Who Are Struggling Readers and What Do They Need?

1
Who Are Struggling Readers and What Do They Need?

• Dr. Kathleen J. Brown
• University of Utah Reading Clinic

2
Problem Too Many Struggling Readers

• 15-40 depending on SES (Allington, 1994)
• 2003 NAEP data
• 34 Utah 4th graders below basic in reading
• Probability unsuccessful G1 readers still
  unsuccessful in G4 .88 (Juel, 1988)

3
Step 1 What are the Possibilities for Joes
Profile?

• Reading Decoding X Comprehension
• If good readers good at decoding comp
• Then, struggling readers can be
• poor at both decoding comp
• worse at decoding/better at comp (bk users)
• better at decoding/worse at comp (word callers)
• What does research say about these groups?

4
Step 1 What Does the Research Say About Joes
Profile?

• Shankweiler et al., 1999 Scientific Studies of
  Reading
• N 361 7-9 year olds w/above 80 IQ
• measures reading comp, word id, listening comp,
  psuedoword id, etc.
• plotted scores on a scattergram

5
Step 1 What Does the Research Say About Joes
Profile?

• 114 students average or above readers
• 71 students too close to call (buffer zone)
• All remaining students poor readers
• Of these
• 127 students
• 32 students
• 17 students

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Step 1 What Does the Research Say About Joes
Profile?

• Joe is most likely struggling with both decoding
  comp (n 124 of 361)
• It is unlikely that Joe is bk user (n 34 of
  361)
• It is even more unlikely that Joe is a word
  caller (n 17 of 361)
• Even those 17 word callers are below average in
  comparison to good readers!

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Step 2 Is Joe Struggling?

• Initial Screening (e.g., DIBELS or AimsWeb)
• Indicated Risk of Reading Failure? Follow up with
  diagnostic assessment to determine
  instruction/intervention level
• accuracy rate on passages of graded difficulty

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Step 3 OK, Joe is Struggling. What Does He
Need From Me?

• Forget how old he is think developmentally and
  work at his instructional levels
• develop automaticity in decoding
• short vowels-gt vowel patterns-gt polysyllabic
  words
• consume as much independent and instructional
  level text as is humanly possible
• guided independent, repeated reading for
  fluency
• develop increasingly sophisticated ways of
  thinking and talking about text
• complete sentences--gtmore complex sentences via
  modeling of vocab syntax

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Step 4 Automatic Decoding Phonics Scope
Sequence for Joe

• Nonreader to Primer master letters-sounds, use
  initial consonant, blends digraphs, master
  easier high frequency words, blend CVCs
• Primer to mid G2 master CVC(e)s, vowel teams,
  easy prefix suffix, harder high frequency
  words, chunk 2 syllable words
• end G2 and up use chunks morphemes in
  polysyllabic words

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Step 4 Guided Fluency Reading What Text
Level for Joe?

• Find highest place he meets both criteria and
  start guided fluency reading there
• min 90 accuracy sufficient speed
• mid G1 min 30wpm mid G3 min 90wpm
• end G1 min 40wpm end G3 min 110wpm
• mid G2 min 65wpm end G4 min 120wpm
• end G2 min 90wpm end G5 min 130wpm end G6
  min 150wpm

(DIBELS, 2003 Hasbrouck Tindal,1992, Morris,
1999)
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Step 5 Pacing When Do I Move Joe to a More
Difficult Level?

• Collect regular rate accuracy data (at least
  2-3x per week)
• prepare passage (count out 100 words)
• must be a cold read
• time Joe (how long does it take?)
• count errors (substitutions, omissions,
  insertions, helps, self-corrects above G1)
• repetitions are not errors

(DIBELS, 2003 Hasbrouck Tindal,1992, Morris,
1999)
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Step 5 Pacing When Do I Move Joe to a More
Difficult Level?

• Evaluate rate accuracy data
• Is Joe at least 90 accurate?
• Does Joe read with sufficient speed?
• mid G1 app 30wpm mid G3 app 80wpm
• end G1 app 40wpm end G3 app 100wpm
• mid G2 app 60wpm end G4 app 100wpm
• end G2 app 80wpm end G5 app 100wpm end G6
  app 100wpm

( UURC, 2004. Note insufficient research base
for direction)
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Step 5 Pacing When Do I Move Joe to a More
Difficult Level?

• At high end of level, evaluate rate accuracy
  data
• Is Joe at least 90 accurate?
• Does Joe read with sufficient speed?
• If yes, move to next higher text level, work
  there and collect rate accuracy data
• If no, stay at current level if possible,
  increase amount of reading. Continue to collect
  rate accuracy data

14
Will This Really Help Joe?

• At-risk G1 students who received 95 sessions of
  Early Steps finished the year reading between
  primer and late-G1.
• Matched control G1 students who received 135
  sessions of regular Title 1 intervention finished
  the year at preprimer.

(Brown, Reynolds, Sinatra, 2000)
15
Will This Really Help Joe?

• G2 G3 students who started the year just below
  primer and received 45 sessions of Next Steps,
  made a little more than one year of progress as
  readers (to mid-G2).
• Matched control G2 G3 students who received 135
  sessions of regular Title 1 intervention made
  one-half years progress (late-G1).

Brown, Morris, Fields, 2002
16
Will This Really Help Joe?

• G2 students who had received Early Steps in G1and
  no intervention in G2 had made one-half years
  progress by March (to early-G2).
• Matched control G2 students who received no
  intervention in G2 made one-half years progress
  by March (between primer late-G1).

Brown, Morris, Fields, 2001
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What Do These Data Mean for Joe?

• Intervention can help Joe make substantial
  progress as a reader
• Joe may need more than 1 year of intervention to
  get to, and/or maintain grade level performance
• remember Dominique Shelby!!!

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What Needs to Be in Place to Help Joe? And Juan?
And Jane?...

• Materials
• lots of leveled text with controlled vocabulary
  (carefully selected predictable, decodable, high
  frequency, old basals, and easy reader texts)
• Enough Trained Bodies To Go Around
• educators who understand reading development,know
  how to deliver effective intervention in an
  efficient manner and have time to do so

19
What Do Educators Need to be Able to Help Joe?
And Juan? And Jane?

• Clinical Experience/Practicum (theyve had enough
  Sit-N-Gets!)
• watch expert model intervention with student
• educator tutors 1-on-1 with a student
• educator gets on-line feedback from expert
• educator observes other tutors and students

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Critical Issues Time 1-on-1

• Clinical Experience/Practicum
• 1-on-1 clears management issues so educators can
  see reading development up close and personal
  over time
• intensive and ongoing
• tutoring needs to happen 2-5x/week for 1 year to
  see the interplay between intervention and
  development
• mentoring needs to happen at least twice monthly
  over time

21
What Needs to Be in Place to Help Joe? And Juan?
And Jane?

• teachers group for reading to allow students to
  function at instructional level AMAP
• in non-Title I schools, staff volunteers build
  a tutoring program
• in Title I schools, paraprofessionals are
  effective intervention tutors
• remember Granger Elementary!!