Tips and Resources



UDL | Decoding | Fluency | Reading Comprehension Strategies

UDL

Meeting the needs of diverse readers

Ask yourself, How am I going to go about writing this book? How will I provide reading supports for many kinds of learners? The reading process is highly complex. While some children learn to read almost effortlessly, others struggle greatly. Reading requires decoding (often called sounding out the words), fluency (identifying words quickly and accurately), and comprehension (understanding what it means).

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offers a framework to meet the needs of diverse readers by applying research in neuroscience that shows how everyone's brain processes information differently according to three primary brain networks:

  • Recognition networks, the "what" of learning. Recognition networks govern how we identify and categorize what we are reading. To support recognition, authors try to include multiple means of representation, or various methods for demonstrating ideas and concepts. For example, having the text read aloud by the computer represents the content in two ways—visually and aurally.
  • Strategic networks, the "how" of learning. Strategic networks help us organize and express our thoughts about what we are reading. To encourage strategy use, authors stimulate multiple means of expression, or various ways for readers to respond to the text. For example, the Book Builder coaches might encourage children to talk about how the story reminds them of their own experience, or to imagine concepts from the book in their minds, two different strategies for expressing ideas about the text.
  • Affective networks, the "why" of learning. Affective networks influence whether we are challenged, excited, or interested in what we are reading. To address affective issues, authors provide multiple means of engagement, or various tactics to get the reader engaged with the content. For example, children can choose books that interest them the most, or use the strategy coaches they like best, two among the many options you can give young readers to engage their enthusiasm.

A UDL approach helps authors customize for individual differences in each of these three brain networks. By leveraging the power and flexibility of technology, a universally-designed book can embed reading scaffolds right in the text.

Explore these links to learn more about UDL:


Back to Top

Decoding

One way to support decoding for young children is to create predictable, patterned text. It is not necessary to constrain the language to only the words that you think your readers might be able to decode. Feel free to use fun and interesting words (Tyrannosaurus Rex is always a favorite!) so long as you support the reader with surrounding text and illustrations that provide context clues for figuring out the tricky words, and author the reading coaches' support to help readers recognize the words.

When writing books for older readers, it's a good idea to support decoding by inserting definitions and pronunciation guides for potentially challenging words. For example, in a book about whales, you might briefly define the word echolocation and place a phonetic pronunciation (e.g., EK-oh-lo-KAY-shun) immediately after the word is used.

A highly effective way to scaffold the reading challenge for children who have visual impairments, are learning a new language, or are still developing their decoding skills is to use a text-to-speech (TTS) tool to alleviate the cognitive load of decoding and fluency so that readers can focus their energy on understanding and enjoying your online book. New computers include basic TTS tools, but if the computers your readers will be using don't have TTS, or if your audience requires a more sophisticated program with special features such as synchronized highlighting, natural sounding voices, or language translations, you might need to obtain a TTS tool.

Explore these links to obtain TTS tools:


Back to Top

Fluency

Research has shown that fluency plays a significant role in reading. Fluency involves fast and accurate word recognition, reasonable pacing (not too slow, not too fast), phrasing (using appropriate word groupings and punctuation), and expression (proper emphasis and tone). Without fluency, it is hard to understand the message of a book.

To support reading fluency, authors try to write texts that sound like real language, with a predictable flow of ideas and events. Books for emergent readers tend to have short, simple sentences while books for proficient readers have complex sentences with punctuation to regulate phrasing.

The following techniques are great for promoting fluency:

  1. Read Aloud — Simply having a proficient reader such as a teacher, parent, or older child read aloud every day from high quality literature provides a model of fluent reading.
  2. Think Aloud — While reading aloud, stop every once in while to remark upon why you read a portion of the text in a certain way.
  3. Echo Reading — An experienced reader reads a section of the text aloud. Children "echo" the section back, pointing to each word as they say it.
  4. Paired Reading — A more capable reader, usually an adult, works individually with a struggling reader. The child chooses a book of interest. They begin reading in unison, until the child signals that s/he wants to read solo.
  5. Partner Reading — Children choose partners and read an entire story, taking turns. Older children can be trained to provide feedback on how their partner's reading sounded.
  6. Buddy Reading — Have older readers who are struggling read to younger children. Pick a book that is interesting to the younger children, then have the older ones practice it until they feel comfortable reading it aloud to the younger child(ren).
  7. Choral Reading — Whole groups of children read a passage (poems are good for this) simultaneously.
  8. Reader's Theatre — Adapt an interesting text into a play without props or with very minimal props (e.g., a hat, a book). Reader's Theatre provides an authentic reason to practice repeated readings.

Explore these links for examples of Reader's Theatre scripts:


Back to Top

Reading Comprehension Strategies

Decades of reading research have shown that proficient readers activate a host of comprehension strategies while reading. These "in-the-head" processes are automatic for skilled readers but may be absent for less skilled readers, especially those who struggle with decoding and fluency. Book Builder provides authors with the means to embed universally-designed supports for comprehension directly into books through the use of animated characters, or coaches.

The following list describes and provides examples of ten of the most common comprehension strategies used by proficient readers.

  1. Activating prior knowledge — Skilled readers tap into their prior knowledge about aspects of a text, such as the topic, author, illustrator, and text structure. This helps them to connect new information with their own background knowledge and beliefs in order to make sense of new information and find a place to store it in their heads. Sample prior knowledge prompts include:
    1. Think about what you already know about this topic.
    2. In what ways are folktales different from fantasy stories?
    3. What do you notice about the illustrator's style?
  2. Checking the picture for clues — Most readers know to check the picture for clues to what is stated in the text, but sometimes it helps to remind emergent readers to use this strategy, especially when the text is challenging. Sample picture clue prompts include:
    1. Look at the picture on this page. What do you see?
    2. Look at the picture for a hint.
    3. Check the picture to see if it has clues for a tricky part of the story.
  3. Predicting — Not only do we predict what a book is going to be about by looking at the title and cover, we predict the entire time we're reading as we speculate on what will come next and then see if the book confirms or disconfirms our predictions. Sample prediction prompts include:
    1. Look at the cover page. What do you think this book is about?
    2. What do you think is going to happen next?
    3. How do you think the main character is going to solve her problem?
  4. Rereading — Rereading is an excellent strategy for working out hard parts of the text and developing fluency. Skilled readers frequently reread in order to monitor their understanding. Sample rereading prompts include:
    1. When you reread this page, does it make more sense?
    2. Go back and reread any part of this story that was confusing to you.
    3. Try rereading when something doesn't sound right.
  5. Questioning — Proficient readers ask questions of the text before, during and after reading. Questioning before reading helps activate prior knowledge; questioning during reading ensures that the reader is understanding the author's intent; questioning after reading cements ideas in the reader's head and sets the stage for new questions. Sample questioning prompts include:
    1. Ask a question about something important to know and remember.
    2. Think of some questions that a teacher might ask.
    3. What do you wish you could ask the author?
  6. Clarifying — Clarifying is a specific questioning strategy that is used when something is confusing or unclear during reading. Sometimes readers who struggle need to be reminded to ask for clarification rather than passively accepting confusion. Sample clarification prompts include:
    1. Find a part of the book that was confusing.
    2. Think about something that might be confusing for someone else.
    3. What might be hard to understand on this page?
  7. Making personal connections — Readers continually make personal connections to the ideas and events that are presented in books. These connections engage the affective network and foster comprehension by forming links between the text and oneself, the text and other texts, and the text and the world. Sample connection prompts include:
    1. How do you think the main character feels?
    2. In what ways does this remind you of other books by this author?
    3. What are the differences between what is happening in the story and what has happened in your life?
  8. Visualizing — Visualization is an useful strategy for both nonfiction and fiction texts, especially when there are limited illustrations. Visualization helps readers make connections with characters in a story or imagine complex processes described in an informational text. Sample visualization prompts include:
    1. Close your eyes and try to see it in your mind.
    2. In what ways does the image you have in your mind match what the book says?
    3. Imagine yourself in the story. What do you see around you?
  9. Summarizing — Summarizing is considered the most difficult comprehension strategy. However, it is essential that readers be able to identify important ideas. Young readers are often asked to retell a story (an oral summary that may include some details), while older readers may be invited to form a synthesis (adding personal connections to a brief summary, or summarizing several texts at once). Sample summarization prompts include:
    1. Think about what's happened so far.
    2. What do you think the author is trying to teach?
    3. What is the moral or lesson to this story?
  10. Reflecting — Active, engaged readers reflect while they read. They may think about a favorite part of the text, ponder a new idea, or evaluate their emerging understanding. Reflection is a form of metacognition (thinking about one's own thinking) that enhances reading comprehension. Sample reflection prompts include:
    1. What is your favorite part of the book?
    2. When you think about this topic, what comes to mind?
    3. In what ways have you improved in your understanding of this topic?

Explore these resources for reading comprehension strategies:


Back to Top

Terry's Tips
Terry's Tips

This section of Book Builder really helps me think about learning and the goals of my book! For example, when I read about UDL, I realize that no two readers are the same and I think about this as I work on my book.

Listen



Print Page