| Nicole: | Describe for me your classrooms when you were using digital texts. |
| Michelle: | My classroom had roughly 85 students. A large percentage of them spoke second languages (for example, Kamir, which is Cambodian, and Spanish). So in terms of literacy they struggled. Their reading ability wasn't high or even on grade level. |
| Pat: | My four English classes had a total of 92 students. Students in our sixth grade are heterogeneously grouped for English. In one class I had several special-needs students. Reading levels in this class (tested by the Gates McGinitie Reading Achievement test) ranged from the second-grade level to the post high school level. In my three other English classes, the range of reading abilities was also very diverse. |
| Nicole: | What does a supported, digital text look like? |
| Michelle: | The Thinking Reader, which is what we were using, integrates Reciprocal Teaching Method [a research-supported instructional model developed by Anne Marie Palincsar and Ann Brown] into digital versions of children's literature. So, at certain points in the chapter the students would be prompted to apply a strategy—summarizing, predicting, questioning, clarifying, and visualizing—and write a summary of what they had just read. There was an area that they could click on for help. In the initial program a genie and a bird would pop up and give the students a little help on how to respond. They basically offered ideas on what makes a good summary, what is a good visualization, what does it mean to clarify....They would also give models and think alouds—examples of a good response. Students' responses were captured electronically in a work log. Also, the digitized texts we worked with could be read aloud using the text-to-speech tool. |
| Pat: | These digital texts we were using also applied Universal Design for Learning. Universal Design for Learning is an approach where technology is used to make the curriculum more flexible and better able to meet the needs of a classroom made up of a diverse mixture of students. The texts offered different levels of support depending upon a particular student's needs. [To learn more about Universal Design for Learning visit CAST's Teaching Every Student page.] |
 |
|
Example of a supported, digital text
|
| Nicole: | What goals did you have for yourself when you decided to introduce these digital texts into your classroom? | |||
| Michelle: | I feel that reading is of major importance. Reading difficulties have real consequences in all subject areas. If a student cannot comprehend the reading material, whether it is for math, science, or social studies, he or she will struggle. Also, my favorite subject is reading, and it's very interesting to me to realize that as a reader I already use many of the Reciprocal Teaching strategies without even realizing it. I summarize; I question. I wanted to learn how I could develop my students' repertoire of reading strategies. Going to school to get my education degree I learned a lot about the theory behind teaching and its development as a profession. But there were not many opportunities to learn a strategy-based approach, aside from certain situations that involved the study and development of curriculum around the theory of Multiple Intelligences. Reading strategies are not something that we even touched on. | |||
| Pat: | Throughout my tenure as a middle school English teacher, I have seen reading comprehension skills decline somewhat. Reading has always been of foremost importance to me as an English teacher, and its connection with the writing process is well documented. For the past decade, I have had access to computers in my classroom and have observed their impact as a tool to support the writing process. I have become committed to the idea of using the computer and Internet as a "library in a box" for enhancement of reading and writing. Several years ago, working in conjunction with my principal, we tried unsuccessfully to acquire laptop computers for sixth graders. In September of 2000, providing each student with a laptop became a reality. We moved into a new building that housed two carts with 15 laptops each, available for loan to interested teachers. Thinking Reader keyed into the library in a box idea. One of its features is that it embeds in the text websites relevant to the theme of the novel that can enhance student background information. Thinking Reader also provided the impetus to use reading strategies to improve reading comprehension skills. It presented an opportunity to help all students improve reading comprehension skills by developing a reading program with embedded comprehension strategy prompts. |
|||
| Nicole: | So all your students were reading on the computer? | |||
| Michelle: | I had seven students, a mix of high-range, middle-range, and struggling readers, doing the majority of their reading on the computer. The rest of my students were in reading groups. They responded to the same prompts and strategies as students working on the computer but they used the offline method of Reciprocal Teaching. They journaled their responses and took part in group discussions where they would compare responses and/or seek clarifications. |
|||
| Nicole: | Pat, your situation was somewhat different, right? | |||
| Pat: | I've been using digital, supported texts for two years. In my case, all of the students work on the computer. Last year we read So Far From the Bamboo Grove and Number the Stars. In addition to reading and discussing those novels, we read some articles about World War II that I found at Ebsco's Online Reader. This year we decided to expand on the one Holocaust novel that we did last year and do a whole unit on the Holocaust using three novels, A Traitor Among Us, Number the Stars, and Devil's Arithmetic. We selected websites that would enhance the students' understanding of the European countries that were hit by the Holocaust. We didn't get too much into the thinking of Hitler or what happened in the concentration camps. We focused on the Resistance, doing extra reading on the Resistance movement. We also read a picture book on King Christian X of Denmark, The Yellow Star, to give the students background information on the King of Denmark, who is referred to often in Number the Stars. In addition, we did a play, The Diary of Anne Frank, to give the students a realistic overview of what going into hiding was like. For a final project we wrote poems that reflected students' thoughts on the Holocaust. To help students connect with their thoughts on the Holocaust, I printed out their work logs for the Visualization and Feeling prompts for them to look at. In addition, CAST created a packet of many different styles of poems such as I Wonder poems, bio poems and shape poems. |
|||
 Two students independently discuss what they have been reading. |
||||
| Nicole: | Had your students done work on computers before? | |||
| Michelle: | Not in the classroom, but they did have a computer lab that they went to accompanied by our computer teacher. There they practiced basic software skills and learned to do various types of research using the Internet. |
|||
| Pat: | In the past, I've had them do research on the Internet and then present PowerPoint pieces. I've also had them adapt a research paper into a PowerPoint presentation, which was a better use of the two tools because, when they weren't asked to do the research paper, often they just copied what was on a website and reproduced it in the PowerPoint presentation. When they wrote the research paper they used more of their own words. So, I learned a lesson from that! As I mentioned before, I have used computers in my classroom since 1996. I have made slideshows with picture clues to enhance vocabulary instruction, used picture prompts for writing ideas, and I have created PowerPoint shows to outline aspects of the different civilizations we study. |
|||
| Nicole: | How did this use of digital texts differ from the way you approached reading instruction in the past? | |||
| Pat: | This was different because the students were actively engaged with the technology rather than me using the technology to present some material. The digital texts gave me an opportunity to meld technology with the ability to help students who might not be successful in another modality [print versus speech]. For the first time I could see into students' minds as they worked their way through the novels. Reading student work logs gave me amazing insight into what they understood about what they were reading and what they didn't. I realized that they had no knowledge of the Resistance movement and some of the basic aspects of the book important to its understanding. Our classroom discussions were more focused and took on a greater importance to the development of reading comprehension. |
|||
| Michelle: | Before, I would often discuss the elements of literature while engaging my students. I would touch upon various strategies that could be used to problem solve a difficult type of text, but I wouldn't link them as a unit. |
|||
| Nicole: | In your experience, are there concrete benefits to using this kind of supported, digital text? | |||
| Michelle: | In order to be successful we all need a plan. Strategy-based instruction gives students that plan—something that they can reach for and implement when they are struggling with something. |
|||
| Pat: | One benefit is that the Reciprocal Teaching strategies help the readers get into the text and fine-tune their understanding. Also, because of the text-to-speech students who are stronger listeners than readers can move at a faster pace than they ever could have when reading the printed text. The strategies that are used and the constant written responses to the text improve students' writing skills. |
|||
 A student responds to a strategy prompt while reading a digitized novel. |
||||
| Nicole: | Michelle, did you see any major differences in the impact of the Reciprocal Teaching approach on students working on and off the computer? | |||
| Michelle: | It's one thing to accomplish these strategies on the computer and type in your responses. It's another thing to transfer it to the work you are doing outside. Sometimes I felt like the students reading on the computer were a whole separate entity. So I would try to bring them back to the reading groups and allow them the opportunity to bring forth their opinions regarding their responses. But what I found was that their confidence, even in front of the entire group, tremendously improved. There were no "surprises" for them, and they were able to think and analyze how they were going to respond before engaging in the whole group discussion of a particular chapter or passage. Their confidence soared. It was fun to see it develop with each of the online students. |
|||
| Nicole: | So there were some real changes in students' self-esteem. | |||
| Pat: | I agree. I saw students talking to each other about what they had read, and that was a wonderful way of building their idea of, "Well, I'm a reader, too." Also, as far as the impact on students' self-esteem, with the digitized text many students were able to read one or two books in the time that they might have only been able to read, maybe, half a book. |
|||
| Michelle: | One of my students was very withdrawn, very shy, never raised her hand in class. Shortly after she started working with the digitized text she developed this confidence. Through her involvement with the prompts and read-alouds she knew that she would understand the question or the process of summarizing. Instead of trying to fade away into the background she felt like "I know what I'm doing here!" |
|||
| Nicole: | That's very interesting—you might expect the students would struggle more with group discussion having spent a lot more time by themselves. |
|||
| Michelle: | That's why I tried as much as possible to get them off the computer. Because they had so much assistance, a lot of them would finish ahead of the students who were reading offline. So I would have them bounce ideas off one another in the classroom library before returning to the whole group to discuss the passages that had been read that day. |
|||
| Nicole: | How did the project impact students' reading comprehension? | |||
| Michelle: | The students took a pre and posttest called the Gates McGinitie, which focuses on vocabulary and comprehension. The students' scores were pretty low at the beginning, but by the end of the program they had improved. There were also end of novel assessments that allowed us to gather pertinent details regarding the students' overall comprehension of the important events and details of the story. |
|||
| Pat: | I think that using the digitized novels had a positive impact on students' reading comprehension. The work logs showed that they had to stop and think about what they read. They had a much better understanding of some nuances of the story than I think they would have had with a regular reading of the book. And reading the digitized novels really propelled many students who were borderline readers into an understanding. |
|||
| Nicole: | Did this approach impact your ability to meet different students' needs? | |||
| Pat: | Many boys are auditory learners. Auditory learners benefited a great deal from having the story read to them. One boy, in particular, said "I can't read fast visually, but I can hear fast." So, I think that definitely helped not only his ability to be able to listen to and understand what he heard, but also to go through the text more quickly. In a more general sense, the digitized novels offers a multitude of students who, even though they aren't struggling, are not what you would consider children who would sit down and pick up a book and easily read, a very different approach to reading. |
|||
| Michelle: | This approach definitely helped me meet students' needs. Every student felt more confident just by learning that there were strategies to enhance his or her reading comprehension. Students felt armed and ready to attack any form of text, because they had a "plan." Some students disliked some of the strategies, and you could see that in their responses, but all of them found something that they felt that they could really shine with. For example, some of my students wanted to visualize all the time, because that was their area of strength. I think every single one of them felt like they were contributing. They were all intrigued, and motivated to read or respond to text that they would not have even attempted before the program. The strategies were like a special recipe for success, effective for every student. |
|||
| Nicole: | How did the students initially react when you introduced the computer work? | |||
| Michelle: | It took time for them to adapt. At first they showed some opposition to having to learn something new. Eventually, as they saw the fruits of their labor, they wanted to learn how to better use the strategies and even went so far as to use them in other content areas. Also, there was some animosity because some students were spending all this time on the computer and others were not. But eventually they saw through their conversations with each other that the approach was truly helping to improve all of their reading abilities. At the end of the year they were disappointed when they learned that their seventh-grade class wouldn't be participating in the same research project. |
|||
| Nicole: | Was there anybody who really didn't like or benefit from the experience? | |||
| Pat: | Yes. A couple students might have been better off if we'd given them, maybe, picture books, because I think the stories were too complex for them given their attention spans and their motivational levels. They needed something that they could get through in a short time period, and there were too many multi-layered characters for them. I think if they had had something shorter, that it would probably have worked better for them. I think everybody else benefited greatly from it. Other students elected to read the book itself and not use the computer. However, only two or three students elected to read the book rather than listen to it read to them. |
|||
| Michelle: | A couple of kids just wanted to sit at their desks. They didn't want to get involved with the group. However, it wasn't long before the continued group interaction caused them to sit up and take part in all of the discussion that was taking place around them. |
|||
| Nicole: | How about second language learners? | |||
| Pat: | I had an English-as-a-second-language student who increased his comprehension almost a grade level, because he really took to the listening. The faster pace with which he could listen proved very beneficial to him. |
|||
| Michelle: | I had one student who had originated from Kenya. He was struggling in all academic areas. But over the course of this project he slowly learned the usefulness of the strategies and because of the repeated/repetitive nature in which it was used in the classroom became familiar with the terminology. Having this approach strengthened his willingness to participate in discussions, and he began to appear more confident in his written responses and his strategy responses got longer. After this project he loved working on the computer. |
|||
| Nicole: | You have already mentioned a few ways that you assessed what students learn—were there other assessment methods that you used? | |||
| Michelle: | There were a variety of ways that I took stock of students' progress throughout the project. Periodically, I administered a chapter check-up that would focus on a particular passage. The students would follow along as I read the passage aloud, and then they would respond to each strategy. As often as possible I held mini conferences with the online students where we would analyze their work logs and discuss both their strengths in using the reading strategies and areas of concern. It was a great opportunity for both of us to touch base, reflect on the overall process, and get a true sense of how they were doing. They also took strategy quizzes at various points throughout the book focusing on various strategies in a particular passage. |
|||
| Pat: | One way that I gauged how well kids were using the strategies and understanding what they were reading was to read their work logs. I got into their minds a little bit more than I would have if I hadn't had the work logs—and that was terrific. |
|||
| Michelle: | At the end of reading So Far from the Bamboo Grove the class created a Book Mural. One group illustrated characters, a second group illustrated the various settings, a third group illustrated the problems faced by the characters throughout the novel, and a fourth group illustrated the solutions that the characters devised to get through each devastating element of their journey (this section truly spoke of the resiliency, courage and creativeness of the main characters). The mural provided the opportunity for a creative retelling of the novel and evaluated how well the students could focus on the critical events in the story. |
|||
 |
||||
 Students in Michelle's class completed their unit on So Far From the Bamboo Grove by constructing murals. |
||||
| Nicole: | The Book Mural seems like a great approach to avoid the problem of writing barriers preventing second language learners from demonstrating what they learned. | |||
| Michelle: | Yes, these students know that they have that barrier. And the group interaction around the mural allowed them the opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions and to also gain any clarifications that they might have regarding the four elements of the novel. |
|||
| Pat: | For the poetry final project my students also did illustrations to go with their poems. We began with an art lesson and gave students a choice of several different artistic mediums to work with: watercolor, charcoal, and craypas. As a model for the project I read several poems and showed artwork from the work I Never Saw Another Butterfly, poems and drawings of children from the Terezin concentration camp. CAST took all the poems and drawings and created an anthology titled Dark Horizons. It contains an exemplary display of students' poetry and artwork. |
|||
| Nicole: | Do think this experience changed how your students look at reading? | |||
| Michelle: | The students loved the novels and because of the strategy based instruction they were truly a part of the text in each one that they read. They loved it and I can bring up one of those novels six months from now and they'll still remember the specific events, details, characterizations etc. But in a more general sense, the students suddenly became interested in the chapter books that in the past they commonly passed over in favor of simpler, quick reads. And whereas they hadn't seemed interested in book orders, after a period of time with this project they began to request that I pass them out. They would often seek my advice to determine what books would be of interest to them. |
|||
| Pat: | I think students not only understood but engaged with the text—the poetry and artwork they developed really illustrates that. |
|||
|
||||
 Student artwork from the poetry final project. Click on the images to see accompanying poetry and notes (PDF format). |
||||
| Nicole: | How about their writing? | |||
| Pat: | There was a lot more detail in my students' explanations of what they wrote than I've seen in the past. I was using a rubric to grade their work, and I was giving, you know, A after A. That's very unusual. So, they did a very, very good job. They really did. And I thought that the poetry they wrote at the end of the unit came out very well. I think that they were a lot more confident in their writing because they had written up to six times a day in response to what they were reading. |
|||
| Nicole: | Did you find the technology aspect of this project challenging? | |||
| Pat: | I've always believed that technology is an instructional aide so I found it easy to integrate the digitized novels into my teaching. |
|||
| Michelle: | Yes at times I struggled with certain technical issues, but I learned many new approaches to solving them. I'd say that through this program I enhanced both my literary skills and my computer software skills. |
|||
| Nicole: | Are you doing anything different this year? | |||
| Michelle: | I am still teaching Reciprocal Teaching but not on computers. This year I will be working with Peggy Coyne from CAST on a new project involving science text. Also, I'm so excited about reading that I'm going back to get my masters and I'm going to be a reading and literacy specialist. |
|||
| Nicole: | Do you have any words for other teachers who might be interested in getting into Reciprocal Teaching or doing something on the computer? | |||
| Michelle: | I strongly encourage educators at all levels to familiarize themselves with Reciprocal Teaching and its strategies. They build up this tremendous repertoire of skills that can be shared with their students and that will allow for a broader approach to reading instruction. And the concept can be carried over into all academic disciplines. I have created several lessons based on the strategies and incorporated various forms of literature that can be used as springboard to introduce a lesson or further enhance one of the concepts. [To learn more about Reciprocal Teaching visit the Dade County Reciprocal Teaching site.] |
|||
