Enhancing Reading Comprehension Through Purposeful Text Selection

Reading Foundations and Evidence-Based Instructional Practices Competencies 1 and 2 Module 2, Session 4 Acknowledgements: These materials were prepared by the Florida Center for Reading Research in partnership with the Florida Department of Education, the Just Read Florida! Office, and faculty in the College of Education at Florida State University. The authors would especially like to thank the following faculty and staff for their significant contributions to creating and reviewing materials for this integrated reading endorsement pathway: Mr. Nathan Archer, Ms. Amy Carroll, Dr. Jennifer Gans, Dr. Jennifer Hamilton, Dr. Laurie Lee, Dr. Arzu Leushuis, Ms. Shayla Lightfoot-Brown, Dr. Nicole Patton Terry, Dr. Kevin Smith, and Dr. Kelly Whalon. We acknowledge the authors of the Professional Learning Community materials that support the Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade*. With those authors' permission, as well as additional resources and materials developed by instructional leaders in Seminole County Public Schools, the same format and five step process for implementing the PLC sessions were utilized for content in Competencies 1 and 2. Permission to reprint or use these materials is required. Inquiries may directed to the Florida Center for Reading Research at fcrr@fcrr.org. *Kosanovich, M. & Foorman, B. (2016). Professional learning communities facilitator s guide for the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide: Foundational skills to support reading for understanding in kindergarten through 3rd grade (REL 2016-227). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs.

RECOMMENDATION FOUR Select text purposefully to support comprehension development.

Recommendations 1. Teach students how to use reading comprehension strategies. 2. Teach students how to identify and use the text s organizational structure to comprehend, learn, and remember content. 2. Guide students through focused, high-quality instruction on the meaning of text. 2. Select text purposefully to support comprehension development. 2. Establish an engaging and motivating context in which to teach reading comprehension.

Florida B.E.S.T Standards Connection Content Covered BEST Standards Addressed Comprehension PLC Recommendation 4 Select texts purposefully to support comprehension development; Recommendation 5 Establish an engaging and motivating context in which to teach reading comprehension; Teaching English Learners; Assessment and Using Data ELA Expectations ELA.K12.EE.2.1 Read and comprehend grade-level complex texts proficiently. ELA.K12.EE.4.1 Use appropriate collaborative techniques and active listening skills when engaging in discussions in a variety of situations.

SESSION 4: SELECTING TEXT TO SUPPORT COMPREHENSION Select text purposefully to support comprehension development.

Recommendation 4: Select text purposefully to support comprehension development. How-to Step 1: Teaching reading comprehension with multiple genres of text. How-to Step 2: Choose texts of high quality with richness and depth of ideas and information. How-to Step 3: Choose texts with word recognition and comprehension difficulty appropriate for the students reading ability and the instructional activity. How-to Step 4: Use texts that support the purpose of instruction.

Goals: Provide reading comprehension instruction using multiple genres of text. Understand how to choose texts of high quality with richness and depth of ideas and information. Understand how to choose texts with word recognition and comprehension difficulty appropriate for the students reading ability and the instructional activity. Understand how to use texts that support the purpose of instruction. Discuss yourinitial thoughts or questions about Recommendation 4 and the How-to steps.

Materials Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade practice guide, pages 30-33. Activity 4.1: How Do I Select Text to Support Comprehension Instruction? Activity 4.2: Select Text to Support Comprehension Instruction (Teacher Checklist)

Text selection is an important part of planning for comprehension instruction. Exposing students to different types of text can build the capacity to understand the variety of reading material they will encounter both in school and in life. While planning for instruction, always keep in mind that the goal is to accelerate every student s progress to read on or above grade level. The comprehension practice guide tells us that selecting text to support reading comprehension was given the minimal evidence rating because most of the research didn t compare similar groups of students who were exposed to different qualities of text or, the research was conducted with students older than third grade. However, there is some evidence regarding selecting texts purposely to support comprehension development. Let s explore the 4 how-to steps for this recommendation now.

Read about the 4 how-to steps on pages 31-32 of the practice guide. How-to Steps 1&2- Use multiple genres of text and choose high-quality texts with richness and depth of ideas and information. Multiple genres: Literary fiction, poetry, fables, autobiographies Informational expository, persuasive essays; primary source documents; news articles, speeches, timelines High quality texts: Rich content (strong character development; elaborate detail) Strong organization Variation and richness in word choice and sentence structure

How-to Steps 3&4- Use appropriately complex texts and texts that support the purpose of instruction Appropriately complex texts: Consider linguistic demands and conceptual demands Use more challenging texts when support is available from the teacher Match interests of students to texts Texts that support instruction: Text structure use a text with an obvious structure that is easy to identify Comprehension strategies use texts where the strategy is easily applied Read aloud to enhance vocabulary use a text above the students reading level with rich language

Potential Obstacles for Implementing Recommendation 4 Review the potential roadblock to implementing Recommendation 4. Read the panel s advice on page 33. Roadblock 4.1- Some school systems have a set curriculum or program in place, and teachers believe that they have little choice in the texts used for teaching comprehension. Roadblock 4.2- The range of word-reading and comprehension levels in the classroom makes it difficult to select appropriate texts. Roadblock 4.3- There are a lot of texts available to choose from, which makes it hard to know where to start. Discuss obstacles you have experienced and ways in which you overcame them.

Lets look at Activity 4.1: How Do I Select Texts to Support Comprehension Instruction? The goal of this activity is for you to reflect on how you select text for comprehension instruction in light of the how-to steps in the practice guide. First, you will list your favorite texts you use for comprehension instruction. Be sure to include 2 3 titles in each column: literary, informational, and digital. Then record a few notes about the differences in providing instruction for comprehension of a digital text versus a printed text. Finally, select one text you use and describe how you chose that text, the purpose of instruction, and how you teach a lesson using that text.

Reflect: Activity 4.1: How Do I Select Texts to Support Comprehension Instruction? Discuss: 1. What are some of your favorite literary texts to use for comprehension instruction? Informational? Digital? 2. What differences in providing instruction for comprehension of a digital text versus a printed text did you discuss? 3. Who would like to share how they use a text for comprehension instruction? How did you select the text? What is the purpose of instruction (e.g., which comprehension strategy is taught using this text)? How do you teach a lesson using the text?

Reflect: Activity 4.2: Selecting Text to Support Comprehension Instruction (Teacher Checklist). This checklist was developed using the how-to steps from the comprehension practice guide. Review each question and check the box if you can answer yes most of the time. Record what you will you do to address the unchecked boxes. Share your thoughts on the checklist.

Implement: Use the checklist on Activity 4.2 as a resource when you select texts for comprehension instruction.

At the start of the next PLC session, be prepared to respond to the following: How do I choose texts of high quality with richness and depth of ideas and information? How do I choose texts with word recognition and comprehension difficulty appropriate for the students reading ability and the instructional activity? How do I select text that supports the purpose of instruction?