It’s important for us as educators to create reading
experiences that foster student comprehension.
There are many strategies that can be implemented in our classrooms to teach
comprehension skills. Peer interaction is helpful in learning comprehension. A
child is more likely to learn and remember the content if they are actively
engaged and being social. Why do you think this is?
The book touches on the topic of interactive discussions. The discussion questions should enhance
student thinking and give them the opportunity to reflect on their own
experiences. Scaffolding is key in
any aspect of student learning.
Graphic organizers
are a great tool to put your thoughts and ideas down on paper. I’ve seen a
K-W-L chart utilized a lot in the classrooms I’ve been in. I think they’re
ideal for showing the growth and progression of knowledge as a specific topic
is explored. I remember using concept maps to generate ideas and build off them
in order to help in writing a paper.
Another strategy to check comprehension is retelling a story. It shows how closely the children were listening to the
story and if they’re able to recall facts and main ideas from a text. It can be
difficult for a child to retell a story, but with practice, the task becomes
easier (page 240). One way to help a student retell stories is through props
and pre-and post-discussions regarding the story elements. What are other tools
you’ve seen in classrooms to aid in comprehension?
Fluency is a path
that leads to comprehension (page 245). Fluency is a talent that has little to
no emphasis in literacy today. It encompasses a variety of skills, including automaticity (decoding words instantly),
prosody (reading with expression) and
accuracy (at a steady pace with no
errors). Fluency activities in the classroom are typically entertaining, simple
and short in time span. These activities should be done daily in the classroom,
as it is our goal to be fluent, accurate readers. This can be done through our
classroom literacy instruction.
There are many avenues for us as teachers to take when
practicing fluency in the classroom. I’ve seen echo reading and choral
reading in classrooms. The classroom teacher for my Edel 350 practicum uses
echo reading quite a bit. Echo reading involves a teacher modeling correct
reading habits, and then the students repeat the tone, expression and pacing
the teacher used. Choral reading is more led by the students. They create their
own pace and prosody and read the passage or short story how they choose. Which
strategy seems more impactful in a students’ fluency learning?
My favorite fluency activity is reader’s theater. I remember doing this a lot throughout elementary
school. I played the little gingerbread man in our reader’s theater play, and I
was so proud of it! I'm working on creating a reader's theater skit with my two first graders in my Edrd 430 practicum this week. Reader's theater has the class split into groups and practice
oral reading a short play (page 246). The parts are given out, and the students
are given the opportunity to practice their lines and “rehearse” them. Then,
each group can “perform” their reader’s theater script in front of their
classmates, or even in front of parents and family. I really like this
strategy, as it incorporates practice and fluency, as well as gives the
students a sense of responsibility. The children can even write their own skits
and perform them. Reader’s theater can be modified in different ways to fit the
style of your classroom. Props are highly encouraged for this activity as well.
Fluency and comprehension go hand in hand. As teachers, we
should strive to apply these strategies in our classrooms to ensure a positive,
engaging and powerful literacy learning experience.
I like your analysis, Amanda T. Indeed, comprehension is a main point that when we teach students how to read and analyze the content of text to them, the thing that students should master it well. You asked that during the learning process, children should be actively engaged and being social also, why they need to be like this? This chapter has mentioned that peer interactions, which also can be as teamwork, can help students better understanding the texts or be familiar with the structure of stories, such as characters, settings and plot developments. By the helping of interactions, the discussion questions have enhanced students’ critical thinking skills. Besides, you mentioned that graphic organizers are a great tool to put thoughts and ideas down on paper. I think when children exchange their thoughts to each other and discuss them in a group by using this tool, it will show them clear steps to arrange ideas and summarize those ideas. There is one point I really like when I read your text, is Fluency. I agree with you that fluency is a talent, however, it also can be created by practice. Children can be improved by reading more simple texts at first, then transit to next level, which has more strange words, that can help them do more pronounce exercises for practicing their speaking skill. In you text, you said you have seen echo reading ad choral reading, those two reading activities have their advantages: echo reading is focusing on teacher’s modeling, then students will repeat what the teacher just say, to imitate the teacher’s behavior; choral reading is more depending on students. The students will create their own style to read the texts or short stories, not rely on teachers, it is more impactful in student’s fluency learning, and teachers become helpers to correct or help them when they meet trouble. So I prefer the second way to educate and develop children’s reading ability,
ReplyDeletePeer interaction is a good topic to touch on when talking about comprehension. In the question stated above, why do children learn and remember content better if they are actively engaged or being social, is a few different reasons. One good reason is because when something is said out loud, it is remembered better. Another is because when children are actively engaging and being social, they are usually having fun. When a child is having fun while doing something, they are surely going to remember it!
ReplyDeleteInteractive discussions are a great strategy, as mentioned above, because the children are faced with many questions and can all talk freely and contribute to one another's comments, as well as challenge them if they believe something else, giving everyone a chance to think of different sides of questions. It is also mentioned above that graphic organizers help students a lot and have been utilized in many classrooms. I agree that graphic organizers and 'webs' as they may be called are used. Many teachers of classrooms that I have been in as a student and a teacher have used many different kinds of graphic organizers before children start to write a story in order to help them develop thoughts and key points that they will talk about. I believe graphic organizers are great!
I believe that retelling a story is a good idea for comprehension, but it is not the best idea. This example is kind of like the 'telephone' game. One students will hear the story, then retell it a different way with a few things changed, if another student hears the student retelling the story with a few things changed, the pattern will continue. Other comprehension tools that I've seen used in classrooms would be tests, of course. Although tests are no one's favorite things, they are not going to go away anytime soon. We just have to, as teachers, organize tests so that they don't totally seem like tests. What are some ways that you might organize a test to make it less test-like and to avoid the stress of people with test anxiety?
Fluency in my mind involves practice, practice, practice! I love that this blog included the point that fluency activities should be fun, entertaining, and done daily! If we do not have the students practice fluency daily, it will take longer to get them to be reading fluently!
I believe of the two strategies listed above, echo reading and choral reading, one does not seem more effective than the other. Echo reading may be better for children in younger classrooms and choral reading in older classrooms. The younger children may not be able to read as well on their own, so having a teacher say something and them echo it will help to resolve any confusion that may occur. In choral reading, older children should be better at reading, so they can start together and stay together. I have seen choral reading done in many classes I have taught in and believe it works very well, especially for the fourth grade classroom that I taught in. They seemed to love it!
I absolutely love reader's theater, as well! I remember in elementary school we got to do a reader's theater for Christmas and I was the reindeer Prancer. I will never forget how proud I was. In my immersive class last semester we did a reader's theater event with poems. It was like a reader's theater and choral reading put together in which all of the children in different grades had their own poem(s) and different groups. Each student of small group of students were assigned different lines. After about four weeks we had a performance at Minnetrista where all of the children's parents came and watched the performances. There was a great turn out and it was fun to watch fluency play a big part as they students became better and better with reading the poems. I believe that reader's theater is one of the greatest strategies for achieving fluency, since it is fun!
You must know how to comprehend to be fluent. I totally agree that we should apply these strategies within our classroom!