Reading Better

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For elementary and middle school-aged students, reading better, in their minds, often means simply reading faster. While reading fluency and words per minute (wpm) are crucial indicators of a strong reader, a student whose primary goal is to read quickly is not necessarily reading properly. To curb this “faster is always better” mentality while still promoting fluency growth, parents and educators can help shift the focus to a more broad definition of a strong reader.

  • Strong readers do much more than absorb and store the information that they have read in their minds. Recall is important, but application is more important. This means that, after students read, an immediate process or task to apply that information or combine details from the text with another skill is critical.
    • After reading about ancient civilizations, for example, ask students to participate in a discussion in which they compare ancient tools and building methods to today’s modern tools and structures.
    • While reading a “how-to” text, ask children to restate each step in order using the text. Then ask them to consider why certain steps must be completed before others.
    • When reading a novel or story, encourage students to make connections to the text with questions and considerations, such as:
      • Why do you think the character responded in that way?
      • How do you think he/she is feeling at this point in the story, why?
      • Have you ever felt that way or experienced something similar?
      • What would you do if you were in this same situation?
      • What kind of relationship do these two characters have? How do you know?
      • Do you think the character is making good decisions?
      • What do you think might happen next based on what we have read?
      • Have you read anything like this before?
      • How was that story similar or different?
      • Does this story, setting, conflict, or character remind you of anything you have heard or watched before?
    • If students are asked to complete a multi-step assignment or required to read complex or lengthy directions, encourage them to break the steps or directions down into smaller, manageable procedures. Prompting students to rephrase instructions or directions is also a good practice for applying what they have just read.
  • Teach young readers how to consider their intent for reading whatever it is that they are reading. When reading for pleasure, their reading strategies might include making predictions, visualizing the details of the story, or discussing the section or page with a friend who is reading the same novel.  However, if a student is reading something for school, the strategies are likely different because of his or her intent.
    • Ask students to consider their goals for reading prior to diving into the text. Do they want to memorize certain information? If so, rereading is going to be a necessary process for that text. If a student is reading something to learn a new skill or strategy, they may want to summarize or simplify the text as they work through each page or chapter.
    • Similarly to goal-setting before reading, teachers should encourage readers to consider one thing that they hope to gain from the text. Are you seeking another’s perspective? Absorbing new vocabulary? Looking for clues to a math word problem? Comparing/contrasting information? Summarizing a process? Investigating a problem and potential solutions? Following a sequence?
    • Ask students to then identify if their goal or intention was accomplished or met by reading the text. If not, ask them to question why they may have missed the mark while reading.

Discuss what active reading looks like. For many students, especially reluctant readers, reading simply means getting to the end—each page or paragraph is just one step closer to being finished. When completion is the goal, students tends to daze, daydream, and lose focus of the text. Remind students that, if they get to the bottom of a page and realize that they had been thinking about something completely different from the actual text, they were not actually absorbing the information. This is similar to the difference between seeing something and looking at something—sounds like the same thing, but looking at something means to examine it; seeing it means to just come across something without actual consideration.

End of School Year Activities to Promote Reflection

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The end of the school year brings a lot of excitement. It is a time for celebrating students’ growth, achievements, perseverance, and accomplishments. While students often spend those last few weeks of school looking ahead—to summer, to vacations, to the next step in their education— teachers will find it beneficial to encourage students to look back on their year and reflect.

Reflection as a process
To reflect on something, in the general sense, means to look back on and consider a past occurrence. However, in the educational realm, reflection can be more of a structured process.

A student:
1) learns something or absorbs information,
2) assesses prior knowledge of the topic,
3) considers the new information,
4) uses or practices the new skill or information, and then
5) examines how he or she can utilize the skill/info for further learning and growth.

With this cyclical process in mind, teachers can promote contemplation and metacognition at the end of the year by asking students to ponder what they have learned, revisit the difficult moments/skills, make connections to how this knowledge can serve them in the future, and consider additional learning opportunities.

Benefits of reflective practices

  • Reflection promotes retroactive problem-solving skills. Students have an opportunity to look back on their work and consider in what other ways they could have approached a task or completed a project. If forces them to examine the steps that they took and how they could improve on that same task the next time.
  • Reflection gives students a stronger sense of responsibility and ownership over their work. By revisiting completed work or writing from earlier in the year, students are reminded of the fact that, while they earn a grade from the teacher, every decision that they make regarding an assignment is what contributes to that grade—they hold the keys to their success or failure.
  • They get to know themselves as learners when examining their academic strengths and weaknesses. This level of self-examination encourages students to capitalize on their strong points and consider how they can improve on their weaker areas.
  • Reflection also promotes creativity. During the process, students consider alternate ways that a goal or task could have been accomplished. In asking themselves how they would approach a similar task next time based on what they know now, students automatically brainstorm new approaches, strategies, and techniques to expand their understanding for the next opportunity.

Activities to try

  • Ask students to evaluate the class using a Google form: What was interesting, boring, repetitive, beneficial, etc.? What improvements would they like to see if they had to complete the class over again? What advice would they offer to next year’s students? What unit, project, or topic was the most enlightening? What information or knowledge will they be most likely to take with them moving forward through their education?
  • Ask students to use Padlet or another form of whole group sharing platform to provide advice for future students.
  • Use a day of class to host the “Academy (Academic) Awards” in which students are recognized for their various strengths: BEST PUNCTUALITY, BEST PARTICIPATOR, BIGGEST HELPER, BEST QUESTIONS, BEST CREATIVE INFLUENCE, etc.
  • Make a Rose & Thorn or top 10 list. Ask students to consider their best memories or experiences during the school year. Encourage them to talk about what made that memory great.
  • Portfolios, especially for arts and English courses, allow students to have a physical “scrapbook” of their progress and achievements from throughout the year. For teachers, this will take a little bit of prep work early on, but the data that can be gathered from these portfolios is beneficial to our own professional growth and reflection as well!

Surviving Standardized Testing Season

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The end of the school year may be in sight, but one of the final hurdles, perhaps the most strenuous one, is on the horizon—state testing season. Around this time, students in Maryland and across the country are gearing up for hours of testing. These standardized assessments are typically spread across multiple, consecutive days. However, in some cases, over a week of school days are set aside for testing. Depending on a student’s current grade level or graduation plans, the gravity of these state tests can vary. However, one thing is true for all students—the tests are draining. It’s not just students that feel the heat, however. Parents, teachers, and administrators are under a great deal of pressure during testing season as well.

For parents

  • This is a stressful time for families. Parents can help ease the test anxiety by telling their children that, like any assessment, these tests are simply one measure of proficiency. They are not indicative of a person’s overall intelligence or ability; the score should not define children’s perception of themselves.
  • Plan some after-school activities that allow children to expel any pent up energy. Since testing schedules can mean long, stagnant periods of sitting and focusing on a screen, parents will want to consider outdoor activities that allow kids to socialize, stretch their legs, get some fresh air, and utilize creativity. This could mean visiting an obstacle course or trampoline park, decorating the driveway with sidewalk chalk, setting up scavenger hunt, or taking the dog for a walk around the neighborhood.
  • Help prepare children to be in tip-top test-taking shape by setting them up for success at home. This means encouraging a regular bedtime, planning to eat a healthy breakfast to stave off hunger pangs, and suggesting comfortable layered clothing in case the classroom temperature fluctuates.
  • Ask the school about accommodations that will or will not be provided, as well as any other concerns:
    • Will children with IEPs and 504 plans be provided with their usual testing accommodations?
    • Will classes be testing by homeroom, English class, or math class, etc.?
    • What will the whole school schedule look like?
    • Will classes continue with instruction as usual?
    • Will students still see all of their classes/teachers?
    • Should students expect to have homework or other assignments during the testing week?
    • Are students permitted to bring water bottles, snacks, or have bathroom breaks as needed?
    • Is there an option to opt out of the assessment? If so, how does one formally request that a child opt out and what will he/she be doing during testing?
  • Visit the local library or bookstore to help your child select a new book to read during any downtime while testing is going on. Check with your school about their testing policy; however, most schools allow children to read during the testing block once they have finished that segment. Allow your child to read a book purely out of interest. This will allow them to take a brain break from the monotony of testing and truly engage in something that they have chosen to enjoy.

Using Poetry to Spark Ideas for Creative Expression

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April is National Poetry Month, which may be cause for celebration or cynicism—poetry does tend to polarize people. For students, especially, poetry is sometimes seen as daunting or elusive. Young readers are quickly turned off when they feel like they can’t find the “true meaning” or interpret the secret message within the poem. However, for poetry-lovers, much of the appeal comes from the fact that poetry allows us to see how others have chosen to express themselves using language. We pro-poetry people also enjoy dissecting poems for multiple meanings—there’s never just one right answer! To engage students of all ages, there are plenty of suggestions on how to bring a poetry unit to life. Similarly, families can get involved and celebrate poetic forms of expression as well.

Poetry at school
For beginners, the concept or focus of a poem does not have to be complex or profound in order for readers to enjoy it. The point of poetry is to get something—anything—out of the text. Present students with simplistic forms of poetry so that they can see how even the simplest message in an acrostic poem can create vivid imagery.

Perfect, plump paws pitter patter.
Up the stairs, he wiggles,
Planning to join his human in a warm cozy bed.
Poised for a nap, he
Yawns as he nestles his belly under the blankets

Ask students to discuss which specific words helped them to picture the puppy. What else did they see or imagine while reading? Did this evoke memories for them? If teachers are hoping to spur students’ writings, ask them to create their own acrostic poem after seeing an example. Using a simple topic or starting point, such as a favorite animal or place, allows children to have some sense of guidance or parameters for writing, but still keeps them in control of the overall message of the poem.

A Haiku, in my opinion, is the most underrated form of poetry. This Japanese style appears simple, structurally, but is actually much more sophisticated. A Haiku really forces the writer to prioritize his message while making every syllable count. The challenge for students is that their goal is to say something meaningful in the simplest manner:

Keep your memories
For they will remind you that
Nothing else can last

For struggling readers and writers, the beauty of the Haiku is that it looks much more approachable, both to read and to construct. When writing, the key to the Haiku that students must understand is that each line of the 3-line poem has a specific number of syllables. The poem can truly be about anything, so long as the 5-7-5 syllable pattern is met.

A found poem is another great method for getting students interested in analyzing and creating poetry. A found poem, sometimes called a blackout poem, is essentially like a collage of circled words and phrases, from any type of written source, that is put together to form a new poem. In order to create a found poem, students must start with a page of text. This can be from a newspaper, magazine article, text book, novel, or even another poem. Students must read the text, scanning for words that they could circle and use in their own poem. They can only use words or phrases found on the page of the original source to construct their poem.

A found poem is a great way for struggling or reluctant writers to try their hand at poetry. It is almost like a scavenger hunt with an entire page of text to use as a wordbank. The writer at least has a springboard for writing the poem because any words or phrases that they can use are already right there on the original page.