Strategies That Work is a book I have been wanting to read, and I am glad that I finally had the "excuse" to dedicate time to reading it. There are so many great ideas, some of which I have already tried, and others which I will try in the future.
I agree with Michelle, however, that on the downside the amount of skills and ideas covered was overwhelming. The more I read this book, the more I started to feel like I wasn't doing anything right in the classroom!!! No matter how much I do, there's always more to be done.
With that in mind, I think this book is better to be used as a resource, and not as a cover-to-cover read. If you have a particular skill that you'd like to focus on, this book can give you several ideas to try. Instead of trying them all, it would be great to focus on one. I think using this book as a reference would be less overwhelming and more specific.
I do feel that this is a book worth having, or at least taking a peek at. It will have a great home on my curriculum shelf at school, and I am looking forward to trying at least one new thing from the book next year. I figure that as long as I do one thing better each year, I am on the right track!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Michelle's Summary Reflection
“Strategies That Work” has made me consider and evaluate how I am employing comprehension strategies in my classroom. This book has helped me to see ways and give strategy lessons that I can use to further teach questioning, inferring and connecting strategies in the classroom. It reinforced in my mind how important comprehension is for every student and how they need to make meaning for themselves.
I did find the amount of strategy lessons to be a bit overwhelming. However, at the same time, a teacher at every grade level would be able to find a strategy lesson that they could use to develop every area of comprehension. I plan to keep this book as a resource for future teaching if I ever wind up teaching another grade level. In addition, if I find my students struggling with a certain area of comprehension then I will use this book to further delve into a specific comprehension strategy.
I did find the amount of strategy lessons to be a bit overwhelming. However, at the same time, a teacher at every grade level would be able to find a strategy lesson that they could use to develop every area of comprehension. I plan to keep this book as a resource for future teaching if I ever wind up teaching another grade level. In addition, if I find my students struggling with a certain area of comprehension then I will use this book to further delve into a specific comprehension strategy.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Jamie's Summary/Reflection of the book
Reading this book has challenged me to reevaluated the way I currently teach kids how to read. Last year, I focused mostly on skills, not strategies. This year, I have decided to shift focus and emphasize reading strategies to my classes. I post them on the classroom wall and do mini-lessons on a weekly basis. This book has emphasized that reading is strategic, and effective strategy instruction can improve students' ability to read. The strategies improve self-confidence because they give the students "ammo" to use when they get stuck. The kids don't feel stupid or embarrassed. I have utilized many of the ideas from this book and have noticed much improvement. Monitoring comprehension is probably the chapter that was the most helpful because my students have much difficulty in this area. I plan to continue implementing the ideas from the chapters. Overall, I have learned...if all else fails...use sticky notes!
Chapter 9--Last Chapter for the Semester
Chapter 9 discusses strategies that teachers can use to teach students how to infer and visualize.
--This chapter contains an excellent definition of "inferring". Jamie stated that she has difficulty explaining what an inference is to her students. She tells her students to "read between the lines", but not all of them understand this phrase. She plans to use the book's definition from now on. It says, "inferring involves merging background knowledge with text clues to come up with an idea that is not explicitly stated in the text." Does anyone else explain it differently to their class? Any suggestions would be great!
--The chapter also explained that visualizing is like "making a movie in your mind". This is a great way to explain it to kids! It helps them understand what they are reading. Lauren explained that when kids watch movies that are based on a book, it ruins their image of the characters. The picture that readers create in their mind usually doesn't match how the movie portrays the characters. It leaves the reader confused and/or disappointed. For example, Bridge to Terabitha is one of Jamie's favorite childrens book. She was ecstatic to go see the movie when it came out, but it ended up being an enormous let down. The characters and setting were not what she had been visualizing in her mind all these years. Many times teachers show the movie of a book after reading it in class. If this is the case, we suggest doing a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the characters from the book and movie. The teacher should remind the students that the people in the movie are only actors. How do you feel about watching a movie that is based on a book? Do you watch the movie before reading the book?
--There are some excellent graphs and charts in this chapter that can be used to teach inferencing. For example, you could divide paper into 4 columns to help infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word. First the student lists the unfamiliar word from the text. Then, he writes the inferred meaning. Next, he writes the clue that he used to help him come up with the meaning (i.e. picture, reading on). Lastly, he writes a sentence using the word. Another chart that can be created contains 3 columns. Students can list their background knowledge (first column) and text clues (2nd column). Then, they create the inference (3rd column). Does anyone else have suggestions? Please share...
--This chapter contains an excellent definition of "inferring". Jamie stated that she has difficulty explaining what an inference is to her students. She tells her students to "read between the lines", but not all of them understand this phrase. She plans to use the book's definition from now on. It says, "inferring involves merging background knowledge with text clues to come up with an idea that is not explicitly stated in the text." Does anyone else explain it differently to their class? Any suggestions would be great!
--The chapter also explained that visualizing is like "making a movie in your mind". This is a great way to explain it to kids! It helps them understand what they are reading. Lauren explained that when kids watch movies that are based on a book, it ruins their image of the characters. The picture that readers create in their mind usually doesn't match how the movie portrays the characters. It leaves the reader confused and/or disappointed. For example, Bridge to Terabitha is one of Jamie's favorite childrens book. She was ecstatic to go see the movie when it came out, but it ended up being an enormous let down. The characters and setting were not what she had been visualizing in her mind all these years. Many times teachers show the movie of a book after reading it in class. If this is the case, we suggest doing a Venn diagram to compare and contrast the characters from the book and movie. The teacher should remind the students that the people in the movie are only actors. How do you feel about watching a movie that is based on a book? Do you watch the movie before reading the book?
--There are some excellent graphs and charts in this chapter that can be used to teach inferencing. For example, you could divide paper into 4 columns to help infer the meaning of an unfamiliar word. First the student lists the unfamiliar word from the text. Then, he writes the inferred meaning. Next, he writes the clue that he used to help him come up with the meaning (i.e. picture, reading on). Lastly, he writes a sentence using the word. Another chart that can be created contains 3 columns. Students can list their background knowledge (first column) and text clues (2nd column). Then, they create the inference (3rd column). Does anyone else have suggestions? Please share...
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Chapter 8- Questioning: The Strategy That Propels Readers Forward
This chapter begins by discussing curiosity and how curiosity leads to questions and questions lead to understanding. These questions will lead us into deeper reading to have our questions answered. The authors comment that by nature we are driven to find answers to our questions and to make sense of the world around us.
As adult readers, we know that we have questions as we are reading. But the authors remind us that kids don’t grow up knowing that good readers ask questions ( they just think good readers know all the answers). In school, it often seems that we are more concerned with anwers than questions. I know we have discussed this before and how in a perfect world we would be able to answer all the questions of our students. However, it is good to be reminded that our students need to know that their questions are important and that they matter. We need to model asking questions and finding answers for them. So that our students will ask questions and find answers to their own questions. This is important because when our students are doing this they are monitoring their comprehension and connecting with the text to make meaning. Ultimately, as reading teachers, this is the goal of our reading instruction as we work to develop our students into good readers.
The authors include many strategy lessons in this chapter to help students develop this questioning strategy. A few lessons that caught our attention were: to develop an I Learned/ I Wonder Chart in the classroom listing questions about a particular unit of study that would be answered over the course of the unit. Also, instructing our students in the difference between thick and thin questions by using sticky notes for the thick questions and sticky flags for the thin questions. The idea being that the answer for the questions should be able to fit on the opposite side of the sticky depending on the type of question that it is. Lastly, question webs are a great way to using a questioning strategy in the content areas for small groups to form into research teams and answer questions regarding a particular topic of study.
The chapter closed by talking about three different types of questions: researchable questions, lingering questions and authentic questions or assessment questions. The authors suggest that you tell your students when you are asking assessment questions to differentiate between questions that you already know the answer to and questions that need further research. Authentic questions, on the other hand, are usually open-ended and encourage higher-level thinking skills. The authors suggest using the following questions to help your students develop their thinking in the classroom.
*What makes you think that?
*Why do you say that?
*Can you elaborate on that?
*Can you tell me more about your thinking?
*How did you come up with that?
So, keep asking questions and give your students time to ask questions too!
As adult readers, we know that we have questions as we are reading. But the authors remind us that kids don’t grow up knowing that good readers ask questions ( they just think good readers know all the answers). In school, it often seems that we are more concerned with anwers than questions. I know we have discussed this before and how in a perfect world we would be able to answer all the questions of our students. However, it is good to be reminded that our students need to know that their questions are important and that they matter. We need to model asking questions and finding answers for them. So that our students will ask questions and find answers to their own questions. This is important because when our students are doing this they are monitoring their comprehension and connecting with the text to make meaning. Ultimately, as reading teachers, this is the goal of our reading instruction as we work to develop our students into good readers.
The authors include many strategy lessons in this chapter to help students develop this questioning strategy. A few lessons that caught our attention were: to develop an I Learned/ I Wonder Chart in the classroom listing questions about a particular unit of study that would be answered over the course of the unit. Also, instructing our students in the difference between thick and thin questions by using sticky notes for the thick questions and sticky flags for the thin questions. The idea being that the answer for the questions should be able to fit on the opposite side of the sticky depending on the type of question that it is. Lastly, question webs are a great way to using a questioning strategy in the content areas for small groups to form into research teams and answer questions regarding a particular topic of study.
The chapter closed by talking about three different types of questions: researchable questions, lingering questions and authentic questions or assessment questions. The authors suggest that you tell your students when you are asking assessment questions to differentiate between questions that you already know the answer to and questions that need further research. Authentic questions, on the other hand, are usually open-ended and encourage higher-level thinking skills. The authors suggest using the following questions to help your students develop their thinking in the classroom.
*What makes you think that?
*Why do you say that?
*Can you elaborate on that?
*Can you tell me more about your thinking?
*How did you come up with that?
So, keep asking questions and give your students time to ask questions too!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Chapter 7: Activating and Connecting to Background Knowledge
Being that the chapter is about activating and connecting background knowledge, the main purpose of the chapter was to provide strategies that can help readers think as they read, and connect the information to their prior knowledge. The authors give examples of how students can begin to make connections as they read. Throughout the chapter, the authors recommend using “text coding,” where students record their thoughts and reactions as they read on post-it notes which they place on the pages of the book. Some of the codes they use are R (reminds me of), T-T (text to text), T-S (text to self), or T-W (text to world).
It seems in this book that the authors REALLY LOVE post-its! I am thinking of trying this with my high reading group at school (I am feeling guilted into it…) but have any of you actually tried this before? Do you have some helpful hints that work?
While the author’s have mentioned these text codes before, we thought that one thing that was new and interesting was the idea of distracting connections. We all make connections as we read, but sometimes the connections we make lead our thoughts on tangents, instead of adding to our comprehension. We liked the idea of using a think aloud to model to our students what we do when this happens as we read.
In addition, not all connections that we make add to our reading comprehension. Students are likely to make connections like “The character is a boy and I’m a boy!“ or “The girl in the book has a grandfather, and so do I!“ While these connections (which the authors call “connections in common”) might add to the students’ personal interest and motivation, they are not likely to add valuable comprehension information. The authors had a great recommendation for helping students sort through their thoughts so that they can recognize the value of their connections:
Use a 3 column chart with three headings: My Connection, Important to Me, and Important to Understanding the Text. When students make connections they list them, and then decide how important they are to the text itself. In this way it still values their thinking, but forces them to evaluate their thinking.
It seems in this book that the authors REALLY LOVE post-its! I am thinking of trying this with my high reading group at school (I am feeling guilted into it…) but have any of you actually tried this before? Do you have some helpful hints that work?
While the author’s have mentioned these text codes before, we thought that one thing that was new and interesting was the idea of distracting connections. We all make connections as we read, but sometimes the connections we make lead our thoughts on tangents, instead of adding to our comprehension. We liked the idea of using a think aloud to model to our students what we do when this happens as we read.
In addition, not all connections that we make add to our reading comprehension. Students are likely to make connections like “The character is a boy and I’m a boy!“ or “The girl in the book has a grandfather, and so do I!“ While these connections (which the authors call “connections in common”) might add to the students’ personal interest and motivation, they are not likely to add valuable comprehension information. The authors had a great recommendation for helping students sort through their thoughts so that they can recognize the value of their connections:
Use a 3 column chart with three headings: My Connection, Important to Me, and Important to Understanding the Text. When students make connections they list them, and then decide how important they are to the text itself. In this way it still values their thinking, but forces them to evaluate their thinking.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Chapters 5-6
Chapter 5 discussed the fact that choice makes a difference when motivating children to read and comprehend text. The authors explained that school reading should more closely reflect the reading done outside of school when choice is allowed. As adults, how often do we actually sit down to read novels? Not often these days except in the summer! We don't have time! We read short text...magazines, cook books, newspaper articles, travel brochures, etc. The authors explain that we should advocate that more short-text instruction be utilized in school. They add that short-text is effective for teaching comprehension strategies! About 80% of the reading kids do in school is with long text according to the authors.
We thought the authors had a great idea when they encouraged the readers to cut and collect short, compelling, descriptive text to utilize in their classroom. The text could come from travel brochures, cook books, magazines, etc. Anything that captures our attention should be filed away.
Using picture books is a great way to motivate reluctant readers and ESL students. They need the extra picture support to use as context clues. As a middle school teacher, Jamie has noticed that lower level readers really do enjoy reading picture books despite their age. Sometimes they don't like the higher level readers to see them reading these books though. It makes them stand out as unsuccessful readers. It is important for teachers to promote an atmosphere of acceptance in their classroom. Although, there are some picture books that are just too "babyish" for older students. We've all seen books that include baby talk and pathetic illustrations. There does seem to be a fine line. We must be careful not to offend our older students.
We really liked the quote by C.S. Lewis that says, "No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty". A good book is a good book. Good books transcend age we believe. Any opinions?
Also, C.S. Lewis (our new idol) says, "The best reason of all to read a picture book to a group of students is simply because you love it." As reading teachers, this quote really struck us! Why can't we just read a book to our class because we love it? We can!?! That's what the authors say. Reading for pleasure! What a concept! What if there weren't so many standards we had to accomplish each year? What if we could actually enjoy reading each and every day in our classroom? Would our students hate reading so much? Would they be so bad at it as they are now? Just some thoughts to ponder! (not trying to be pessimistic!)
Another good strategy that we learned is to post a chart in our classroom where the students can list books that they are interested in. Then we can go buy those books. It keeps us up to date with their interests.
Please give us some feedback! We'd love to hear your thoughts!
We thought the authors had a great idea when they encouraged the readers to cut and collect short, compelling, descriptive text to utilize in their classroom. The text could come from travel brochures, cook books, magazines, etc. Anything that captures our attention should be filed away.
Using picture books is a great way to motivate reluctant readers and ESL students. They need the extra picture support to use as context clues. As a middle school teacher, Jamie has noticed that lower level readers really do enjoy reading picture books despite their age. Sometimes they don't like the higher level readers to see them reading these books though. It makes them stand out as unsuccessful readers. It is important for teachers to promote an atmosphere of acceptance in their classroom. Although, there are some picture books that are just too "babyish" for older students. We've all seen books that include baby talk and pathetic illustrations. There does seem to be a fine line. We must be careful not to offend our older students.
We really liked the quote by C.S. Lewis that says, "No book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally (and often far more) worth reading at the age of fifty". A good book is a good book. Good books transcend age we believe. Any opinions?
Also, C.S. Lewis (our new idol) says, "The best reason of all to read a picture book to a group of students is simply because you love it." As reading teachers, this quote really struck us! Why can't we just read a book to our class because we love it? We can!?! That's what the authors say. Reading for pleasure! What a concept! What if there weren't so many standards we had to accomplish each year? What if we could actually enjoy reading each and every day in our classroom? Would our students hate reading so much? Would they be so bad at it as they are now? Just some thoughts to ponder! (not trying to be pessimistic!)
Another good strategy that we learned is to post a chart in our classroom where the students can list books that they are interested in. Then we can go buy those books. It keeps us up to date with their interests.
Please give us some feedback! We'd love to hear your thoughts!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Rereading
I do use a strategy for rereading with the older kids who are very reluctant to read anything once, much less twice! I use POETRY. We read a poem aloud and I have them write down their reaction to the poem and rate their understanding on a 1 to 5 scale. Then, I tell them to read the poem again, silently, and add anything new to their interpretation and rate their understanding after the second read. Lastly, I have them pair with another person to discuss the poem and rate understanding a third time. Poems just seem like an easier vehicle for making the point, and they like doing this exercise. It inevitably leads to a "deeper" understanding and a rich whole group discussion.
I do remember Lauren sharing her story about the high school teacher that made her highlight her text and how much she appreciated being taught that strategy. I have encouraged it ever since. As a matter of fact, this year, when I visit classrooms for HSPA practice, I have them trained to not even bother to read without a pencil in their hand. They told me they did not think they were allowed to mark the test--what a great discovery. And the post-its--even the older kids love them. I think post-its are some of the best money spent in the classroom. They will not only use them--they ask for more because they "will be reading ahead." Again, those little notes in the book lead to very rich whole group discussion. I love it!
I do remember Lauren sharing her story about the high school teacher that made her highlight her text and how much she appreciated being taught that strategy. I have encouraged it ever since. As a matter of fact, this year, when I visit classrooms for HSPA practice, I have them trained to not even bother to read without a pencil in their hand. They told me they did not think they were allowed to mark the test--what a great discovery. And the post-its--even the older kids love them. I think post-its are some of the best money spent in the classroom. They will not only use them--they ask for more because they "will be reading ahead." Again, those little notes in the book lead to very rich whole group discussion. I love it!
Monday, March 2, 2009
Chapter 4 Post
Chapter 4: Tools for Active Literacy: The Nuts and Bolts of Comprehension Instruction
This chapter begins with an interesting quote from Cris Tovani who says “Schools should not be places where old people go every day to do the work for young people. Isn’t it interesting how when the bell rings at 3:00 P.M. on Friday afternoon, the kids bound out of the room like so many Bambis, as we teachers drag our exhausted rear ends out the door. The kids should be dead tired, and we should be ready for a 5:00 P.M. power yoga class!” We all commented on how true this is in our classrooms. We as teachers work so hard on stuff that the students should be doing themselves. How many of you can relate to this excerpt?
The chapter moves on to discuss options for explicit instruction in teaching reading comprehension through eight different strategies.
Think- alouds
Read-alouds
Interactive read-alouds
Lifting text
Guided discussion
Anchor lessons and anchor charts
Rereading for deeper meaning
Sharing our own literacy by modeling with adult literature
We discussed Interactive Read-Alouds and Lauren shared that she does this in some of the content areas of study in her classroom. She still felt that her students could me more involved in the instruction by giving each of her students a packet of stickies and having them write down their thinking while she is reading. We all felt that during these Interactive Read-Alouds that you as the teacher were probably only really interacting with six or seven of the students in your class. However, by giving each of them a packet of post-its, you now have everyone in the classroom interacting with the text being read aloud.
We also discussed the topic of Rereading for Deeper Meaning. Some of our questions were “How can this be done?” and “How many times should you reread?”. Jamie shared that in her classroom she has her students first read a story in guided reading groups, again with partnered reading and finally by independent reading. We also talked about how to motivate our students to reread text by charting their fluency and timing them and having them compete against their time. Do any of you have ways that you work on fluency and rereading in your classroom that you would like to share?
There was also an interesting portion in this chapter about annotation. The authors took a paper given to incoming freshmen at Harvard University and shared how it is important to write down your thinking as you are reading a text rather than just highlighting. We all talked about how we wish we were given more instruction in this manner in high school in preparation for our college experience. Lauren shared how her 6th grade teacher really got her started reading this way by requiring her students to underline as they were reading and to write notes in the margin of their books. We felt that this type of instruction would be beneficial for all of our students but especially for that 30% who need any strategy that they can get.
Ultimately, this chapter reinforced that the reason behind our explicit instruction in reading should guide our students into becoming learners who are thinking about what they are reading and working out their thinking to construct meaning.
This chapter begins with an interesting quote from Cris Tovani who says “Schools should not be places where old people go every day to do the work for young people. Isn’t it interesting how when the bell rings at 3:00 P.M. on Friday afternoon, the kids bound out of the room like so many Bambis, as we teachers drag our exhausted rear ends out the door. The kids should be dead tired, and we should be ready for a 5:00 P.M. power yoga class!” We all commented on how true this is in our classrooms. We as teachers work so hard on stuff that the students should be doing themselves. How many of you can relate to this excerpt?
The chapter moves on to discuss options for explicit instruction in teaching reading comprehension through eight different strategies.
Think- alouds
Read-alouds
Interactive read-alouds
Lifting text
Guided discussion
Anchor lessons and anchor charts
Rereading for deeper meaning
Sharing our own literacy by modeling with adult literature
We discussed Interactive Read-Alouds and Lauren shared that she does this in some of the content areas of study in her classroom. She still felt that her students could me more involved in the instruction by giving each of her students a packet of stickies and having them write down their thinking while she is reading. We all felt that during these Interactive Read-Alouds that you as the teacher were probably only really interacting with six or seven of the students in your class. However, by giving each of them a packet of post-its, you now have everyone in the classroom interacting with the text being read aloud.
We also discussed the topic of Rereading for Deeper Meaning. Some of our questions were “How can this be done?” and “How many times should you reread?”. Jamie shared that in her classroom she has her students first read a story in guided reading groups, again with partnered reading and finally by independent reading. We also talked about how to motivate our students to reread text by charting their fluency and timing them and having them compete against their time. Do any of you have ways that you work on fluency and rereading in your classroom that you would like to share?
There was also an interesting portion in this chapter about annotation. The authors took a paper given to incoming freshmen at Harvard University and shared how it is important to write down your thinking as you are reading a text rather than just highlighting. We all talked about how we wish we were given more instruction in this manner in high school in preparation for our college experience. Lauren shared how her 6th grade teacher really got her started reading this way by requiring her students to underline as they were reading and to write notes in the margin of their books. We felt that this type of instruction would be beneficial for all of our students but especially for that 30% who need any strategy that they can get.
Ultimately, this chapter reinforced that the reason behind our explicit instruction in reading should guide our students into becoming learners who are thinking about what they are reading and working out their thinking to construct meaning.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Chapters 2 and 3
Chapter 2: Reading is Strategic
In this chapter, the authors reiterate the fact that reading is an interactive process which involves both decoding words and constructing meaning. As we have all learned before, both of these are essential. Of course the main purpose of reading is to construct meaning, but meaning cannot be constructed when it takes a backseat to decoding. Because of this, students need explicit instruction in both decoding and comprehension strategies. Furthermore, students need to be taught a repertoire of strategies so that they can become “strategic readers” – readers who think about their own learning and adjust accordingly.
According to Perkins and Swartz (1992), there are 4 types of readers/ learners:
Tacit: students who lack awareness of how they think when they read
Aware: readers who realize when meaning has broken down, but lack strategies to fix the problem
Strategic: readers can monitor and repair meaning when it is disrupted by using comprehension and thinking strategies
Reflective: readers who can apply strategies flexibly depending on their goals and purposes for reading, and also reflect on and revise their use of strategies
In our group, we discussed the importance of evaluating where your students are, within these 4 levels. We thought that knowing where each child falls within this spectrum can better guide the individual goals and instruction that you develop for your students. Teachers and students could benefit from creating realistic expectations and goals based on where the students fall.
Of course the best way to help students evolve into strategic and reflective readers is to provide ample practice reading authentic texts. The more students read, of course, the better they will be. The text, like so many we have read before, recommends that teachers build in specific time each day for students to read independently.
As a middle level teacher, Jamie especially expressed her concern in this area. As she said, she KNOWS how important independent reading is, and wants her students to have time for it each day. When a middle or high school teacher only has a particular class for 40 minutes, however, it is difficult to “set aside” time to allow students to read independently, but also squish in all the curriculum that the students need to not only succeed in life, but to pass certain IMPORTANT standardized tests (which shall remain nameless). For us elementary teachers finding silent reading time is easy, but what do you middle and high school teachers think? Do you have a certain school policy pertaining to time spent reading independently, or is it getting thrown out (or at least put on the backburner)?? Is there something you have tried that works within a short class period?
And speaking of time constraints…that leads us to one of the main points we discussed from Chapter 3.
Chapter 3: Effective Comprehension Instruction: Teaching, Tone, and Assessment
Jenna, I know that you mentioned in your first post that many teachers don’t spend enough time modeling appropriate behavior to their students. In the chaos of the moment, it’s very quick to just try a quick behavior fix. Well, this chapter talks about the same mistakes we make as teachers when giving instructions for certain lessons. In a dream world we’d have enough time to do as much as we wanted in a period, and study everything in-depth, but in the real world we often find ourselves with 5 minutes left in a class, and 20 other things we wanted to be able to do.
We all agreed in our group that it is SO hard not to “surrender to the clock,” as the book puts it. Again, with the pressures we are under to cover so many topics in any given day, it is tough to take the time out to explain things thoroughly. When it comes to strategy instruction, kids need to be taught very specifically what they are supposed to do. The authors put it best, I think:
“Don’t surrender to the clock. It takes time to show kids how, but it is time well spent. When it comes to instruction, it is nearly impossible to be too explicit. “
I remember Christy Leaken saying one semester that it’s not about adding MORE to your day, it’s about REPLACING what doesn't work. I completely agree with this idea, but it’s hard to decide what should go and what should stay. Plus, we are not always allowed to replace the things that we want to. I know several teachers in my school who would fight tooth and nail to replace cursive writing with additional reading, writing, or math time!!! Any suggestions on things you’re doing to fight the clock? Are you facing the same struggles? We’d love your input!
In this chapter, the authors reiterate the fact that reading is an interactive process which involves both decoding words and constructing meaning. As we have all learned before, both of these are essential. Of course the main purpose of reading is to construct meaning, but meaning cannot be constructed when it takes a backseat to decoding. Because of this, students need explicit instruction in both decoding and comprehension strategies. Furthermore, students need to be taught a repertoire of strategies so that they can become “strategic readers” – readers who think about their own learning and adjust accordingly.
According to Perkins and Swartz (1992), there are 4 types of readers/ learners:
Tacit: students who lack awareness of how they think when they read
Aware: readers who realize when meaning has broken down, but lack strategies to fix the problem
Strategic: readers can monitor and repair meaning when it is disrupted by using comprehension and thinking strategies
Reflective: readers who can apply strategies flexibly depending on their goals and purposes for reading, and also reflect on and revise their use of strategies
In our group, we discussed the importance of evaluating where your students are, within these 4 levels. We thought that knowing where each child falls within this spectrum can better guide the individual goals and instruction that you develop for your students. Teachers and students could benefit from creating realistic expectations and goals based on where the students fall.
Of course the best way to help students evolve into strategic and reflective readers is to provide ample practice reading authentic texts. The more students read, of course, the better they will be. The text, like so many we have read before, recommends that teachers build in specific time each day for students to read independently.
As a middle level teacher, Jamie especially expressed her concern in this area. As she said, she KNOWS how important independent reading is, and wants her students to have time for it each day. When a middle or high school teacher only has a particular class for 40 minutes, however, it is difficult to “set aside” time to allow students to read independently, but also squish in all the curriculum that the students need to not only succeed in life, but to pass certain IMPORTANT standardized tests (which shall remain nameless). For us elementary teachers finding silent reading time is easy, but what do you middle and high school teachers think? Do you have a certain school policy pertaining to time spent reading independently, or is it getting thrown out (or at least put on the backburner)?? Is there something you have tried that works within a short class period?
And speaking of time constraints…that leads us to one of the main points we discussed from Chapter 3.
Chapter 3: Effective Comprehension Instruction: Teaching, Tone, and Assessment
Jenna, I know that you mentioned in your first post that many teachers don’t spend enough time modeling appropriate behavior to their students. In the chaos of the moment, it’s very quick to just try a quick behavior fix. Well, this chapter talks about the same mistakes we make as teachers when giving instructions for certain lessons. In a dream world we’d have enough time to do as much as we wanted in a period, and study everything in-depth, but in the real world we often find ourselves with 5 minutes left in a class, and 20 other things we wanted to be able to do.
We all agreed in our group that it is SO hard not to “surrender to the clock,” as the book puts it. Again, with the pressures we are under to cover so many topics in any given day, it is tough to take the time out to explain things thoroughly. When it comes to strategy instruction, kids need to be taught very specifically what they are supposed to do. The authors put it best, I think:
“Don’t surrender to the clock. It takes time to show kids how, but it is time well spent. When it comes to instruction, it is nearly impossible to be too explicit. “
I remember Christy Leaken saying one semester that it’s not about adding MORE to your day, it’s about REPLACING what doesn't work. I completely agree with this idea, but it’s hard to decide what should go and what should stay. Plus, we are not always allowed to replace the things that we want to. I know several teachers in my school who would fight tooth and nail to replace cursive writing with additional reading, writing, or math time!!! Any suggestions on things you’re doing to fight the clock? Are you facing the same struggles? We’d love your input!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Since I am in a different situation, teaching an adult, the adult is there because he wants to be. He is self motivated even at an older age. I don't think it would bother him if others made comment on his actions. Every week I feel that I have teachable moments with my student. I find myself stopping and addressing the definition of a word, or an application to a word family, or even the student himself realizing that he is reading better that he did the week before. Your book seems to be interesting and I look forward to future postings.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Reflections on Chapter 1 by Jamie, Michelle, and Lauren
After reading and discussing chapter 1 ("Reading is Thinking"), our group discussed the following issues... Please feel free to comment on any or all of them! We'd love to hear your input!
--We think that it is interesting that there has been a shift in "comprehension instruction" since 1979 (page 14). We remember the OLD days where we had to read stories and answer comprehension questions from the textbook. The authors claim that this is only a method of assessment and it doesn't actually teach kids how to better comprehend what they read. Comprehension strategies need to be explitly taught in the classroom. There are still teachers using the 1979 question-answer method! I'm sure names are popping in your head right now!
--A story was told about a father of a 3rd grade student who participated in a parent-child book club. This book club used comprehension strategies to make reading understandable and exciting. He explained that he had previously dropped out of high school because he hated to read. His friends could not believe that he actually chose to read with his 3rd grade child and enjoyed doing it. We thought this story was very powerful. Does anyone have any other stories like this?
----We would like to try the suggestion made on page 13. The authors say to ask your students to define reading and keep a chart posted with their responses. Over time, hopefully their response will change to reflect the true definition of reading. The authors emphasize that reading includes decoding AND making meaning. Many students just think that it has to do with sounding out words. Once comprehension strategies are taught, their view of reading will change. Has anyone tried asking their class this question before?
----Jamie and Michelle thought that the definition of synthesizing was interesting. (p. 19) It's not just stating or recalling facts from the story. It's integrating new information from the text with existing knowledge to change your thinking. There's a difference between summarizing and synthesizing. Lauren explained an interesting strategy that could be used to practice synthesizing information while reading. She said to make columns titled "What you think you know", "Confirmed", "Misconceptions", "New information", and "Still wondering". The kids put sticky notes with information in the appropriate columns while reading. Jamie thought it would be great to use with older kids especially. Has anyone else tried this particular strategy? It's similar to a KWL. What books have you used it for?
--We thought it was interesting that the authors said that kindergartners come to school with many questions. By the time they are in fifth grade, their questions disappear. The authors blame it on the teachers for not fostering and facilitating a "question-asking" environment. We just demand answers from kids. We have our agenda and they must conform to it. We discussed that the cause of the problem is the state standards and standarized testing. Teachers need to remember how important it is to ask higher-level thinking questions and allow the kids to explore. We all agreed that we feel such pressure to get through our lessons each day and meet all of the state standards. We need to remember to take advantage of "teachable moments".
Have you had any teachable moments this past week? Please share! :)
--We think that it is interesting that there has been a shift in "comprehension instruction" since 1979 (page 14). We remember the OLD days where we had to read stories and answer comprehension questions from the textbook. The authors claim that this is only a method of assessment and it doesn't actually teach kids how to better comprehend what they read. Comprehension strategies need to be explitly taught in the classroom. There are still teachers using the 1979 question-answer method! I'm sure names are popping in your head right now!
--A story was told about a father of a 3rd grade student who participated in a parent-child book club. This book club used comprehension strategies to make reading understandable and exciting. He explained that he had previously dropped out of high school because he hated to read. His friends could not believe that he actually chose to read with his 3rd grade child and enjoyed doing it. We thought this story was very powerful. Does anyone have any other stories like this?
----We would like to try the suggestion made on page 13. The authors say to ask your students to define reading and keep a chart posted with their responses. Over time, hopefully their response will change to reflect the true definition of reading. The authors emphasize that reading includes decoding AND making meaning. Many students just think that it has to do with sounding out words. Once comprehension strategies are taught, their view of reading will change. Has anyone tried asking their class this question before?
----Jamie and Michelle thought that the definition of synthesizing was interesting. (p. 19) It's not just stating or recalling facts from the story. It's integrating new information from the text with existing knowledge to change your thinking. There's a difference between summarizing and synthesizing. Lauren explained an interesting strategy that could be used to practice synthesizing information while reading. She said to make columns titled "What you think you know", "Confirmed", "Misconceptions", "New information", and "Still wondering". The kids put sticky notes with information in the appropriate columns while reading. Jamie thought it would be great to use with older kids especially. Has anyone else tried this particular strategy? It's similar to a KWL. What books have you used it for?
--We thought it was interesting that the authors said that kindergartners come to school with many questions. By the time they are in fifth grade, their questions disappear. The authors blame it on the teachers for not fostering and facilitating a "question-asking" environment. We just demand answers from kids. We have our agenda and they must conform to it. We discussed that the cause of the problem is the state standards and standarized testing. Teachers need to remember how important it is to ask higher-level thinking questions and allow the kids to explore. We all agreed that we feel such pressure to get through our lessons each day and meet all of the state standards. We need to remember to take advantage of "teachable moments".
Have you had any teachable moments this past week? Please share! :)
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