Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Nathan L. Tamborello
around the prevention of reading problems “in the early grades”, which Morris uses to refer to
Morris begins the chapter by discussing both tutoring techniques and tutoring strategies
that can be used to facilitate the furthering of younger students’ reading ability and goes on to
introduce a “toolbox” of teaching techniques and strategies that can be used, combined, adopted,
and adjusted to meet the needs of beginning readers who function at various developmental
levels.
The toolbox includes, first and foremost, the most important item in a reading instructor’s
arsenal: reading materials. These materials should be carefully levelled at different points
(kinder, preprimer 1, preprimer 2a, preprimer 3, primer, and late first) to offer children reading at
different levels a variety of reading options appropriate for their skill level.
This toolbox of teaching techniques spans four main objectives of support: support
reading, sight vocabulary, word study, and writing. Support reading encompasses the areas of
support utilises a word bank, which is a collection of words taken from stories that the child has
read and accumulated over their time as a reader. Word study support provides instruction in
English morphology and linguistics, with help for beginning consonants, word families (short
vowels), and short vowel patterns. Word study is focused upon moving the child from perceived
phonemes to being able to recognise and decode sounds and their meanings. Writing, Carol
Chompsky notes, is the first step in reading. Morris offers three approaches to supporting
writing: sentence writing, partner writing, and independent writing, each of which plays an early
Morris continues into chapter 7 describing the correction of reading problems in the later
grades, which he deems to mean second-grade through sixth grade, which encompasses a wide
range of eclectic learners and abilities/ disabilities. Morris notes that during this stage is when
reading difficulties related to word recognition, comprehension, and fluency are often found, as
Morris again utilises the instructor toolbox to describe the collection of teaching
techniques and strategies that a teacher can utilise within their classroom for correction. Again,
Morris notes firstly that reading materials are one of the most important tools: they should be
interesting and varied, with engaging stories and informational texts that spur motivation and
Again, Morris outlines four teaching techniques for working with a remedial reader: word
study, comprehension, fluency, and writing. During word study support, teachers can utilise one-
syllable and two-syllable spelling patterns to aid in helping students recognise and internalise the
foundational vowel patterns to assist in word recognition. One-syllable is mostly used for lower
grade support, whilst two-syllable is for upper-elementary and middle grades for students who
have difficulty with longer, multi-syllable words. To support child comprehension, Morris states
that comprehension is not a set of skills to be mastered; rather, it is an internal process that is
individually specific, that can be exercised and expanded through quality instruction. Teachers
should facilitate the comprehension of a narrative text by asking the reader for predictions,
monitor and question what’s happening, and asking the reader to adjust predictions as they
progress using the DRTA approach. Morris suggests, however, that when reading informational
texts, the teacher guide instruction by activating a student’s prior knowledge and questioning the
importance of the text. Teachers should support fluency through easy reading, repeated readings,
Chapters 6 & 7 Summary 4
taped readings, and word work. Lastly, a teacher should support writing by having the student
write on a self-chosen topic, moving through the three phases of the writing process. The
As a certified 7-12 instructor, I will focus on the ways in which the later grades can be
helped by my instruction, rather than the earlier ones that I have no experience with. One of the
main things I utilise in my classroom is (besides reading), the support of the writing process.
Through this, I activate students’ prior knowledge by having them write texts based on
something they know and care about. This work is often better than trying to make all of the
students write about one single chosen topic, as they are able to write more and write readily on
Morris states that for older students, supporting them with your toolbox is less of a one-
on-one scenario and more of a group function. In my classroom, students are encouraged to
collaborate on their writing. In turn, they support each other’s learning and encourage the process
and acquisition of new materials along the way. More talkative and excitable students are paired
with the more shy and reserved students in order to level the field and try to encourage active
participation from everyone. Groups are often broken up into jobs and group titles to encourage
One of the more helpful strategies for the age group I work with is the DRTA approach to
reading comprehension. I have seen too many teachers just letting their kids read the book aloud,
blatantly not comprehending a word, and not stopping to assess comprehension or ask for
predictions. Being able to facilitate this type of discussion in a meaningful way is tantamount to
comprehension as a rubber band that can be worked and stretched further and further the more