Texas Focus 2007
The World on a String:
Connecting through the
Expanded Core Curriculum
I Read It But I Don’t Get It:
Literacy and the ECC for Students
in the Intermediate Grades
Frances Mary D’Andrea
NCLVI Fellow, University of Pittsburgh
literacy2@mindspring.com
fmd22@pitt.edu
Wednesday, June 20th
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Have you heard your students say any of these
statements?
• “I’m just not a very good reader.”
• “I read it but I don’t get it.
• “It takes too long to read.”
• “I’m an OK reader, I am just not interested.”
• “I like to read sometimes, but there isn’t anything
good to read.”
• “Reading is boring.”
2007 Texas Focus – D’Andrea – I Read It But I Don’t Get It
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What Do Good Readers Do?
• Automatically recognize words as they read
• Use strategies when encountering unfamiliar words
• Comprehend as they read
• Read different kinds of texts in different ways
• Monitor themselves as they read
• Read for pleasure and to get information
• Have goals for reading
• Read aloud with expression
• Connect ideas as they read
• Ask questions as they read
• Remember things from what they read
In short, good readers are active readers.
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“I’m just not a very good reader.”
• As a teacher ask: why not? What specifically are
the issues?
• determine specific areas of need: ongoing
assessment
• sufficient time for practice in reading (and
writing)?
• automaticity & fluency
• vocabulary
• comprehension
• motivation
2007 Texas Focus – D’Andrea – I Read It But I Don’t Get It
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Automaticity & Fluency
• Automatic processing and identification
• Fluency: accuracy, speed, prosody
• Related to comprehension of text
• Works at many levels
• Strategies to increase fluency
Vocabulary
• Vocabulary has substantial influence on text
comprehension
• Relation to background knowledge & experiences
• A reciprocal relationship between vocabulary and
comprehension
Comprehension
• The importance of background knowledge!
• Reading amount predicts comprehension.
• Self-efficacy predicts comprehension.
• Strategies to increase comprehension
2007 Texas Focus – D’Andrea – I Read It But I Don’t Get It
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“It takes too long to read.”
“This is boring!”
“Can’t I just listen to it on disk?”
• Conduct an LMA
• What’s missing from audio?
• Relevance
• Interest
“There isn’t anything to read.”
• Access to materials in the right format
• Use of different genres
• Access to many different texts at an independent
reading level
2007 Texas Focus – D’Andrea – I Read It But I Don’t Get It
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Motivation
Intrinsic Motivation
• Engages in activity intentionally, to acquire
knowledge or skill
• Relates to personal interests and enjoyment
• Relates to goals and beliefs about reading
Extrinsic Motivation
• Grades
• Contracts
• Contests
– Braille Readers are Leaders
– National Braille Challenge Invitational
• Book clubs
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References:
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creativity. Paper commissioned by the National
Center on Education and the Economy for the New
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that work: Where all children read and write. New
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Baker, L. & Wigfield, A. (1999). Dimensions of
children’s motivation for reading and their relations
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Beck, I.L. & McKeown, M.G. (2006). Improving
comprehension with questioning the author: A fresh
and expanded view of a powerful approach. New
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Beck, I.L., McKeown, M.G., Kucan, L. (2002).
Bringing words to life: Robust vocabulary instruction.
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Beers, K. (2003). When kids can’t read what
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Brophy, J. (1987). Synthesis of research on
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And how they learned: A new look at striving
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