Using Different Types of Text For Effective Reading Instruction
Using Different Types of Text For Effective Reading Instruction
Using Different Types of Text For Effective Reading Instruction
IN
Introduction
Teaching children to read is both exciting and
challenging. It is exciting because the gratification
that comes from seeing a beginning reader pick
up a book and read on his/her own is like no
other experience a teacher can have. It is exciting
to see older students become mature and
accomplished readers.
Teaching reading is challenging because there is
so much knowledge that we have gained over the
decades and knowing how to use this knowledge
becomes critical. Teaching reading is challenging
because it is controversial, especially at the beginning levels of instruction. Much of the controversy
about beginning reading has focused around phonics and decoding and how these jobs of reading
should be taught. Teaching reading is challenging
because even with all the knowledge we have,
there are still many questions that we are unable
to answer.
In years past, an oversimplified approach was
sometimes taken to reading instruction. Teachers
usually had a single book that they used for most or
even all their students. Sometimes teachers grouped
students and had different students reading in different levels of books. However, as we have gained
new knowledge it has become much clearer that in
How Children
Learn to Read
Children learn to read in a variety of ways.
Researchers and reading specialists agree that as
children develop the skill of reading, they go
through a variety of developmental stages (Adams,
1990; Chall, 1983; Cooper & Kiger, 2001; Juel, 1991;
Rupley, Wilson, & Nichols, 1998). As children
progress from beginning reading to mature reading,
there are many different strategies and skills that are
learned and different tasks that are performed at
each stage. For example, at the beginning reading
stage, children focus heavily on learning to decode
words; as Ehri (1985; 1991; 1997) notes, there are
four stages in learning this process: pre-alphabetic,
partial alphabetic, full alphabetic, and consolidated
alphabetic (see Pikulski, Templeton, and Chard,
2000, for a full discussion). At the same time,
children are learning the basic elements of becoming effective comprehenders. Beyond the beginning
reading stage, most children have mastered decoding and their focus shifts to developing the use of
more strategies to help them construct meaning.
Each strategy, skill, and task often calls for the use
of different types of text. In fact, at any given point
on the continuum from beginning reading to
mature reading, several different types of texts can
and should be used simultaneously. What exactly
are the different types of texts that can be used for
reading instruction?
Description
Major Use
Wordless
Books
Predictable
Texts
Controlled
High-Frequency
Vocabulary
Texts
Decodable
Texts
Authentic
Literature
Created,
Easy-to-Read
Texts
Wordless Books
Wordless books are a part of the category of childrens literature identified as picture books (Norton,
1991). These are books that tell their story or present
their information through illustrations or photographs without printed words on the page.
Wordless books have varying degrees of detail and
complexity. Therefore, they can be used for a variety
of purposes at a variety of levels.
Wordless books have been recommended for
developing oral language and self-expression for all
students (Strickland, 1977). They are especially useful for working with English language learners
(Peregoy & Boyle, 1997). Examples of well-known
wordless books include Bobos Dream (Alexander,
1970), Do You Want to Be My Friend? (Carle, 1971),
and The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
(Van Allsburg, 1984).
Wordless books are useful for introducing students to the concept of a book. Young children can
develop an understanding of what a book is and
that it presents a story or information. There is no
threat from print on the page and they can be fun
for students. Tiedt (2000) recommends the use of
wordless books for students even in the middle
school. Students at the early stages of literacy development can use these books as ways to develop
vocabulary, oral language, and self-expression.
Second language learners can use them as a way to
build the connection between their native language
and English.
There are numerous places in the reading/literacy program where wordless books can be
used effectively:
1. During beginning reading to develop oral
language, vocabulary, concept of story, and
concept of books.
2. For second language learners as they develop
their foundation for English reading.
3. For older students in the elementary and middle school levels who need to develop a better
understanding of being a reader or for those
who need foundational skills. Tiedt (2000)
suggests that older students can develop their
own wordless books to share with younger
readers. Students who might be good artists
but dislike reading can utilize their strength in
art to help them develop a more positive attitude about reading.
Predictable Texts
Predictable texts are ones that have a repeated
pattern of some type. Bridge et al. (1983) identified
seven patterns of predictability in texts:
1. Phrase or sentence repeated (example: The
Wheels on the Bus [Kovalski, 1990])
2. Repetitive-cumulative pattern in which a
word, phrase, or sentence is repeated (example: Moving Day [Kalan, 1996])
3. Rhyming Patterns (example: Mrs. McNosh
Hangs Up Her Wash [Weeks, 1998])
4. Familiar cultural sequences, cardinal and ordinal numbers (example: Feast for Ten
[Falwell, 1993])
5. Familiar cultural sequences, alphabet (example: Aaron and Gaylas Alphabet Book
[Greenfield, 1992])
6. Familiar cultural sequence, days, months, colors (example: Chicken Soup with Rice
[Sendak, 1962])
7. Predictable plots (example: If You Give a Pig a
Pancake [Numeroff, 1998])
Predictable books along with shared reading are
often recommended as a way to introduce beginning learners to the feeling of being a reader
(Holdaway, 1979). Throughout the 1980s and early
1990s, many schools used lots of predictable books
in their beginning reading programs.
Predictable texts help children very quickly
come to think of themselves as readers. For example, hearing or reading aloud a book such as Brown
Bear, Brown Bear (Martin, 1967) in a shared fashion
several times allows children to very quickly be able
to recite the text. Often the children memorize the
text and can repeat the text without even looking at
it. In this way, children think of themselves as readers and have fun reading.
Controlled High-Frequency
Vocabulary Texts
Historically, controlled high-frequency vocabulary texts were associated with beginning reading
instruction (Smith, 1965). A core of high-frequency
words is carefully introduced and repeated. These
words are often selected from sources such as the
Dolch list (Dolch, 1936), the Johnson list (Johnson,
1971), and others. The text might read something
like:
Decodable Texts
Decodable texts are ones that contain a high
number of words that use the sound-letter relationships that children are being taught as well as a limited number of high-frequency words (Chard &
Osborne, 1999). These texts may also include a limited number of special words or story words. For
example, if students know the letter-sound relationships for m /m/, s /s/, t /t/, p /p/, e /e/, and a /a/
and the high-frequency and special words the, elephant, said, no, and thank you, they can read the following story:
Pat and the Elephant
Pat met the elephant.
The elephant met Pat.
Pat sat.
The elephant sat.
The elephant sat on the mats.
The elephant sat and sat.
Can I go?
I can go.
Can he go?
He can go.
Go! Go!
Using controlled high-frequency vocabulary
texts provides children practice in recognizing those
words that make up a very high proportion of the
words found in beginning reading materials. Just
over 100 words account for about half of the running words in texts through third grade (Adams,
1990). Knowing this important core of words should
help children read not only texts being used for
reading instruction, but other beginning reading
texts as well.
High-frequency words can be carefully introduced and practiced in decodable text. Therefore, it
is not necessary to have texts that are written exclusively to practice high-frequency words.
that some decodable texts should be used for beginning reading instruction (Juel & Roper/Schneider,
1985), there is little research to guide the decision
about the percentage of decodability a text should
have. The best rule of thumb we can follow in reading instruction today is to use decodable text until
students become independent in sequential decoding. Recently, some researchers have recommended
that especially for potentially low-level beginning
readers, decoding should be systematically taught
quickly up through about February (Juel & MindenCupp, 2000). Decodable texts would be used to
apply the skills and strategies being taught in contextual reading. For some students independence in
decoding will occur by the end of grade one and for
others it may be at a later grade. At the same time,
decodable texts must be used along with other types of
texts to help students continue to broaden their oral language base, develop vocabulary, and develop the use of
comprehension strategies and skills.
Selecting decodable texts carefully is very
important. Chard and Osborne (1999) offer four
guidelines for this process in a beginning reading
program:
1. Stories that have a significant proportion of
decodable words.
2. A sequence of stories, such that the soundletter relations the children have learned are
cumulatively reviewed in the words of
the stories.
3. Stories that are comprehensible.
4. Words in the stories that are in the childrens
spoken vocabularies. (p. 113)
Even though decodable texts are most important
in the beginning reading program, they may be
needed in later grades for students who have not
achieved independence in decoding. For example,
Mrs. Jackson, a fifth-grade teacher, has a group of
four students who need limited amounts of decodable text to apply basic phonic skills and strategies
they are still learning.
Authentic Literature
Authentic literature (often referred to as trade
book literature) consists of narrative and expository texts in the original form as written by the author.
No editorial attempts are made to make these texts
easier by rewriting them to conform to readability
guidelines or given vocabulary lists. Authentic literature comes in the form of books, anthology selections, magazines, newspapers, and others.
Authentic literature is motivating for students. It
captivates their attention and engages them in learning (Huck, 1989; Sanders, 1987). Authentic literature
provides students with natural language texts that
continually help them develop and expand their
own language structures (Sawyer, 1987). Real literature is generally easy for most students to understand (Simons & Ammon, 1989).
Sometimes authentic literature is too difficult for
beginning readers to read on their own. Students
often lack the skills to sequentially decode the
words in the texts and often do not know many of
the high-frequency words included in the text
because they have not been taught those words. For
this reason, authentic literature needs to be used
simultaneously with other types of texts.
Getting students to read authentic literature is
the goal of the reading/literacy program. In beginning reading, it should be used as read alouds to
develop and expand students oral language, vocabulary, background, and prior knowledge. The listening experiences at these levels should serve as the
basis for directly and systematically teaching critical
comprehension strategies (National Reading
Panel, 2000).
As soon as students develop some degree of
independence in decoding, they should have repeated instructional and independent opportunities to
read authentic literature that allows them to apply
their strategies and skills to real reading. This literature should be carefully selected so that it is appropriate for the students reading abilities.
Beyond the beginning reading levels, authentic
literature should continue to be used for read alouds
to expand students vocabularies, to increase their
understanding of more complex language structures, and to expand their prior knowledge.
Authentic literature, both narrative and expository,
should continue as the core reading material for students to help them fully develop the abilities of a
skilled reader.
Differentiating Instruction
in a Beginning
Reading Classroom
Using Different Types of Texts
Ms. Wuthrich has a first grade class of 18 students10 boys and 8 girls. Four of her students are
English language learners who are still speaking
predominantly Spanish. Ms. Wuthrich uses a published reading program that has a variety of texts
available for instruction. She also uses other
resources that she has available. Here is an example
of how she uses different types of texts simultaneously on a given day for different purposes:
Predictable, Big Book Ms. Wuthrich begins
the morning by reading aloud a predictable big
book to the whole class. Before reading it, she has
them discuss the cover and then models how to
make predictions. As students make their predictions, Ms. Wuthrich records them on a chart. After
reading the book aloud several times, children join
in. Her English language learners are also able to
take part in this experience. Some children have
memorized the text while others are still struggling
to remember some of the words. Memorization is a
normal part of learning to read. This predictable
book is an authentic piece of literature. Later in the
week, Ms. Wuthrich will give some children a little
version of the big book for rereading.
Decodable Text As children work at centers, Ms. Wuthrich calls up a small group to read
using a decodable text from their program anthology. The text for today includes only words students
can sequentially decode because they have had
instruction in the phonics skills and high-frequency
words required to read the text. After introducing
the text, Ms. Wuthrich has students read it silently
to tell what happens. After silent reading, she has
students read parts aloud to answer questions or
prove points. As children read aloud, Ms. Wuthrich
notes which children can sequentially decode words
using the skills they have been taught. She provides
more systematic decoding instruction for children
who are experiencing difficulty with the decoding
process. She always follows this instruction with
practice and application, having them read additional decodable texts.
Differentiating Instruction in
the Upper Grades
Using Different Types of Texts
Mr. Salvo has a fourth grade class of 26 students14 girls and 12 boys. Five of his students are
English language learners who have transitioned
into English. He also uses a published reading program plus other resources. Here is how Mr. Salvo
uses different types of text simultaneously on the
same day for different purposes:
Authentic Literature Mr. Salvo has his
entire class read a short story from a literature
anthology. The purpose of using this story is to
apply the use of the strategy of summarizing which
he has been teaching. In order to meet the varying
needs of his students, he divides his class into small
groups. Some students read the story independently
and write a summary using a story map as a
prompt. Another group reads the story under the
teachers direction and completes the story map as a
group. They complete their summary orally.
Created, Easy-to-Read Texts There are several students in Mr. Salvos class who are having
difficulty with the summarizing strategy. Some are
having difficulty because they cant read the grade
level anthology and others because they have not
mastered the strategy. The program that Mr. Salvo is
using includes a created story that is several grade
levels below the class anthology. He uses this text
for guided reading with the group and directs them
in completing a story map. He and the students
model how to write a summary using the story map
as their guide.
Decodable Text Mr. Salvo has three students who are still having difficulty with decoding.
He has borrowed some decodable texts from a
lower grade teacher to use for skill application for
these students. Today he pulls this group to read the
text; it provides application of the decoding skills he
has been teaching the students. He has the students
read the text silently and then read aloud places to
prove points or answer questions. He is able to
observe which students are able to use their skills
for sequential decoding as they read aloud to
prove points.
Conclusion
As you can tell from this discussion, the six
types of texts identified can be used to accomplish
different purposes to meet different students needs.
As Brown (2000) notes, By matching text types
with their students reading development, . . . teachers are better able to support students reading
progress (p. 305). An effective reading/literacy program requires the use of many different types of
texts at all phases of literacy development. The variations in the types of text used are greatest at the
beginning reading level. However, a variety of types
of text are needed across all grades to meet the
instructional needs of all students.
All teachers need to be knowledgeable about the
different types of texts discussed in this paper and
know how to use them to meet the varying needs of
students. The old saying that one size fits all may
work for some products and in some places, but it
does not work for reading/literacy development.
One text does not fit all students or accomplish all
the needed purposes for effective reading/literacy
instruction. Multiple types of texts are needed to
accomplish the many different purposes of an effective literacy program.
References
Adams, M. J. (1990). Beginning to read: Thinking and
Learning About Print. Cambridge, MA:
The MIT Press.
Anderson, R. C., Hiebert, E. H., Scott, J. A., &
Wilkinson, I. A. G. (1985). Becoming a nation of
readers: The report of the Commission on Reading.
Washington, DC: The National Institute
of Education.
Bloomfield, L., & Barnhart, C. (1961). Lets Read: A
Linguistic Approach. Detroit: Wayne State
University Press.
Bridge, C., Winograd, P. N., & Haley, D. (1983).
Using predictable materials vs. preprimers to
teach beginning sight words. The Reading
Teacher, 36(9), 884891.
Brown, K. J. (2000). What kind of textFor whom
and when? Textual scaffolding for beginning
readers. The Reading Teacher, 53(4), 292-307.
Chall, J. S. (1967). Learning to Read: The Great Debate.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Chall, J. S. (1983). Stages of Reading Development.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Chard, D. J., & Osborne, J. (1999). Phonics and word
recognition instruction in early reading programs: Guidelines for accessibility. Learning
Disabilities Research and Practice, 14(2), 107117.
Cooper, J. D., & Kiger, N. D. (2001). Literacy
Assessment: Helping Teachers Plan Instruction.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Dolch, E. W. (1936). A basic sight vocabulary.
Elementary School Journal, 36, pp. 456-460.
Ehri, L. (1991). The development of the ability to
read words. In R. Barr, M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal,
& P. D. Pearson (Eds.), Handbook of Reading
Research, (Vol 2., pp. 383-417).
New York: Longman.
Ehri, L. (1997). Learning to read and learning to
spell are one and the same, almost. In C.
Perfetti, L. Rieben, & M. Fayol (Eds.), Learning to
spell: Research, theory, and practice across languages
(pp. 237-269). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Literature
Alexander, M. (1970). Bobos Dream. New York: Dial
Books.
Author
J. David Cooper
J. David Cooper is Adjunct
Professor of Education at Ball
State University, where he has
been Professor and Director of
Reading. Dr. Cooper is the author
of Literacy: Helping Children
Construct Meaning and Improving
Reading Comprehension, and coauthor of The What and How of Reading Instruction
and several other professional books. He is coauthor of a new book, Literacy Assessment: Helping
Teachers Plan Instruction. For the last six years, Dr.
Cooper has been conducting research and developing programs on reading intervention for students
in grades 3-8. He has been a reviewer for several
professional journals. Dr. Cooper is a member of
numerous professional organizations, including the
International Reading Association.