Promoting Reading Development

Promoting Reading Development

Introduction

Controversy exists among diverse researchers and educational platforms on the various ways in which the media specialists or rather the librarians ensure that they offer full support for literacy within a school. Alexander (2013), for example, asserts that the media specialists have, in a long time, been pioneers both in teaching information skills as well as assuming the role of technology integration, which presumably helps in problem-solving processes. At the same time, Lance (2014), on the other hand, explains that media specialists are often referred to invisible professionals who participate in all matters pertaining to literacy in schools by influencing various educational aspects such as technology, curriculum, and school resources. Lance further argues that specialist also performs other tasks such as the initiative to cut library budgets which eases school financial problems, and this, therefore, affects the literacy within a school indirectly. Therefore, in order to ensure support for literacy,  media specialist performs the following which are but not limited to; creating library space, getting involved in matters affecting the resources in schools, acting as a bridge between the students and the teachers, providing genuine or reliable website or search engines which promote literacy skills as well as motivate students to own the reading culture themselves. Most notably, there are various aspects or issues that the media specialists must encounter or must engage as they strive to be literacy ambassadors in school, which includes; reading development, book selection, technology usage, teacher support, as well as motivation and parental involvement. For every media specialist who aims at supporting literacy within a school, it is evident that their support is anchored on the above aspects starting from the reading development.

Reading development

Reading development is a prudent issue that a media specialist must embrace in a bid to ensure support for literacy. According to Fitzgibbons (2014), he points out that reading development entails a branch of reading that is designed to support literacy through various contexts that will improve comprehension as well as literacy skills. Therefore, in a bid to promote literacy through reading development as a media specialist I will ensure support for literacy by engaging two aspects which are; Ensuring that students are reading books at their developmental level while growing in their ability to master higher-level text and engaging all the metacognitive strategies in reading instruction as well.

Ensuring that students are reading books at their developmental level while growing in their ability to master higher-level text

Ensuring that students are reading books at their developmental level as they grow in their ability to master higher-level text is one of the ways that I will embrace in ensuring that literacy is promoted in school. In this case, however, I will make sure that I introduce various strategies that will aid the students to read books at their developmental levels as they master higher-level text. Firstly, I will come up with a strategy of splitting students with respect to their age, and as a librarian, I will ensure that an amateur should be introduced to books that easy to understand and while they grow in ability, I will introduce the books that might look complex for toddlers and easier for students who have come of age. Fitzgibbons (2014) argues that literacy does not just happen, and neither is it intuited from the environment. It requires instruction and learning, which occurs in discrete stages. Therefore, by utilizing this framework, I will be in a position to comprehend the level or stage that requires a specific type of book, and as they progress, books that characterized by complexity are introduced. Secondly, as a media specialist, I will initiate various reading promotional activities and make sure that the collection is equipped with leisure reading materials in a bid to raise awareness regarding the books and authors. By doing this, the students will be able to access all the reading materials that they perceive to be instrumental to their reading development. This, therefore, will grant the students the chance to reach out to the books at their development level while growing in their ability. Generally, by embracing the two strategies, all the school or students will witness a great improvement as far as reading development is concerned.

Explain how you will include metacognitive strategies in reading instruction.

A metacognitive strategy is a vital tool used by media specialists to ensure that they have offered full support in support of literacy. According to Eilers and Pinkley (2006), metacognitive strategies are strategies or methods that are used to help students in schools in order to understand various ways of learning. In addition, metacognitive strategies are aimed at making students think about their thinking ideally. It is needless to point out that including metacognitive strategies in reading instruction so as to promote literacy in schools is one of the best moves whose effects are visible. Reading instruction, on the other hand, encompasses or entails a range of practices such as modeled reading, shared reading, and guided reading. Therefore, in order to support literacy through the metacognitive strategies, I will include these strategies in reading instruction as follows; first is that I will include metacognitive strategies by modeling the processes by myself. Secondly, I will include these strategies by introducing a wrapper, which will undoubtedly increase or promotes the students monitoring skills, which will boost literacy greatly. In addition, by facilitating or encouraging reflexive thinking, the metacognitive strategies will be included in the reading instruction. Eilers and Pinkley (2006), expanding upon his research, voice out that the main strategy in which metacognitive strategies can be included in reading instruction is by employing the use of reflexive thinking. In this case, reflexivity is the idea of becoming aware of biases, and this presumably translates that as the students become aware of their biases, it becomes easier for them to handle various aspects such as reading instruction since they become more flexible and adaptive in their reading and thinking. Finally, I will encourage reading comprehension, which will give students a chance to develop their comprehension skills that aids reading instruction.

Book selection

According to Kearney (2010), book selection is the idea of selecting appropriate books for a library, and it is often the responsibility of a media specialist to help students in book selection. In order to support literacy in school, I will make sure that I select the right books for the right reader in specific times with respect to book selection principles, such as maintaining promptness while selecting the new books for students. In order to make sure that the book selection procedure has impacted positively on the literacy issue, I will employ the use of various aspects that will aid me in book selection and, more importantly, support literacy within a school. These aspects include but not limited to; Thematic Literature Units, Literacy Circles, Guided Reading, Critical Reading Other Strategies

Thematic Literature Units,

Thematic literature units encompass a series of learning techniques which gives emphasis to particular topics, idea or authors, and each unit entails a specific literacy outcome for students (Roe, and Ross, 2006). To put it into perspective, the literature units that promote or support the theme often becomes the vital key point for major readings as well as other writing experiences in the theme. Apparently, these thematic units encourage connections, classroom culture, and curriculum advancements within a school, and since its advantages are tied to literacy, it means instilling the idea of thematic literature units will directly have an impact on literacy within a school. Therefore, in order to support literacy through thematic literature units I will do as follows so as to help students develop themes; First is that I will organize learning activities for the unit at hand, which will help them develop learning targets and literacy skill, secondly, I will select relevant literature and other resources since choosing literature is as equally important as choosing the theme and finally I will help students by developing assessment processes for students as well as identifying literacy targets for them. This will provide an important context for learning instruction in many literacy skills. In general, coming up with strategies to support thematic literature units directly affects the literacy skills of students. In a nutshell, book selection will aid a student in engaging or reading the exact book basing on the idea or the author at hand.

Literacy circles

When students gather to discuss a piece of literature or theme, they form literacy circles (Brabham, and Villaume,2010). These circles are often guided by the response given by the students basing on what they have read. By giving students the opportunity to discuss themes and ideas with their peers, literacy circles promote literacy skills as well as listening behaviors. Therefore, in a bid to promote this strategy as a media specialist, I will make sure that students move freely, that is to mean, I encourage movement when students are doing literacy circles. This will enable students to have a cozy spot as they discuss themes or novels. By coming up with self and peer evaluation techniques, through the idea of feeling short evaluation forms to evaluate each other, students will improve their literacy skills. In conclusion, I will try as much as I can to put the students or allow the students to be the custodians of the theme. By so doing, they will strive to put effort, which automatically will improve their literacy. Generally, by embracing the book selection procedure well, students will be exposed to the right books, which will aid their literacy through the literacy circles experience.

Guided Reading

Guided reading is a strategy whereby a teacher or a librarian is tasked with the responsibility of dividing students into small groups and work with them with the objective of discussing a piece of literature in depth (Fountas and Pinnell, 2009). This strategy helps students in improving their literacy skills since most discussions are often guided by the student’s response. In order to support literacy within a school through guided reading, I will group students basing on their reading levels as well as their instructional needs and choose the right books for them. This will boost not only their problem-solving skills but also their literacy skills. Moreover, I will also aim at establishing routines that will foster independence and divide the reading lesson into segments such as before reading, during, and after reading. Before reading is more to do with explaining the book to students before they independently read. During the reading, I will allow the students to read by themselves, and after reading, is when I will check for comprehension through posing questions about the reading.

Critical Reading

This is the most convenient way of promoting literacy within a school. Cervetti and Damico (2011), in their research study, argues that critical reading is a way of reading that involves a complex and deeper engagement of a text and later question interpret and evaluate it. The first way that I will promote critical reading among students is by encouraging the idea of brainstorming themes or texts. In this case, I will group students and ask them to brainstorm the readings. Secondly, I will explain the importance of reading while taking notes in order for them to recognize the main arguments and main themes as well. Thirdly by encouraging students to read the texts more than once, they will be in a position to read it critically and understand the author’s logic. This will also help students in understanding the bigger picture or rather in understanding a hidden theme that could not be unearthed when they read once. Apparently, without proper book selection, students will not be in a position to identify books that cover the exact themes under study.

Other strategies.

In terms of other strategies, an in-depth reading strategy is dependent on book selection. (Kibler, and Bunch) argues that in-depth reading is an approach where students are encouraged to read more carefully in order to gain deeper reading and comprehension of themes and texts. I will encourage this reading by encouraging students to read a text, and after reading, they should take their eyes off the page and reflect on the reading. This will greatly support literacy skills in school.

Technology Use

Technology use not only play a vital role in other sectors but also in the education sector and, more specifically, in literacy within a school. Technological use is the idea of employing the use of the current technology and innovations to redesign the library, which will make the students to research using digital tools. As a media specialist, I will redesign both my physical and digital space by making it look welcoming to students so that they can find digital resources with ease. I will also help students in learning how to use advanced search techniques, which will greatly promote their literacy skills. By briefing them on how to manage their bookmarks, students will find their research easier and more effective. This includes using in-built browsers and creating folders and sub-folders for specific for the specific information that they are searching or looking for. In conclusion, I will teach the students to take into consideration the importance of knowing their sources. This will enable them to differentiate what is good and what is not as well as drawing relevant materials from the internet. Finding information from an original source will not only improve their literacy but also provide reliable information (Hutchison, and Woodward, 2014).

Teacher Support

Undoubtedly teacher support is one of the fundamental necessities that is required to promote literacy within a school. Guthrie and  Davis (2013) expanding upon his research pointed out that research done in the US on the impact of a teacher in a struggling reader showed that in a sample of 30 schools 95 % proved that teacher support was vital as far as both reading development and literacy among students is concerned. One of the strategies that I will undertake is that I will create a reference resource center that has background materials for teachers. This will not only expose the teachers to good quality teaching materials but also provide a perfect ground for teachers to employ a consistent approach that promotes literacy among struggling readers. Secondly, I will run a reader’s advisory service for teachers by recommending books to stuff as well as providing holiday reading recommendations. This will, by far, help struggling readers. Moreover, I will also take part in curriculum planning by listening to the teacher’s program plans and suggest points that are prospect full for readers. In conclusion, I will also aid the literacy scheme by self-promoting myself as well as sharing the library space. In this case, I will self-promote myself by frequenting staff meetings and share the library space by creating a library space that both staff and students will feel that the library will literally provide or enhance a good teaching and learning experiences.

Motivation

Motivation is the act of stimulating one’s actions so as to achieve all the set-out goals more than they could have actually done it. Turner (2013) explains that the best way to bring out the best reading skills out of students and, more specifically, struggling readers. Motivating students to engage or embrace the use of media centers will grant them a good experience in improving their literacy skills. Most notably, the best way in which I will motivate students to use media centers as a way of improving their reading or rather literacy skills is by creating an in-class media center as well as holding book talks. This will be a good experience for all students to know what the media center offers, and they will be motivated to engage it more.

Best Practices in Developing Life-Long Readers

Barmore and Morse (2017) highlight that life-long reading entails the act or an approach of reading beyond the stipulated school given time.  Initiating best practices with the objective of developing long-life readers is one of the prudent ways of promoting literacy in schools. Taking this into consideration, I will enhance two strategies that will aid in developing life-long readers in schools. One is by encouraging learning ownership among students. This is basically instilling the idea of being responsible for individual learning. Secondly, I will help students in setting learning goals. Since learning goals are lifelong learning skills, it will greatly support life-long reading, which ultimately will promote literacy. In conclusion, by helping students to leverage on challenges, they can develop into life-long readers.

Parental Involvement

In the current curriculum, the parental involvement aspect cannot be overlooked as it is an important aspect that appears to be the best literacy skill strategy outside school. According to Crosby, Rasinski, Padak, and Yildirim (2015), in the 21^st-century parental involvement contributes approximately more than 30% of all school achievements. This goes to show that parental involvement is key generally and more particularly in promoting the reading culture as well as literature to be precise. Therefore in order to encourage parental involvement, I will foster the following strategies; One is that I will encourage the school to build a bridge between the parents and the school through creation of the class websites, by maintaining regular communication, involving parents in their present talks about their unique or specialized talks and also coming up with a homework hotline in case of lost or forgotten assignments. Lastly, I will encourage the school to make home visits as well as giving parents a chance to participate in school activities by developing volunteering opportunities. This strategy will help or boost literacy among students.

Conclusion

In view of the above illustrations, it is evident that the role undertaken by the media specialists as far as literacy is concerned is vital and should not be overlooked. Schools should offer support to all the media specialists by appreciating their efforts so that they can deliver or ensure that they give their best. It is clear that teacher-librarians or media specialists not only play a key role in encouraging struggling readers but also support reading engagement. The above discussion proves that media specialists perform multifaceted roles in a bid to provide support for struggling readers in school. In a nutshell, it is necessary for all schools to make visible the important roles or contributions of media specialists in literacy instruction.

References

Alexander, L. B., Smith, R. C., & Carey, J. O. (2013). Education reform and the school library media specialist. Knowledge Quest, 32(2), 10.

Lance, K. C. (2014). The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic Achievement. School Library Media Annual (SLMA), 12, 188-97.

Fitzgibbons, S. A. (2014). What Motivates Reading? How Library Media Specialists Can Contribute to the Development of Good Readers. School Library Media Activities Monthly, 20(10), 21.

Eilers, L. H., & Pinkley, C. (2006). Metacognitive strategies help students to comprehend all text. Reading Improvement, 43(1), 13-30.

Kearney, C. A. (2010). Curriculum Partner: Redefining the Role of the Library Media Specialist. Greenwood Professional Guides in School Librarianship. Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881.

Roe, B. D., & Ross, E. P. (2006). Integrating language arts through literature and thematic units. Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Brabham, E. G., & Villaume, S. K. (2010). Continuing conversations about literature circles. The reading teacher, 54(3), 278-278.

Fountas, I. C., & Pinnell, G. S. (2009). Matching Books to Readers: Using Leveled Books in Graded Reading, K-3. Heinemann, 88 Post Road West, PO Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881.

Cervetti, G., Pardales, M. J., & Damico, J. S. (2011). A tale of differences: Comparing the traditions, perspectives, and educational goals of critical reading and critical literacy. Reading online, 4(9), 80-90.

Kibler, A. K., Walqui, A., & Bunch, G. C. (2015). Transformational opportunities: Language and literacy instruction for English language learners in the Common Core era in the United States. Tesol Journal, 6(1), 9-35.

Hutchison, A., & Woodward, L. (2014). A planning cycle for integrating digital technology into literacy instruction. The Reading Teacher, 67(6), 455-464.

Guthrie, J. T., & Davis, M. H. (2013). Motivating struggling readers in middle school through an engagement model of classroom practice. Reading & writing quarterly, 19(1), 59-85.

Turner, J. C. (2013). Situated motivation in literacy instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 28(4), 288-290.

Barmore, J. M., & Morse, P. S. (2017). Developing lifelong readers in middle schools. The English Journal, 66(4), 57-61.

Crosby, S. A., Rasinski, T., Padak, N., & Yildirim, K. (2015). A 3-year study of a school-based parental involvement program in early literacy. The Journal of Educational Research, 108(2), 165-172.