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How to Teach Expository Text Structure to Facilitate Reading Comprehension

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Expository text can be challenging to young readers because of the unfamiliar concepts and vocabulary it presents. Discover ways to help your students analyze expository text structures and pull apart the text to uncover the main idea and supporting details.

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Writing is a complex process that requires a wide range of skills - basic mechanical skills; a strong vocabulary; an understanding of genre, text structure, and voice; organizational skills; and higher-order thinking.

Writing requires a wide range of skills:

basic mechanical skills (handwriting, spelling, grammar and punctuation)

a strong vocabulary

an understanding of genre, text structure, and voice

organizational skills

higher-order thinking

It's no wonder that most students need high-quality instruction to learn how to write well! Effective writing instruction requires more than giving students time and a purpose for their writing.
We need to teach all the necessary components explicitly and systematically.
Elements of writing

Handwriting

Is penmanship really worth teaching if so many of our students will end up typing in the later grades? Yes! Learning proper letter formation helps students to distinguish between often confused letters (such as d, b, p, and q) which in turn helps them to become fluent readers. Learning to write words effortlessly can also reduce the barriers between our students' thoughts and what they record on paper.

Explicit instruction in penmanship combined with regular practice opportunities helps ensure that almost all students develop effortless, legible handwriting. When we show students how to form letters, we need to teach them to sit up, with their feet on the floor, paper slightly slanted, and their writing utensil grasped correctly.

While some students internalize these habits without much instruction, many other children compensate for poor form with varying degrees of success. When forming letters is laborious or inefficient, students often experience difficulty recording their thoughts on the page, which ends up affecting their word choice, sentence construction, the length of their compositions, and even their willingness to write altogether.

If a child struggles with handwriting even after explicit instruction and opportunities to practice, it may be helpful to put in place instructional supports that benefit students with dysgraphia. Dysgraphia is a disorder of written expression (not simply a problem with handwriting). But some of the strategies we use for dysgraphia (e.g. using paper with raised lines) may also help students who have not been formally diagnosed with dysgraphia.

To learn more:

Spelling

As students begin to master phonics, we need them to apply that knowledge when they sit down to write. In the early grades students may use "approximated spelling," recording the sounds they hear, using the phonics that they know. As students become more familiar with the written code of English, we expect that their spelling will become increasingly conventional over time.

Spelling gives us insight into our students' phonemic awareness as they convert the sounds they hear into written words. Spelling also provides tangible evidence of the phonics students have learned from instruction and exposure. The importance of spelling for reading is summarized by Snow et al.:

"Spelling and reading build and rely on the same mental representation of a word. Knowing the spelling of a word makes the representation of it sturdy and accessible for fluent reading." (Snow, 2005)

In other words, our students' writing gives us a window into which words they can read effortlessly and which words may still present a decoding challenge.

Writers who must think too hard about how to spell words use up brain-space that could otherwise be used for higher-level tasks writing tasks such as organization, word choice, clarity, and voice (Singer and Bashir, 2004). Students who struggle to spell well may not employ their full vocabulary and, instead, restrict themselves to words they know how to write. Encouraging approximated spelling may temporarily help to alleviate that struggle, but it is important that students understand that conventional spelling is ultimately by far the best way to communicate with their readers.

See also: How Spelling Supports Reading.

Grammar

Grammar, like handwriting and spelling, is often given instructional short-shrift, perhaps because it's not widely thought of as a component of progressive education or because teachers are not typically well-prepared and supported in teaching it. Providing instructional time for brainstorming ideas and generating drafts is important, but it's also important that we teach our students to value the quality of their writing over the quantity.

Clear expression of ideas depends upon grammatical sentences. All the work that students put into brainstorming does little good if they can not then write those ideas coherently. For this reason, we need to teach our students how to construct grammatical sentences that allow them to express their ideas effectively.

At first, students will need to learn how to construct simple sentences, including word order, capitalization, and punctuation. But as they develop ideas that are increasingly complex, they need instruction to help them draft more complex sentences.

We can introduce the components of grammar and syntax (word order) during explicit instruction by using isolated examples, but we also need to show students how to tie the concepts immediately to their writing assignments.
Studies have shown that teaching grammar in isolation yields poor results, but grammar applied to the act of writing has a positive effect.
- W. Van Cleave, 2012

For more on teaching grammar, see the In Practice section of this module.

Vocabulary

Effective writing depends on thoughtful word choice and that, of course, depends on a writer's vocabulary. Encouraging students to use newly acquired vocabulary in their writing can enrich the language that they use, but we need to ensure that students use words grammatically and precisely. If a student writes a sentence such as, "He disrupted the candy bar," we can see that she understands that the word disrupt has something to do with "breaking something up," but the nuance has been lost. When students encounter difficulty integrating new words into their oral and written vocabularies, it's important that we seize the opportunity to reteach and deepen their understanding of the new words.

Teaching students to replace bland word choices ( nice, good, fun) with more descriptive words (e.g., prompting a writer, "By nice, did you mean pleasant, kind, or agreeable?") can help them to express their ideas more clearly. As with other components of writing instruction, it's important to ensure that students learn to write concisely as well, so they don't add long lists of adjectives to their writing for the sake of filling more lines. When introducing the concept "less is more," it may be helpful to share with students not only examples and non-examples, but also quotes from professional writers who have written about high-quality writing, such as Mark Twain:
"When you catch an adjective, kill it. No I don't mean utterly, but kill most of them - then the rest will be valuable. They weaken when they are close together."
To learn more:

Genre, text structure, and organization

Before sitting down to write, students need to understand the genre in which they'll be working. For example, when writing stories, they need to be prepared to recount the sequence of events. When expressing an opinion, students need to prepare to offer supporting details, and when describing a problem they might need to know how to structure their work with a cause followed by its effects.

Analyzing the structure of exemplar texts can support students in organizing their own thinking before writing. Studying the kinds of transitions appropriate for a particular genre - for example, understanding that "in conclusion" may be helpful for an argumentative piece but should probably not appear in a narrative - can help thoughts flow from one sentence to the next, provide structure to a paragraph, and develop a logical sequence from the start to the end of a piece.

To learn more:

Voice

In writing, voice conveys feelings, emotions, and the author's perspective. The voice of a piece of writing should be appropriate for the topic, purpose, and audience of the piece, and the language can make the piece of writing effective and enjoyable to read. Even primary grade students can take pleasure in playing with voice in their writing.

Students often start out writing conversationally (like a first grader who wrote about a story, "Cowgirl Kate had a hissy fit because the horse made a mess in the house.") or playing with word choice (like another student who accompanied her picture of racoons with the label, "I see chrash [trash] pandas when the moon comes out.") Students who express their humor through writing will often enjoy reading their writing aloud, which can provide an opening for authentic discussions about the importance of word choice, sentence construction, and other components of effective writing.

Over the years, students must learn how to adjust their writing to capture a voice appropriate for their intended audience and genre. By explicitly teaching text structure and organization, vocabulary, grammar, and the other foundational skills necessary for fluent writing, we can ensure that students learn to write effectively for a variety of purposes.

To learn more:

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Writing is a complex process that requires a wide range of skills - basic mechanical skills; a strong vocabulary; an understanding of genre, text structure, and voice; organizational skills; and higher-order thinking.

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Using effective reading intervention strategies is key when working with our struggling readers. It's not only what we teach that matters; the way we teach it has a huge impact on student learning. Using reading intervention strategies that work can be the difference in helping your struggling readers learn to read.

Reading Intervention Ideas

If you are wanting to revamp your reading intervention plan, you are in the right place! I have a huge list of reading intervention strategies for you that will help you reach your struggling readers. They are all easy tips that you can easily implement now.

Also, if you need help identifying struggling readers, figuring out where they need help, and knowing how to help them, try downloading this FREE reading intervention cheat sheet that will make your reading intervention so much more effective.

The Big 5 Reading Skills

There are 5 main areas in reading that make up a well-rounded, solid reading foundation. Reading gurus refer to these areas as The Big 5 Reading Areas. Developing all 5 of these areas is crucial to student reading success. Below are some blog posts I've written with reading intervention strategies that specifically target each Big 5 Reading Area. Check them out for more specific ideas!

Here is a video I made explaining the differences between the Big 5 Reading areas you can check out too:

General Reading Intervention Strategies

In the meantime, here are some SUPER valuable reading intervention strategies you can use to teach any reading subject. They are also great strategies for reading instruction for your whole class, or to help any student in reading. You can also check out my blog post about The Key to Stress Free Reading Intervention which gives several tips to ease your teacher stress.

For specific activity ideas, you can use with your struggling readers, see this blog post with my Ultimate List of Reading Intervention Activities. There are tons of activities that appeal to all kinds of learners!

Reading Intervention Strategy #1: Read as much as possible!

A huge principle in building any skill, is you get better at what you practice. If you spend time practicing reading, guess what?! You will get better at reading! Other reading intervention activities absolutely have value and are important, but the #1 skill we are trying to build is reading text, so why not spend a lot of time reading?

The key here though is not to kill the love of reading. Let students read for fun, read with students, encourage reading at home, let students read during transitions and breaks, as a reward, or have class reading parties. Make it fun, and try to integrate it naturally as much as possible.
On a similar note...
People don't realize how priceless read alouds are. It is such an amazing opportunity to show our students how to gain important reading skills!

Students learn a ton by example and modeling. When we read aloud any text (picture books, chapter books, reading passages, instructions, etc.), we have the chance to show students reading skills in action.
Reading out loud to students lets us model...

sounding out tricky words

reading with fluency

thinking about what we read

asking questions if we don't understand

using countless reading comprehension strategies.

Such a gold mine of opportunity! Here is a list of my favorite picture books and chapter books to read aloud to my class.

Reading Intervention Strategy #2: Follow the Science of Reading

As a teacher, it's important to learn HOW your students actually learn how to read. I promise, it will transform your teaching and you will no longer feel like you are spinning your wheels wondering if you are using the right strategies... because you will know the research and the science behind reading and understand what your students actually need!

As word of the Science of Reading spreads, information about it is getting more and more easily accessible-which is awesome! It's also trending in schools all over and making a huge difference in how reading intervention is carried out. I'll try to explain it as briefly as I can here, but don't worry, I'll give you some links to all the juicy details too!

What is the Science of Reading?
Students need...

1. a STRONG foundation in phonemic awareness (read more about what phonemic awareness is here)

2. letter knowledge (both letter names and sounds)

3. phonics skills (here is a step by step guide on how to teach phonics)

4. text they can DECODE

5. time spent reading connected text (multiple sentences strung together in meaning)

It's also very important to identify holes and gaps in student learning with a diagnostic assessment and to track student progress in these crucial areas (phonemic awareness and phonics) so you can tell which intervention strategies are working and when you need to re-adjust your strategies.

There is sooo much more to the Science of Reading, but that is it in a nutshell. I highly recommend hopping over to this blog post where I dive into deep detail about overcoming reading difficulties with the Science of Reading, and then this blog post where I introduce Orthographic Mapping: The Key to Learning to Read.

Reading Intervention Strategy #3: Mix it up with student choice and teacher assigned reading

There is value in both student choice and teacher choice when it comes to reading, and there should definitely be both in good reading instruction.

Letting students choose their own books gives them independence and ownership of their reading. It increases motivation because they get to pick what they actually want to read. They can read about their interests, at levels they feel comfortable reading. Reading instruction without student choice will have a lot lower student engagement.

Teacher assigned text also has its place though. Students need variety in text types (books, passages, fiction, nonfiction, etc.) and they need to be reading at levels that are best for them. Teachers can help provide that guidance and give them the perfect match. When choosing teacher assigned texts, try to keep in mind student interests and find engaging texts if possible.

Reading Intervention Strategy #4: Use real books along with reading passages and textbooks

Reading passages and textbooks are great because they allow focused practice in the skills you are learning, at just the right level. They often come with comprehension questions and pre-designed activities that coordinate perfectly. I use them all the time, like these Animal Research Passages or these Snowflake Bentley Reading Passages.

However, real books are SO important to include in your instruction too. Students feel like real readers when they read real books, and their engagement is so much higher. It is a challenge to find a class set all in the same book, so one idea is to teach a general reading strategy, and then let students choose a book (it can be from a selection you provide) to practice it with.

Finding real books that are at an appropriate reading level AND interesting can be super hard. I am a book nerd though (and proudly so!), so I spent a ton of time making a list of my Top 91 Best Books for Beginning and Reluctant Readers! All of the books are high-interest and organized into levels so you can find the perfect fit!

Reading Intervention Strategy #5: Independent reading and Instructional reading level

What are the 3 reading levels?

There are 3 types of reading levels: independent reading level, instructional reading level, and frustrational reading level.

1. Independent reading level is when a student is reading at 95-100% accuracy

2. Instructional level is when a student is reading at 90-94% accuracy

3. Frustrational level is when a student is reading at 89% accuracy or below

It's important to help students find texts that are at the independent reading level when they are reading for fun on their own, and at the instructional level when they are reading with you or during a lesson.

The Independent reading level is where the love of reading is built, and the instructional reading level is where growth in reading skills happens. Avoid the frustrational reading level if possible, because that is where students develop anxiety, frustration, and an aversion to reading.

If you need some ideas for finding books at just the right level, here are some of my favorite book recommendations for students at each reading level.

Reading Intervention Strategy #6: Make every child feel successful

When students feel defeated, their motivation plummets. When students feel successful, their motivation skyrockets. Who doesn't want to keep doing what they feel really good at? It is so important to make sure each student experiences little successes every day in their reading, and to celebrate those successes with them.

Give them plenty of little successes to help them feel like they can succeed. Here are some ideas:

Specific positive praise is a great and easy way to let students know they are succeeding.

Break daunting assignments into smaller, easier tasks they can feel successful in as they complete.

When doing activities together, start with easier tasks they can build confidence with from the start.

Reading Intervention Strategy #7: Break it into shorter chunks

Sometimes (maybe more than sometimes) students have a hard time staying focused during long lessons. I used to have a tendency to want to stretch lessons out and be as thorough as I possibly could while teaching, but I've learned that the longer a lesson goes, the more time I'm wasting because students are just not as engaged. If you have a large chunk of time for a lesson, try breaking it up into shorter chunks.

Here are some tips for breaking up your instruction block:

change activities

switch up the materials

let students move to different spots

do brain breaks to let students have a breather and then re-focus

If you need ideas on quick and easy reading intervention activities to break your time into, this list has a ton of ideas!

Reading Intervention Strategy #8: Rewards for effort and completion

An intrinsic love of reading is the ultimate goal for all of our students, but sometimes rewards and incentives are just dang motivating. It's crazy what lengths a student will go to, just to earn a little plastic dinosaur figure, but hey, it works! I use a lot of sticker charts, point systems, and prizes to help keep motivation up. However, what's most important to me is that the student is still trying and putting in an effort, not necessarily that they are scoring perfect on everything.

I like to give rewards or incentives for effort and completion rather than for achievement. That doesn't mean you can't celebrate when students achieve well, but my focus is on students continuing to try instead of scoring perfectly. Rewards for completion also help stretch out engagement, because for each little activity they do, they are one step closer to a prize.

Reading Intervention Strategy #9: Routines

Students thrive on routine. They love knowing what's coming and being able to participate smoothly in it. When they know exactly what they need to do each time, there will be less time lost in explaining directions and they will feel confident in knowing what they need to be doing. Instruction will be efficient, and student engagement will be up.

Here are some examples of Reading Intervention Routines:

routines for the process of being called back

completing the same warm-up activity each time (these intervention binders have great activities to use as warm-ups!)

following the same lesson structure each time (for example: warm-up, phonics skill, passage, comprehension)

I talk more about making the most of your reading intervention time in this blog post if you need more tips for efficient and effective reading intervention and I give you some more routine ideas in this post about 5 Reading Intervention Tips to Make your Life Easier.

Reading Intervention Strategy #10: Games

We already talked about rewards being super motivating, but we can't forget competition! Even if you don't make a big deal of winning and losing, or if it's a game where everyone wins, the idea of playing a game is so engaging!

Games can be as simple as rolling a dice and moving a game piece along a board, or taking turns drawing game cards.

You can have the game be separate from the skill, and let each student take a turn after they complete a skill (like tossing a bean bag, trashket-ball, or rolling a die)

OR you can integrate skills into the game (like reading a word on a game card or having words on a game board)

Games are so effective, that I made sure each of my I use these Reading Intervention Binders has an entire section devoted to fun games for reviewing and practicing skills! For holiday fun, Halloween CVC Game Cards or these St. Patrick's Day Board Games as great phonics practice. I love to play games during the holiday seasons as an educational "celebration".

For some more ideas, you'll love these 5 Super Fun Reading Games for Instant Engagement!

Reading Intervention Strategy #11: Direct Instruction

When I was going through college, there was some controversy on direct instruction vs inquiry. Inquiry and discovery were all the rage, and it is AWESOME in the classroom! It gives so much student engagement and motivation. However, when working with struggling readers, it is not always the best way to go. In inquiry, students are guessing what they need to be learning, and struggling readers need to know from the start what their goal is. Struggling readers respond best to direct, explicit instruction.

Direct Instruction Cycle:

You can refer to this cycle as "I do, We do, You do". It is optimal for building confidence and focusing on exactly the skills students need to practice. You can repeat it as many times as you need to in a lesson. In fact, to keep an engaging pace, it's best to go through many quick "I do, We do, You do" cycles in a lesson.

Ok, one more plug for my Reading Intervention Binders, but they really are the backbone of all the reading interventions that I teach! They are great for using this cycle. Each activity gives you several opportunities to practice a skill. You can model the first one, do one together, and let the student practice the rest of them independently.

I hope this list of reading intervention strategies helps you transform your reading instruction into an effective and awesome success! If you need more tips for helping your struggling readers, download my FREE Reading Intervention Cheat Sheet which will help you figure out exactly who needs help, where they need it, and how to help them.

You can absolutely be a rockstar reading teacher, you can be the difference for your struggling readers! I believe in you!

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11 Reading Intervention Strategies that Work - Katelyn's Learning Studio

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Using effective reading intervention strategies is key when working with our struggling readers. It's not only what we teach that matters; the way we teach it has a huge impact on student learning. Using reading intervention strategies that work can be the difference in helping your struggling readers learn to read.

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8 Strategies for Reading Comprehension - Katelyn's Learning Studio

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Try these 8 strategies for reading comprehension to help your struggling readers understand their text. These activities will help your students read with comprehension and purpose and help foster a love of reading! In the early elementary years, a lot of focus is placed on phonics and fluency.

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What Are Other Foundational Literacy Skills?

In addition to the four key foundational reading skills listed above, students need numerous other foundational literacy skills to become proficient. For example, a strong ELA program will include instruction that supports language comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, and speaking.

The sophistication of these skills will evolve as the students progress through school. For example, before students can effectively write a response to reading prompts, they need to have experience with print concepts, like letter recognition, handwriting, such as letter formation, and encoding (spelling). Students will also need to practice many other skills, such as listening to stories read aloud and telling stories.

Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding

Teachers and families can support students as they travel through the many stages of literacy development. After an extensive review of rigorous research, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) produced the IES Practice Guide: Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade. While the skills are similar to the key foundational reading skills above, there is some variation in their focus. Given the strong research base of this IES Practice Guide, we would be remiss not to highlight their instructional recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Teach students academic language skills, including the use of inferential and narrative language and vocabulary knowledge.

Recommendation 2: Develop awareness of the segments of sounds in speech and how they link to letters.

Recommendation 3: Teach students to decode words, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words.

Recommendation 4: Ensure that each student reads connected text every day to support reading accuracy, fluency, and comprehension.

Families are essential to supporting students' knowledge acquisition, including ELA skills. Drawing upon the four recommendations of the IES Practice Guide, WWC created a companion document, " Tips for Supporting Reading at Home," which offers guidance to families (and applies to classrooms as well), including:

Have conversations before, during, and after reading together.

Help children learn how to break sentences into words and words into syllables.

Help children sound out words smoothly.

Model reading fluently by practicing reading aloud with your child.

Teaching Foundational Literacy Skills

Teaching foundational literacy skills requires systematic, explicit, and diagnostic instruction. Concepts need to be taught with an evidence-based scope and sequence covering topics from the most basic to more complex, which are introduced through teacher modeling, adequate practice, and personalized feedback. Students' understanding and skills are assessed continuously so that whole-group classwork can focus on curricular elements benefiting all students. Small-group work can provide targeted, differentiated reading instruction that accommodates the needs of students reading at various levels.

Teaching Foundational Literacy Skills with Digital Tools

The use of digital tools to support early literacy instruction has skyrocketed over the past couple of decades, particularly with the pandemic accelerating the usage of technology for all students. During whole-group instruction, many teachers can display literacy lessons on digital Smart Boards or access relevant multimedia that develop students' vocabulary and content knowledge on a given text. Students can be broken up into literacy centers or small groups, where some students practice a given phonics or comprehension skill with personalized instruction at computer stations while others may be reading independently using audiobooks or eBooks at their reading level.

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In addition to the four key foundational reading skills listed above, students need numerous other foundational literacy skills to become proficient. For example, a strong ELA program will include instruction that supports language comprehension, background knowledge, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, and speaking. The sophistication of these skills will evolve as the students progress through school.

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Page 6: Fluency

Reading fluency refers to an ability to read text with accuracy, speed, and intonation. A fluent reader will exhibit specific characteristics, such as:

Well-developed word-recognition skills, allowing the reader to use automatic decoding

Reading that sounds effortless and occurs without stumbling over individual words

Appropriate expression and inflection, which create a rhythmic flow

Fluency develops over time and with considerable practice. In the Challenge section of this module, you heard both a fluent and a nonfluent reader read a story about Claire. Let's listen as the readers finish the story.

Claire runs over to the park. She swings on the swings. She climbs on the monkey bars.

But where is Jim? Claire is sad. She goes home.

Claire finds Jim! Jim is in Claire's backyard!

Transcript: Fluent Reader

Claire runs over to the park. She swings on the swings. She climbs on the monkey bars. But where is Jim? Claire is sad. She goes home. Claire finds Jim. Jim is in Claire's backyard!

Transcript: Nonfluent Reader

Cla ire ru roo uns ov

She swings swing swings ins on the s low s low sw-ing sw ings.

Sha She cli imbs the mon the mon the mon key mon key bears.

But where is Jimmy.

Cla ire is said.

She go ez hah hah mm mm ho mm mm.

Cla ire f f fi fi finds Jimmy.

Jimmy is Cla ire's Cla ire's bac bac bake bake eek eek a an ard bck ee ard.

er to the pa rk.

Why Should I Teach It?

Studies show that fluency and reading comprehension skills are closely related. Nonfluent readers work so hard at decoding individual words in a sentence that they end up not comprehending what they have read. Difficulty with decoding and sight-word recognition places greater demands on students' cognitive abilities. Consequently, struggling students are unable to connect one idea to the next, resulting in poor understanding. Due to this poor understanding, these students often find reading unpleasant, and they are unable to adequately participate in reading-based activities in the classroom or at home.

Look at the table below to see the difference fluency makes in comprehension when students read poetry. Poetry is a fun and easy model for demonstrating how a fluent reader should sound. Poems are easy to practice because they are often short and have rhythm.

Activity

The back slashes in the stanza indicate where the fluent reader paused while reading. Compare it to the nonfluent reader's pauses. Try reading the poem using the distinct pauses. Next try reading the poem using a monotone intonation.

As students practice reading out loud, they learn where to pause. For instance, they learn that readers will pause at the end of sentences but also sometimes within a sentence. Students also learn when to alter their emphasis on a word or their tone. This, in turn, helps students understand how to use expression in their voices as they read, augmenting their understanding of the written text. Teachers should offer examples for students to hear and should explain why a text should be read in a certain way.

How Do I Teach It?

Fluency develops when students practice reading and rereading words, passages, or other texts with a high degree of success. Students should practice reading fluency to increase their decoding and word-recognition skills.

Reading Level

Students should not be asked to practice fluency with texts that are likely to be frustrating. Instead, teachers should determine the type of fluency practice each student needs (e.g., letters, sounds, words, sentences, passages).Here's one method for determining appropriate reading levels:

1. A student reads a passage aloud for one minute while the teacher counts how many words the student reads incorrectly.

2. The teacher uses a reading-level guide and the number of errors the student made to determine the student's reading level.

Independent level

When reading, 1 out of 20 words is difficult.

Instructional level

When reading, 1 out of 10 words is difficult.

Frustrational level

When reading, more than 2 out of 10 words are difficult.

Students at the independent reading level will be able to practice fluency activities alone or with peers. When a student at this level is working with his or her teacher, the fluency practice should be at the instructional level. If reading is at a frustrational level, then the level of text should be made easier. Or, if a student struggles with reading passages, then the passages should be shortened.

Once a teacher has determined a student's reading ability level, it is important to remember several critical things:

Teachers should introduce texts of the appropriate reading level.

Immediate corrective feedback is necessary during fluency practice.

Teachers can model fluent and nonfluent reading.

Practicing fluency skills allows students to apply the aspects of fluent reading (rate, accuracy, and intonation) as demonstrated by the teacher.

Research Shows

Students who have developed automaticity can quickly process high-frequency words and can decode new words rapidly.
(Chard, Vaughn, & Tyler, 2002)

Forty-four percent of fourth graders in America cannot read fluently.
(Osborn, Lehr, & Hiebert, 2003)

When Should I Teach It?

Fluency instruction typically begins during the second half of first grade and continues through the third grade and beyond.

Instructional Techniques

Teachers can use different instructional techniques for teaching fluency. With fluency instruction, teachers can help students understand that their reading should sound like natural speech, which should be quick, accurate, and with expression.

Below are samples of fluency techniques.

Fluency Activities

The boxes below include examples to view.

Click (below) to see examples of fluency activities.

Click (below) to watch a teacher instructing students on fluency.

"Copyright © by the Texas Education Agency and University of Texas at Austin. All rights reserved" on all Licensed Materials.

Repeated Reading

Instruct the students to read a relatively short text (50 words) each day for a week, and then ask them to graph their own progress. Many students will be encouraged by the visible improvement in their reading rates. If a student doesn't seem to be improving, consider reviewing unfamiliar words with him or her before beginning each timed reading. Be sure to offer feedback on incorrect words, skipped words, and long pauses. Peers, parents, and other helpers can also provide this type of feedback. Allow students to move to another passage only after they have reached a predetermined level of fluency.

Materials: Give each student a level-appropriate text, a timer, graphing paper, and markers.

Lesson:

Remind students that they will be practicing their reading speed and give a brief example of fluent reading.

Determine where students should begin and stop reading each day.

Time the students as they read.

Allow the students to graph their own times, adding one second to the totals for each misread word.

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Using Technology

Play tape recordings of a fluent reader reading the selected text for the entire class (or for small groups). If multiple students are reading aloud in an area, ask them to read quietly or to mouth the words without actually speaking to avoid disturbing others.

Materials: Give each student a copy of the independent-level reading material, a cassette recording of a fluent and expressive reading of the material, a tape player, and earphones (if necessary).

Lesson:

Tell students to listen to the reading, track the print, and read along silently with the tapes.

Play the tapes and make sure the students follow along and take note of the speed and expression of the fluent reading.

Discuss the rate and expression of the reader on the tapes, replaying sections where the reader changes pitch or intonation.

Read the material aloud as a group without the tapes, maintaining the same rate and expression used on the tapes.

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Choral Reading

Begin by encouraging students to listen to your voice and to mimic your expression as they read. The text should be interesting to the students and should lend itself to expressive reading. You may wish to consider choosing a story that students can read during the course of a week, in order to maintain their interest.

Materials: Provide each student with a copy of the selected text.
Lesson:

Ask students to place the reading material in front of them and to get ready to read along.

Instruct the students to read out loud with you as you read the text. Be sure to read with speed, accuracy, and expression.

You might want to check students' performance by having them take turns sitting beside you, or you might want to move throughout the room to listen to individual students.

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Partner Reading

If students are not ready to read texts aloud on their own, you can begin partner-reading activities using word cards. These cards help students to build speed and accuracy with word recognition, but it is important to choose words that students can read quickly in order to keep the focus on fluency skills. Students will be encouraged to see their speed and accuracy increase through the use of the word cards.

Materials: Give each student one set of word cards printed with 20 to 25 familiar words, a timer, a pencil, and a piece of paper numbered 1 to 5.
Lesson:

Clarify any unfamiliar words before beginning.

Ask the partners to take turns being readers and helpers. The helper will have one minute to show the reader the cards (one at a time for a maximum of three seconds per card). If the reader misreads a word, the helper will place the card facedown on the table. When the reader reads a word correctly, the helper will give that card to the reader. If the reader reads all the cards with time left, the helper should reassemble the cards and begin again.

After the helper has timed the reader for one minute, the reader counts the number of cards he or she is holding and writes that number beside the 1 on the paper.

The students then review any of the words the reader missed.

The partners switch roles and repeat the steps above. The process is continued until each student has been a reader five times.

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Echo Reading

Have students listen as you model fluency and expression. Let the students imitate your reading, using texts that are interesting to them.

Materials: Provide each student with a copy of the selected text.

Lesson:

Read a sentence aloud, modeling how it should be read.

Ask the students to echo aloud that same sentence.

Give corrective and immediate feedback.

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Here are some helpful hints for incorporating reading fluency instruction in the classroom.

Tips for Teaching

Keep in mind that being able to decode words is not enough for students to master fluency.

Students must be able to decode words effortlessly and even to recognize sight-words automatically.

Emphasize and model speed, accuracy, and expression.

Provide opportunities for students to identify whether your reading sounds natural or unnatural.

Provide fluency practice, and help students to either choose reading material at their independent or instructional level or else provide them with this material.

Ask students to provide an example of a sentence read with speed, accuracy, and expression.

Determine whether the students understand the fluency terms speed, accuracy, and expression.

Reteach any concepts that the students do not understand.

Motivate and encourage independent reading among students.

Match students' reading levels to the appropriate text levels.

Practice reading and rereading text.

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Reading fluency refers to an ability to read text with accuracy, speed, and intonation. A fluent reader will exhibit specific characteristics, such as: Well-developed word-recognition skills, allowing the reader to use automatic decoding Reading that sounds effortless and occurs without stumbling over individual words Appropriate expression and inflection, which create a rhythmic flow Fluency develops over time and with considerable practice.

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Page 7: Vocabulary

Vocabulary refers to a knowledge of words and what they mean. Students learn vocabulary through a variety of contexts such as talking, interacting, and playing with others; listening to stories; watching television; and attending school. There are two types of vocabulary:

Oral vocabulary refers to the recognition of words that we hear and speak.

Reading vocabulary refers to the recognition of words that we read and write.

Why Should I Teach It?

Though students can learn the basics of phonemic awareness and phonics without having a large vocabulary, research shows that beginning readers with a relatively extensive vocabulary will have an easier time recognizing printed words. Conversely, students who begin school with poor vocabularies are at a big disadvantage. These students tend to have a difficult time with fluency and comprehension, potentially leading to a dislike of reading. Subsequently, this dislike triggers an avoidance of reading, preventing students from learning new vocabulary and, thus, creates a negative cycle that results in poor academic achievement. In addition to affecting academic skills, a poor vocabulary impacts students in social situations.

Research Shows

Students' reading comprehension and overall success relates strongly to the extent of their vocabulary knowledge.
(Lehr et al., 2006)

The relationship of vocabulary to reading comprehension gets stronger as reading material becomes more complex and the vocabulary becomes more extensive.
(Verhoeven and Snow, 2002)

How Do I Teach It?

When Should I Teach It?

Vocabulary instruction typically begins in kindergarten and continues through third grade and beyond.

Vocabulary instruction should occur in all grades because it benefits all students regardless of the students' reading levels.

Students learn new vocabulary through indirect and direct methods:

Indirect vocabulary instruction involves students' learning words and their meanings through daily conversations and through independent reading. Teachers need to consistently use new and interesting words as part of classroom instruction. More important, teachers need to read out loud to students and encourage them to read independently.

Direct vocabulary instruction involves the intentional focus on words and their meanings. Teachers need to use a variety of methods to help students learn new vocabulary words directly.

Direct instruction helps students to learn new vocabulary, especially words essential to understanding specific lessons; however, research has demonstrated that most students are able to learn only 8-10 new words per week through direct instruction. Research also shows that elementary students should learn approximately 3,000 new words each year. This means that if students are learning approximately 400 words per year through direct instruction then they must learn the remaining 2,600 words through indirect instruction. Therefore, teachers should provide opportunities for both direct and indirect vocabulary instruction.

Review the table below for an explanation of each type of direct and indirect instruction and for an example of each.

What? What It Is How To Implement

Incidental teaching

New words are learned by happenstance or naturally through the context of the students' environment.

Introduce unfamiliar words during daily interactions with students.

Use new words in songs, or ask students to read books that incorporate new words.

Explicit vocabulary instruction

Teachers clearly demonstrate or explain what a word means.

Use discussions, pictures, and examples to expose students to the new word.

Relate the word to students' lives.

Engage in activities that require students to use the new word.

By demonstrating the usefulness of words, teachers use direct instruction to help students develop their vocabulary. For instance, teachers can show students how authors choose particular words to convey certain meanings. In this video, the teacher demonstrates to her class the use of word cards and a word web to develop vocabulary skills (time: 1:23).

Copyright © by the Texas Education Agency and University
of Texas at Austin. All rights reserved" on all Licensed Materials.
View Transcript
Transcript: Vocabulary

Teacher: We've been studying a unit on penguins, and today we're going to view some of the words that we've learned.

Narrator: She develops students' awareness of interesting words and concepts.

Teacher: Ohhhhhh, I like this word. Everybody say this word.

Students: "Rookery."

Teacher: Who can tell me something about this word that has to do with a penguin? William?

William: One million penguins can live in a rookery.

Teacher: Exactly! That's a lot of what?

Students: Penguins.

Narrator: Later, the class brainstorms to record and categorize new words they've learned.

Teacher: We're going to come up with some vocabulary words that will go with each one of these areas. And we're going to begin with eat. Now I want you to think about all the facts and all the books that we've read about penguins, and I want you to think of something that penguins eat. Chaney?

Chaney: Krill.

Teacher: Wow, that's a good word. Can you tell me what a krill is, because we don't use that word very often?

Chaney: It's like a small shrimp.

Teacher: Excellent!

Narrator: Word maps reinforce students' understanding of word relationships, enhancing comprehension.

Visuals, such as graphic organizers and content word walls, support vocabulary development for all readers.

Here are some helpful hints on how teachers can incorporate vocabulary instruction in the classroom:

Tips for Teaching

Be aware of factors that influence vocabulary instruction:

Students' learning strengths and weaknesses

Complexity of the words

Students' familiarity with the concepts represented by new words

Determine important vocabulary to teach before asking students to read about them in texts, and consider:

How important the word is to the unit of study

To what extent the word is useful outside the context of the lesson

Whether there are words the students can learn on their own through the context of the lesson

Whether there are words in the unit of study that may motivate students to learn other new words

Provide repeated exposure to words.

Develop activities that allow students to use words across different contexts.

Engage students in discussions that include new vocabulary.

Make available a number of good books (both narrative and expository) on a variety of topics.

Encourage independent learning of new vocabulary from context.

Teach meanings of prefixes, suffixes, and common root words.

When teaching vocabulary directly, use a variety of strategies for teaching a word's meaning (e.g., simple definition, synonyms, antonyms, good examples and bad examples, models, pictures, demos).

During vocabulary instruction, words should be introduced in a context with which students are already familiar.

When both the word and the concept are unknown, the word should be taught explicitly in order to increase comprehension.

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Vocabulary refers to a knowledge of words and what they mean. Students learn vocabulary through a variety of contexts such as talking, interacting, and playing with others; listening to stories; watching television; and attending school. There are two types of vocabulary: Oral vocabulary refers to the recognition of words that we hear and speak.

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Page 8: Reading Comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to understand written text, and it ultimately occurs when students translate written text into spoken text. This is a process that, combined with prior knowledge, allows them to:

Identify simple facts presented in written text (literal comprehension)

Make judgments regarding the written text's content (evaluative comprehension)

Connect the text being read to other written passages and situations (inferential comprehension)

Why Should I Teach It?

Reading comprehension is a critical skill that students must acquire. The National Reading Panel describes comprehension as the "essence of reading." In other words, reading comprehension is necessary to achieve academic success and to continue a lifetime of learning.

Students have a significantly greater chance of understanding what they have read when they employ a variety of reading-comprehension strategies. Although asking students questions about what they read is important, doing so is not the same as teaching them reading-comprehension strategies. The skill should be taught to students of all grade levels.

Research Shows

Reading research from the past 30 years has clearly demonstrated that teaching comprehension strategies to students is effective in improving students' reading-comprehension skills.
(National Reading Panel, 2000)

Comprehension-strategy training should be emphasized early in elementary school, even as students are just beginning to read.
(Partnership for Reading, 2006b)

How Do I Teach It?

Reading-comprehension strategies should be employed across the grade levels. These may be taught effectively through explicit instruction, a process that can be achieved through the following steps:

1. Explain and discuss what strategy students should use, as well as when, where, and how to apply it.

2. Model the strategy. Click on the video below to view an example of a teacher modeling a strategy.

3. Guide students in the strategy.

4. Allow students the time to practice the strategy on their own.

"Copyright © by the Texas Education Agency and University
of Texas at Austin. All rights reserved" on all Licensed Materials.
View Transcript
Transcript: Reading Comprehension

Teacher: Boys and girls, we're going to learn what to do when you don't understand something that you're reading. Sometimes, when you're reading and you come upon a word that you don't know what it means and that confuses you, that's called a "clunk." Say that word.

Class: "Clunk."

Teacher: Very good. So a clunk is a word that stops you from understanding what you're reading.

Narrator: In this lesson, the teacher uses two fix-up strategies, both using context clues that students can apply on their own to determine word meanings. The first strategy is to reread the sentence with the clunk, look for key ideas, and think about what makes sense. Another strategy is to reread the sentences before and after the clunk and look for clues.

Teacher: So I'm going to model for you on how to use these two strategies and how to figure out the meaning of the clunk. Now I'm going to be looking for a word that might cause me a problem. (Reads) "Millions of years ago when dinosaurs roamed the earth, strange creatures swam in the sea..."

Narrator: Students listen as the teacher reads the text:

Teacher: "The ocean boiled and bubbled, volcanoes erupted underwater, and the floor of the sea came up to form great cliffs." Now here's a clunk: "erupted." "Volcanoes erupted under water." I do not know the meaning of that word, so what I'm going to do first is I'm going to write the clunk "erupted" on my sticky note.

Narrator: Ms. Leanderos teaches students to write down unfamiliar words; then, she thinks aloud for students, as she works out the meaning.

Teacher: Now I'm going to use my fix-up strategies to help me find the meaning of this clunk word, "erupted." "Volcanoes erupted under water." So I know that something happened under water. "And the floor of the sea came up to form great cliffs." So something happened under the volcano.

Narrator: The teacher models trying another fix-up strategy when the first one doesn't provide an answer.

Teacher: The sentence before "volcanoes" is: "Time passed. The ocean boiled and bubbled." I think I have some ideas. I have some key ideas in this sentence that comes before the clunk. "Boiled and bubbled." When something boils and it bubbles then that could probably mean exploded. Let me see if that makes sense. "Volcanoes exploded under water, and the floor of the sea came up to form great cliffs." That makes sense. So now that I find the meaning, I'm going to write the meaning of the word erupted on my sticky note. And that's to remind me that if I read this word "erupted," it means "exploded."

Do you understand how I'm using these fix-up strategies to figure out the clunk? You reread the sentences, you look for clues-ideas-to figure out the meaning and think if it makes sense. And if clunk note card number 1 doesn't help, then you go to number 2, where you have to read the sentences before and sometimes the sentences after to figure out the meaning of a word. Now, let's practice together on how to use our fix-up strategies when we come upon a clunk that keeps us from understanding the story.

Narrator: The teacher guides students through the fix-up strategies again, ensuring that instruction is appropriately scaffolded.

Teacher: And what do you do with clunk card number 2?

Little Boy: Reread the sentences before and after the clunk, looking for clues.

Teacher: Very good!

Narrator: The teacher allows time for additional guided practice, monitoring as students read with partners and begin to apply the fix-up strategies.

Little Girl: "Fragrant" is another clunk word. (Reads instructions) "Reread the sentence with the clunk and look for key ideas to help you figure out the word. Think about what makes sense." (Reads) "The little house smelled of fresh bread and new cut wood and fragrant flowers, for Mary's mother always kept a... [inaudible]" "Flowers" is a clue word.
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More information about strategy instruction is available in the following IRIS Modules.

When Should I Teach It?

Reading comprehension typically begins in kindergarten and continues through third grade and beyond.

If students are to master a strategy, they must have opportunities to apply it in a variety of settings and conditions. Depending on students' individual abilities, most strategies will require three or more lessons before many students are able to demonstrate independent use. When providing such instruction, it is important that teachers use texts written at students' independent reading levels; otherwise, students are likely to shift their focus from trying to use the new comprehension strategy to decoding unknown words.

Reading-comprehension strategies may be implemented before reading, during reading, and after reading. The table below includes examples of reading-comprehension strategies for each of these stages. Though some strategies can be utilized in more than one stage or can overlap (e.g., students may create and answer questions while predicting), each strategy has been listed only once in the following table.
Predicting
Predicting focuses students' attention on anticipating what they are going to read. Learning to use this strategy helps students prepare mentally for the content of the written text, helps them make connections with their previous reading and experiences, and helps them formulate questions they may wish to have answered by their reading. Predicting is not limited to prereading an entire book. Recognizing a foreshadow in an illustration or predicting the action of a subsequent chapter or the reaction of a character to another character's statement are all effective uses of this strategy.

For example, when students view the cover of Happy Birthday Rotten Ralph, they see a red cat sitting in a cake and preparing to take a bite and a girl with her hands at her cheeks, looking surprised. Based on the title and the cover illustration, students might anticipate that this story is about a birthday party gone topsy-turvy and could be prepared for the corresponding vocabulary they might encounter. Alternatively, students who read the following paragraph from Chapter 12 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone might predict Harry's return to a mirror later in the chapter:
How long he stood there, he didn't know. The reflections did not fade and he looked and looked until a distant noise brought him back to his senses. He couldn't stay here, he had to find his way back to bed. He tore his eyes away from his mother's face, whispered, "I'll come back," and hurried from the room.
The confirmation of students' reading predictions serves to increase their comprehension; when their predictions are refuted, however, students are able to identify potential misunderstandings in their reading.
Preteaching new vocabulary
Preteaching vocabulary is one way to prepare students to encounter unfamiliar words. Rather than stumbling on individual words in reading, students can anticipate new words and read a written text for comprehension. Carnine, Silbert, and Kameenui recommend following the method of preteaching outlined below:

State the definition and ask students to repeat the it.

Provide students with good and bad examples of the word in sentences.

Review the new word along with previously learned words to ensure that students have added them to their long-term memories.

Taking a book walk
Taking a book walk helps students to anticipate what they will read. During a book walk, students consider a book's front and back covers, its table of contents, a sample of its pages, and its illustrations. Students then discuss together (initially) or think through independently (mastery) what information they have gathered about the book by knowing the title, author, illustrator, reviews, summary, etc. Students can use what they have gleaned from the book walk to make predictions or to make connections with their prior knowledge. They may also learn to use this strategy to select books of interest for future reading.
Activating prior knowledge
Readers comprehend and learn when they are able to connect new information in their reading material to what they already know. Activating prior knowledge encourages students to recall information they already have in mind concerning a written text, author, or related topic. For example, a common classroom activity at the elementary level that involves activating prior knowledge is the KWL chart. Before reading, students indicate what they already Know about a topic/ author/ time period and what they Want to learn from reading, and then, following the reading, students list what they have just Learned.
Using mental imagery
When students learn to use mental imagery, they improve their understanding of the text and increase the likelihood that they will remember what they have read. Readers use mental imagery when they form mental pictures of the information, setting, characters, or events described in their reading. For example, a student learning mental imagery with the Newberry-Award-winning book Bud, Not Buddy would use the author's words to visualize a jazz band getting ready to practice:
Five of the men had their eyes on the other guy. One of them had drumsticks in his hands and was leaned over softly tapping out a rhythm on the wooden stage floor. Three of them were drinking from bottles of pop, and one, a real old one, was using a rag to wipe the inside of a trumpet. The guy who had to be my father was sitting with his back to me wearing a hat.
When learning to use mental imagery, students can role-play, draw a picture of the subject discussed in the reading, or describe to a peer what they read.
Utilizing graphic organizers
The use of graphic organizers allows students to record information from written texts in diagrams, charts, or other visual representations. Graphic organizers help students to better grasp concepts and their connections and to recognize story structure. For example:

Students may complete a story map to record a story's characters, setting, conflict, resolution, and main events of a story. In recording this information, students focus on locating the central ideas of a story.

Students may develop a timeline to identify key events from a history text. In documenting the events, students may make more sophisticated connections regarding event sequence, simultaneity, patterns, and possible consequences than they would be capable with only the written text.

Students may create a semantic web to demonstrate a vocabulary word's synonyms and antonyms. By listing closely connected words, students may gain a more thorough understanding of new vocabulary.

Graphic organizers have been shown to help children with learning disabilities increase their comprehension skills.
Creating and answering questions
Creating and answering questions encourages students to interact with the written text. Students develop questions that they anticipate answering either with the text they are about to read or with further information they may seek after reading, if the questions are not answered. For instance students may:

Ask about curiosities, uncertainties, doubts, and predictions ("I wonder what will happen when...?" "Why would this person...?" "Could that really...?")

Probe issues ("Would I act the same in this situation?" "How would this affect my family?")

Examine problems in the text or with their reading ("Didn't the author state...?" "When did I lose my focus...?") using with their self-generated questions

Students, including those with learning disabilities, show improvement in reading comprehension when they learn to question themselves before, during, and after reading a passage. Again, note that assigning students to answer questions about their reading is not the same as teaching them how to ask and seek answers to questions as they read.
Monitoring comprehension
By monitoring their comprehension, students assess their own understanding while engaging in reading a written text. When students recognize that they do not understand a portion of a text, they can use a variety of reading techniques to resolve the difficulty. For example, imagine that a student reads the sentence below and does not understand it but realizes that three words (italicized) are not familiar.

The clever rabbit outsmarted the wolf by darting into its underground den.

In order to understand the sentence, the student could use a dictionary, a peer, a teacher, or his or her own reading skills to define the unknown words. The student might try to:

Reread the sentence to see whether the unknown words make sense in context ("into its underground" may lead the student to infer that "den" means "home").

Substitute another word to guess the unknown word's meaning (the student could replace "darting" with "going" and gather enough information to keep reading).

Skip the unknown word altogether to see whether it is required for comprehension (removing "clever" from the sentence does not change its meaning).

Summarizing
Summarizing involves students' restating succinctly and in their own words the main or central ideas of a written text. When students condense information into a summary, they concentrate on the important elements of a written text, weed out the extraneous detail, and remember what they have read. In order to teach students to effectively summarize what they read, it is helpful for them to compare good and bad example summaries of a shared reading. The good example summaries should demonstrate a complete yet brief overview of the text, whereas the bad example summaries would provide incomplete or incorrect information and extraneous detail. Discussing good and bad example summaries helps students to identify what they need to include in their own reading summaries.
Analyzing story elements
Teaching students to attend to story elements has been shown to enhance reading-comprehension skills. Analyzing story elements-such as characters, setting, and plot-helps students to make connections within the story and to better comprehend what they read. Graphic organizers, such as story maps and matrices, are formats frequently used by students to record story elements. Students can also draw images of story elements to increase their understanding of texts. For example, in an activity called "Draw and Label Retelling," students draw their representations of a story and label its key components (i.e., Who? Where? What happened? How did it end?).
Retelling
Retelling involves a student's restating the story, concept, or description in his or her own words. Retelling is different from summarizing in that retelling allows detail to be included with the main ideas. When students retell, they practice recalling the reading, may use vocabulary from the reading, and locate points of confusion about the reading. Retelling is frequently completed orally and requires an audience (teacher, peer, class) for the reteller. One method of practicing retelling is for pairs of students to share a reading, and take alternating, one-minute timed turns retelling what they have read-picking up the story retelling where the partner leaves off.

One important component of retelling is sequence. Teachers can use transitional words or questions (e.g., "First," Next," "What happened at the beginning? Middle? End?") to prompt students to retell a reading more completely. Younger students find tangible props helpful for retelling a story. For example, pig and wolf puppets can make a retelling of The Three Little Pigs more accessible for young readers.
Identifying main idea(s)
Identifying the main idea or ideas within a written text helps students to self-monitor their understanding. Teaching students to identify the main idea of a paragraph, story, or description focuses students' attention on the key aspects of the written text. This focus is especially important when students can otherwise be distracted by the frustration of encountering new vocabulary, the difficulty of reading about a topic of lesser interest, or the embarrassment of not understanding what their peers seem to comprehend. Learning to identify the main idea(s) is particularly helpful in reading written texts in core content areas (e.g., science, math, social studies), as subject-area textbooks are often difficult for students to comprehend.

To assist students in practicing how to identify the main idea(s), teachers should draw students' attention to chapter titles and headings as well as to the pattern of main ideas often being stated in the first sentences of paragraphs. As with summarizing, students benefit from practice, either of simply identifying main ideas or of comparing good and bad examples of stated main ideas. For example, students could compare good and bad examples of main ideas after reading a paragraph about writing expository paragraphs in a language textbook. Take a look at how this is done:

The main purpose of an expository paragraph is to give information about a topic. It may explain ideas, give directions, or show how to do something. An expository paragraph uses transition words (such as first, second, and most important in the model below). These words help guide the reader through the explanation.

Good example:

The main purpose of an expository paragraph is to give information about a topic.

Expository paragraphs give information on a topic to readers.

Bad example:

Expository paragraphs give directions. (True, but this is not the main idea. They also explain ideas or show the reader how to do something.)

First and most important are words you have to use when writing. (First and most important are examples of transitional words in expository writing, but this is not the main idea in this paragraph.)

As mentioned above, teachers can use different strategies for developing reading comprehension. However, reading-comprehension strategies will not prove effective tools for learning if they are not combined with high-quality teaching. Below are some tips on how to effectively implement reading comprehension.

Tips for Teaching

Make vocabulary instruction a major curriculum component.

Teach comprehension strategies (e.g., summarization, prediction, answering questions about text, and inferring word meaning).

Use graphic organizers to help students grasp key concepts.

Require students to form inferences (e.g., Why do you think the main character did that?).

Determine the reasons for students' comprehension difficulties.

Decide whether students' weaknesses are related to word decoding or to oral language comprehension.

For Your Information

Teachers might find it helpful to explore Collaborative Reading Strategy (CSR), a multi-component approach developed to improve reading comprehension in a way that maximizes student engagement. CSR has been shown to be equally effective with average- and high-achieving students, struggling readers, and English learners (ELS). For this reason, CSR is an ideal Tier 1 strategy.

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Reading comprehension is the ability to understand written text, and it ultimately occurs when students translate written text into spoken text. This is a process that, combined with prior knowledge, allows them to: Identify simple facts presented in written text (literal comprehension) Make judgments regarding the written text's content (evaluative comprehension) Connect the text being read to other written passages and situations (inferential comprehension) Reading comprehension is a critical skill that students must acquire.

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5 Ways to Make Teaching High School Vocabulary Fun and Interesting | Resilient Educator

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But how does a teacher go about engaging students in learning high school vocabulary - a subject that students may not be the most passionate about?

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Did you know that typically, only 5% to 10% of instructional time is devoted to vocabulary instruction, yet students, especially struggling students and English learners (ELs), need between 12 and 14 exposures to words and their meanings to fully learn them (Durkin, 1978/79; Roser & Juel, 1982; Scott, Jamieson, Noel, & Asslin, 2003)? Teaching the meanings of important words before learning new content activates students' background knowledge and prepares them for learning and comprehending. In other words, teaching vocabulary provides the "Velcro" for new information to "stick to."

What Research Says About Effective Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary instruction must be explicit. Explicit vocabulary instruction includes an easy-to-understand definition presented directly to students along with multiple examples and nonexamples of the target word, brief discussion opportunities, and checks for understanding.

Vocabulary instruction must include multiple practice opportunities for using words within and across subjects. That is, instruction must be extended over time with opportunities for students to hear, speak, read, and write words in various contexts. This builds students' breadth and depth of vocabulary knowledge.

Vocabulary should be taught schoolwide and across all subject areas. Each subject has a unique set of vocabulary terms, and students need to know their meanings and how to use them in various contexts.

Word Selection

Instructional time is precious, and teachers are not able to address every unknown word students might encounter, so careful word selection is key. When deciding which words to target for explicit instruction, consider words that are

essential to understanding the main idea of the text or unit,

used repeatedly or frequently encountered across domains, and

not part of students' prior knowledge.

ELs may require even more careful word selection and extensive vocabulary instruction because they may be learning conversational language and academic language at the same time. Colorín Colorado provides additional information about selecting vocabulary words to teach ELs.

Some of Our Favorite Vocabulary Instructional Activities for ALL Content Areas

The five activities described below are effective ways to teach vocabulary for all students, but especially for struggling students, students with learning disabilities, and ELs.

1. Essential Words Routine

Teachers use a simple graphic organizer to preteach the meanings of important words in about 5 minutes per word. During this routine, teachers introduce target words with definitions, visual cues, and examples. Students engage in immediate practice using the words through collaborative student turn-and-talk activities.

Resources

2. Frayer Model

One way to have students extend their knowledge of important words is through a Frayer model. This graphic organizer builds vocabulary and conceptual knowledge across content areas. The strategy requires students (not the teacher) to define a vocabulary word and then list its characteristics, examples, and nonexamples. Frayer models can be completed in collaborative groups using textbooks and other subject-matter materials while the teacher circulates around the classroom and assists students.

Resource

Online module, examples, and templates from the IRIS Center

3. Semantic Mapping

Semantic maps visually display and connect a word or phrase and a set of related words or concepts. Implementing semantic map activities in your classroom will help students, especially struggling students and students with learning disabilities, recall the meanings of words and understand how multiple words or concepts "fit together." Teachers will find that using a semantic map, combined with explicit instruction and practice opportunities, is an effective way of expanding students' vocabulary and supporting their content knowledge.

Resources

4. Vocabulary Review Activities

Multiple opportunities to practice using new words is an important part of vocabulary instruction. In previous TCLD research studies, brief review activities were built into novel unit lesson plans to help students practice (and remember) the meanings of important words. Each of these activities takes 5 to 10 minutes and is easy to prepare.

Partner Review Routine: Partners work together to quickly review words learned the previous day.

Sentence Review Routine: Partners create sentences using words assigned by the teacher.

Examples and Nonexamples: The teacher tells students scenarios or shows pictures and students respond chorally to each scenario, indicating whether it is an example or nonexample.

What Word Fits? The teacher asks a question and student partners hold up an index card with the word that fits or answers the question.

Resource

Each activity is described in more detail beginning on page 33 of the TCLD booklet Reading Instruction for Middle School Students: Developing Lessons for Improving Comprehension

5. Morphemic Analysis Routine

Explicit instruction of words is important, but it is impossible to teach all the unfamiliar words students will encounter. One way to help students develop strategies for approaching unfamiliar vocabulary is to teach morphemes (prefixes, roots, and suffixes). Students can be taught the following morphemic analysis routine to help them engage in independent word study.

Resource

Learn more about the morphemic analysis routine by reviewing this online learning module from the Texas Adolescent Literacy Academies.
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Texas Center for Learning Disabilities: Five Research-Based Ways to Teach Vocabulary

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The Texas Center for Learning Disabilities (TCLD) website disseminates resources on learning disabilities to parents, teachers, and researchers.

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Reading Disabilities: Why do some children have difficulty learning to read? What can be done about it

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Reading Disabilities: Why do some children have difficulty learning to read? What can be done about it

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Strategies to Support Struggling Readers 

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Strategies to Support Struggling Readers 

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IXL brings 11th grade language arts to life! Set students up for success with thousands of skills and games that challenge learners at just the right level.

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Increasing Reading Fluency for Middle and High School Students (Small-Group Intervention Model)

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Increasing Reading Fluency for Middle and High School Students (Small-Group Intervention Model)

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by Model Teaching | October 25, 2016.

Use these 7 reading comprehension strategy tools and graphic organizers to guide reading lessons and tutoring sessions with your student(s). Designed for teachers, parents or students, these tools help build reading comprehension by allowing students to more effectively organize information found within reading passages, in books or on exams. Feel free to download, print, or share! If you are interested in more free reading tools, please let us know in the comments section below.

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Reading Comprehension Strategy Tools - Model Teaching

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Use these 7 reading comprehension strategy tools and graphic organizers to guide reading lessons or tutoring sessions.

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Developing strong writing skills is essential for high school students, no matter what path they intend to take after graduation. From submitting college entrance essays to preparing research papers to communicating with colleagues, writing skills are critical to every student's future plans.

However, teaching students to write more clearly or concisely is often easier said than done. Learn how to improve writing skills and help your high school students master this important accomplishment.

Assess Students' Levels

Before you begin designing a strategy or preparing lesson plans, it's important to know how much help your students actually need. You can easily create a simple writing assessment. Think about the type of assignments you expect students to complete. Then create a relevant assessment with both multiple choice and short answers.

After reviewing the assessments, use the results to guide your approach. For example, your students may need more or less assistance with grammar, exposition, research, or other aspects.

Invite Students To Share Opinions

In many cases, students who struggle to pen complex thoughts or write longer essays can improve by sharing their opinions. To help high school students write better persuasive essays, start by asking a question that requires nothing more than an opinion to answer.

For example, you might ask students about their opinions on educational policies or the technology they use every day. Encourage them to respond to the question affirmatively or negatively and then write down about a half-dozen points to support their view.

Then guide them through turning the list into an outline, which can become the basis for their essay. Consider this assignment an in-class activity so you can ensure every student spends at least a minimum amount of time writing the essay.

Teach Students To Brainstorm

Lists can work well for some writing assignments, but they may not be optimal for every student or project. To avoid letting students feel discouraged at the very beginning of the writing process, introduce them to alternative brainstorming techniques.

For example, you might teach students:

Outlines, which can easily transition ideas into rough drafts and completed assignments.

Mind maps, which allow them to organize thoughts, connect relationships, and form more cohesive arguments.

Sticky notes, which add a physical element to structuring thoughts and formulating more complex papers.

Make Time for Writing Practice

Whether you're teaching creative writing or you simply want to help students expand their tool set, regular practice is important. Consider giving daily assignments, but keep them short to help students maintain focus and avoid burnout.

Giving students daily journal prompts can help them think and write creatively without requiring excessive time. Craft each prompt so it helps them hone different skills, such as using new words, experimenting with different styles, or trying out alternative methods of organizing their thoughts.

Write as a Group

Students who struggle with writing may constantly feel like they're a step behind other classmates. In turn, they may feel like they'll never catch up, which may prompt them not to try to complete their assignments or invest more time than necessary.

To help high school students become better writers, balance teaching time with group practice time. You'll effectively give students a wider variety of opportunities to master writing - including learning from their peers and practicing their skills.

To facilitate group work, give students tasks like transforming storyboards into plots or writing new endings for their favorite movies. Assign each student a role to ensure that everyone contributes, and leave them with plenty of time to discuss their thoughts, make the case for their preference, and work together to produce a successful result.

Encourage Reading

Teaching students new skills and encouraging them to practice regularly can help many high school-age writers improve dramatically. However, some students need more than lessons and assignments. Many students can benefit from reading good essays, articles, and passages - or seeing good writing in action.

In addition to your regular lesson plans and homework schedule, make time for students to read in class. Assign short passages that convey a range of writing styles, linguistic methods, and structures. By showing students what good writing can look like, you can help them identify patterns and techniques that they can apply to their own assignments.

Edit Assignments in Class

For many students, the writing process can be downright discouraging. As they write, they may have the sense that their introduction could be better or that their argument could be more persuasive. Yet if they don't have the skills to edit their work, they may never be able to improve effectively.

Start by teaching students a standard editing workflow. For example, you might encourage them to read their work aloud to check for typos, misused words, or poorly written transitions.

Then walk students through editing sample assignments in class. Go beyond the standard typos and errors and show students how to make their writing markedly better. As a class, brainstorm better ways to phrase concepts or ideas for improving key parts of the essay.

Allow Draft Submissions

Turning in a complete writing assignment in its final form can be daunting for any high school student, especially when a grade is at stake. Taking this step can be especially difficult for students who question their work or writing skills.

To help students feel more confident in their work, allow or require them to submit one or more drafts before the final due date. With this process, you get multiple opportunities to help students correct issues and improve their work.

In addition to or in lieu of drafts, consider allowing students to revise and resubmit their work for a better grade. This policy can help students improve outcomes in a quantifiable way, and it can also guide them towards becoming better and more confident writers.

Helping your students develop better writing skills doesn't have to be as difficult as you might think. Use these tips or modify them to work with your teaching style to help students understand how to improve their writing skills - and learn why this ability is so important.

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How to Improve Writing Skills for High School Students

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Developing strong writing skills is essential for high school students, no matter what path they intend to take after graduation. From submitting college entrance essays to preparing research papers to communicating with colleagues, writing skills are critical to every student's future plans.

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Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

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Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively