Comprehension Continued:)
Middle School: As students get older most of the content they read in school is non-fiction text, therefore it is crucial that we expose students to nonfiction texts to improve their reading comprehension. This is perfect for middle school content! :) Please read this and this article, and then respond to the prompt below.
Elementary: After watching Lessons 6-7, please respond to the following prompt:
Prompt: Review these best practices. Are you currently using any of these practices in your classroom to plan for comprehension instruction? Based on what you’ve learned so far, will you be making any changes? If so, what will you change?
Rebecca Minerd and Monelle Dalman
With the use of Jacob’s Ladders encouraged by CCSS’s REACH Program, I have definitely incorporated Complex Texts and make them more accessible to students through reading aloud to and along with students, as well as, utilizing technology, especially Nearpod and Curipod. I do not create text sets, but scaffold as necessary.
ReplyDeleteWould love to see the Jacob's ladder sometime. Seems to have lots of critical thinking which we have discussed lots in tier 3 meetings this week.
DeleteI am currently using read alouds in some units this year. It has really been my first attempt at explicit literacy instruction in PE class.
ReplyDeleteBased on what I have learned I will choose complex texts. Before reading I can use visual text for background knowledge. While reading aloud I will pause for some think aloud time as well. I will also consider adding some informational text instead of jumping ot the hook text.
My students are very excited about the PE read alouds and talk about them in class.
DeleteThe giving think time is always a struggle for me- I want my kiddos to think but I don't want to give them too much time for their minds to wander away. I have found that the questioning I can incorporate in Curi helps guide my think time and I can visibly see them draw or write to gauge their engagement.
DeleteAmanda, I very much agree with you about struggling with think time. I've always struggled to embrace silence. As a teacher, I always feel like if someone isn't talking... I need to fill that silence, and it often means I don't provide enough think time. I second the use of Curipod for this reason. It definitely helps me be more intentional with this.
DeleteWhile reading a text with students, we read the text multiple times. I will read it the first time and then give students a chance to read it aloud or vice versa. I am continuing to model stopping at certain points in the text, such as after a paragraph or after a section in a nonfiction text, to check for understanding of the vocabulary and important ideas. I have students underline or circle key terms and ideas. I am also modeling think-alouds, making connections, and making predictions when doing this. I also like to use graphic organizers to help students organize their thoughts and better understand the text. I would like to incorporate science and social studies into the texts we are reading more, as well as giving students writing time to answer a prompt or question about the topic or text that was read and discussed.
ReplyDeleteI use the text sets, including videos, AI generated texts, as well as Epic texts to increase background knowledge, as well as tie everything together. I would like to use more of the think aloud stems before and after units as well as individual texts. These stems would also be useful to incorporate during our read alouds.
ReplyDeleteI love the text sets in Epic. I also like the thinking stem " I wonder", and how we are using this in our morning announcements. I think it's great for our students to know that adults can wonder also!
DeleteAgreed! I think the Epic texts has a large variety of books that the students enjoy reading. Everytime I finish a topic in Science or SS, they go into Epic or Myon to find more interesting facts.
DeleteThe number one thing I can say I do all the time,just not in reading) is think-aloud. I don't think it is explicit sometimes. Some may call it great teaching, but I call it ADHD with old age. I will be reading something to the class from a website or passage and have in mind the vocabulary, the content I want to emphasize, but I always add something, especially with the stems "This reminds me of" and "I wonder if". As for me, I learn when I can connect with something; therefore, comprehension of material that I can find a connection is set in my long term memory(well, theoretically). I believe this is true for my students as well. Of all the best practices, I think I could change/use more text sets. We have programs(I use Readworks the most) that give us sets which share a common content in different genres. I need to find those sets more often.
ReplyDeleteI think it’s great that you add your own thoughts and connections. These unplanned connections and moments of discussion can be so beneficial for students in making their own connections, as well as engaging them in the content.
DeleteI think even though it may not always be purposeful, modeling your thinking is great for the students to see and hear. I think it is great teaching! Just as we model reading fluently for kids, modeling our thinking out loud can help them to know what exactly their brains should be doing when they are reading and learning as well. Connection is another great tool to teach our students. Hopefully, the background knowledge we have been giving them is providing more opportunities for connections when they are reading.
DeleteI agree 100%! I also think we model this often with our morning announcements in the "I wonder . . . " questioning.
DeleteAs a math teacher, I integrate various strategies to enhance students' comprehension, particularly in understanding word problems. While my primary focus is on mathematical concepts, I do use the gradual release of responsibility model to guide students from explicit instruction to independent problem-solving. I also implement graphic organizers and concept maps to help students visualize mathematical relationships and organize information, which helps them comprehend more complex word problems. Incorporating these strategies into math instruction supports students in developing their mathematical skills and also their comprehension skills when solving math problems.
ReplyDeleteI spend a lot of time reading and reviewing text with my students. I definitely believe that getting them to interact with the text by having them find the main idea, paraphrasing sections, making inferences, & personal connections deepens their understanding. These strategies have to be explicitly taught as most students do not have a full grasp on how to interact with the text. Most students request to have the questions to answer then they seek out key words to merely get a grade rather than try to use the text to increase their own understanding. I definitely believe I need to spend more time helping students learn strategies to interact with their text. Everything from main idea and paraphrasing to locating key vocabulary and using their own background knowledge to answer critical thinking questions.
ReplyDeleteOne of the comprehension strategies I try to use often is "think alouds". When students can hear our thoughts and how we try to "fix" a problem, this allows them to feel safe to make mistakes and understand that there are strategies to help fix our mistakes. I believe think alouds are very powerful in all subjects in order to model the cognitive process to answer questions and solve problems.
ReplyDelete"Think alouds" I believe are SO important for our students. We can demonstrate to them our thought processes and allow them to "mirror" us. I agree that this helps them feel safe and increases the chance that they will participate without feeling so scared. It also shows them that it is okay not to immediately know an answer or to understand something.
DeleteOne thing that I feel like helps with comprehension in my classroom is think alouds. I often will prompt my students thinking by stopping throughout the passage to add comments or my own experiences. My students are great at making connections to things they have learned in class or that they have experienced at home to what we are learning in their assignments. I feel as if the think alouds allow my students to slow down and actually think about what is being said in the passages which increases their comprehension.
ReplyDeleteTeaching students the "think aloud" strategy I think is critically important. I think this strategy will not just help them with reading comprehension but with life skills. If students master thinking aloud then it will become natural and help them do it in all areas of their lives. This will help them become critical thinkers and problem solvers which are necessary to be successful later in life.
DeleteThink alouds for students even in math is key for them to have an understanding.
DeleteThroughout the day, I am using all of these practices. I use the gradual release as I am introducing new concepts. I am trying to find ways to add in more collaboration opportunities for my students. The think-aloud stems are phrases that I use a lot throughout the day in all the subject areas, not just reading. I have noticed my students using them too! I include a lot of the comprehension lesson framework components in my lesson plans. I have the framework downloaded and saved so I can access it when planning lessons. I do not include it in the lesson plans because I want to keep them more student and learning coach friendly. At this time, I am going to continue to incorporate the best practices through our day and make modifications as needed.
ReplyDeleteWhen planning lessons for comprehension, I realize that I typically use the Gradual Release of Responsibility ( I do, we do, you do it together, and you do it alone). I always read a passage so students can hear how words should be pronounced, then we read together, I let them read with a partner, and then they read independently (cold reads). I notice that the students feel more comfortable with the passage after much practice and more secure when they are reading. I would like to integrate more Think Aloud Stems to allow students to think about text, answers, and solutions outside of their comfort zone. Thinking Stems will allow them to express their thoughts more than holding them in. Kids are curious and they are always wondering, and I think if I integrate this into my classroom; then my student's curiosity will open up a new adventure in learning.
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of using more think aloud stems. It follows along with our "I Wonder" during morning announcements!
DeleteThere are many things I think my classroom already utilizes well like graphic organizers, read alouds and read withs segments, and the integration of technology. I do think that I use think aloud questioning techniques, but I feel I could be alot more intentional with this strategy. I definitely plan to incorporate it more next week and build on this pattern. I think that vocabulary instruction has definitely improved this year, as I've moved to Curipod for interactive vocabulary practice and discussion. I've seen vocab comprehension improve so much over simply copying definitions. I would also like to incorporate more text sets. I try to work in NewsELA and CommonLit articles as I can, but I think it would benefit students to be able to access these supplemental reading from the website as well. I plan to work toward that in our next unit.
ReplyDeleteReadworks has good text sets. I'm thinking Curipod is a great way to do many of these strategies.
DeleteWhen I see students working on Social Studies assignments in Go Guardian, I love to see the way you have them display information in different ways. I am sure some of this is coming from texts they are reading but also from listening to you teach and going back over any notes you have given them. That's comprehension too! I agree that articles are a great way to have them continue to connect what they are learning in class.
DeleteOne thing that I feel that I need to incorporate more within my instruction is the use of think-aloud-stems. I used these when I taught 3rd grade but now appreciate that they have value in middle school as well. I think by sharing my thoughts and allowing them to respond to the same stem will help students become more involved in the reading. I particularly want to have students share their thoughts to the following stems: I didn't expect... , I changed my mind about...This is similar to...and This is different than...
ReplyDeleteI like your think- aloud stem ideas! I think it gives them a starting point for their own thoughts.
DeleteI use multiple instructional strategies for comprehension but I am always looking for ways to improve. I currently use the following strategies: explicit instruction with gradual release of responsibility, think alouds, mediator or text, content rich instruction, complex texts, text sets (in myOn & Epic), and graphic organizers. Even though I use all these strategies, I know I can dive deeper into each statige. I am planning on using for graphic organizers. I also want o use more writing with the comprehension such as prediction writing and changing the ending of stories and relate the story to something we have already read. As a kindergarten teacher for over 15 years, I model and pause to ensure comprehension naturally. The younger students need lots of practice with words and their vocabulary is not a deep so I therefore think like a student and ensure they understand the content vocabulary.
ReplyDeleteI love using a mixture of strategies, but I always try to use the Think Aloud strategy across the board. I feel like this is so important for students as we see each day that so many of them struggling to think on their own. It's like some of their minds are just blank canvases as they read or hear new information. They aren't sure what to do with it. Think Alouds help them to understand the process of thinking. I've always loved graphic organizers as well especially in teaching text structures, but I feel like my implementation of this hasn't been as structured as it once was. This is an area I need to adjust.
ReplyDelete