1

Effective Practices for Teaching Reading Strategies

 2

Abstract

Successful reading strategies are important for educators to provide students with literacy

abilities. Research on reading motivation based on the students’ needs and abilities to effectively

deliver instruction that improve students reading skills. A survey questionnaire will be conducted

to determine the common reading strategies used in order to improve students' reading. This

study analyzes research that provides educators with foundational knowledge about how students

best learn to read. It questions how educators create effective reading strategies and how they

determine the effectiveness to provide the best possible literacy support for their students. The

study will be conducted using qualitative research methods. Its goal is to find different strategies

that educators can provide to help students become successful readers and improve reading skills
 3

Introduction

Reading strategies are a valuable skill for students to learn to read and successfully

engage in different daily activities. Many educators lack the training to teach reading strategies

and need to be prepared on how to design effective reading strategies, in order to teach these

strategies to their students. When educators provide students with reading strategies, it allows

students to understand how to use these strategies. Students will gain the ability to use strategies

to connect other reading skills. Improving all students’ reading skills in order to narrow the

reading attainment gap is one of the essential goals of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) and

Every Student Succeed Act (ESSA). It is especially significant to help students with reading

difficulties overcome the reading problems that may hinder them from literacy success before

they reach the higher grade. Teachers can help students improve reading skills through enhanced

instruction of reading strategies. Knowing how to use and match strategies that research has been

proven to help students can be beneficial for educators.

Literature Review

The purpose of this literature review is to explore teachers reading strategies, modelings,

interventions, and repeated readings that have been proven effective. The results of these studies

provide reading strategies to help increase students' reading fluency. Reading setbacks are

common among struggling readers, especially if they persist in their difficulties throughout the

upper elementary years. According to findings, fixed readers who struggle with reading are more

prone to avoid failure and not tackle assignments with the intention of mastery. By fostering a

growth attitude, assisting children in setting mastery goals for learning, and discouraging the use

of performance goals, may help students develop their interests and delight in reading.
 4

In two experiments (Salmerón et. al., 2006) identify two main strategies followed by
hypertext readers in selecting their reading orders. Identifies the objectives (ie., new knowledge
and skills) and methods of assessment (ie., the measurement of progress toward these objectives
(Miller, 2010). This study demonstrates that metacognition can be promoted through direct
instruction in classrooms and that increased awareness can lead to better use of reading strategies
(Paris, 1984). When it comes to students identified as having learning disabilities, approximately,
80% experience problems with reading as their primarily disability (According to the special
education teachers, there are numerous reading comprehension strategies found to be effective to
improve comprehension of third graders with learning disabilities. These include graphic
organizers, questioning, story mapping, peer-assisted strategy, think aloud, discussing the text
with students, and different grouping (Almutairi, 2018).
Identifying Reading Strategies

The distinction between reading skill and strategy is important for understanding how

readers learn new skills, how they repair difficulties while reading, and how they teach others to

read. While automatic and fluid application of reading skills is a goal of instruction, we must

remember that a particular reading skill is often preceded by a period in which the developing

reader must be strategic (Afflerbach, 2008). Reading strategies Afflerbach et al. (2008)

described reading strategies as “deliberate, goal-directed attempts to control and modify the

reader’s efforts to decode text, understand words, and construct meanings of text” (p. 368).

Studies generally confirm the positive role of reading strategies in L2 reading comprehension

(Li, 2022).

Unexpectedly, strategies of initial reading negatively predicted English reading

comprehension, suggesting that students who used more of such strategies when taking reading

tests would score lower in reading comprehension. Learning strategies, which involve a memory

process, such as repeating, and confirming information, can negatively predict test performance

(Li, 2022). Students who were motivated by intrinsic motivation were likely to know the real

sense of reading, seek valuable reading resources actively, adjust their reading pace, and feel

encouraged and happy when facing reading challenges and solving difficulties (Reeve et al.,
 5

2012). It was also likely that these intrinsically motivated students might extend their reading to

extracurricular reading activities, such as reading English (Li, 2022).

Interventions

Research continues to demonstrate that many approaches to word-reading skill and its

foundations work to improve primary-grade reading. We use as an example instruction in

phonological awareness (which, recall, is conscious awareness of the sounds in words). (Duke,

2012). Students benefit when teachers teach not only the phonological-awareness skill but also

how to apply it. For example, teaching blending (that is, putting sounds together to form a word,

as in the sounds /ch/ /i/ /m/ and /p/ to form the word chimp) and then showing students how to

use that knowledge to decode words is more effective than merely teaching blending and

expecting students to make the connection to decoding themselves (Duke, 2012).

One example, shown to be effective by the What Works Clearinghouse and other

reviews, is the Reading Recovery program, which provides one-to-one reading intervention to

low-achieving first-graders. Children in the program typically participate in daily thirty minute

tutoring sessions for twelve to twenty weeks. Researchers have found that the program achieves

its goal of instilling well developed reading strategies in its students, and, at least on the scale

that has been tested in research, a majority of children leave the program performing similarly to

their average achieving peers. (Duke, 2012).

One was the expectation that instruction would go beyond memorizing definitions;

teachers would embrace activities that build conceptual representations, and when necessary, use

discourse moves to help students integrate word meanings with their existing knowledge.

Another was the expectation that some vocabulary activities would be planned and others

spontaneous; there are times, for example, when anything more than a brief explanation of a
 6

word would disrupt the flow of a lesson. In both cases the teacher needs to help the students link

the meaning of a new word to their previous knowledge or experience. (Sparapani, 2018).

Engaging Reading Instruction

While the CCSS do not specifically call for close reading as a distinct strategy, the

standards refer to the importance of students “reading closely” to and evidence and make

inferences from texts. This focus has created a surge of new literacy research on effective close

reading strategies (c.f. Fisher & Frey, 2012b; Hinchman & Moore, 2013). Close reading

“involves sustained probing analyses, with students reading and rereading to obtain deep and

thorough understandings of texts and to grasp the way texts shape understandings” (Hinchman &

Moore, p. 443). While close reading has been used with traditional text, the strategies are

essential, not just for the written word, but also for the close “viewing” of images, videos, charts,

and graphs. Close reading, therefore, is deep reading for analysis of evidence in texts (Kozdras,

2013). The correlations among reading motivation, reading strategies, vocabulary knowledge

and reading comprehension. Results show that all motivation factors and strategy factors are

significantly and positively correlated with one another.

Of the various reading-related skills that develop in pre reading children, phonemic

awareness (the ability to reflect on and manipulate the phonemic elements of spoken words) is

one of the most important (Shankweiler & Fowler, 2004). New school entrants who experience

ongoing difficulties in detecting phonemic sequences in words will not be able to fully grasp the

alphabetic principle and discover spelling-to-sound relationships. Without specific intervention,

the development of word recognition skills in these children will be impeded, resulting in

negative Matthew (or poor-get-poorer) effects in reading achievement (Stanovich, 1986).

 7

With a decreased emphasis in word-reading instruction in the upper elementary grades,

nonproficient word readers may face serious academic challenges. In fact, research indicates that

students who struggle to read in third grade are likely to continue to struggle through high school

(Toste, 2017). Findings revealed that motivation and decoding skill explained significant

variance in reading comprehension skill for poor readers, but not in the group of good readers.

Researchers generally believe that motivation supports cognitive ability rather than operates

independently from it (Toste, 2017). Close Reading is a reading approach that requires critical

thinking of and personal engagement with text. “To read well requires one to develop one’s

thinking about reading and, as a result, to learn how to engage in the process of what we call

close reading” (Valentine, 2016).

Outcome of Reading Strategies

(Barnett, 1988) need more objective research on the efficacy of real and perceived

strategy use to verify suggested pedagogical models of reading. (Bakken et. al., 1997) compare

the effects of comprehension-fostering strategies on science and social studies texts with 54

eighth-grade students with learning disabilities who were randomly assigned to one of three

conditions: (a) text-structure-based strategy (b) paragraph restatement strategy, or (c) traditional

instruction. There are several advantages of providing beginning and struggling readers with

explicit and systematic instruction in orthographic patterns and word identification strategies

outside the context of reading connected text rather than teaching word analysis skills only as the

need arises during text reading. First, instruction in word analysis skills that is deliberately

separated from meaningful context allows children to pay full attention to the letter–sound

patterns that are taught (Ryder, 2008). Children come to school with varying funds of

vocabulary knowledge that are largely attributable to the opportunities they have to learn words
 8

in their homes and communities. Learning to read provides all students opportunities to learn

new words, but even so, differences in vocabulary knowledge tend to persist through the

elementary years (Sparapani, 2018).

It is especially important to help students with reading difficulties overcome the reading

problems that may prevent them from literacy success before they reach the fourth grade. This is

because, in lower level elementary grades, students are focused on learning to read, while

students beyond third grade are reading to learn (Almutairi, 2018). When skill and strategy

complement each other, they can provide student readers with motivation and self-efficacy from

both sources (I am good at this and I can work through the tough spots) and encourage an

appreciation of the value of reading (Afflerbach, 2008). A large volume of work indicates that

we can help students acquire the strategies and processes used by good readers—and that this

improves their overall comprehension of text, both the texts used to teach the strategies and texts

they read on their own in the future (Duke, 2008).

When working with difficult texts, educators must give students multiple opportunities

to read and manipulate them. By helping students define vocabulary, chunk text, and identify the

purpose of paragraphs and sections, students are able to discuss texts and achieve necessary

comprehension. (Valentine, 2016). However, possessing such cognitive skills does not

necessarily guarantee successful reading comprehension. Non-cognitive processes are also

implicated in reading development and researchers have recognized the need to include factors,

such as motivation, in models of reading development (Cho, 2019).

Improving Reading Comprehension

In fostering reading comprehension, it is imperative that instruction focus on preparing

readers not simply to use strategies but to become strategic. This means (a) building readers'
 9

knowledge base regarding the declarative, procedural, and conditional knowledge associated

with particular strategies; (b) teaching readers how to analyze reading tasks so that they can set

goals, plan their actions, and select appropriate strategies; (c) building readers' repertoire of

strategies so they have access to a variety of strategies to use flexibly to accomplish their goals

and overcome any challenges; (d) teaching readers to monitor and regulate their comprehension;

and (e) motivating readers to use cognitive and metacognitive strategies (Cantrell, 2010).

Identifies the objectives (ie., new knowledge and skills) and methods of assessment (ie.,
the measurement of progress toward these objectives (Miller, 2010). The model of
comprehension instruction we believe is best supported by research does more than simply
include instruction in specific comprehension strategies and opportunities to read, write, and
discuss texts—it connects and integrates these different learning opportunities (Duke, 2008).
Conceptual Framework

The purpose of this study is when reviewing reading strategies it is important to keep in

mind that there are many components. Through my research, it was important to find tools that

help improve decoding and reading comprehension skills through thinking strategically. In order

to accelerate students' reading to grade-level proficiency, there are a range of reading

intervention strategies on specific areas of focus. Teaching practices will require the appropriate

skills in order to provide reading strategies that will assist students in understanding and to

become skilled readers. Ideally it is important to understand the underlying issues of struggling

readers and with my findings I hope to guide educators towards understanding that reading

strategies have a great impact on the students. Creating a positive learning environment towards

these strategies, where students are guided on how to use different reading strategies. Supporting

students to know how to apply reading strategies for successful comprehension of academic

materials.

Theoretical Framework
 10

The theoretical framework that leads this study is related to cognitivism. Cognitivism
Theorists like Gagné (Gagne, Wager, Golas, & Keller, 2004) focused more on thought processes
and structures. For instance, Gagné developed nine events of instruction to describe optimal
conditions for learning. Cognitivist instruction often incorporates lectures along with methods
like visual tools or organizers to promote retention. It may leverage objective assessments with
multiple choice, though also including response or essay activities for learners to demonstrate
thought processes. The Learning Theory of Cognitivism concentrates on how a person's mind
receives, organizes, saves and retrieves information (Gagne, Wager, Golas, & Keller, 2004).

Theorist Jean Piaget developed the first cognitive psychology theories in the 1930s from
his work with infants and young children. Piaget was a psychological constructivist: in his view,
learning proceeded by the interplay of assimilation (adjusting new experiences to fit prior
concepts) and accommodation (adjusting concepts to fit new experiences). The to-and-fro of
these two processes leads not only to short-term learning, but also to long-term developmental
change. The long-term developments are really the main focus of Piaget’s cognitive theory. After
observing children closely, Piaget proposed that cognition developed through distinct stages
from birth through the end of adolescence. By stages he meant a sequence of thinking patterns
with four key features:

1. They always happen in the same order.

2. No stage is ever skipped.
3. Each stage is a significant transformation of the stage before it.
4. Each later stage incorporated the earlier stages into itself.

In real classroom tasks, reversibility and decentration often happen together. A well-
known example of joint presence is Piaget’s experiments with conservation, the belief that an
amount or quantity stays the same even if it changes apparent size or shape (Piaget, 2001;
Matthews, 1998). In education, cognitivism helps students through interactive mental activities
that stimulate the thinking ability. For instance, when learners listen to thought-provoking
questions, it tutors their brains to move further from their current knowledge to get solutions.
Cognitivists believe that humans learn from thinking. They believe that we learn from our
experiences and that we can change our behaviors based on new information. Knowledge is
considered an internal process rather than a product. At the center of the cognitive learning
theory sits the concept of cognition, which Britannica.com defines as “all conscious and
 11

unconscious processes by which knowledge is accumulated, such as perceiving, recognizing,

conceiving and reasoning.” (Feder, 2022). “Knowledge,” as understood by cognitive theorists, is
the cognitive processing of what something is and what something is not, from concepts as
simple as a young student identifying animals from a picture book to something more complex
such as weighing the pros and cons of eating meat.

As a learning theory, cognitivism has many applications in the classroom. In each

application, the main principle is incorporating student experiences, perspectives and knowledge.
For example, a teacher might:
1. Ask students about their experience with the lesson
2. Emphasize the connection between past ideas and new ones
3. Incorporate group discussions and Q&A sessions into the curriculum
4. Invite a variety of opinions about a given subject

This approach can not only help students learn, but it can also help them feel respected and
listened to. That can make class exciting and encourage a passion for learning that continues
throughout students’ lives (Feder, 2022).
Methodology

In this study, a qualitative approach will be utilized to help me explore the detailed

concepts. As well as, extensive literature review that will help me understand what educators

have tried and have found to be effective reading strategies. The methods will be used to identify

and explore the effective reading strategies for 3rd grade students that experienced teachers

utilize to improve students reading skills. I will interview at 2 different sites in the Redlands

Unified School District. Qualitative research, such as interviews, observations, surveys, literature

reviews, and data collections to produce detailed descriptions and uncover new insights. The

procedure used for data collection will be a self-made interview questionnaire. The interview

will be administered towards 3rd grade teachers and parents after securing permission.

Interview for Teachers:

 12

1. What are the common struggles for reading in third-grade students with learning

disabilities?

2. What effective reading strategies do special education teachers utilize in order to improve

reading skills of students with learning disabilities?

3. How do special education teachers measure their students’ reading progress and

determine the effectiveness of their reading strategies?

An interview Privacy Statement Providing a transparent notice to individuals about how

and for what legitimate institutional or educational purposes personal information is collected,

used, or disclosed through a survey privacy statement supports respondents’ privacy. Below is an

example of questions asked during my interview.

Agree Slightly Slightly Disagree

Agree Disagree
Our school has a strategic plan for teaching reading in the
content area.
My team has and uses a strategic plan for teaching reading in
the content area.
I have and use a strategic plan for teaching reading in the
content area.
I feel confident about teaching the average reader in my
classroom.
I feel confident about teaching the struggling reader in my
classroom.
I feel confident about teaching the accelerated reader in my
classroom.
I have a repertoire of before, during and after literacy strategies
that I use in my content area.
I provide regularly scheduled time for Sustained Silent Reading
in my classroom.
A library (classroom or school) is easily accessible for
students.
I code books in my classroom (by reading difficulty) for
students.
 13

I provide books of varied difficulty for students to use in their

assignments.
My students know how to choose books at appropriate levels
for their individual reading.
Our school has a strategic plan for teaching and reinforcing
vocabulary in content areas.
My team has and uses a strategic plan for teaching and
reinforcing vocabulary in content areas.

I teach the vocabulary of my content area in a meaningful

context.

Findings:

Based on the observations and the teachers that interviewed, the teachers lacked proper

training for reading strategies. Teachers from both middle school and elementary school are

figuring out effective strategies throughout their teaching career. It seems the foundations of

teaching Reading across the curriculum cognitive tools for reading is important. Educators

should be offered training with multiple strategies, such as questioning strategies, summarizing

strategies, predicting strategies, clarifying strategies, and developing reading activities.

Educators also mentioned that they are given a visual developmental scope and sequence

designed to help identify underdeveloped literacy skills in their students. A STAR reading

assessment is given to students that gives Recommendations for instruction based on evidence-

based instructional strategies and interventions for each literacy skill. During my observations I

found that AR tests are an effective way to collect students progress.

Some reading strategies that I found most helpful, in my opinion, are introducing a

word to the student and working on that word until the student remembers it. Assess the
 14

student ability first, use visual aids, assign reading, and practice words. For example, an

elementary teacher I observed had been teaching for 25 years, she would make a folder for

students. In that folder, it would include some sort of word list at grade level. She would have

the student go through the list and the word that they struggled with, she would stop and write

it on an index card. That student would focus on coming to class everyday and during reading

she would pull him aside to have him sound the word using the heart word method. Once the

student had decoded the word and memorized it they would move on to the next. She also

created a folder with an AR reading list that students could read to themselves, have it read to

them, and take a test on it afterwards. Visuals around the room for students to see letter sounds

and practice them as class was another great strategy available. Creating a guide and

monitoring the students in every step of the process is important especially for the questioning,

inferring, and summarizing strategies.

The results of observations in effective reading strategies showed that there was a lack

of knowledge in the area of reading strategies in students and middle school teachers.The

students had a lack of knowledge and practice in reading strategies, however developing a

better understanding of the strategies in reading can be improved. In order to overcome this

situation, providing educators with training or resources about how to integrate the strategies

into curriculum. The research was a productive experience with a very limited time and during

the summer vacation. Teaching reading strategies is a key element in developing students for

lifelong success. Many teachers lack a solid foundation and do not know where to start, which

leaves teachers unprepared to design effective reading strategies and how to teach these

strategies to their students.

 15

References

Afflerbach, P., Pearson, P. D., & Paris, S. G. (2008). Clarifying differences between
reading skills and reading strategies. The Reading Teacher, 61(5), 364–373.
Almutairi, Nouf Rashdan, "Effective Reading Strategies for Increasing the Reading

Comprehension Level of Third-Grade Students with Learning Disabilities" (2018).

Dissertations. 3247

Barnett, Marva A. Reading through Context: How Real and Perceived Strategy Use

Affects L2 Comprehension. Modern Language Journal 72 (1988): 150– 62.

Bakken, J. P., Mastropieri, M. A., & Scruggs, T. E. (1997). READING

COMPREHENSION OF EXPOSITORY SCIENCE MATERIAL AND STUDENTS

WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES: A COMPARISON OF STRATEGIES. The Journal

of Special Education, 31(3), 300–324. https://doi.org/10.1177/002246699703100302

Cantrell, Almasi, J. F., Carter, J. C., Rintamaa, M., & Madden, A. (2010). The Impact of

a Strategy-Based Intervention on the Comprehension and Strategy Use of Struggling

Adolescent Readers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(2), 257–280.

https://doi.org/10.1037/a0018212
 16

Cho, Toste, J. R., Lee, M., & Ju, U. (2019). Motivational predictors of struggling readers’

reading comprehension: the effects of mindset, achievement goals, and engagement.

Reading & Writing, 32(5), 1219–1242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9908-8

Duke, N. K., & Pearson, P. D. (2008). Effective Practices for Developing Reading
Comprehension. The Journal of Education, 189(1/2), 107–122.
Duke, N. K., & Block, M. K. (2012). Improving Reading in the Primary Grades. The
Future of Children, 22(2), 55–72. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23317411
Feder, M. (2022). What is cognitive learning theory? University of Phoenix.

https://www.phoenix.edu/blog/what-is-cognitive-learning-theory.html

Gagne, R. M., Wager, W. W., Golas, K. C., Keller, J. M., & Russell, J. D. (2005).

Principles of instructional design. Performance Improvement, 44(2), 44-46.

Kozdras, D., PhD, & Day, S., MA. (2013). Common core state standards and economics:
Reading like a detective, writing like a reporter, and thinking like an economist. Social
Studies Review, 52, 23-31.
Li, & Gan, Z. (2022). Reading motivation, self-regulated reading strategies and English
vocabulary knowledge: Which most predicted students’ English reading comprehension?
Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1041870–1041870.

McEwan-Adkins, E. (2010). 40 Reading intervention strategies for K-6 students.

Bloomington, IN: Solution-Tree Press.
Miller, M., & Veatch, N. (2010). Teaching Literacy in Context: Choosing and Using
Instructional Strategies. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 154–165.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40961977

Paris, Cross, D. R., & Lipson, M. Y. (1984). Informed Strategies for Learning: A
program to improve children’s reading awareness and comprehension. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 76(6), 1239–1252. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.76.6.1239
Raymond, P., Ricardo, & Johnson. (2021, January 4). Cognitive Theorists- Piaget,

Elkind, Kohlberg, and Gilligan. College of the Canyons.

Ryder, J. F., Tunmer, W. E., Greaney, K. T. (2008). Explicit instruction in phonemic

awareness and phonemically based decoding skills as an intervention strategy for
struggling readers in whole language classrooms. Reading and Writing: An
Interdisciplinary Journal, 21(4), pp. 349-369.
 17

Salmerón, L., Kintsch, W. & Caãs, J.J. Reading strategies and prior knowledge in
learning from hypertext. Memory & Cognition 34, 1157–1171 (2006).
https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193262
Sparapani, Carlisle, J., & Connor, C. (2018). Observations of Vocabulary Activities
during Second- and Third-Grade Reading Lessons. Education Sciences, 8(4), 198–.
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8040198
Valentine, C. J. (2016). The effects of implementing close reading in a third, fourth, and
fifth grade public school setting to improve student achievement (Ed.D.). Available from
Education Database. (1865331087).
Toste, Capin, P., Vaughn, S., Roberts, G. J., & Kearns, D. M. (2017).

MULTISYLLABIC WORD-READING INSTRUCTION WITH AND WITHOUT

MOTIVATIONAL BELIEFS TRAINING FOR STRUGGLING READERS IN THE

UPPER ELEMENTARY GRADES: A Pilot Investigation. The Elementary School

Journal, 117(4), 593–615. https://doi.org/10.1086/691684

https://www.ldatschool.ca/road-to-reading-infographic/