- Build disciplinary and world knowledge. (AKA Background knowledge)
- Provide exposure to a volume and range of texts.
- Provide motivating texts and contexts for reading.
- Teach strategies for comprehending.
- Teach text structures.
- Engage students in discussion.
- Build vocabulary and language knowledge.
- Integrate reading and writing.
- Observe and assess.
- Differentiate instruction (Samuels & Farstrup, 2012, p. 52).
This list comes from my new favorite book, What Research Says About Reading Instruction. I just discovered there’s also a What Research Says About Vocabulary Instruction which I’ve put on my Amazon wish list.
I don’t think any of this is new news to anyone teaching reading, but it is wonderfully affirming news. I realize that my weakness has been teaching text structure in non-fiction reading. I’ve busily been collecting information on structure so I can work with it more than usual next year. Last year my focus was student discussion. I’ve been preparing a website at Collaborative Classroom to have my students have online discussions as “boardwork” when they enter the room, exit tickets before they leave the room, or in-depth discussions in the middle or for homework. I love online discussions as it makes it possible for the teacher to monitor all the discussions not just those in earshot.
Samuels, S. J., & Farstrup, A. E. (2012). What research has to say about reading instruction. (fourth ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.