Don't Get Caught Flat!
Reading Scores Continue to Stagnate

A recent article in The Atlantic, "Why American Students Haven't Gotten Better at Reading in 20 Years," caught my eye and got me to thinking about reading instruction in my classroom.  According to the most recent report card from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, reading scores continue to remain flat despite the haranguing of legislators, the scapegoating of District administrators, and the consternation of overworked teachers.  The money, the pedagogical fads, the constant testing, the sticks and carrots--none have had any significant impact as evidenced on the NAEP graph:

The Atlantic's article suggests that schools and teachers focus too much on isolated comprehension skills and not enough on content; in other words, if students do not have background in what their reading, or if the content of comprehension practice texts varies randomly, then readers are unable to fill in knowledge gaps.  "Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia who writes about the science behind reading comprehension [...] explained that whether or not readers understand a text depends far more on how much background knowledge and vocabulary they have relating to the topic than on how much they’ve practiced comprehension skills."

One suggestion, then, is to center instruction around content domains--Colonial America, the Civil War and Reconstruction, Great Depression and New Deal, etc., spending a semester or even the whole year on a limited topic; each grade level would be responsible for a specific domain.  Pretty cool idea, but this is 'Murica and we're not going to let any centralized gubment tell us what to teach!  Thematic units, either designed by textbook companies (yuck) or teachers are one way to increase depth of knowledge.  It's a fair amount of work locating complementing informational and literary texts: primary sources, historical documents, essays, prose fiction in varied genres, but doing so provides an immersive reading experience that is likely (so the research says) to be more effective in promoting literacy. 

Such a thematic approach leads into The Atlantic's next point: developing readers must wrestle with grade-level, complex text that challenges them.  New words, complicated syntax, novel ideas--it's ok to struggle.  That's where learning happens.  "Timothy Shanahan [emeritus professor at the University of Illinois and the author or editor of over 200 publications on literacy] cites recent research indicating that students actually learn more from reading texts that are considered too difficult for them—in other words, those with more than a handful of words and concepts a student doesn't understand. What struggling students need is guidance from a teacher in how to make sense of texts designed for kids at their respective grade levels—the kinds of texts those kids may otherwise see only on standardized tests, when they have to grapple with them on their own."  The teacher's role then becomes one of guide, helping students navigate unfamiliar and rocky terrain. 

At the middle and high school level, language arts teachers and social studies teachers (science teachers, too?) could work together to craft thematic units and select complementing texts, sharing the responsibility for building knowledge and crafting authentic opportunities for applied literacy.

Throwing my own two-cents' worth: suggestions a for civil rights unit, developing historical knowledge and empathy for the plight of the oppressed in Jim Crow America.  First, Billie Holiday's extraordinary "Strange Fruit":

You'll have to copy & paste the links for the resources below (I can't see to work out how to hot link them--sorry):

 

 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Unsung-Heroes-More-Non-Fiction-Readings-from-the-Civil-Rights-Era-819934
 
 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Black-Voices-pre-Civil-Rights-Era-reading-practice-with-objective-assessments-295418https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Non-Fiction-Readings-from-the-Civil-Rights-Era-texts-Objective-Assessments-297522








 https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/To-Kill-A-Mockingbird-objective-assessment-and-instructional-notes-293640

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Their-Eyes-Were-Watching-God-study-guide-and-objective-assessment-293794

Visual Literacy is a Thing
Reading Images is as Important as Reading Words

Alternative literacies are becoming increasingly relevant in our image-driven, fast-paced media world.  Students are going to encounter texts that are heavily (perhaps entirely) graphic in nature, and they need the skills to accurately process the message of such tests.  We see this reflected to some extent now on state assessments and standardized tests in the form of the (occasional) chart or map; I think the trend of asking students to interpret graphic information is likely to increase in the near future.

Political cartoons are a great place to start for fun, thought-provoking lessons that can be accomplished in just a few minutes--perhaps as a bell-ringer.  Of course, you might want to stay away from hot current events, as there's a possibility, in these divided times, of angering some far-right or far-left parent, and who needs that kind of headache?  Perhaps stick to historical political cartoons--they might be safer:

Ask students to describe what they see--what does each element represent? What is the message the illustrator is trying to convey?  What persuasive techniques is she using?  A nifty resource on-line is History Skills --  definitely worth checking out.  Of course, our colleagues in the Social Studies department can be a tremendous help in instructing and practicing the interpretation of graphic information: maps, charts, graphs; by all means, enlist their help and offer to collaborate. 

But we're English teachers, and our hearts are set on fire not by politics but by great stories artfully told.  Well, there are some great ways to incorporate visual literacy into the literature curriculum.  The proliferation of graphic novels, not as substitutes for original written texts but as original narratives standing on their own literary merits, is widely available (although pretty pricey on an educator's budget).  Check out Compass South and its sequel Knife's Edge by Hope Larson and illustrated by Rebecca Mock (my former student 💖)--a wonderful story full of adventure and great story telling sure to engage the most reluctant reader (grades 5-8):

 

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a sumptuously illustrated novel that I fell in love with--beautiful art, compelling narrative, and a gateway to a lost world of silent film making and automatons.  Just brilliant!!

 

 

Another great novel to share with students is Art Spiegelman's Maus, a Holocaust allegory that really humanizes the harrowing events that ordinary individuals lived through (grades 7-10).  This powerful narrative does much of its story telling through the use of visual elements, so it's a great way to help students develop their visual literacy.  I put together a study guide that focuses in on the graphic analysis skills that students need to master.  Check it out:

 

 

Gary Schmidt's Okay for Now is a wonderful hybrid: a great young adult novel which revolves around the amazing and awesome bird paintings of John Audubon.  Each chapter begins with one of Audubon's paintings and really focuses on the emotional quality of the painting; the action of the chapter mirrors the painting.  Unfortunately, the images in the book, at the beginning of each chapter, are pretty poor (and in black and white).  I wanted students to see them clearly, and to make the connections between painting and chapter, so I created an assignment that allows them to do just that.  But then, to take it further, I included several more Audubon paintings not in the novel and asked students to carefully analyze what they saw, describe it, and impart an emotional mood to the painting.  Students and I really enjoyed this (grades 5-8):

 

 

 

 



 



Listening for Fun and Profit
Addressing Listening Standards on State Assessments

Who doesn't love kicking back and listening to a good story?  I know I sure do!  I think the rise of audio books is attributable to our love for hearing a compelling story well told (that, plus the fact that we're always on the go, too busy to sit down with a book).  When we're studying a novel, I don't fret too much if students are listening to it on audio rather than reading the text (although I encourage them to follow along in the text as they listen).  I'm not teaching 14 year olds how to sound out words and interpret the squiggles on the page--we've moved beyond reading to analysis and evaluation of plot, setting, language, and character. 

The increasing popularity of non-print media has, I think, driven the move to assess listening skills on state and Common Core tests.  Unfortunately, of what I've seen on our Florida test, the assessment tasks are neither particularly rigorous nor relevant.  Students are usually presented with some banal and forgettable news report, and asked the most general of questions.  Certainly, they don't have to remember much in the way of detail.  But that doesn't mean listening skills should be ignored--being able to appreciate and glean information from listening is a useful life skill.  I enjoy reading aloud to students and they respond with pleasure (they seem to be impressed by my oral interp skills--lol).  I read Capote's A Christmas Memory and Margery William's Velveteen Rabbit (funny, there must be some mold or something in my copies of these stories--I'm usually pretty snuffly by the end).   Since I'm doing the reading, it's easy for me to stop and ask questions or clarify odd language, then we can discuss the whole story at the end.

And of course, Poe and Kipling make wonderful read-alouds.   I made some active-listening handouts to go with The Tell-Tale Heart and The Elephant's Child (one of Kipling's Just-So Stories).  Each handout (just one page, front and back) focuses the listener's attention on important literary elements of the story, rather than factual recall, trivia questions about the plot.  I was pleased at the students' response--they found both the stories and the activity engaging.  Click onto the image below to read a description of my assignment and how to purchase it.


Informational text is also fair game for active listening.  NPR's various news programs (Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, etc) provide audio texts of 3-5 minutes that are perfect for asking students to listen for main idea, cause and effect, reasons, and examples.  The "This I Believe" series provides fantastic spoken essays covering a myriad of topics by famous and ordinary folk (I loved and used the Ben Carson essay for many years, until I found out what an ass he really is).

Orphaned Words?
Students Adopt a Word!

Here's this cool new gizmo for printing a word onto (what looks like a) washer and making that into a bracelet or necklace.  I think the intent is to be mindful and use it for some sort of gratitude exercise.  But what if each student chose a cool, exotic word (cacatory, bamboozle, diffibulate, egrote)  that's fast fading from the lexicon, and adopt it?  Promise to use it and bring it back to the vernacular?  How cool would that be?  Thoughts?  From MyIntent:

Show Your True Colors!
Paint a Chalk Wall and Inspire Your Students

 I have had such a fun time with our hallway chalk wall--a great outlet for my creative side.  At the intersection of two wide hallways (interior), there was a large expanse of emptiness, and I thought, what can I do with this space?  I didn't want to paint a mural--I wanted something I could change with the seasons and what we're currently studying.  What I found was chalkboard paint! 

I tried both the Rustoleum and the Valspar, and liked the Valspar better--it seemed to cover better.  I needed three coats in order to get a smooth, uniform surface.  One can ($10) gave me two solid coats for a 6' x 6' area.   I use the regular sidewalk chalk you find at Michael's.

I usually do two boards every month or so.  Last month I did a Martin Luther King Jr quote for Black history month: 

 

I use an old-fashioned overhead projector since I have 0% artistic talent.  I copy an image onto transparency film (I still have a box of it from the bad old days, pre-computer document reader).  Here's my colleague working on her history quote board:

 

 

Great fun!   And the kids really seem to respond to it.  Pro tip: situate your chalk wall in an area where the kids are not prone to rubbing against the wall.  Here are some more examples: