https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5 Dedicated to strategies that teachers may use to help teach comprehension in their students. en-us 2017-08-09 19:49:22 UTC 2017-08-10 22:13:34 UTC hello@padlet.com paige_visser https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528581 Previewing is a strategy used before reading that, according to Gunning (2016), "helps readers activate prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading" (p. 299).  Previewing in my classroom is called a "picture walk".  During this 1-2 minute picture walk, students are able to see what may be happening in the book and make predictions based only on the pictures, as they are instructed not to read the words yet.  This strategy is very beneficial for struggling readers because it gives them the opportunity to preview what will happen in the text, thus making it easier to use the picture clues to later decode tricky words.  Then, their comprehension will be positively impacted because of the increase in familiarity of the story. This is a strategy I teach early in the year and use daily during read alouds, reading groups, and I also encourage students to use it when reading to self.

I plan to teach this strategy by modeling it often for my students when I read a new story.  I will do this by thinking out loud and pointing out what I notice in the pictures, any connections I can make, and any questions I may have.  I plan to assess my students by asking them to take a picture walk and see what noticings and connections they can make.   ]]> 2017-08-09 20:47:08 UTC https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528581 paige_visser https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528653 Monitoring is an organizational strategy that, as Gunning (2016) says, is "being aware of one's comprehension and regulating it" (p. 296).  In first grade, this includes setting goals as a reader, stopping to summarize, self-correcting, and questioning during reading.  Monitoring also includes deciding what the main idea of the text is and constructing meaning from it.  Knowing the main idea provides a framework for "organizing, understanding, and remembering the essential details" of the text (Gunning, 2016, p. 301).  All students can benefit from monitoring whether they are high level readers or struggling readers.

I plan to teach Monitoring by modeling, allowing students to work with partners, and providing paper with organizers that students can fill in as they self-monitor.  I will assess this by reading with students and asking them to think aloud as they read so I can see how they are able to monitor their own reading. ]]> 2017-08-09 20:47:44 UTC https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528653 paige_visser https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528679 Activating Prior Knowledge is another pre-reading strategy that allows students to build their comprehension through their schema.  Gunning (2016) explains, “One definition of comprehension is that it is the process of building connection between what we know and what we do not know, or the new and the old” (p. 291).  Schema, or our prior knowledge, is something students can use to help them understand the story, and then build on it through the new information gained in the text.  As readers then open their book and begin to read, they begin to relate their experiences to what they are reading.  This, again, builds their comprehension (Gunning, 2016).  

I plan to teach this again by modeling and thinking aloud as I activate my own schema and relate it to the topic of the text being read.  I will assess students by asking them to write or draw on a piece of paper what they have in their own schema that may relate to the book being read.  I may also ask them to verbally define the word "schema" to ensure they understand what it means.    ]]> 2017-08-09 20:47:57 UTC https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528679 paige_visser https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528790 Summarizing is something beneficial to all students regardless of age, reading ability, or genre of text being read.  Gunning (2016) mentions that it is important to first teach summarizing as a verbal task rather than written, as it is easier for students to develop oral summaries before written ones.  In first grade, summarizing starts with a basic retelling.  We then move toward thinking about the story elements and main idea of a text.  When giving a reading assessment (DRA) to students, one question we always ask is: "What do you think was the most important part of the story? Why?"  This lends itself to summarizing and allows students to begin that higher level thinking.  This also leads to making inferences and beginning to interpret story events. 

I plan to teach Summarizing by first talking about the elements of a story (setting, characters, problem, solution, etc.).  Then, we will discuss the words beginning, middle, and end.  Using all of this information, I will model to students how to retell or summarize a story.  For my higher level readers, I may have them do a written retelling.  To assess this, I will simply ask students to retell a story after reading and ask them some questions about it.  I will make sure they are able to tell just the important details, but not EVERY thing that happened. ]]> 2017-08-09 20:49:08 UTC https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528790 paige_visser https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528837 Imaging, or as we call it in first grade, Visualizing, is a way for students to increase comprehension by creating a picture in their mind as they read.  We practice this a lot in my classroom and I often refer to it as "making a movie in your mind" which helps students to understand how to do it.  Gunning (2016) says that Imaging should be modeled, discussed, and guided to students so that they are able to practice it on their own.  It is important to model this with a text that provides many opportunities for students to visualize. Creating images serves three functions: "fostering understanding, retaining information, and monitoring for meaning" (Gunning, 2016, p. 319).  Imaging can be beneficial for any student struggling to understand a text and especially may work well for students who are visual learners.  It may be helpful for some students to actually draw a picture as they visualize if they are unable to do it in their mind alone. 

I plan to teaching Imaging by first reading students a short story without showing them the pictures.  While reading, I'll ask them to draw what they "see" in their mind.  We'll talk about how we create a movie in our mind as we listen to stories.  Eventually, we will move onto visualizing and talking about what we see in our minds.  I will assess this by asking students to visualize as I read and then asking them to draw what they visualized.    ]]> 2017-08-09 20:49:32 UTC https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528837 paige_visser https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528982 Making inferences is another strategy that can be used after reading a text.  This is something we teach toward to second half of the year in first grade.  Since many students at this age can be very literal thinkers, we have to push them to think outside the box and not be afraid to use their schema to aid in this.  Making inferences is explained by Gunning (2016) as, "the most important elaboration strategy" (p. 311).  Much of the information given in a story may be implied, especially in fiction texts.  Two things that may help students to make inferences are: building background on the subject and teaching specific strategy for inference-making.  The use of inferencing will greatly impact literal comprehension as long as sustained instruction on inferencing is a priority (Gunning, 2016).  

I plan to teach students how to make inferences by modeling.  I will think aloud and talk about what I see, what I know, and how I can use these ideas to help me make a prediction or an inference.  I will assess students by asking them to make inferences after reading and making sure their inferences are relevant to the book. ]]> 2017-08-09 20:50:41 UTC https://padlet.com/paige_visser/zs182v5zeif5/wish/180528982