Evaluating the interventions for struggling adolescent readers. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Shipped, et al. (2005). A Comparison of Two Direct Instruction Reading Programs for Urban Middle School Students. Remedial and Special Education. 26(3), 177-182. Introduction The purpose Of this article is to determine Whether or not language arts intervention programs increase student achievement.
My results were based on analyzing standardized test scores Of basic and below students in sixth through eighth grade. Procedure Students who do not meet greet level standards are given the opportunity to participate in intervention classes that remedial skills are essential for academic success. The goals of the intervention programs are to provide extra support for students to become proficient in reading. The question is not whether these programs provide the much-needed support, but whether students are making substantial gains in the subject area of our focus, Language Arts.
An article in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (November, 2006) stated that the United States Department of Education reports that more than 8 million students in grades 4-12 are struggling readers and National Assessment of Educational progress data from 2002 indicate that of the 8th grade students and of the 12th grade students who were tested performed at or above a “proficient” level. One teacher is responsible for 150-200 students on a daily basis. It is extremely difficult for teachers to meet the needs of epoch readers.
Intense, direct, and explicit instruction in reading is critical to close the accompaniment gap (Shipped, et al. , 2005). Poor readers may know the skills and strategies that are essential for becoming a good reader, but do know how Or when to apply them. A study conducted by Shipped on seventh grade students in reading. After a short six-week intervention, they showed gains in word reading efficiency, reading rate, reading accuracy, and reading fluency. Middle school reading intervention programs are not successful in contribution to gains on denaturized tests.
One contributing factor may be that the loss of electives may decrease student motivation. Another factor may be that students who are Far Below Basic and are required to take a “double dose” remediation class have a negative pre-disposition towards the subject. Language profiles were also explored. Children faith reading difficulties showed weaknesses in phonological awareness and literacy as well as nonpolitical oral language skills and nonverbal reasoning. During the intervention, the intervention group made significantly greater progress than the control group in early overdo reading, phoneme awareness and phonetic spelling.
Over a 6-Rooney follow-up period, the intervention group maintained its gains but during this time made significantly less progress on single word reading, phoneme awareness and phonetic spelling than the control group. These findings provide evidence that reading interventions can be delivered effectively in standard educational settings. We argue that a better understanding of how to manage withdrawal of intervention ND how to address poor readers’ additional oral language weaknesses is needed.
Educators need unbiased, meaningful data on the types of programs likely to help their low-achieving students. Schools should focus on everyday classroom teaching and include various forms of cooperative learning and phonics-oriented programs. Not only does this benefit the children who are struggling to read, but the whole class. On the contrary, traditional instructional technology programs, which use computer-assisted instruction software, were found to have little impact on struggling readers. Results Tailor instruction to his learning style.
Some students are visual learners, some are auditory learners, and some are hands-on learners, By teaching with a variety of learning styles, you provide opportunities for him to succeed in his area of learning. Give frequent praise. Learning to read is difficult and can easily turn into a stressful experience. Your praise will help create a positive reading experience. Provide goal-based praise rather than person-oriented praise, such as, “You did a great job sounding out those words” rather than, “I’m proud of oh. ” This Will help him focus on the task he accomplished well.
If students are motivated to read, theft likely to keep reading and progressing on their own. But Without the extrinsic motivators your classroom provides-?things like recognition, grades, and competition-?your readers might do significantly less reading (and make significantly less progress) over the school year. Luckily, your students will have access to another powerful motivator: their parents. Implications for Educators It should also be noted that while any one program may help struggling adders, none is a “cure-all” solution.
As a language arts expert in this paper observed, “It’s not just the method, it’s the teacher. ” Teacher knowledge, training, and skill are essential to implementing any program that focuses on struggling readers. It appears likely, however, that teachers will have more success when they use programs that incorporate phonics, reading for meaning, tutoring, and an at-home component. Struggling readers’ can and will make progress in their reading abilities when taught by informed and committed educators,
