Comprehension and Think-Alouds

What does it mean to comprehend?  Can you read the text and fully comprehend its meaning?  Or can you just think about the pictures and fully comprehend its meaning?  No.  In order to comprehend, you must do both - read the text and think about the text.

This activity is called a "Reading Salad."  Rather than just telling your students that you have to think and read, show them.  This demonstration will help them understand that comprehension is a combination of both.  

http://www.readingresource.net/strategiesforreadingcomprehension.html

On red note cards, write 'text.'  On green note cards, write 'thinking.'  As you read aloud to the class, have two students volunteer to each hold a bucket.  Each time you read the text, have them add a red note card to a third bucket.  Every time you stop to think about the text, have them add a green note card to the third bucket.  At the end of the story, look at the reading salad that the class created.  Have a conversation with the students about how reading is a combination of both reading the text and thinking about the meaning behind the words.

In Pardo's article, she discusses what leads to comprehension.  Comprehension is influenced by the interaction and transaction of information between the context/setting, reader, and text.  She recommended that teachers support their students' comprehension by doing the following:

• Teach vocabulary words.
• Teach decoding skills so students can read the words quickly.
• Build knowledge of topic prior to reading.

In Cunningham and Allington's text, they wrote about a technique titled, "The Oprah Winfrey Interview."  This technique allows for students to think aloud with one another and build comprehension.  For the interview, you set up a "show" setting and allow a couple students to sit up front like the guest stars.  Ask a few questions that allow for discussion such as what was the problem, why did this happen, etc.  Then ask the other guest star if they agree.  This allows for the two students to share ideas and think-aloud about the text at hand. 

After reading the articles, I still have a couple of questions.

1. Can students still benefit from reading aloud discussing the text with one other?

2. If comprehension is necessary for students to succeed in reading, how can you assess to make sure students are comprehending the text?  Is an Accelerated Reading (A.R.) type program best?

Making Words

How do you build word knowledge?  Is it by handing a student a dictionary and saying learn all these words?  The answer is no.  It is not that simple.  Building word knowledge takes time, but, if taught effectively, it can can work great for students.  

In Patricia and James Cunningham's article, they discuss lesson planning and ideas for activities involving making words.  One idea they shared was to give the students an assortment of letters.  From these letters, the students have to build as many words as they can.  

For example, you give them the letters C A W T P.

They respond with: cap, cat, pat, paw, tap

By giving them the opportunity to build words themselves, you can assess and see how wide or narrow their word knowledge is and check for false words (for example, taw is not a word).

In Ruth Yopp and Hallie Yopp's article, they presented another great way to work on making words with students.  For the lesson, you have students read a passage and ask each student to pick out the ten most important words.  This will allow students to work on focusing on the key points throughout the text while also building their word span.

One idea I found that seemed like a great lesson plan is called Word Family and pictured below.  You could do this with any objects so maybe a spider with multiple rhyming legs for Halloween or a snowman for the winter.  The teacher provides the base letters, like -all below.  Then, the students must list as many words as they can that have those same base letters, like call, fall, tall.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/244249979763423466/

These all seem like great ways to teach students how to make words.  However, when I was younger I mostly remember singing rhyming songs or laughing with friends as we tried to create silly words that rhymed with one another.  What about you?

1. Do you remember playing rhyming games when you were younger and trying to create words?

2. Does it help when creating words to know how to make them rhyme with one another?

3. What were some techniques your teachers used to help you when you were first learning to make words?

Wide Reading

Wide reading is reading a ton.  It is a contrast to narrow reading.  In the classroom, give students time to read.  Allow them to read different books like maybe articles from National Geographic or biographies about historical figures.  At school, teachers can promote reading by offering fun reading events.  In my first grade class, we got to bring our sleeping bags and go "camping" in the classroom. We were able to spread out and read whatever books we chose for a period of time.

Fluency

IENJOYEDREADINGABOUTFLUENCYANDHOWBESTTOTEACHITTOMYSTUDENTS.  Can you read this correctly and efficiently?  If you answered 'yes,' then you have developed fluency.  As fluent readers, we have the ability to decode the words and add the proper inflections while still understanding what we are reading.

According to Rasinski's article, there are 3 important characteristics of reading fluency that help build a reader's comprehension:

1. Accuracy in word decoding - "The reader must be able to sound out the word."
2. Automatic processing - being able to sound out the words naturally and easily so the thought can be more focused on understanding the meaning of the text
3. Prosodic reading - acknowledging punctuation and expressing the words

On Pinterest, I found one activity that will help students with prosodic reading.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200128777163762281/

For the activity, each student is given the same paragraph.  Then, they are assigned a genre.  Each student then must read the paragraph in the tone and genre identified on the card above.  This activity will help students learn different way to express the words on the page and ultimately improve their reading fluency.

When testing a student's reading fluency, Deeney's article points out some things to look for:

• accuracy
• rate
• prosody - ability to read smoothly

As teachers, we can help improve a student's fluency by rereading books, having them echo how we say a sentence, or by continuing to practice sight words.

1. Should all teachers be required to have sight words hanging around their classrooms?  It can provide an easy and beneficial way for students to learn those words and improve their reading.

2. Reading aloud is a great way for students to practice fluency by hearing how you pronounce the words and decode the sentences.  Is there a good technique for having time each day to read aloud to the students while also allowing them time to read aloud to one another and practice fluency?