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Building Reading Confidence in Adolescents

Key Elements That Enhance Proficiency

By: Holly Johnson, Lauren Freedman, Karen F. Thomas

Build students' self-confidence in reading with clear strategies you can implement today!

The authors use their research and experience to provide strategies that can strengthen students' literacy skills at the middle and secondary levels and help learners grow in four key areas: confidence, independence, metacognition, and stamina. Ideal for all types of classrooms—from urban centers to rural settings—this book provides real scenarios and helps teachers explore critical elements such as:

Creating classroom conditions and practices that support learner success
Identifying individual student strengths and challenges with written/visual materials
Linking the cognitive and affective domains to build students' skills
Developing positive teacher-student relationships

Full description

Product Details

Grade Level: PreK-12
ISBN: 9781412953535
Published By: Corwin
Year: 2007
Page Count: 112
Publication date: December 21, 2007

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Description

"A tremendous book. Research shows—and teachers know—that student motivation is a central challenge. This text provides fresh insight into self-efficacy, an essential component of motivation, by exploring what it is, how to cultivate it, and how to nurture it in the context of innovative teaching that develops literacy competency in a range of areas."
—Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Professor of English Education
Boise State University

Build students' self-confidence in reading with clear strategies you can implement today!

All students need to feel good about who they are, their capabilities, and potential. Many adolescents, however, may suffer from insecurities about their ability to grasp and comprehend ideas, particularly when it involves reading. How can teachers nurture in students the literacy skills that foster a sense of competence and enthusiasm?

In this practical guide, the authors present a unique framework of research-based strategies for building reading self-efficacy by focusing on four important concepts: confidence, independence, metacognition, and stamina. Building Reading Confidence in Adolescents offers real classroom scenarios that help instructors develop more proficient readers in Grades 6–12. Ideal for all types of classrooms—from urban centers to rural settings—this book helps teachers explore critical elements such as:

Creating classroom conditions and practices to support learner success
Identifying individual student strengths and challenges with written/visual materials
Linking the cognitive and affective domains to build students' skills
Developing positive teacher-student relationships

Help your students learn to work through any reading challenge to become confident, independent readers who are fully engaged as learners.

Key features

Links the cognitive and affective domains for building students' literacy
Distills research into a practical, effective four-point framework
Provides clear strategies easily incorporated by middle and secondary teachers
Provides windows on real classroom scenarios
Addresses issues of student motivation raised by the new Gates report
Supports school efforts to raise achievement of striving readers

Author(s)

Holly Johnson

Holly Johnson is an Associate Professor in the Division of Teacher Education at the University of Cincinnati. where she teaches adolescent literacy courses for students interested in becoming middle school teachers. Her research focuses on adolescent literacy and literature, and issues of social justice. She taught middle school language arts and social studies in Kentucky and Arizona, and was an industrial arts teacher in Botswana, Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Lauren Freedman

Lauren Freedman is a Professor of Literacy Studies at Western Michigan University. Her primary areas of expertise include the role of self efficacy in literacy development, the use of multiple materials within and across the curriculum, inquiry as a framework for instruction and literacy strategy development, and the role of student-led, small group discussion within learning-centered classroom communities.

Karen F. Thomas

Karen F. Thomas has been a classroom instructor and administrator in both elementary and middle/high school for 15 years teaching reading and English in urban, public, private and overseas settings before her current teaching at the college level for the 15 plus years. Currently, Thomas is a Professor of Literacy Education at Western Michigan University teaching undergraduate and graduate classes where she also serves as Director of the Dorothy J. McGinnis Reading Center and Clinic and editor of Reading Horizons. She also is involved with a number of community initiatives for literacy as part of the Western Michigan University's Clinic Outreach Program as well as co-investigator for an Early Reading First 3.4 million dollar grant working with Headstart populations.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Why Is Self-Efficacy Important in Reading?

The Purpose of the Text

The Audience for This Text

Outline of the Text

1. The Four Elements of Reading Self-Efficacy

Identifying the Self-Efficacy Elements of C-I-M-S

Confidence

Independence

Metacognition

Stamina

Self-Efficacy and the Cueing System

Learning from Teachers and Students

Validating and Violating C-I-M-S

Validation of Readers' C-I-M-S

Environmental Elements

Teaching/Learning Dialectic

Curricular Decisions

Affective Issues

Strategies

Violation of Readers' C-I-M-S

Concluding Comments

2. A Closer Look at Confidence and Reading

What Teachers Have to Say About Confidence and Reading

Teaching and Learning

Curriculum Planning for Enhancing Reading Confidence

Affective Interactions and Confidence

Strategies for Building Readers' Confidence

What Students Have to Say About Confidence

Teaching and Learning

Curriculum Planning for Enhancing Reading Confidence

Affective Interactions and Confidence

Strategies for Building Readers' Confidence

Comparing Teacher and Student Thoughts on Reading Confidence

An Environment That Builds Confidence

Reading in Content Classrooms

Classroom Practices for Building Reading Proficiency

Strategies for Building Readers' Confidence

Class Meetings About Reading

Using Authentic Texts

Accessing Prior Knowledge

Making Connections to Reading

Paired Reading With Peers

Paired Reading With Younger Readers

Word Walls

Using Text Sets

Retrospective Miscue Analysis

Concluding Remarks

3. The Importance of Independence for Gaining Reading Proficiency

What Teachers Have to Say About Independence

Teaching and Learning

Curriculum Planning for Enhancing Reading Independence

Affective Interactions and Independence

Strategies for Building Readers' Independence

What Students Have to Say About Independence

Teaching and Learning

Curriculum and Reading

Affective Interactions and Independence

Reading Strategies to Enhance Independence

Comparing Teacher and Student Responses to Reading Independence

An Environment for Developing Independence

Classroom Conditions That Create Reading Independence

Scaffolding Reading Independence

Strategies for Creating Reading Independence

Interest Inventories

Silent Reading

Questioning the Author

Student Think Alouds

Note-Taking

Skimming, Scanning, Browsing

Concluding Remarks

4. A Closer Look at Metacognition and Its Role in Reading Proficiency

What Teachers Have to Say About Metacognition

Environment

Teaching and Learning Relationships

Curricular Planning to Foster Metacognitive Awareness

Affective Decisions and Metacognition

Strategies to Build Metacognition

What Students Have to Say About Metacognition and Reading

Environment

Teaching and Learning Relationships

Curricular Decisions

Affective Decisions

Comparing Teacher and Student Responses to Metacognition

Creating More Strategic Readers

Are We Preparing Metacognitive Teachers?

Concluding Remarks

5. The Significance of Stamina in Reading Proficiency

What Teachers Have to Say About Stamina

Teaching and Learning

Curricular Decisions That Enhance Reading Stamina

Affective Decisions and Stamina

What Students Have to Say About Stamina and Reading

Teaching and Learning

Curricular Decisions

Affective Decisions

Comparing Teacher and Student Thought on Stamina

An Environment for Building Readers' Stamina

Strategies for Building Readers' Stamina

Support Strategies

Graphic Organizers

Categorization of Information

Knowledge Charts

Choice Strategies

Wondering and Wandering

Assessment Strategies

Concluding Remarks

6. Developing Curriculum That Addresses Self-Efficacy

Addressing Self-Efficacy in the Classroom

Curricular and Instructional Models

Rigor

Relevance

Relationship

Text Sets of Multiple Print Materials

Rigor

Relevance

Relationship

Choice and Voice

Rigor

Relevance

Relationship

Sustained Time for Reading, Writing, Talking, Thinking, and Sharing

Rigor

Relevance

Relationship

Where Do We Go From Here?

References

Index

Reviews

"A tremendous book. Research shows and teachers know that motivation is a central challenge facing teachers today. This text provides fresh insight into self-efficacy, an essential component of motivation, by exploring what it is, how to cultivate it, and how to nurture it in the context of innovative teaching that develops literacy competence in a range of areas."

Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Professor of English Education
Boise State University

"Both practicing and preservice educators from all content areas need this amazing collection of constructive concepts and strategies that affect adolescent readers' attitudes toward academic and non-academic literacy. This book not only exposes educators to why facilitating engagement with reading is important, but also shares how to help adolescent readers enjoy a lifelong relationship with literacy."

Vicki Sellers, Language Arts/Social Studies Teacher
Crosbyton Middle School, TX

Other Titles in: High School Teaching Methods | Literacy, K-12

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Review Copies

This book is not available as a review copy.