One teacher’s reading comprehension instruction in one classroom in grade 8, 9 and 10

This qualitative study is a case study of one teacher’s reading comprehension instruction in one language arts classroom at the lower-secondary level. The classroom was selected based on students' gains on the Norwegian National Test in reading, which were significantly higher than the national average. In this classroom, four consecutive language arts lessons have been videotaped at three different points in time, in grade 8, 9 and 10 (n = 12). The study investigates the prominent features of this one teacher’s reading comprehension instruction at the lower secondary level. The study is based on theories of reading comprehension instruction and how it ought to be integrated in classroom settings at the secondary level, in order to enhance students’ reading proficiency. Key findings are that the instruction is heavily targeted towards reading comprehension strategies and language skills training. The observations show that the teacher focuses on explicit strategies instruction for reading comprehension, such as getting an overview of the text before reading, making stops when reading in order to reflect and asking questions about the text, and different ways of summarizing a text. The language skills instruction focuses in particular on multiple exposures of to-be-learned words and building metalinguistic awareness