Good Reading Skills

The Road to Success in Life

An Everyday Necessity

» What all have you read so far today?

» What will you need to read throughout your life?

Did You Know--Reading Makes You Smarter

“Terrance Paul notes that:‘The quantity of books available is the best single indicator of test score performance and success in schools, and is a better predictor than socioeconomic status or parent education.’”

Kelly Gallagher, 2003 Reading Reasons: Motivational Mini-Lessons for Middle and High School. p. 26

Did You Know--Reading May Keep You Smart As You Age

“A landmark study released in 2000 by the Alzheimer’s Association examined pairs of elderly twins in which one of the twins had dementia while the other one had remained healthy. The researchers found that low education was a significant risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and all other forms of dementia.Further analysis showed that twins who later became demented read fewer books, particularly as adults, compared to their nondemented siblings.”

Reading Skills Mirror Writing Skills

» Building your reading skills helps improve your writing skills, and vice versa

» When you are a good reader, you can translate your point of view as a reader into your writing; and when you are a good writer, you can view what you are reading from the author’s perspective to enhance your understanding of a text

Reading Prepares You for the World of Work

“As recently as the 1950’s, twenty percent of the jobs in America were professional, twenty percent skilled, and sixty percent unskilled. In the 1990’s, twenty percent of the jobs remained professional, but skilled jobs rose to sixty-plus percent while unskilled jobs fell below twenty percent.” Richard Murnane & Frank Levy, 1996Teaching the New Basic Skills: Principles for Educating Children to Thrive in a Changing Economy, p. vii

Reading Prepares You for the World of Work

“No longer will today’s high school diploma lead to a job that will guarantee entry into middle class.”

Richard Murnane & Frank Levy, 1996Teaching the New Basic Skills: Principles for EducatingChildren to Thrive in a Changing Economy, p. vii

Career Cluster» Agriculture/Natural

Resources» Architecture/Construction» Arts/AV Technology /Communication» Business and Administration» Education and Training» Health Science» Hospitality and Tourism» Human Services» Law and Public Safety» Manufacturing

Lexile Text Measure1270-1510

1210-13401100-1190

1210-13101320-13701260-13001230-12601050-12001420-17401200-1310

Text Measures of Entry-level Occupational Reading Material

Willard R. Daggett, 2003

Grade Level» Grade 6» Grade 7» Grade 8» Grade 9» Grade 10» 11 and 12

Reading Level» 665-1000» 735-1065» 805-1100» 855-1165» 905-1195» 940-1210

Lexile Measures of Readers Willard R. Daggett, 2003

Reading Well Is Financially Rewarding

•The average lifetime earnings for a student who does not finish high school

is $936,000.

•The average lifetime earnings for a student who does finish high school is $1,216,000.

•Therefore, a high school diploma is worth $280,000.

Reading Well Is Financially Rewarding

•Four years of high school (assuming some time off for illness) amounts to 700 days of school.•Therefore, students are “paid” $280,000 for 700 days of school.•Therefore, students earn $400 per day.

Reading Well Is Financially Rewarding

Therefore, students earn $100.00 to attend one class each day. (Students who finish college will earn a lot more per day than that.)

A National Problem» High School students

are graduating without the level of reading skills required to succeed in everyday life

» People in general are reading MUCH less than in the past--this leads to a deficit in their reading skills…which leads to a PROBLEM

Good Readers=Good Thinkers

» If you can’t read well, you are also lacking critical thinking skills

» Critical thinking skills are needed to make informed & wise decisions in ANY area of life

Improving Reading Takes PRACTICE

» How much do you read? » When is the last time

you read (on your own) an entire book? Short story? News article?

Levels of Reading Comprehension

» Level 1=Literal: You can understand what is actually stated

» Level 2=Interpretive: You can understand what is implied

» Level 3=Applied: You can take the literal meaning, and the applied meaning, and apply them to other ideas, information, and/or situations

English Class=Your Time to Practice Your Skills

» While I cannot follow you home to make sure you’re reading, I will give you the time to read in class

» Reading higher level texts takes focus and concentration--it is an interactive process, not something you sit and do passively

General Procedure for Reading Texts

» You will vote, as a class, on which texts you would like to work on next

» We will read the text (sometimes in class, in groups, independently) to get the literal meaning

» We will discuss the text to clarify the literal meaning, and get to the interpretive meaning

» You will create projects/writing assigments that demonstrate you have reached the applied level of comprehension for the text.

The Journey Begins!

» Do you have any questions, comments, concerns about anything we’ve just discussed??