Breaking the Wall: Mastering Complex Texts
Kimberly Osborne, Brooklyn College
Bio
Kimberly Osborne is a certified high school English teacher with over 15 years of classroom experience, earning both Bachelors and Masters degrees from CUNY Brooklyn College. She creates engaging, student-centered lessons that build on critical thinking, reading, writing, and communication skills. Passionate about fostering inclusive and confident learning environments, Kim also mentors and supports her students in writing by founding “The Eagle Eye,” Newspaper Club at her current school. Outside of the classroom, she is an avid reader and philographist.
Course Setting
East New York Family Academy (ENYFA) is a public school which serves students in grades 6-12. The Foundations of College Success course is designed to help 10th and 11th grade high school students who are participating in the College Now/Future Ready program prepare for a smooth and informed transition from high school to college and explore potential career paths. The course helps students prepare to access college- and career-related opportunities while in high school and realistically assess options upon graduating from high school.
Problem of Practice
It is completely normal for students to feel a sense of dread when opening a twenty-page academic paper or a dense philosophical text. These texts aren't designed for speed; they are designed for depth. The intimidation students may feel is a sign that their brain recognizes a challenge—not that they aren't capable of meeting it.I noticed when high school students are given long extensive reading assignments, they typically fail to complete the reading because they are intimidated by the length and vocabulary or they lack time management skills. It is much easier for them to search for a summary of the text online. How can I increase student comprehension in college level texts so that they don’t rely on internet sources for analysis?Strategy
To address my challenge, I used motivational meta-cognitive activities. Before reading a text, students completed anticipation guides, four corners discussions, and KWL charts in order to activate prior knowledge of the topic. This approach will reduce the cognitive load of reading a text by activating prior knowledge, which will increase student motivation and possibly increase reading comprehension.
Cycle 1: (Fixed vs. Growth Mindset) Students completed anticipation guides followed by a four corners discussion to see whether or not they agreed or disagreed with general statements relating to their learning practices. Ex. “Asking questions in class makes me look unsure of myself, so I avoid asking unless I’m certain.” Next, they read a chapter about comparing fixed and growth mindsets, how to evaluate their own learning goals, and preferred learning methods. Finally, they completed a 10-question multiple choice assessment to check for understanding and a reflection survey.
Cycle 2: (College Types and Degrees) Students completed a KWL chart filling in the “What I Know” and “What I Want to Know” columns before reading. Then, students read a chapter about the different types of colleges and the types of college degrees offered. After reading, they completed the “What I Learned” column with new information they learned from the article. Finally, they completed a 10-question multiple choice assessment to check for understanding and a reflection survey.
Documentation
Anticipation Guide
Pre-Reading Strategy #1: Anticipation Guide.
KWL Chart
Pre-Reading Strategy #2: KWL charts.
Measuring Impact
Cycle 1 “Growth vs. Fixed Mindset” - Assessment/Reflection
Students completed an Anticipation Guide/Four Corners discussion, read Chapter, and then answered 10 multiple-choice text-based questions and a reflection on the effectiveness of the strategy presented.
Cycle 2 “Types of Colleges and Degrees” - Assessment/Reflection
Students completed a KWL chart prior to reading the chapter, only filling out the “What I Know and Wonder” columns. They completed the “What I Learned” section after reading. Then, students answered 10 multiple-choice text-based questions and a reflection on the effectiveness of the strategy presented.
Analysis
The anticipation guide/four corners discussion proved more effective than the KWL charts. Students scored higher on the comprehension assessment for the discussion “Fixed vs. Growth Mindset” lesson, thus proving that activating prior knowledge may serve as a motivator for student learning. During the four corners activity, students not only voiced their opinions openly, they also physically moved around the class perimeter, allowing them to visualize the results of their input. Voicing their opinions gave them the confidence to read the text with a positive perspective.
In studying student data, 33.3% of the students felt that incorporating pre-reading strategies that introduce upcoming topics helps them to understand the out-of-class readings during Cycle 1. During Cycle 2, the response increased to 41.2% of the students who felt that incorporating pre-reading strategies were effective.
Implementing pre-reading strategies in the classroom often fail due to student disengagement, time constraints, and varying background knowledge. When these activities feel like repetitive, unpurposeful chores, students rush through them or mentally check out, undermining the goal of building comprehension before they even begin reading. What I may change for next time is to give the students a variety of assessments to measure their comprehension. Instead of a quick multiple choice option, I would also give them short-answer response questions, to see if they can articulate their understanding of the text.
Recommendation
Educators should transition from simply assigning reading to actively teaching the mechanics of reading as a skill. It is important for students to recognize that the intellectual struggle of engaging with a complex text is the objective itself—not an indication of inadequacy that justifies seeking external summaries.
My recommendations for fostering this shift include:
- Scaffold the Reading Process (chunk larger texts into smaller excerpts)
- Implement pre-reading activities (anticipation guides, four corners, predictions, KWL charts, discussions, etc)
- Incorporate low-stakes quizzes focused on specific excerpts. These assessments should not be punitively graded but serve to ensure students engage with the primary source rather than relying on digital shortcuts.
- Utilize discussion-based checks. Requiring students to paraphrase passages or connect themes to contemporary examples provides a transparent window into their actual level of comprehension.
- Facilitate written reflections. Brief responses centered on personal confusion or surprise are far more difficult to synthesize from internet sources than traditional multiple-choice questions.