Serious reading problems exist among adolescent learners. Teachers can turn around this descending twist by using various strategies. One of these strategies is the scaffold reading experience (SRE). Teachers can integrate the SRE to aid the reading process in struggling students and there by assist them in the teaching of the content areas. The SRE targets 2 instructional elements: techniques and strategies. Techniques are actions the teacher takes to ensure appropriate rereading, reading, and post reading instruction .i.e. the reading process. Other strategies, such as list-group-label (H. Taba, 1967), story pyramid, and summarizing, are tools that students can use to comprehend information. Comprehending information in content areas is vital for academic success in these areas. (Evans, 2008). Academic success one believes all teachers, schools administrators, parents and the public at large wants. Vacca and Vacca (2008) notes that it is not the responsibility of the content area teacher to teach students how to read, but to use reading as a tool to “extend meaning” in a discipline (p. 11). In Trinidad and Tobago reading facilitators are not present in our schools. One still is of the view that each teacher can take a personal responsibility to ensure that the children who are faced with reading/literacy issues can cope with their mainstream education. “If there is a will there is a way”. Food for thought!!!!!!!!
Evans, C. J. (2008). Reading Success in the Secondary Classroom. Preventing School Failure Vol. 52, No. 2 , 59-66.
I believe that all teachers have a moral responsibility to those under their charge and that we must try to help them. There is a wealth of resources and strategies that we can use on the internet,so we really shouldn't complain about not having the appropriate tools. It just takes a little bit of dedication and effort on the part of the teacher.
ReplyDeleteI have found KWL, Readers' Theatre and Graphic Organizers very useful in my classroom. these strategies have been used to help struggling readers. By probing them and letting them come to the realisation that they possess a certain amount of knowledge, by allowing them to do fun activities and by having them place little bits of information, they are further empowered to tackle the more difficult challenges of becoming competent at reading.