Literacy is at an all-time low. The percentage of American adults who read anything at all, whether fiction or non-fiction, has reached an all-time low, and according to the National Endowment for the Arts, only 55% of American adults engage in reading. Younger readers are more likely to listen to audiobooks than they are to read. Reading comprehension levels are also declining, with only 42% of white 8th graders and 15% of minority 8th graders being able to read at grade level. The reading levels for black students are also declining faster overall. In some school districts, the 8th-grade reading proficiency is as low as 2%. The quality of the content being read is also continuing to decline. As many as 60% of incoming college freshmen need remedial tutoring. Given this alarming environment, what responsibility do teachers have to encourage not only fluency but quality of content? What do you think that teachers might do to help students become fluent readers? How do you think you can encourage students to read and enjoy the content matter that you are required to teach?
Teachers face the responsibility to encourage the furthering of grade level reading by attempting to integrate quality texts that are not only interesting, but course related. For example, in a history course, reading the required textbook might provide good and factual information that is valuable to the course, but it is not always exciting for the students to engage with. If the teacher were able to find a novel, short story or personal account of the course topic, the student might find the content more enjoyable to engage with. In addition, the student might be more inclined to interact with texts they can connect with or those they simply enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this reply. It would be great if every teacher could indeed to that! However, what does one do if either the resources are not available, or the student comes to you below the reading level you would expect for your class? Reading comprehension in particular continues to go down, and it is now more common than not to encounter functionally illiterate students. If either materials, resources, or in-class supports are not available, or administration is unsupportive - how does one as a teacher nurture and grow one's students? On the flip side of the coin, when and how should one teach students to tackle the hard things, such as texts that may not be "exciting"?
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