While many students arrive to middle school lacking fundamental reading skills, traditional English language arts curriculum and methods fail to address the needs of struggling readers. In fact, secondary English teachers often focus on helping students understand texts without the students actually reading the texts rather than building students' reading skills. In this article, the author shares a procedure for vocabulary instruction that also promotes phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics, spelling, and orthographic mapping.
Author Biography
Karen E. Burrows, USD 507, Santata, Kansas
Karen Burrows is a reading specialist who teaches middle school reading and language arts in Satanta, Kansas. She has experience providing literacy instruction in both grade school and high school settings and is also an adjunct instructor for the Fort Hays State University department of philosophy. In addition to teaching, Karen coaches cross country and track and serves as chair of the USD 507 district leadership team. Her husband, Ryan, teaches high school English in Satanta, where their two daughters attend school as well. She can be reached at kburrows@usd507.org.