Rayner et al 2001

Rayner et al 2001

a. Whole-word (look-say) instruction

The whole word approach to reading instruction in reading instruction teaches the early learner words as units rather than phonemes. The word as seen as a unit and in this type of instruction the child is shown flashcards with a word on it, the teacher pronounces it and then asks the child to read it. Usually the teacher begins to with a small set of words and gradually expands the amount of words the child will read. This method attempts to deal with the irregularities in the english language and its pronunciation of irregular words by teaching the words as whole units.The advocates of whole word instruction say this encourages reading for meaning in the young reader.

b. Phonics Instruction

Phonics instruction uses the aspects of the alphabetic system. Letters are added followed by diagraphs and blends. As the young reader learns simple words they also begin to develop a sight vocabulary. The reader is learning sounds of individual letters and combinations of letters. The main concept of phonics instructions is it is explicitly teaching children both the alphabetic principle and specific letter-phoneme correspondences. One additional benefit of the phonics approach is it encourages the child to analyze words which will assist the child when they are faced with unknown words. It has been said that this type of instruction is boring for the young reader however; once basic skills are mastered the child can very likely read new words independently

c. Meaning emphasis (whole language) Instruction;

This type of instruction focuses on language experiences. The emphasis is the memorization of whole words. Meaning emphasis has within it whole language instruction and psycholinguistic approach based on work of Goodman and Smith. Goodman suggests readers are making the best possible guess when they are reading using semantic, syntactic and graphophonic cueing systems. The graphophonic cues represent general knowledge of spelling sound relationships, syntactic cures represent knowledge of syntactic patterns and the markers that cue these patterns and the semantic cues represent knowledge of word meanings and topic. This type if instruction relies on the child’s experience with language. Goodman and Smith reject the teaching of phonics and do not believe a child should be corrected when they make errors in their reading.

d. Prescriptive vs. responsive (balanced) teaching;

Prescriptive teaching directly teaches letter sound correspondences  with a prescribed set of activities. There are a variety of programs discussed in this monograph. Each has a specific idea of whole group versus small group instruction and types of assessment to be used. There is usually a time to review previously taught letter sounds,introduction of new letter sounds, practice of blending sounds into words, practice reading decodable text, teacher read alouds and language arts instruction. Responsive teaching uses a scaffolding approach to meet the reader’s needs. The teacher assists the child as they read and provides positive feedback on their reading errors. A running record is kept of reading miscues to inform the next day’s lessons. Responsive teaching can be highly effective when knowledgeable teachers work with individual children. This type of instruction does not work in whole group instruction. The use of leveled text is used during guided reading. The child also has a time of word study in which they are analyzing graphophonic connections.

e. What is your take on the best method to teach reading?

I feel responsive teaching seems to describe what is going on in my classroom. It is essential to meet each student at their instructional level in order to not frustrate them and turn them off to reading. During our language arts block of time students are in guided reading, independent reading and word study groups. I also feel read aloud is very important in developing exposure to rich “book” language.

f. How would you characterize the reading instruction in your school? Why?

I think for the most part our school takes a more responsive approach to reading instruction. The ASU reading program has had a huge impact on the way we are teaching reading. We are for the most part getting away from boxed programs and providing more individual instruction rather than whole group instruction. There has been a greater interest in word study as well this is just one more way to differentiate instruction to meet the learner where they are and take them as far as we can in 180 days.

Reading Fluency: Morris & Gaffney

1.Who is Luke? Provide a brief description of the child. Do you have kids like Luke in your own class?

Luke is a seventh grade student who struggled with reading and writing. Luke’s reading fluency and rate were at the level of a second grader. He is also on medication for seizures and ADHD. Luke’s teachers describe him as well mannered and cooperative however his academic performance is inconsistent and is possibly related to his attention problems.

This year I am working with several students concerning reading rate and fluency.

2.Describe briefly the intervention used to addressed Luke’s problems in reading. Have you used similar instructional tools with your poor readers?

A variety of interventions were used to help Luke with his reading problems. Luke’s classroom interventions involved using the Wilson Reading System. This program was used during his fifth and sixth grade years. Luke’s decoding skills had shown improvement by the end of sixth grade but he continued to struggle with reading rate and fluency. It was at this point Luke’s parents approached ASU’s Reading Clinic for help. Luke continued with the upper levels of the Wilson program at school and began to attend the clinic two days a week. The intervention used in the clinic was a lot of supported contextual reading. Luke was given recordings of a chapter of his reading. He would listen to the recording of a page, stop the recording and reread the page to himself. After the entire chapter was read he would focus on the first few pages of the chapter in preparation for a timed reading on this section. The tutor also used guided reading at Luke’s instructional level as well as repeated readings. The repeated readings were passages previously read in guided reading; Luke would read for two minutes. The number of words he read was then recorded on a chart and Luke would then read the passage a second time with these results also being recorded on the chart. During the next session Luke would reread this section two more times and these were recorded on the same chart. The last part of the tutoring session included a read aloud by the tutor.

I am using guided reading, rereading of text and timed repeated readings. The visual from the timed repeated reading chart gives students motivation.

3. The main finding of this study is that the child improved his reading rate by 25 words per minute over the course of the intervention. This same gain eluded Luke’s isolated word reading rate (as measured with Word Recognition in Isolation–WRI). How do the authors explain this discrepancy? See their discussion on phrasing in the Commentary section.

Luke struggled with phrasing as he read. He has trouble like many readers, putting words into chunks. The authors explain by stating written text does not have graphic clues imbedded in it to guide the reader concerning phrase boundaries. These types of cues are present when we speak but are lacking in print. This is a challenge for the struggling and beginning readers. They must learn to use subtle phrase structure clues.

4. Do you see any connections to our previous readings (e.g., Adams, 2004; Ehri & Wilce, 1979; Perfetti & Hogaboam, 1975, etc)?

There is a connection to Ehri & Wilce study which confirmed the importance of a grapho-phoneme connection. This connection develops automaticity in the beginning reader. This automaticity increases fluency and reading rate.  

On The Acquistion of Reading Fluency

 SchreiberPeter A. (1980). Journal of reading behavior. vol. XII (3).

How does Schreiber think Repeated Readings helps students compensate for the lack of prosodic features in print? Do you agree with his reasoning? Why or Why not? You should use Ehri’s work to think about this question. In her 1997 address to the SSSR convention, she mentions embedding intonation into texts in order to help students with prosody. Go back to that paper and see what she found out.

Schreiber thinks repeated readings help students compensate by their ability to rely on other cues besides prosodic cues. The reader begins to make use of other signals such as function words, inflectional endings and other morphological signals. Schreiber also states modeling by a fluent reader will aid the child in producing the appropriate phrasing of the sentence or passage. I do agree modeling does help the reader but also the expose to repeated reading of familiar text is also a key to become a fluent prosodic reader. Ehri says readers build a lexicon of written words in memory. The reader will amalgamate word to syntactic, semantic and phonological identifies already stored in their memory as they repeatedly read the same words.

Ehri’s intonation study built cues about intonation into written text.  These cues were identified by varying sizes in of the written words. For example words that required a lot of stress were printed in large type, moderately stressed words were written in medium text and unstressed words were in the smallest type. The results of the study revealed third graders read the intoned text faster than standard text. While this first study did show improvements in reading fluency, Ehri was not able to replicate it in a follow up study.

Constructions-Integration; Kintsch

1. What is a proposition?

Proposition is one way of specifying what constitutes an idea in text. We extract propositions from sentences because it is difficult to remember the exact wording of all the sentences in a passage.They are broken into idea units. An idea unit is the combination of more than one word in schematic form. Propositions are extracted from sentences and are then connected to a textbase. The textbase is a combination of the microstructure and macrostructure. Prior knowledge has an effect on an individual’s construction of situation models from the passage they have read even though they may construct the same textbase for the passage.

2. According to Kintsch, how many types of text (discourse) representation are there? Briefly describe each.
There are four types of text representation; the surface memory, macrostructure, microstructure and situation model. The surface memory is the memory of actual words and phrases. The macrostructure it the global organization of the ideas from the microstructure into higher order units. The Macrostructure is a network of prepositions that represent the meaning of text. The situation model represents the information independent of the manner provided by the text and integrated with background information from the reader’s prior knowledge.
3. What do the terms Construction and Integration refer to? Briefly discuss. You can refer to the section on The Process of Comprehension: Construction and Integration on page 1278.
Instead of trying to construct only the correct meaning of a sentence the CI model generates several possible meanings in parallel and only later when a rich context is available sorts out which construction is the correct one.

Walczyk

1. The word “compensatory” is the key to understanding Walczyk’s theory. On page 182, Walczyk discusses “compensatory mechanisms” and the conditions under which they may be used. What does he mean by “compensatory mechanisms”?
Walczyk’s “compensatory mechanism” refer to the reader’s ability to deal with subcomponent inefficiencies and resource limitations. If a child is reading about an unfamiliar topic they would adjust their reading by decoding or slower reading rate. Compensatory mechanisms are used everyday reading. They are not used in situations in which the reader feels pressured.
2. He builds his theory on the findings of weak correlations between lower level reading processes (decoding) and comprehension in older children and adults (Walczyk, 1990; Walczyk & Raska, 1992). Explain what he means by the weak correlations.
Walczyk refers to weak correlations observed in older children and adults because when older readers get to fourth or fifth grade they are more likely to make use compensatory measures in order to understand their reading. In other words, they know when they may have to decode a word or they know when they must adjust their reading rate.
3. Walczyk finds stronger correlations (between lower level reading processes and comprehension) only in pressured situations (testing). Explain what he means by these (stronger) correlations.
The use of high pressure testing inhibits the reader’s use of compensatory strategies because they have been developed during low stress situations. When a student is reading under pressure their ability to comprehend is threatened because in these situations the subcomponents of reading become very important.
4. Walczyk argues that older readers and adults compensate for inefficient lower level processes, limited resources or difficulty of text when reading under normal (non-pressured) conditions? How do you think Adams would respond to him? Refer to Adams’ model when you are thinking about this question. Write down your thoughts.
Adams would agree that the processors work together to help a reader make sense of what they are reading.

Working Memory

Describe Baddeley’s model of working memory.  Discuss briefly the components of the model. How do you think working memory fits into Adams’ model of reading?

The multicomponent model of Baddeley and Hitch, 1974, is one of the most popular. It is referred to as multicomponent because it includes a central component called the central executive and three subsystems: the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketch pad and the episodic buffer.

The central executive is responsible for the control of executive processes including actions, the direction of attention to relevant information and the suppression of irrelevant information and undesired actions.

The phonological loop allows you to maintain in memory a short list of words or numbers as long as you continuously repeat these words or numbers to yourself.

The visuo-spatial sketch pad maintains and manipulates visual and spatial information. There are two subsystems within the visuo-spatial sketch pad; one for specialized visual information and the other for spatial information.

The episodic buffer integrates phonological, visual and spatial information and possibly other forms of information. The episodic buffer provides an interface between the subsystems of the working memory and part of long term memory.

Working memory fits into Adams model in the simultaneous functions that are happening within the working memory model. Each part of the working memory is connected and continuously working; similar to the processes Adams describes in her model of reading.

Vocabulary

A. Why is vocabulary important to reading comprehension?   What argument do you think Adams would use for increasing vocabulary knowledge?

Vocabulary is an important piece to fluent reading. Students who read fluently have higher comprehension of what they are reading. Stahl and Fairbanks found a strong correlation between vocabulary and reading comprehension. The correlation was found at all grade levels, countries and languages. A student cannot rely solely on their ability to decode text. Decoding does not sustain a reader, furthermore poor vocabulary can impede readers in school as low as the second grade.  Vocabulary acquisition comes from exposure.

Adams would argue simple exposure to reading is not enough to increase student vocabulary. The meaning processor makes bonds with the  orthographic processor, the more times a reader encounters a word. These encounters make stronger bonds and is learned over time, however, Adams also states this only accounts for about 800-1200 of the 3,000 words  students are expected to learn. Direct instruction also helps students learn new words and the more encounters the student has with a word the more likely they will learn the new words.

B. What is the Matthew Effect?

The Matthew Effect is based on a biblical principle “the rich get richer, the poor get poorer.”

Children from lower SES have a deficiency in their vocabulary knowledge and this puts them at a disadvantage as  readers. A poor reader reads easier materials and fewer books causing vocabulary to grow at a slower pace. Studies conducted by Madden, Slaven, Karweit, Dolan & Wasik (1993) and Pinnell, Lyons, Deford, Bryk & Seltzer (1994) showed even when children appeared to make gains, poor vocabulary impeded their reading. Additional studies by Biemiller & Slonim (2000) found students as early as second grade have difficulty catching up with average readers. A study by Cunningham & Stanovich (1997) found vocabulary knowledge in first grade accounts for more than 30% of the variance in reading comprehension in the 11^th grade. Hart & Rinsley (1995) found students vocabulary knowledge is influenced by exposure in very early years.  Children from lower SES were exposed to approximately 10,000 words per year compared to children from higher SES who were exposed to approximately 30,000 words per year. The higher SES children were exposed to nearly three times the amount of words than the children in lower SES homes.  The difference in vocabulary was also noted in the way in which children encountered new vocabulary. The higher SES children were addressed with a more positive encouraging environment while the lower SES children’s vocabulary tended to be more negative words or commands.

Ehri and Goodman

1-  How does Ehri’s view of grapho-phoneme awareness differ from the traditional notion of phoneme awareness. Briefly discuss the research evidence that she draws on in postulating grapho-phonemic awareness.

It is my understanding  grapho-phonemic awareness is the relationship between graphemes the symbols written to  represent the sound phonemes make. Readers are connecting the spellings of words to their pronunciations. This view is different from traditional phoneme awareness because phonemic awareness refers to the smallest speech sounds. Phonemic awareness works for beginning readers when there is a one-to -one grapheme/phoneme relationship, howeverf, there are countless words in which sounds are ambiguous phonetically.

Ehri’s research studied 1st and 2nd grader responses to spoken pseudowords. Students were shown letter prompts and the pseudoword was pronounced, students then saw the spellings of the pseudoword. Students were then shown misspellings of pseudowords.

This research discovered that when students saw correct spelling they remembered the pseudoword better than when they were shown no spellings. The visual representation produced a connection between spelling and pronunciations in their memory.

2- Describe briefly the reading process that Goodman suggests. You can find this info on pages 37-38.

Goodman suggests during oral reading the reader is performing two tasks at the same time.; produce oral language determined by graphic input and make sense of what he is reading.  He states proficient readers decode from the graphic stimulus and then encode from the deep structure. He feels readers are making their best attempts at reading text by utilizing graphic input as well as syntactic and sematic information. Readers then predict and anticipate using this information. Readers are sampling just enough text to confirm their guess of what is coming.

How would Adams respond to Goodman’s model of reading?

Adam’s model represents reading as a simultaneous process, all processors are working together. Adams says skilled readers rarely think about indivdual letters or words.  While Goodman’s model, like Adams,  involves the reader doing several things at one time, Goodman differs from Adams as he states eye movement does not work in reading.

Larson

Larson, K. (July, 2004). The science of word recognition.

•According to Larson, what should be the unit of processing? Letter or word?

Larson’s article indicates processing is done by letter rather than by word.  The reader processes this information to recognize words.

•What is the best explanation to the processing of letters? Serial or parallel processing

The best explanation of processing letters is parallel processing. The parallel processing model says letters within a word are recognized simultaneously.

•What is at stake with a word-shape model of reading instruction?

The word shape model has been researched and it has been found to be no longer viable. This model does not consider the contextual information that is processed when we read words.

•Should we teach typical eye-movements (of a reader) to struggling readers? Why or why not?

I don’t gather that eye movement should be taught to anyone. It appears from what I have read that eye movement is something we do naturally as readers, however, eye movements should not be taught to struggling readers because struggling readers do not have a sufficent high frequency word function. Struggling readers also need practice and exposure to text to increase their neural network.

Lenses on Reading

The three important reading models are Gough’s Model, The Automatic Information Processing Model and The Interactive Model.

Gough’s Model

A. 

 This model is linear and also refered to as a “bottom-up” model. There are a series of discrete stages within Gough’s model. It begins as the eye sees each letter of text. The image is held and scanned for patterns of lines and curves. This is then stored briefly in the character register once the letter is identifies the decoding process begins. Phonemes are attached to each letter from the code book. These phonemes are then recorded as a shound in the phonemic tape. The sounds are then put together in the librarian where the lexicon is searched for meaning.

B. Gough’s model is similar to Adams’ model in a sense that different processes are occuring to identify words however, in Gough’s model it happens in stages. Adam’s model is a simultaneous process.

Automatic Information Processing Model

A. This is another linear model that states reading begins with visual processing of text. The graphic input of text is processed in the visual memory. The visual memory uses features such as lines and curves and angles. After this happens  it is on to the phonological memory where sounds are attached to the visual images. Next the target information is recorded in the episodic memory. The central component is attention. There are two types, external and internal. External attention is observable in a student when they appear to have their eyes and ears gathering information. Internal attention is what is going on inside the mind.

B. The similarity in this model compared to Adams’ is that visual information is taken in to be processed however, this model is linear and Adams’ model shows information being processed simultaneously.

Interactive Model

A. The beginning of this model is similar to Gough’s Model and The Automatic Information Processing Model. The process starts with visual text input. This model is interactive as the name implies. A variety of processors converge on visual information simultaneously. The syntactic, semantic, orthographic and lexical information is processed at the same time. This permits the interaction of both higher and lower level processing of visual text input. This results in the most probable interpretation ot the text.

B. This model appears to most closely resembles the simultaneous processes that occur in Adams’ model.  There are four processors working at the same time to make the most probable understanding of text.