Blog # 3 Reading and
Oral Language
The
relationship between oral language and the reading process is a hot-button
issue for me right now! I teach a
reading intervention to third, fourth, and fifth graders to help students
decode multisyllabic words efficiently.
The students were selected for the intervention because they are ELL’s
identified as not making adequate growth in reading, based on DIBELS data. (DIBELS is a measure of their oral reading
fluency.) It’s a good program. I don’t
mind teaching it. I have seen that it
does help kids read multisyllabic words accurately. What I do mind is what I am being asked to do
after the intervention lesson.
Kids are asked to apply their decoding
skills in self-selected texts. This
sounds great! After several years at my
school when there was very little time for students to read books of their
choice, this is exciting! However, kids
must select texts that are at their instructional
level so they get several opportunities to apply the decoding skills they are
learning during the intervention lesson.
Unfortunately, students are not understanding what they are reading
because too many of the words they are decoding are not part of their oral
language.
I agree with the sociolinguistic
view that reading is a process of constructing meaning, just like
speaking. As explained by Freeman and
Freeman (2004), “When people read texts that are comprehensible and
interesting, they become more proficient readers and writers” (p. 25). My difficulty is finding texts at the
instructional level that are comprehensible for my English language learners. The level at which they can decode is above
the level at which they can comprehend.
Resource:
Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential
linguistics, what you need to know to teach reading, esl, spelling, phonics,
and grammar. Heinemann Educational Books.
You bring up a great point--decoding is the basest level of reading, and it does not necessarily mean that students are understanding what they appear to be reading fluenty. Though I teach at the secondary level, my understanding is that DIBLES doesn't address this discrepancy, and is more a measure of how accurately a kid can "beat the test" than how they can demonstrate their learning. I think the trick is to find those High-Low books that are age appropriate but instructionally appropriate as well. I wish there was a tool that helped us understand why certain books receive the lexile they do--is it based on the content and level of difficulty for comprehension, or is it because of the vocabulary?
ReplyDeleteHere's an answer to your question from the lexile.com website-
DeleteA Lexile text measure is based on two strong predictors of how difficult a text is to comprehend: word frequency and sentence length. Many other factors affect the relationship between a reader and a book, including its content, the age and interests of the reader, and the design of the actual book. The Lexile text measure is a good starting point in the book-selection process, with these other factors then being considered.
I would also find this frustrating as a teacher. It is like teaching a kid to swim and then immediately throwing them into the deep end. I think that the reading level of the books they choose should only slightly be above their reading level. That way they have the opportunity to practice sporadically, rather than constantly. You also don't want your students to hate reading because it is too hard and frustrating.
ReplyDeleteYour frustration is very valid and one that I think many teachers have. If it is hard enough for a literacy teacher to find the proper text for a student to chose from, it will be impossible for a content area teacher to find an appropriate text that explains biology, world history, or algebra. One of the great dilemmas that exist in education. Too bad we all cannot write great books ourselves to meet the needs of our students. :-) - Matt
ReplyDelete