Teelah Harris- Routman Chapter 8- Blog Post #5

Comprehension…something that we always discuss as a weakness for our students, but do we really know how to teach comprehension?  Comprehension is more than just strategies; it also includes the application of the strategies unconsciously.  Readers need to use the strategies consistently without thinking about it.  Routman makes the statement that, “we are turning out lots of superficial readers.”  I believe that statement is somewhat true.  Being a fifth grade teacher, we encounter many superficial readers.  Readers who can call all the words on the page, but have no idea what they have read.  These students usually get passed off as great readers because they have the word recognition and fluency.  As a fifth grade teacher, we struggle with trying to figure out how to “figure out” these students.  As an education system, we have to do better by providing students with the opportunity to use comprehension skills even in preschool.  These will allow students to create the foundation for reading that they need to succeed.  Routman suggests we introduce students to challenging and interesting text in order to become critical thinkers and problem solvers.  This generation of students are a “microwave generation.”  They want everything quick and fast.  Sometime comprehension takes time.  Rereading, annotating, or even survey a passage before reading all takes time to do.   These strategies work really well with helping to comprehend the text, but take time.  So while teaching comprehension, we have to teach patience.  Students need to practice and apply all strategies frequently and consistently to develop innate use.  According to Routman, “fluency without comprehension is not reading; it is calling words.”  As educators, we have to begin to train students to become readers.  We need to begin with the strategies early, so when students reach the upper elementary grades they are consistently using the strategies to become efficient readers.