Adolescent Literacy, Field Tested —
Abstract of

Chapter 15
Improving the Reading Skills of African American Secondary Students: What Teachers Can Do

Gail L. Thompson

Since the U.S. slavery era, reading has been a highly valued skill among African Americans; in fact, slaves viewed reading as a means of empowerment. Today, however, standardized test scores paint a bleak picture of the reading skills of most African American K–12 students, but the scores present a limited perspective. There is more to the story than meets the eye, and there are numerous simple strategies that teachers can use to improve the reading skills of African American secondary students. In this chapter, I describe seven of these strategies.

Thompson, G.L. (2009). Improving the Reading Skills of African American Secondary Students: What Teachers Can Do. In S.R. Parris, D. Fisher, & K. Headley (Eds.), Adolescent Literacy, Field Tested (pp. 180-188). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.