- Explicitly teaching students to use strategies that good readers use, such as drawing on
background knowledge and creating graphic organizers to gain control of the macrostructure of
a text, improves comprehension (Biancarosa and Snow 2006; Underwood and Pearson 2004). - Teaching students to use one or more metacognitive strategies, such as planning for a task and
self-monitoring understanding, improves their comprehension of text (Klingner, Morrison and
Eppolito 2011).
Language Development - Coordinating vocabulary instruction so that students have multiple exposures, which increases
the likelihood that they will acquire targeted words (Butler, and others 2010). - Integrating explicit vocabulary instruction into curricula enhances students’ ability to acquire
vocabulary from content-area textbooks and other texts (Kamil, and others 2008). - Providing direct instruction in word meanings, instruction in strategies that promote
independent vocabulary acquisition, and opportunities for rich discussion of texts enhances
students’ vocabulary acquisition (Kamil, and others 2008).
Effective expression (writing) - Explicitly teaching strategies for planning, revising, and/or editing has a strong impact on the
quality of students’ writing and is especially effective for students experiencing difficulty writing
(Graham and Perin 2007). - Setting specific reachable product goals, such as adding more ideas to a paper when revising or
including certain structural elements, positively impacts writing quality of all students, including
(tentatively) those experiencing difficulty (Graham and Perin 2007) - Use of word-processing technologies is especially effective in enhancing the quality of texts of
students experiencing difficulty with writing (Graham and Perin 2007)
Foundational skills (word level reading) (from a summary by Curtis 2004) - Systematic, explicit, and direct instruction produces the best results in word level reading.
Instruction should target needs, be brief and multisensory, and applied. - Instruction should emphasize high frequency spelling-sound relationships and emphasis should
be placed on assisting students in identification of common syllables found within multisyllabic
words. - Instruction should focus on patterns and generalizations, not memorization of rules.
- Opportunities to practice identification of words in context should be frequent. Oral reading
should occur in a setting in which teens are comfortable taking risks. - Fluent reading should be modeled and students should have numerous opportunities to
practice. - Students should have opportunities to read independently.
- Study of word structure (e.g., affixes) and word origin (e.g., Latin) enhances students’ ability to
recognize words and access word meanings.
Additional and special support is provided on the basis of ongoing assessment. In other words,
students receive the instruction they need; their time is not wasted with instruction in skills they
already possess. Time is of the essence: assistance should be provided swiftly, be fast paced to
accelerate learning, and address what is needed.
Each of the supports for students should be provided in a warm, inviting and respectful
environment that provides access to appropriate high-interest materials and educators committed to
advancing the literacy of all students (Carnegie Council on Advancing Adolescent Literacy 2010).
Grades 9 to 12 Chapter 7 | 717