gets back to comprehension.

I found an interesting article in Educational Researcher that is critical of the National Early Literacy Panel report that was published in 2008.  The author, Susan Neuman, contends that the NELP report overly focuses on language decoding and ignores the important role of background knowledge and conceptual development in young students.

She talks about how we tend to teach wirh a "cafeteria approach," teaching a little bit of this and a little bit of that instead of drilling into topics and subjects that are interesting to students.  By delving deeper into subjects, we can encourage our students to develop deeper knowledge, which will lead to greater background and content knowledge.  In Neuman's opinion, greater background knowledge is the key to increased comprehension.

She says,

This will mean that to be successful, children will need to learn both code and content knowledge. Code-related skills, the essential alphabetic principles that make up our language, are a critical component in learning to read. But although these skills are necessary, they are certainly not sufficient. They must be accompanied by a massive and in-depth foundation of factual knowledge.

As readers who have studied early childhood will know, this built-up store of knowledge can’t be drummed into children as if they were empty receptacles just waiting for our precious insights. Children need time—to actively play with ideas, accumulate experience, ask questions, and connect new learning with what they already know. Activities that pose problems, get children immersed in interesting topics, and allow them the time to develop expertise all contribute to knowledge gains. Such efforts can’t be delayed until children are supposedly reading to learn, nor can they be subordinated in any way to other skills. Code and content learning must be emphasized simultaneously.

I found Neuman's article thought-provoking.  I especially got me thinking about how we assess children's reading abilities.  We expect students to take a "picture walk" through an unknown text and then be able to read it and answer questions about it with 98% accuracy!

It also seems to encourage using an integrated curriculum, which will be required in MCPS first grades next year.  Our school is piloting it this year to get used to it.  Already, I've had the opportunity to delve into plants with the curriculum.  I'm hoping to become more proficient at integrating reading with science, math and social studies to help enhance my students' content knowledge.

Here's the link to the article

http://proquest.umi.com.proxy3.library.jhu.edu/pqdweb?did=2073565961&Fmt=2&clientId=5241&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Source

Neuman, S.. (2010). Lessons From My Mother: Reflections on the National Early Literacy Panel Report. Educational Researcher, 39(4), 301.  Retrieved October 31, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2073565961).

Neuman, S.. (2010). Lessons From My Mother: Reflections on the National Early Literacy Panel Report. Educational Researcher, 39(4), 301.  Retrieved October 31, 2010, from ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2073565961).

Vocabulary instruction -- is it necessary?

After our discussion during the last class about vocabulary development, I was curious to see what research I could find about vocabulary instruction for the early childhood grades (preK - 2).  The reading specialist at my elementary school has mentioned the importance of exposing our young students to rich vocabulary, especially during shared reading time.

So, it just so happens that I found an article that discusses vocabulary instruction during shared reading!  Maynard and her colleagues at the University of Virginia conducted a study to enrich vocabulary instruction for first grade students through repeated, shared storybook reading.  The researchers took groups of first graders and provided them with rich, basic or indirect vocabulary instruction.  The purpose of the study was to see if direct vocabulary instruction for young students would help them with overall reading comprehension.

The researchers mentioned that 95% of students can read more words than they can define or explain, which indicates the importance of early vocabulary development (Maynard, et. al., 2010).  There is also concern for students who encounter reading difficulties and the fact that most of these students don't have a well developed vocabulary. 

During the study, teachers who taught vocabulary using rich instruction, engaged students in activities that encouraged deep processing and increased their exposure to certain vocabulary words from the storybooks read in varied and meaningful contexts.  These teachers also used open-ended questioning to encourage higher-ordered thinking by the students.

The results of the study were interesting.  Students who were taught using a rich or basic approach to vocabulary instruction during storybook reading, showed a statistically significant difference in their receptive, expressive and contextual knowledge of targeted vocabulary words than students who were not directly instructed.

One of the considerations for instruction is the extra time it takes to teach vocabulary in this manner.  As  a first grade teacher, just about every minute of my instructional day is planned.  My school has set priorities for reading instruction that would make it challenging to initiate a formal vocabulary instruction program. 

I like the idea of vocabulary instruction and will continue to introduce my students to the rich vocabulary that we encounter in our storybook read alouds.  I have a "wonderful word" wall in my classroom where I post some of the vocabulary words we discuss during class.  This past week, we've been studying pumpkins.  I've introduced the word "tendrils" and I've been pointing out the word when it's encountered in our various non-fiction pumpkin books.  Perhaps it would be worthwhile to further study this word or others like it from time to time as instructional time permits.  There's just so much to teach young children; at times, it can seem overwhelming to make sure I'm teaching them what they need to know to be successful readers and writers.

Here's the link to the study:
http://proquest.umi.com.proxy3.library.jhu.edu/pqdweb?did=2100152041&Fmt=3&clientId=5241&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Source

Maynard, K., Pullen, P., & Coyne, M.. (2010). Teaching Vocabulary to First-Grade Students Through
Repeated Shared Storybook Reading: A Comparison of Rich and Basic Instruction to Incidental
Exposure. Literacy Research and Instruction, 49(3), 209-242.  Retrieved October 23, 2010, from
ProQuest Education Journals. (Document ID: 2100152041).

Enhancing Self-Efficacy through Peer Tutoring

After our discussion last week on motivation, I went back over the articles more thoroughly and was struck by this sentence in the Schunk and Zimmerman article: "Although adult models can teach children skills, children derive the best self-efficacy information from models who are similar to themselves."

So, in thinking about implications for instruction, I searched for other articles on peer teaching and found one that was published in Reading Improvement in 2010.   Marr and her colleagues conducted a study using peer coaching to improve reading fluency and literacy skills among a group of second grade students.  They paired struggling students with more fluent readers and had them work together to read teacher-selected passages.  At the end of the peer coaching activity, the teacher would have the struggling readers read their passages for one minute.  The coaches would mark how far their partner read in the passage.  Then the reader could locate the number of words read and record their fluency data.  I love this idea! 

This approach was selected because, "peer-mediated learning groups in which children work together to support each other represent "... powerful academic interventions that can prevent and/or remediate reading failure before it leads to even more devastating outcomes..."

In my classroom I frequently require students to read their written work to a friend.  I use this technique as a formative assessment in the classroom.  I am now aware that this activity may also enhance self-efficacy.  I hope to try to use more peer coaching in my classroom, especially when it comes to helping my struggling readers.  If I can tap into the ready-made resource of my existing students, then I won't always feel like I have to provide all the intervention.  Peer coaching has the potential to be a win-win situation -- good for me and beneficial for my students.

Sources

Marr, M., Algozzine, B., Kavel, R., & Dugan, K. (2010). Implementing Peer  

     Coaching Fluency Building to Improve Early Literacy Skills. Reading Improvement, 

     47(2), 74-91. Retrieved from Education Full Text database

Schunk, D., Zimmerman, B. (2007).  Influencing Children's Self-Efficacy and Self-

     Regulation of Reading and Writing Through Modeling.  Reading and Writing

     Quarterly, 23, 7-25. 

Spellling and Word Study

After our class discussion this past week, I went back to my Words Their Way text that I used in a reading class I took at JHU last spring.  I re-read the part of Chapter One that deals with invented spelling.  From research done in the 1970s, the term invented spelling came about.  Further research out of the University of Virginia in the 1980s examined children's invented spellings and reported that children learn words developmentally.  And that once these developmental stages are identified, teachers can "differentiate efficient, effective instruction in phonics, spelling and vocabulary" (Bear, et al., 2008).  The resulting instruction is termed word study.

Word study is not spelling.  Word study does not attempt to teach words through rote drill.  Words taught in this manner are usually memorized for the sake of a test and not fully understood by students.  Word study is identifying the developmental stage a student is using for spelling words and then applying hands-on opportunities to manipulate word features (like words with the short /a/ sound and short /i/ sound).  Students in word study are taught word features and patterns in a sequential order.  They are provided multiple opportunities for hands-on practice and application.

Words Their Way says, "word study teaches students how to look at words so that they can construct an ever-deepening understanding of how spelling works to represent sound and meaning" (Bear, et al., 2008).

Words Their Way provides teachers with a word study program that can be used in the classroom.  I like it because it includes everything from the way to assess the developmental spelling stages of students to all the various word sorting activities to word games.  The word sorts and word games are designed for each developmental spelling stage, making them easy to use.

I have already tested some of my first graders this year.  It is interesting to analyze their spelling patterns and determine their developmental stage.  Now I can proceed with word study activities that are appropriate to their particular stage.  I plan to teach word study during guided reading time when I'm working with small, differentiated groups of students.  It will be interesting to see if their developmental spelling stage corresponds with their reading level.  I may have to provide different word study activities to different students in one reading group.  I am also excited to see if using word study will improve my students' word knowledge to make them better readers and writers.

Sources

Bear, D.R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. (2008) Words their way:  Word study
     for phonics, vocabulary, and spelling. Upper Saddle River, NJ:  Pearson Prentice Hall. 

Chapter Six - Developing Fluent Readers and Writers

I found chapter six full of more useful information for teaching young readers and writers.  I am familiar with word walls and word wall activities.  I use the word wall in my first grade classroom every day.  I was reassured after reading this chapter because I already use many of the activities that were mentioned in the chapter for building word knowledge and writing ability.  Our grade level team chooses word wall words to focus on each week.  On most Mondays I have my students practice writing the words of the week.  We write them in sentences and chant and cheer them.  These words are added to the making words center and I hide the words on subsequent days in the morning message that I write daily.

I like the idea of making riddle books (p. 194) to teach repeated writing of high frequency words and making up riddles to teach word wall words.  The example in the text was something like, "It starts with /g/ and rhymes with /wet/."  I also like the idea of using big books and having small groups of students identify high frequency words.  The text is proving to be a good resource for teaching strategies and activities.

I found an article that appeared in Reading Horizons in 2009.  It highlights a study that used a word wall and accompanying activities to improve word recognition for first graders.  Although the study had limitations, it provides further evidence of the effectiveness of word walls in the classroom. 

http://proquest.umi.com.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/pqdlink?did=1935140291&Fmt=7&clientId=5241&RQT=309&VName=PQD

Before I read the chapters for this week, I read Lise's article that she's presenting in class.  I found it particularly interesting that the author talks about all the academic language we bombard students with in an effort to teach them how to comprehend text.  In the end they wind up being able to repeat terms like "summarizing" but they don't know what "summarizing" means.  What I got from reading the article is that as teachers we have to be careful not to overwhelm students with too much academic language, especially in the early grades.  Simplicity seems to be the order of the day when it comes to teaching young learners.  It's important not to bombard them with tasks that are too complex and confusing.  Read alouds should be brief and focus on one concept.  I enjoyed reading the teacher example in Chapter 6 (pp. 184 - 188) of the text where the teacher uses one text A House for Hermit Crab as the basis for all of her reading and writing activities.  Perhaps students don't need to know the academic terms for what they are doing in class, they just need to know that learning can be fun and interesting.

Sources

Tompkins, G.E. (2010). Literacy for the 21st century:  A balanced approach (5th ed.). 
     Boston, MA: Pearson.