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Skip to content About CATS The Center for Accessible Technology in Sign (CATS) is a joint project between the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf and the Georgia Institute of Technology. CATS is dedicated to providing accessibility to learning via sign language. CATS' goal is to enhance language, literacy and general world knowledge for deaf learners, particularly children.

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notable books of the english language arts

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Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified. Each reading passage can also be downloaded as a PDF and printed for use as a read-along or as supplemental reading material for your classroom.

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Lit2Go is a free online collection of stories and poems in Mp3 (audiobook) format. An abstract, citation, playing time, and word count are given for each of the passages. Many of the passages also have a related reading strategy identified.

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Just Read, Florida! is the statewide reading initiative that prioritizes reading in Florida's public schools and among all the community groups and volunteer organizations that support them. Just Read, Florida! is based on the latest reading research that includes emphasis on phonemic awareness (knowing that words are made up of sounds), phonics (the link between sounds and letters), vocabulary (what words mean and how to say them), fluency (the ability to read words accurately and quickly), and comprehension (the ability to understand what you read). On September 7, 2001, Governor Jeb Bush signed Executive Order 01-260 (PDF) designating Just Read, Florida! as a comprehensive and coordinated reading initiative. Florida Statute 1001.215 Charged with establishing reading as a core value in this state, Just Read, Florida! was launched with the unequivocal goal of every child being able to read at or above grade. With that goal in mind, Just Read, Florida! focuses on three main components; student success, educator quality and parent support.

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Just Read, Florida! is the statewide reading initiative that prioritizes reading in Florida's public schools and among all the community groups and volunteer organizations that support them. Just Read, Florida!

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ReadWorks.org | Solving the Reading Comprehension Crisis

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​"It's easy to do. Don't be hesitant, just try it!" ​- Kristine, 4th Grade Teacher

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Strategies for Teaching Complex Texts

Craig Simmons

If students struggle with reading, they are likely to struggle in other content areas. My experiences teaching in four states and in both elementary and middle schools bears out this truth. Therefore, no matter where I taught, reading was a schoolwide instructional focus, in the hopes that both reading and content area achievement would be positively impacted. As the Common Core State Standards raised reading expectations, I witnessed firsthand the frantic search for strategies that would ameliorate students' reading levels. Although the standards did and still do present a challenge for many schools, there are various strategies that educators can implement to prepare students for the rigor they will encounter.

Tackling Complex Text with Close Reading and Annotating

Close reading and annotating are two strategies that students can simultaneously use to aid comprehension and extract meaning from text. When conducting a close read, it is crucial to choose a text that is worthy of the undertaking, as close reading requires the reader to read the text several times with a different purpose for each reading. After choosing the text, implement the following strategies using the gradual release of responsibility model.

1. Before the first read, require students to number the paragraphs and lines; this will help them cite textual evidence.

2. During the first read, if appropriate, have students read the passage independently. While reading, students should focus on main ideas and key details. They should also annotate and identify-by underlining, circling, or highlighting-anything they find surprising or significant or anything that raises questions.

3. During the second read, have students read a portion of the text that you consider complex or potentially confusing. Students should respond to both text-based questions and questions about the author's purpose (diction, structure, syntax, etc.). When responding, students should identify the paragraph and line where they located each answer; this information will enable you to evaluate students' ability to identify supporting textual evidence.

4. During the third read, have a text-based discussion about the theme. Additionally, have students evaluate the text and discuss connections (text to text, text to world, and text to self) that they are able to make. For example, students can find ways to connect with the text by thinking about the following questions:

* How is this text similar to or different than other texts you have read?

* Can you relate to the characters in the story?

* Does anything in this story remind you of anything in your own life or another book you have read?

* Are there any elements in this story that remind you of the real world or that are different from things that happen in reality?

Remember, students do not always have to write out the answers to text-based questions. A discussion that requires students to cite evidence works just as well.

Prove It with Textual Evidence

Though complex texts pose a great challenge for many students, especially struggling readers, teaching students to identify textual evidence and support answers to text-based questions with textual evidence will help them read more critically. There are many strategies that teachers can use to help students practice and master this skill. Two strategies that I frequently use are RACE and Prove It.

RACE: This strategy works well with text-based constructed responses. Require students to restate the question (R), answer the question (A), cite evidence (C), and elaborate on or explain how the evidence supports their answer (E). If students practice this strategy throughout the school year, they should be adept in writing tasks that require using textual evidence by the end of the year.

Prove It: To create selected response questions that require textual evidence, ask follow-up questions that require students to identify the information that best supports the answer chosen in the previous question, or ask questions that require students to select evidence that best supports inferences or conclusions that were drawn from the text. For open-ended questions, ask students to provide the line(s) or write the sentence(s) that best supports their answer. When my students answer selected response questions incorrectly, I always ask them to provide the evidence that supports their answer. In most cases, once we begin discussing the evidence, students realize that they chose the incorrect answer because the evidence they used did not support the question.

Reach All Learners Through Explicit Small Group Instruction

Many teachers only use this type of instruction for struggling learners. But regardless of students' reading performance, small group instruction can be a useful strategy for remediation, enrichment, review, or check-ins on student progress. For example, I mistakenly assumed that my class of gifted students would perform well if I implemented clear instruction using the guided release of responsibility model coupled with prompt, consistent, and specific academic feedback. Instead, I found that these students also needed explicit, small group instruction to improve their reading achievement, just as my on-level students did. Why? Small group instruction allows teachers to pinpoint errors that students make in real time. Moreover, it provides an opportunity for teachers to intervene and ask students to articulate their thinking and reasoning. For example, after administering and analyzing an assessment on point of view, it was evident that some students experienced confusion, but I did not know why. It was not until I used small group instruction that I discovered that dialogue was the culprit of student confusion; when I asked students to provide evidence that supported their answer choices, many of them referred to dialogue in the text, which is irrelevant when determining point of view. This information allowed me to provide additional instruction that focused on the narration as well as dialogue. My instructional goal was to get students to understand that although dialogue might include words signaling point of view, it does not determine point of view because it is not part of the narration. As a result of this technique, I was able to address the root of the problem-confusion with dialogue and narration-which in turn led to an increase in student understanding and mastery.

Critical reading is a lifelong skill. When students have it, they typically perform well in school. On the other hand, when they do not have it, they often struggle in all content areas. The current reading and literacy expectations are likely here to stay. Thus, it is imperative that students are provided with strategies that will aid them in reading complex texts and answering text-based questions.

Resources

Bright Hub Education. (2012, March 2). Answering the constructed response essay. Retrieved from http://www.brighthubeducation.com/help-with-writing/33366-constructed-response-essay-question/

Burke, B. (n.d.). A close look at close reading: Scaffolding students with complex texts. Retrieved from http://nieonline.com/tbtimes/downloads/CCSS_reading.pdf

Craig Simmons teaches 8th grade English language arts at Marietta Middle School in Marietta, Georgia.

ASCD Express, Vol. 12, No. 12. Copyright 2017 by ASCD. All rights reserved. Visit www.ascd.org/ascdexpress.

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ASCD Express 12.12 - Strategies for Teaching Complex Texts

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Strategies for Teaching Complex Texts Craig Simmons If students struggle with reading, they are likely to struggle in other content areas. My experiences teaching in four states and in both elementary and middle schools bears out this truth.

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That's my nephew waving ~ May 20, 2018 ~ Summa Cum Laude graduate of Providence College!
Reading is a skill that needs to be practiced!

Professional athletes and musicians practice their skills DAILY ~ MORE than you can imagine!

Everyone has heard the proverb "practice makes perfect." In learning to read it is true that reading practice - just reading - is a powerful contributor to the development of accurate, fluent, high-comprehension reading (Allington, 2009). Even if your child is in 3rd, 4th, or even 5th grade you can still read at home with him/her! Alternate reading pages or paragraphs aloud to each other. Borrow books from the library on tape or CD and have your child follow along, too. View the books on DVD if available, and compare/contrast to the text!

Parents, research shows that struggling readers read even less than their grade level peers because they are always asked to read aloud, causing them to continue to fall even further behind. Please give your child some "read-to-self" time at his/her just right level.
Proficient Readers
WHAT IS A PROFICIENT READER? According to the University of New England, "proficient readers know what and when they are comprehending and when they are not comprehending; they can identify their purposes for reading and identify the demands placed on them by a particular text. They can identify when and why the meaning of the text is unclear to them, and can use a variety of strategies to solve comprehension problems or deepen their understanding of a text" (Duffy et al. 1987; Paris, Cross, and Lipson, 1984). Good readers are metacognitive; they think about their thinking! Click here:

"Teachers can affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops." I always hope that I make a positive and lasting impression on all of my students and future generations!

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Mrs. Judy Araujo, Reading Specialist | Northeast Elementary School, Waltham, Massachusetts

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That's my nephew waving ~ May 20, 2018 ~ Summa Cum Laude graduate of Providence College! Reading is a skill that needs to be practiced! Professional athletes and musicians practice their skills DAILY ~ MORE than you can imagine! Everyone has heard the proverb "practice makes perfect."

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Language Arts

The Question-Answer Relationship strategy helps students understand the different types of questions. By learning that the answers to some questions are "Right There" in the text, that some answers require a reader to "Think and Search," and that some answers can only be answered "On My Own," students recognize that they must first consider the question before developing an answer.

Into the Book has an interactive activity that helps young children learn about inferring. In the interactive, students try to infer meaning in letters from virtual pen pals. They try to answer two questions: "WHERE is your pen pal?" (inferences about location) and "WHO is your pen pal?" (inferences about personality). Students search for clues in the text, then choose from three possible inferences for each clue.

Riddles are one way to practice inferential thinking skills because successful readers make guesses based on what they read and what they already know. The object of this online riddle game is to infer what is being described by the clues you read. See riddle game >

BrainPop offers several activities for teaching inference, and they offer resources for teachers and parents. See inference activities >

Because so many stories contain lessons that the main character learns and grows from, it is important for students to not only recognize these transformations but also understand how the story's events affected the characters. This lesson from ReadWriteThink uses a think-aloud procedure to model how to infer character traits and recognize a character's growth across a text. Students also consider the underlying reasons of why the character changed, supporting their ideas and inferences with evidence from the text. See lesson plan >

Math

The Math Standards from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) identify standards for PreK-12 students that include developing and evaluating inferences and predictions that are based on data. For young students, the standards specifically state the following:

Pre-K-2 Expectations: In pre-K through grade 2, all students should discuss events related to students' experiences as "likely" or "unlikely."

Grades 3-5 Expectations: In grades 3-5, all students should propose and justify conclusions and predictions that are based on data and design studies to further investigate the conclusions or predictions.

Science

Science teachers spend time helping students develop their observation skills. Inferring and observing are closely related, but they are not identical. Observation is what one sees, inference is an assumption of what one has seen. Observation can be said to be a factual description, and inference is an explanation to the collected data. It's not a guess. If an observation can be termed as a close watch of the world around you through the senses, then inference can be termed as an interpretation of facts that has been observed.

Teachers can start out providing simple observations:

As you're working to develop these skills, encourage your students to incorporate their scientific vocabulary into their statements. "From what I observe on the grass, I infer that..."

Learn more about how to use inference, and other science process skills, to help students understand our water resources. More on science process skills >

This strategy guide from Seeds of Science introduces an approach for teaching about how scientists use evidence to make inferences. The guide includes an introductory section about how scientists use evidence to make inferences, a general overview of how to use this strategy with many science texts, and a plan for teaching how scientists gather evidence to make inferences. See teaching inference strategy guide >

This lesson from ReadWriteThink uses science to engage students in the process of making inferences. First, students work through a series of activities about making inferences. Then they read a booklet of descriptions of a series of mystery objects that are placed under a microscope. Finally, they look through each microscope and use the formula of schema + text clues = inference to make their own inferences about the identity of each mystery object. See science lesson plan >

Social Studies

In this Teacher Guide from the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian, students use clues in a portrait to infer things about George Washington and his life. They work to identify visual clues the artist used, they compare various portraits of George Washington, and discuss the importance of the different portraits as visual records. See teacher guide >

Often, inferring is introduced to students by using familiar symbols, activities, and environments from which they automatically draw inferences or make predictions (an inference about the future). For example, suppose you are about to begin a unit on the Great Depression. You might have students view a picture of the exterior of a mansion and then of a soup line. Then, through questioning, students focus on details, making inferences about the people who live in both places, their socioeconomic status, the kinds of food they eat, the kinds of activities they pursue.

Parents can help to build these skills at home. For ideas to share with parents, see our Growing Readers tip sheet, Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions (in English and Spanish).

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Inference | Classroom Strategy | Reading Rockets

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Observations occur when we can see something happening. In contrast, inferences are what we figure out based on an experience. Helping students understand when information is implied, or not directly stated, will improve their skill in drawing conclusions and making inferences. These skills will be needed for all sorts of school assignments, including reading, science and social studies.

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Paragraph shrinking with Ellen the Eagle

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References

Click the "References" link above to hide these references.

Allington, R. L. (1980). Poor readers don't get to read much in reading groups. Language Arts, 57(8), 873-875.

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Grouping Students Who Struggle With Reading

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There are a variety of grouping formats that are effective for teaching reading to students with learning disabilities: whole class, small group, pairs, and one-on-one. Learn more about the research and implications for practice for using each format in the general education classroom.