Supporting Elementary Students’ Reading of Difficult Texts

Abstract

This article was inspired by the fact that teachers have been asked to increase the difficulty of texts that students encounter without clear guidance on how to support their students when reading difficult texts. First, findings are presented from a recent review that investigated the effects of increased text difficulty on elementary students’ fluency and comprehension. Then, the authors draw on additional literature that provided practical recommendations for determining text difficulty, selecting texts, and supporting students when reading difficult texts. A planning template for small‐group instruction is provided to help elementary teachers address vocabulary and knowledge demands associated with difficult texts before reading, provide fluency and comprehension scaffolds according to students’ instructional needs during repeated reading, and ask text‐dependent questions after reading that support and consolidate learning from difficult texts.

Time in Text: Differentiating Instruction for Intermediate Students Struggling with Word Recognition

“…Text difficulty can be determined by a readability measure-a mathematical formula based on the type and number of words in a text as well as sentence length; a familiar one is Lexile levels. The resulting calculation is an estimation of how easy it is to understand a particular text compared to other texts (Strong et al, 2018).…”

“…These accuracy levels have shifted a bit to 90–95% for INS and 96–100% for IND. Educators have rightly questioned these levels due to the lack of strong research to support them and several studies suggest that, under the right conditions they can be flexed (See Halladay, 2012; Strong et al., 2018).…”

Repositioning Differentiation Time as Literacy Acceleration Time

“…Other researchers have added nuance to the top two steps (fluency and comprehension) by suggesting additional SOR practices (Strong et al., 2018). Teachers could add comprehension strategy modeling in fluency and comprehension groups in early grades, close reading and text annotation in upper elementary, and more robust after‐reading discussions or written responses to locate and recall information, integrate and interpret it, and critique and evaluate it.…”

Toward a Multilingual Perspective on Reading: Aligning Emergent Bilinguals' Resources with Theories of Reading and Implications for Instruction

“…The crux of small‐group instruction is teachers' knowledge about specific students' abilities and the ability to craft responsive instruction. While some teachers interpret this as grouping students by level, experts caution against this practice in favor of creating groups on like needs (Strong et al., 2018). With regard to EBs and small‐group instruction, it is critical to ponder what aspect of EBs' reading skills, identities, and knowledge teachers are responsive to.…”