STRIVING READERS “There’s no such thing as a kid who hates reading. There are just kids who love reading, and kids who are reading the wrong books. We need to help them find the right books.” —James Patterson, award-winning novelist and founder of ReadKiddoRead
KEY FINDINGS
> > “Children must have easy—literally fingertip—access to authentic texts that provide engaging, successful reading experiences throughout the calendar year if we want them to read in volume (Klein, 2018; Johnston, 2010). > > Authentic texts—unlike contrived texts that are put together to teach a skill—allow students to think and feel about what they read. Students discover favorite books while developing a love for reading. In addition to the benefits of motivating learners, arousing their interest, and exposing them to the language that they will encounter in the real world, authentic materials enable successful language learning (Bridges, 2018; Miller and Sharp, 2018; Klein, 2018; Scharer et al., 2018; Harvey andWard, 2017). > > Teachers play a pivotal role in helping their students find the will to read and the thrill of succeeding (Duke et al., 2011). Successful teachers, without fail, do three things: • Provide their students with the instructional scaffolding they need to succeed—most effectively delivered in small group or one on one (Richardson and Lewis, 2018; Scharer et al., 2018; Harvey and Ward, 2017). • Match their students with books that they can read with enjoyment and deep comprehension (Klein, 2018; Harvey and Ward, 2017). Hooking students with terrific content isn’t just fun—it’s the key to our students’ success. As Duke, Pearson, and Billman (2011) remind us, “Motivation is highly correlated with learning in general and reading comprehension, in particular.” • Balance text complexity with task complexity. When students tackle a new genre, structure, or topic, provide more scaffolding for the complex text but also set an easier reading response task for them. If students are reading their preferred genre or reading about their favorite topic, challenge them to read a book at a higher text level but also suggest they take on a more challenging reader’s response task (Klein, 2017).
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STRIVING READERS
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