Most of our students obtain a Stanine 3 or 4 grade in the PAT Comprehension tests. This means their reading ability is two, three or more Curriculum Levels below that of their peers. The question here that is often not addressed is, why? This means that in a Secondary situation, the skills that need to be taught are not taught explicitly. Students with low Stanine scores can read but their comprehension skills are weak. If these students are to progress they need reading tasks that help them develop their reading skills. To address the learning needs of these students, curriculum staff need to help students overcome their perceived helplessness when faced with a reading task.
This involves showing students how to take control of a reading task by showing them which strategies to use so they can comprehend what they read. For students to see success in their reading they must be shown how a strategy will improve their understanding. For example, students know what 'word attack' skills are but they do not regularly employ these Primary taught skills when their comprehension of a text breaks down. Often students have a single reading speed and they do not slow down when the text is difficult. They do not employ their word attack skills when they are needed. Reminding students what word attack skills are and how and when to use them is the first step.
Chopping up the text into manageable chunks also helps struggling readers.
Providing students with an information transfer also helps. It forces students to reread the text. Get them to do this in silence first rather than letting them collaborate. Providing students with a structure-based template to fill in helps students use the order of the texts as clues that aid comprehension. The topic sentence is followed by details, the big picture is followed by close-up details, and details are followed by an instruction (Maths Text). Discussions of these features help students develop self-awareness about the skills they already use but also shows them what they must strengthen in order to improve.
Setting a goal for each reading task is also important. I am reading this text to develop an understanding of how plants grow. I am reading this text to fill out an information transfer about the important aspects of photosynthesis. I am reading this text in order to take part in a discussion about where our food comes from. Lastly, students are often unaware of the strategies which they must employ to comprehend a class reading. Comprehension strategies need to be explicitly taught through guided instruction but just as important students need feedback on their comprehension. This can be achieved by marking their information transfers or by using a rubric to mark student summaries of a text.
