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Explore by Grade Level: Grades 6 - 8

• What do I need to do to meet the expectations of “close reading”?

  Teachers are hearing so much about “close reading” these days. To read text well students need to focus first on understanding what the author means. The way to tell if a student has comprehended is to listen to how they answer text dependent questions. To read closely the reader must use strategies such as re-read, search for answers, think about what is read, and compare what the author says to what he/she knows about the topic. 
  
  Download these sample questions.
  
  
  

• What does the term “complex text” mean?

  There are many things that can make a text complex for an individual reader. While it is true that a reader’s limited oral language or lack of background knowledge can make a text complex, the term “complex text” refers to specific text characteristics. It is a combination of the rigor of vocabulary, sentence and text structure, and the required depth of comprehension that makes a text complex.  It typically takes more than one characteristic to categorize a piece as complex text.
  
  Download this sample of text that is complex.
  
  
  

• How do I help students who have difficulty reading in the content areas when they especially struggle with reading multisyllable words?

  Reading multisyllable words is difficult for a number of reasons. There are many possible combinations of syllable types in words and multisyllable words appear in rapid succession in most texts. Often the lack of mastery at the single-syllable level impacts the ability to read multisyllable words. The first step in helping students read multisyllable words is automatic recognition of the pattern of each of the six syllable types. 
  
  Download a description of the six syllable types.
  
  
  

• What can I do to help students who lack the skills to figure out the meaning of unfamiliar words in the content areas, especially science and social studies?

  Direct teaching of vocabulary expands student vocabulary and improves student comprehension.  Instruction needs to be organized around meaningful units and provide students a systematic process to independently figure out the meaning of an unknown word by breaking it into meaningful parts.   Steps in this process allow students the opportunity to first discover the meaning of new words and then move to deepen the meaning and apply knowledge. 
  
  Download this sample lesson that asks students to discover the meaning. 
  
  
  
  

• How do I align my content so that I teach all the skills described in the standards?

  There is no set order for covering the skills in the standards.  In fact, the standards can be taught best when wrapped around the content of your grade level.  The most important factor in determining the order to teach the standards is to consider which text in your curriculum provides the best opportunity to reinforce the skill outlined in the standard. 
  
  Download this teacher planning document.
  
  
  

• What do I do if my students are able to decode but not comprehend?

  For most students it’s difficult to figure out how to use comprehension strategies just by hearing a definition. Further, many students don’t realize that the type of active engagement the good readers do. In order to comprehend you need to have a conversation with yourself while you are reading. 
  
  Thinking aloud is one way that teachers can make this conversation visible to students.  Students can listen to the teacher’s mind at work asking questions, forming images, making predictions, etc. when the teacher thinks aloud.
  
  Download this continuum of processes for modeling by thinking aloud.