Teacher Tries to Narrow Pandemic Reading Gaps

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted¹ learning² across the world. As students are back in class, some are much more behind than others.

In the United³ States, teachers are working hard to help students make up for missed learning. Many schools are judging individual students' knowledge and making lesson plans especially for them.

Richard Evans is a third-grade teacher in Niagara Falls, New York. Most of his students were sent home as kindergartners in March 2020. Many spent all of first grade learning from home.

Problems did not end when schools reopened for second grade. There were face covering and social distancing requirements⁴. And many were not used to spending full weeks of study in school.

"I had kids ask me, `Why do I have to be in school for five days?'" Evans said.

The pandemic affected⁵ each of Evans' 24 students differently. So, he changed his instruction depending on individual students' needs.

The students in his class who had fallen behind learn to read by moving their fingers slowly beneath words. They sound the words out one syllable⁶ at a time. They are practicing skills usually learned⁷ in first grade like sounding out "ch" and "sh" sounds.

As the students read, Evans notes their understanding and speaking ability. He also writes down words that students have difficulty⁸ with.

And after a year of doing this and following the results, he says it appears to be working.

Moving from "learning to read" to "reading to learn"

At the start of this school year, tests showed that 15 of Evans' students were reading below grade level. Of those, nine were considered severely⁹ behind.

In October, six students sat around Evans at a table. Each was reading a first-grade book about baseball star Willie Mays.

"What sound does ‘-er' make?'" Evans asked one 9-year-old student. She put "hit" and "ter" together to make "hitter." Next to her, a boy said the word "high" as "hig."

There was no time to waste. Third-grade students are under urgent¹⁰ pressure to progress from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." Studies show those who do not learn to read with ease¹¹ by the end of third grade are more likely to drop out or finish high school late.

One who fell behind is Ke'Arrah.

She spent more than a year learning remotely early in the pandemic. Her mother, Ashley Martin, wanted her to be safe but saw how it was affecting her daughter's education. So, when Ke'Arrah went to a new school this year, she had her repeat third grade.

Midway through her second time in third grade, the decision appeared to be working.

Mother and daughter are now reading together at bedtime¹². And even small moments become reading lessons, too.

"She's on the phone, I'm like: ‘Read that to me. Tell me, what does that say?' We're out somewhere: ‘Read this to me. What does it say?'" Martin said.

Spending time with those who need it most

While many students are behind, Evans also sent more students than ever to the school's honors¹³ program because of their high test scores. Those students sometimes work independently or with each other to give Evans extra time with those who need more help.

Evans invested¹⁴ his own time in one of the neediest students. He kept a boy after school once a week for more reading.

In one exercise, Evans asked the boy to close his eyes, think about the first sound of each word and sound it out. After a few weeks, the boy went from knowing just 11 common words to 66 on the third-grade reading list.

Halfway¹⁵ through the school year, a new set of tests suggests Evans' plan is working. Fifteen of his students had met or went beyond their goals.

And Ke'Arrah went from the bottom level of the class to the upper middle.

Words in This Story

kindergarten — n. a school or class for very young children

kid — n. a young person

syllable — n. any one of the parts into which a word is naturally divided when it is pronounced

1 disrupted   

使混乱，扰乱( disrupt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• An accident has disrupted railway services into and out of the city. 一场事故使得进出该城市的铁路交通陷入混乱。
• A crowd of protesters disrupted the meeting. 一群抗议者扰乱了会议。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

4 Requirements   

n.所需的（或所要的）东西；必要条件，必备的条件；要求( requirement的名词复数 )；必要条件；需要；需要的东西

参考例句：

• the basic requirements of life 基本生活所需
• This company should be able to fulfill our requirements. 这家公司应该能够满足我们的要求。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 syllable   

n.音节；vt.分音节

参考例句：

• You put too much emphasis on the last syllable.你把最后一个音节读得太重。
• The stress on the last syllable is light.最后一个音节是轻音节。

7 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

8 difficulty   

n.困难，费劲；难事，难题；麻烦，困境

参考例句：

• If there is any difficulty,please let us know promptly.倘有困难，请迅速通知我们。
• A little difficulty like this is nothing to us.这点困难算不了什么。

9 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

10 urgent   

a.紧急的，急迫的，紧要的

参考例句：

• He asked to see the manager for something urgent. 他有急事求见经理。
• A part of this urgent task was allotted to us. 这项紧急任务的一部分分给了我们。

11 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

12 bedtime   

n.就寝时间

参考例句：

• It's your bedtime. Go upstairs and go to bed.到睡觉的时间了，上楼去睡觉。
• If you go to bed now,I've read you a bedtime story.假使你现在就上床睡觉，我就念个睡前故事给你听。

13 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 invested   

v.投资，花费( invest的过去式和过去分词 )；授予；（把资金）投入；投入（时间、精力等）

参考例句：

• The money will be invested in managed funds. 这笔钱将投资于管理基金。
• He invested his lawyer with complete power to act for him. 他让律师全权代办。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。