EFFECTIVE
STRATEGIC
READING
INSTRUCTION
PRESENTER:
MARIA FERLYN B. CASTILLO

READING IS…

UTILIZING READING STRATEGIES IS…

The National Reading Panel Report (National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development [NICHD], 2000) summarized several
decades of scientific research that clearly shows effective reading
instruction addresses five critical areas:
• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Fluency
• Vocabulary
• Comprehension
These five areas were incorporated into the No Child Left Behind Act and
the Reading First initiative as essential components of effective reading
instruction.
FIVE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE
READING INSTRUCTION

• Phonemic awareness is commonly defined as the understanding that spoken words are made up
of separate units of sound that are blended together when words are pronounced.
• It is defined by reading experts as the ability to “focus on and manipulate phonemes in spoken
words” (NICHD, 2000).
• the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds—phonemes—
in spoken words. (Put Reading First by National Institute for Literacy)
• Phonemic awareness can also be used to predict how well children will learn to read. Researchers
were able to identify who would learn to read more easily and who would have difficulty by
measuring the extent to which children had developed phonemic awareness (Share, Jorm,
Maclean, & Matthews, 1984). More importantly, a number of studies have shown that teaching
phonemic awareness to young children significantly increases their later reading achievement
(Cunningham, 1989; Foorman, Francis, Fletcher, Schatschneider, & Mehta, 1998; Lundberg, Frost,
& Peterson, 1988). As an essential part of learning to read and a strong predictor of reading
success, phonemic awareness is a concept every reading teacher should understand and be able
to teach proficiently (Adams, Foorman, Lundberg, & Beeler, 1998).
• Phonemes are the sounds that make up spoken words. They are the smallest segments of
sounds within spoken language
• Phonemes are the smallest parts of sound in a spoken word that make a difference in the
word’s meaning.
PHONEMIC AWARENESS

• Phoneme isolation
Children recognize individual sounds in a word.
Teacher: “What is the first sound in van?”
Children: “The first sound in van is /v/.”
• Phoneme identity
Children recognize the same sounds in different
words.
Teacher: “What sound is the same in fix, fall, and
fun?”
Children: “The first sound, /f/, is the same.”
• Phoneme categorization
Children recognize the word in a set of three or four
words that has the “odd“ sound.
Teacher: “Which word doesn’t belong? Bus, bun,
rug.”
Children: “Rug does not belong. It doesn’t begin with
/b/.”
• Phoneme blending
Children listen to a sequence of separately spoken
phonemes, and then combine the
phonemes to form a word. Then they write and read
the word.
Teacher: “What word is /b/ /i/ /g/?”
Children: “/b/ /i/ /g/ is big.”
Teacher: “Now let’s write the sounds in big: /b/, write
b; /i/, write i; /g/, write g.”
Teacher: (Writes big on the board.) “Now we’re
going to read the word big.”
HOW CAN WE KNOW IF CHILDREN ARE DEVELOPING PHONEMIC
AWARENESS
There are several levels of phonemic awareness that may be demonstrated through different classroom activities
(Schatschneider, Francis, Foorman, Fletcher, & Mehta, 1999). These levels represent increasingly difficult tasks,
and as such, they may provide an indication of how a child’s phonemic awareness is developing.

• Phoneme segmentation
Children break a word into its separate
sounds, saying each sound as they tap
out or
count it. Then they write and read the word.
Teacher: “How many sounds are in grab?”
Children: “/g/ /r/ /a/ /b/. Four sounds.”
Teacher: “Now let’s write the sounds in
grab: /g/, write g; /r/, write r; /a/, write a;
/b/,
write b.”
Teacher: (Writes grab on the board.) “Now
we’re going to read the word grab.”
• Phoneme deletion
Children recognize the word that remains
when a phoneme is removed from another
word.
Teacher: “What is smile without the /s/?”
Children: “Smile without the /s/ is mile.”
• Phoneme addition
Children make a new word by adding a
phoneme to an existing word.
Teacher: “What word do you have if you add
/s/ to the beginning of park?”
Children: “Spark.”
• Phoneme substitution
Children substitute one phoneme for another
to make a new word.
Teacher: “The word is bug. Change /g/ to /n/.
What’s the new word?”
Children: “Bun.”

Phonemic awareness instruction is most effective when it focuses on
only one or two types of phoneme manipulation, rather than several
types.
Children who receive instruction that focuses on one or two types of phoneme manipulation
make greater gains in reading and spelling than do children who are taught three or more
types of manipulation.
One possible explanation for this is that children who are taught many different ways to
manipulate phonemes may become confused about which type to apply. Another explanation
is that teaching many types of manipulations does not leave enough time to teach any one
type thoroughly. A third explanation is that instruction that includes several types of
manipulations may result in teaching children more difficult manipulations before they
acquire skills in the easier ones.

• Assess the kinds of phonemic awareness tasks students are able to perform and plan
instruction accordingly. Nonreaders in kindergarten and first grade who have developed
little or no phonemic awareness will benefit from explicit and systematic instruction that
begins with the easier levels of phonemic awareness such as identifying the initial sounds
in spoken words. More mature readers may need instruction in segmenting, blending, and
deleting phonemes. (NICHD, 2000, p. 2-31)
• Focus on one or two phonemic awareness skills. Phonemic awareness instruction that
focuses on no more than one or two skills at a time is more effective than trying to teach
many different phonemic awareness skills at the same time (NICHD, 2000, p. 2-21).
• Allocate a reasonable amount of time to phonemic awareness instruction. Studies that
produced the strongest results engaged students with phonemic awareness activities
between a total of 5 to 18 hours (NICHD, 2000, p. 2-22)
• Emphasize segmenting words into phonemes. Teaching young readers to segment words
into individual phonemes appears to be as effective in helping them learn to read as
instruction in both segmenting and blending (Torgesen, Morgan, & Davis, 1992). While
blending is an essential skill for use in decoding, Torgesen, et al. (1992) concluded that
emphasis should be placed on segmenting words into phonemes.
How Can Teachers Help Students Develop Phonemic
Awareness?

• Working with small groups of three to four children to teach phonemic awareness may be more
effective than one-on-one tutoring. It appears that children learn from observing and listening to
the responses of other children and what the teacher says to the other children about their
responses. (NICHD, 2000, p. 2-22)
• Use letters when teaching about phonemes. According to the work of Blachman, Ball, Black,
and Tangel (as cited in NICHD, 2000), instruction in letters should accompany phonemic
awareness instruction. Teaching students to use letters to add, delete, or substitute phonemes
increases the application of phonemic awareness to reading and writing.
• Connect phonemic awareness instruction to reading and writing. Making it clear to students
how phonemic awareness is connected to reading and writing increases its impact on reading
achievement (Cunningham, 1990). Isolated phonemic awareness training improves reading
outcomes, but not to the extent that it would if its application to reading and writing was
stressed.
• Use manipulatives to help students acquire phonemic awareness. Manipulatives can be
effective aids in teaching phonemic awareness. The work of Blachman et al. (as cited in
NICHD, 2000) reported this finding: Having students move letters as they pronounced
phonemes in given words was a “key activity” in a program of phonemic awareness instruction
that produced significant transfer of learning to reading and spelling.

• Focus attention on how the mouth changes when pronouncing different phonemes.
Focusing attention on the changes that take place in the mouth as words are pronounced is
an effective way to identify phonemes. Lindamood & Lindamood’s work (as cited in NICHD,
2000), explains that by helping students notice the position and movement of their lips and
tongue, teachers can increase students’ ability to identify, count, and segment phonemes.
For example, when the word foot is spoken, the lower lip is held against the teeth as air is
forced out to pronounce the phoneme /f/. Then, the mouth forms a circle as the /? / is
pronounced. Finally, the tongue touches the roof of the mouth to make the /t/.
• Use spelling to teach phonemes. Asking children to spell words by listening for individual
phonemes and identifying the letters that represent those phonemes helps to teach
segmenting and improves children’s ability to recognize unfamiliar words (Ehri and Wilce,
1987). It is helpful to encourage children to think about how their mouth changes as they
repeat the word they are trying to spell. This helps them segment and identify individual
phonemes (NICHD, 2000, p. 2-36)

• Phonics instruction teaches children the relationships between the letters (graphemes) of
written language and the individual sounds (phonemes) of spoken language. It teaches
children to use these relationships to read and write words.
• we define phonics as a set of rules that specify the relationship between letters in the spelling
of words and the sounds of spoken language. For the English language, these relationships
are predictable, but not completely consistent. However, they are consistent enough to be very
useful to young children in helping them learn to decode unfamiliar words. (Foorman et al.,
1998).
What Is the Purpose of Phonics Instruction?
• Phonics instruction is intended to help young readers understand and use the alphabetic
principle. This principle says there is a systematic, if sometimes irregular, relationship between
graphemes (letters and letter combinations) and phonemes (individual speech sounds).
Effective phonics instruction enables children to use these relationships to read and spell
words accurately and rapidly. Phonics instruction also serves as a memory aid that helps
students remember and apply rules and generalizations for matching sounds and letters.
PHONICS

Systematic Phonics
The research support for systematic phonics instruction extends back to the work of Jeanne
Chall (1967). Her extensive review of the theory and practical application of beginning reading
instruction concluded that systematic phonics instruction that was initiated early in children’s
school experiences seemed to produce stronger reading achievement than instruction that
began later and was less systematic. Since Chall’s early study of reading, the evidence to
support the use of systematic phonics instruction has continued to grow (Adams, 1990;
Foorman et al., 1998). “Although differences exist, the hallmark of systematic phonics
programs is that they delineate a planned, sequential set of phonic elements, and they teach
these elements explicitly and systematically.” (NICHD, 2000, p. 2-99)
Two categories of systematic phonics instruction have been the focus of considerable study.
One is synthetic phonics in which students are taught to sound out words by matching sounds
to letters and then blending the sounds to form words. The second category is called larger-
unit phonics in which students detect and blend word parts that are larger than phonemes
(units such as onsets and rimes and spelling patterns). Both methods can produce a
statistically significant impact on reading achievement (NICHD, 2000).

• Fluency is the ability to read a text accurately and quickly. When fluent readers read silently,
they recognize words automatically. They group words quickly to help them gain meaning
from what they read. Fluent readers read aloud effortlessly and with expression. Their
reading sounds natural, as if they are speaking fluent readers need to put less effort into
word recognition and therefore have more available for comprehension. Later studies of
fluency (Rasinski, 1990; Hooks & Jones, 2002) expanded this understanding by clarifying
that fluency can also involve grouping words within a sentence into phrases that make
what is read easier to comprehend. Grouping words into meaningful phrases and reading
with expression helps the reader understand the text by making what is being read
resemble natural speech.
Why Is Fluency Instruction Important?
• In a large-scale study of fluency (Pinnell, Pikulski, Wixson, Campbell, Gough, & Beatty, 1995)
the National Assessment of Educational Progress reported that almost half of the fourth graders
tested were unable to read fluently. That same study identified a close relationship between
fluency and comprehension. That is, students who were low in fluency also showed difficulty
comprehending what they read.
• Fluency is important because it provides a bridge between word recognition and
comprehension. Because fluent readers do not have to concentrate on decoding the words,
they can focus their attention on what the text means. They can make connections among the
ideas in the text and between the text and their background knowledge
FLUENCY

What does scientifically based research
tell us about fluency instruction?
Researchers have investigated two major instructional approaches related to fluency. In the
first approach, repeated and monitored oral reading (commonly called “repeated reading“),
students read passages aloud several times and receive guidance and feedback from the
teacher. In the second approach, independent silent reading, students are encouraged to read
extensively on their own. Key findings from the scientific research on fluency instruction
include the following conclusions about these two approaches that are of particular interest
and value to classroom teachers.
To ensure that students continue to develop fluency, other forms of practice should be
included. Two forms that have shown evidence of improving fluency are repeated
reading and guided repeated oral reading (NICHD, 2000).
• Repeated reading involves asking students to read and reread a passage or story. In studies
of the effects of repeated reading, students have been required to reread a story a certain
number of times or until a specified level of fluency was reached. In a classroom setting,
students might intersperse their repeated readings with activities that give them an
opportunity to respond to what they have read rather than merely reading the story or
passage again and again.

• Guided repeated oral reading adds greater support for the reader to the strategy of
repeated reading. This guidance or support may take the form of additional modeling
of what fluent reading sounds like, telling students unfamiliar words rather than having
them sound the words out, having students read along with a taped version of the
story, or helping students see how words can be grouped into meaningful phrases.
Repeated and monitored oral reading improves reading fluency and
overall reading achievement.
Students who read and reread passages orally as they receive guidance and/or
feedback become better readers. Repeated oral reading substantially improves word
recognition,speed, and accuracy as well as fluency. To a lesser but still considerable
extent, repeated oral reading also improves reading comprehension. Repeated oral
reading improves the reading ability of all students throughout the elementary school
years. It also helps struggling readers at higher grade levels.

● Vocabulary refers to the words we must know to communicate effectively. In general, it can
be described as oral vocabulary or reading vocabulary. Oral vocabulary refers to words that we
use in speaking or recognize in listening. Reading vocabulary refers to words we recognize or
use in print.
● Vocabulary also is very important to reading comprehension. Readers cannot understand
what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. As children learn to
read more advanced texts, they must learn the meaning of new words that are not part of
their oral vocabulary.
● Vocabulary is important in word recognition. Young readers use the pronunciations and meanings of words
in their oral vocabulary to help them recognize words they see in print.
● vocabulary is important for reading to learn as well as learning to read. Children need to understand the
meanings of the words they read if they are to learn from what they read (Nagy & Scott, 2000). Baker,
Simmons, and Kameenui (1995) tell us that “vocabulary acquisition is crucial to academic development.
Not only do students need a rich body of word knowledge to succeed in basic skill areas, they also need a
specialized vocabulary to learn content area material.”
Four Types of Vocabulary
● Listening: words we understand when others talk to us
● Speaking: words we use when we talk to others
● Reading: words we know when we see them in print (sight words and words we can decode)
● Writing: words we use when we write
VOCABULARY

The scientific research on vocabulary instruction reveals that (1) most vocabulary is learned
indirectly and (2) some vocabulary must be taught directly
1. Indirect instruction—Students engage in oral language, listen to adults read to them, and read
extensively on their own.
2. Direct Instruction—teach individual words and word learning strategies;
● teach use of dictionaries, glossaries and thesauruses; how to use word parts; and context clues.
● Vocabulary should be taught directly even though a great deal of vocabulary is learned indirectly.
Effective vocabulary instruction includes teaching new words directly by providing explicit, clearly
written definitions and well-chosen examples and nonexamples, as well as helping students learn
words indirectly by teaching word-learning strategies students can use to learn words on their own
● Reading aloud to students is another way they learn unfamiliar words. Teachers should talk with
students about the story before, during, and after reading it aloud.
● Repeated exposure to new vocabulary is important. The frequency with which a word is
encountered increases new word learning for kindergarteners and first graders (Leung, 1992), and
repeated readings can help young children’s vocabulary growth (Senechal, 1997).
● New words are learned more effectively in a rich context. Words that students will encounter in a
variety of text are more useful and therefore should receive emphasis in vocabulary instruction
● Restructuring vocabulary tasks can help students learn new vocabulary. Restructuring vocabulary
tasks includes rewriting textbook definitions to make them more complete and easier to understand
and providing sample sentences along with definitions.
● Active engagement with vocabulary improves learning. This can include using new words in
sentences, matching words with definitions, sorting examples and nonexamples of new concepts,
or discussing what new words mean with classmates.
What
does
scienti
fically
based
resear
ch
tell us
about
vocab
ulary
instruc
tion?

Comprehension
• Comprehension is the reason for reading. If readers can read
the words but do not understand what they are reading, they
are not really reading.
As they read, good readers are both purposeful and active.
• Comprehension involves constructing meaning that is
reasonable and accurate by connecting what has been read
to what the reader already knows and thinking about all of this
information until it is understood. Comprehension is the final
goal of reading instruction. While fluent decoding is an
essential component of skilled reading, (Block & Pressley,
2002) it should be considered a prerequisite to strong
comprehension rather than an end in itself

Comprehension Strategies
1. Monitoring comprehension.
Comprehension monitoring instruction teaches students to:
• be aware of what they do understand,
• identify what they do not understand, and
• use appropriate “fix-up“ strategies to resolve problems in comprehension.
2.Using graphic and semantic organizers. Graphic organizers illustrate concepts and
interrelationships
Graphic organizers can:
• help students focus on text structure as they read;
• provide students with tools they can use to examine and visually represent relationships
in a text; and
• help students write well-organized summaries of a text.
3. Answering questions. Teachers have long used questions to guide and monitor students’
learning. Research shows that teacher questioning strongly supports and advances students’
learning from reading.
Questions appear to be effective for improving learning from reading because they:
• give students a purpose for reading;
• focus students’ attention on what they are to learn;
• help students to think actively as they read;
• encourage students to monitor their comprehension; and
• help students to review content and relate what they have learned to what they already know.

Comprehension Strategies
4. Generating questions. By generating questions, students become aware of whether
they can answer the questions and if they understand what they are reading. Students
learn to ask themselves questions that require them to integrate information from
different segments of text
5. Recognizing story structure. Story structure refers to the way the content and events of
a story are organized into a plot. Students who can recognize story structure have
greater appreciation, understanding, and memory for stories.
6. Summarizing. A summary is a synthesis of the important ideas in a text. Summarizing
requires students to determine what is important in what they are reading, to condense
this information, and to put it into their own words. Instruction in summarizing helps
students:
• identify or generate main ideas;
• connect the main or central ideas;
• eliminate redundant and unnecessary information; and
• remember what they read.

Reading problems encountered
• The first problem is the issue with background knowledge. According to the result, having background
knowledge is a significant factor that facilitates students’ understanding of a text through linking the
information to their previous experiences. In contrast, students who do not have enough background
knowledge and life experience have nothing to connect the new information with, which makes the new
information hard to be understood (Almutairi, 2018). What was found in this study regarding the importance
of background knowledge generally aligns with the study of Blanc and Tapiero (2001). They pointed out that
having more background knowledge about the topic of reading plays a significant role in helping readers to
construct meaning from a text. Readers who had more background knowledge were able to make more
accurate connection between the new textual information and their previous experience when compare to
readers withless background knowledge
• The second problem is issue with vocabulary. Knowledge of vocabulary plays a critical role in
facilitating readers’ understanding of a text (Malatesha Joshi, 2005; Martin-Chang & Gould, 2008). Qian (2002)
said that “Having a larger vocabulary gives the learner a larger database from which to guess the meaning of
the unknown words or behavior of newly learned words, having deeper vocabulary knowledge will very
likely improve the results of the guessing work”.
• The last problem is the issue with reading fluency. Issues with fluency was found as another problem
that impacts the students’ reading ability. The lack of fluency (slow decoding) is a problem that prevents
some of their learners with learning difficulties from comprehending a text well

Strategies employed in handling students with
learning difficulties
• Graphic Organizers--Chang et al. (2002) pointed out that “among the numerous
reading strategies, graphic strategies are one of the few approaches that can be applied at the preview stage
before reading, during the reading process itself, and at the stage after reading”. Also, Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek
and Wei (2004) concluded that although improving reading is a very difficult task, it could be done through
using graphic organizers.
• Questioning is another strategy that helps to improve reading of students with learning difficulties.
According to this study, questioning as a strategy takes two forms based on students’ ability: (a) teachers
frequently stop and question the students while they are reading and (b) students are questioning themselves
about the text while they are reading. In addition, questioning as a strategy improves students’ reading skills through
encouraging them to think while reading, stay focused on reading task, thinking about the best answers, and go
back to the text and reread it if they miss some information. It also improves students’ understanding of main
ideas and details of the text by encouraging them to ask, “what if” questions and connecting the text to their
background knowledge.
• Peer-assisted learning strategy has been demonstrated as an effective instructional method by the U.S.
Department of Education’s Program Effectiveness Panel (McMaster, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2006; McMaster, Fuchs, &
Fuchs, 2007). According to the results, the peerassisted reading strategy increases reading skills of students with
learning difficulties through allowing them to work with and listen to a peer, increasing their motivation to learn,
predicting, and learning from each other’s personal connection to the text. It also facilitates students’
comprehension through allowing them a cooperative learning experience in which they coordinate and discuss
information that has been in the book and share with one another. It also helps improving students’ confidence to
share and confirm what they learn from the text with others.

Strategies employed in handling students with
learning difficulties
• Graphic Organizers--Chang et al. (2002) pointed out that “among the numerous
reading strategies, graphic strategies are one of the few approaches that can be applied at the preview stage
before reading, during the reading process itself, and at the stage after reading”. Also, Kim, Vaughn, Wanzek
and Wei (2004) concluded that although improving reading is a very difficult task, it could be done through
using graphic organizers.
• Questioning is another strategy that helps to improve reading of students with learning difficulties.
According to this study, questioning as a strategy takes two forms based on students’ ability: (a) teachers
frequently stop and question the students while they are reading and (b) students are questioning themselves
about the text while they are reading. In addition, questioning as a strategy improves students’ reading skills through
encouraging them to think while reading, stay focused on reading task, thinking about the best answers, and go
back to the text and reread it if they miss some information. It also improves students’ understanding of main
ideas and details of the text by encouraging them to ask, “what if” questions and connecting the text to their
background knowledge.
• Peer-assisted learning strategy has been demonstrated as
an effective instructional method by the U.S. Department of Education’s Program Effectiveness Panel
(McMaster, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2006; McMaster, Fuchs, & Fuchs, 2007). According to the results, the peerassisted
reading strategy increases reading skills of students with learning difficulties through allowing them to
work with and listen to a peer, increasing their motivation to learn, predicting, and learning from each other’s
personal connection to the text. It also facilitates students’ comprehension through allowing them a cooperative
learning experience in which they coordinate and discuss information that has been in the book and share with
one another. It also helps improving students’ confidence to share and confirm what they learn from the text
with others.

1. Teach essential skills and strategies-effective reading classroom instruction includes teaching phonemic
awareness and phonics or word study explicitly and directly with opportunities to apply skills in reading and
writing connected text (e.g.,Ehri, 2003; Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001; Snow et al.,
1998) with integrated instruction in fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension (e.g., Chard, Vaughn, & Tyler,
2022; Gersten, Fuchs, Williams, & Baker, 2001; Jitendra, Edwards, Sacks, &Jacobson, 2004)
2. Differentiating Instruction—using results of diagnostic assessments to help identify students’ strengths and
needs, forming small groups of students with similar needs, and then planning instruction to target those
needs.
3. Provide explicit and systematic instruction—the teacher clearly models or demonstrates skills and strategies
and provide clear descriptions of new concepts. On the other hand, systematic instruction is carefully
sequenced, so that easier skills are taught before more difficult skills. Letter-sound correspondences and
phonics skills are taught in predetermined order according to a clear scope and sequence so that there are no
gaps in students’ learning.
4. Increasing opportunities for practice—during guided practice, students practice with teacher feedback.
Specific positive feedback calls attention to behaviors and processes that student is implementing well.
Students also need to know when they have made mistakes. If clear corrective feedback is not provided,
students are likely to continue to make same errors, in effect “practicing their mistakes” 9Denton & Hocker,
2006, p.17) and forming bad habits that are difficult to break.
The NRC (National Research Council) noted that for students to learn to read well they must:
a. understand how sounds are represented by print and be able to apply this understanding to read spell words,
b. practice reading enough to become fluent readers,
c. learn new vocabulary words,
d. learn to self-monitor when reading to make sure what they read makes sense and to correct their own errors.

5. Applying skills and strategies in meaningful text—Young students are taught to use a three-part strategy
when they try to read difficult words: “Look for parts you know, sound it out, and check it” (Denton & Hocker,
2006, p.144)
6. Monitoring student progress—in school with effective classroom reading instruction, students receive regular
brief reading assessments so that their reading growth can be monitored. These assessments typically include
having students read text for 1-2 minutes and calculating how many words they read correctly during that time
(see Fuchs, Fuchs, Hosp, & Jenkind, 2001; Hasbrouck & Tindal, 2006)
• Expert readers are strategic readers, able to command a wide variety of strategies and use them
flexibly and in conjunction with one another (Pressly and Afflerback 1995; Pressley and Woloshyn
1995)
• Help students become expert, or more strategic, readers.
• Short-term goal is to enable students to make sense of the text that they are reading at the moment
(Brown, Pressley, Van Meter, and Schuder 1996)

1. Adopting materials for courses with strategic reading instruction—Nuttal (1996) claims that the most
important selection criterion, however, is student interest; equally important factor is the students’
proficiency levels in their L2 and the choice of a text that is at an appropriate level of difficulty.
2. Selecting strategies for instruction

The limited number of strategies
chosen for initial classroom
instruction should be
immediately applicable to the
reading and learning process,
and particulary appropriate for
the students’ in a given
classroom (Pressly,
Goodchild, Fleet, Zajchowski
and Evans 1989; Pressley and
Woloshyn 1995)

The limited number of strategies
chosen for initial classroom
instruction should be
immediately applicable to the
reading and learning process,
and particulary appropriate for
the students’ in a given
classroom (Pressly,
Goodchild, Fleet, Zajchowski
and Evans 1989; Pressley and
Woloshyn 1995)

3. Planning lessons that guide the presentation of strategies—Early lessons should include a
discussion of the nature of strategic reading and explanation of where, when, and why
targeted strategies can be used.
4. Adapting instruction in the classroom--

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References
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https://www.rtinetwork.org
scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu

EFFECTIVE
STRATEGIC WRITING
INSTRUCTION
PRESENTER: MARIA FERLYN B. CASTILLO

WRITING IS…
• Writing is a fundamental skill. More than 85% of the population of the world
can now write (Swedlow, 1999). Writers use this versatile skill to learn new
ideas, persuade others, record information, create imaginary worlds, express
feelings, entertain others, heal psychological wounds, chronicle experiences,
and explore the meaning of events and situations (Graham, 2018a). In school,
students write about the materials read or presented in class to enhance their
understanding (Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, & Wilkinson, 2004; Graham & Hebert,
2011). At work, white and blue-collar workers commonly use writing to
perform their jobs (Light, 2001).
• At home, writing provides a means for initiating and maintaining personal
connections as we tweet, text, email, and “friend” each other using a variety
of social networks and media (Freedman, Hull, Higgs, & Booten, 2016).
• Writing helps students learn and persuade, while supporting lifelong literacy,
but learning to write challenges learners and involves a complex process.
Along the way, developing writers must acquire adverse skill set, one
important aspect of which includes adjusting the text for the reader’s benefit
(Kellogg, 2008).
• Writing is a complex and challenging task, requiring a considerable amount
of instructional time to master (Graham, 2018a).

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO LEARN
TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY?
● Youngsters who do not learn to write well are at a considerable disadvantage. At
school, they earn lower grades, especially in classes where written tests and
reports are the primary means for assessing students’ progress. They are less likely
than their more skilled classmates to use writing to support and extend what they
are learning in content classes. There is considerable evidence that writing about
content in science, social studies, and other content areas enhances how much
students learn
(Bangert-Drowns, Hurley, & Wilkinson, 2004; Graham & Perin, 2007a). The
opportunity to attend college is reduced too, as writing is now used to evaluate
applicants’ qualifications.
● Struggling writers also face considerable barriers in the “real” world. At work,
writing is a gateway for employment and promotion, especially in salaried
positions (National Commission on Writing, 2004, 2005). Employees in business
as well as government must be able to create clearly written documents,
memoranda, technical reports, and electronic messages. Moreover, participation
in civic life and the community at large has increasingly required the ability to
write, especially as the use of email and text messaging has become so
widespread.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO LEARN
TO WRITE EFFECTIVELY?
● The importance, versatility, and pervasiveness of writing exacts a toll on
those who do not learn to write well, as this can limit academic, occupational,
and personal attainments (Graham, 2006). While children typically begin
learning how to write at home (Tolchinsky, 2016), a basic aim of schooling is
to teach students to become competent writers.
● It is especially important that students get off to a good start in writing.
Waiting until later grades to address literacy problems that have their origins
in the primary grades is not particularly successful (Slavin, Madden, &
Karweit, 1989). As students move toward the middle school grades, the
teaching of writing becomes more complex, as it no longer revolves around a
single teacher at each grade level. Writing and writing instruction become a
shared responsibility across disciplines. English, science, social studies, and
other content teachers must all devote significant attention to the teaching of
writing, if they expect students to learn how to write effectively within their
discipline.

HOW WRITING IS TAUGHT
• One, some teachers provide students with
a solid writing program, and in some classrooms this instruction is exemplary (e.g.,
Wilcox, Jeffrey, & Gardner-Bixler, 2016). Two, this is not typically the case, as writing
and writing instruction in most classrooms are inadequate. These findings were
generally universal, applying across countries and grades.
• In the elementary grades, these evidence-based practices included writing for different
purposes, teaching strategies for carrying out writing processes such as planning and
revising, conducting formative assessments to guide writing instruction, and teaching
students foundational writing skills like handwriting, spelling, and sentence construction.
• At the secondary level, this included the same instructional practices
(except that handwriting and spelling were not typically taught) as well as using writing
as a way to support reading and learning. As Applebee and Langer (2011)
observed, some teachers create rich and engaging writing programs, using instructional
practices with a proven record of success (as identified in recent reports and
meta-analyses: Graham, Bruch, et al., 2016; Graham & Perin, 2007).

INSUFFICIENT WRITING INSTRUCTION
• One indicator of this inadequacy was that a majority of teachers did not devote
enough time to teaching writing (e.g., Brindle, Harris, Graham, & Hebert, 2016;
Graham et al., 2014; Kiuhara et al., 2009). At both the elementary and the secondary level,
the typical teacher devoted much less than 1 hour a day to teaching writing (e.g., Coker
et al., 2016; Drew, Olinghouse, Luby-Faggella, & Welsh, 2017).
• A second indicator of insufficient writing instruction was that students in a typical
class did not write frequently.
• A third indicator of insufficient writing instruction involved the use of teaching
procedures.
• fourth indicator of the insufficiency of writing instruction in the typical classroom
was the notable absence of the use of digital tools for writing

CONTRIBUTORS TO QUALITY WRITING INSTRUCTION
—Concerns about how much time is devoted to teaching writing led the
NCOW (2003) report to assert that “in today’s schools, writing is a prisoner of time”
(p. 20). This position is supported by the consistently replicated finding that
teachers who devote more time to teaching writing apply more instructional writing
practices more often (e.g., Coker et al.,2016; Hsiang et al., 2018; Koko, 2016).
• The is also a contributing factor in how
writing is
taught. As NCOW (2003) noted, it becomes increasingly difficult to provide writing
instruction responsive to students’ needs as the number of students in a classroom
increases.
• Classroom writing practices are further influenced by teachers’
(Graham & Harris, 2018).

ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE WRITING INSTRUCTION
1. Students follow a multi-step writing process—Students are trained to use (and can
produce evidence of) a multi-step writing process, including the elements of planning,
drafting, revision, and editing (e.g., Robinson & Howell, 2008). They make use of this
process for all writing assignments.
2. Students work collaboratively on their writing. Students work on their writing in pairs or
groups at various stages of the writing process: planning (prewriting), drafting, revising,
editing.
3. Students receive timely feedback about the quality of their writing. Students receive
regular performance feedback about the quality of a writing product from adults, peers,
or through self-administered ratings (e.g., using rubrics).
4. Students set writing goals. At various points in the writing process (planning, drafting,
writing, revising), students are encouraged to formulate specific goals; they later report out
(to the teacher or a peer) whether they have actually accomplished those goals. Examples
of goal-setting might include locating at least 3 sources for a research paper, adding 5
supporting details during revision of an argumentative essay, writing the first draft of an
introductory paragraph during an in-class writing period, etc.

ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE WRITING INSTRUCTION
5. Students use word processors to write. Students become fluent in keyboarding
and have regular access to word-processing devices when
writing.
6. Students write about what they have read. Students are explicitly taught how to
summarize and/or reflect in writing on texts that they have recently
read. Each of the following writing activities has been found to be effective in
promoting writing skills – as well as improving reading comprehension:
paraphrasing the original text as a condensed student summary
analyzing the text, attempting to interpret the text's meaning, or describing the
writer's reaction to it
writing notes (e.g., key words or phrases) that capture the essential text information
7. Students engage in pre-writing activities. Before beginning a writing assignment,
students take part in structured tasks to plan or visualize the topic to be written
about. Activities might include having students draw pictures relevant to the topic;
write out a writing plan independently or in pairs or groups; read articles linked to the
writing topic and discuss them before developing a writing plan, etc.

ELEMENTS OF EFFECTIVE WRITING INSTRUCTION
8. Students produce more writing. Students have more writing
included in their daily instruction (e.g., through daily journaling).
9. Students study writing models. Students are given models of
the kinds of writing that they will be asked to produce: e.g.,
argumentative or informational essays. Students closely study the
structure of these models and attempt to incorporate the important
elements of each model into their own writing.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING WRITING
1. Dedicate time to writing, with writing occurring across the curriculum, and involve students
in various forms of writing over time. Teachers that achieve exceptional success in teaching
writing recognize the importance of frequent and sustained writing (#1: Graham & Perin, 2007b). A
good rule of thumb is that students should spend at least one hour or more each day in the process
of writing—planning, revising, authoring, or publishing text. This includes writing projects that go
beyond a single paragraph or day-to-day projects that may take weeks or even months to complete.
These teachers further recognize the need for students to learn to write for multiple purposes (#2:
Graham & Perin, 2007b)
2. Increase students’ knowledge about writing. To become an effective writer, students need to
acquire knowledge about the characteristics of good writing as well as the different purposes and
forms of writing (see Recommendation 1, p. 3). A second approach for facilitating students’
acquisition and use of discourse writing knowledge is to provide them with models of specific types of
writing (#5: Graham & Perin, 2007a).
3. Foster students’ interest, enjoyment, and motivation to write. An important ingredient in
fostering students’ interest in writing is to make sure their writing assignments serve a real or
meaningful purpose (#7: Graham & Perin,2007b);
And students are more likely to enjoy writing if the classroom environment is a supportive and
pleasant place (#8: Graham & Perin, 2007a);
For students to be engaged and motivated about writing, they also need
to develop a sense of competence about their writing and their ability to
write well, along with a sense that writing is meaningful (Boscolo & Gelati 2007).

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING WRITING
4. Help students become strategic writers. One means of support involves the use of think sheets or
graphic organizers that structure what students do as they plan, draft, revise, or edit (#14: Graham & Perin,
2007a; Rogers & Graham, 2008). An even more powerful approach is to teach students planning, drafting,
revising, and editing strategies they can use independently (#15: Graham & Perin, 2007a; Rogers &
Graham, 2008).
5. Teach basic writing skills to mastery. Exceptional teachers recognize the importance of helping young
developing writers master basic transcription (i.e., handwriting and spelling) and sentence construction
skills, as they explicitly and directly teach them (#19: Graham & Perin, 2007b). Their basic approach for
teaching such skills is to explain, model, and provide guided practice (#20: Graham & Perin, 2007b).
6. Take advantage of technological writing tools. A variety of more familiar technological devices, many
of them electronic, can be used to support developing writers in general and struggling writers in particular.
These tools make the process of writing easier and often provide very specific types of support. The most
common of these tools is word processing (#23: Graham & Perin, 2007a; Rogers & Graham, 2008), which
provides at least threeadvantages: (1) revisions can be made easily, (2) the resulting paper can be
presented in a variety of
professional-looking formats, and (3) typing provides an easier means of producing text for many children
with fine motor difficulties (of course, students need to be taught to type to realize the benefit of this
potential advantage). Furthermore, word-processing programs are typically bundled with other software
programs,
such as spell and stylistic checkers, designed to reduce specific types
of miscues.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TEACHING WRITING
7. Use assessment to gauge students’ progress and needs. provide high-quality feedback
on student writing
• determine and set learning goals for future writing instruction
• promote and enhance teacher and student self-reflection
• review effectiveness of instruction in relation to student learning needs.
Formative assessment has a number of components (Davis 2011). These
include:
• establishing and sharing with students the learning goal(s) for the
lesson
• establishing with students the success criteria for the lesson(s)
• providing students with direct and explicit feedback on their progress
towards the lesson learning goal(s)
• deliberately including students in the process of reflecting on and
reviewing their learning through
–– self and peer assessment
–– conferences with peers and teacher
–– giving and receiving feedback
–– setting and monitoring learning goals and the next steps for
instruction.

References
https://www.acer.org
https://www.interventioncentral.org
https://www.journal.sagepub.com
doc.renlearn.com
https://www.researchgate.net

GOOD DAY!