EDLL 5341/EDLL 5344

LEARNING MODULE 6

OVERVIEW:

•Inference Activity and Notes from Chapter Six in Mosaic of Thought

•Reading Interventions for Adolescents from Chapter Four in Creating Literacy-Rich Schools for Adolescents

•Writer’s Workshop over Narrative Profiles

INFERENCE ACTIVITY(CHAPTER SIX IN MOSAIC OF THOUGHT)

• Read “Celebration of the Human Voice”

–Eduardo Galeano, The Book of Embraces

• Write a response to this piece and post it to your discussion group.

• Compare the differences in types of inferences you made.

INFERENCE• “Inferring is the process of creating a personal and unique meaning

from text. It involves a mental process that combines information gleaned from the text and relevant prior knowledge (schema). The reader’s unique interpretation of text is the product of this blending” (p. 166)

• “Inference is part rational, part mystical, part definable, and part beyond definition” (p. 145).

INFERENCE CONTINUED• “When we read, we can choose to limit our interpretations to

the literal words of the text, but by doing so we greatly limit understanding. It’s like calling paint-by-numbers kits. . .art. They don’t expand, but contract, our creativity” (p. 145).

• “Inferring gives the reader an opportunity to sense a meaning not explicit in the text, but which derives or flows from it. Knowing this about my own reading leads me to wonder if we create adequate opportunities for children to infer and, therefore, better learn the lessons of their lives” (p. 145).

• “When I visit classrooms and observe teachers who ask children to recall endless literal detail from what they’ve read, I wonder what the consequence is when children read or listen only for the literal meaning or ‘just the facts’”(p. 146)

INFERENCE CONTINUEDWhen they infer, proficient readers:

• Draw conclusions from text• Make reasonable predictions as they read, then test and

revise those predictions as they read further• Create dynamic interpretations of text that they adapt both

while they read and after they read• Use the combination of background knowledge and explicit

information from the text to answer questions they have as they read

• Make connections between conclusions they draw and other beliefs or knowledge, and use the inferences to extend and adapt existing knowledge

• Arrive at insight after struggling to understand complex concepts

• Make critical or analytical judgments about what they read(p. 167)

REASONS FOR PERSISTENT AND WIDESPREAD READING DIFFICULTIES (CHAPTER 4 IN CREATING LITERACY-RICH SCHOOLS FOR ADOLESCENTS)

Why do adolescents struggle with reading?

What can I do to help them?

“First, many of the students who come to middle and high school as struggling readers were assigned as younger students to remedial reading programs that are known to focus on decontextualized skills, literal recall, and skills worksheets at the expense of purposeful, strategic silent reading experiences. This kind of instruction has been tied to slowing rather than accelerating reading progress. Thus, struggling readers fall further and further behind their peers” (p. 70).

CONTINUED

“Second, students who do not read well read less and consequently do not get any better at reading. Related to this situation, students who experience failure at reading and writing year after year lose motivation and feel helpless to improve. Many of these students come to believe that reading and writing are unattainable goals” (p. 71).

CONTINUED

“Third, school reading alone may limit the reading experiences of all students, and this is especially detrimental to the most inexperienced readers. Secondary schools rely mainly on common textbooks and anthologies for the whole class, despite their inappropriateness for meeting individual needs” (p. 71).

CONTINUED“Fourth, to make progress, many students just need continued instruction in reading beyond the elementary grades. Unfortunately, although the range and complexity of texts students must negotiate increase as they progress into middle and high school, the amount of instruction and support for reading and writing actually decreases” (p. 71).

Struggling Readers Need…

Specific Reading EncouragementTexts They Can ReadTexts They WANT to ReadUninterrupted Blocks of Time to Read (and Re-read)To Learn to Read with FluencyTo Develop “Thoughtful Literacy”To be Supported Before ReadingTo be Exposed to Different Kinds of Texts, (i.e., multiple genres and modalities of text)

PROFILES OF STRUGGLING READERS

Consider the three examples of Allison, Eduard, and Michael who are struggling readers on pages 67 and 68 (and attached to this module).

Consider the following questions:

(1)Why do these students struggle with reading?

(2)What reading interventions do they need?

IVEY AND FISHER’S ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS FOR AN EFFECTIVE READING INTERVENTION PROGRAM FOR ADOLESCENTS

1. Teachers work with individual or small groups of students (p. 74).

2. Teachers should “run alongside” of a reader or engage in “responsive teaching” (p. 74).

3. Phonics and phonemic awareness should “not play a major role in secondary interventions” (p. 76).

4. “Students should always read and write meaningful texts from the onset of instruction while working on necessary skills and strategies within those experiences” (p. 77).

5. Select engaging texts for students to read (p. 80).

CONTINUED

1. The intervention includes ongoing “useful” assessment (p. 82).

• Informal Reading Inventory• Developmental Spelling Inventory• Writing Sample• Literacy Survey or Questionnaire

2. Match students with texts they can and want to read (p. 83).

3. Engage students in authentic reading and writing tasks.

SAMPLE READING INTERVENTION LESSON

• Examine the Sample Tutoring session on page 86.

• Consider this format for a small group tutorial and a whole class lesson.

• How does this lesson reflect the reading methods that have been highlighted in this class?

WRITER’S WORKSHOP OVER NARRATIVE PROFILES

Remember to post rough drafts of your narrative profile essays by February 21st.

Please provide feedback to at least three other students in the class on their essays.