Comprehension

Synthesis

Jetton and Shanahan
This chapter was particularly interesting to me because it did not seem, at first, to talk much at all about reading comprehension for adolescents.  Instead, the chapter began with a focus on teacher planning.  According to the authors, many components go into planning a lesson using disciplinary texts.  Some specific considerations mentioned were student identities, sociocultural factors, and purposes for reading.  This reading discussed that planning a lesson before it occurs is important, but using wisdom to make decisions on-the-spot is equally valuable.  Just as the students must be able to read and understand disciplinary texts, teachers must be able to "read" and understand their students.  As we have read in many other texts, motivation and engagement are key; hence, it is vital to offer choices to students.  In the academic disciplines, teachers must also teach strategies to help their students comprehend text.  The text mentioned that students should be able to activate prior knowledge, determine the importance in a text, use mental imagery, analyze the text structure, generate questions, make inferences, and monitor their comprehension.  These things do not necessarily occur implicitly; a teacher must model the skills and then provide opportunities for guided practice.  These strategies also look differently, depending on the academic context in which they are used (math, social studies, etc.).

Hinchman and Sheridan-Thomas
Similar to the previous reading, this chapter also discussed the value of modeling specific comprehension strategies and then providing opportunities for guided practice, as well as establishing a purpose for reading.  Some comprehension strategies mentioned are self-questioning, summarizing, inferencing, self-monitoring, connection, and analysis.  An important note at the close of the chapter says that reading comprehension "requires that students interact with one another, with the teacher, and with the text itself."  This is noteworthy because using one or two strategies correctly does not guarantee reading comprehension.  Students must activity engage in text-based discussions.  When considering comprehension, one must also consider the nature of the text which is being read.  Text must remain at an appropriate level of complexity.  Text complexity can be judged by evaluating the levels of meaning, density, text structure, and background knowledge.  Furthermore, quality questions must be asked to ensure comprehension.  And, as we saw in last week's readings, vocabulary must be taught before text can be comprehended fully.

Fisher, Frey, and Ross
This text, like the others, mentioned that there are many factors which can influence reading comprehension.  These include background knowledge, a purpose for reading, and word knowledge (vocabulary).  Teachers can practice several "instructional routines" to help their students better comprehend the texts they read.  This reading, like the others, states that teachers should model the strategies that they use while reading for their students.  Specifically, teachers should model their thought processes when encountering comprehension, vocabulary, text structures, and text features.  After modeling, students should be provided with opportunities to practice what the teacher has demonstrated.  In addition to modeling, teachers should allow students to engage in "reciprocal teaching," which allows students to become leaders in four particular areas: summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting.

Responses

Text to self
As an elementary school teacher, I teach all subjects (math, reading, social studies, and science), so these readings were very helpful for me in knowing how to monitor comprehension in all areas of my instruction, not just reading.  I also appreciate how all of the articles noted the importance of active engagement with texts, not simply passive reading or listening.  In my classroom, I like for everyone to get involved because involvement fosters greater understanding, and the texts gave me some ideas for how I can facilitate class discussions and participation.  The sections of the readings that talked about modeling were also interesting and useful to me.  I realized that I often expect my students to "just know" what I'm thinking or how to use a specific strategy, when they actually need me to show them how to do it first before providing opportunities for practice.

Text to text
This week's readings reminded me a lot of last week's readings because vocabulary and comprehension interact so directly with each other.  Without an adequate vocabulary, students cannot comprehend.  Furthermore, neither vocabulary nor comprehension is just learned; both must be directly taught.  Both last week's readings and this week's readings discussed the importance of finding interesting texts for students to read so that they stay engaged, as well.  In one of my professional development trainings with Norman Public Schools, we read an article about the need for choosing appropriate questions that promote higher-level thinking to encourage comprehension, and this week's readings also seemed to advocate for that.

Text to world
All of these chapters relate to literacy in general because, without comprehension, there is really no point in reading at all.  Words are simply words without a thorough understanding of what they mean.  I believe that one of the reasons why many students do not enjoy reading is because they do not understand what they are being asked to read.  Personally, I would be bored by reading if it were solely about decoding words.  Once a valid purpose is established for reading and comprehending, students can begin to read for knowledge and pleasure, instead of reading to answer questions at the end of a chapter, as they are often asked to do in middle school and high school.

Questions

1.  Over and over, these readings seem to mention the importance of establishing a valid purpose for reading, keeping students interested and engaged, etc.  What are some practical ways to do that, given that the provided curriculum is often boring?

2.  How can I help a student to increase his or her background knowledge if she comes to me with limited prior experiences and no desire to read?

3.  How should I pair students for reciprocal teaching?  I have heard various thoughts about this.  Should I pair students with equal ability levels, or do a high-low pairing?  Please explain your reasoning.