Hot List 1: Supporting High Reading & Writing Achievement in Middle School

Prepared by CIERA Researchers

Released May 19, 1998

The recommendations of Elizabeth Moje of the University of Michigan School of Education to CIERA researchers are gratefully acknowledged.

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Resources:

Alvermann, D., et al. Middle and high school students' perceptions of how they experience text-based discussions: A multicase study. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(3), 244-267.

Alvermann, D., et al. (Eds.)(1998). Reconceptualizing The Literacies In Adolescents' Lives. Mahwah, NJ: LEA, Inc.

Through OERI's National Reading Research Center (1992-1997 at the Universities of Georgia & Maryland), Donna Alvermann and a team of researchers in a number of different states studied text-based discussions in middle- and senior-high school classrooms. Reports on this project address issues of how to extend understanding and interpretation of /text. A chapter in the Alvermann et al. book by David O'Brien describes a three-year project that has provided a literacy lab experiences for adolescent students who begin high school with inadequate reading and writing levels.

Guthrie, J. et al. (1996). Growth of literacy engagement: Changes in motivations and strategies during concept-oriented reading instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(3), 306-333.

Guthrie and his colleagues at OERI's National Reading Research Center (1992-1997) developed the project, "Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction" (CORI) to enhance students reading and writing in content areas such as science. This project was designed to provide students with the knowledge base to prevent the academic slump that so often characterizes middle-school students. CORI integrates instruction on reading and writing strategies with real-world science observations and collaborative learning.

Langer, J. (1997) Thinking and Doing Literature: An 8-Year Study (Technical Report 6.8). Albany, NY: Center on English Learning and Achievement. [available at the CELA Web site]

As part of OERI's Center devoted to research on the learning of English and the Language Arts (CELA at the State University of Albany), Langer has conducted eight years of research on the processes through which students of all ages acquire literary understanding and the ways that teachers support the development of such literary understanding. Langer offers a rich overview of pedagogy that effectively engages students in deep exploration of the concepts and experiences while they learn traditional literary concepts (e.g., genres, terminology, elements).