Myranda Michaud EDU 335 March 22, 2012 Reading Comprehension in High School 25% of students entering ninth

th grade read at below basic levels, unable to understand newspapers, magazines, or their own text books (Johnson). Struggling secondary readers are at risk for a life of literacy deficiencies, with 53% of high school graduates enrolling in post-secondary remedial courses (Ness 80-81). Many high school teachers fail to include reading instruction in their curriculums because they feel that they do not have the time to cover their content and teach reading. Text becomes inaccessible when students: o Dont have the comprehension strategies necessary to unlock meaning. o Dont have sufficient background knowledge. o Dont recognize organizational patterns. o Lack purpose. (Tovani 19-20) Teachers should implement comprehension strategies so that students can learn to find meaning in what they are reading. Students can be taught to: o Make a connection between the text and your life your knowledge of the world another text o Make a prediction o Stop and think about what you have read o Ask yourself a question and try to answer it o Reflect in writing on what you have read o Visualize o Use print conventions o Retell what youve read o Reread o Notice patterns in text structures o Adjust your reading rate: slow down or speed up.

References Johnson, Caitlin. For Teens, Phonics Isnt Enough. All About Adolescent Literacy. Connect for Kids, 2007. Web. 9 March 2012. Mariotti, Arlene P. Sustaining Students Reading Comprehension. Kappa Delta Pi Record 44.2 (2010): 87-89. Web. 2 March 2012. National Institute for Literacy. Key Literacy Component: Text Comprehension. All About Adolescent Literacy. National Institute for Literacy, 2007. Web. 9 March 2012. Ness, Molly K. Supporting Secondary Readers: When Teachers Provide the What not The How. American Secondary Education 37.1 (2008): 44-56. Web. 20 October 2011. Tovani, Chris. I Read it, But I Dont Get It. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers. 2000. Print. United States Department of Education. Striving Readers. Ed.gov. United States Department of Education, 2010. Web. 9 March 2012.