Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D.
Kent State University
402 White Hall
Kent, OH 44242
330-672-0649, trasinsk@kent.edu
www.timrasinski.com
A Model of Reading Instruction
Word Competency
Accuracy in:
Phonics (Word Decoding)
Spelling
Vocabulary
Word Study
Fluency
Automaticity
Prosody
Surface level
Fluency Instruction
Deep level
Comprehension
Background Knowledge
Comprehension Strategies
Guided Reading
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4
1
3
2
NAEP Oral Reading Fluency Scale
4.
Reads primarily in larger, meaningful phrase groups. Although some regressions, repetitions, and deviations from the text may be present, these do not appear to detract from the overall structure of the story. Preservation of the author’s syntax is consistent. Some or most of the story is read with expressive interpretation. Reads at an appropriate rate.
3.
Reads primarily in three- and four-word phrase groups. Some smaller groupings may be present.
However, the majority of phrasing seems appropriate and preserves the syntax of the author.
Little or no expressive interpretation is present. Reader attempts to read expressively and some of the story is read with expression. Generally reads at an appropriate rate.
2.
Reads primarily in two-word phrase groups with some three- and four-word groupings. Some word-by-word reading may be present. Word groupings may seem awkward and unrelated to the larger context of the sentence or passage. A small portion of the text is read with expressive interpretation. Reads significant sections of the text excessively slow or fast.
1 Reads primarily word-by-word. Occasional two-word or three-word phrases may occur – but these are infrequent and/or they do not preserve meaningful syntax. Lacks expressive interpretation. Reads text excessively slow. A score of 1 should also be given to a student who reads with excessive speed, ignoring punctuation and other phrase boundaries, and reads with little or no expression.
FLUENCY SCORE
NAEP STUDY OF ORAL READING FLUENCY
SILENT RDG ACHV SCORE % STUDENTS
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Word Harvesting
Whenever reading to your students, reciting a poem, singing a song, playing a word game, or building background through discussion in your class if you or your students notice any interesting words, have them call out the words at the end of the read aloud or word game. Write the word on a daily word wall and talk about the meaning of the words and begin to use the words in your own oral language over the next several days. Encourage your students also to use the words in their oral and written language.
If you read to your students every day of the school year and harvest 5-6 words after each read aloud you will have exposed your students to 900-1180 new words over the course of a school year. That alone will have a significant impact on your students’ word knowledge. Since authors purposefully use interesting words in their writing, students will find a treasure trove of words in the materials that are read to them or that they read on their own. (For more on Word Harvesting go to http://vocablogplc.blogspot.com/ and search in Archives for 11.27.2011 blog article.)
Today’s Word Wall
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From: McCandliss, Beck, Sandak, & Perfetti. (2003). Focusing attention on decoding for children with poor reading skills: Design and preliminary tests of the word building intervention. Scientific
Studies in Reading, 7 (1), 75-104
Initially, the children demonstrated deficits in decoding, reading comprehension, and phonemic awareness skills. The Word Building intervention directed attention to each grapheme position within a word through a procedure of progressive minimal pairing of words that differed by one grapheme. Relative to children randomly assigned to a control group ,
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Rasinski, T. Daily Word Ladders, K-1, 1-2, 2-3, 4-6 . New York: Scholastic. www.scholastic.com
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Biblio
Bio
Chron
Dem
Gram
Graph
Hydr
Lab
Max
Pod
Phob
Phon
Photo
Polis
Port
Psych
Prefixes
Ante
Anti
Auto
Bi
Centi
Co (m,n)
Extra
Mega
Micro
Mid
Mono
Multi
Pre
Re
Semi, hemi
Tele
Tri
Ultra
Un
Uni
Other word roots
Aero
Aud air hear book life time people write write water work greatest foot fear sound light
City carry mind before against self two hundred with, together more, beyond large small middle one many before again half distant three beyond not one
Scop
Struct
Terr(a)
Therm
Volv
Vor
Root Wall see build land heat roll eat
See Rasinski, T, et. a.l. (2008).Greek and Latin Roots.
Keys to Building Vocabulary . Shell Education. http://estore.seppub.com/estore/search/ then search
« Rasinski »
Some Interesting Word Creations
Autophile
Teleterra
Matermand
Semiaud
Bibliophobe
Convore
Triopolis
Chronovolve
See http://www.teachercreatedmaterials.com/reading/buildingVocabulary for Vocabulary from
Word Roots program.
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A Mystery Plane
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I had to take off bifocals and clean them again. Was I seeing a mirage? I put my clean glasses back on. I was not dreaming. There in the sky was a 1918 biplane circling right above me. I got out my binoculars to take a closer look. The plane was a sight to behold – two main wings, one above the other. You don’t see too many of those planes today. When the plane landed in the field down the road, I jumped on bicycle and pedaled as fast as
I could to see this amazing machine up close. I got to the parked plane just as the pilot was climbing down the ladder from the cockpit. His large biceps told me that a pilot of a plane like this had to have strong arms to control such an old plane. I wonder if might allow me to take a ride with him on his next flight?
Bifocals, biplane, binoculars, bicycle, biceps
Why do you think older airplanes needed two wings to fly?
America’s Government
Governments are important in our lives. The U.S. government has three branches. These are the executive, legislative, and judicial. The legislative branch makes the laws. The president is the main person in the executive branch. The president, or executive, carries out these laws. The judicial branch often decides if the laws are legal.
The legislative branch is bicameral. It is made up of two bodies or houses. One is the House of
Representatives. The other is the Senate. Most state governments have bicameral legislatures too.
Only Nebraska has a unicameral legislature.
New laws need bipartisan support from both political parties. For example, in 1976 the United
States celebrated its bicentennial. It was 200 years old! Bipartisan support was needed to pay for the celebrations. The legislative branch also creates budgets. These tell governments how to spend money. The U.S. government and some states develop budgets annually. A new budget is developed every year. In other states budgets are biannual. Legislatures play a key role in the government.
Bicameral, bipartisan, biannual, bicentennial.
How long does a biannual budget plan for?
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Complex texts, comparative texts, high level of rigor in content classes, nonfiction infusion in English classrooms; how can we best prepare all students to meet these 21 st century challenges when professional learning and planning time is being trimmed from the school day?
In Stafford County Public schools we introduced the Root of the Week!
While roots are being taught in English and/or reading classes, the root of the week promotes school wide awareness and helps our students transfer this knowledge and put it to use in their other classes. Content vocabulary, especially in math and science, is frequently comprised of Greek and Latin roots. By helping our students make the connection with root based vocabulary, we are facilitating the acquisition of new concepts and promoting long-term retention of content.
I attribute our success with the new standards (which mirror the Common Core) to our preparation with Greek and Latin word parts! Each grade level on the State test had questions regarding word parts (roots and affixes). Every school in our district met the reading Annual Measurable Objectives (VERY hard to do).
Dr. Nancy Guth
Supervisor of Literacy and Humanities
Stafford County Public Schools
Stafford, VA
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The power of teaching roots to students cannot be underestimated. A solid background in the meaning of word roots helps all of my students with their reading comprehension.
Recognizing and knowing how to apply root meanings is especially valuable for my students whose vocabularies are not as broad as I would like them to be.
Often these students will encounter a word in their reading that initially seems intimidating and unsolvable. They used to freeze, give up, or just say the first few sounds and make something up. Sound familiar? If a student can recognize the meaning of just one part of a difficult word, this provides him a toehold on the new vocabulary. Students don't give up as easily because they already know something about the word.
Hilary Loftus
Reading Specialist, Drew Middle School
Stafford County Public Schools
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Fluency
Word Recognition
Comprehension
Repeated readings refer to the instructional practice of repeatedly reading one passage (50-250 words) until the reader can read it fluently (achieving some predetermined level of automaticity and/or expression).
When readers practice a passage, they improve on the passage on which they practiced. However, improvement is also apparent on passages readers had not yet read!
Repeated readings works best and is most authentic when readers are given an opportunity to perform the texts they practice.
Repeated readings works best when readers are coached in their practice by a teacher, parent, or classmate who listens for expressiveness, phrasing, and appropriate rate, provides encouragement, and gives assistance when needed.
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Look for texts that can be interpreted orally, that have a strong sense of voice.
Look for texts that can be performed for an audience. These are texts that need to be rehearsed (practiced):

Stories

Scripts (Readers theater)

Poetry

Song lyrics

Speeches and oratory ( www.americanrhetoric.com
)

Cheers

Chants (jump rope chants)

Monologues

Dialogues

Journal entries

Letters

Other
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The Fluency Development Lesson (FDL): Synergistic Instruction
Timothy Rasinski
The FDL is a daily 20 minute lesson that employs short reading passages (poems, story segments, or other texts) that students read and reread over a short period of time
1. Students read a familiar passage from the previous lesson to the teacher or a fellow student for accuracy and fluency.
2. The teacher introduces a new short text and reads it to the students two or three times while the students follow along. Text can be a poem, segment from a basal passage, or literature book, etc.
3. The teacher and students discuss the nature and content of the passage.
4. Teacher and students read the passage chorally several times. Antiphonal reading and other variations are used to create variety and maintain engagement.
5. The teacher organizes student pairs. Each student practices the passage three times while his or her partner listens and provides support and encouragement.
6. Individuals and groups of students perform their reading for the class or other audience.
7. The students and their teacher choose 3 or 4 words from the text to add to the word bank and/or word wall.
8. Students engage in word study activities (e.g. word sorts with word bank words, word walls, flash card practice, defining words, word games, etc.)
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9. The students take a copy of the passage home to practice with parents and other family members.
10. Students return to school and read the passage to the teacher or a partner who checks for fluency and accuracy.
Source: Rasinski, T. V. (2010). The Fluent Reader: Oral and silent reading strategies for building word recognition, fluency, and comprehension.
New York: Scholastic.
“Following the 5-week summer reading camp, in which the Poetry/Fluency Development Lesson was implemented daily, 93 percent of the Monroe County 3 rd graders, who had previously failed the I-Read
Three test, now passed.”
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Effective comprehension instruction assumes that students have some degree of proficiency in the foundational reading competencies -- word recognition, vocabulary, and fluency (Common Core State Standards).
1. Build Background Knowledge. Comprehension has been defined as the process of
“building bridges between the known and the new.” This metaphor suggests that all readers must have a “known” – that is they must know something about the topic of the text they are reading in order to make sense of it. Teachers need to work to build students background
(and interest) for a text before asking them to read and understand independently.
Methods for building background knowledge;

Teacher presents information (lecture, etc.)

Class Brainstorm (e.g. list group label) o The K in KWL

Other resources o Experts o Media o Other books and texts o Artifacts (jackdaws)
2. Question Generation. The National Reading Panel has identified questioning as the most proven strategy for improving readers’ comprehension of text. In question generation students are taught and encouraged to ask questions of the text (author) before, during, and after reading the text.
Some methods for promoting question generation:

Make questions before reading – based on topic and background knowledge, title, or a brief introduction to the passage.

Make questions periodically during the reading. o Stop and question o Big and little questions o List and sort questions

Glossing – writing questions in the text (or with post its)

Make questions after reading the passages.

Write questions in a journal.

Exit slips
3. Prediction Generation. In making predictions readers use their background knowledge along with information from the text to create hypothesis about what may happen next in a
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passage. The predictions can then be used for further discussion after the reading has concluded.
Some methods for promoting prediction generation:

Anticipation Guides – A set of statements that students agree or disagree with prior to the reading of a passage. After reading students return to the guide and reflect on and discuss their responses.

Prevoke – prediction based on vocabulary.

Prediction based on selected sentences given by the teacher before reading.

Prediction based on illustrations from the passage.

Prediction based on the title and headings from a passage.
4. Imagery. Students create mental images during or after reading a passage. The images are normally thought to be visual images, but they can also involve auditory, kinesthetic, or other images that involve senses.
Some methods for promoting imagery in reading:

Draw a picture/sketch while reading

Sketch to stretch – share pictures and ask classmates to comment on and discuss sketches made by classmates.

Discuss mental images that are made while reading

Tableau – physical representation of content from a text.
5. Written Response. Students are asked to reflect on the meaning of a passage by using writing as a means and method of reflection. In the process of writing the reader is asked to
“keep thinking it over” and through that deep reflection can gain greater insight into his or her reading.
Some methods for promoting written response:

Leaning Log/Journal. Students respond to their reading/instruction by writing about it on a regular basis. Types of entries: o Summary o Troubleshoot – what am I having trouble with. o Defining of words/concepts in my own words. o Explaining particular processes.

Double Entry Journals

Dialogue Journals

Write and Share 2

The L in KWL
6. Summarizing and Synthesizing– putting things into one’s own words helps students prioritize and recast information in language they find familiar and understandable.
Summarizing involves the simple prioritizing and restating of information from a single source. Synthesizing involves summarizing across multiple sources or one extended information source.
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Some methods for teaching and promoting summarizing and synthesizing.

Process o Brainstorming information from passage. o Prioritize information. o Consolidate information. o Restate consolidated information o Identify main idea o Elaborate on main idea o Identify multiple main ideas (multiple sources). o Consolidate the multiple ideas.

Inquiry Charts
7. Compare and Contrast. Readers are asked to make a connection between a text or element of a particular text and something else; and then use that something else as a basis for studying and understanding the text.
Some types and methods for doing compare contrast.

Text to text connection

Text to life (personal) connection

Metaphorical and analogical connections

Use of graphic organizers – e.g. Venn diagram

Discussion (Debate) Web
8. Graphic Organizers and Text Structure. Graphic representation of texts and reflection on the organizational structure of the text helps readers to see the underlying and logical organization used by the author in constructing the meaning he or she wishes to convey to the reader.
Some types of graphic organizers:

Narrative (linear) map

Informational (hierarchical) map

Herringbone map
Some types of text structure:

Chronological

Enumeration (listing)

Cause-Effect

Problem-Solution

Compare-Contrast
9. Cooperative Learning. The highest form of learning happens when one teaches.
Cooperative learning activities attempt to put students in the role of teacher by having them present information to others.
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Some methods of cooperative learning:

Group projects

Student-led literature discussion groups

Think-Pair-Share

Jigsaw (each student takes responsibility for a particular portion of a text – to read and report to the group)
10. Keep Thinking It Over – Insight and understanding is sometimes achieved through longterm reflection on a particular topic, event, passage, etc. Revisiting ideas, arguments, texts, and other topics under consideration helps students continually reflect on something that is to be learned.
Some methods for helping students to “keep thinking it over:”

Ongoing discussions

Rereadings of texts

Spiraled instruction
11. Re-representation of text (Linguistic and Non-linguistic). Recasting of a text into another form requires readers to return to a text and think of its content in new and different ways. In doing so readers can come to a deep understanding of a text and the meaning embedded in it.
Some methods for re-representation of text:

Summarizing

Poetry

Essay

Script

Pantomime

Tableau

Visual art
12. Non-textual comprehension. Studies have found that Americans are not as prepared as people from other countries in interpreting information that is not presented as graphic.
Students need to be guided in understanding and interpreting and presenting information presented in charts, graphs, maps, tables, and other non-textual way.
Some ways in which information can be presented in non-textual ways:

Charts and graphs

Tables

Gestures and body language
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