Explicit Instruction

The benefits English language learners (ELLs) receive from Guided Reading are the same as all other students. However, when a modified approach is used ELLs benefit the most. Language learning opportunities gained by ELLs are those that native speakers acquire implicitly. Language and literacy learning opportunities including detailed vocabulary instruction, variables concerning second language (L2) text structure, such as semantics, syntax, and morphology are enhanced and enriched by modification. Some researchers have determined that ELLs are not generally ready for English reading instruction until they are intermediate stage of English language acquisition, while others advocate that reading and a second language are best acquired simultaneously (Avalos, Plasencia, Chavez, & Rascon, 2007, 319). In working with ELLs at

My early reading experiences reflect the history that Vogt and Shearer (2011) describe in the first chapter of Reading Specialists and Literacy Coaches in the Real World. The basal reading programs of the 1970s and 1980s included “leveled readers, phonics activities, and a great deal of comprehension skill practice, usually found on the pages of the accompanying workbooks. The programs also included highly structured, detailed teacher’s guides, with different lesson plans for each of the three instructional groups” (Vogt & Shearer, 2011, p.13).

Many students were reading below grade level, and Tyner needed an intensive reading model that could fill in the gaps of each student’s literacy. She began using a basal reading program called Early Steps (Morris, Tyner, & Perney, 2000). Tyner decided to use some of the components of Early Steps to develop her own reading model that would focus on the needs of beginning and struggling readers. The Small-Group Differentiated Reading Model consists of a framework specifically designed for beginning and struggling readers so that they may progress through the appropriate developmental stages and become proficient

he most fundamental responsibility of schools is teaching students to read. Indeed, the future success of all students hinges upon their ability to become proficient readers. Recent scientific studies have allowed us to understand more than ever before how literacy develops, why some children have difficulty, and what constitutes best instructional practice. Scientists now estimate that fully 95 percent of all children can be taught to read. Yet, in spite of all our knowledge, statistics reveal an alarming prevalence of struggling and poor readers that is not limited to any one segment of society:

To help increase Joe’s ability to read his writing aloud, the teacher can provide content instruction and timely feedback. In my strategies for Joe’s second goal I emphasized that “Students need to be able to connect the tasks of an assignment to their own

Presently there is a rising number of English Language Learners (ELLs) entering into classrooms all over the country. According to the three research studies that I utilized, there are several varied assessment approaches for teaching ELLs in reading (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). English Language Learners (ELLs) consistently struggle with some aspects of reading because, they lack background knowledge in terms of the generalized text selections, which they are often given (Davis-Lenski, Ehlers-Zavala, Daniel, & Sun-Irminger, 2006; Dreher, & Letcher-Gray, 2009; Ebe, 2010). The data across all three journal documents agrees that there is an achievement gap where ELLs

Reading is a means of language acquisition, of communication, and of sharing information which is essential in being a productive member of society. If and when a student missed an opportunity to learn the skills necessary for reading, it’s has a profound impact on their lives. As educators we realize that teaching all children to read requires that every child receive excellent reading instruction. We are also aware that children, who are struggling with reading must receive

Roehrig, Pressley, and Sloup (2001) state that teachers should determine what strategies a student might be using when reading and then assist them in learning

Research indicates that among students, poor readers evolve into poor thinkers, devoid of strategies to structure the writing assignments that contribute to academic success (Alfassi, 2004, p.1), and teachers who fail to model effective literacy strategies to their students, simply compound the problem. For educators attempting to meet the diverse range of learning needs, the ever increasing number of students with learning difficulties is overwhelming. The decisions regarding the types of interventions and the limited research on numerous strategies currently available are both misleading and confusing. However Walker, (2004) warn that reliance on untested methods and dependence on strategies that have limited evidence have resulted in unrealistic and unreasonable expectations for students. Significantly whilst there has been an exponential increase in research evidence collected around many popular interventions, there is very little

The program being evaluated in this paper is an intervention program that is used with Tier 2 students who need more intensive reading instruction. The program is called Enhanced CORE. It is designed to correlate with the district purchased reading curriculum called Journeys published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The program is designed to pre-teach students skills that they will be learning during the core instruction time period in order to give them extra exposure to the curriculum as well as extra practice with phonics and fluency skills. Consequently, students are getting a preview of all the phonics skills, high frequency words and reading practice before it is taught to the whole class in order to help

A doctor once said ‘the more that you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you’ll go’. That doctor was, of course, Dr Suess in his book 1978 book, I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!. Reading is the orchestration of many skills. It is much more than simply decoding words. The National Reading Panel Report (A Closer Look, 2004, p. 1) summarised a child’s reading process and teachers’ effective reading instruction into five essential components. These five critical elements are phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Each element is individually important; however, each cannot occur independently of one an other. The most effective way to teach these elements is through a balanced

Jayden is an ESOL student who has strong speaking, listening, and writing skills but is considered intermediate with his reading skills. He has problems decoding reading and even greater problems with getting a deeper understanding from reading, for instance, making inferences. He approaches language for its socially informative aspect. He prefers social interaction to solve problems and to make clarifications on something he does not understand. If he doesn’t understand a text or a word he will usually ask a friend first or the teacher, depending on who is more accessible at the time. He is also motivated by the social aspect of learning and therefore benefits from learning in cooperative learning environments rather than individual ones. He also leans toward looking for answers via oral communication first, rather than looking back at the text and reading for the information. Jayden lacks personal strategies for learning, especially in regards to reading and writing. His strategies have

However, the second method being discussed in this paper, the whole language approach, focuses much of its attention on making sure the student understands and enjoys what he or she is reading. Whole language instruction occurs when a student acquires language rather than learning it through direct instruction (Brooks 35-36). This method is more child centered than teacher dominated, because the objective is for the student to learn how to read through talking and doing rather than through passive listening. Unlike phonics, whole language uses a variety of ways to give students the opportunity to interact with the text they are reading. Questioning, discussing, problem-solving, listening, writing, drawing, and dramatizing are among the ways students interact with text. Students are also encouraged to implement simple strategies while reading such as: reading the sentence and guessing what word will come next, looking at the picture on the page to help figure out the sentence, and also rereading the sentence for clarification. This method also does a good job in allowing the students to engage in text at their own speed and often in their own ways (36).

Many students around the United States have reading difficulties, which can be due to a variety of reason such as: low socioeconomic status, family history of learning disabilities, a neurological disorder, limited exposure, etc. Reading difficulties can lead to further problems with education and learning, therefore the struggles should be addressed and intervention techniques should be implemented promptly. The interventions need to be individualized for the student based on their needs in order to improve the student’s reading to the best of their abilities.

Explicit instruction is important in connecting to prior knowledge and skills when beginning a learning sequence (Australian Curriculum and Reporting Authority, 2016). It helps to lay the foundational areas of reading and literacy as a whole in the early years of schooling. Effective reading instruction builds on what children already know, how students learn and on what degree of support they need to become successful in reading/learn and apply new information (Archer, 2011, p.18). Here the idea of scaffolding is evident where “the support provided by the teacher (or another student)…bridge(s) the gap between their current abilities and the intended goal” (Rupley, Blair and Nichols, 2009, p.129). It is important for students who are learning something new, to have the opportunity to have it explained, the opportunity to apply that information guided by their teachers and the opportunity to apply it independently (Archer, 2011). Through an explicit approach the responsibility for learning shifts from teacher to student as they gain confidence and competence with reading. Reading is not an automatic process and must be taught, “explicitly, systematically, early and well” (National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy, 2005, as cited in Hempenstall, 2016,p.5). Building on this, it is not enough for explicit instruction to be effective; it must also be efficient so that students can meet outcomes as soon as possible and are given the opportunity to apply it. This highlights