By Megan Polk, Literacy Specialist, Elementary Teacher
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The podcast currently has 172 episodes available.
Over the last month, we’ve been discussing all the different factors that can affect a student’s reading comprehension, even in upper elementary. We’ve gone over fundamental and cognitive factors, and now we’ve hit the last factor, which is environmental. So, in the last episode of the series, I’m sharing interventions for environmental factors that affect reading comprehension, the impact those have on student learning, and ways to support them.
When it comes to environmental factors, I’m really going to cover the socioeconomic and emotional or psychological factors that students face. As you address these factors, it’s important to be aware that this involves creating a supportive classroom environment and connecting with resources that go beyond the classroom. I’m going to provide several intervention ideas that involve the community, public library, and ways to include SEL into your daily literacy routine.
As you start to examine reasons why a student isn’t proficient in reading comprehension, it’s important to look beyond academics. Are there resources or materials that aren’t attainable or lack the support to improve their reading? By taking a look at the environmental factors that affect reading comprehension and addressing those issues, you will soon have your students feeling successful with their literacy skills!
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode170
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Over the last few weeks, I’ve been diving into intervention strategies for students who have difficulty with reading comprehension. The reality is that some upper elementary students aren’t proficient or on grade level when it comes to reading or reading comprehension. So, as literacy teachers, we’ve got to come up with ways to support these students in our class. Last week, I shared strategies for students who struggle with the fundamental factors of reading comprehension. But in today’s episode, I’m sharing interventions and strategies for cognitive factors that affect reading comprehension for your students.
When we discuss cognitive factors, we’re addressing deficiencies in attention issues, processing speeds, working memory, language processing, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities. But one thing that’s unique about cognitive challenges is that the intervention and strategies need to be specialized and focused on the unique needs of each student. Therefore, when highlighting strategies and interventions for cognitive factors that affect reading comprehension, they’re tailored and adjusted to benefit the student and help them succeed in reading and academics in general.
As you address cognitive factors that affect reading comprehension, know that support from special education teachers and interventionists may need to get involved. Therefore, by implementing these strategies with your students, you’re one step ahead in getting them the help they need for the future in academics. Our goal as literacy teachers is to get our students proficient in reading, so having these interventions ready for your students is one way for you to address their cognitive factors in order to improve their reading comprehension skills.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode169
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Getting students in upper elementary on grade level with their reading and comprehension skills can be challenging because there are so many factors and reasons why they’re lacking in that area. However, one of the biggest reasons is a lack of fundamental and foundational skills. I talked in last week’s episode about the different areas this can be found, but I want to go deeper into providing you with action steps you can take. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing seven fundamental reading comprehension strategies you can implement in your classroom.
As I reference factors tied to foundational skills, I’m referring to vocabulary, decoding, background knowledge, fluency, text structure, engagement, and comprehension strategies. These fundamental challenges contribute to a student’s lack of reading skills. So in each of these areas, I discuss the fundamental reading comprehension strategies I would take action in to support students. I also provide examples of engaging and creative ways to implement in the areas of your literacy block.
It’s our job as teachers to find ways to support our students in becoming successful readers. And even if they’re in upper elementary, that reason could be a lack of fundamental and foundational skills. But by identifying and incorporating fundamental reading comprehension strategies, you will be able to build an effective action plan and learning experiences that are fun and engaging for all of your students.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode168
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One, if not the biggest, thing we focus on as literacy teachers is getting our students to be successful readers. But as upper elementary teachers, you know that you will have several students in your class who struggle with reading comprehension. This then becomes a major focus in our classrooms, but we know a student’s lack of reading comprehension can vary based on the student’s needs. So, how do we identify the root of the problem? In today’s episode, I’m sharing the different skills, processes, and factors that contribute to a student’s lack of reading comprehension.
As teachers, it’s in our nature to try and fix problems before they happen or quickly implement strategies that improve a skill any student is lacking. However, when it comes to a student’s lack of reading comprehension, it’s important to work backward and get to the root before planning proper intervention techniques. In my experience, if a student is struggling with reading comprehension, it’s because they struggle with either fundamental skills, cognitive processes, or environmental factors. I’m going to highlight each of these areas and identify 14 potential causes as to why reading comprehension is difficult for a student in your class.
Being a successful reader is more than just reading words on a page; it’s also the ability to analyze, comprehend, and explain what’s happening in the text. So, when students lack reading comprehension skills, they don’t have the necessary tools to be successful readers. In order to help them with this, we first need to identify what they’re struggling with in the area of reading comprehension before we plan intervention strategies for the student. Stay tuned to next week’s episode, where I unpack the reading comprehension causes shared today and dive further into strategies and interventions to help your students!
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode167
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I’ve always made it a priority of mine to find simple yet effective strategies that support literacy teachers in the classroom. One of our main jobs as literacy teachers is to provide our students with the skills to become successful readers and writers. And one way to do that is by giving your students scaffolds to support their literacy growth and development. So, in today’s episode, I’m sharing three effective scaffolds that I believe every literacy teacher should be using with their students.
Reading scaffolds are necessary tools in the upper elementary classroom. They’re designed to support all learners as they develop their literacy skills, which eventually leads to comprehension of a variety of texts. There are three different effective scaffolds that should be staples in your classroom. With each scaffold, I share how it will enhance a student’s reading comprehension, a variety of ways to use them, and provide specific examples that you can easily incorporate during your literacy lessons.
By using scaffolds in your classroom, you are providing temporary support that helps students accomplish tasks they can’t yet manage on their own. And while you might have heard of these effective scaffolds, it’s important to know how to successfully use them in order to better support the needs of your students. So, the next time you’re asking students to formulate their own ideas, make sure to take advantage of these scaffolds available to you.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode166
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Over the last few episodes, I’ve been covering several test-taking strategies in order to help prepare your students for the end-of-year standardized test. Unfortunately, most standardized tests are timed, so having efficient time management is so important for the success of their performance. Knowing how to pace themselves during a timed test is difficult for many students, which is why I’m sharing practical time management strategies that will help them feel confident and successful when taking a timed writing test.
If we think about it, students struggle to manage their own time while working independently or with a peer on a group project, so why would we think their time management skills would be present during a standardized test? However, we can help improve this skill by implementing time management strategies consistently and early in order for them to take effect during any timed test. I share four easy strategies that you can easily incorporate during any content area or activity. Then, I take it one step further and give examples and different ways for your students to practice these strategies so they’re confident in using them during a big test.
Using your time efficiently, whether it’s in the classroom or during your time spent at home, can be challenging for most students. But when you have the added pressure of performing at a high level on a standardized test, it can become even more challenging. However, by equipping your students with time management strategies, they will learn to efficiently manage their time during timed tests and feel confident while doing it.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode165
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When it comes to preparing for a state standardized test, we tend to focus our energy and time on the content our students need to master in order to get a high-achieving score. We implement daily practice and review for weeks leading up to the test. However, one aspect that we don’t focus on but plays a big role in our students’ performances is test anxiety. In today’s episode, I’m providing you with a variety of information that will help students manage and overcome test anxiety.
Test anxiety is the emotional component around testing, which can often be difficult to identify in students. Therefore, I’m sharing the signs of test anxiety, some of the major causes or factors that contribute to it, and strategies to help reduce this overwhelming feeling they have. Knowing these signs and factors can help you identify students early on, which will then provide them with the necessary strategies and tools to help them process and manage it to the best of their ability.
Making sure your students are prepared academically to take the state standardized test is so important, but don’t forget to prepare them for the emotional role it can have on them as well. By addressing test anxiety directly, you will be supporting them by giving them the tools and strategies they need to feel confident and perform as their greatest selves.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode164
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I’m so passionate about writing and helping students develop their skills and become better writers. One aspect of writing that is often complex and difficult for students to master is learning how to understand and respond to writing prompts. This is a vital skill because it not only helps students with standardized tests, but it’s a task that can be used with any subject area. So in today’s episode, I’m exploring strategies for tackling and understanding writing prompts so students can effectively respond.
In order for students to fully understand how to respond to writing prompts, there are several steps they need to work through and practice. I help give you the various tools students need to understand writing prompts, know the different types, a few brainstorming techniques, and finally, ways to plan out their responses. These tips might ask you to provide various resources and tools or models and practices for students to fully gain an understanding of how to respond to writing prompts. And since finding ways to seamlessly implement in your own classroom is a big focus for teachers, I also share three ways you can integrate these skills into your daily lessons.
Making sure you intentionally prioritize the learning time and consistently is key to your students mastering and understanding writing prompts. This skill is utilized in more than just the subject of literacy, which is why I encourage you to make developing these skills a priority in your classroom. By doing so, your students will approach writing tasks during standardized tests and in other subject areas with a clear and strategic plan while improving their overall performance and confidence.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode163
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Even though testing season isn’t here tomorrow, it is just around the corner and will be here before you know it. And instead of stressing and trying to prepare your students in a short amount of time, why not get started now? But whether you’re preparing students for a standardized test or wanting to work on different writing skills throughout the year, this episode is for you! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be focusing on different components of writing and sharing quick tips that will ultimately help your students. In this episode, I’m going back to the basics and sharing how to reinforce core writing skills.
I have found that most students struggle with grammar skills, sentence structure, and paragraph organization, so each of the tips I share focuses on one of those three areas. With each new idea shared, I explain what it is, ways to integrate them into your classroom routines, and examples to show you what they look like. With minimal preparation and materials, you already have access to, and by consistently implementing these core writing skills into your daily routine, you will prepare your students for the test and improve their writing skills.
These strategies support the core aspects of writing without additional resources or feeling like they’re too difficult to implement in your classroom. Stay tuned to next week’s episode, where I share more writing tips that help your students prepare for the standardized test without feeling the stress.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode162
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Over the last few weeks, we’ve been diving into the topic of student writing stamina. We’ve explored strategies to keep students engaged in writing, challenges students face while they’re writing, and how to build stamina through practices implemented in the classroom. By having all this background information and fresh new ideas on ways to keep them engaged, it’s time to create natural ways to increase the writing time of your students. So, in the last episode of our series, I’m sharing eight strategies that will gradually increase student writing time and the complexity of their work.
As we talk about how to increase student writing time, it’s important to keep in mind that we’re striving for more than just length of time. This can also mean increasing the number of sentences a student writes, a specific amount of words in their writing, or the types of sentences a student incorporates into their written work. I share that the goals and level of your students determine what you increase during your students’ writing time.
Each of the eight strategies is designed to increase the time, words, or sentences naturally and slowly over time. With each strategy, I also include specific examples and activities to use with each one to seamlessly implement in your literacy block.
Knowing various ways to increase student writing time is going to ensure it’s a natural process as students work towards their own writing goals as it pertains to stamina. By incorporating these eight strategies that are simple and practical, with consistency in a structured, supportive and engaging manner, your students will begin to build their writing stamina and endurance.
Show Notes: https://theliteracydive.com/episode161
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