In the light of Swedish pupils' declining understanding of non-fiction, as well as the abolition of textbook examination, the idea for this study was born. The purpose was to explore two reading comprehension textbooks in the subject of Swedish and compare them to PIRLS reading test from 2011. Furthermore, the overall aim has been to analyze the coherence between them (alignment). The study was focused on highlighting the similarities and differences among the texts and tasks provided in the materials. With particular focus on the text's prose, genre and format, as well as on the reading comprehension strategies that were practiced and tested in the tasks. Through text analysis, theories of alignment (Biggs, 2003) and reading comprehension strategies (Andreassen 2008; Reichenberg 2014; Westlund 2015) the following questions were answered: Which similarities and differences regarding the text's prose form, genre and design can be discerned in the two textbooks compared to PIRLS reading test?  Which similarities and differences exist between the reading comprehension strategies that are practiced in the textbooks' tasks compared to those tested in PIRLS reading test?  Which preconditions are given the pupils to perform at PIRLS through the work of these two reading comprehension textbooks? The results showed both similarities and differences among all of the materials. The distribution of the text's prose form differed. In one textbook the most common form was fictional prose, whereas in the other book non-fiction occurred more. However the distribution was even in PIRLS reading test. Results also revealed that the extent of the texts was significantly longer in the reading test than in either one of the textbooks. Additionally the results indicated that the tasks, in PIRLS and in the textbooks, require a use of different reading comprehension strategies. In the textbooks multiple strategies were needed to solve the tasks, in contrast to PIRLS, where there were no use of several of them. These findings suggest a lack of alignment between the analyzed materials.

Syftet med studien är att öka kunskapen om läsförståelse och läsupplevelser i svenska hos elever med ett annat modersmål än svenska, genom att undersöka två lektioner och synliggöra elevens läsupplevelser i de lektionerna. Tidigare forskning visar att det krävs mer forskning på området läsförståelse ur ett mångfaldsperspektiv för att lärare bättre ska kunna bedriva en undervisning som gynnar läsutveckling hos elever med svenska som andraspråk. De teorier som ramar in studien är sociokulturellt perspektiv, transaktionsteorin och hypoteserna om inflöde och utflöde. Genom att syntetisera dessa teorier och hypoteser uppstår ett användbart ramverk. De metoder som använts för att svara på forskningsfrågorna är observation och intervju. Resultatet visar att eleverna möter olika sätt att arbeta med texter i förberedelseklass och i ordinarie klass men att de upplever ett lärande från båda verksamheterna. I förberedelseklassens undervisning var translanguaging ett dominerande arbetssätt medan ett mer traditionellt arbetssätt där läraren hade det främsta talutrymmet bedrevs i ordinarie klass. Slutsatsen är att eleverna upplever ett lärande i de båda observerade lektionerna men att lärandet inte alltid innebär en utveckling av just läsförståelse utan kan istället innebära att eleven lär sig svenska. Högläsning och translanguaging är arbetssätt som eleverna upplever som gynnsam för deras läsförståelse. / The aim of the study is to provide knowledge about reading experiences and reading comprehension in Swedish of students with a mother tongue other than Swedish, by examining two lectures and highlighting the students’ experiences at those lectures. Previous research shows that more knowledge is needed in the area of reading comprehension from a diversity perspective for teachers to be better able to pursue a teaching that promotes reading development among students with Swedish as a second language. The theories that frame the study are sociocultural perspective, transaction theory and the hypotheses about input and output. By synthesizing these theories and hypotheses, a useful framework has emerged for this study. The methods used to answer the research questions are observation and interview. The results show that students meet different ways of working with texts in preparation class and in regular class, but they experience learning from both activities. In the preparatory class, translanguaging was a predominant way of teaching, while a more traditional way of teaching, where the teacher used the most space for speech, was carried out in regular class. The conclusion is that the students experience learning in both activities, but that learning does not always mean a development of reading comprehension but can instead mean that the student learns Swedish. Reading to the class and translanguaging are teaching methods that students experience as favorable for their reading comprehension.

Läsförståelse är en central beståndsdel i de flesta skolämnen. Att läsa med förståelse är viktigt för alla elever i skolan eftersom det kan ge dem möjlighet att utveckla kunskap i skolans ämnen (Eckeskog, 2015, s. 5-6). Trots att läsförståelsen är av denna vikt i skolan visar resultat frånProgram for International Student Assessment (PISA) att svenska elevers resultat i läsförståelse har sjunkit (Skolverket, 2013, s. 13). Syftet med studien är därför att undersöka hur lärare i årskurs 1-3 beskriver att de planerar och genomför sin undervisning av högläsning för att utveckla elevers läsförståelse. Detta besvaras med följande frågeställningar: Hur beskriver lärare att de arbetar med lässtrategier i samband med högläsningen?, Hur ges elever enligt lärare möjlighet att arbeta med texterna i högläsningen? Och slutligen: Vilka olika texttyper väljer lärare att fokusera på i sin undervisning i utvecklingen av elevers läsförståelse? Studien har sin utgångspunkt i det sociokulturella perspektivet. Materialet samlades in genom en kvalitativ metod, semistrukturerade intervjuer. Materialet analyserades genom kodning för att finna intressanta mönster i deltagarnas beskrivningar. Resultatet visade att lärarna använder högläsning som verktyg för att utveckla elevers läsförståelse. De läser både skönlitteratur och sakprosa. Före, under och efter högläsningen använder flertalet av lärarna lässtrategierna: förutspå, klargöra, sammanfatta och ställa frågor. Elever får enligt lärarna visa sin läsförståelse genom textsamtal, skrivning och arbete med bilder. / Reading comprehension is a central part of most school subjects. It is important for all pupils to be able to understand what they read, as it can enable them to develop knowledge within the school subjects (Eckeskog, 2015, p. 5-6). Although reading comprehension is of such importance in school, results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) shows that Swedish pupils results in reading comprehension have fallen (Skolverket, 2013, p. 13). The purpose of this study is, therefore, to study how teachers in grades 1-3 describe that they plan and implement their read aloud teaching to develop the pupils’ reading comprehension. This will be answered by the following questions: How do teachers describe that they work with reading strategies in connection with the read aloud? How do the teachers, according to themselves, give the pupils the opportunity to work with the texts in the read aloud? And finally: What different types of texts do teachers focus on in their teaching in the development of the pupils’ reading comprehension? The study is based on the socioultural perspective. The data was collected through a qualitative method, semi structured interviews. The data was analyzed by coding to find interesting patterns in the participants descriptions. The results showed that the teachers use read aloud as a tool to develop the pupils’ reading comprehension. They read both fiction and non-fiction. Before, during and after the read aloud most teachers use some of the reading strategies: predict, clarify, summarize and questioning. According to the teachers, the pupils show their reading comprehension through text conversation, writing and working with pictures.

abstract: The current study analyzed existing data, collected under a previous U.S. Department of Education Reading First grant, to investigate the strength of the relationship between scores on the first- through third-grade Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills - Oral Reading Fluency (DIBELS-ORF) test and scores on a reading comprehension test (TerraNova-Reading) administered at the conclusion of second- and third-grade. Participants were sixty-five English Language Learners (ELLs) learning to read in a school district adjacent to the U.S.-Mexico border. DIBELS-ORF and TerraNova-Reading scores were provided by the school district, which administers the assessments in accordance with state and federal mandates to monitor early literacy skill development. Bivariate correlation results indicate moderate-to-strong positive correlations between DIBELS-ORF scores and TerraNova-Reading performance that strengthened between grades one and three. Results suggest that the concurrent relationship between oral reading fluency scores and performance on standardized and high-stakes measures of reading comprehension may be different among ELLs as compared to non-ELLs during first- and second-grade. However, by third-grade the correlations approximate those reported in previous non-ELL studies. This study also examined whether the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), a receptive vocabulary measure, could explain any additional variance on second- and third-grade TerraNova-Reading performance beyond that explained by the DIBELS-ORF. The PPVT was individually administered by researchers collecting data under a Reading First research grant prior to the current study. Receptive vocabulary was found to be a strong predictor of reading comprehension among ELLs, and largely overshadowed the predictive ability of the DIBELS-ORF during first-grade. Results suggest that receptive vocabulary scores, used in conjunction with the DIBELS-ORF, may be useful for identifying beginning ELL readers who are at risk for third-grade reading failure as early as first-grade. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Educational Psychology 2011

Det huvudsakliga syftet med studien är att undersöka hur lärare implementerar litteratursamtal i sin undervisning samt vad de har för tankar om användningen av litteratursamtal, exempelvis hur de ser på litteratursamtalets funktion eller begränsningar och möjligheter. Eftersom Aidan Chambers anses som en auktoritet inom ämnet ”diskutera vad man läst”, relaterar vi vårt resultat och analyserar utifrån Chambers tankar om boksamtal. Ett sådant ”samtal” bör enligt Chambers innefatta frågor om personliga upplevelser samt oklarheter och mönster läsaren stött på i texten. Resultatet grundar sig på intervjuer med tre yrkesverksamma lärare och observationer av respektive lärares elevgrupp vid undervisning i litteratursamtal. Utifrån det insamlade materialet går det att utläsa att lärarnas uppfattningar ibland går isär, liksom deras sätt att undervisa. Vad som också framkommer i resultatet är att teori och praktik inte alltid stämmer överens. Det som framkom i intervjuerna var följaktligen inte alltid synligt i observationerna. De slutsatser som kan dras är att undervisningen på skolan som undersöks inte helt bedrivs i enlighet med Chambers, men att det ändå finns potential i upplägget. Lektionerna som observerades har flera kopplingar till reciprok undervisning där Barbro Westlunds material om Läsfixare är särskilt framtonande.

This study set out to formulate criteria for evaluating reading comprehension materials intended for ESL readers in~high schools in South Africa. Such criteria may help teachers in selecting textbooks which have theoretically-informed reading programmes. It was first necessary, therefore, to isolate those points from reading comprehension theory that could be included in the criteria. Secondly, other checklists/criteria in ESL evaluation were examined to identify a framework within which to work. In the first draft, questions to be included in the criteria/checklist were formulated using justification from reading comprehension theory. A focus group technique was then used to obtain preliminary feedback on the usability of the checklist. Suggestions from the focus group were used to revise the cri teria . A final checklist was prepared which teachers could use as an instrument to evaluate reading comprehension programmes in language textbooks.

Syftet med denna intervjustudie är att undersöka hur lärare motiverar sin undervisning i läsförståelse. Syftet är också att utifrån denna studies teoretiska utgångspunkter undersöka lärarnas syn på hur de anser en undervisning i läsförståelse ska bedrivas. Anser lärarna likt Vygotskij och det sociokulturella perspektivet att det är genom kommunikation och interaktion med andra som vi tillägnar oss nya kunskaper där den med större kunskap leder den med mindre kunskap eller anser lärarna likt Dewey och det pragmatiska perspektivet att det är skolan och dess undervisning som bland annat ska ge eleverna de redskap de behöver för att deras kunskap ska kunna växa? För att kunna följa upp mitt syfte har jag intervjuat sju verksamma lärare i ämnet svenska för grundskolans lägre åldrar. I tidigare forskning och utifrån resultaten i senaste PIRLS-undersökningen (Skolverket, 2016b) betonas det att den svenska skolan behövde bli bättre i sin undervisning med läsförståelse. Skolverket (2016a) påpekade också att läsförståelse inte bara var viktigt för en elev och dennes tillgodogörande av kunskap i ämnet svenska utan det var minst lika viktigt i alla skolans ämnen. Det framkom också att hur lärare bedrev sin undervisning i läsförståelse var betydelsefullt för elever och speciellt för de elever som ännu inte utvecklat de grundläggande och språkliga förutsättningarna som behövdes (Bråten, 2008). De flesta lärarna som ingår i denna studie var överens om hur en undervisning i läsförståelse bör vara och vilka faktorer som var viktiga att tänka på i undervisningen med läsförståelse samt att läsförståelse ska gå in i alla ämnena. Det framkom också att lärarna tyckte det var svårt att undervisa i läsförståelse och att det hade varit enklare att undervisa i läsförståelse om eleverna redan i förskoleklass hade förberetts med att kunna läsa och skriva så att de kunde läsa och skriva lite när de började årskurs 1.

The study focused on strategies for improving reading comprehension skills at Grade 9 level through story writing in one secondary school in the East London Education District. Vygotskian theory formed the theoretical framework for this study, aligned with language theories as relevant literature for this particular research study. Data was generated from 15 Grade 9 learners who were selected from 3 Grade 9 classes using convenience sampling, comprising of five learners from Grade 9(a) intervention group, five learners from Grade 9(b) and five learners from Grade 9(c) non-intervention group who were selected for this study with the inclusion of two Grade 9 teachers and one Grade 8 teacher. Involvement of the grade 8 teacher is relevant to determine the voice from a Grade 8 teacher as an informed voice, which filtered into understanding how and why Grade 9 learners are unable to read and write with understanding in their present grade. The teachers were given three questions for semi-structured interviews. All the learners were given a specific activity as a pre-assessment without intervention strategy. The Grade 9(a), which is the intervention class, used story writing as an intervention strategy where they began a two week study using intensive intervention strategies, amounting to a total of 18 weeks study from pre-assessment to post-assessment. At the conclusion of the study the selected learners undertook a post-assessment using the same specific activity as in the pre-assessment. Subsequently, these selected Grade 9 learners’ reading comprehension pre-assessment and post-assessment was analysed. Five of the grade 9(a) learners demonstrated significant improvement in the intervention activities they were given. Grade 9(b) and Grade 9(c) showed difficulty in the post-assessment as they were the non-intervention group. It was concluded that Grade 9(a) learners performed better in the post-assessment. This could be attributed to the use of story writing as an intervention strategy to improve their English reading and reading comprehension skills. Keywords: intervention, reading, comprehension.

Este trabalho objetivou verificar a relação entre a compreensão da leitura e alguns dos processos envolvidos no ato de ler, tais como: a competência de leitura, a fluência verbal, o uso de estratégias metacompreensivas e o monitoramento metacognitivo, assim como, uma entrevista clínica. Com um de método misto, os resultados das avaliações foram analisados de forma quantitativa e qualitativa. A amostra foi composta por 38 alunos com idades entre 10 e 12 anos, matriculados no 6º ano do ensino fundamental de uma escola particular da região metropolitana de Porto Alegre. Os participantes foram divididos em dois grupos, adotando-se como critério de divisão a média do desempenho na compreensão leitora avaliada pelo teste de Cloze. Neste critério de divisão verificou-se que estes dois grupos, quantitativamente, foram homogêneos nos seus desempenhos. No entanto, qualitativamente, evidenciaram-se as particularidades de cada grupo. Assim, encontraram-se alunos competentes na leitura de palavras e com baixa compreensão leitora, sendo que os erros mais frequentes desses alunos, com baixa competência na leitura de palavras, se concentrou nas palavras pseudohomófonas. Na análise da relação entre a compreensão leitora e a fluência verbal evidenciou-se a presença de uma dupla dissociação, ou seja, alunos com alta fluência verbal e baixa compreensão leitora e alunos com baixa fluência verbal e alta compreensão leitora. Na relação entre o uso das estratégias metacompreensivas de leitura e a compreensão leitora, encontrou-se a ocorrência de quatro subgrupos. Estes subgrupos estavam formaram-se por alunos com alta compreensão na leitura e alto relato de uso de estratégias metacompreensivas; alunos com alta compreensão na leitura e baixo relato do uso de estratégias metacompreensivas; alunos com baixa compreensão da leitura e alto relato de uso de estratégias metacompreensivas e alunos com baixa compreensão da leitura e baixo relato do uso de estratégias metacompreensivas. Com relação ao uso das estratégias, as mais utilizadas, de acordo com o autorrelato, foram as de solução de problemas e as mais frequentes concentraram-se no momento durante a leitura. Os dados do julgamento metacognitivo mostraram-se mais precisos na pós-dição do que na predição. Na entrevista clínica, evidenciou-se que fatores como diferentes habilidades e características pessoais tiveram influência sobre o desempenho dos alunos. Portanto, os resultados evidenciam que o ato de ler envolve vários processos cognitivos, o que implica que muitos fatores podem interferir no desenvolvimento desta habilidade o que mostra a complexidade do processo ensino-aprendizagem. / This work aimed to verify the relationship between reading comprehension and some of the processes involved in the act of reading, such as reading competence, verbal fluency, use of reading comprehension strategies and metacognitive monitoring, as well as a clinical interview. With a mixed method, the evaluation results were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The sample was composed of 38 students aged between 10 and 12 years enrolled in the 6th grade of elementary education at a private school in the metropolitan area of Porto Alegre. The participants were divided into two groups, adopting as criterion for dividing the average performance in reading comprehension measured by Cloze test. In this criterion verified that these two groups, quantitatively, were homogeneous in their performances. However, qualitatively, was possible to find the specificities. Thus, were found students competent in word reading and poor in reading comprehension and the most common errors of students with low competence in word reading focused on the pseudo words homophones. The analysis of reading comprehension and verbal fluency revealed the presence of a double dissociation, that is, students with high reading comprehension and low verbal fluency and students with low verbal fluency and high reading comprehension. Regarding to the use of reading metacomprehension strategies, we found the occurrence of four subgroups of students with high reading comprehension and higher reported use of metacomprehensives strategies; students with high reading comprehension and low reported use of metacomprehension strategies; students with low reading comprehension and higher reported use of metacomprehension strategies and students with low reading comprehension and low reported use of metacomprehension strategies. However, the strategies most commonly used, in accordance with the self-reported, were problem solving frequently focused upon while reading. The results of metacognitive judgments were more accurate in posdiction than in prediction. In the clinical interview, it became clear that different factors such as skills and personal characteristics influenced the performance of students. Therefore, the results suggest that the act of reading involves several cognitive processes, which implies that many can affect the development of this skill which shows the complexity of the teaching-learning process.

NOCRATO, Raquel Nunes. Ensino de habilidades de leitura para o desenvolvimento da compreensão leitora: proposta de sequência didática para alunos de 9° ano da rede pública. 2016. 135f. – Dissertação (Mestrado) – Universidade Federal do Ceará, Programa de Pós - Graduação em Letras, Fortaleza (CE), 2016. / Submitted by Gustavo Daher (gdaherufc@hotmail.com) on 2017-03-03T14:50:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_rnnocrato.pdf: 15834216 bytes, checksum: 66b0f8560a683ae5e5286f1a0788dd27 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Márcia Araújo (marcia_m_bezerra@yahoo.com.br) on 2017-03-07T15:31:47Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_rnnocrato.pdf: 15834216 bytes, checksum: 66b0f8560a683ae5e5286f1a0788dd27 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-03-07T15:31:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_dis_rnnocrato.pdf: 15834216 bytes, checksum: 66b0f8560a683ae5e5286f1a0788dd27 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016 / In the literate society in which we live, proficiency in reading is a fundamental condition for the insertion of the individual and for the effective practice of citizenship (Rojo, 2004; Brandão, 1997). Thus, the present research had as objectives identifying the main reading difficulties of 9th grade students of a public school in Fortaleza/CE, through the application of reading skills test, based on the SPAECE (Permanent System of Evaluation of Basic Education of the State of Ceará) Reference Matrix, in order to intervene on the obtained results. According to Solé (1998), despite the process of reading being internal, this ability can and should be taught. The basic theoretical reference of this work was formed from the studies on reading as a process of construction of meanings (Goodman, 1991, Smith, 2004, Leffa, 1996), reading comprehension (Kato, 1987, Kleiman 1998, Solé 1998), reading goals (Palincsar and Brown, 1984) and inference (Coscarelli, 2002; Marcuschi, 2008), along with the guidelines on language teaching provided by the National Curricular Parameters (PCN, in Portuguese) and the Portuguese Language Reference Matrix for the 9th year of SPAECE. The research presented here is descriptive and qualitative, culminating in an intervention, and was based on the proposal of Didactic Sequence of Dolz and Schneuwly (2004). As a starting point, a pre-test was applied according to the reading skills required by SPAECE, in two classes of 9th grade in a public school of Fortaleza-CE. This initial evaluation revealed important results for choosing experimental and control groups and for the preparation of reading workshops. At the end of the didactic sequence – which included eight reading skills development workshops – a post-test was applied for comparison purposes. Data were generated during the months of August, September and October of 2016 and 32 students participated (16 in the experimental group and 17 in the control group). Through observation of students’ participation in the workshops and comparing the percentage of errors among the tests performed, we found improvement in the students’ comprehension of most of the skills worked in the workshops, which highlights the relevance of teach reading through knowledge construction activities directed towards this purpose. / Na sociedade letrada em que vivemos, a proficiência em leitura é condição fundamental para a inserção do indivíduo e para a prática efetiva da cidadania (Rojo, 2004; Brandão, 1997). Dessa forma, a presente pesquisa teve por objetivos identificar as principais dificuldades de leitura de estudantes de turma do 9° ano do ensino fundamental de escola pública de Fortaleza, mediante a aplicação de teste de habilidades de leitura, baseado na Matriz de Referência do SPAECE (Sistema Permanente de Avaliação da Educação Básica do Estado Ceará), a fim de intervir sobre os resultados obtidos. Conforme Solé (1998), a despeito de o processo de leitura ser interno, esta habilidade pode e deve ser ensinada. O referencial teórico de base deste trabalho foi formado a partir dos estudos sobre leitura como processo de construção de significados (Goodman, 1984; Smith, 1989; Leffa, 1996), compreensão leitora (Kato, 1987; Kleiman, 1998; Solé, 1998), definição de objetivos de leitura (Palincsar e Brown, 1984) e inferenciação (Coscarelli, 2002; Marcuschi, 2008), juntamente com as orientações sobre ensino de língua fornecidas pelos Parâmetros Curriculares Nacionais (PCN) e a Matriz de Referência de Língua Portuguesa para o 9° ano do SPAECE. A pesquisa aqui apresentada é do tipo descritivo, de caráter qualitativo, culminando em uma intervenção, e baseou-se na proposta de sequência didática de Dolz e Schneuwly (2004). Como ponto de partida, foi aplicado um pré-teste conforme as habilidades de leitura exigidas pelo SPAECE, em duas turmas de 9° ano de escola da rede pública estadual de Fortaleza-CE. Esta avaliação inicial revelou resultados importantes para a escolha dos grupos experimental e controle e para a elaboração das oficinas de leitura. Após a realização da sequência didática – que contemplou oficinas de desenvolvimento de oito habilidades de leitura – foi aplicado um pós-teste para efeito de comparação. Os dados foram gerados durantes os meses de agosto, setembro e outubro de 2016 e participaram da pesquisa 32 estudantes (16 no grupo experimental e 17 no grupo controle). Mediante a observação da participação dos estudantes nas oficinas e da comparação do percentual de erros entre os testes realizados, encontramos melhora na compreensão dos estudantes na maioria das habilidades trabalhadas nas oficinas, o que evidencia a relevância do ensino de leitura mediante atividades de construção da compreensão direcionadas para este fim.