LET STUDENTS (NOT JUST THE TEACHER) READ THE COMPLEX TEXT!

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Category of Inquiry: Complex Text

Post Written by: Michael Ray 
 
Source: Lesson Study in RALLI schools

Problem of Practice: ELLs often find complex text, at grade-level or higher, difficult to comprehend and process, particularly when they must do so with little or no teacher support.

Essential Question: What can we do to make complex text more accessible for ELLs?

Instructional Strategy: Beginning in 2nd grade, when student reading of complex shared content text begins to increase, give students the bulk of the responsibility for reading the text, rather than just having them track while the teacher reads.

Consider these three approaches as your during reading defaults to help students practice reading and be accountable for what they read. Notice that we offer three levels of scaffolding:

A. Extremely-Scaffolded During Reading

1. The teacher reads a part of the text with no commentary (except step-asides to explain vocabulary as in RALLI)

2. The teacher gives the students a text-based question (e.g. from the RALLI During Reading planner, or from an SWT text) and has the students read the question themselves if it is available (as it is in the SWT--this may increase their investment and understanding of the question). 
3. Students reread the text  (alone aloud, alone silent, in pairs aloud...) and answer the question (in pairs, tables, or whole class)

4. The teacher has students reread if necessary to clarify misunderstandings so that they get the meaning from the text as much as possible

 

B. Very-Scaffolded During Reading

1. Students read a part of the text (alone aloud, alone silent, in pairs aloud...) with no teacher commentary (except step-asides to explain vocabulary as in RALLI)

2. The teacher gives the students a text-based question (e.g. from the RALLI During Reading Planner, or from an SWT text) and has the students read the question themselves if it is available (as it is in the SWT--this may increase their  investment and understanding of the question). 

3. The teacher rereads the text and then students answer the question (in pairs, tables, or whole class)

4.The teacher has students reread if necessary to clarify misunderstandings so that they get the meaning from the text as much as possible

C. Lightly-Scaffolded During Reading

1. Students read a part of the text (alone aloud, alone silent, in pairs aloud...) with no teacher commentary  (except step-asides to explain vocabulary as in RALLI)

2. The teacher gives the students a text-based question (e.g. from the RALLI During Reading Planner, or from an SWT text) and has the students read the question themselves if it is available (as it is in the SWT--this may increase their  investment and understanding of the question). 

3. The teacher has students reread if necessary to clarify misunderstandings so that they get the meaning from the text as much as possible.

Rationale:
If the teacher reads the whole text, students miss practice opportunities or may adopt the idea that the teacher, and not they, are responsible for reading and comprehending the text.

In addition, too much teacher mediation in the "during reading" portion of work with complex text may actually impede comprehension and engagement. Or we might say that too much teacher mediation can disrupt the students ability to be fully responsible for the flow and content of the text. This focus on student grappling with text is consistent with Close Reading protocols. 


Tensions and Areas for Further Inquiry:
Having students read silently or aloud will sometimes be a stretch for kids reading below grade level, but much less so when you have provided the types of before and during reading supports offered in the RALLI approach (see Overview of the Complex Text tab on this blog) or in cohesive units of study (such as FOSS water planet or a 2nd grade unit on species survival) where ongoing content knowledge and vocabulary development  support meaning-making as below-grade-level students struggle with a text. 

Of course there may also be times when the teacher is fully responsible for reading a chunk of the text, or other times when she asks students to read the text with no teacher assistance whatsoever. 

Finally, consider stopping popcorn reading all together. This practice takes time that the entire class could spend practicing their own reading and substitutes a student model for expressive reading that is inferior to yours. In addition, popcorn reading can lead to decreased student engagement since most student reading is less comprehensible and engaging than teacher reading.

Please let us know what you think of our ideas, and share your during reading ideas for your work with complex text!