Improving Comprehension: Part 4

Welcome back to the Improving Reading Comprehension Series!

Don't forget to check out Parts 1-3!
Part 1: Research and Questions
Part 2: Purpose and Methods
Part 3: Evidence from the Classroom

Results and Conclusions

As you could see from the previous post with the evidence from my classroom, there were many things I learned from completing this inquiry in my classroom.  It did not only benefit me as an educator but also the students learning. Here is a short summary of the findings!

As you could see from the charts, there were a few things that were very evident:

• most ELL students are well below the grade level norm
• there is a vast disconnect between reading comprehension and reading fluency in ELL students
• those who excel in reading fluency often do not understand what they are reading
• there is a difference in reading achievement in fiction and non fiction texts
• Good progress in reading comprehension and fluency in ELL students is possible with the right strategies

Once the data showed the trends and proved the disconnect between fluency and comprehension, I was able to begin testing some different theories to see what worked best for students. Initially I had not planned to have motivation as part of this inquiry, but through the inquiry found that it was an essential part in reading achievement - for any student, but especially for ELL students. I also unexpectedly found the differences in reading achievement between fiction and non-fiction texts. From this inquiry I learned the following things:

• ELL students have higher achievement in reading when motivated (through fun tasks, challenges, book clubs, opportunities to think outside the box)
• ELL students benefit from having attainable and measurable reading goals
• Vocabulary is one of the largest, if not the largest obstacle in reading comprehension for ELL students
• ELL students build vocabulary through explicit teaching of meaning
• Vocabulary is best learned in context rather than by giving the definition, making close reading a very effective strategy for teaching vocabulary
• Choosing appropriate vocabulary words is even more important than I previously thought

I found that often times a challenging vocabulary word that will not come up very often in the future is not worth working on, but can simply be explained so the student can understand the sentence or paragraph. The words to focus on are the words that are used frequently, but it can often be challenging to pick out the words that the students may not know. They always seem to surprise me. Following these high frequency vocabulary words, subject specific words are important in context. It is also important not to overwhelm the students with too many words! Quality over quantity here; it is more beneficial for the students to fully understand a few words rather than somewhat understand a lot, or lose the meanings altogether.

 What do you think? Please leave your comments below!