What’s Hot in Reading

Cassidy (2010) in the Reading Today Journal over the years has been doing surveys about what educators believe should be included in reading education. These topics were referred to as hot topics for the year. This year, topics in adolescent literacy, early intervention, comprehension, responses to early intervention, struggling and striving readers and literacy coaches or reading coaches have been the focus internationally and also those of the Masters in Education Reading Program.

Adolescent literacy was seen to be of major concern because of the high failure rate of high school students at national examinations. Here in Trinidad the concern is shared. The issue then is how can all stakeholders ensure that students are well equipped to take their place in society with the appropriate literacy competencies. Students are required to be educated for a particular purpose, which is to be contributors to the mental and physical pool of a society. Then if this goal cannot be achieved there must be a review of policies and practices.

Intervention was another topic of concern among the literacy leaders. It was felt that early interventions and responses to intervention were key areas of support to ensure student success. There must be early detection to the challenges the student experiences that may hinder the process of reading proficiency. The appropriate intervention to suit the diagnosis must then be enacted so the student will receive and respond positively to the necessary assistance in all content areas. Literacy coaches or Reading coaches were viewed as the being critical to the implementation process.

Comprehension, another hot topic, received attention for several years. It was believed that students’ inability to comprehend material was a direct result of failure. Teachers must then seek to move instruction from the literal to develop higher order thinking to promote critical and analytical thinking.

Reading Next—A Vision for Action and Research in Middle and High School Literacy: A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York

Time to Act: An Agenda for Advancing Adolescent Literacy for College and Career Success

Alliance for Excellent Education