LTL Podcast Episode 49: The Plateau in the Upper Elementary Grades

Happy Thursday!

Recently, I have been hearing from teachers who are concerned that they are not addressing comprehension in their literacy instruction as much as they think is necessary. Upper elementary teachers (and parents) have expressed concern that the students are not understanding the grade level content and texts as well as they would like them to be.

There can be a plateau in the upper elementary grades. Kids who know how to decode suddenly are not super motivated to read or for the first time they may start to experience some frustration when reading. The upper elementary grades is when the reading begins to take more of a content focus so kids may not have the background knowledge, which makes the texts harder to understand.

This week, the episode is focused on the importance of teaching comprehension skills and strategies to students in all grade levels. I outline a few ideas in case there is limited time to address comprehension.

I hope you will have a listen and hopefully find an idea that can support your students and your instruction.