High School Readers

High school students generally don’t enjoy reading assignments. Often they view these tasks as difficult and impersonal. If you were to examine a classroom throughout the day, the times that you would see students most engaged and involved would be when they get to work and collaborate with their peers and even with their teacher. It is necessary however for students to read a variety of different literary content in order for them to learn what they need to in school. So how can we make challenging texts more approachable for high school students? Hinchman discusses this in Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction.

One of the main problems, according to Hinchman, with texts that high school students are asked to read, is that they are not comparable to the types of literary material that they are accustomed to. “The texts of high school classrooms are not embedded in the social networks of most students’ daily lives (p. 209).” Teenagers emerge themselves in social media. The majority of students are comfortable with the literary caliber that is required in these situations, but the reading their teachers give them is not found on Facebook or Twitter. Some teachers try to appeal to their students’ interest in social networks by making connections in class to the formatting of these sites. The goal of these assignments is to adapt to the writing style that teenagers are used to. “One challenge to interest and motivation may be that although adolescent students may be highly interested in a topic, they are often less engaged with academic texts about the topic because of the writing style of the text (p. 219).” Even if students are motivated and interested about a certain subject, they may still be discouraged because of the difficulty with which the text is presented. The thing that social media often has that many academic texts don’t have is a clear voice. When reading a friend’s post, there is an evident voice. However, many high school reading material “lacks a voice” so students have trouble identifying with it and the general meaning of it all.

One aspect of reading that is often included in mathematical texts is the use of tables, charts, and graphs. We may think of this as a visual image, rather than a section of reading, but students are required to read them. We can refer to this as analytical knowledge and skill, and it is very important to the understanding of mathematics (along with other subjects). Oftentimes students give up on reading and interpreting tables before they even begin. A smart strategy in addressing these types of texts is to ask broad questions about the table to get students thinking about the meaning of the numbers and figures presented. Hinchman talks about definitional knowledge on page 211. One person could know the definition of a word, but that does not mean that they understand it in the context that is being used in. So not only should you make sure that your students know the definitions of important vocabulary terms, but you need to check up on them to make sure they understand the ways in which they are being used. 

Hinchman, K. A., & Sheridan-Thomas, H. K. (2008). Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction. New York: Guilford Press.

Comprehending Comprehension

It is important to remember that most of the stuff you are teaching your students will be the first time they are hearing it, unlike yourself who has been familiarized with it. This being said, I think that one of the keys to understanding complex subjects is to give the students time to think about what they are learning in class.

Often times teachers progress too quickly from one subject to another. Also, within math classrooms, teachers don’t give students adequate time to work on solving problems if they even give the students any opportunity to work on their own without the assistance of the teacher. Students aren’t going to know if they are able to solve a problem if their teacher is always there to tell them how to go about solving the problem. Chapter four in Adolescent Literacy Turning Promise into Practice suggests that teachers “set aside some chunks of class time for focused, silent work in which students can concentrate on more deeply understanding one idea- give them time to listen to themselves think and consider subtleties instead of rushing to memorize the next thing (p. 36).” Other ways to promote a student’s understanding of complex concepts is to have them discuss with their peers in class. According to Beers, this not only helps students to better understand the material that they are teaching to each other, but they also might be able to make connections with their peers that their teachers were otherwise unable to make.

Because the comprehension of texts is such a vital part of learning, it is necessary for teachers to check in on their students to see if they understand, or are at least on the right track. According to Hinchman in Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction, questioning students is a good way to monitor their comprehension. Certain questions could definitely prove to be unhelpful. So, in order to be effective, questions must be selected carefully so that they aim at measuring a student’s comprehension, rather than a factual answer. Hinchman also says to teach students strategies in which they question themselves as they go along their reading. This way the teacher doesn’t need to be present for them to stay on top of their comprehension.

Beers, G. (n.d.). Adolescent literacy: Turning promise into practice.

Hinchman, K. A., & Sheridan-Thomas, H. K. (2008). Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction. New York: Guilford Press.

Tackling Text Complexity

Text complexity is an issue that many students run into. Unfortunately increasing a student’s ability to read complex texts requires them to try to read material that is out of their comfort level. This concept is almost identical to Vygotsky’s scaffolding theory. His theory is that students need to gradually be pushed to the step that is just out of their reach, so that eventually they will be at that level. If a student keeps reading books that they feel comfortable with, they will most likely be very efficient at that level, but they don’t have the ability to improve in more complex texts. Chapter six of Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction puts it this way; “The notion that skills do not improve much once they become automatic is one reason teachers who use repeated reading of texts to build reading fluency do not involve students in reading the same passage a dozen times…students generally develop sufficient fluency with the passage, and further practice is mostly a waste of time….challenging tasks are required to improve skills (p. 111-112).” This isn’t going to be an easy or enjoyable process, because most people don’t enjoy trying to do difficult things that they are not good at.

In general, math isn’t something that is easy to read. Math textbooks have one purpose in mind and that is not to entertain the reader with clever literary tactics or suspenseful story plots. The goal is to portray the material in a clear and dry-cut manner. Therefore, I would say that mathematical texts do not generally become more complex in terms of text structure, but rather in relation to the more difficult topics with which they deal with. Math builds upon itself. To understand new concepts, you must have a comfortable understanding with prior knowledge. This also adds a certain complexity to math texts because often it is assumes that the reader knows how to apply what they know to the new processes.

Chapter six of Best Practices in Adolescent Literacy Instruction also discusses deliberate practice. According to the text, there are three main components that teachers need to take into consideration in order to effectively provide deliberate literacy-related practices for their students. These three points are “previously acquired abilities, steady progression of difficulty, and immediate, valid feedback (p. 108).” Teachers who develop good readers into even better readers are able to do this when they keep those three components of deliberate practice in mind.

Hinchman, K. A., & Sheridan-Thomas, H. K. (2008). Best practices in adolescent literacy instruction. New York: Guilford Press.

Motivation and Comprehension

Regardless of the subject matter, teachers have found over and over that their students struggle with literacy. Teachers must come up with creative ways to mentor these students to encourage them in their endeavors. Even if a student’s progress in literacy does not improve, their expectations do. As kids move from grade to grade, the literary content gets more complex and advanced. Unfortunately there are so many students who have not been prepared for these big advances. So the question is; how do teachers get their students to the reading level that they need to be at in order to succeed in their classroom?

In his book, Beuhl discusses literature in the classroom and the ways teachers can make improvements for their students. From ideas discussed in his book, I think that the first step is to try to demonstrate an appreciation of literature for your students. So often we associate the word “reading” with large novels and confusing textbooks, and we forget that there are many simpler forms of literature that we use everyday. While discussing the need for disciplinary literature instruction, Beuhl describes different types of readers in an attempt to show its universality. According to Beuhl, what someone reads is going to depend upon their interests and their “identity.” “Coping with obligation texts is no different for our students than it has been for us. Consider the various identities that our students might bring to the classroom and how these identities could affect their personal reading profiles (Beuhl, p. 6).” In other words, teachers need to know their students to help them academically.

Once you have your students’ interest, it is easier to show them the importance of comprehending higher-level reading passages. There are many different strategies that can be used to do this, many of which Beuhl addresses in the second chapter of his book, but some are more relevant than others in certain subject areas. This is because each subject area relies on literacy in a slightly different way. Math, for example, is based on numbers and equations. Reading passages are usually limited in math textbooks, so students need to be prepared to understand them. One tool that particularly relates to math texts is to “make connections to prior knowledge (Beuhl, p. 35).” Math often uses step-by-step approaches to solving problems, so it’s important that you understand each step before moving on. Also, it is rare that you would find a problem that doesn’t utilize previously learned math topics.

Teachers need to promote enthusiastic students who are motivated to read. When this happens, teachers need to transform these readers into intellectuals that comprehend the content and grow in their knowledge.  

Teaching Literacy to a Modern World

For teachers, it is easy to think of the importance of literacy in relation to standardized tests. These tests are designed to measure a student’s ability in that area. But what can be easily overlooked, is the actual role literacy should play in a student’s life. 

As mentioned in chapter one of Adolescent Literacy, teachers need to encourage student literacy that will be applicable in the modern world we live in. Although it is beneficial for students to perform well on their standardized tests, it is more important that they understand how to use that properly in the world around them. The author proposes many questions in relation to this “new” view of how education should be implemented in students of today’s society. “But what if schooling looked different? What if we recognized that the world in which we now all work and live is different and what if education were about preparing students to live productively in that world (Beers, p. 11)?” I think when we consider these questions we are going to engage our students with a new way of learning that appeals to them. Technology is a great way to not only interest students, but to prepare them. 

Beers talks about a student who was not doing well in his English class, however he did have the ability to articulate using his language in a more modern format. He had an environmental blog that he cared a lot about. If his English teacher had less specific requirements, then this student might have been able to express his thoughts in a written format so that the teacher could recognize his ability. 

This same idea of teaching to a modern and ever-changing generation can be applied to any subject area. In a math classroom for example, one might put an emphasis on creative problem solving. It is still relevant to know math facts and equations, but being able to come up with original ideas to find solutions might prove to be more beneficial in our society where people can look up many questions on the Internet. 

In chapter 10, Jim Burke discusses important “learning skills” for the twenty-first century, one of which refers to creative thinking. Burke refers to it as “creativity and intellectual curiosity.” Teachers need to invoke this type of learning and thinking in their classroom so that their students become active and productive members of society. To motivate students in this way of thinking, Burke would invite professionals into his class to have them talk about the ways in which they have to constantly learn and stay current with their work. This shows students that they “must continue to learn as their fields evolve” and “be highly literate (Burke, p. 150).” 

It is important that teachers prepare their students for a world in which the implications of literacy are constantly changing. So what’s more important; students’ performance on standardized tests, or their ability to utilize that knowledge in our modern world?

Beers, G. (n.d.). Adolescent literacy: Turning promise into practice.