Literacy LeadersHigh School Teachers Taking Charge of Their Professional

Learning

Today’s Strategy is:

Reciprocal Teaching

Literacy Leaders

We have started a collaborative study group that will meet once a month to:

Discuss, develop, and organize resources for teachers to incorporate literacy strategies

… in all content areas

Inspiration …

• Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (2008)

“A Content Literacy Collaborative Study Group: High School Teachers Take Charge of Their

Professional Learning”

One year of secondary teachers attempting to integrate literacy strategies & content instruction

Literacy Resources for Teachers in D128

On the D128 homepage, under Literacy Resources you will find:

• Content Literacy Instruction Strategies• Strategy Descriptions• Templates & Examples

Today’s Strategy: Reciprocal Teaching

Based on the paper:

Reciprocal Teaching of Comprehension-Fostering and Comprehension-Monitoring Activities

Annemarie Sullivan Palincsar & Ann L. Brown

Center for the Study of Reading

University of Illinois

(1984)Original research available as a pdf file if you are interested

Why Teach Literacy Strategies?

• 70% of 8th graders read below the proficient reading level on the NAEP (National Center for Education Statistics, 2009)

Difficulty Understanding Text

Some students can decode

words– but have

difficulty understanding

what they have read

Difficulty Summarizing Text

Many students have trouble summarizing or pulling mainideas from their reading

What Does Recent Research Say?

• Students from all grade levels from primary to secondary grades need comprehension strategies (Block, Parris, & Whiteley, 2008; Pearson & Duke, 2002; Kincade & Beach, 1996)

Need for:• Strategies to clarify unknown words• Guided instruction to question & predict• Ability to sort out main ideas and order events in

text

Why Use Reciprocal Teaching?

• Based on the gradual release of responsibility model of instruction (Pearson & Fielding, 1991)

• Multiple-strategy technique (Palinscar & Brown, 1984)

• Has been extensively researched & has produced positive results with:First graders (Palinscar & David, 1991) through college

students (Fillenworth, 1995)

Goals of Reciprocal Teaching

• Improve students reading comprehension• Scaffold strategies while reading• Guide students to become metacognitive &

reflective in their strategy use• Monitor comprehension• Improve & scaffold through social setting• Strengthen whole-class sessions & guided reading

groups(Harvey & Goudvis, 2007; Keene & Zimmermann, 2007; McLaughlin & Allen,

2002; Oczkus, 2004; Pearson, Roehler, Dole & Duffy, 1992)

Palinscar & Brown Findings

Groups of Students

• Palinscar & Brown, the creators of reciprocal teaching found that when RT was used with a group of students for 15-20 days, the students reading on a comprehension assessment increased from 30% previously to 70-80%

Tested a Year Later

• Students not only maintained their improved comprehension skills almost immediately, but also maintained their improved comprehension skills when tested a year later

How is Reciprocal Teaching Used in the Classroom?

Whole-Class Session

• To introduce RT strategies• To model for students in

think-alouds• To establish common

language & terms• To provide reinforcement in

content area reading

Guided Reading Group

• To introduce/reinforce strategies in a teacher-led small group

• To provide extra support or intervention to students

• To differentiate instruction based on needs

The Four Reciprocal Teaching Strategies

Predict Question

Clarify Summarize

Oczkus Reciprocal Teaching Method (2010)

• See Reciprocal Teaching Comprehension Chart

• Notice additional box for background knowledge

• Notice order of questions• The “Fab Four” Strategy Starters

Focus: The Original Research by Palinscar & Brown

• Significant improvement in the quality of summaries & questions

• Sizable gains on criterion tests of comprehension

• Reliable maintenance over time• Transfer to other tasks• Improvement in standardized comprehension

scores

What do expert readers do?

They proceed automatically

until a triggering event alerts them to a comprehension

failure

How do expert readers comprehend?

When comprehension failure is detected, they slow down, allot for extra processing to

the problem area, deploy debugging devices and utilize

active reading strategies

Main Focus of Palinscar & Brown’s Paper

• Practiced readers’ split mental focus seen in successful reading/studying:

Comprehension-Fostering ActivitiesComprehension-Monitoring Activities

Palinscar & Brown’s 4 Concrete Activities

1. Questioning

2. Summarizing (self-review)

3. Clarifying

4. Predicting

Embedded in the instruction of the reading is a clear purpose for reading, and a discussion of relevant background knowledge

Important to note the order of the activities

Questioning

Ask students:

“What main idea question would a teacher or test ask about this section of the text?”

Summarizing

This is an activity of self-review

Ask students:

“State what has just happened, or summarize this section of text” (to see if they have understood it)

Remedial action (clarifying) may be needed

Clarifying

• Clarifying occurs only if there are confusions either in the text or in the student’s interpretation of the text

• Requires that students engage in critical evaluation

Is a natural part of the discussion process

Predicting

Ask students:

“Make a prediction about the future content of this passage”

Basic Procedures

1. Teacher or student readers assigned passage silently

2. Then, ask a question that a teacher or test might ask on this segment

3. Summarize the content

4. Discuss/clarify content, as needed

5. Finally, make a prediction about the future content

Acquisition of Question-Asking

• Charles, 7th grade minority student , (IQ=70), reading comprehension was 3rd grade level

• Sara, 7th grade competent student

Initially, Charles could not formulate questions at all

Sara’s questions were classified primarily as inventions

Comparison Graph of Study 1

• See last page of packet

Next Month’s Plans

• Bring your ideas, questions, successes, failures with reciprocal teaching

• We’ll share and discuss what worked & what didn’t

Science Teacher Models RT

• Shared Reading of an informational text• Small group setting• Uses reciprocal teaching model • Her students are early in the RT process (not

ready to student-lead)• She uses Think-Aloud strategies also