About two years ago, teachers at North Asheboro Middle School and South Asheboro Middle School used When Kids Can't Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teacher 6-12 as a book study. Now, Asheboro High School teachers have copies to read and use for independent study. Carla Shinn, media specialist at Asheboro High School has outlined Chapter 2 from Beers' text. Here is a great review for the NAMS and SAMS crew and a warm up for AHS teachers.
When Kids Can’t Read
What Teachers Can Do: A
Guide for Teachers 6-12
Beers, Kylene. When Kids Can’t Read, What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers 6-12.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 2003. Print.
Chapter 2: Creating Independent Readers………………………….………….………..8
In order to
determine why struggling readers cannot read, multiple aspects of reading must
be addressed, beginning with defining the term struggling reader. Beers
describes various types of readers struggling with text and notes that anyone can struggle, given the right
text. The issue is what the reader does
when the text becomes difficult for him.
She puts readers into two categories: independent and dependent.
She describes strategies an independent reader can rely on when dealing with
difficult text such as figuring out what is confusing them and setting goals for
getting through the reading.
By contrast,
dependent readers stop and may appeal to the teacher or an outside source for
help.
1. Lack of cognitive abilities to read.
They might struggle with comprehension, vocabulary, word recognition, or
fluency and automaticity.
2.
Negative
attitudes toward reading. Students may have become so disengaged from the
reading process that whether or not they have the cognitive abilities does not
matter. She says that these readers lack social and emotional reading
confidence.
3.
Readers
who do not know what types of books they might enjoy or what range of genres
exists for them to read. Additionally they may lack the ability to
stick with a difficult text or the stamina to find or complete a text.
When text is difficult:
Independent Readers
|
Dependent or Struggling Readers
|
Identify what is confusing them
Set goals to get through the reading
Use strategies for getting through the text
|
Stop reading
Ask for help
Read through without understanding
|
Over time, Beers came to realize that dependent readers’
problems could be grouped into three areas:
She goes into
more detail of the three areas and emphasizes that as one area improves, others
do, too. She also notes that the areas commingle and create a ricochet
effect. Dealing with one area creates a
momentum that positively affects other areas.
Beers suggests that there are three
types of confidences that readers need to be successful: cognitive, social and
emotional, and text confidence.
·
Cognitive
confidence allows readers to comprehend texts, monitor their understanding,
determine meaning of words, and to read with fluency.
·
Social
and emotional confidence allows students to be willing and active
participants in a community of readers, to read for enjoyment and information,
and to have a positive attitude toward reading.
·
With text
confidence students develop the stamina to continue reading difficult texts
and to find authors and genres that interest them.
Three Types of Confidences Successful
Readers Need
Cognitive Confidences
·
Comprehend texts
·
Monitor understanding
·
Determine meaning of words
·
Read with fluency
|
Social & Emotional Confidence
·
Be willing and active readers
·
Read for enjoyment and information
·
Have a positive attitude toward reading
|
Stamina and Enjoyment
·
Develop the stamina to continue reading difficult
texts
·
Find authors and genres that interest them
|
~Carla Shinn
