Understanding
What Reading
Is All
About
Teaching Materials
and Lessons for
Adult Basic Education
Learners
July 2005
Harvard Graduate School of Education
101 Nichols House, Appian Way
Cambridge, MA 02138
Developed with Ashley Hager, Barbara Garner, Cristine Smith, Mary Beth Bingman,
Lenore Balliro, Lisa Mullins, Lou Anna Guidry, and Susan McShane
NCSALL Teaching Materials are funded by the Educational Research and Development Centers program, Award Number
R309B960002, as administered by the Institute of Education Sciences (formerly Office of Educational Research and
Improvement), U.S. Department of Education, through contract to Harvard University. The content of NCSALL Teaching
Materials does not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Institute of Education Sciences, or the U.S.
Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.
CONTENTS
Introduction .................................................................................................... 1
Overview – Lesson by Lesson...................................................................... 5
Lesson One: The Demands of Reading...................................................... 9
Lesson Two: Goals for Reading, Part 1 .................................................... 13
Lesson Three: Goals for Reading, Part 2.................................................. 17
Lesson Four: The Components of Reading ............................................. 23
Lesson Five: Analyzing Words ................................................................. 33
Lesson Six: Reading Words by Sight........................................................ 43
Lesson Seven: Reading with Fluency....................................................... 45
Lesson Eight: Developing Reading Vocabulary..................................... 53
Lesson Nine: Developing Reading Comprehension.............................. 57
Lesson Ten: Developing an Individual Reading Profile ....................... 67
Lesson Eleven: Reviewing the Individual Reading Profile .................. 71
Lesson Twelve: Understanding Learning Disabilities........................... 73
Lesson Thirteen: Improving Your Spelling (Optional).......................... 83
Appendix A: Goals List...............................................................................87
INTRODUCTION
What is in this guide?
Reading teachers are often guided by what they know about the
stages and components of the reading process, but they may not
share this information with learners.
*
By understanding how
others become fluent readers, learners can reflect on their own
process of improving reading skills. This guide offers a set of 13
lessons designed to help learners understand the components of
reading that are part of becoming a more fluent reader, and to
guide them as they work with the teacher to set their own goals for
reading. The lessons can be used as an independent mini-course,
or they can be integrated into an existing curriculum. The guide is
not intended as a comprehensive reading course or curriculum;
rather, it can inform teachers and students as they plan learning
activities that address the goals and skill needs of learners. For
example, some learners, particularly those at a beginning reading
level, may benefit from a highly structured curriculum of direct
reading instruction, and this guide can help point them in that
direction.
Who is this guide for?
The guide is for teachers of adult basic education learners who read
at a 0-6 reading level. Students can take the information they learn
from the lessons in this guide and apply it directly to their own
reading. It can also be adapted for use with ESOL learners.
However, some activities are not appropriate or may need to be
modified for beginning-level ESOL learners. The Center for Adult
English Language Acquisition (CAELA) Brief, How Should Adult
ESL Reading Instruction Differ from ABE Reading Instruction?,
provides helpful information and research-based suggestions for
helping ESOL learners learn the components of reading. It is
available at:
www.cal.org/caela/briefs/readingdif.html.
*
Throughout this guide, we usually use the term “learner(s).” In some instances,
for stylistic reasons, we use the term “student(s).” Readers should note that we
use the two terms interchangeably.
NCSALL Teaching Materials
For more information on the research on adult reading instruction,
go to:
http://www.nifl.gov/partnershipforreading/publications/adult.html
From this web page, you can download the report Research-based
Principles for Adult Basic Education Reading Instruction and review
the web document “Adult Education Reading Instruction
Principles and Practices.”
Why should I teach these lessons?
To many new readers, the process of learning to read is mysterious;
some learners may think that reading is simply about being
“intelligent.” These lessons will help demystify the process of
learning to read; students can begin to understand that there are
distinct but integrated skills involved in reading. By becoming
more reflective about the components of the reading process,
students can begin to analyze their reading strengths and needs,
learn about strategies for increasing their reading proficiency, and
articulate their purposes and goals for reading in their lives as
family members, community members, workers, and lifelong
learners.
How can I integrate these lessons into my existing
ABE class?
Use this guide in a flexible manner. Scan through it to see what
seems practical to you. For example, you may use the first few
lessons at the beginning of your own curriculum as a way to help
learners set goals and assess their reading skills. You may wait
until a later date to introduce other concepts, like sight words or
vocabulary development. You can also teach the 13 lessons straight
through, then move on to your own curriculum, using this guide as
a foundation. Be aware that the lessons vary in length; you may
want to combine some of them to fit your class schedule. These
lessons introduce strategies, but do not go into them in depth.
Some of the teachers who piloted these lessons found it helpful to
devote more time to practicing strategies as they were introduced
by using supplemental materials.
2 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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What do I need to pay attention to as I use this
guide?
• The “Note to Teacher” boxes both explain and supplement
the instruction in the guide. They look like this:
Note to Teacher
• You may want to provide a folder or loose-leaf notebook for
each learner to keep goal sheets, handouts, vocabulary
words, and any writing about reading that they do in these
lessons.
• Many lessons have vocabulary words in bold. Teachers
should write these on a black/whiteboard or a piece of
newsprint for learners to copy down and keep.
• Reduced versions of handouts are represented in the text of
most of the lessons, wherever reference is made to them.
Full-size versions suitable for photocopying can be found at
the end of those lessons. Before each lesson that calls for
their use, you will need to make copies of the handouts
listed under “Materials” for each participant.
• Newsprints that you should prepare beforehand will appear
in the steps like this:
Sample Newsprint
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•
As you teach these lessons, you may want to be sure that a
variety of reading materials at various levels is available in
your classroom to provide optional materials for learners.
• Lesson Thirteen is called an “optional” lesson because
technically spelling is a writing skill, not a reading skill.
However, spelling can play a role in alphabetic awareness,
so we include a lesson on spelling for those teachers and
students who want to learn more about it.
4 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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OVERVIEW – LESSON BY LESSON
Lesson One: The Demands of Reading
Learners will review their own reading habits and strategies and
will identify the kinds of reading they would like to improve.
Lesson Two: Goals for Reading, Part 1
Learners will be able to explain the role reading plays in their lives,
by identifying the kinds of text they need or want to read regularly.
They will also explore the role they would like reading to have in
their lives by investigating what reading means to experienced
readers.
Lesson Three: Goals for Reading, Part 2
Learners will continue to explore what, how, and why experienced
readers read and apply this knowledge to their own reading
process. Learners will set reading goals in their roles as family
members, workers, individuals, and community members.
Lesson Four: The Components of Reading
Learners will understand that reading is a developmental process,
with several components. Learners will develop an awareness of
their own stage of reading development. Learners will be able to
identify the skills they need to learn in order to become proficient
readers.
Lesson Five: Analyzing Words
Students will learn how to use (and practice) the following word
analysis strategies: Wilson Reading System “tapping strategy” to
divide words into individual sounds; “word family” approach for
decoding; and base word and suffix identification. Learners will
reflect on which strategies they find most useful.
Lesson Six: Reading Words by Sight
Students will learn a “sky writing” strategy for reading
phonetically irregular “sight words.”
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6 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Lesson Seven: Reading with Fluency
Students will learn about the role reading fluency plays in
proficient reading. Students will learn about the importance of
reading often as a way to promote fluency. Students will learn how
to use the Wilson “scooping” strategy to promote reading fluency.
Lesson Eight: Developing Reading Vocabulary
Students will understand the important role vocabulary plays in
reading. Students will learn how to use the following strategies for
learning new vocabulary: use context clues to “guess” the meaning
of an unfamiliar word; use knowledge of known words; use
knowledge of prefixes.
Lesson Nine: Developing Reading Comprehension
Students will understand the important role comprehension plays
in reading. Students will learn how to use the following strategies
for understanding what they read: a “previewing” strategy to
establish a context for new information; a “post-reading
questioning” process to assimilate new information; an “imaging”
strategy to promote understanding.
Lesson Ten: Developing an Individual Reading
Profile
Learners will analyze their strengths and needs in each component
of reading. Learners will become more aware of the specific skills
they need to work on to become proficient readers.
Lesson Eleven: Reviewing the Individual Reading
Profile
By meeting individually with the teacher, learners develop and
refine their understanding of their reading strengths and needs and
generate a plan for reaching their reading goals.
Lesson Twelve: Understanding Learning Disabilities
Students will acquire a better understanding of what it means to
have a learning disability. Students will learn that learning
disabilities have no bearing on intelligence. Students will learn
Teaching Materials NCSALL
about how they can get tested for a learning disability. Students
will discuss some strategies for learning and living with a learning
disability.
Lesson Thirteen: Improving Your Spelling (Optional)
Students will understand the role spelling plays in reading.
Students will learn strategies for spelling phonetically regular and
phonetically irregular words.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 7
LESSON ONE: THE DEMANDS OF READING
Objectives:
Note to Teacher
If this is the first day
with a group of new
learners, you may
want to devote a
whole session or two
to welcoming
learners, having
learners introduce
themselves, building
community, and
reviewing class
expectations and
guidelines. If you have
already covered these
areas, you can move
into the lessons.
Learners will be able to:
9 Understand when during their daily lives they need or want
to read.
9 Identify what strategies they use to deal with reading
demands, and which strategies are most successful.
Materials:
Authentic, everyday reading materials:
• cereal box
• checklist
• price tag
• form (application form, voter registration form, etc.)
Note to Teacher
The materials listed at
the left are intended
as possible samples
of literacy demands
adults encounter
during a normal day.
Feel free to modify
this
list and the
following activity using
materials you find
easily available (TV
Guide, etc.
)
.
• photo of a street sign
• toothpaste tubes (adult and children’s toothpastes)
• children’s book
• newspaper
• permission slip for child’s school
• sample of child’s school homework
• restaurant menu
• paperback novel
• cookbook
Other materials:
• newsprint, pens, tape
Vocabulary:
• strategy
• text
Time: 30 – 40 minutes
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Steps:
1. Introduce the lessons
• Explain to learners that you will be focusing in several
lessons on reading and the reading process. They will learn
more about the skills used by good readers, will think about
what they want to read, and will develop a plan to help
them meet their reading goals.
• Tell learners how you propose to use these lessons – your
schedule and how the lessons will fit in with other class
work. If you plan to give your learners a folder, you may
want to do this now so they can begin their reading
vocabulary list.
2. Look at daily demands of reading
Note to Teacher
You may want to hang
up a blank sheet of
newsprint at the
beginning of each
class so you can jot
down new vocabulary
words throughout the
lesson. Save the
sheet and use it to
review new words at
the beginning of the
next lesson. Suggest
learners add words to
their own vocabulary
lists.
• As the teacher, talk about your previous day and illustrate
all the times you interacted with text. (Explain that you will
be using the word “text” to refer to many kinds of printed
material, not just textbooks.) For example, you may have
chosen the adult rather than the child toothpaste (show both
tubes), picked a cereal (show a box), read the paper (show
any newspaper), checked your kids’ homework (display
sample), signed a permission slip for a child’s field trip
(display sample), read a story to your child, and so on. Go
through a typical day from morning through bedtime
examining your reading demands.
• Ask learners as a group to think through their previous day,
in detail. At what point in the day did they come across text
they needed to read? Did anyone:
⇒ Pick a cereal? (Display sample box) How? (By color of
box, picture, and name?)
⇒ Check a list? (Display) How?
⇒ Sign for something at a child’s school? (Display)
⇒ Have to fill out a form at work?
10 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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⇒
Look at a street sign? (Display photo)
⇒ Look at a price tag? (Display) How?
⇒ Scan a menu? (Display) How?
⇒ Read to a child? (Display children’s book)
⇒ Anything else?
• Explain the following, using this sample language as a
guide:
Each of us interacts with text many times each day. Some of it we
don’t have to “read” because we already know what it says by
other cues. Stop signs are an example of how we know what
something says by the cues of color, shape, and position at the end
of a road. Fast food drive-up windows have pictures of “combos”
that can be ordered by number.
Using these cues is one form of “strategy” we use when we take
meaning from text without actually “reading” it.
What are other strategies you use during the day when you need to
read or write?
• Write what they say on the board, saying each word as you
write it.
If necessary, prompt your learners by offering some
examples, like: “reading” the subway schedule by looking
at colored lines, etc.
• Explain the following:
These are good strategies, ones that everyone uses, and it’s good to
have developed them. (For example, if I can’t understand a manual
that explains how to do something on my computer, I get a co-
worker to read it through with me, step-by-step, as I try to follow
it. I may have to read the steps out loud as I work on the
computer. I have to use the pictures or diagrams to help me
understand.) But what happens when you need to read something
and these strategies don’t work well enough? Then what do you
Understanding What Reading Is All About 11
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do? (Prompt a few answers if they are stuck by offering
examples like: use a cheat sheet, etc.)
You are studying here because you want to improve your reading
skills, which will expand the range of strategies you can use to
meet reading demands.
Note to Teacher
To prepare learners
for the homework,
remind them of the
reading items you
brought in (toothpaste
tube, permission slip,
etc.). Then ask for a
couple of volunteers
to give an example of
what they think they
might bring in.
Homework:
• Have learners bring in text items from their daily lives
(home, school, work) that they need to read or want to read.
Ask them to bring in about three items each. Remind them
of the things you have used as examples from your own life.
• Ask learners to think about what strategies they use to
understand what something says when they can’t
completely read it.
3. Wrap up:
• Review any new vocabulary words you have jotted down
on the newsprint.
Note to Teacher
If you have more
advanced learners
who are comfortable
with writing, you can
suggest a writing
activity instead of a
paired oral activity for
wrap-up. Have
learners write the
answers to the
questions at left in
their notebook.
Collect the notebook,
review their
responses and
questions, and give
them your responses
in writing as well, right
in the notebook. This
kind of “dialogue
journal” provides
another opportunity
for reading.
• Have learners copy the new words into their notebooks.
• Give learners about five minutes to reflect on the lesson. Do
this by grouping learners into pairs and having them ask
each other:
⇒ Did you learn at least two new things from today’s class?
⇒ What were they?
⇒ Is there anything you still have questions about or aren’t clear
about? If so, what?
• Have one person from each pair summarize comments or
questions back to the class. It is not necessary to identify
who made the comments or asked the questions.
• Answer any questions.
12 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON TWO: GOALS FOR READING, PART 1
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Identify what kinds of text they need or want to read
regularly.
9 Explore what reading means to experienced readers in order
to build their ideas of what reading means in their own lives.
Materials:
• homework learners bring in from Lesson One
• “Possible Interview Questions” handout (on page 16)
Time: 30 – 40 minutes
Steps:
Note to Teacher
Explain that all
learners are “in the
same boat” because
they are all trying to
improve reading skills.
By talking about
strategies as a group,
students can learn
from one another.
If you don’t have time
to go through all the
learners, ask for a few
volunteers.
Higher level learners
can explain their
strategies or lack of
strategies in their
notebook in a short
writing activity of
about 10 minutes.
1. Follow up from Lesson One and homework
• Have the learners display the text items they brought in.
They can arrange their items right on their desks, or you can
set up a table for people to place their items on so everyone
can see them.
• Go around the room and ask each learner to explain which
items of text they have strategies for understanding and
which ones they find harder to read. This will give you a
good sense of what their reading needs are.
2. Look at what experienced readers do
• Explain the following:
Let’s talk about what experienced readers do when they read and
why they read. For example, I love to read. I read (add examples
Understanding What Reading Is All About 13
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here of what you like to read: novels, poetry, magazines...).
One of my favorite books is (add your own example here)
because (add your own explanation). Reading is a form of
relaxation and escape for me. It's also a way I learn things, and
it’s a way to get new ideas.
When I read different things, I read them in very different ways.
For example, I read poetry very closely, every word. But when I
read the newspaper, I skim through it to see what catches my eye.
Sometimes I go right to the sports page or food section or “Dear
Abby.” I should also add that there are things I hate to read, like
computer manuals or technical manuals for how to operate VCRs
and things like that! I have to read them over and over and
sometimes they still don’t make sense to me. I’m kind of afraid of
them!
For our next lesson, you're going to interview people who love to
read so you can learn about why they like to read, what reading
does for them, and what kinds of things they like to read and how
they approach different kinds of reading.
Then you'll share this information in class so we can get a picture
of the habits of many readers. By understanding what experienced
readers do, we can get some ideas of how we can approach reading
in our own lives.
Note to Teacher
The activity at the
right has learners
come up with
questions on their
own. If you are short
on time, you can have
learners use the
reading interview
question sheet
(“Possible Interview
Questions”) that
follows this lesson as
a starting point and
add any other
questions they want to
ask. Remember: The
main goal of this
activity is to generate
questions that show
how experienced
readers read different
things in different
ways for different
p
ur
p
oses.
• Ask: Is there anyone in your life you look up to who reads a lot?
What do you think they read? (If learners have trouble with
this question, suggest someone they know from the program
who reads a lot.)
Each learner should come up with at least one person he or
she respects who reads regularly.
• Ask: Let’s think about what kinds of questions we could ask
these people about how reading fits into their lives. What
questions could you ask him or her about what they read,
how they read, and why they read? What would you really
like to know about? Write their suggestions on the board.
(If learners get stuck, prompt them with some examples,
14 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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such as: How often do you read? Is reading ever difficult for
you? What is your favorite kind of reading? What is your favorite
book?)
Homework:
Note to Teacher
It is important to
prepare learners
carefully for their
homework. Here are
a few ideas:
1. Go over all the
questions in class
so learners can
read them fluently.
2. Have learners
practice asking and
answering the
questions in pairs
with each other.
This will give
learners a chance
to practice jotting
down the answers.
Reassure them that
their answers can
be short phrases or
a few words and
spelling doesn’t
matter. For
learners who have
particular difficulty
with taking notes,
you may want to
suggest that they
use a tape recorder
for the interview.
3. Before learners
leave class, make
sure each one
gives the name of a
person they can
interview. If
anyone cannot
think of a person,
volunteer yourself.
A small group may
want to interview
you at the same
time.
• Have learners take their questions home and interview
someone about his or her reading habits. Ask learners to
bring back the questions with their answers to the next class.
Explain that they will be sharing their answers in the next
class by talking about them. The spelling and grammar of
their answers don’t matter.
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Handout: Possible Interview Questions
Name: __________________________________________________________
Date: __________________________________________________________
1. Why do you read?
2. What have you read this week and why?
3. What is the best thing you have ever read?
4. If you read the newspaper, what is your favorite section?
5. Do you read everything the same way?
6. How often do you read? Why did you like to read?
7. How do you decide what to read about?
8. How do you feel about the reading you do?
9. Do you ever struggle with reading? When? What do you do to understand
something when it’s difficult?
10. How did you learn to read?
11. Add anything else you would like to say about reading.
16 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON THREE: GOALS FOR READING,
P
ART 2
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Identify what, how, and why experienced readers read and
apply this knowledge to their own reading process.
9 Set reading goals in their roles as family members, workers,
individuals, and community members.
Materials:
• interviews with readers from previous night’s homework
Note to Teacher
The goal of this
activity is to demystify
the reading process
and help learners
become aware that
experienced readers
read different things in
different ways for
different purposes.
If learners are having
a difficult time
analyzing the answers
from the interviews,
you may want to
prompt them by
asking:
What kinds of things
did the people you
interviewed read?
Were they all the
same kinds of text?
Did any of them still
have difficulty with
any kinds of reading?
What is their feeling
about reading?
• “Reading Goals” sheets (on pages 21 and 22)
• blank newsprint, markers
Vocabulary:
• proficiently
Time: 40 – 60 minutes
Steps:
1. Follow up on interviews
• Ask 4-5 students to share aloud what they learned from their
interviews with experienced readers. Have one student
report back on questions 1-3, another on 4-6, and so on. Ask
if there is anything else any other students would like to add
about their interviews.
• Write the information down on newsprint as learners give it.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 17
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•
Then ask: Let’s look at these responses. Have you learned
anything new about the way experienced readers read? Does this
make you think any differently about your own reading; for
example, the kinds of things you’d like to read or read better?
2. Set goals for reading
• Explain to learners: We’ve talked about how experienced readers
read and how this might make you feel differently about your own
reading. Now let’s move toward setting goals for reading.
Imagine yourself reading proficiently (that is, easily). What
would you be reading? Think about the reading day you described
in our first lesson. You play many roles: family member, worker,
community member, individual. What kind of reading do you do
in each role? What kind of reading would you like to be able to do
or improve? Once you know what you want to be able to read, or
to read better, you will be able to make progress more easily
because you have specific goals to work toward.
Note to Teacher
Two Reading Goal
sheets are produced
on the next page and
full-size masters
suitable for photo-
copying can be found
on pages 21 and 22.
Use the version that
best suits the reading
level of your learners.
• Pass out the sample reading goals sheet (full-size
photocopyable masters can be found at the end of this
lesson, on pages 21 and 22). Review it with learners. Give a
few examples: Some of you now read menus well, but you
struggle with novels. Or: You want to read children’s books so
you can read with your kids.
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Reading Goals
Name: _______________________________________________
Date: _______________________________________________
As a family member, I now read: I would like to be able to read:
As a community member, I now read: I would like to be able to read:
At work I read: I would like to be able to read:
For myself, I read: I would like to be able to read:
Reading Goals
Name: _______________________________________________
Date: _______________________________________________
I want to read
So I can __________________________________________
__________________________________________
I want to read
So I can __________________________________________
__________________________________________
(full-size photocopyable masters can be found on pp. 21 & 22)
• Give learners about 10 minutes to fill in their sheets.
• Have learners keep their sheets in their notebooks so they
can refer back to their goals individually and in conferences
with you.
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3. Wrap up
Note to Teacher
An excellent tool for
setting reading goals
is provided by Marilyn
Gillespie (1990) in
Many Literacies:
Modules for Training
Adult Beginning
Readers and Tutors.
Amherst, MA: Center
for International
Education. The useful
tool is the Goals List
on page 89, reprinted
with permission at the
end of this guide (see
Appendix A).
• Review any new vocabulary words; have learners copy
them into their notebooks.
• Explain to learners that they will be revisiting their Reading
Goals sheets from time to time so they can revise them and
see their progress.
20 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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Handout: Reading Goals
Name: _________________________________________
Date: _________________________________________
As a family member, I now read: I would like to be able to read:
As a community member, I now
read:
I would like to be able to read:
At work I read: I would like to be able to read:
For myself, I read: I would like to be able to read:
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Handout: Reading Goals
Name ____________________________________________
Date ____________________________________________
I want to read _____________________________________
So I can _________________________________________
I want to read _____________________________________
So I can _________________________________________
I want to read _____________________________________
So I can _________________________________________
22 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON FOUR: THE COMPONENTS OF
READING
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
Note to Teacher
When dealing with
beginning-level
readers, you should
always read aloud
what you write on the
board to the class.
9 Identify reading as a developmental process, with several
components.
9 Use the following reading-related vocabulary words:
automatic, decode, blend, fluency, analyze, vocabulary,
comprehension, and components.
9 Develop an awareness of their own reading development.
9 Identify some skills they need in order to move ahead in
their reading development.
Materials:
• blackboard or newsprint (one newsprint with the made-up
“word” on page 25)
• “The Components (Parts) of Reading” handout (on page 31)
• “Using the Components of Reading” handout (on page 32)
• learner notebooks
Vocabulary:
• analyze
• automatic
• blend
• components
• comprehension
• decode
• fluency
• vocabulary
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Time: About 2 hours
Steps:
Note to Teacher
This lesson, using the
analogy between
learning to drive and
learning to read,
introduces students to
the concept that
reading involves a
series of steps.
1. Go over first steps in learning to drive
• Explain to learners: Learning to read involves learning things
step by step just like learning anything else. For example, let’s
think of how you learned to drive.
• Ask: How many people in the class drive? How many would like
to know how to drive?
• Ask:
⇒ When you started learning how to drive, what did you have to
learn first? (Use learners’ responses to these questions.
Possible answers appear below.)
Note to Teacher
If learners are unable
to answer easily, you
can guide them to
some of the possible
answers like those
listed at right. Other
ideas that reinforce
the comparison
between reading and
driving may come
from the learners.
⇒ What did you have to learn next?
⇒ How did you become comfortable before you started driving on
a crowded street? What did you have to do before driving
alone on the highway?
Possible answers:
⇒ First, learn parts of the car.
⇒ Next, learn to drive in a safe place with an instructor.
⇒ Then practice a lot.
• Ask: How do you feel when you drive now? Do you have to think
about which pedal to step on for the gas or which one for the brake?
• Summarize: So, learning to read is like learning to drive. In the
beginning, you have to think about everything that you’re doing.
Eventually, it comes easily and automatically and you don’t really
have to think about it. But first you have to get good at the skills
that make it up, through instruction and practice.
24 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
2. Go over first steps in learning how to read
(Go over the following activity as a preliminary to walking learners
through the stages of reading:)
• Explain: Learning to read requires learning things step-by-step
or in stages just like learning to drive. Let’s find out how we learn
to read.
• Post a newsprint with the “word” #^^%** on it. Ask learners
why they can’t read it.
Answer: They have not seen the word before and do not
know what all the symbols mean or understand how they go
together to make a word.
#^^%**
• Ask learners what they would need to know in order to
understand the “word.” If they have trouble responding,
guide them to realize that they first need to recognize the
letters of the “alphabet” and to produce the sounds that
correspond to the letters before they can read the “word.”
• Ask: So, what is the first thing you need to be able to do in order
to read real words? In the steps below, you will guide learners
to realize that they must sound out (decode) the individual
letters in a word and then pull (blend) them back together
by modeling the process for them.
• Write the word “yit” on the board.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 25
NCSALL Teaching Materials
•
Slowly sound out each letter /y/-/i/-/t/ and ask the learners
to describe what you are doing. You explain that this process
of sounding out the letters is called sounding out or
decoding. Then you model how to put the sounds back
together to form “yit,” and again ask the learners to describe
what you have done. You explain to learners that putting
the sounds back together is called blending.
Note to Teacher
It is important to
spend some time
defining the word
“analyze.” You can
ask: “Has anyone
heard of the word
“analyze?” What
does it mean?
Analyze means to
take something apart
in order to look at it
more closely. For
example, when
someone is angry with
you, you might try to
analyze the situation
by thinking of all the
things you might have
done to make your
friend angry.
Encourage learners to
think of other times in
their lives when they
analyze something.
• Explain: We call decoding and blending words back
together “analyzing words.”
• Explain: When we read the word “yit,” we have to look at each
letter and sound it out. Then we have to blend the sounds back
together. When we “decode” or “blend” sounds back together, we
are analyzing words because we are looking very closely at parts of
individual words.
3. Explain parts of reading
• Explain to learners that you are going to introduce the
various parts, or components, involved in the reading
process and that you will return to each of these components
in more detail in later lessons. Post these definitions on
newsprint.
Automatic
Feeling comfortable with something:
doing it without having to think
Decode
The process of sounding out
individual letters
Blend
Putting individual letters back
together again
Fluency
Reading with ease, reading with
speed
Analyze
Decoding and blending words back
together
Vocabulary
Words and their meanings
Comprehension
Understanding what you read
Components
Parts
Note to Teacher
Some students learn
words by sight before
they learn how to
decode. Sight word
reading, however,
becomes a less
effective strategy as
higher level texts
begin to include a
larger number of
unfamiliar words
.
26 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
•
Pass out the pie chart titled “The Components (Parts) of
Reading” to each learner (a reduced version is shown below;
the photocopyable full-size master can be found on page 31).
Point out that “components” means “parts.” Ask learners to
save the pie charts in their notebooks because you will be
referring to it frequently in future lessons. You can also
enlarge the pie chart on newsprint or make an overhead.
• You can point to the various sections of the pie to explain
each part. Refer to the pie chart to explain the following:
⇒ “Decoding” is the process of sounding out or analyzing
individual letters and words.
Explain that sometimes it is not possible to sound out or
decode a word because the word does not follow the
rules. For example it is difficult to decode the word
“because.” It is easier to memorize the word or “learn it
by sight.”
The Components (Parts) of Reading
Understanding what
you read
Learning meaning of
words
Reading with
speed and ease
Analyzing words and
knowing words by
sight
COMPREHENSION
V
OCABULARY
FLUENCY
DECODING
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 31)
Go back to the driving analogy. Explain to students that
after they learn to analyze words, they need to practice
their reading skills in order to read fluently or smoothly,
Understanding What Reading Is All About 27
NCSALL Teaching Materials
the same way they had to practice driving in order to
drive smoothly.
⇒ “Fluency” is reading with ease.
Explain that we need to read with speed and accuracy to
easily understand what we read. Practice builds fluency.
⇒ “Vocabulary” refers to words and their meanings.
Explain that knowing what a word means is often as
important as knowing how to say it.
⇒ “Comprehension” means understanding what you read.
Explain to learners that we need to be able to understand
what we read so we can get information, be entertained,
communicate, etc.
4. Ask learners to reflect
Note to Teacher
You might want to
place learners in pairs
as they examine their
own reading process.
Using a "think aloud
protocol" where
learners talk about
their reading may help
them articulate their
strengths and
weaknesses.
• Ask learners to think about which components of reading
they feel better at and which ones need more work. Have
learners explain the reasons for their choices. Ask learners
what skill(s) they need to focus on.
• Explain that skilled readers use all the components of
reading simultaneously. For example, a proficient reader
decodes words and understands their meanings at the same
time while she reads.
• Pass out the “Using the Components of Reading” handout
and review the suggestions for each component (a reduced
version is reproduced on the following page; the full-size
photocopyable version can be found on page 32):
28 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
Using the Components of Reading
Understanding what you read
• Understand what you read
• Use reading to learn new
information
• Use reading to communicate
with other people
•
Read for
p
leasure
Learning meaning of
words
• Learn the meanings of
individual words
Reading with speed
and ease
• Read smoothly
• Read often
Analyzing words and knowing
words by sight
• Learn the names of letters
• Learn the sounds of letters
• Learn to break (decode) words
into sounds
• Learn to blend the sounds
back together
• Learn words by sight
COMPREHENSION
V
OCABULARY
FLUENCY
DECODING
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 32)
Analyzing words and knowing words by sight
• Learn the names of the letters
• Learn the sounds of the letters
• Learn to break (decode) words into sounds
• Learn to blend the sounds back together
• Learn words by sight
Reading fluently
• Read smoothly
• Read often
Learning new vocabulary
• Learn the meanings of individual words
Understanding What Reading Is All About 29
NCSALL Teaching Materials
Understanding what you read
• Understand what you read
• Use reading to learn new information
• Use reading to communicate with other people
• Read for pleasure
5. Wrap up & reflect
There are a number of ways you can help students reflect on what
they learned during the session. Use the question prompts below
(you should post these on newsprint) and have students choose
from the following ways of reflecting:
⇒ Write in a journal
⇒ Discuss the questions with a partner
⇒ Make brief notes to himself or herself
Tell learners that spelling, grammar, and correctness do not matter
for this kind of writing – here, writing is a tool to help them reflect
on what they are learning.
Question Prompts:
• What did you learn today?
• Did you learn anything that surprised you?
• Why do you think I am teaching you about how we
learn to read?
• How might this help you?
30 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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Handout: The Components (Parts) of Reading
Understanding
what you read
Learning
meaning of
words
Reading with
speed and
ease
Analyzing
words and
knowing words
b
y
si
g
ht
COMPREHENSION VOCABULARY
FLUENCY
DECODING
Understanding What Reading Is All About 31
NCSALL Teaching Materials
Handout: Using the Components of Reading
Understanding what you read
• Understand what you read
• Use reading to learn new
information
• Use reading to communicate
with other people
• Read for pleasure
Learning meaning of
words
• Learn the meanings of
individual words
Reading with speed
and ease
• Read smoothly
• Read often
Analyzing words and knowing
words by sight
• Learn the names of letters
• Learn the sounds of letters
• Learn to break (decode) words
into sounds
• Learn to blend the sounds
back together
• Learn words by sight
COMPREHENSION VOCABULARY
FLUENCY
DECODING
32 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON FIVE: ANALYZING WORDS
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
Note to Teacher
In addition to
encouraging learners
to analyze words, the
strategies mentioned
at left promote
reading accuracy.
9 Use (and practice) the following word analysis strategies:
• Wilson Reading System “sound tapping” strategy to
divide words into individual sounds
• “word family” strategy for decoding
• base word and suffix identification
9 Think about which strategies they find most useful.
Materials:
• blackboard or overhead projector
• “Word Analysis Strategies” handout (on page 41)
• “Strategies for Improving Reading Skills” handout
(on page 42)
Vocabulary:
• base word
• suffix
Time: 40-60 minutes (can be broken up into mini-lessons and
should be for lower-level learners)
Steps:
1. Define “strategy”
• Review the components or parts of reading introduced in
the last lesson (decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension). Tell them this lesson will focus on
analyzing words.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 33
NCSALL Teaching Materials
•
Explain: Strategies are what we use to help us accomplish a task.
A strategy is like a plan of action. Runners, for example, must
have a strategy to win a race. They must decide how fast to start
out, when to pass someone, and how to pace themselves so they
have some energy left for the last stretch of the race.
Here's another example. When we decide we are interested in
someone, we devise a strategy to attract that person’s attention and
win their affection. What kinds of strategies might someone use to
attract another person’s attention? (Possible answers include,
make ourselves look attractive, try to impress the person, try
to be helpful, considerate, polite, etc.) Can you think of other
situations that require a strategy?
Skilled reading also requires strategies. We use strategies to figure
out words we do not know. In this lesson we are going to learn
about some strategies for reading (decoding) words we do not
recognize by sight.
2. Demonstrate “sound tapping” strategy
Note to Teacher
The “sound tapping”
strategy is only
appropriate for
phonetically regular
words. Many words in
the English language
are not phonetically
regular. Beginning
readers may not be
able to distinguish the
distinct sounds and
this activity may not
be appropriate for
these learners.
• Show how to use the Wilson Reading System “sound
tapping” strategy to decode unfamiliar words.
• Explain: We are going to learn how to tap out the sounds in
words using our fingers. This helps us hear each of the sounds in a
word. It also helps us blend or put the sounds back together in the
right order. Please use the hand you write with. Each finger will
stand for one sound. We will tap out the first sound with our
index finger (hold up your index finger), the second sound with
our middle finger and thumb (demonstrate), the third sound with
our ring finger and thumb (demonstrate) and the fourth sound
with our pinkie and thumb. If we run out of fingers, we just go
back to the index finger again (demonstrate how to return to
the index finger on the same hand).
Let’s practice by tapping out the word “cat.” “C-a-t” has three
sounds so it gets three taps.
Let’s try “spit.” “ S-p-i-t” has four sounds so it gets four taps.
34 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
•
Write the following words on the board:
Splat made this
Note to Teacher
The words to the left
will be difficult for
many learners. You
may want to substitute
words with 1:1 sound
letter correspondence.
• Observe while learners tap out the following words,
intervening when necessary.
“splat” (five sounds = five taps)
“made” (three sounds = three taps because the e is
“silent”)
“this” (three sounds because “th” makes one sound =
three taps)
• Provide enough examples to ensure that learners are able to
use the Wilson “sound tapping” strategy. Examples of
nonsense words appropriate for Wilson “sound tapping” are
shown below in order of difficulty.
Note to Teacher
Using “nonsense
words” requires
learners to use their
decoding skills to read
unfamiliar words.
When using real
words, you will never
be sure whether a
learner is decoding or
relying on her
previous sight
memory of the word.
vit zam wox
yep sux et
slig trum bont
cust smim frix
strint thrimp squelt
blesk splust
• Ask learners to reflect on the Wilson “sound tapping”
strategy using the following questions as prompts:
⇒ Did you find it easy to use?
⇒ How would you use it when you are reading?
Understanding What Reading Is All About 35
NCSALL Teaching Materials
3. Demonstrate “word family” strategy
• Explain: Another approach we can use to read words we don’t
recognize by sight is the “word family” strategy. “Word families”
are groups of letters that have the same sound and often go
together in words. For example, “ing” is a word family because
many words have “ing” in them (sing, ring, wing, thing).
Write these words on the board, underlining the “ing” in
each word, and encourage learners to add to the list.
Note to Teacher
The “word family”
always starts with the
vowel and includes
the letters that follow
it.
s
ing ring wing thing
• Write the following nonsense words on the board and ask
learners to decode them by identifying and reading the
“word family” first. Do this as a whole class activity, asking
learners to volunteer to read the “family” in the first column,
second column, and so on.
Note to Teacher
The “word family”
strategy is best for
words that end in “ng”
or “nk” because those
sounds are so difficult
to separate.
sprank glick brunk kish
trank zick lunk tish
pank krick krunk gish
• Encourage learners to generate lists of words for other
common “word families” (“and,” “ent,” “ath,” etc.). Write
these on the blackboard
• Divide learners into pairs.
• Hand out the “Word Analysis Strategies” handout that
appears on the next page (full-size photocopyable master
can be found on page 41).
36 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
•
Have learners practice using the “sound tapping” and
“word family” strategies to read the words on the sheet.
Word Analysis Strategies
“sound tapping” strategy “word family” strategy
ash, cash, lash, splash ash, cash, lash, splash
luck, truck, pluck luck, truck, pluck
tank, sank, thank, spank tank, sank, thank, spank
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 41)
• Ask: Which of these strategies did you find more useful? Why?
4. Explain base words and suffixes
Note to Teacher
Explain to learners
that they will be
focusing on base
words and suffixes
here and they will
examine prefixes in
more detail in a future
class.
• Explain: Now we are going to learn another strategy for decoding
words using base words and suffixes.
A base word is the part of a word that can stand by itself and the
suffix is the part that is added to the base word at the end.
• Write the word “cats” on the board.
In the word “cats,” the “base word” is cat and the suffix is “s.”
• Write the word “crying” on board and then write again with
base word and suffix separated in boxes as below.
For example:
CRYING
In the word “crying”, the base word is “cry” and the suffix is
“ing.”
Note to Teacher
To avoid confusion,
you should select
words in which the
final consonant is not
doubled as it is in
running or stopped.
CRY ING
Understanding What Reading Is All About 37
NCSALL Teaching Materials
• Underline the base word “cat” and circle the suffix “s.”
Point out that suffixes change the meaning of the base word.
• Write a list of words on the board and ask learners to
volunteer to come up and identify the base word and the
suffix in each word by underling the base word and circling
the suffix.
spit s jump ing smash ed
wild est kiss ing lump y
frank ly fast er long est
hate ful kind ness
5. Wrap up & reflect
Note to Teacher
It is sometimes helpful
to have the learner
write each strategy on
an index card.
• Tap words out
• Find the word
family
• Underline the
base word and
circle the suffix
Before reading,
learners can lay out
their cards to remind
them to use various
strategies.
• Review the three strategies for reading unfamiliar words
(“sound tapping,” “word family,” and finding the base word
and suffix).
• Pass out the “Strategies for Improving Reading Skills”
handout that appears on the next page (full-size version can
be found on page 42).
• Explain that this chart is a place to keep track of strategies
that they have found useful. Ask learners to think about
which of the word analysis strategies was most useful and
identify them by circling the strategy on their pie chart.
• Explain that in future lessons, you will demonstrate the
strategies listed under fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension.
38 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
Strategies for Improving Reading Skills
Understanding what
y
ou
read
• Previewing
• Reflecting while you read
• Post-reading questioning
• Imaging
______________________
Learning meaning of words
• Use clues in the sentence
• Use words you already
know
• Prefixes and suffixes
____________________
Reading with speed
and ease
• Repeated oral reading
• Scooping
__________________
Analyzing words and
knowing by sight
• Sound tapping
• Word families
• Using prefixes and suffixes
• Sight words
______________________
COMPREHENSION
V
OCABULARY
FLUENCY
DECODING
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 42)
Understanding What Reading Is All About 39
Teaching Materials NCSALL
Handout: Word Analysis Strategies
“sound tapping”
strategy
“word family”
strategy
ash, cash, lash, splash ash, cash, lash, splash
luck, truck, pluck luck, truck, pluck
tank, sank, thank, spank tank, sank, thank, spank
Understanding What Reading Is All About 41
NCSALL Teaching Materials
Handout: Strategies for Improving Reading Skills
Understanding what you
read
• Previewing
• Reflecting while you
read
• Post-reading questioning
• Imaging
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Learning meaning of
words
• Use clues in the
sentence
• Use words you already
know
• Prefixes and suffixes
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Reading with speed and
ease
• Repeated oral reading
• Scooping
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
Analyzing words and
knowing by sight
• Sound tapping
• Word families
• Using prefixes and
suffixes
• Sight words
_____________________
_____________________
_____________________
COMPREHENSION VOCABULARY
FLUENCY
DECODING
42 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON SIX: READING WORDS BY SIGHT
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Use a “sky writing” strategy for reading phonetically
irregular words that can’t be sounded out.
Materials:
• blackboard
• scrap paper
Time: 30 minutes
Steps:
Note to Teacher
This is a very short
lesson and you may
want to combine it
with Lesson 5. If you
do, be sure to
emphasize that this
strategy is for
remembering words
that are difficult to
sound out. Sky writing
is not a decoding
strategy.
1. Review decoding strategies
• Remind students of the three strategies they learned for
analyzing or decoding words.
• Explain how to use “sky writing” for reading phonetically
irregular words: Now I am going to teach you a strategy for
remembering words you can’t sound out. (Give a few examples,
like ”there,” “should.”) Many people who have studied reading
have done research on how people learn best. They have discovered
that people learn best when they use all their senses. Senses are
our ability to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. By engaging three
of the five senses – seeing, hearing, and touching – the “sky
writing” strategy helps us to remember how words “look.” We are
going to use our ability to see, hear, and touch, and use our entire
body to help us remember these words that need to be memorized
by sight.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 43
NCSALL Teaching Materials
2. Demonstrate “sky writing”
• Review the following steps and model each step using a
phonetically irregular word such as “they” or “sight.”
⇒ Write a phonetically irregular word in large letters on the
board (e.g., right, two).
⇒ Have learners trace the letters of the word in the air
using their entire arm. (Check to make sure learners keep
their elbows straight.)
⇒ Point out that they are using their whole body to
remember the order of the letters in the word.
⇒ Have learners say the name of each letter as they trace
each letter in the air.
⇒ Erase the word and have learners trace the word in the
air again from memory, saying the name of each letter as
they trace it.
⇒ Have learners “write” the word on the table with their
finger three times, repeating the name of each letter as
they write it.
⇒ Have learners write the word three times on a piece of
scrap paper, covering the word each time they write it
and repeating the letter names as they write them.
3. Wrap up & reflect
Note to Teacher
You may want to
introduce Fry’s 300
Instant Sight Words
list at this point. Give
learners a copy and
suggest they use sky
writing for words on
the list that they do
not recognize. This
list can be
downloaded from:
www.usu.edu/teachall
/text/reading/frylist.pdf
• Ask learners if they thought “sky writing” would help them
remember words they cannot sound out. Why do they think
it will help?
• If learners found this strategy helpful, they should circle it
on their strategies pie chart.
44 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON SEVEN: READING WITH FLUENCY
Objectives:
Note to Teacher
Listening to a learner
read out loud is a way
that you can keep
track of a learner’s
ability to recognize
words with ease.
Learners will be able to:
9 Understand the role reading fluency plays in proficient
reading.
9 Understand the importance of reading often as a way to
promote fluency.
9 Use the Wilson “scooping” strategy to increase reading
fluency.
Materials:
• blackboard or newsprint
• selections of texts that the teacher can read aloud to model
fluency
• “Reading Fluency Practice” handouts (two versions on
pages 51 and 52)
Vocabulary:
• accurately
• automatic
• fluently
Time: 40 minutes
Steps:
1. Define “fluency”
• Explain concept of “reading fluency”:
Effortless reading depends on two things; first we must be able to
read the words correctly or “accurately.” Otherwise we won’t be
Understanding What Reading Is All About 45
NCSALL Teaching Materials
able to understand what we are reading. Practicing analyzing
words, including decoding and blending, and learning words by
sight helps improve one’s ability to read words accurately.
We must also be able to read smoothly or “fluently.” Otherwise
we’ll find it hard to understand what we are reading.
• Encourage learners to think about the importance of reading
often. Think back to when we were talking about learning to drive
and how important it was to practice. Only by reading often will
reading become effortless or “automatic.”
• Explain that if learners are having trouble reading the words
on the page, they won’t have enough energy to think about
what they are reading. Model this by reading (without
showing them) a passage aloud in a halting manner and
asking learners to provide a summary of what you read.
Read the following passage in a halting manner:
“We know that … some … events cause other …
events to … happen. For example, sunlight …
causes plants to … grow. This is what we … call a
… cause- … and-effect … relationship.”
[Note: Presented below is the same passage, without
ellipses to indicate pauses:]
“We know that some events cause other events to happen.
For example, sunlight causes plants to grow. This is what we
call a cause-and-effect relationship.”
Note to Teacher
To be a good reader,
it is important to get
meaning from the text.
Tell learners that you
will discuss
comprehension, or
making sense of what
is read, and
vocabulary, or
understanding word
meanings, in future
classes. Help
learners to
understand that even
though they can read
all the words, they
cannot understand the
full meaning of the
sentence without
knowing the meaning
of words. That is why
it is important to learn
new vocabulary.
• Ask learners: Was it difficult to understand what I was reading?
Let’s see how much easier it is to understand when I read the
passage accurately and fluently.
• Reread the same passage modeling accurate, fluent reading.
Then ask learners to summarize what you read. Compare
the difference.
• Ask: Why is it important for reading to be automatic? Think
back to what it was like when you were learning to drive and you
still had to think about where all the parts of the car were located
46 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
and how they worked. Did you have enough energy left to watch
the road, think about the best way to get to your destination, or
talk to your friend in the passenger seat?
2. Demonstrate “repeated oral reading” strategy
• Have learners use a strategy for increasing fluency called
“repeated oral reading.”
⇒ Put learners into pairs.
⇒ Give each pair the appropriate short selection of text
contained in the “Reading Fluency Practice” handout
(see below for samples; full-size masters of each version
can be found on pages 51 and 52).
⇒ Learners take turns reading aloud to each other.
⇒ Each learner reads the same selection twice, noting how
much more fluently he or she reads the second time
around.
Reading Fluency Practice
To the learner: Please read the following passage out loud to your partner.
Then read it out loud over again. Notice how much more fluent you are the
second time you read it.
Version A My daughter often asks me: “Mom, what is your favorite
season?” I find it hard to choose from spring, summer, and
fall. I am always amazed at the changes spring brings and the
hope I feel when I find first signs of life forcing their way
through the snow. Though I love summer’s freedom, trips to
the ocean, and life’s slower pace during July and August, I am
always most grateful for the brisk and energetic days in
October.
Version B
Lower Level My child often asks me: “Mom, what is your best time of the
year?” I like spring,
summer, and fall the best. It is hard to
choose. I love spring when the flowers begin to grow. I like
the warm days of summer when I can go to the sea. I also
love fall, when the days are cool.
(full-size photocopyable masters of each version can be found on pp. 51 & 52)
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3. Demonstrate the “scooping” strategy
• Introduce the Wilson “scooping” strategy for increasing
reading fluency. Explain: Today we are going to learn a
strategy that will help you read more smoothly or “fluently.” We
are going to learn how to “scoop” sentences into smaller chunks or
phrases so that when we read, it sounds as smooth and natural as
when we talk.
Let’s think about what “scooping” means. What kinds of things do
we scoop? (Answer: ice cream, sugar, etc.) Scooping means
gathering smaller pieces together. Let’s try it.
• Write the following sentence on the board and ask a learner
to read the sentence aloud. Select a learner who will
experience some difficulty reading this sentence fluently the
first time around.
The man with the red hat is hot.
Note to Teacher
Feel free to make up
appropriate sentences
for your particular
class.
• Model how to scoop the sentence into phrases, reading each
phrase aloud as you scoop it.
Explain: Start by putting your pencil under the first letter of the
first word. You drag your pencil under the first few words in the
sentence making a semi circle under the phrase.
The man with the red hat is hot.
Note to Teacher
You can also use the
sentence at right to
explore how words
can change meaning
depending on context.
For example, how
would the word “hot”
differ in meaning if
followed by these
sentences below?
The man with the
red hat is hot. He is
sweating.
The man with the
read hat is hot. I’d
love to go out with
him.
• Ask learners to read the sentence again the way it has been
“scooped” and note the difference in their fluency.
• Show how the sentence can be “scooped” another way. You
should read this sentence aloud first and have the learners
read it after you.
The man with the red hat is hot.
• Write the following sentences on the board and then scoop
them into phrases. Have learners volunteer to read each
48 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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sentence aloud the way it has been “scooped.” As learners
gain confidence, they can try “scooping” the sentences
themselves. It is fun to experiment with finding as many
ways as possible to “scoop” the same sentence.
1) Sid and Meg met Ben at the shop.
2) That tax on gas is not bad.
3) The Red Sox had to win!
4) Max got six fish with his rod.
5) Did Ms. Lin get the bus at 10 am?
4. Wrap up & reflect
• Ask learners if they found the “scooping” strategy useful.
Learners who felt it was helpful can circle it on their
strategies pie chart.
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Handout: Reading Fluency Practice (Version A)
To the learner: Please read the following passage out loud to
your partner. Then read it over again. Notice how much more
fluent you are the second time you read it.
My daughter often asks me: “Mom, what is your favorite
season?” I find it hard to choose from spring, summer,
and fall. I am always amazed at the changes spring
brings and the hope I feel when I find the first signs of life
forcing their way through the snow. Though I love
summer’s freedom, trips to the ocean, and life’s slower
pace during July and August, I am always most grateful
for the brisk and energetic days in October.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 51
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Handout: Reading Fluency Practice (Version B)
To the learner: Please read the following passage out loud
to your partner. Then read it out loud over again. Notice
how much more fluent you are the second time you read it.
My child often asks me: “Mom, what is your best
time of the year?” I like spring, summer, and fall
the best. It is hard to choose. I love spring when
the flowers begin to grow. I like the warm days
of summer when I can go to the sea. I also love
fall, when the days are cool.
52 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON EIGHT: DEVELOPING READING
VOCABULARY
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Understand the important role vocabulary plays in reading.
9 Use the following strategies for learning new vocabulary.
• Context clues to “guess” the meaning of an unfamiliar
word.
• Knowledge of known words.
• Knowledge of prefixes.
Materials:
• blackboard or newsprint
Vocabulary:
• context clue
• prefix
Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Steps:
1. Introduce vocabulary as a reading skill
Note to Teacher
Research shows that
90% of new words are
learned in the context
of reading. That is
another reason why it
is so important for
learners to read
frequently and to read
about varied subject
matter.
• Explain: There are still a few more reading skills we need to know
about. Once we are able to read words and longer passages well
(fluently), what do we have to be able to do in order to understand
what we read? (Know what the words mean.) This is called
vocabulary.
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⇒
Write the following sentence on the board (and read it
aloud):
My dad loves to slomp every day.
⇒ Ask a learner to read the sentence aloud. Then ask: Does
anyone know what the word slomp means?
⇒ Help learners to understand that even though they can
“read” (sound out) all the words, they cannot understand
the full meaning of the sentence without knowing the
meaning of the word slomp. That is why it is important
to learn new vocabulary.
2. Demonstrate “context clues” and “known words”
strategies to learn vocabulary
• Ask: If you read a word and you don’t know what it means, how
can you figure out what the word means? Learners will
probably mention using the dictionary and/or asking
someone. Write these responses on the board and ask: What
if we do not have a dictionary and no one is around to ask? Let’s
explore that.
• Write the following sentence on the board and read it aloud.
It was hot and sticky. I was hungry and tired. I felt
smucky.
• Ask: What do you think the word “smucky” means? What can
help you to figure out the meaning of this word that you have
never seen before?
• Use the following guided questioning to help learners
discover the value of using context clues and thinking
about words they already know as strategies for
understanding new words.
⇒ Ask: What words in the sentence provide clues to the meaning
of the word smucky? Are hot, sticky, tired, and hungry used
to describe positive or negative feelings?
54 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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⇒ Ask: What word do you know that sound like smucky?
(Possible answer “yucky,” “mucky.”) Are these words
used to describe positive or negative feelings?
⇒ Explain: So, even though you don’t exactly know what
smucky means, you can make a guess by looking at the other
words in the sentence and by seeing how the new word is used.
When we take an educated guess about what a new word
means because of how it is used in the sentence, we are using
the “context clues” strategy. When we guess a new word’s
meaning by the way it is used with words we already know, we
are using the “known words” strategy.
Note to Teacher
The following words
can be used with
more advanced
learners:
• prenuptial
• premeditated
3. Explain prefixes
• Explain: There is another important strategy that can help you to
figure out the meaning of words. This strategy involves looking at
letters that are added to the beginning of words. These word parts
are called “prefixes” and they change the meaning of the word.
Remind learners how we used base words and suffixes to
figure out how to say a word and how suffixes changed the
meaning of words. Now we will look at how prefixes help
us determine what a word means.
Note to Teacher
Explain to learners
that even though the
meaning they guess
may not be exact, it
will probably be
accurate enough to
help them move on
with their reading and
not get stuck on a
new word. If learners
are not comfortable
with guessing using
the strategies above,
they can use the "list it
and skip it" strategy.
Learners write an
unfamiliar word down
on a bookmark made
for this purpose. They
still try to predict the
meaning of the word,
but they can also list it
on the bookmark and
look it up in a
dictionary later. This
allows learners to
keep reading.
• Write the following list of words on the board and read
them aloud. Ask volunteers to come up and underline the
base word and circle the prefix in each word. Have learners
discuss the meaning of the base word and reflect on how the
prefix “un” changes the meaning of the base word (“un”
means “not”).
un
happy un do un kind
un
well un wise
• Write the following words on the board and read them
aloud.
reuse remake review
redo rewrite
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•
Ask: What do these words have in common? Any idea what the
prefix “re” might mean?
Explain that “re” means “again.” Have learners discuss the
meaning of each base word and consider how the meaning is
changed once the prefix is added. Use the following examples to
explore what the prefix “pre” means.
preview pretest
prepay
4. Put it all together: Practice new strategies
• Have learners practice the above mentioned vocabulary
strategies to figure out the possible meanings of the
nonsense words in the following sentences written on the
board:
⇒ Sam and Beth jaggled the ball to each other.
⇒ We went to the shop to pick up some milk, eggs, and
sups.
⇒ Tam rode her zoop to the store.
⇒ He was unzum about the job.
5. Wrap up & reflect
• Have learners refer to their strategies chart and review the
three strategies for learning new vocabulary. They can do
this by working in pairs and discussing the strategies or by
writing in a journal.
Note to Teacher
When learners are
involved in a particular
classroom activity,
you can ask: What
are we working on
(e.g., vocabulary,
word analysis)? How
is ______ helpful for
reading? This mini-
reflection exercise can
help promote learners'
awareness of reading
strategies.
• Use clues in the sentence.
• Think about other words in the sentence you already
know.
• Find the prefix and the base word.
56 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON NINE: DEVELOPING READING
COMPREHENSION
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Understand the important role comprehension plays in
reading.
9 Use the following strategies for understanding what they
read:
• “previewing” to understand the context for new
information
• “reflecting while reading”
• “post-reading questioning” process to take in new
information
• making images to promote understanding
Materials:
• “Previewing Strategy” handout (on page 65)
• “Post-Reading Questioning Strategy” handout (on page 66)
• text selection – Before this lesson, choose a short text with
pictures and captions or subtitles. The text should be at
the learners’ current reading level or slightly above,
preferably on a topic that you know they are interested in.
(If your learners have a great deal of variation in reading
ability, you may want to choose more than one selection.)
Make copies for every learner.
Vocabulary:
• imaging
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Time: 60 minutes
Steps:
1. Review goals for reading
• Ask: What is the purpose of reading the words on a page? Let’s
think about why you want to read.
Note to Teacher
If you have not done
the Step 2 activity in
Lesson 3, this is a
good time to introduce
it. If you have already
done this activity in
Lesson 3, you can
review it with learners.
Use what they have
already filled out as a
way to check their
progress and to plan
even further. They
may want to modify
their purposes for
reading as they go
from lesson to lesson.
I like/want to read So I can
• Encourage learners to jot down some things they read or
would like to read better. Then ask them for the reasons
they read these things. The discussion should show that
people read for different purposes: to get information, to
relax, to get directions for something, etc.
• Ask if learners read things the same way. For example, do
they read the newspaper the same way they read a computer
manual?
• Encourage learners to share their reading goals so they can
see that the goal goes beyond being able to read the words
on the page; the ultimate goal is to get information, be
entertained, etc. (mention some of their own goals).
2. Illustrate what comprehension is
• Have learners participate in the following activity to
illustrate “comprehension.” (Make sure that the passage
below is written on the blackboard or newsprint.)
The zut went to the spud to get the nid for Gim
and Dim. When he got back, Gim and Jim were
zigging and did not want the nid from the zut.
58 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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Ask learners to:
1. Read aloud the passage on the blackboard.
2. Provide an oral summary. (Learners should find that
because they do not understand the words, they cannot
provide a summary. This illustrates the need for
comprehension.)
Explain that in the rest of this lesson they will learn and
practice strategies that help with comprehension.
Note to Teacher
It is essential that
learners be able to
read 100% of the
words in this passage.
You should feel free
to substitute
nonsense words that
are familiar to your
learners or to write
your own paragraph.
Also, you can take the
opportunity to have
learners speculate
about what they think
the nonsense words
might mean in a
passage like this.
Some clues (for
example, the “ing” in
“zigging”) suggests
that this is a verb.
3. Demonstrate “previewing” strategy before reading
• Explain that it is important to look through a text before
beginning to read. “Previewing” or looking over the
passage is helpful for two reasons:
⇒ It gives the reader an idea of what the passage will be
about.
⇒ It gives the reader a chance to think about what he/she
already knows about the topic.
Note to Teacher
Use the process at left
to explain the
“previewing” strategy.
Pass out the
“Previewing Strategy”
handout (full-size
version on page 65) to
learners so they can
practice with the piece
of text. Very
beginning-level
learners may not be
comfortable writing
their answers, so they
can use the handout
as a way to talk out
their answers with
another learner, or
take it home to use
with another reader.
• Pass out the “Previewing Strategy” handout and the short
text selection described in the Materials list for this lesson.
Explain that these are things learners can do before they read
to help them understand what they read. Important note:
The text selection must include a title and pictures with
captions and subtitles.
Previewing Strategy
Step 1: Turn the title into questions.
• What
• Why
• Who
Step 2: Look at the pictures or graphics. Summarize what you see.
Step 3: Read the captions. What do they tell you?
Step 4: Think about what you already know about this topic. Write a little
about what you already know.
Step 5: Think about what you would like to know about this topic.
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 65)
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NCSALL Teaching Materials
•
Explain the “previewing” strategy.
Use the passage you chose for the learners and go through
the steps of the “previewing” strategy together.
1. Write the following words on the board or a sheet of
newsprint:
• What
• Why
• Who
2. Read: 1: Turn the title into questions.
Have learners practice turning the title into a question using
the “signal words” that are written on the board. (Go
through these questions with your learners.)
• What…?
• Why…?
• Who…?
3. Read: 2: Look at the pictures or graphics.
Encourage learners to look at the pictures, to describe what
they see, and to predict what will be discussed in the
passage.
4. Read: 3: Read the captions.
Learners briefly discuss what the captions tell them about
what the text is about.
5. Read: 4: Think about what you already know about this
topic. Learners discuss what they know about the
topic, while you record what they say on the left side
of the blackboard. If there is disagreement, put a
question mark by the statement. (You should write
everything the learners say on the board, even if the
information is incorrect. Faulty information will be
corrected later.)
6. Read: 5: Think about what you would like to know about
this topic.
60 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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Learners generate a list of questions while you record these
questions on the right-hand side of the blackboard. You
may want to add a couple of questions that you know will
be answered in the passage.
4. Demonstrate “reflecting while reading” strategy
Note to Teacher
It is helpful if you read
the passage aloud
before asking a
learner to provide an
oral summary. This
ensures that the
learner isn’t
expending all his or
her energy on
decoding and can
focus on listening
com
p
rehension.
• Post on newsprint the following strategies and review with
the learners:
Reflecting While Reading
Highlight anything that surprises you while
you read.
Respond to what you are reading by making
notations in the margins such as: ?, !
Think about the what, why, who questions.
Note to Teacher
Research shows that
reading comprehen-
sion increases
significantly when
learners are asked to
reflect on what they
are reading while they
are reading.*
* Pressley, M. &
McCormick, C. (1995).
Strategies and
Metacognitive Regulation of
Strategies: Basic Theory
and Research. In
Educational Psychology for
Educators, Researchers,
and Policymakers. New
York: Harper Collins
Colle
g
e Publishers.
• Have learners read the passage either silently to themselves
or following along as you read aloud. Ask them to use these
strategies to mark their text as they read.
• Learners can take turns providing oral summaries of each
paragraph.
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5. Demonstrate “post-reading questioning” strategy
• Pass out the “Post-Reading Questioning Strategy” handout.
Post-Reading Questioning Strategy
Step 1: Look at your previewing questions (who? why? what?) to see if
you can now answer them.
Step 2: Look at what you said you already knew about the topic. What
would you now correct?
Step 3: Answer the following:
• What did you learn about ______?
• What about the passage surprised you? Why?
• What did you find most interesting about what we read?
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 66)
1. Read: 1: Look at your previewing questions (who? why?
what?) to see if you can now answer them.
2. Read: 2: Look at what you said you already knew about
the topic. What would you now correct?
3. Ask learners to discuss the following questions
(responses can be in an oral discussion or in a writing
assignment):
Read: 3: Answer the following:
• What did you learn about _______?
• What about the passage surprised you? Why?
• What did you find most interesting about what
we read?
6. Demonstrate “imaging” strategy
• Explain that “imaging” is like replaying an event in your
mind to remember the details. Imaging while you read can
help you understand and remember what you’ve read.
• Model a process for creating images to promote reading
comprehension.
62 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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Read the following short passage aloud. Explain
the meaning of any unfamiliar words and ask
learners to provide an oral summary of the
passage. Write whatever the learners say
verbatim on the board.
In the Puerto Rican rainforest, some frogs
communicate with each other by thumping
their feet. The vibrations from the thumping
can be heard five miles away!
Explain that creating a picture of what one is
reading makes it easier to understand what the
passage is about.
Reread the passage one sentence at a time and
encourage learners to visualize what they hear by
thinking about the following kinds of questions or
statements after each sentence:
◦ What does the forest look like? Would there be
pine trees in this forest? Why not?
◦ Describe what you think the frogs look like.
Show me how big the frogs are with your
hands.
◦ What do you see that tells you that the
vibrations are traveling five miles?
Ask learners to provide another oral summary of
the passage and write exactly what the learners
say on the board.
◦ Reread the two summaries and ask the learners
to determine if the second summary is better
than the first.
◦ Have learners reflect on the usefulness of
visualization by responding to the following
questions:
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⇒
Did you find it helpful to make pictures in your
head while I read the passage aloud? Why or
why not?
7. Wrap up & reflect
• Review the different comprehension strategies.
Ask learners to recall the different strategies and prompt them if
they don’t remember. Write on the board:
⇒ Use the “previewing” strategy.
⇒ Use the “post-reading questioning” strategy.
⇒ Think about what you’re reading while you’re reading
by asking what, why, who.
⇒ Make pictures in your head while you read.
Ask learners to reflect on which strategies they found most helpful.
Learners circle these strategies on their pie chart.
64 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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Handout: Previewing Strategy
Step 1: Turn the title into questions.
• What
• Why
• Who
Step 2: Look at the pictures or graphics. Summarize
what you see.
Step 3: Read the captions. What do they tell you?
Step 4: Think about what you already know about this
topic. Write a little about what you already know.
Step 5: Think about what you would like to know about
this topic.
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Handout: Post-Reading Questioning Strategy
Step 1: Look at your previewing questions (who? why?
what?) to see if you can now answer them.
Step 2: Look at what you said you already knew about
the topic. What would you now correct?
Step 3: Answer the following:
• What did you learn about ______?
• What about the passage surprised you? Why?
• What did you find most interesting about what we
read?
66 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON TEN: DEVELOPING AN INDIVIDUAL
READING PROFILE
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Analyze their strengths and needs in each component of
reading.
9 Become more aware of the specific skills they need to work
on to become proficient readers.
Materials:
• new copy of “The Components (Parts) of Reading” pie chart
for each learner (full-size photocopyable master on page 31)
Time: 60 minutes
Steps:
1. Reflect on reading skills
• Guide learners to reflect on which of the four components
are strengths and which skills are more difficult for them.
• Encourage learners to help each other think of what they are
good at and to provide specific examples of strengths. It is
extremely helpful if you model this process by pointing out
the specific strengths of a particular learner and providing
specific examples. For example, “I know ‘learning new
vocabulary’ is a strength for you because you use colorful words
when you write” or “I can tell that you are good at ‘understanding
what you read’ because you are able to tell me about the story you
are reading.”
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•
Divide the class in pairs and ask learners to take turns
asking each other the following questions. (Write these
questions on the blackboard or a sheet of newsprint.)
• Which of the four reading components – decoding,
fluency, vocabulary, comprehension – are you
pretty good at?
• How do you know that you are good at these?
• Which are more difficult?
• How do you know these are more difficult?
• Give each learner a new blank copy of the handout “The
Components (Parts) of Reading. Ask learners to mark the
skills in each quadrant of the “pie chart” handout with the
following symbols.
+ sign equals “Good”
- sign equals “Needs Work” or “Is More
Difficult”
+/- sign equals “OK”
Note to Teacher
It may be helpful for
learners to divide their
notebook into four
sections that
correspond to the four
components of
reading: Analyzing
Words & Knowing
Words by Sight,
Reading with Speed
and Ease, Learning
Meaning of Words,
and Understanding
What You Read.
When you hand
something out in
class, learners should
be encouraged to
figure out under which
category the paper
should be filed. In
addition to making
them more aware of
the underlying skills
they are learning, they
are also learning how
to categorize.
• Encourage learners to share their responses with the full
group.
⇒ What surprised you?
⇒ Did you discover that you have some strengths in reading?
⇒ Was your partner able to help you recognize your strengths?
2. Wrap up & reflect
• Ask: Why might it be helpful to think of reading as being made
up of different skills? (Possible answers include: helps to
know all the different things I have to learn in order to
68 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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improve my reading, helps me understand why we do
specific things in class, etc.)
• Ask: What did you learn about your own reading? (Did they
learn that they had some strengths that they hadn’t thought
about before?) Does learning to read feel less or more
overwhelming now? Why?
Understanding What Reading Is All About 69
LESSON ELEVEN: REVIEWING THE
INDIVIDUAL READING PROFILE
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Develop and refine their understanding of their reading
strengths and needs.
9 Generate, in consultation with the teacher, a plan for
reaching their reading goals.
Materials:
• a new, blank copy of “The Components (Parts) of Reading”
pie chart handout identical to the one learners used in the
previous activity (full-size photocopyable master on
page 31)
• learner’s copy of “Strategies for Improving Reading Skills”
pie chart
• pie chart completed by learner in previous lesson
Time: 20-30 minutes for each learner
Steps:
1. Review reading strengths and needs
• Convene an individual conference with each learner to
review his or her reading profile.
• Review the pie chart/reading profile the learner filled out
(learner and teacher together). Ask the following questions:
⇒ What do you think are your strengths in reading?
⇒ How do you know these areas are strengths?
⇒ What things do you feel that you need to work on?
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⇒
How do you know that these are areas of need?
2. Reflect and plan
• Ask the learner the following questions:
⇒ What kinds of things can we do in class that will help you
improve in these particular areas?
⇒ Do you feel that you have a better understanding of your
strengths and needs in reading after doing this activity?
⇒ Do you have any questions for me?
• Review with the learner the strategies the learner feels are
particularly effective, especially in the areas of reading that
have been identified as being areas of need.
• Using the blank chart to record ideas, plan with the learner
additional learning activities to build reading skills.
72 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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LESSON TWELVE: UNDERSTANDING
LEARNING DISABILITIES
Objectives:
Students will be able to:
9 Understand what it means to have a learning disability.
9 Recognize that learning disabilities have no bearing on
intelligence.
9 Understand how they can get tested for a learning disability.
9 Learn some strategies for successfully dealing with a
learning disability.
Materials:
• blackboard
• “What Is a Learning Disability?” quiz (on page 81)
• “Tips for Success” handout (on page 82)
Note to Teacher
For people with
learning disabilities,
some tasks (reading,
writing, understand-
ing or doing math, for
example) are really
difficult. It is
especially frustrating
for people with
learning difficulties
because it seems to
them as if they are the
only ones who are
having trouble. Other
people seem able to
easily do what they
find difficult. This
makes them feel less
intelligent.
Vocabulary
• accommodations
• learning disabilities
Time: 60 minutes
Steps:
1. Experience difficulty with a literacy task
• Give learners the experience of struggling with a task.
9 Ask learners to hold their pencil in the hand they don’t
usually write with.
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9 Ask learners to write their name backwards (more
advanced learner can be required to write their names
backwards and upside down).
9 Ask learners to hold up their work for the rest of their
classmates to see. How do they feel about their work?
How does that make them feel about themselves?
9 Ask what you could have done to make this activity
easier for them.
2. Gauge what you know about learning disabilities
• Find out how much the students already know or think
about learning disabilities. Ask: What do you already know
about “Learning Disabilities”?
• Write what learners say verbatim on the board and refer
back to their comments during the lesson, correcting
misconceptions as you go.
• Give students the “What Is a Learning Disability?” quiz (see
next page; full-size master can be found on page 81). Tell
learners that the “quiz” is just for fun and will help you find
out how much they already know about learning disabilities.
Read each statement aloud. Have learners respond to each
statement by circling “yes” or “no” on their sheet. After
they fill it out, go over the answers with them.
74 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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What Is a Learning Disability?
1. A learning disability is the same as mental retardation.
Yes? No?
2. A learning disability is something you are born with.
Yes? No?
3. A learning disability is something that can be cured by taking medicine.
Yes? No?
4. People with learning disabilities cannot get well-paid jobs.
Yes? No?
5. Learning disabilities are inherited (passed down from one family member to
another).
Yes? No?
6. The brains of people with learning disabilities work differently.
Yes? No?
7. People with learning disabilities are protected against discrimination by the
law.
Yes? No?
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 81)
Answers to “What Is a Learning Disability?” quiz
1. A learning disability is the same as mental retardation.
Note to Teacher
In a recent survey,
80%
of Americans
thought that learning
disabilities and mental
retardation were the
same thing! Discuss
common mispercep-
tions about learning
disabilities with
students.
If, after they are
diagnosed with LD,
they choose to
disclose the presence
of their disability to
someone else, they
will need to be
prepared for how
people might respond
based on their own
ignorance.
No. Learning disabilities are not the same as mental
retardation.
Learning disabilities have nothing to do with intelligence. Most
people with learning disabilities are of average or above
average intelligence. Many famous, brilliant people had (or still
have) learning disabilities. (Einstein, the physicist who is
believed to be one of the smartest people who ever lived, was a
very poor reader and dropped out of school.) It is possible for
someone with mental retardation also to have a learning
disability, but usually people with learning disabilities have
average or above average intelligence.
2. A learning disability is something you are born with.
Yes. Most people who have learning disabilities are born
with them.
Some people, however, acquire a learning disability as the result
of an accident. For example, someone can recover from a coma
and no longer be able to read and/or write.
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3. A learning disability is something that can be cured by taking
medicine.
No. Taking medicine cannot cure a learning disability.
Unfortunately, learning disabilities do not go away even with
appropriate instruction. A person with a disability can,
however, learn to work around their disability. The following
analogy is often helpful: Think of someone who has poor vision
and needs to wear glasses. When they wear their glasses they
can see as well as anyone else. Their limited vision is not a
problem. The poor vision, however, has not gone away. As
soon as they take off the glasses, vision becomes problem.
4. People with learning disabilities cannot get well-paid jobs.
No. People with learning disabilities can be as successful as
anyone else.
Many people with learning disabilities have very high-paying
jobs. (Add some examples here.) The key is learning how to
work around your disability. This is called “compensating.”
5. Learning disabilities are inherited (passed down from one family
member to another).
Yes, usually. Learning disabilities often run in families.
Learning disabilities are usually inherited just like eye color or
height.
6. The brains of people with learning disabilities work differently.
Yes.
We are now able to take pictures of the brain while a person is
doing an activity like reading. These pictures show us that, in
fact, the brains of people with learning disabilities do work
differently. This means that sometimes it may take a little
longer for someone with a disability to do a particular task like
read a word, remember someone’s name, or understand
directions given by a supervisor.
Remember, however, that learning disabilities have nothing to
do with intelligence!
76 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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7. People with learning disabilities are protected against discrimination
by the law.
Yes. The Americans with Disabilities Act makes it illegal to
treat someone with a physical or a learning disability unfairly.
An employer cannot refuse to hire someone because he or she
has a learning disability, as long as he or she can perform the
“essential function” of the job. And schools cannot refuse to
provide services to someone solely on the basis of a learning
disability.
The federal definition of learning disability (which applies to
children and adults) says that, to be eligible for services and
accommodations, a person must have a significant difference
between what an intelligence test indicates he or she can do and
their actual academic performance.
A person with a learning disability is allowed to have certain
“accommodations” (adjustments) in school and on the job.
Accommodations include:
Note to Teacher
In order to get these
accommodations,
however, persons with
disabilities must have
a report (evaluation)
from a doctor that
says that they have a
learning disability and
request specific
accommodations
.
• extra time for tests or to complete job assignments
• a private room for taking tests
• the use of a tape recorder
• large print materials or note takers
• job coaches (someone that helps them on the job)
3. Define “learning disabilities”
• Discuss the definition of “learning disability.” A “learning
disability” usually means that a person is experiencing
significant difficulty with one or more learning skills. For
example, a learning disability may affect one’s ability to
read, write, spell, understand what one reads, do math, pay
attention, or establish relationships with other people.
• Explain: Each of us is good at some things and struggles with
other things. We all have strengths and weaknesses. (Present an
example from your own life.) Just because something is
Understanding What Reading Is All About 77
NCSALL Teaching Materials
difficult for you, however, doesn’t mean you have a learning
disability. A difficulty becomes a ‘learning disability’ only when it
makes it extremely difficult for you to accomplish your goals or
realize your potential. If you are unable to accomplish your goals
(e.g., get a better job, help your children with their homework, pass
the citizenship test or the GED) AND you have been to school, you
may have a learning disability.
• Refer back to the statements on the quiz and elaborate on
each point. Learners should be encouraged to ask questions
at any time. If you do not know the answer, it is perfectly all
right to say: I don’t know but I will try to find out. One good
source of information is the LINCS Literacy and Learning
Disabilities Special Collection found at:
http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu
4. Explain testing for learning disabilities
• Describe the process for being tested for a learning
disability.
Ask: How do you know if you have a learning disability? Can
you take a test?
• Explain: You can get tested for a learning disability by taking
certain tests. These tests measure your general intelligence level
and measure your ability to do certain things like read, write, solve
mathematical problems, or understand (comprehend) what you
read. The doctor will also ask you questions about your past
experiences in school, about your health, and about your family.
In order for the doctor to decide that you have a learning disability,
there must be a gap between what you could do (your potential),
which is measured by the intelligence tests, and how you are
currently doing (what you have already achieved), which is
measured by tests in reading, spelling, math, and other academic
skill areas.
If you are diagnosed with a learning disability, you would be able
to get the accommodations we talked about earlier.
Getting tested for a learning disability can be very expensive
(ranging from $300 to $1,500!). It is expensive because a doctor
78 Understanding What Reading Is All About
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must have special training to give the intelligence tests. It is a
good idea to see if your health insurance will cover the costs of the
testing. Medicaid, which is the federal program that provides free
medical care to people with low incomes, may cover the costs of LD
testing. (Note: In many states, Medicaid is known by a different
name. Ask your local social services agency or public hospital for
more information.)
If you want to get tested for a learning disability, call your local
hospital and ask where you can go. They may ask for a referral
from your regular doctor before they are willing to give you an
appointment.
Note to Teacher
You may want to list
the phone number of
some testing
specialists within your
learners’ community
as a way to help them
take the first step.
5. Discuss strategies for success
• Pass out “Tips for Success,” which appears below (full-size
photocopyable master can be found on page 82).
• Explain each of the tips for success for students with
learning disabilities.
Tips for Success
1. Learn as much as possible about your particular learning disabilities and your
strengths.
2. Learn strategies to compensate (work around) your disability.
3. Get formal documentation from a doctor that includes a diagnosis of a
learning disability and recommendations for accommodations.
4. Ask your doctor to review the report with you and answer your questions.
5. Talk to your teacher and/or your employer about your disability and what kind
of accommodations you will need. Remember that you are only entitled to
accommodations if you have documentation of your learning disability.
6. Focus on the things you are good at so that you are working from your areas
of strength and don’t become discouraged.
7. Be persistent. Don’t give up!!
Take a look at http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.asp?r=742. This is a link
to one of several articles taken from Marshall Raskin’s longitudinal research on
“Success Attributes” of adults with learning disabilities.
The materials found at http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/living_with_ld.htm
are another good source on living with learning disabilities.
(full-size photocopyable master can be found on p. 82)
Understanding What Reading Is All About 79
Teaching Materials NCSALL
Handout: What Is a Learning Disability?
1. A learning disability is the same as mental retardation.
Yes? No?
2. A learning disability is something you are born with.
Yes? No?
3. A learning disability is something that can be cured by taking
medicine.
Yes? No?
4. People with learning disabilities cannot get well-paid jobs.
Yes? No?
5. Learning disabilities are inherited (passed down from one family
member to another).
Yes? No?
6. The brains of people with learning disabilities work differently.
Yes? No?
7. People with learning disabilities are protected against discrimination
by the law.
Yes? No?
Understanding What Reading Is All About 81
NCSALL Teaching Materials
Handout: Tips for Success
1. Learn as much as possible about your particular learning
disabilities and your strengths.
2. Learn strategies to compensate (work around) your disability.
3. Get formal documentation from a doctor that includes a diagnosis
of a learning disability and recommendations for accommodations.
4. Ask your doctor to review the report with you and answer your
questions.
5. Talk to your teacher and/or your employer about your disability and
what kind of accommodations you will need. Remember that you
are only entitled to accommodations if you have documentation of
your learning disability.
6. Focus on the things you are good at so that you are working from
your areas of strength and don’t become discouraged.
7. Be persistent. Don’t give up!!
Take a look at http://www.schwablearning.org/articles.asp?r=742. This
is a link to one of several articles taken from Marshall Raskin’s
longitudinal research on “Success Attributes” of adults with learning
disabilities.
The materials found at http://ldlink.coe.utk.edu/living_with_ld.htm
are another good source on living with learning disabilities.
82 Understanding What Reading Is All About
LESSON THIRTEEN: IMPROVING YOUR
SPELLING (OPTIONAL)
Objectives:
Learners will be able to:
9 Understand the role spelling plays in reading.
9 Discover strategies for spelling phonetically regular and
phonetically irregular words.
Materials:
• poker chips (two different colors)
• blackboard or overhead projector
• scrap paper
Time: 60 minutes
Steps
Note to Teacher
While spelling is not
exactly a “reading skill,”
it is an effective way to
reinforce both word
analysis and word
recognition. Research
consistently indicates
that fluent, skilled
readers (both children
and adults) use their
knowledge of spelling
patterns when they read
and, conversely,
reading itself promotes
a memory of how words
are spelled.
1. Discuss importance of spelling
• Introduce spelling as a skill related to reading.
Explain: Now let’s think about what we need to be able to do to
write words correctly. What do you need to be able to do if you
want to write a letter to a friend or to a family member? (Answer:
Spell)
• Explain how different strategies are used to spell different
kinds of words. Today we are going to learn some strategies for
spelling. The first strategy that I am going to show you is a good
one to use when spelling words that you can sound out. This
strategy will help you hear all the sounds in a word. Then I will
show you a strategy for memorizing the spellings for words that
you cannot sound out.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 83
NCSALL Teaching Materials
2. Demonstrate “poker chip” strategy
• Explain that the “poker chip” strategy is for spelling
phonetically regular words. Hand out five same-colored
poker chips to each learner. These poker chips will
represent the consonant sounds. Each learner also receives
one poker chip of a different color. This poker chip will
represent the vowels. Learners should have a clear work
space to lay out their chips.
• Explain: I am going to say a word and I want you to pull down
one (mention the color of the same-colored chips) chip for each
sound you hear. The word is “zup.” How many sounds do you
hear? There are three sounds so you should pull down three chips.
Now I want you to find the vowel sound and replace the chip with
different-colored chip that will represent the vowel sound. (Make
sure that learners replace the “consonant” chip with the
“vowel” chip.) The total number of sounds (and chips) remains
the same. Now you are ready to spell the word. Write the letter
that corresponds to each chip and let me know when you are ready
for me to check your work.
• Give learners an opportunity to practice using the “poker
chip” strategy for spelling phonetically regular words.
Dictate the following words:
start slip smelt fond trust
• Have learners use the chips to identify the sounds before
they assign letters to the sounds. The teacher should check
that learners identify the correct number of sounds with the
chips before they are allowed to assign letters to the sounds.
3. Demonstrate “sky writing” strategy
• Introduce strategy for spelling phonetically irregular words.
Explain: Now I am going to teach you a strategy for spelling the
“sight words” that you can’t sound out. Research shows that
people learn best when they use more than one sense. Senses mean
our ability to see, hear, touch, smell, and taste. By engaging three
84 Understanding What Reading Is All About
Teaching Materials NCSALL
out of our five senses (seeing, hearing, and touching), the “sky
writing” strategy helps us to remember how words we cannot
sound out “look.” In addition to our ability to see, hear, and
touch, we will use our entire body to help us remember the word.
• Review the following steps and model each step using a
phonetically irregular word such as “they.”
⇒ Write the word in large letters on the blackboard.
⇒ Have learners trace the letters of the word in the air
using their entire arm. (Check to make sure learners
keep their elbows straight.) Point out that they are using
their whole body to remember the order of the letters in
the word.
⇒ Have learners say the name of each letter as they trace
each letter in the air.
⇒ Erase the word and have learners trace the word in the
air again from memory, calling out the name of each
letter as they trace it.
⇒ Have learners “write” the word on the table with their
finger three times, repeating the name of each letter as
they write it.
⇒ Have learners write the word three times on a piece of
scrap paper, covering the word each time they write it
and repeating the letter names as they write them.
Understanding What Reading Is All About 85
GOALS LIST
Name: ______________________________ Date: ________
Interviewer: ___________________
Part I: In your own words, can you tell me your reasons for coming to
school now?
Part II: Here are some goals other students in this program have mentioned.
Tell me if this is something you already can do, something you would
like to do, or something you really have no interest in. (Write YES or
NO and/or Comments after each item.)
Personal
Read/write your name and address:
Read signs (which ones):
Read labels/instructions:
Read/write notes to/from family:
Read and write shopping lists:
Read a calendar, bus schedules, TV guides:
Use a phone book:
Read menus or recipes:
Read bills:
Write checks:
Read maps:
Read information related to health:
Fill out forms:
Read/write personal letters:
Read the newspaper (which sections):
Read magazines (which ones):
Use a dictionary:
Improve handwriting:
Excerpted from Marilyn Gillespie (1990), Many Literacies: Modules for Training Adult Beginning
Readers and Tutors. Amherst, MA: Center for International Education. Reprinted with permission.
Understanding What Reading Is All About: Appendix A 89
Children
Read to your children/grandchildren
Ages:
Help children with homework:
Read/write notes from school:
Take part in school-related meetings and events:
Personal – Books and Writing
Read books for enjoyment (what kind – adventure, mystery, romance, historical,
books about people):
Read books to get information (what kind – personal research, current events,
jobs, children, health, religious, hobbies, entertainment):
Write for yourself (what kinds – journal or diary, experiences you’ve had, advice
for others, your opinions, reports about something you’ve read, your life story or
autobiography, other stories, poems, words to songs):
Work
Fill out a job application:
Use reading to find out about jobs:
Use reading to learn to do your job better or open a business:
Read and write notes from and to co-workers:
Read or write work reports, logs, announcements:
Excerpted from Marilyn Gillespie (1990), Many Literacies: Modules for Training Adult Beginning
Readers and Tutors. Amherst, MA: Center for International Education. Reprinted with permission.
90 Understanding What Reading Is All About: Appendix A
Fill out order forms/lists:
Participate in work-related meetings; take notes:
Community
Register to vote
Apply for citizenship
Read leases/contracts
Apply for a library card
Take the driving test
Participate in community meetings/clubs/religious meetings
Join a group to work on a problem
Publish a newsletter or other writing
Education
Attend a job training program
Attend classes to learn something new (hobbies, self-improvement)
Pass a work-related test
Get a GED
Part III: Can you think of any other goals you have which we have not
mentioned?
Part IV: Of all the goals we mentioned, name two or three which are important
to you right now.
Excerpted from Marilyn Gillespie (1990), Many Literacies: Modules for Training Adult Beginning
Readers and Tutors. Amherst, MA: Center for International Education. Reprinted with permission.
Understanding What Reading Is All About: Appendix A 91
NCSALL’s Mission
NCSALL’s purpose is to improve practice in educational programs that serve adults with
limited literacy and English language skills, and those without a high school diploma. NCSALL
is meeting this purpose through basic and applied research, dissemination of research findings,
and leadership within the field of adult learning and literacy.
NCSALL is a collaborative effort between the Harvard Graduate School of Education,
World Education, The Center for Literacy Studies at The University of Tennessee, Rutgers
University, and Portland State University. NCSALL is funded by the U.S. Department of
Education through its Institute of Education Sciences (formerly Office of Educational Research
and Improvement).
NCSALL’s Research Projects
The goal of NCSALL’s research is to provide information that is used to improve practice in
programs that offer adult basic education, English for speakers of other languages, and adult
secondary education services. In pursuit of this goal, NCSALL has undertaken research
projects in four areas: (1) learner persistence, (2) instructional practice and the teaching/learning
interaction, (3) professional development, and (4) assessment.
NCSALL’s Dissemination Initiative
NCSALL’s dissemination initiative focuses on ensuring that practitioners, administrators, policy
makers, and scholars of adult education can access, understand, judge and use research
findings. NCSALL publishes Focus on Basics, a quarterly magazine for practitioners; Focus on
Policy, a twice-yearly magazine for policy makers; Review of Adult Learning and Literacy, an
annual scholarly review of major issues, current research, and best practices; and NCSALL
Reports and Occasional Papers, periodic publications of research reports and articles. In addition,
NCSALL sponsors the Connecting Practice, Policy, and Research Initiative, designed to help
practitioners and policy makers apply findings from research in their instructional settings and
programs.
For more about NCSALL, to download free copies of our publications, or to purchase
bound copies, please visit our Web site at:
www.ncsall.net
