Katrina Hankins Blog Post 5--Teaching Comprehension

I reread this Chapter 8 of Routman’s book because so many people have listened to their students read either using an IRI or DRA and expressed concerns about their comprehension.  Even Routman expresses what we know is true regarding the current state of affairs for many our readers when she says, “We are turning out lots of superficial readers.”  Yes, they may sound good but they have no idea what they are reading.  So philosophically I ask, if they are not getting the meaning from what they read, are they really reading?  I have to say that they are not. 

Now the next question is for us.  How do we help them become real readers and even dare to go more deeply into comprehending what they read?  My answer has always been to let them read and let them talk.  Even Routman says to start with what they are reading.  Letting them choose is a must.  Giving them time to read and talk about it only makes sense otherwise why bother saying that you allow choice.  In addition, we must support their reading with explicit instruction.  This gets a bit tricky because we often go on and on beating a strategy in day after day then wondering why they don’t get better as a reader.  Reading is complex and highly personal.  One strategy will never do.  Yes, we can and should model and instruct the strategies that are essential for reading but we have to make them applicable and personal.  The only way I know to do it is to conference with them, provide the feedback that they need when they need it, and continue to get them to read and apply many different strategies as they are appropriate for the text they are reading.  This can obviously be done with conferencing but it also can be done through peer discussions and writing too.

A fourth grade teacher recently approached me about student self-assessment as a missing piece in our efforts to raise student achievement.  Just as we provide the “think aloud” for students to see how readers comprehend and use strategies to make meaningful connections to text, so too should students.  We do need to encourage and guide our students to process their abilities and metacognition so that they are in tune with themselves as readers and therefore continue to grow in their abilities.  I am so looking forward to this teacher providing a look as self-assessment as professional development in the near future so that we are able to continue to help our students to sift through the complex process of reading and find a meaningful activity that they will enjoy.  That, I think, will help make real lifelong readers since reading will no longer be reduced to a basic task of calling out a bunch of words from a page.  It may actually become fun!