Adolescent Literacy: Teaching Reading Comprehension in Middle and High School

Reading is a high focus area in elementary school, but reading comprehension instruction tends to drop off once students reach upper elementary and middle school grades. Content educators would agree, however, that many students fail to have the reading skills to successfully understand their math, social studies, and other content area textbooks as they progress in higher grades and more challenging courses. Reading ability is a key predictor of achievement in mathematics and science, and the global information economy requires today’s American youth to have far more advanced literacy skills than those required of any previous generation.

The National Center for Education Science, Institute of Education Science (IES), created a report titled Improving Adolescent Literacy: Effective Classroom and Intervention Practices. This study highlights findings from research-based strategies to improve adolescent literacy. There are four recommended practices:

• Provide explicit vocabulary instruction and strategies to help students become independent vocabulary learners.

• Provide direct and explicit comprehension strategy instruction.
• Provide opportunities for extended text discussion and student engagement.
• Provide intensive intervention for struggling readers and monitor all students' reading progress.

To acquire the skills they need, students must work hard to refine and build upon their initial reading skills. Students in upper elementary grades and in middle and high school classes need help to acquire more advanced skills, especially those related to content area learning

Pepper has recently released a new Pepper Online Workshop (POW) based on the IES report described above. In this workshop, we focus on the fourth recommended practice of providing intensive intervention for struggling readers and monitoring all students’ reading progress. The POW, titled “Interventions for Struggling Readers”, focuses on exploring what adolescent literacy looks like and how content teachers can build comprehension instruction into their existing teaching. The workshop also explores how teachers determine students’ skill levels so they can help pinpoint students that need additional assistance. While schoolwide teacher collaboration across content areas is essential for improving outcomes for struggling readers, in many situations adolescents that struggle with reading need qualified specialists to provide intensive and individualized interventions. If you are interested in learning more about reaching the needs of struggling adolescent readers, be sure to check out our new POW, Interventions for Struggling Readers.

Pepper provides a wide range of courses for teachers that allow for growth and learning opportunities. You also have access to Pepper's online learning community where you can meet others who are teaching and learning about adolescent literacy.

Game-Based Education

Play has been a part of education for a very long time. While educational games may not be the solution to education woe’s, they definitely can be used to enhance it. Students today think and learn differently than we did as students. The traditional “sit-and-get” mentality is not a part of most classrooms today. Books and lecture still have a place in today’s classroom, but technology can be used as a vital and relevant tool to help students learn and meet the needs of a variety of learning styles.
A couple of terms to differentiate between: gaming education and gamification. Many times these are used interchangeably, but actually they can technically refer to different things. According to Vicki Davis @coolcatteacher.com, “Gamification is ‘applying typical elements of game playing (e.g., point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity.’” Gaming education is when you actually use games - students play games - as part of the learning and assessment process. Ms. Davis also points out that great classrooms will incorporate both.

There are such a variety of games out there - and they are much more advanced than the “lemonade stand” played in the early 80s on our Apple IIe computers, and still even more than Carmen SanDiego and Oregon Trail of my early teaching days. Today’s games are rich in problem solving and critical thinking skills. What is particularly exciting is that not only can games be used by teachers to assess student learning and understanding, to enhance a lesson and capture a student’s attention, but students can actually create the games! Recent emphasis and excitement about Minecraft and coding has led to a whole new area for educational gaming. Students are now using skills and knowledge gained from playing games, like Minecraft, and are now building mods and components of their own. The STEM and computer science learning that is going on with these students is both encouraging and exciting.

There is an awesome infographic that gives a great overview of the gamification of education. Edutopia also provides a “Game-based Learning Resource Round-up” that provides a collection of articles, videos, and resources for incorporating gaming into the classroom.

Common Sense’s Graphite, found in your Pepper Resource Library, has information and reviews on a plethora of game-based learning resources. Pepper Professional Development Courses and Workshops and the Resource Library can help you create a more engaged and active classroom that include game-based learning - for you and for your students. We’re adding new courses and workshops regularly, so be sure to check them out.

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed by President Obama on December 10, 2015. This bill replaces the current No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), which has been in effect since 2002. According to the US Department of Education, “This bipartisan measure reauthorizes the 50-year-old Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the nation’s national education law and longstanding commitment to equal opportunity for all students.”

Education Week provides a good overview of this new law. The Every Student Succeeds Act takes full effect in the 2017-18 school year. Education Week outlined the key elements of the law; here is an brief look:

• Accountability Plans - States are still accountable to the DOE and have to begin submitting plans beginning in 2017-2018.
• Accountability Goals - States can pick their own goals, but these must focus on testing proficiency, ELL, and graduation rates.
• Accountability Systems - Elementary and middle schools need to incorporate 3 academic indicators (such as state test results, ELL proficiency) and one, other such as school safety or student engagement. High schools are the same, but also include graduation rates.
• Low-Performing Schools - States have to identify and intervene in the bottom 5 percent of performers. These schools have to be identified at least once every three years.
• School Interventions -  For schools performing in the bottom 5 percent and high schools with high dropout rates, districts will intervene and states will monitor the turnaround effort.
• Testing - Testing is sticking around. States will still be required to test students in grades 3-8 in reading and math. ESSA maintains the federal requirement for 95 percent participation in tests.
• Standards - Common Core is not required, but is an option. States must adopt "challenging" academic standards.
• Transition from NCLB - States will still continue to support low-performing schools, but NCLB waivers will no longer be valid beginning Aug. 1, 2016.
• English Language Learners - Accountability for ELL students moves to Title 1. The idea is to make accountability for those students a priority.
• Students in Special Education - Only 1 percent of students overall can be given alternative tests. (That’s about 10 percent of students in special education.)
• Programs - There is a new block grant program which combines many existing programs, including some involving physical education, Advanced Placement, school counseling, and education technology. Other programs are also under development.
• Weighted Student Funding - A pilot program will let 50 districts try out a weighted student-funding formula, combining state, local, and federal funds to better serve low-income students and those with special needs.
• Teachers - NCLB’s “highly qualified” teacher status is now under state control. States will have the ability to determine teacher competency on whether teachers meet “highly qualified” requirements or on student test scores. ESSA puts the states in control of teacher quality.

You can learn more about ESSA by reading the full Education Week report, which also includes highlight videos on key topics. You can also visit the U.S. Department of Education’s ESSA page, to learn more about the law and how it differs from No Child Left Behind.

As always, your Pepper team is here to provide support and professional development for all your teaching and learning needs - for today and for the future.