edu 371 week 5 DQ1

Good-bye Round Robin 25 Effective Oral Reading Strategies

Updated Edition

Michael F. Opitz Timothy V. Rasinski

Heinemann Portsmouth, NH

Heinemann 361 Hanover Street Portsmouth, NH 03801–3912 www.heinemann.com

Offices and agents throughout the world

© 2008, 1998 by Michael F. Opitz and Timothy V. Rasinski

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review, with the exception of reproducible pages, which are identified by the Good-bye Round Robin copyright line and can be photocopied for classroom use only.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Opitz, Michael F.

Good-bye round robin : 25 effective oral reading strategies / Michael F. Opitz, Timothy V. Rasinski. — Updated ed.

p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-325-02580-3 ISBN-10: 0-325-02580-0 1. Oral reading. I. Rasinski, Timothy V. II. Title.

LB1573.5.O65 2008 372.45'2—dc22 2008030934

Editor: Kate Montgomery Production: Vicki Kasabian Text design: Joyce Weston Design Cover design: Night & Day Design Typesetter: Kim Arney Manufacturing: Louise Richardson

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 12 11 10 09 08 RRD 1 2 3 4 5

To all children who will find joy and satisfaction

through authentic oral reading

v

Contents

Preface to Updated Edition vii Acknowledgments xv Introduction xvii

1. Understanding Reading 1

So What Is Reading, Anyhow? 1 Twelve Reasons for Using Oral Reading 3 Why Move Away from Round Robin Reading? 10

2. Developing Comprehension 13

Think-Aloud 15 Induced Imagery 20 Directed Listening Thinking Activity (DLTA) 24 Look for the Signals 28 Say It Like the Character 32 Rapid Retrieval of Information (RRI) 36 Read to Discover 39

3. Sharing and Performing 43

Revised Radio Reading 45 Shared Book Experience 48 Choral Reading 51 Mentor Reading 54 Readers Theatre 56 Read Around 61 Poetry Club 64

4. Helping Struggling Readers 67

Read-Aloud 69 Paired Reading 73 Recorded Texts 76 Listen to Children Read 80 Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) 82

5. Guiding Assessment 85

How to Use Oral Reading to Assess Reading 86 The What, Why, and How of Oral Reading Assessment

Strategies 86 Procedures for Administering Informal Oral

Reading Assessments 89

6. Involving Parents 101

Four Ways to Communicate with Parents 101 Three Additional Ways to Connect Home and School 107 Concluding Thoughts 110

7. Answering Questions About Oral Reading 111

Appendix A: More Recommended Children’s Literature by Strategy 120

Appendix B: Recommended Websites by Strategy 125

Works Cited 129

vi Contents

vii

Preface to Updated Edition

S ilent reading is the way we most often read in everyday life. So why is this book about purposeful and meaningful oral reading strategies? And if we are to value oral reading, why are we say-

ing good-bye to round robin reading, “the outmoded practice of calling on students to read orally one after the other” (Harris and Hodges 1995, 222)?

Answers to these two questions form the foundation of this text. But our desire to round out the answers to these most important questions leads us to emphasize six points in this preface. First, con- sider the National Reading Panel’s findings (2000) on oral reading. As a result of investigating the topic, the panel concluded, “guided repeated oral reading procedures that included guidance from teach- ers, peers, or parents had a significant and positive impact on word recognition, fluency, and comprehension across a range of levels.” They continued, “These results also apply to all students—good read- ers as well as those experiencing reading difficulties.” Given that we want to help children to become the best possible readers, oral reading appears anything but a choice.

But choice does enter when we think about the types of oral read- ing activities we use and why we should use them in place of others. As we emphasize in Chapter 1, there are specific reasons for using oral reading yet there are also numerous reasons for ridding ourselves of round robin reading. Clearly, in this text, we say “Hello!” to meaningful, purposeful oral reading strategies and “Good-bye!” to the rest.

Second, we realize that English language learners (ELLs) are the norm rather than the exception in most classrooms, leaving many teachers to search out the best ways to help these children acquire En - glish in authentic contexts. Using specific oral reading strategies shown in this book is one way to do just that. Figure A provides the stages of language proficiencies along with a description of each, implications for oral reading instruction, and specific, appropriate oral reading strategies

Stage 1: Preproduction (Emerging)

Students are in a silent period in which they listen but do not speak in English. They may respond using nonverbal cues in attempt to communicate basic needs.

Oral reading should be modeled by the teacher and other students. Students in the silent period should not be forced to speak but should be given the opportunity to try, if they want, in a group activity where they won’t be singled out.

• Shared Book Experience • Choral Reading • Read-Aloud • Recorded Text • Fast Start

(Slight accommodations may need to be made so as not to force production.)

Stage 2: Early Production (Beginning)

Students are beginning to understand more oral language. They respond using one- or two-word phrases and start to produce simple sentences for basic social interactions and to meet basic needs.

Teacher and students should continue to model oral reading. Students should be encouraged to begin taking risks with simple, rehearsed oral reading in non - threatening situations.

• Read to Discover • Shared Book Experience • Choral Reading • Mentor Reading • Paired Reading • Read-Aloud • Recorded Text • Fast Start

Stages of Language Proficiency Description

Implications for Using Oral Reading

Purposeful Oral Reading Strategies

Figure A. English Language Proficiency Levels, Descriptions, Implications, and Purposeful Oral Reading Strategies

Stage 3: Speech Emergence (Developing)

Students’ listening comprehension improves, and they can understand written English. Students are fairly comfortable engaging in social conversations using simple sentences, but they are just beginning to develop their academic language proficiency.

Students continue to learn through modeling. Students should be participating in whole-class, small-group, partner, and rehearsed oral reading activities. They will need support and opportu- nities to practice with feed- back before independent or paired oral reading for an audience.

• Think-Aloud • Induced Imagery • Directed Listening Thinking

Activity • Revised Radio • Reading • Choral Reading • Mentor Reading • Readers Theatre • Poetry Club • Paired Reading • Listen to Children Read • Fluency Development

Lessons • Fast Start

included in this book for each stage. Figure B illustrates how the strate- gies cut across the various stages. Taken together, both figures serve as reminders that there is much language variation among ELLs. While some oral reading strategies cut across these levels, others are more ger- mane to the distinct stages. Recognizing that there are different stages of language proficiency, teachers can select the most appropriate strategies to maximize students’ learning.

Stages of Language Proficiency Description

Implications for Using Oral Reading

Purposeful Oral Reading Strategies

Stage 4: Intermediate Fluency (Expanding)

Students understand and frequently use conversa- tional English with relatively high accuracy. They are able to communicate their ideas in both oral and written contexts.

With scaffolding, students can successfully participate in most all oral reading activ- ities that native speakers are expected to complete. Open-ended questions will allow students to demonstrate comprehen- sion and academic language development.

• Think-Aloud • Induced Imagery • Directed Listening Thinking

Activity • Look for the Signals • Say It Like the Character • Rapid Retrieval of

Information • Revised Radio Reading • Readers Theatre • Read Around • Poetry Club • Read-Aloud • Paired Reading

Stage 5: Advanced Fluency (Bridging)

Students comprehend and engage in conversational and academic English with proficiency. They perform near grade level in reading, writing, and other content areas.

Students should be encouraged to use higher- level thinking skills during their oral reading. They are near native-like proficiency in oral reading, but may still need support with analyzing, inferring, and evaluating.

• Induced Imagery • Directed Listening Thinking

Activity • Look for the Signals • Say It Like the Character • Rapid Retrieval of

Information • Read-Aloud • Paired Reading • Read Around • Poetry Club

Figure B. English Language Proficiency Levels and Oral Reading Strategies

Oral Reading Strategies

Think-Aloud • • • • •

Induced Imagery • • • •

Directed Listening Thinking Activity • • • •

Look for the Signals • • • •

Say It Like the Character • • •

Rapid Retrieval of Information • • •

Read to Discover • •

Revised Radio Reading • • •

Shared Book Experience • • •

Choral Reading • • •

Mentor Reading • • •

Readers Theater • • •

Read Around • • • •

Poetry Club • • •

Read-Aloud • • • • •

Paired Reading • • • •

Recorded Texts • • •

Listen to Children Read • • •

Fluency Development Lessons • • •

Modified Miscue Analysis • • • •

Retrospective Miscue Analysis • • • •

Student Self-Evaluation • • • •

Multidimensional Fluency Scale • • • •

Reading Rate • • • •

Fast Start • • •

Stage 1: Preproduction Silent Period (Entering)

Stage 2: Early Production (Beginning)

Stage 3: Speech Emergence (Developing)

Stage 4: Intermediate Fluency (Expanding)

Stage 5: Advanced Fluency (Bridging)

Third, there are elementary school teachers who champion oral reading as one way to help children maximize their full potential as readers yet abhor round robin reading, the one and only oral reading strategy they recall from childhood. From them come some valuable insights into the strategies we showcase in this text. Patty comments, “Very often we teachers get stuck in a practice like round robin read- ing because it is so prevalent. But just because a practice is prevalent doesn’t mean it is OK! The strategies in Good-bye Round Robin are like little eye-openers, reminding me that reading fluently is an important skill, but there are effective and ineffective ways to best help my students learn it.” Julia adds, “The strategies in this book pro- vide authentic read-aloud experiences for students that naturally lead to repeated readings, which strengthens fluency.” But perhaps the real clincher comes from Ashley, a first-grade teacher who admonishes, “Throw the popcorn to the robins! It’s a new day.” What these repre- sentative comments help us to see is that more teachers than not are on a quest to discover better ways to instruct the students they are fortunate to teach.

Fourth, with nearly 5,000 children’s books published annually, we are not at a loss for fitting authentic books that can assist teachers in teaching the specific oral reading strategies herein. We provide ten titles for each oral reading strategy in this text, each carefully and thoughtfully selected to best coincide with the oral reading strategy. Along with these titles is a new appendix that features more than 100 titles. Taken together, then, we provide approximately 300 of what we consider the best titles to help you teach the oral reading strategies in this text. The majority of these books have 2007–2008 copyright dates.

Fifth, perhaps one of the best ways for children to feel a part of a classroom community is to provide them with opportunities to inter- act with all students in the class in different grouping configurations. Figure C shows the oral reading strategies in this book and the group- ing size you can use for each activity. Some call for more than one group size within a lesson. As you can see, the oral reading strategies lend themselves well to this flexible grouping arrangement.

xi Preface

Figure C. Oral Reading Strategies and Group Sizes

Oral Reading Activities/ Whole Small Possible Group Sizes Class Group Partner Solo

Developing Comprehension

• Think-Aloud • • • •

• Imagery • • • •

• Directed Listening Thinking Activity • •

• Look for the Signals • • •

• Say It Like the Character •

• Rapid Retrieval of Information • •

• Read to Discover • • •

Sharing and Performing

• Revised Radio Reading • •

• Shared Book Experience •

• Choral Reading • •

• Readers Theatre • • •

• Read Around • •

• Poetry Club • •

Struggling Reader

• Read-Aloud •

• Paired Reading •

• Recorded Texts • •

• Fluency Development Lesson • • • •

Finally, there are several websites that provide some practical ideas for ways to extend the ideas we present in this book. We feature several of these websites in Appendix B. We make no claim that this list is exhaustive. Rather we offer it as a starter list of what we consider to be some of the best sites to assist you in teaching your students.

xii Preface

In 1925, Nila Banton Smith stated, “Our present social needs demand more efficient methods of reading than those which have been employed in the past” (iii). Without question, these words ring true in the new millennium, particularly as they relate to using the purposeful and meaningful oral reading strategies that form the content of this book. We wish to underscore, however, that oral reading supplements and complements silent reading rather than replaces it. Instead of positioning ourselves on an either/or continuum, we suggest using both modes of reading to best help children become avid readers who not only have the skill to read, but the will, too!

Michael F. Opitz

xiii Preface

Think-Aloud

Grade Levels: K–5

Description

Much research has revealed that students who have difficulty compre- hending often fail to realize that the purpose of reading is to under- stand a message (Johns 1984, 1986; Opitz 1989). The Think-Aloud is one of the best ways to help them see that reading is about compre- hending and that readers can and do use a variety of strategies to over- come hurdles that interfere with meaning. During a Think-Aloud, the teacher verbalizes her thoughts while reading aloud, which shows stu- dents what experienced readers actually do to ensure comprehension. Davey (1983) lists five strategies that poor comprehenders appear to lack: predicting, forming mental images while reading, using what they already know about the topic (prior knowledge), monitoring how well they are comprehending during reading, and fixing problems as they occur when reading. You can highlight these strategies during the Think-Aloud.

Teaching Suggestions (based on Davey 1983)

1. Select a passage to read aloud. The passage should have points that will pose some difficulties, such as ambiguity and unknown words.

2. Begin reading the passage aloud while students follow along. When you come to a trouble spot, stop and think through it aloud while students listen to what you have to offer.

3. Once you have completed reading orally, invite students to add their thoughts to yours.

4. Pair up students and have them practice the procedure with one another. Each can take turns reading and responding to the other.

5. Have students use the procedure when they are reading silently. Readers could use a form such as Figure 2–2 to remind themselves of what they need to be doing to ensure comprehension and to evaluate themselves.

15 Developing

Comprehension

16 Good-bye Round Robin

How Did I Do When Reading?

Name _____________________________________ Date _______________

Title of selection __________________________________________________

never sometimes a lot

1. I made predictions. ___________________________

2. I was able to form a picture in my mind. ___________________________

3. I made connections. ___________________________

4. I knew when I was having problems. ___________________________

5. I did something to fix my problems. ___________________________

Figure 2–2. How Did I Do When Reading?

© 2008 Michael F. Opitz and Timothy V. Rasinski, from Good-bye Round Robin: 25 Effective Oral Reading Strategies, Updated Edition. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Suggested Titles

Author Publisher/Year Suggested Title (Last, First) ISBN Grade Levels

Copper Sun Draper, Sharon M. Simon Pulse/2006 6–8 9781416953487

The Birthday Tree Fleischman, Paul Candlewick/2008 2–4 9780763626044

Oh, Brother! Grimes, Nikki Greenwillow/2008 K–5 9780688172954

A Sweet Smell of Roses Johnson, Angela Aladdin/2005 2–5 9781416953616

The Jupiter Stone Lewis, Paul O. Tricycle/2003 1–4 1582461074

The Mozart Question Morpurgo, Michael Candlewick/2006 4–8 9780763635527

Colors of Mexico Olawsky, Lynn A. First Avenue Editions/1997 2–3 1575052164

Tulip Sees America Rylant, Cynthia Scholastic/2002 1–2 0439399785

I Love My Hair Tarpley, Natasha Little, Brown/2003 2 0316525588

Old Turtle and the Wood, Douglas Scholastic/2003 3–6 Broken Truth 0439321093

Teacher Voices

To demonstrate the Think-Aloud procedure to his fourth graders, Michael used a legend from Eagle Walking Turtle’s Full Moon Stories: Thirteen Native American Legends (1997). Because the class was read- ing legends, he felt that the demonstration would better help students apply what they had learned to their actual reading experiences. After looking at the cover, he commented, “Just from reading this title, I can

17 Developing

Comprehension

tell that this is going to be a book filled with legends. In fact, the author even tells me that there will be thirteen legends in this book.” He then stated, “I already know something about legends. Legends are stories that state traditions and beliefs of a given group of people. I’ll bet that these stories will be about some of the traditions and beliefs of Native American people.” He then provided students with a copy of “The Magpie,” the first legend in the book and the one that he would use for the remainder of his Think-Aloud. He began reading aloud as the students followed along. He read the first two paragraphs, stopped, and commented, “I’m getting a picture of the house where the story is told. It is made of logs and it has a wood stove to keep everyone warm.” He then read the next paragraph and once again stopped and commented, “This reminds me of how my cousin used to tell me sto- ries. Instead of sitting in a circle on the floor, though, we sat on the bed.” He read the next paragraph, stopped, and commented, “Wow! I am surprised that the Thunder-beings would think that the people were not worth saving. I expected them to believe this already.” He then continued reading and stopped after reading the word astonished, at which point he stated, “‘Astonished.’ Hmm. I wonder what that means. This is a new word for me. I better read that sentence again and see if the other words can help me figure out what it means.”

A close analysis of this scenario reveals that Michael focused on several strategies that poor comprehenders often need to be taught to use. The first comment helps students to see how an experienced reader makes predictions, whereas the second shows students how a reader uses prior knowledge to make connections with new reading material. The third shows that good readers form visual images when they read. The fourth comment once again shows how a reader uses prior knowledge to make connections with the reading. The last two comments demonstrate monitoring one’s comprehension and fixing a part that interferes with meaning.

Extensions/Tips/Connections

• While several strategies were modeled in Michael’s Think-Aloud, keep in mind that not all need to be present in all Think-Aloud ses- sions. In fact, you may want to focus on one or two of the strategies

18 Good-bye Round Robin

to better help students use them when reading on their own—the ultimate goal of this instruction.

• Reverse Think-Alouds (Block 1997) add some variety and can help you determine whether students are internalizing the specific strate- gies they need to use when reading. With this procedure, students ask you what you are thinking rather than being told. You ask the student(s) to follow along silently while you read orally and to stop you during your reading to ask questions about what you are think- ing at a given time. These questions can focus on how you figured out a given word, clarify what the author is trying to say, or summa- rize a given section. The types of questions that students ask can reveal which strategies they are focusing on and which need to be developed further.

19 Developing

Comprehension