Amanda Fortenberry, Routman, Chapter 8 - Reading Comprehension

Regie Routman in Chapter 8 of her book, Reading Essentials, clarifies the importance of teaching reading comprehension to our students.  She emphasizes the process and the application that teachers need to tell and show their students so they are able to use during independent reading times.  Routman iterates that reading comprehension needs to be modeled and practiced together so students are able to see, hear, and apply concepts of reading and language into their “strategies” of reading.  I made a personal connection to Shawn Wooten’s literacy presentation during D6 University as she explained and modeled similar ideas shared with Routman on ‘why read alouds are so important and how they help with all levels of the DOK.’  I’m happy to say we try really hard in 2^nd grade to teach Routman’s ‘the teaching of  reading comprehension to students’ by modeling and allowing them to practice as we consistently teach our students to make connections, identify and show supportive evidence with main idea/details, teach visualization, inferencing, synthesizing, and the importance of questioning texts before, during, and after reading takes place.  We teach each strategy, model it, and have the students practice independently, with partners, during small group (Daily 5-meet the teacher), and apply strategies with different lessons in other content areas and during their independent reading.  I also ask students to write me a letter, often 2-3 times a week, describing what they are reading and using some of the strategies mentioned above in their letter so I can see they are applying what has been modeled, taught, and practiced.  With reading comprehension strategies and applications, I am able to assess what they are strong and/or weak in in order to become more independent in their reading.  Thank you Routman for again emphasizing what we do in the classroom as an effective teaching practice that makes a difference in student achievement and success.