RM Winter 2017 FINAL

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Reading Matters
Technology Matters
| 66| Reading Matters | Volume 16 • Winter 2016 |
vocabulary. By developing these skills, students will be able
to transition between print and online texts, while being able
to think through complex questions and search vocabulary,
all certain requirements for the 21st century worker.
Ending UpWhereWe Need to Be: Text
Features andWebpage Navigation
Our knowledge about text features helps us understand how
to read and navigate websites, a fact we do not often consider
when reading or perhaps when helping students read online.
Much of web design focuses on navigation and making it simple,
and ‘simple’ typically means minimal scrolling for navigational
tools and clear, consistent design (Gaffney, 2005). Readers are
conditioned to look for a search bar at the top left corner of a
web page, and we recognize a magnifying glass icon to mean
search. Often in secondary classes, teachers expect students to
know this, but there are not clear objectives in the standards
that state when or how students should have learned how to
navigate websites (NGACBP/CCSSO, 2010). In early elementary
grades, students are explicitly taught how to use text features
such as table of contents, headings, captions, and photos.
Students use these text features to navigate informational texts.
Primary students become accustomed to looking for bolded or
italicized words, which typically indicate important vocabulary.
Similarly, online readers should look for underlined words
as hyperlinked to another part of a website or another website
altogether. Students should also be able to locate a website
navigation bar to understand the layout of the website. By
the secondary grades, these skills are likely automated, but
explicitly modeling for students how to use the text features
of websites and making comparisons of sites will help
students become stronger and more effective researchers.
Finding the Right Words: Vocabulary
Development andWeb Searches
Starting in the early grades when students are reading
informational texts, they develop an intentional vocabulary
about a myriad of topics: weather, planets, and books. Once
students have background knowledge to tap into, they are
able to converse with people using appropriate vocabulary
that continues to build. Moving on to secondary content
classes, students learn higher-level vocabulary: meteorology,
astronomy, and literature. A strong vocabulary helps students
in many scenarios, but especially in those wherein they have
to draw upon their background knowledge to answer new
questions. Educators need to find ways to help students activate
their current knowledge in order think about how to answer
complex questions. What information does someone have to
know or do to be able to answer a specific question or solve
a problem? These problem solving skills will be invaluable in
the 21st century workplace where workers will be employed in
multiple potential fields and solving multi-faceted problems.
There are moments in the classroom where searching for
information is authentic: during a lesson about Houston, Texas,
students may ask about the population. A simple search for
population in Houston will reveal its population, but we want
to teach students to ask complex questions, like how has the
population in Houston been affected by the weather patterns?
Answering this question means that students will need to find
information about several concepts, which mirrors the layered
questions we want 21st century learners to be thinking about
and asking. Getting students to the point where they are
able to ask discriminating questions takes much practice.
Conclusion
Acquiring the reading skills needed in a multimodal world
can prove to be a daunting task for students. Since students
have to read and learn from printed text and online text,
educators can help make stronger connections between the
skills needed to read effectively off and online. Understanding
that the foundational skills needed for what Rueda (2013)
deems the 21st century worker are developed in the primary
grades, can help educators continue to build upon the
knowledge students bring to upper and secondary grades.
Modeling reading strategies to readers in multiple formats and
for multiple purposes is one approach to help students hone
their reading skills and create lifelong learners off and online.
References
Duke, N.K. (2000). 3.6 minutes per day: The scarcity of informational texts in first
grade. Reading Research Quarterly, 35(2), 202–224.
Gaffney, G. (2005). Why consistency is critical. Retrieved May 30, 2015, retrieved
from
Gee, J.P. (2007)What Videogames Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. St.
Martins: New York.
Goodwin, B. & Miller, K. (2012) Reasearch says/nonfiction reading promote
student success.Educational Leadership, 70 (4), 80-82.
Huddleston, A.P.& Lowe, T.N.“I skim and find the answers”: Addressing search and
destroy in reading. Reading Teacher, 68(1), 71-79.
Kress, G. (2005) Gains and losses: New forms of texts, knowledge, and learning.
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National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State
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DC: Authors.
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Theoretical models and processes of reading (6th ed., pp. 1015-1068). Newark, DE:
International Reading Association.