Reading Comprehension:
Know it. Know how to teach it. Know how to recognize it.
What's the big deal?
Check out other stratgies
What it looks like.
Most importantly: Remember EVERY student is different! One strategy doesn't work for all!!
Why is it important to me?
Why does this matter to me? Why would I take the time to research about the differences in reading strategies when they all work towards the same goal? Reading comprehension, to me, is the most important tools that can be taught. It is also one of the tools that get shoved up under the rug or overlooked most days. Reading comprehension, as I have stated, holds much depth. If it isn’t taught and administered from the very beginning years at school then those who teacher the higher grades face a greater challenge because the younger grade teachers didn’t do their job. I believe it all starts with how a teacher approaches reading in Kindergarten. Most all the students starting out in Kindergarten don’t know how to read. Being an Intern in a Kindergarten classroom this year has taught me a lot. I have seen my student’s progress so much already in just a few short months. They have begun to read sight words, and now progressed into full sentences. What has really helped my kindergarteners become avid readers is teaching them how to not only read the words but also look at the pictures. I have tried to get my lower readers to learn context clues and make connections with what is going on so they can figure out what is going on. Not even just through that but it is also crucial for a teacher to model comprehension during read-alouds.
I thought about how what if I didn’t take the time to get help my readers begin practicing how to really comprehend a text. How far would they get until there is not turning back? Comprehension is easy to fake and students are smart when it comes to faking. There is an article called “Fake It Till You Make It” and it talks about how students have learned how to just slip under the rug of reading comprehension. They have figured out what to say just so they can get by. My biggest reason for this research is to be a well-informed teacher. If I know what reading comprehension looks like, what it sounds like, how important it is, and how to implement it, then I know that I will be less likely to have “fakers” in my classroom. I won’t be the teacher that is not in the know. Some teachers know their students are lacking in their reading comprehension but they are too busy with other things that they don’t take the time to find out how to administer helpful strategies to these students to help them succeed.
Read all about it!
1. McCandless Simons, Sandra . "PSRT- A reading comprehension strategy." JSTOR: Journal of Reading. Wiley on behalf of the International Reading Association, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/stable/pdfplus/40031947.pdf?acceptTC=true&jpdConfirm=true>.
2. King, Ph.D., FJ, Ludwika Goodson, M.S., and Faranak Rohani, Ph.D.. "Higher Order Thinking Skills." Center for Advancement of Learning and Assessment. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. <http://www.cala.fsu.edu/files/higher_order_thinking_skills.pdf>.
3. Brenna, Beverly. "How graphic novels support reading comprehension strategy development in children." Literacy UKLA. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2014. <http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/doi/10.1111/j.1741-4369.2011.00655.x/pdf>.
4. Youngs, S., & Serafini, F. (2011). Comprehension Strategies for Reading Historical FictionPicturebooks. Reading Teacher, 65(2), 115-124. doi:10.1002/TRTR.01014
5. Dewitz, P., Jones, J., & Leahy, S. (2009). Comprehension strategy instruction in core reading programs. Reading Research Quarterly, 44(2), 102-126. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/212125289?accountid=10639
6. Ahmadi, M. R., Ismail, H. N., & Abdullah, M. K. K. (2013). The importance of metacognitive reading strategy awareness in reading comprehension. English Language Teaching, 6(10), 235-244. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.jproxy.lib.ecu.edu/docview/1459136324?accountid=10639
Tar River Reading Council: Get involved!
Just like our students have to learn everyday I think it is crucial that we as teachers continue to learn! This is just a small way to learn from those teachers in your area. Collaborate with one another! Share Ideas!