Reading Principles
1. Students have to want to read.
One of the things we learned about in Educational Psychology is the importance of motivating students, because students will work best if they actually care about what they’re learning. If a student is only doing something for a grade, or because the teacher or parent wants them to, they will not work as well. For a student to really comprehend what they’re reading on a deep level, it’s important for them to care about their reading comprehension. A student can’t become a better reader if they don’t want to. I think it’s really important to be aware that you have to be able to motivate your students to want to learn, which is different than merely just encouraging them to complete their homework.
2. Students need a solid base vocabulary, not only of common words but also of prefixes and suffixes.
Once a student is taking the initiative to continue improving their reading comprehension, it’s important to ensure that they have a solid understanding of common words, prefixes and suffixes. This helps them when they’re reading, so when they come to a word they don’t know, they’re able to figure out what it means based on their prior vocabulary knowledge. If a student has to stop when they come to every word they are unfamiliar with to look it up, it will interrupt the flow of their reading and this can have a negative affect on their reading comprehension.
3. Reading connects across all content areas.
One thing that enforces the importance of reading comprehension is the fact that reading connects across all content areas in the school. For every class you are in as a student, you will have to read something and be able to comprehend what you were reading. Even classes that you might not expect to find reading in, such as physical education and math, contain reading. These classes don’t teach fundamentals of reading, they expect that their students are aware of and have the capabilities to comprehend their assignments. This is the job of the English teacher.
4. Reading fosters cultural acceptance and knowledge.
Many students throughout middle school and high school have not been lucky enough to travel outside of their state, and even some outside of their county. They don’t have a lot of access to different cultures and environments aside from their own, so it can be extremely difficult for them to understand people who don’t have the same background as them. Learning about different cultures and countries does occur in other classes (such as social studies courses), but this learning comes from the point of view of the culture that the students exist in already. However, when students are reading a novel about another culture, they’re seeing it from the author’s point of view, and they’re gaining a better understanding of people and cultures that they might not have found through another means.
5. Students need to know what reading strategies work best for them.
For students of all reading capabilities, it’s important for them to understand what reading capabilities work best for them. If a student knows they’re not reading well, but doesn’t know how to improve, it’s extremely difficult for them to figure out what they have to do to improve their reading. Once they are introduced to different reading strategies, it’s easier for them to improve their reading ability and comprehension because they know strategies they can use when they’re having difficulties. Likewise, students who are good reading should also know what reading strategies work for them, because it helps them understand what they’re doing while they read.
6. Students have to be able to follow the simple ‘plot’ of a reading to be able to get to a level of deeper comprehension.
If students are unable to read and recall events of a text, it’s nearly impossible for them to comprehend ideas and themes within the text. Also, the inference of future events is extremely difficult if they can’t tell you what has happened already. Teachers should not take this part of reading for granted, and should try to continue pushing the importance of this in the classroom. Sometimes students read so fast that they easily forget what they have just read, but don’t think they’re doing anything wrong because they understand the words. Doing a read aloud in class to example taking note of important events or plot points is a way of showing this to students.
7. The goal of reading not only to be able to simply read the text and understand the words, but to be able to comprehend the overall meaning, bias, assumptions, etc. of the text.
If we’re simply reading to understand the words, it becomes a glorified vocabulary unit. Students should be able to get a deeper meaning out of the text once they understand and can follow the simple plot. While reading, students should move forward from simply following the plot into making inferences about future events. They should be able to read and understand the author’s bias, intent, themes etc. in the work. Teachers should show ways to do this in class, and stress that this is important as well as just remembering what happens in a text.
8. Prior knowledge of big ideas, themes, or real historical events within a novel is connected to comprehension.
When students are reading, they are using their prior knowledge to understand different events and ideas within the book. Since students all bring different prior knowledge to a reading, students often understand readings in different. To help students better understand a text, it’s important to bring in prior knowledge that they might not have. For example, while reading a book about the holocaust, it could be helpful to introduce students to some facts about the holocaust if they’re unfamiliar with the event. In this line of thinking, it could also help students to understand historically themed literature to make connections to similar-themed current events.
One of the things we learned about in Educational Psychology is the importance of motivating students, because students will work best if they actually care about what they’re learning. If a student is only doing something for a grade, or because the teacher or parent wants them to, they will not work as well. For a student to really comprehend what they’re reading on a deep level, it’s important for them to care about their reading comprehension. A student can’t become a better reader if they don’t want to. I think it’s really important to be aware that you have to be able to motivate your students to want to learn, which is different than merely just encouraging them to complete their homework.
2. Students need a solid base vocabulary, not only of common words but also of prefixes and suffixes.
Once a student is taking the initiative to continue improving their reading comprehension, it’s important to ensure that they have a solid understanding of common words, prefixes and suffixes. This helps them when they’re reading, so when they come to a word they don’t know, they’re able to figure out what it means based on their prior vocabulary knowledge. If a student has to stop when they come to every word they are unfamiliar with to look it up, it will interrupt the flow of their reading and this can have a negative affect on their reading comprehension.
3. Reading connects across all content areas.
One thing that enforces the importance of reading comprehension is the fact that reading connects across all content areas in the school. For every class you are in as a student, you will have to read something and be able to comprehend what you were reading. Even classes that you might not expect to find reading in, such as physical education and math, contain reading. These classes don’t teach fundamentals of reading, they expect that their students are aware of and have the capabilities to comprehend their assignments. This is the job of the English teacher.
4. Reading fosters cultural acceptance and knowledge.
Many students throughout middle school and high school have not been lucky enough to travel outside of their state, and even some outside of their county. They don’t have a lot of access to different cultures and environments aside from their own, so it can be extremely difficult for them to understand people who don’t have the same background as them. Learning about different cultures and countries does occur in other classes (such as social studies courses), but this learning comes from the point of view of the culture that the students exist in already. However, when students are reading a novel about another culture, they’re seeing it from the author’s point of view, and they’re gaining a better understanding of people and cultures that they might not have found through another means.
5. Students need to know what reading strategies work best for them.
For students of all reading capabilities, it’s important for them to understand what reading capabilities work best for them. If a student knows they’re not reading well, but doesn’t know how to improve, it’s extremely difficult for them to figure out what they have to do to improve their reading. Once they are introduced to different reading strategies, it’s easier for them to improve their reading ability and comprehension because they know strategies they can use when they’re having difficulties. Likewise, students who are good reading should also know what reading strategies work for them, because it helps them understand what they’re doing while they read.
6. Students have to be able to follow the simple ‘plot’ of a reading to be able to get to a level of deeper comprehension.
If students are unable to read and recall events of a text, it’s nearly impossible for them to comprehend ideas and themes within the text. Also, the inference of future events is extremely difficult if they can’t tell you what has happened already. Teachers should not take this part of reading for granted, and should try to continue pushing the importance of this in the classroom. Sometimes students read so fast that they easily forget what they have just read, but don’t think they’re doing anything wrong because they understand the words. Doing a read aloud in class to example taking note of important events or plot points is a way of showing this to students.
7. The goal of reading not only to be able to simply read the text and understand the words, but to be able to comprehend the overall meaning, bias, assumptions, etc. of the text.
If we’re simply reading to understand the words, it becomes a glorified vocabulary unit. Students should be able to get a deeper meaning out of the text once they understand and can follow the simple plot. While reading, students should move forward from simply following the plot into making inferences about future events. They should be able to read and understand the author’s bias, intent, themes etc. in the work. Teachers should show ways to do this in class, and stress that this is important as well as just remembering what happens in a text.
8. Prior knowledge of big ideas, themes, or real historical events within a novel is connected to comprehension.
When students are reading, they are using their prior knowledge to understand different events and ideas within the book. Since students all bring different prior knowledge to a reading, students often understand readings in different. To help students better understand a text, it’s important to bring in prior knowledge that they might not have. For example, while reading a book about the holocaust, it could be helpful to introduce students to some facts about the holocaust if they’re unfamiliar with the event. In this line of thinking, it could also help students to understand historically themed literature to make connections to similar-themed current events.