Teaching & Instruction

Four principles emerge as essential for helping students become more effective readers and learners: (1.) Classroom communities and relationships   (2.) Strategy instruction throughout the content areas.  (3)  A student framework for learning, and (4) Professional development

NACL Report   (USA)

Foundational and Emergent Questions:

Smart People Talk About Adolescent Literacy

A Report by the Steering Committee of the National Adolescent Literacy Coalition (Oct. 2006)

 Account of the NACL summit at Dominican University in Oak Park, Illinois,

 The report identifies three major sources of tension that have begun to emerge from within the field of adolescent literacy and that will need to be resolved if the field is to continue to offer clear, consistent recommendations for improving reading and writing instruction in grades 4–12:

1) Educational Triage or Comprehensive Care?

2) One Big Literacy or Many Little Literacies?

3) Hurry Up and Wait

Kamil, Michael L. (et al.):  IES Practice Guide

Institute of Education Sciences (IES)

 Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices

NCEE 2008-4027; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Checklist for carrying out the recommendations:

1. Provide explicit vocabulary instruction                                                                                    

2. Provide direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction  

3. Provide opportunities for extended discussion of text meaning and interpretation       

4. Increase student motivation and engagement in literacy learning          

5. Make available intensive and individualized interventions for struggling readers that can be provided by trained specialists

Ilene Berman, Gina Biancarosa:

Reading to Achieve; a Governor’s Guide to Adolescent Literacy

 This report to Carnegie Corporation identifies elements associated with improving adolescent literacy based on the most current research. A comprehensive literacy program targeted to older readers would include many of the following elements:

1. Direct, explicit comprehension instruction

2. Effective instructional principles embedded in content

3. Motivation and self-directed learning

4. Text-based collaborative learning

5. Strategic tutoring

6. Diverse texts

7. Intensive writing

8. A technology component

9. Ongoing formative assessment of students

10. Extended time for literacy

11. Professional development

12. Ongoing summative assessment of students and programs

13. Teacher teams

14. Leadership

15. A comprehensive and coordinated literacy program Elements

The report identifies three core instructional practices that have been shown to be effective in improving student reading.