Module 3: Mock Memo from a Reading Specialist

Dear Teacher,

                After reviewing your student’s portfolios, it appears most of your students are reading with a high fluency rate, but are lacking important comprehension skills. Being a fluent reader doesn’t guarantee comprehension. Reading is not just about automatic word recall. It goes deeper that just recalling words within a text. Due to the fact that your students are reading with a high fluency rate indicates to me there has been a strong phonics based instruction in previous years. This would explain their ability to decode and read fluently with given a reading passage. One thing to understand is phonics is not the main source of reading instruction, but a component of reading. Your students will not only have to read fluently, but be able to find meaning in their reading. This is an area to focus your reading instruction.

                It appears to me your students need to be taught comprehension strategies. One way to begin this process is by using “think-alouds” as a way to focus on finding meaning, develop effective reading strategies, and most importantly teach your students to reflect on their own reading. Another strategy your students could benefit from is the use to employ the “check for understand” strategy. This is a visual, usually on a check mark, that reminds students to ask the who, what, where, when, and why after each section or paragraph in a text. This allows students to reflect on their reading to determine if they actually understand what they read before reading on. It’s an effective strategy that your students will benefit from.  Please try these strategies out in your classroom, and inform me how your students reading comprehension was impacted.

                Prior to implementing these reading comprehension strategies, I also feel it would be necessary to reevaluate your student instructional reading level using the Fountas and Pinnell reading assessment. My main concern is your placement of students into reading groups based on their fluency scores. If students are able to read a text with over 95% accuracy, without evidence of comprehension, then they do not need to be grouped into a reading level that reflects their high fluency. Reading instruction needs to be taught at their level focusing on areas for growth. In this case, your students are reading texts that are too difficult to construct meaning.  

Thank You,

Danielle Collins
Reading Specialist