The Most Misunderstood Literacy Strategies

The TOP 3 literacy practices that we often mis-use because there are too many mixed messages from literacy experts. This monthly post is provided to provoke a little conversation. And, remember, the thoughts presented here are offered up as indisputable facts, not just opinions…😁 So here we go….Our sure-fire, without-a doubt most misunderstood literacy practices.

Do you agree? Seriously, you don’t want to dare question the indisputable and irrefutable monthly Top 3. 😁 Just saying.

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There is really no point in reading something if we don’t understand it in the end. That is why we like to profess and declare comprehension as the end-game, the product of mastering top-notch skills in phonics, fluency, and vocabulary. The better we are at such things, the easier reading becomes as we advance to harder and harder texts. Yes, but…the misunderstanding arises when we think of close reading as simply a way of comprehending better (of summarizing, of characterizing). Even worse, we often conflate close reading with re-reading (see below). In fact, students can master the art of close reading with little or no re-reading. Close reading done well is an active process that travels along with us during the initial reading. As we develop our expertise as readers (and our appreciation of the author’s craft) close reading is helpful as a process for slowing down. For text-marking. For grappling with the text. For learning to observe the language used and to listen for what the author is telling and selling. The more complex a text becomes, the more nuanced the author is in their word-play, messaging, symbolism and the like. That’s why interpretation is an even more advanced skill than comprehension. In a strange twist, the true end-game of reading something is appreciation. We don’t just understand what is happening in our favorite Harry Potter novel, we value it.

We can think of re-reading as a close relative to close reading. Re-reading has become so prominent in our classrooms that we rarely find students reading a complex text without a teacher asking them to read it again. Yes, but…the misunderstanding arises when we think of re-reading as the go-to close reading strategy. To be honest, re-reading is best viewed as a scaffold (for students who need a second read to understand the text) or an instructional technique (for students to practice their close reading skills). Asking students to re-read a short passage as a way of practicing their text-marking and identification of literacy devices can be helpful, but asking all students to re-read several pages over and over is often unproductive. Let’s point out the obvious here in saying that students find this work tedious and boring, and that contributes to their lack interest in reading books on their own time. While re-reading is often overused and misunderstood, repeated reading is an underused activity in our classrooms. This strategy has more to do with building student accuracy and confidence. Asking students to read and re-read a short passage, poem, or speech as a fluency-building activity can be a useful strategy in building prosody and automaticity.

Any teacher will tell you that students who read more become better readers. Still, the research around independent reading in school is mixed and professional opinions vary greatly. If you are unsure, try asking someone about reading stations, reading logs, round-robin reading, drop everything and read programs, and even reading at home and see the reactions you get. Most are convinced that the extant research doesn’t support these practices. Yes, but…the misunderstanding arises when we are so passionate about these beliefs that we give very little time over to independent reading during the school day. As a result, we see fewer classrooms where students are reading books that interest them, and we rarely see students called on to read aloud. Many schools have moved away from independent reading altogether over concerns that some students are faking it or that their time is better spent annotating more rigorous texts. These are worthy discussions, but it is fair to wonder why so many students find reading to be a boring routine of reading, re-reading, highlighting, and responding that only applies to their lives in school. A better option is pairing rigorous, grade-level texts that students read and unpack in school with highly engaging young adult books that students find exciting and relevant. Yes, we can help students navigate a tantalizing journey through highly demanding texts that challenge their thinking and perspectives along with books they select for pure enjoyment that are at or below their reading levels (yes, just like we do as adults).