| Increase |
Decrease |
Reading aloud to students
Time for independent reading |
Exclusive stress on
whole class or reading-group activities |
Children's choice of
their own reading materials |
Teacher selection of all reading materials for
individuals and groups |
Exposing children to a wide and rich range of
literature |
Relying on selections in basal reader |
Teacher modeling and discussing his/her own reading
processes |
Teacher keeping his/her own reading tastes and
habits private |
Primary instructional emphasis on comprehension |
Primary instructional emphasis on reading subskills
such as phonics, word analysis, syllabication |
Teaching reading as a process:
-
Use strategies that activate prior knowledge
-
Help students make and test predictions
-
Structure help during reading
-
Provide after-reading applications
|
Teaching reading as a single, one-step act |
| Social, collaborative activities with much discussion
and interaction |
Solitary seatwork |
Grouping by interests or book choices |
Grouping by reading level |
Silent reading followed by discussion |
Round-robin oral reading |
Teaching skills in the context of whole and meaningful
literature |
Teaching isolated skills in phonics workbooks
or drills |
Writing before and after reading |
Little or no chance to write |
Encouraging invented spelling in children's early
writings |
Punishing pre-conventional spelling in students'
early writings |
Use of reading content fields (e.g., historical
novels in social studies) |
Segregation of reading to reading time |
Evaluation that focuses on holistic, higher-order
thinking processes |
Evaluation focused on individual, low-level subskills |
Measuring success of reading program by students'
reading habits, attitudes, and comprehension |
Measuring the success of the reading program
only by test scores |
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