Inquiring

Policy &/ Practice

by Catherine Paglin

At a time when billions of federal dollars are flowing to early reading programs, we shouldn’t forget older readers. No less than 67 percent of eighth-graders scored below the proficient level in reading on the 1998 National Assessment of Educational Progress, as did 60 percent of 12th-graders. These students, as well as those in the primary grades, need purposeful instruction if they are to become literate and productive members of society, says a new publication from NWREL.

Inquiring Minds: Learning and Literacy in Early Adolescence by Maureen Carr reviews current thinking on early adolescence and research on learning, as background to a discussion of "optimal literacy environments" for the middle schooler.

Characterizing early adolescence as "The Best of Times and the Worst of Times," the initial chapter in this monograph summarizes the major biological, physical, intellectual, psychological, social, and other changes 10- to 14-year-olds experience.

"As educators, we can choose to work with these changes and build them into our instructional planning or we can ignore them and become frustrated by them," says Carr. Working with the changes could, for instance, involve reading and discussing books, such as those by Judy Blume and Jerry Spinelli, that address students’ fears and conflicts. Such literature can help adolescents develop socially and emotionally, as well as improve their literacy skills.

Focusing only on the negative aspects of this phase of life, writing off adolescents as just the sum of their hormones—as many adults tend to do—is not helpful to them or their learning. While students are indeed undergoing hormonal changes as they enter middle school, they are also "on the threshold of a cognitive explosion," says Carr. They are beginning to entertain hypotheses, think abstractly, reflect on their own thinking, and take control of their learning processes.

By synthesizing research and theory on learning, Carr derives three related principles or themes that guide her subsequent exploration of effective literacy instruction for early adolescents:

Construction of meaning: struggling readers in particular may need explicit instruction in reading strategies to enhance their comprehension of a text.
Active engagement: students like to have choice in their reading materials and the activities that accompany those materials.
Meaningful content: involving students in direct and complex experiences with subject matter contributes to their understanding.

Inquiring Minds gives many examples of practices that embody one or more of the three themes. These include using graphic organizers, brainstorming to evoke prior knowledge, retelling or synthesizing text, giving students time to reflect, giving students some control over the direction of their work, modeling reading strategies through thinking aloud, group inquiry about a "consequential task," and even using alternative materials such as audiobooks, comic books, and CD-ROMs in the literacy curriculum.

Two helpful annotated bibliographies follow the main text of this monograph. One is a selection of relevant professional books, the other provides information on middle school authors and their works.

To order print copies, see the Document Order Form. Inquiring Minds is also available to download at www.nwrel.org/free.