Southern Alamance High School
Read to Succeed!
ACT research shows that
to be on target for
college and career
readiness in reading,
students should be able
to demonstrate the
following skills:
1. Recognize the clear
intent of an author or
narrator in uncomplicated
literacy narratives
2. Locate basic facts,
(names, dates, events)
clearly stated in passage
3. Determine when
(first, last, before, after)
or even if an event
occurred
4. Recognize clear
cause-effect relationships
described within a single
sentence in a passage
5. Understand the
implication of a word or
phrase and of simple
descriptive language
6. Draw simple generalizations and conclusions
about the main characters in literary narratives
Why worry about literacy?
The numbers paint a dismal picture. American fourth graders score near the
top in international comparisons of reading skills, but by the time they
reach eleventh grade, they lag behind not only their counterparts in
Industrialized nations, but also those in much of the developing world as
well, including Brazil, Indonesia and the Philippines, according to a landmark 2002 RAND Corporation study of adolescent literacy.
A 2003 Department of Education assessment found that 25% of students
entering ninth grade read at "below basic" levels making them unable to
understand newspapers, news magazines or their own textbooks.
Therefore, attention to literacy and Lexile growth is important and requires
effort both in school and at home.
Tips:
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Be flexible
Establish reading
goals
Make connections
Model enthusiasm
Seek outside
resources
Discuss what is read
Connect reading and
writing
Diversify reading
type and topic
Read aloud
Focus on growth
Online Resources:
Official Lexile site where level appropriate texts can be found:
https://lexile.com/
A quizzing style site:
http://www.readtheory.org/
Passages with practice tests:
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/assessment_assistance/assessment_preparation_
language_arts_reading_comprehension_online.htm
Various passages with some guided reading help:
http://www.cdlponline.org/
A collection of works that can be chosen based on grade level:
http://etc.usf.edu/lit2go/
Fluency
Fluency develops as a result of many opportunities to practice reading with a high degree of success. Therefore, your
students should practice rereading aloud texts that are reasonably easy for them – that is, texts containing mostly words
that they know or can decode easily. In other words, the texts should be at the students' independent reading level.
A text is at students' independent reading level if they can read it with about 95% accuracy. If the text is more difficult,
students will focus on word recognition and will not have an opportunity to develop fluency.
The text your students practice rereading orally should also be relatively short – probably 50-200 words, depending on
the age of the students. You should also use a variety of reading materials, including stories, nonfiction, and poetry.
Activities for students to increase fluency
Student-adult reading—the student reads one-on-one with an adult.
Choral, or unison, reading—students read along as a group or with another fluent adult reader.
Audio-assisted reading—students read along in their books as they hear a fluent reader read the book on-line until the
student is able to read the book independently, without support.
Partner reading—paired students take turns reading aloud to each other.
Readers' theatre—students rehearse and perform a play for peers or others.
Story-time reading—the student reads one-on-one to a child. The text must be practiced in advance to prepare fluency
and then be read to a younger listener.
How Parents Can Encourage Teens to Read
You know that
reading is
important and
you want to make
sure that your
teenager grows
into adulthood
with all the skills
he or she needs
to succeed.
Vocabulary
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By: Reading Is Fundamental
1. Set an example. Let your
kids see you reading for
pleasure.
2. Furnish your home with a
variety of reading materials. Leave books, magazines,
and newspapers around.
Check to see what disappears
for a clue to what interests
your teenager.
3. Give teens an opportunity to choose their own
books . When you and your
teen are out together, browse
in a bookstore or library. Go
your separate ways and make
your own selections. A
bookstore gift certificate is a
nice way of saying, "You
choose".
4. Build on your teen's interests. Look for books and
articles that feature their favorite sports teams, rock
stars, hobbies, or TV shows.
Give a gift subscription to a
special interest magazine.
5. View pleasure reading as
a value in itself. Almost anything your youngsters read —
including the Sunday comics
— helps build reading skills.
6. Read some books written
for teens. Young adult novels
can give you valuable insights
into the concerns and pressures felt by teenagers. You
may find that these books
provide a neutral ground on
which to talk about sensitive
subjects.
7. Make reading aloud a
natural part of family life.
Share an article you clipped
from the paper, a poem, a
letter, or a random page from
an encyclopedia — without
turning it into a lesson.
8. Acknowledge your teen's
mature interests. Look for
ways to acknowledge the
emerging adult in your teens
by suggesting some adult
reading you think they can
handle.
9. Keep the big picture in
mind. For all sorts of reasons, some teenagers go
through periods without
showing much interest in
reading. Don't panic! Time,
and a few tips from this brochure, may help rekindle
their interest.
Reading fluency is key to comprehension.
In order to read fluently, students must be able to decode and sound out words.
If students are struggling to decode words, they lose meaning.
Read, read, read, read, a variety of texts.
Explore word-a-day lists to give daily discussion and exposure to new words.
Use all the processes of literacy in learning new vocabulary: reading, writing, speaking, listening, viewing, thinking, and
multiple-symbol systems.
Use new vocabulary in multiple ways as many as 30 times.
Define in own words and illustrate new words on a 5 x 7 card: post the card or make a personal word notebook.
Play word games:
—For 1 minute list all the words that sound alike, or are in the category of, or are a synonym for,
antonym for, homophone for___________.
—Link verbs or words stating one and stating a second one which begins with the previous word’s
final letter (i.e.: trim—mark—keep—promote—explore—exit—target—etc…)
Taylor, R. (2007). Improving reading, writing and content learning for students in grades 4-12. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press .