Which approach to teaching reading strategies do you agree with, and why?

Submitted by David Rosen on Sat, 09/29/2018 - 20:40
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Hello reading and writing teaching colleagues,

Here is an engaging Edweek blog by Larry Ferlazzo for reading and writing teachers of adults or children. All the writers appear to agree that teaching reading strategies is important, but they disagree about the best approach to teaching them. For adult basic skills (including ESOL/ESL) learners, which approach do you think is most effective and why?

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2018/09/response_using_reading_strategies_effectively_in_literacy_instruction.html

David J. Rosen

 

 

Comments

Thanks for sharing the opinions of the writing teachers featured in the blog you listed, David. I didn't find as much disagreement as I did a variety of approaches, some the same but called by different names. All appeared to stress making connections in some way, no matter what the age, between the content and the student, which is certainly supported by research. As mentioned, we know that strategies differ among different purposes for reading, which, in a way, goes back to connection. The instructor's purpose for reading needs to somehow connect to the student's purpose for getting involved, which is key to engagement. 

I think that there are way too many variables to justify selecting top strategies to be applied among adults or children. Of course, comprehension is what we all aim to achieve, and comprehension is highly dependent on the student's alphabetic skills, vocabulary development, familiarity or interest in the topic, and fluency.

I would suggest one approach that works every time in acquiring any new skill, including reading: practice! And practice relies heavily on whether or not we like performing the skill. If we like to do something, we do it a lot, over and over, and as often as we can. The more we do it, the better we get at it. That goes back to connecting reading to students. Do they eventually have to like everything they read? Of course not, but if they first learn to read because they like it, later, having to read certain "unfriendly" materials will not be such a challenge IF those materials connect in some ways to the readers: their interests, goals, and, of course, abilities. OK. That felt like a mouthful that even I have to stop to digest! :)

I hope others join us here. What reflections on this topic will you share to help us grasp it more fully? Leecy

 

Leecy