Reaching All Readers with Grade Level Text
One of the most common questions we hear at Novel is: how can I support students not yet reading on grade level to access grade-level texts?
Creating access to grade level text
Ms. Cahill at Renaissance Academy for the Arts has pulled a small group during the Tier 1 block.
Organizations like TNTP and UnboundED have done amazing work highlighting that all students need access to grade-level work. We know that when students are denied access to grade-level content and given easier work, it creates a vicious cycle; and ultimately, students below grade level never “catch up” because we are not exposing them to the content, skills, and vocabulary that grade-level work provides. Many teachers and leaders are craving more concrete advice on how to provide students access to grade-level work when students are reading below grade level.
This is a complex problem. There’s no perfect study or research that’s shown us how to support students who aren’t reading at grade level. But we can look at existing research to find concrete strategies to help our students now.
Below, we’ve compiled a list of “Dos and Don’ts” for teachers and leaders who want to give students currently reading below grade level access to grade-level work. Just note that in addition to embedding these strategies into Tier 1 instruction, we also advise that schools create targeted intervention time outside of the main block to support students in developing foundational skills.
Do’s for Giving Access to Grade Level Text:
DO create opportunities for rereading: This sounds almost too easy, but giving students opportunities to reread the text for multiple reasons is one of the simplest ways to support students. Research has shown that simply having students read text multiple times raises their comprehension of a text and builds their comprehension skills overall. Shanahan outlines the body of research that supports this idea in this blog post here.
DO use audiobooks to scaffold learning: Give students access to audiobooks or recordings of the text before class. Have students follow along and still complete HW assignments but give them a model of fluent reading of the text. Then when they are asked to reread the text in class they can reread with greater independence.
DO leverage read aloud and choral reading: Many middle school and high school classrooms default to students reading independently. Don’t get me wrong—we need students to read independently—but read aloud and choral reading are two ways that you can model fluent reading and help students tackle multisyllabic words. When you have students engage in choral reading or follow along as you read aloud, you can then prompt them to reread the text to answer text-dependent questions.
DO leverage partner reading: During partner reading, we recommend that the more proficient reader reads aloud first and the other partner follows along. Then, the second partner can either reread what their partner read or read the next chunk of text. After partners have read a set amount of text, have them stop and summarize. Research has shown that starting with students summarizing each paragraph is effective.
DO chunk the text for students: Having students stop more frequently to answer text-dependent questions or summarize the text is another way to support students. Instead of having students answer a series of questions at the end of a selection of text or write a 1-2 summary at the end of a selection, mark up a copy of the text with more frequent stopping points.
DO build and access background knowledge: As part of your planning, make sure that you are thinking about the knowledge that students need in order to access the material. If there is key background knowledge they need frontload this knowledge using a short article, video, or image. If you previously taught this information give students opportunities to remember or access thing knowledge before they start reading.
DO frontload vocabulary: Identify a handful of words that are critical to understanding the the text. Then provides students with a student friendly definition and examples of the word in context. Finally, give all students opportunity to practice using the vocabulary words.
DON’Ts for Giving Access to Grade Level Text:
DON’T provide easier texts: When you edit the core text to be easier or find alternative easier texts on the same topic students are not getting exposure to more rigorous vocabulary and ideas. In fact, there is actually almost no research that supports the idea that matching students to leveled texts is the best instructional method. Here is research summarized here by Kathryn Hasting explaining how reading complex texts is a better use of time.
DON’T only have kids listen to grade-level texts: While audiobooks and reading aloud can be incredible scaffolds, you don’t want these to be the only ways that kids interact with the text. When we have students just listen to books we are building their listening comprehension. Make sure you give students opportunities to read or reread at least some sections of the text independently.
DON’T change the rigor of the task: Don’t have students focus on a lower-level task than what grade level peers are ultimately responsible for. For example, if the goal of the lesson is to ultimately determine HOW the author develops the point of view of the character, don’t lower the rigor of the lesson and instead ask a student to identify the character’s point of view.
DON’T engage in think-alouds that do all the heavy lifting for kids: While doing short think alouds about how you as a reader analyzed a text can be powerful, be careful that your think aloud does not do all of the heavy lifting for kids about a text. Sometimes inadvertently, teachers will model analyzing a text so thoroughly or for such an extended period of time that when students are released to independent practice there are few new insights that they can draw from the text.
DON’T have advanced students read the entire text to less proficient students: During partner reading, you want to give both partners opportunities for reading. If you ask only the more advanced reader to read you are again turning a reading task into a listening comprehension task.
DON’T assume that students that no background knowledge: Before you launch a unit take a quick pulse check of what students might already know about a topic or check to see what content they were taught before. This will help you gauge the types of knowledge you need to build and allow you to take an asset-based mindset with your students.
DON’T give students a long list of dictionary definitions: As Beck, McKowen, and Kucan outline giving students dictionary definitions of vocabulary is often ineffective. Students really need definitions that are in student-friendly language. Likewise, they also point out that kids need concrete examples of the vocabulary used and opportunities to engage with the meanings of words.
At Novel, we enjoy supporting our partner schools with the above strategies to support all learners in having access to grade level work. If you’re interested in learning more about our work partnering with schools to design strong literacy programs, or if you’re just a literacy fan hoping to thought partner with friends in the work, please send us a line!
