Working with struggling readers in middle school is a challenging task, particularly when the students read three or more grade levels below their same grade peers. Determining whether it’s a skill vs. will issue typically is the first thought that comes to mind when I work with my classroom of readers. Certainly, the easy way out is to blame the elementary teachers and when the same students enter high school the blame shifts to the middle school teachers. Taking the time to find the right strategies, resources, and tools is paramount in keeping the students from falling further behind in dealing with informational texts, and get them prepared for the future. Students who are unable to handle complex text are set up to flounder in core classes such as science and social studies. As educators, we must find a way to close the performance gap. Enter into the picture is the reading intervention teacher who can work with the students, as well as assist core teachers with methods to help teachers adapt and make reading content palpable for all students.
I’ve taught at Winburn Middle School in Lexington for 15 years in the roles of Reading Specialist, Language Arts teacher, and Reading Intervention teacher. Currently, I’m one of the two Reading Intervention teachers who teaches mixed classes of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who scored Novice on KPREP. These students failed to meet the grade level benchmark for MAP testing in the spring the previous school year as well as the current fall. Many of these students scored 30 or more points from the expected RIT MAP score. In other words, our kids are super behind. How can we work with text at the students’ reading level, but have the content and vocabulary necessary for grade level standards?
Mixing students from different grade levels is challenging in itself. Eighth graders reading at a third grade level along with sixth graders in the same position is daunting. Eighth graders believe they have no issue with reading. They can read the text out loud, but lack comprehension and recall of the text. Sixth graders are a bit more malleable. They are willing to work to make up the deficits of three years to catch up. Fluency and comprehension are areas that most often need addressing with informational text that is complex.
Students will tell me “I hate to read” “This is boring” when it comes to informational text, for they feel the disconnect with topics they see no connection or relevance. They are willing and wanting to read fictional text for it is more enjoyable and easier to understand. Fictional text allows the escape and choice they crave. The shift to more informational text and less fictional can lead to students not feeling invested in reading. Because intervention classes focus solely on informational text to help students with comprehension and fluency deficits, some students feel frustrated or overwhelmed. This feeling can often lead to total shutdown on completing work or the dreaded discipline issues due to avoidance. This is a concern I have with focusing on teaching one genre of text. Students don’t experience the coupling of informational with literary texts which can promote a clearer understanding. This absence of flexibility can lead to a scripted classroom instruction if not handled properly.
As an intervention teacher of reading, I look to find creative ways to introduce students to the informational texts I’m required to teach that are part of the online reading program ACHIEVE 3000 my school has invested thousands of dollars into the past four years. The program has yielded growth for students of two to three grade levels in Lexile in a year, with the average student growing one Lexile year of 70 points. Students in my opinion who yield the greatest growth are the students who didn’t take testing seriously and now don’t want to be in an intervention class. They figured out they're missing an Exploratory class and face a double block of Language Arts/Intervention class the next school year. Students who legitimately scored below 500 this can be a steep mountain to climb to get out of a reading intervention setting.
This current school year, over half of my students scored below 500 on the initial ACHIEVE 3000 Level Set score to determine their reading Lexile. Taking a close look at this is why I chose to focus my Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions (CTEPS) project on strategies to use with my students.
As part of my project, I introduced and used throughout the year strategies students could use with informational text. We worked on a hard copy of an article together weekly, using close read annotations, Frayer Model for vocabulary, and a variety of before, during, and after reading. I modeled with the students the Read Around the Text and BIG FOX as pre-reading strategies to engage students with text meaning and text features with our weekly anchor text. Students once they got the hang of the strategies were able to complete independently or in small group with me. Text annotation as part of the close read was a strategy that was used consistently in Reading Intervention as well as in their Language Arts class with selected text. Practicing with a high-interest of text in different classes, helped hammer home the importance of thinking and interacting with text helped the students work with both fluency and comprehension. Too many students read text only once if at all. Sometimes those who do read, often read without a purpose and don’t even take the time to really connect with the text at any level.
I did use other strategies in class such as Anticipation Guides, Kick Me, Summary Frames, timed readings, and ABC block for keyword and phrases to help the students with fluency and comprehension. The most important aspect I believe that was the most influential and of greatest benefit was having the students to track their own progress and data conferencing. Students were engaged and actively participating in reading with positive results.
As teachers, we work with data on a daily basis and desegregate the numbers in PLCs. Having the students chart their monthly progress towards being College Career Ready is both tangible and visible. They are able to see what they have accomplished as a reader. Very few of my students failed to grow below 75 Lexile points using ACHIEVE 3000 and less that 20 students did not show any positive growth on MAP from the fall to spring.
Still there are too many reading below grade level and will continue to need the Tier 2 Reading Intervention class. Together we are taking steps in the right direction. I know reducing Novice readers is difficult, but everyone working with strategies and finding texts that meet and can challenge the students to succeed is a nonnegotiable for both teachers and students. Next year I will be teaching a Language Arts/Intervention double block which I believe will enable me and the students to work with both fiction and nonfiction texts. Strategies, along with writing to help improve their overall performance and hopefully get more enjoyment, relevancy for reading.
I’ve taught at Winburn Middle School in Lexington for 15 years in the roles of Reading Specialist, Language Arts teacher, and Reading Intervention teacher. Currently, I’m one of the two Reading Intervention teachers who teaches mixed classes of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders who scored Novice on KPREP. These students failed to meet the grade level benchmark for MAP testing in the spring the previous school year as well as the current fall. Many of these students scored 30 or more points from the expected RIT MAP score. In other words, our kids are super behind. How can we work with text at the students’ reading level, but have the content and vocabulary necessary for grade level standards?
Mixing students from different grade levels is challenging in itself. Eighth graders reading at a third grade level along with sixth graders in the same position is daunting. Eighth graders believe they have no issue with reading. They can read the text out loud, but lack comprehension and recall of the text. Sixth graders are a bit more malleable. They are willing to work to make up the deficits of three years to catch up. Fluency and comprehension are areas that most often need addressing with informational text that is complex.
Students will tell me “I hate to read” “This is boring” when it comes to informational text, for they feel the disconnect with topics they see no connection or relevance. They are willing and wanting to read fictional text for it is more enjoyable and easier to understand. Fictional text allows the escape and choice they crave. The shift to more informational text and less fictional can lead to students not feeling invested in reading. Because intervention classes focus solely on informational text to help students with comprehension and fluency deficits, some students feel frustrated or overwhelmed. This feeling can often lead to total shutdown on completing work or the dreaded discipline issues due to avoidance. This is a concern I have with focusing on teaching one genre of text. Students don’t experience the coupling of informational with literary texts which can promote a clearer understanding. This absence of flexibility can lead to a scripted classroom instruction if not handled properly.
As an intervention teacher of reading, I look to find creative ways to introduce students to the informational texts I’m required to teach that are part of the online reading program ACHIEVE 3000 my school has invested thousands of dollars into the past four years. The program has yielded growth for students of two to three grade levels in Lexile in a year, with the average student growing one Lexile year of 70 points. Students in my opinion who yield the greatest growth are the students who didn’t take testing seriously and now don’t want to be in an intervention class. They figured out they're missing an Exploratory class and face a double block of Language Arts/Intervention class the next school year. Students who legitimately scored below 500 this can be a steep mountain to climb to get out of a reading intervention setting.
This current school year, over half of my students scored below 500 on the initial ACHIEVE 3000 Level Set score to determine their reading Lexile. Taking a close look at this is why I chose to focus my Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions (CTEPS) project on strategies to use with my students.
As part of my project, I introduced and used throughout the year strategies students could use with informational text. We worked on a hard copy of an article together weekly, using close read annotations, Frayer Model for vocabulary, and a variety of before, during, and after reading. I modeled with the students the Read Around the Text and BIG FOX as pre-reading strategies to engage students with text meaning and text features with our weekly anchor text. Students once they got the hang of the strategies were able to complete independently or in small group with me. Text annotation as part of the close read was a strategy that was used consistently in Reading Intervention as well as in their Language Arts class with selected text. Practicing with a high-interest of text in different classes, helped hammer home the importance of thinking and interacting with text helped the students work with both fluency and comprehension. Too many students read text only once if at all. Sometimes those who do read, often read without a purpose and don’t even take the time to really connect with the text at any level.
I did use other strategies in class such as Anticipation Guides, Kick Me, Summary Frames, timed readings, and ABC block for keyword and phrases to help the students with fluency and comprehension. The most important aspect I believe that was the most influential and of greatest benefit was having the students to track their own progress and data conferencing. Students were engaged and actively participating in reading with positive results.
As teachers, we work with data on a daily basis and desegregate the numbers in PLCs. Having the students chart their monthly progress towards being College Career Ready is both tangible and visible. They are able to see what they have accomplished as a reader. Very few of my students failed to grow below 75 Lexile points using ACHIEVE 3000 and less that 20 students did not show any positive growth on MAP from the fall to spring.
Still there are too many reading below grade level and will continue to need the Tier 2 Reading Intervention class. Together we are taking steps in the right direction. I know reducing Novice readers is difficult, but everyone working with strategies and finding texts that meet and can challenge the students to succeed is a nonnegotiable for both teachers and students. Next year I will be teaching a Language Arts/Intervention double block which I believe will enable me and the students to work with both fiction and nonfiction texts. Strategies, along with writing to help improve their overall performance and hopefully get more enjoyment, relevancy for reading.
Increasing the Lexile Level of Below Grade Level Readers
If I’ve heard it once, I’ve heard it over a thousand times in my fifteen plus years of teaching: “There’s no magic bullet to solve all the problems and challenges a struggling reader faces. Increasing student reading Lexile focuses on multiple strategies and interventions to engage students three to five years below grade levels. A daunting task for all involved.
The task of my Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions (CTEPS) Project was to increase the reading performance of my students both in the ACHIEVE 3000 Reading Program and in Reading MAP scores. The overall goal by May 2017, aimed at 80% of my reading intervention students, was increasing their reading Lexile by 70 points in ACHIEVE 3000 and their MAP RIT by at least five points. These two research-based assessment programs, along with the implementation of reading strategies, were used throughout the 2016-2017 school year to monitor student progress and growth.
Getting to Know Winburn Middle
Winburn Middle truly is a diverse school in that the student population of 650 students is balanced with 24% Hispanic, 23% African American, 21% Caucasian, and the remaining 32% representing other races. This is the first year that the Hispanic student population represents more student learners in our school makeup than any other group. Winburn is one of two schools within the Fayette County District that houses the Magnet Program for the Gifted and Talented Learner. Simply stated, we work towards Novice reduction and progress monitor students on a regular basis and record monthly progress as we goal set with students, and develop a plan to help students reach specific learning targets.
Past KPREP assessments identify Winburn as Needs Improvement. The area of GAP reduction for African American, Hispanic, and SPED populations has been widening the past years and has led to the creation of both reading and math intervention programs to help meet the academic needs of the students. I am part of Winburn’s Intervention team of five teachers who work together to increase student academic and behavior performance of Tier Two and Tier Three intervention students. The school’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) notes 222 6-8th grade students as novice-performing and enrolled in a Reading Intervention class. All 222 scored significantly below the College Career Ready ACHIEVE 3000 reading benchmark level.
Learning About Students as Readers
This current year, for my CTEPS Project, I chose to complete a Reading Intervention Project to increase student reading performance. I started with administering a Reading Intervention Survey developed by Laura Robb that is found in Assessments for Differentiating Reading Instruction. I selected the “Eleven Questions About Reading,” based in part from personal conversations over the past few years with Laura Robb in which we discussed the challenges faced by struggling middle school readers. The lack of a substantial vocabulary and poor comprehension by students living in poverty were areas she suggested to target.
Questions from the survey allowed for an in-depth look at how students read, strategies students may use, and what genres students may enjoy reading. Getting to know readers is important for it allows for the creation and selection of reading materials and strategies to engage readers. Below are examples of a completed student surveys, as well as the original survey.
The task of my Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions (CTEPS) Project was to increase the reading performance of my students both in the ACHIEVE 3000 Reading Program and in Reading MAP scores. The overall goal by May 2017, aimed at 80% of my reading intervention students, was increasing their reading Lexile by 70 points in ACHIEVE 3000 and their MAP RIT by at least five points. These two research-based assessment programs, along with the implementation of reading strategies, were used throughout the 2016-2017 school year to monitor student progress and growth.
Getting to Know Winburn Middle
Winburn Middle truly is a diverse school in that the student population of 650 students is balanced with 24% Hispanic, 23% African American, 21% Caucasian, and the remaining 32% representing other races. This is the first year that the Hispanic student population represents more student learners in our school makeup than any other group. Winburn is one of two schools within the Fayette County District that houses the Magnet Program for the Gifted and Talented Learner. Simply stated, we work towards Novice reduction and progress monitor students on a regular basis and record monthly progress as we goal set with students, and develop a plan to help students reach specific learning targets.
Past KPREP assessments identify Winburn as Needs Improvement. The area of GAP reduction for African American, Hispanic, and SPED populations has been widening the past years and has led to the creation of both reading and math intervention programs to help meet the academic needs of the students. I am part of Winburn’s Intervention team of five teachers who work together to increase student academic and behavior performance of Tier Two and Tier Three intervention students. The school’s Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP) notes 222 6-8th grade students as novice-performing and enrolled in a Reading Intervention class. All 222 scored significantly below the College Career Ready ACHIEVE 3000 reading benchmark level.
Learning About Students as Readers
This current year, for my CTEPS Project, I chose to complete a Reading Intervention Project to increase student reading performance. I started with administering a Reading Intervention Survey developed by Laura Robb that is found in Assessments for Differentiating Reading Instruction. I selected the “Eleven Questions About Reading,” based in part from personal conversations over the past few years with Laura Robb in which we discussed the challenges faced by struggling middle school readers. The lack of a substantial vocabulary and poor comprehension by students living in poverty were areas she suggested to target.
Questions from the survey allowed for an in-depth look at how students read, strategies students may use, and what genres students may enjoy reading. Getting to know readers is important for it allows for the creation and selection of reading materials and strategies to engage readers. Below are examples of a completed student surveys, as well as the original survey.
Student responses on what their favorite books are and their favorite authors didn’t yield any Earth shattering results from what I anticipated. Dr. Seuss, Rick Riordin, and Stephanie Meyer ranked towards the top as popular student choice authors. Many students loved the silliness of Dr. Seuss and was the author they readily recalled from elementary, as well as books read to them by adults. Fondest memories of reading came from Dr. Seuss to the Fantasy genre of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordin. Students said they’d seen the Twilight series in the format of digital literacy and had read parts of the books. A few students admitted to carrying the Twilight books around because they were thick and wanted others to think they were reading the book. This is a common observation I’ve noticed over the years of struggling readers. Books are not selected on the basis of readability for their Lexile level, but for peer acceptance. Once I got an idea about student reading habits, I was able to move forward into some lessons even before KPREP data was released and the first round of MAP testing began.
Reading Strategies Implemented in Fall 2016 Close Reading with Annotation and Read Around the Text were two strategies used right at the beginning of the school year. Both allow the students to interact with the text multiple times through different lenses. Students also continued to use the strategies throughout the course of the year, and were encouraged to apply the strategies to other content areas. Teachers on the Intervention Team also implemented the strategies into their classroom, which allowed for students to apply the strategies in the Math Intervention and Behavior Motivation classes on a consistent basis. Close Reading and the Annotation was introduced and applied throughout the whole school year. Students worked with analyzing text and developing questions they had to question the author’s position or to note confusion. Students marked and made comments about connections with the text or unfamiliar vocabulary. Below, examples of student annotations of an informational text note their reading as they worked through with the teacher, small group, and independently. |
The Close Reading and Annotation students were able to apply in the Language Arts classes, was achieved through the use of the highlighting tools in Chromebook. Students were able to highlight and make comments within the text. Additionally, in our Intervention Class, we were able to utilize the highlighting and comment dropdowns in the ACHIEVE 3000 computer-based Intervention Program that Winburn uses. The more practice with Close Reading and Annotation, students were able to move through text quicker and more thoroughly to gain a deeper understanding.
Pre-reading and interacting with the text is crucial for students to help them to learn to examine text to gain a purpose for reading and have an understanding/increased comprehension of what the text will be about. A strategy that students used was Read Around the Text. This strategy students used throughout the year as part of the Pre-Reading process. Before reading the text, students applied the strategy as they examined specific text features pictures, graphics, and bold-faced font. Students would read portions of text to gain a general understanding of the text for classroom discussion before they began reading.
Pre-reading and interacting with the text is crucial for students to help them to learn to examine text to gain a purpose for reading and have an understanding/increased comprehension of what the text will be about. A strategy that students used was Read Around the Text. This strategy students used throughout the year as part of the Pre-Reading process. Before reading the text, students applied the strategy as they examined specific text features pictures, graphics, and bold-faced font. Students would read portions of text to gain a general understanding of the text for classroom discussion before they began reading.
The Frayer Model is used and referenced in Winburn’s School Improvement Plan (SIP) as best practices for Vocabulary Instruction. All teachers incorporate the Frayer Model in vocabulary instruction of critical and content specific vocabulary. Students define the term, find synonyms for the word, use the term in a sentence to show meaning and understanding, and then draw a picture clue. Instead of a picture clue, some teachers have students write examples and nonexamples of the word. Below are three examples of the Frayer Model used by students as recorded vocabulary from the weekly ACHIEVE 3000 article in their Reading Journals.
Student Performance Data Fall and Spring
The majority of the students were able to note improvement in their MAP scores and increased a year’s growth of 70+ points in ACHIEVE 3000. Many students grew and met their goals in both areas in RIT, growth with MAP and Lexile growth with Achieve 3000. MAP data from Fall to Spring saw 72 of my students grow 2 points or more. 23 students either remained the same or decreased. 39 of the 72 students showed a double digit gain. The students who decreased showed completion of the MAP test 15-20 minutes faster than their peers. Also, there were 12 of these students who completed the assessment in less than 15 minutes. This lack of taking an assessment can impede academic progress and placement for students based on one form of assessment. Looking at other data can help determine the students’ placement as well as working with the student find out ways to focus on assessments that if reflective of their true performance level.
Class Period MAP Spring Median RIT with Increase in Points Noted:
1st 208 +2
4th 205 +3
5th 209 +3
6th 201 +3
7th 206 +2
The results indicate an overall increase in MAP scores for each class. We discussed MAP progress and set goals throughout the year. Student scores with an anonymous hashtag were posted in Winburn’s main hallway as part of a school wide initiative. Students in turn, used the same hashtag in the Intervention classroom to plot and monitor their progress with reading Lexile from the ACHIEVE 3000 reading program. ACHIEVE Reading Lexile growth occurred in all of my classes. A 70 point increase notes one year’s progress. The majority of my students started out reading at either the third or fourth grade level. By the end of April, three of my students earned College Career Readiness and moved to an Exploratory class.
Class Lexile Growth from August to April
1st 560L-605L +111L
4th 485L-572L +127L
5th 395L-592L +154L
6th 675L-616L +83L
7th 678L-643L +114
In the End
Students worked throughout the year using reading and vocabulary strategies to improve their comprehension skills through the close examination of informational texts. The increase in student performance clearly shows the differentiation in instruction and the close progress monitoring, along with goal setting, works. Working together with the Intervention Team to monitor student progress led to better informed implementation of research-based strategies into instruction. Students were also aware throughout the school year of their progress and set goals to help achieve success. The continuation of strategies and applying them to other content classes will enable students to comprehend complex text and promote critical thinking.
The majority of the students were able to note improvement in their MAP scores and increased a year’s growth of 70+ points in ACHIEVE 3000. Many students grew and met their goals in both areas in RIT, growth with MAP and Lexile growth with Achieve 3000. MAP data from Fall to Spring saw 72 of my students grow 2 points or more. 23 students either remained the same or decreased. 39 of the 72 students showed a double digit gain. The students who decreased showed completion of the MAP test 15-20 minutes faster than their peers. Also, there were 12 of these students who completed the assessment in less than 15 minutes. This lack of taking an assessment can impede academic progress and placement for students based on one form of assessment. Looking at other data can help determine the students’ placement as well as working with the student find out ways to focus on assessments that if reflective of their true performance level.
Class Period MAP Spring Median RIT with Increase in Points Noted:
1st 208 +2
4th 205 +3
5th 209 +3
6th 201 +3
7th 206 +2
The results indicate an overall increase in MAP scores for each class. We discussed MAP progress and set goals throughout the year. Student scores with an anonymous hashtag were posted in Winburn’s main hallway as part of a school wide initiative. Students in turn, used the same hashtag in the Intervention classroom to plot and monitor their progress with reading Lexile from the ACHIEVE 3000 reading program. ACHIEVE Reading Lexile growth occurred in all of my classes. A 70 point increase notes one year’s progress. The majority of my students started out reading at either the third or fourth grade level. By the end of April, three of my students earned College Career Readiness and moved to an Exploratory class.
Class Lexile Growth from August to April
1st 560L-605L +111L
4th 485L-572L +127L
5th 395L-592L +154L
6th 675L-616L +83L
7th 678L-643L +114
In the End
Students worked throughout the year using reading and vocabulary strategies to improve their comprehension skills through the close examination of informational texts. The increase in student performance clearly shows the differentiation in instruction and the close progress monitoring, along with goal setting, works. Working together with the Intervention Team to monitor student progress led to better informed implementation of research-based strategies into instruction. Students were also aware throughout the school year of their progress and set goals to help achieve success. The continuation of strategies and applying them to other content classes will enable students to comprehend complex text and promote critical thinking.
Elizabeth Powell is a 2016-2017 graduate of Classroom Teachers Enacting Positive Solutions (CTEPS), a certified Reading and Writing Specialist, and is in her 16th year of teaching. She has taught in Clark and Fayette counties and now teaches 6th grade Language Arts and Reading Intervention at Winburn Middle School in Fayette County.