Making Time for All Readers: Strategies to Use

by Margaret Blevins, West Union High School

The idea behind the No Child Left Behind Act is that every child will have access to the general curriculum. The movement known as "value added" contends that each student will realize a year's growth for a year's work. And I and thousands of other teachers like me are accountable for this access and student growth.

The students that come through my door, as well as yours, are unique. Their backgrounds, homes, personal experiences, exposure to print and nonprint literature, experiences with literacy programs, and interests are all different. Despite these differences, it is our responsibility to "guarantee" the growth of every student. Sometimes this seems impossible because of obstacles that get in the way of a student's growth. Some of these obstacles are beyond our control, and so we have to stay focused on the things that we do control or can control to some degree.

To meet the needs of all my student readers, I make time for each of them. This, of course, is no easy task when class size swells to over 20, never mind those classes that have 25 to 30 students.

To prepare for student growth, I have to know my readers. What are their skills, strengths, weaknesses, interests, health problems, and so on? I gather this information in a variety of ways, including formal and informal assessment, conferences with prior teachers or intervention specialists, and the students themselves. One tool I use is a survey that asks simple questions. I build upon the survey responses with a 2- to 3-minute interview with each student. This helps me to know if, when, and what my students are reading. I know that every student who reaches grade 9 reads to some extent--although many of them like to make me think they never read anything.

Once I know some background on the student, I want to know the level at which the student reads. Most readers that struggle do so because they are not really ready for the text that they are often expected to read; one level text does not fit all. If my students must read the same text, then I have to find other levels of that same material--levels that meet the needs of all my students. To do this I often supplement the text with juvenile or children's versions of the same text. I am presently doing this with some of the classics, thanks to the support of my local librarian and the interlibrary loan program.

Sometimes I cannot find a book or version whose vocabulary is appropriate for a student. In these cases, I often summarize and type the story in my own words, making sure to control the vocabulary. Of course, I realize this can make the selection less exciting, but it is one of the best answers I have found to help ESL students who are placed in a twelfth-grade British literature class when they need something more basic. This, at least, helps them to build their vocabulary and reading fluency while learning what happens in selections like Beowulf, Canterbury Tales, Animal Farm, and Lord of the Flies. Sometimes, I record the literature selections for students or purchase audio versions for them to take home and "read" as they have time. At school, I recommend and encourage some students to take advantage of our Kurzweil technology. Seeing and hearing the words simultaneously improve the student's chances of understanding the material and increasing vocabulary.

I especially emphasize the importance of the prereading and post-reading stages for my students because too many content-area teachers tend to skip these stages. Reading can be challenging even for our accelerated or independent readers when there is no prior knowledge or staging for the subject of a text. Simple orientation guides are a great help with struggling readers and ESL students preparing for reading "mysterious" texts. After the reading is done, students need to talk about what they have read, see how others related to the story, and clear up any questions or misunderstandings they still have. I always limit the number of end-of-story discussion questions I ask students to write. Instead, I like to use whole-class discussion, some variation of a Socratic seminar, or small-group activities using graphic organizers for post-reading questions. Talking about a text helps all readers to make sense of it and file it in the appropriate memory file for future connections.

Another way that I make time for all readers is by making a personal reading contract part of every student's quarterly grade. The contract lists the required reading genres for that quarter. Each student then chooses text selections to fill the genres, but three or four students may choose a common selection and form a reading group. The contract, along with my guidance and that of the librarian, helps each student select texts that are appropriate. In this way students make personal decisions about topics and authors, learn about various genres, chart their own reading paths, and fulfill several content standards and their respective indicators.

As students read their selections, they must keep a log; I offer them a variety of logs to choose from. The log must reflect at least three interactions per text. I encourage the use of sticky notes to record interactions with the text right on the page during the reading. These notes can later be moved to the log after our discussions.

I try to meet with each student at least twice while he or she is reading a book. But those students who need little intervention or motivation sometimes get only one interview with me per book because they seem to devour books quickly. These students often read a book a day, with my blessing. Nevertheless, the interviews are important; they provide me a means of reinforcing the reading strategies and assuring progress for the individual students. Through the interviews, I check comprehension, look at the sticky notes or log entries, and assess the students' depth of involvement or connection to a text, as well as view their vocabulary questions and other meaning-making problems.

Sometimes the contract culminates with a mini-project connected to one of the student's selections. I provide each student or group of students (if they happen to be reading the same text) three project ideas, and the student or group chooses. The suggested projects vary according to the student's or group's capability and interests. This is where I encourage connections with the students' other intelligences like music, art, and drama. The purpose of the project is to stretch or extend each student's involvement with a text, as well as his or her reading and literacy skills.

The reading contract format works for me because the individual student is involved in making the contract personal. Also, I give my students time in class to read; they do not have to do all the reading on "private" time. Those readers that struggle the most are usually the ones with no literacy support at home. They are often the students with home environments that allow no space or time for active reading; reading is a waste of time and, therefore, discouraged. Readers have to have support in both time and space. They need to be part of an environment where reading is "okay"--where reading is an accepted behavior of their peers and care takers. The classroom is often the only environment in which many students are encouraged to read and enjoy it. Struggling readers need adult guidance about "good books"; they often need to read about young teens like themselves who have also struggled with reading and other problems.

Other tactics that I use include sharing interesting reading selections from magazines, books, and newspapers with my readers, modeling reading strategies, providing and encouraging library time--a neglected but rewarding privilege, and encouraging participation in reader's theater or teleplays from publications like Read and Extra (Weekly Reader publications) or Scholastic's Scope.

Finally, when a reader presents a reading challenge for which I don't seem to have an appropriate approach, I turn to sources like the following for answers:

Books
Allen, Janet. (2002). On the Same Page: Shared Reading beyond the Primary Grades. New York: Guilford Press.

Allen, Janet. (2000). Yellow Brick Roads: Shared and Guided Paths to Independent Reading 4-12. York, ME: Stenhouse.

Allington, Richard L. (2000). What Really Matters for Struggling Readers: Designing Research-Based Programs. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Beers, Kylene. (2003). When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Burke, Jim. (2000). Reading Reminders. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Gallagher, Kelly. (2003). Reading Reasons. York, ME: Stenhouse.

Kaywell, Joan F. (Ed.). (2000). Adolescent Literature (Vol. 4). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.

Leslie, Lauren, & Caldwell, JoAnne. (2006). Qualitative Reading Inventory -- 4. New York: Pearson.

McNary, Sarah J., Glasgow, Neal A., & Hicks, Cathy D. (2005). What Successful Teachers Do in Inclusive Classrooms. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Miller, Wilma H. (1995). Alternative Assessment Techniques for Reading and Writing. Paramus, NJ: Center for Applied Research in Education.

Richardson, Judy S. (2000). Read It Aloud! Newark, DE: IRA.

Tankersky, Karen. (2005). Literacy Strategies for Grade 4-12. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Tatum, Alfred. (2005). Teaching Reading to Black Adolescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap. York, ME: Stenhouse.

Tovani, Chris. (2000). I Read It, but I Don't Get It: Comprehension Strategies for Adolescent Readers. York, ME: Stenhouse.

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D., Baher, Tanya, & Dube, Julie. (2001). Strategic Reading. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Magazines
The English Journal
Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy
The Reading Teacher

Websites
www.ncte.org
www.readingonline.org
www.reading.org/

Margaret Blevins is a reading specialist who has taught for more than 35 years. Before joining the English Department of West Union High School in Adams County, Blevins taught in the middle schools of the Wynford Local School District and the Marion City School District. She has also taught classes for Southern State Community College, Maysville Community College, and Ohio University (Chillicothe). Blevins earned National Board Certification in 1999.

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