University of Kwazulu-Natal

Yes Students Can Read Tough Texts Here S How To Scaffold Their

Bonisiwe Shabane
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yes students can read tough texts here s how to scaffold their

How do you get kids to read—and actually understand—hard texts? Teachers know it’s important for students to read historical primary sources, scientific research studies, or literary texts with unfamiliar language, like Shakespeare or the Odyssey. Research also shows that adolescents need high-challenge, high-support environments. But it’s not so easy: many lessons fizzle because teaching tough texts is...tough—and many secondary teachers feel unprepared to support students through texts’ challenges. We have been there—and have felt that way too. But we also know it’s possible.

We began by asking why teachers find it so difficult to teach tough texts. And we realized that most teachers don’t understand why texts are hard. Understanding what makes a text difficult is the key to scaffolding learning. So we wrote Tackling Tough Texts: A Research-Based Guide to Scaffolding Learning in Grades 6-12 to explain exactly what makes ELA, science, and history texts difficult—and and to explain how teachers can scaffold instruction... How should teachers design content learning with tough texts? In the book’s first half, we unpack comprehension and explain what makes texts difficult: dense ideas, high knowledge, complex text structure, unfamiliar vocabulary, and word reading challenges.

When tackling complex or crucial topics, all students benefit from targeted scaffolding so they can understand and absorb what they’re reading. Within any classroom, there’s generally a wide range of reading proficiency among students. While some may struggle with a text’s vocabulary or structure, others wrestle with making deeper connections or inferences because they lack the background knowledge to comprehend what they’re reading, writes Jeanne Wanzek for American... All students, whether they have reading difficulties or not, need to absorb and process complex content that is often the foundation to future lessons. And they need to learn how to deconstruct challenging texts for themselves, pulling out and evaluating important information and concepts so they can talk and write about them. “In truth, most students (even many who are strong readers) need instruction in successfully reading and understanding text in specific disciplines,” writes Wanzek, a professor in the department of special education at Vanderbilt University’s...

The best way to do this, she says, is by “embedding disciplinary literacy within [classroom] content,” an approach she says should “help teachers address the diverse needs of students and stay focused on the... Here are four instructional practices Wanzek recommends for helping all students read, understand, and engage with complex and foundational content. The typical classroom in the United States today has greater learner variability than ever before. Teachers now have more students from diverse backgrounds, more students whose first language is not English, and more students identified with a learning disability or experiencing characteristics of dyslexia. With such classroom diversity, teachers are experiencing an even broader range of student knowledge and skills when it comes to reading ability. This reality makes effective, differentiated reading instruction more important than ever.

So, what is a teacher to do when faced with the challenge of engaging all students in grade-level text? Fortunately, there are dozens of studies that provide us great insight into how to best support all learners (Shanahan, 2011). Contrary to the popular practice of leveling students in text that matches their instructional level, the research consistently shows that we can accelerate student learning when we engage students in more challenging texts, frequently... Furthermore, incorporating connected text into daily instruction to build proficient readers is critical for developing strong readers (National Reading Panel, 2000; Jenkins et al., 2004, Foorman et al., 2019). The difficulty of the text can be mitigated through scaffolding strategies that address the conditions that may make the text challenging for the student. For example, a fourth grader reading at second-grade level may benefit from frontloading key vocabulary, building background knowledge, or partner reading with a more capable peer to scaffold the text effectively.

In the past, many of us were trained to match students to the text that they could read with little difficulty. We spent hours individually assessing students to get their reading level and then selected “just right” books for practice. While these texts require minimal support, this approach limits students’ access to grade-level content, vocabulary, and concepts, potentially keeping them behind permanently. We know students need exposure to grade-level texts on a regular basis, but how does this work for students who are reading below grade level? How can we structure lessons in a way that leads to a constructive, joyful challenge, rather than a frustrating learning experience? Before we get started, let’s make sure that grade-level texts are the right choice for your students.

If your students are struggling with decoding (e.g., they are around a first-grade reading level), try to select decodable texts and easier reading material for them, and spend your instructional time on phonics, phonemic... Once they’ve reached about a second-grade reading level and are comfortable decoding, you can probably move on to using grade-level texts (while still providing advanced decoding instruction and regular fluency practice as an intervention). Now let’s look at seven ways to scaffold grade-level texts for those students who are able to decode comfortably. From a very young age, students’ inflection and reading patterns are influenced through observational learning. When introducing a challenging text, we recommend reading it aloud or having students listen to an audio recording as they follow along. This will provide them with a model of fluent reading and help them get an initial understanding of the text.

Having students stop regularly to summarize or paraphrase what they have just read encourages self-monitoring and helps catch gaps in comprehension before they get larger. It also pushes students to recognize key concepts and recognize irrelevant information. You can use different methods, such as having students turn to a partner to tell them about the paragraphs they just read, write a one-sentence or ten-word summary, or compose their summary as a... 6. How Can Teachers Scaffold Dense Texts? 7.

How Can Teachers Scaffold Knowledge Demands? 8. How Can Teachers Scaffold Text Structure Challenges? 9. How Can Teachers Scaffold Challenging Vocabulary and Language? 10.

How Can Teachers Scaffold Word Reading? by Connie Warren on Jun 7, 2023 1:58:48 PM This article is the second in a four-part blog series to unlock the power of instructional scaffolds for reading intervention. Read the first part Unlocking Potential: Supporting Struggling Readers with Scaffolds, to learn what instructional scaffolds are and what research tells us about them. This article delves into six specific scaffolding ideas for struggling readers to improve instruction. In this article, we delve into six specific instructional scaffolding techniques that teachers can use to enhance reading intervention for their students.

By implementing these techniques, educators can provide targeted support and scaffolding to struggling readers during high-impact tutoring. By incorporating these techniques into their teaching, educators can help struggling readers develop the skills and confidence they need to become proficient readers. These are just a few examples of instructional scaffolding ideas for struggling readers that teachers can use during high-impact tutoring. Teachers can help struggling readers develop the skills and confidence they need to become proficient by providing targeted support and scaffolding. 5 Supports for Readers in Virtual Learning Environments It’s crucial teachers equip themselves with effective strategies to support struggling readers and writers.

Scaffolding, a term coined by psychologist Jerome Bruner, refers to the process of providing temporary support to help students reach higher levels of understanding and skill acquisition. Here are five tips and strategies to scaffold learning for struggling readers and writers: 1. Differentiated Instruction: Recognize that each student has unique learning needs and abilities. Implement differentiated instruction by providing varied learning materials, activities, and assessments to accommodate diverse learners. Offer multiple entry points into the lesson and tailor instruction to meet individual students’ strengths and challenges.

For example, use audiobooks, graphic organizers, or interactive online resources to engage students with different learning preferences. 2. Pre-teaching and Activating Prior Knowledge: Before introducing new concepts or texts, pre-teach key vocabulary, concepts, or background knowledge to ensure students have the necessary foundation to understand the material. Activate students’ prior knowledge by connecting new information to their existing experiences, interests, or readings. Use strategies such as KWL charts (What I Know, What I Want to Know, What I Learned) or concept mapping to scaffold comprehension and build upon prior knowledge. Looking for more ideas beyond the KWL, I share five activities for activating background knowledge in this blog post.

3. Guided Reading and Writing: Implement guided reading and writing sessions to provide targeted support and feedback to struggling readers and writers. During guided reading, work with small groups or individual students to model reading strategies, facilitate discussions, and provide explicit instruction on decoding, fluency, and comprehension skills. Similarly, during guided writing, offer structured support through brainstorming, outlining, drafting, and revising stages to help students develop their writing skills incrementally. Check out the guided reading activity created for the short story, “The Most Dangerous Game.” 4.

Use of Visual Aids and Multi-sensory Approaches: Incorporate visual aids, manipulatives, and multi-sensory approaches to enhance comprehension and retention for struggling readers and writers. Utilize graphic organizers, charts, diagrams, and multimedia resources to present information in a visual format. Encourage kinesthetic learning by incorporating hands-on activities, role-playing, or interactive simulations to make abstract concepts more tangible and accessible to students with diverse learning styles. Learn more about building multimodal text sets in this blog post.

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