Chapter 8 of Routman's book on teaching comprehension was quite eye opening. It really made me pause and think about what I do, or don't do in my own classroom. I really feel teaching comprehension is extremely difficult and an area that I could improve in. I am guilty of being caught up in teaching sight words and vocabulary. I do feel this is so important though, especially with my students that are so language delayed. I see them tripping over and skipping basic sight words which really hinders their fluency and their comprehension. So how can this not be a focus, really? Routman really made me stop and think when she said that we teach comprehension strategies in isolation but that's not what we do as good readers, we do several strategies simultaneously. How do you get inside a little persons brain though? How do you truly understand what they are thinking and comprehending? I struggle with this especially with my little ones that lack so much language and have difficulty expressing themselves anyway. In reflecting on my own teaching I definitely need to model this more, talk it out and show them the strategies so they truly understand.
In this chapter I really like how Routman has the try it and apply it after each strategy. Having her basically walk you through what to do and how to do it is extremely beneficial. It really helps to create a clear picture of the expectation and result. This is something I will most definitely use with my students and may even type it up to keep in my notebook where it is handy!!
I love the "Try It, Apply It" sections as well! A couple of them reminded me of your little students. One suggested shorter pieces and another writing about the gist of the story which for yours making a picture would most likely be more appropriate. She also suggests authentic literature which you have in abundance! We will have to keep this all in mind as we work on your library so that your students have extensive meaningful support in their language and reading development. This is gives us the direction we were seeking, now to find the time!
ReplyDeleteYou are asking some deep questions!! I think the programs we're often required to use with certain students focus overwhelmingly on letters, sounds, sight words, etc. (not the comprehension part!) because it's more straightforward to measure. I started wondering before I left my K classroom last year, "Just because it's easy to measure, does that mean it's valuable information??" And how do we validate comprehension and measure it in a way that serves our kids' needs but puts it "up there" with the other data (sight words, etc.) that we usually collect? I'm still searching for answers myself!! :-)
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