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Underperforming readers: who are they?
The main predictor of low levels of literacy identified by the 1996
national survey of literacy performance was low socio-economic background.
(Masters, G.M. & Forster, M. (1997). Mapping Literacy Achievement.
DETYA.) A family history of negative experience of the education system
is likely to repeat itself with the school performance of its children.
There will be a mismatch between the backgrounds of these students and
the culture of the education system. Learners are more likely to perform
well when school culture and expectations match those with which they
have grown up. Where there is a mismatch, students become disenfranchised
from school, the educational experiences it provides, and the social and
economic opportunities to which it is meant to lead.
Although many students are compliant and tolerate ‘doing school’,
despite lack of success, other students opt for passive disengagement
or active non compliance. The long term effects of such entrenched responses
are educationally detrimental and likely to result in student management
problems which are all too familiar to teachers.
When teaching acknowledges the sociocultural diversity of students,
all are able to engage in the process of learning. Acknowledging that
diversity and appreciating the resources that come with it can be challenging
particularly when there is an overlay of ‘cover up’ behaviour.
However, research has shown that underperforming students usually need
little acknowledgement and encouragement in order to become more positive
about learning.
Vignettes
The vignettes below were written by teachers as a means of highlighting
some of the factors that shape the lives of individual students. They
were written from a non-deficit point of view and provide suggestions
for strategies that could support these students’ learning.
Ahmed
Dwayne
Ellie
Fred
Grace
Ian
Joshua
Tina
Toby
Ahmed
History/interests/family
- 11 years old, eldest child of Kurdish refugee family
- 4 years in refugee camp, disrupted education
- 6 children in family, youngest born in Australia
- family have limited levels of literacy in first/home language
- parents still working through issues associated with coming
from a background of trauma
- while parents supportive of school, very much in background
and keen to leave education to experts
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Social/emotional
- generally quiet in classroom but flares up outside –
lots of playground issues
- has responded well to starring as a soccer expert
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Educational history/performance
- disrupted education in refugee camp 4 years; 12 months in Introductory
English Centre; in regular class for one term
- numeracy skills quite strong especially in tasks not so language
dependant
- oral language well developed
- reliant on ESL support in areas of comprehension and general
written tasks
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Possible approaches/suggestions
- reading high interest, supportive texts – everyday meaningful
situations to get and maintain interest
- scaffold learning in all areas of reading and writing
- explicit teaching in all areas of literacy once interest has
been engaged
- cultural awareness ‘training’ for regular classroom
teachers and ongoing support for family in conjunction with outside
agencies
- small group structured support, eg Guided
Reading
- use specific interests eg soccer to develop understanding of
new content and concepts through Frontloading
- continue to build oral language strengths through, eg Three
Level Guide
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Dwayne
History/interests/family
- 13 year old boy
- isolated rural community
- 4 children (3 boys, one girl), Dwayne is the eldest
- very interested in agricultural activities
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Social/emotional
- very quiet, seldom contributes
- doesn’t interact with his peers outside school hours
due to farm commitments
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Educational history/performance
- farm responsibilities are usually placed ahead of educational
commitments
- likes to look at non fiction picture books about vehicles,
machinery and sporting heroes as well as simple instructional
texts
- prefers school work that is practical and has immediate
rewards/results
- doesn’t like others to see him reading ‘easy’
books/readers
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Possible approaches/suggestions
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Ellie
History/interests/family
- 13 years old
- eldest of three children
- Aboriginal background
- family supportive toward life skills and learning
- outside school activities – scouts, youth group,
cycling
- father on invalid pension
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Social/emotional
- determined and sometimes stubborn
- vulnerable socially and generally quiet in classroom
- determined to achieve if she has a specific goal
- speaks rapidly, and this sometimes makes it difficult
for others to understand her
- self esteem is okay particularly in outdoor activities
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Educational history/performance
- parents anxious about Ellie being labelled
- underperformance in both literacy and numeracy
- tutor outside school – literacy, numeracy and life
skills
- finds it difficult to express herself verbally
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Possible approaches/suggestions
- combine life skills with other areas of learning
- work in highly supported cooperative group activities to scaffold
oral language development, eg pair/share in Cooperative Reading
- discussion of reading strategies through, eg Nail
That Character
- scaffold language and literacy skills through Read
Alouds
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Fred
History/interests/family
- 9 years old
- moves school frequently
- enjoys swimming, wrestling, football and boxing
- Dad – no work, boxer, caring and supportive, not
strong in parenting skills
- one sister also underperforming
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Social/emotional
- a loner
- rough play which can be disruptive
- taunting adults
- swearing/confronting/defensive
- low self esteem and under developed social skills
- has difficulty communicating appropriately
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Educational history/performance
- underperformance in both literacy and numeracy
- short attention span
- easily distracted from tasks
- responds well to short term goals and positive reinforcement
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Possible approaches/suggestions
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Grace
History/interests/family
- 12 years old
- second eldest in family of 8 girls
- lives with mum and step-dad
- below poverty line
- interest is all based around her family
- looks after all younger sisters at primary school, eg
gets lunches ready, walks them to and from school
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Social/emotional
- quiet child in and out of the classroom
- finds it difficult to make and maintain friendships except
for one close friend
- is self reliant
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Educational history/performance
- finds reading and writing difficult
- has repeated one year level
- enjoys drama scenarios but not writing plays
- has difficulty meeting deadlines but responds to teacher
assistance
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Possible approaches/suggestions
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Ian
History/interests/family
- 12 years old, first year high school
- two elder sisters, twin sister, older and younger brother
(small house)
- Mum – Indigenous
- Dad – left family when Ian was 9
- loves animals (chooks, geese, dog, fish at home) –
tropical fish is hobby
- Mum studying at Uni (artist)
- internet access
- twin sister is a high performer as are other siblings
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Social/emotional
- high self-esteem
- quiet, reserved child
- polite, does his chores
- connected to strong Koori network
- family network friends rather than school friends
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Educational history/performance
- reads confidently about topics that interest him
- below 20% benchmark in system testing
- school work avoider/disorganised with equipment
- loves ‘home projects’: science/SOSE
- able to write when not focused on ‘detail’
- focus on spelling inhibits the flow of ideas
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Possible approaches/suggestions
- concrete, real world challenges,
- collaborative tasks
- use talk to scaffold learning
- valuing ideas before focusing on spelling/grammar
- provide ongoing feedback
- provide choices and follow up interests through, eg Interlinks:
Annotated Learning
- when appropriate provide specific approaches to spelling, eg
Phonemic Awareness
- provide structured interactive strategies, eg Nail
that Character
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Joshua
History/interests/family
- 11 years old
- working parents
- two older sisters
- has lots of material possessions
- likes TV and computers
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Social/emotional
- high self–esteem
- prefers to work alone rather than in a team
- isolated, something of a loner
- very quiet, contributes sometimes
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Educational history/performance
- numeracy quite strong
- prefers to read non-fiction texts
- withdrawal intervention programs for past two years
- resists writing tasks
- well developed avoidance strategies
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Possible approaches/suggestions
- focus on in-class support and working in supportive
groups
- explicit teaching with teacher direction, eg Guided
Reading
- engage with range of texts through, eg Frontloading
- develop structured interactive strategies through, eg Three
Stages Of Reading
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Tina
History/interests/family
- 14 years old
- middle child, older siblings are high achievers
- split family – shared time with either parent, predominantly
with mum
- step-parent (father)
- both parents career focused
- talented in sport especially netball and swimming
- good at computer games
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Social/emotional
- strong but not coping with ‘split’ and
new partner
- parent relationship volatile
- parents both support child
- reacts angrily in difficult situations, eg when classroom
work is too difficult
- popular at school both with boys and girls
- will accept counselling and 1 – 1 support
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Educational history/performance
- prefers outdoor activities (athletic) to quieter activities
such as reading
- often represents school in sporting activities
- underperforms academically except in numeracy
- prefers information texts with lots of illustrations during
class silent reading time
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Possible approaches/suggestions
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Toby
History/interests/family
- 15 years old
- supportive mother who works in classroom
- father focused on basic skill attainment and has high
expectations; disciplinarian
- single child family
- family supportive of child’s pursuits – cars
and motorbikes
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Social/emotional
- relates very well to others and is popular with peers
- concerned with equity of treatment of others – likes
things to be fair
- starting to enjoy company of female students
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Educational history/performance
- enjoys non-fiction texts
- starting to explore and be a risk taker in language
- avoidance of reading and writing tasks in class as a survival
strategy
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Possible approaches/suggestions
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