Transcript Inspiring Students to Better Reading

Inspiring Students to Better
Reading Comprehension
Dr. Kevin Gericke
Professor, Economics & Statistics
West Kentucky Community & Technical College
INTRODUCTION
•How many of you read books for
pleasure as a child or young adult?
INTRODUCTION
•How many of you read a book for
pleasure last year?
INTRODUCTION
•Approximately what percent of adults don’t read a single
book in a year?
– 10%?
– 25%?
– 50%?
One in Four Read No Books Last Year
Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:58 PM EDT
Alan Fram, AP Writer
WASHINGTON — There it sits on your night stand, that book you've meant to read for who knows how long but
haven't yet cracked open. Tonight, as you feel its stare from beneath that teetering pile of magazines, know
one thing — you are not alone.
One in four adults read no books at all in the past year, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll released
Tuesday. Of those who did read, women and older people were most avid, and religious works and popular
fiction were the top choices.
The survey reveals a nation whose book readers, on the whole, can hardly be called ravenous. The typical
person claimed to have read four books in the last year — half read more and half read fewer. Excluding those
who hadn't read any, the usual number read was seven.
THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION
•How can I help my students improve their
reading comprehension of the material in
my class?
•Introduction
•How did West KY Comm. & Tech. College arrive at a project to
improve reading comprehension?
•What are some easy classroom strategies to improve reading
comprehension?
Do I Have to?
READING AT WKCTC
•Focus on Reading
• Quality Enhancement Plan required for
accreditation
• National scores indicate not all students
entering college have adequate reading skills
for college-level courses.
“Fully 31% of all graduates did not meet any of the College
Readiness Benchmarks... Twenty-six percent of ACT-tested
high-school graduates met all four benchmarks.”
ACT College Readiness Report, 2013
“In reading, 44% of graduates met the Reading Benchmark.”
ACT College Readiness Report, 2013
FOCUS ON READING
• Professional Development activities for
faculty/staff
• Faculty Learning Circle
• Campus-wide PD training
• Website of resources for faculty and students
FOCUS ON READING
• Creating a culture of literacy through
activities for college community
• Increased library collections
• Outdoor furniture and displays
• One Book reading & author
events
FOCUS ON READING
• Our role as teachers of a discipline has
required some “adjustment”
FOCUS ON READING
• Not everyone reads the
same way we did in college
CLASSROOM STRATEGIES
•Informal
•5 strategies
•Formal
•3 strategies
INFORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES #1
•Just talk about reading!
•Model good reading behavior
•Let students know what you’re reading.
•Post a discussion board forum
•Newspapers in Education
INFORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES #2
•Show them how to use the textbook
• Students need to quickly become familiar with the
author’s style
•Show them the features!
•All textbooks have certain elements to add to the
reading. We just need to point them out.
•What features do authors typically use to help
students?
INFORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES #3
•MAKE them read!
•If they ask a question and the
answer is in front of them, MAKE
them find it!
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• Syllabus Crossword
• Teach them to skim
headings to find
answers
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Created with EclipseCrossword — www.eclipsecrossword.com
INFORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES #4
•Remind them to FOCUS!
INFORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES #5
•3-2-1 activity
USE “POPULAR” LITERATURE
USE THE COMICS!
FORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES
•Some require very little time to create
and implement
•Some require more time and creativity
FORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES #1
GUIDED READING STRATEGIES
•Anticipation Guide
•Identify the main issue in the reading
•Consider what the students are likely to believe
about the topic.
•Write general statements about their beliefs
•Have students respond to those statements
FORMAL CLASSROOM
STRATEGIES #1
GUIDED READING STRATEGIES
•Before/During/After
•Before reading questions
•During reading questions
•After reading questions
Formal Classroom Strategies #1
Guided Reading Strategies
•Topic, Restriction, Illustration
•Skim to find the topic
•Find “restrictions” to the topic
•Provide illustrations to strengthen the topic
Formal Classroom Strategies #1
Guided Reading Strategies
•Skim to find the topic
•impact of unemployment on human lives
Formal Classroom Strategies #1
Guided Reading Strategies
•What information narrows or restricts the general
statement or topic?
•“the unemployment rate by itself doesn’t
measure the full impact”
•Other data shows more of an impact than just the
number
Formal Classroom Strategies #1
Guided Reading Strategies
•What examples provide an illustration of the topic
or restriction?
•Millions were discouraged workers
•Increased murders, strokes, heart disease, and
suicides
Formal Classroom Strategies #1
Guided Reading Strategies
•Summarize the reading
•While the unemployment rate provides a
measure of the health of our nation’s economy,
the number, but itself, doesn’t show the full
picture. When there is increased unemployment,
lives are impacted on a personal level, resulting in
health consequences and psychological effects.
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
•Venn Diagrams
•Find differences and similarities between the three types of
memory
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
Scarcity: Resources
are limited and we
always want more
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
•Classification Notes
•Find main topics and write short notes from each main topic
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
China’s economy has
been growing
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
China’s economy has
been growing
•GDP grew at 7.9%
•Up from 6.9%
•Gov’t had a goal of 8.1%
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
China’s economy has
been growing
Government has helped
•GDP grew at 7.9%
•Building high-speed rails
•Up from 6.9%
•Gov’t directs state bank
•Gov’t had a goal of 8.1% to make loans
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
China’s economy has
been growing
Government has helped
There are concerns
•GDP grew at 7.9%
•Building high-speed rails •Concern about quality of
•Up from 6.1%
•Gov’t directs state bank the data
•Gov’t had a goal of 8.1% to make loans
•Country grew, but
electricity use was lower?
Formal Classroom Strategies #2
Graphic Organizers
What is the concept or principle?
Problem from front side
Chapter? Page?
1.
Write the problem.
2.
Write each step of the problem.
3.
1.
2.
Solution
3.
Solution
2nd problem on back.
Where is it located?
Right side: explain
(How, what, why)
Formal Classroom Strategies #3
Intensive activities
•Carousel
•Each group gets a short amount of time to write down the
information they know about the topic on the handout.
•Then it is passed to the next group to add to it.
•As the easier pieces of information are placed on the paper,
give a little more time for groups to add their knowledge.
Formal Classroom Strategies #3
Intensive activities
•What is required to be a successful cook at home?
Formal Classroom Strategies #3
Intensive activities
•What is required to be a successful cook at home?
•Equipment used
•Measurements
•Ingredients
•Recipes
Do I Have to?
READING AT WKCTC
•Focus on Reading
• Increased reading comprehension scores
• Measured by Nelson Denny Test of Reading
Comprehension
• Students becoming more aware across campus of
importance of reading
• Increased library use and increased use of
reading strategies in classes