Reading Apprenticeship: Practical approaches to improving reading skills and critical thinking

at any level

Liz AndressCarlynn Miller-Gore

Session ObjectivesAt the end of this session, you will be able to• describe the basic aspects and value of the Reading

Apprenticeship framework;• reflect on your own history as a reader and discover

the reading history of your ABE learners;• use think-aloud method in teaching reading of

challenging texts with ABE learners; and • build a list of reading strategies with students that

improve reading comprehension, critical thinking and metacognition.

Think-Pair-ShareReading Strategies

• Think-What strategies do you use now to build reading skills? What are the challenges, the gaps in our current strategies? What questions/needs are you bringing to this session?

• Pair – Share your responses with a partner• Group – List strategies, challenges, gaps and

questions

Thinking about the frameworkThink-pair-share

• What makes sense to you / resonates with you in this framework?

• What new notion strikes you – any “aha’s”?• What do you want to know more about?

Why it matters“Reading, and its role in promoting

achievement, is fundamentally an equity issue.”

-- William Loyd, Michigan literacy coordinator

Why it matters• Challenges to our common assumptions about reading

content levels• Importance for post-secondary and workplace success• Adults struggle with reading

Reading Between the Lives Video• Significant reading gains documented in WA:

– ABE readers made 3-5 point gain on CASAS after 33 hours instruction, vs. 5 point gain on CASAS after 100 hours instruction national average ; gathering more data now

• Other ideas…

Personal Reading History

• “If you know your personal reading history, you can impact your future as a reader.”

• Teacher self-awareness, model for students• Learners can shift from identity as “bad

reader” to “reader in progress”• So much we can learn about our students • Personal Reading History Video Clip

Personal Reading History - prompts

• What reading experiences stand out for you? High points? Low points?

• Were there times when your reading experience or the materials you were reading made you feel like an insider? Like an outsider?

• What supported your literacy development What discouraged it?

What is a Think Aloud?

“Think Alouds” (Davey, 1983) help students understand the kind of thinking required by a specific task.

The teacher models the thinking process of reading by:• Verbalizing thoughts• Processing information• Performing a learning task

Students see how the teacher:• Constructs meaning• Engages in dialogue with the author• Recognizes a comprehension problem and selects a fix-up strategy

Ineffective readers benefit from a skilled reader modeling the thinking processes during readinghttp://www.tantasqua.org/superintendent/Profdevelopment/etthinkalouds.html

How does a Think Aloud Work?

• Select a challenging text to read aloud• Develop plan/script/questions• Model the Think Aloud while students read

along silently. • Verbalize your thoughts, questions and

processes• Have students partner to practice Think

Alouds

Think Aloud Interactive

The Pledge of AllegianceI pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

States of AmericaAnd to the Republic for which it stands,one Nation under God, indivisible,With liberty and justice for all.

Building a Reading Strategies List

• Students identify strategies they see teacher model in think-alouds

• Students identify their own and partner’s strategies through shared think-alouds

• Class list, continue to add to it, post in room• Individual list, students reference in and

outside of class

Paired Think Aloud

• Medical Terminology Systems, Ch. 9 Blood, Lymph and Immune Systems, p. 255 – Blood

• In pairs, practice Think Aloud• One partner will practice Think Aloud using

the metacognitive bookmark• The other partner will listen and observe• Trade places in section beginning “Red Blood

Cells”

Review Objectives

• describe the basic aspects and value of the Reading Apprenticeship framework;

• reflect on your own history as a reader and discover the reading history of your ABE learners;

• use think-aloud method in teaching reading of challenging texts with ABE learners; and

• build a list of reading strategies with students that improve reading comprehension, critical thinking and metacognition.

Evaluation

• I learned something new and compelling in this session.

• I learned at least one reading strategy I’m likely to use in the coming year.

• Comments…• What critical questions remain?• Reflection questions; continue this afternoon…

ResourcesLinks to on-line materials:• Reading Apprenticeship Framework,

http://www.wested.org/cs/ra/print/docs/ra/approach.htm#framework

• Reading Apprenticeship professional development course information from WestEd, http://www.wested.org/cs/ra/view/serv/158

• Reading Apprenticeship success storieshttp://www.wested.org/cs/ra/print/docs/ra/success.htm• Downloadable resources

http://www.wested.org/cs/ra/print/docs/ra/resource-downloads.htm

More Resources

• RA Methods: Personal Reading Historyhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp5PyguLxNQ• RA Methods: Reading Strategies Listhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGzT5AnHEzo• Read Write Think Lesson Plan for Think Aloudhttp://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/building-reading-comprehension-through-139.html?tab=3#materials-technology

Thank you!