june 21- comprehension

Comprehension is a vital component of reading, and one that is very important for teachers to understand so they can accomplish teaching it to students successfully. Comprehension is a complex process that has been understood and explained in a number of ways, the RAND Reading Study Group said that comprehension is “the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language”. However, a more common definition is a process in which readers construct meaning by interacting with a text through the combination of prior knowledge and previous experience, information in the text, and the stance the reader takes in relationship to the text. Comprehension happens in the transaction between the reader and the text, which seems like an obvious statement, but it is important to consider. It is also important to understand that the more background knowledge a reader has that connects with the text being read, the more likely the reader will be able to make sense of what is being read. This background knowledge is called the schema, and simply means what you already know. Schema theory involves the storage of various kinds of information in long-term memory. When a student reads, the information needed goes to the short term memory, which shifts information, by keeping what is immediately pertinent and allowing less pertinent information to slip back into the long term memory. There are so many factors that effect a readers ability to comprehend a text, including the readers skills, knowledge, cognitive development, culture, and purpose. While it is hard for a teacher to control these things, teachers can control the motivation, which can influence the interest, purpose, emotion, or persistence with which a reader engages with the text.
     In order to become a successful comprehension teacher, there are several things to focus on. As a teacher you must teach decoding skills, providing students with phonemic awareness instruction at all times, help students build fluency by engaging in repeated readings, read out loud daily, build and activate prior knowledge before reading so that information connected with concepts in the text are more easily accessible, teach vocabulary words, that are necessary for making meaning with the text, engage students in personal responses to text through writing and during student-led discussions. Teachers have to provide the framework for the text, including the genre, vocabulary, language, and even the specific word choices are all important to students comprehension success. Teachers must also understand that readers interact with a text in ways that are unique to the place, situation, and purpose for reading. Because all of the information for teaching student comprehension is very complex, the Comprehension Matrix, can help teachers to apply their knowledge of the various factors that effect comprehension to design pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading activities to help students comprehend and learn to use a variety of comprehension strategies. There are some theories that are important for a teacher to understand, including the transactional theory that says because each reader brings different experiences to a reading, each reader will take away a different meaning. A constructivist theory of learning suggests that learners actively construct their own knowledge. It suggests that readers construct meaning by making connections between the text and their prior knowledge.
    All of this information is significant to teachers understanding of how to teach comprehension, but it is also important to have an understanding of how to relate to children what they are being taught. The Velcro Theory is a way to explain to young elementary school children the process of making connections. As a teacher you would say, it is easier to remember something if we can stick it onto something else that is already in our heads; making this connection helps us to understand what we are reading. Another suggestion to explaining and relating visualization is “mind movies” where you encourage students to explain, draw, and think about what is in their heads when they are read something. This is an important strategy for students as they move from picture books to chapter books, and encourages imagination and a realization of that. The “I wonders” is also great, it allows students to participate by asking questions, before, during and after. Expert readers ask questions at all three stages, and this helps students to develop this skill. Many teachers right down the questions as they come, to display them to the children. Then at the end they go back and answer them, if they cannot answer them based of the knowledge of the text, they must use inference skills. This activity is great because it works on two parts of comprehension at once. Comprehension is such a vital part of reading, and developing good readers in the classroom. It is a complex topic, and one that can be very overwhelming to teachers, these articles provide a breakdown of the topic, and the Comprehension Matrix allows you, as the teacher, to take the process step by step, just as you will have your students do.

june 21- comprehension

            Comprehension is a vital component of reading, and one that is very important for teachers to understand so they can accomplish teaching it to students successfully. Comprehension is a complex process that has been understood and explained in a number of ways, the RAND Reading Study Group said that comprehension is “the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing meaning through interaction and involvement with written language”. However, a more common definition is a process in which readers construct meaning by interacting with a text through the combination of prior knowledge and previous experience, information in the text, and the stance the reader takes in relationship to the text. Comprehension happens in the transaction between the reader and the text, which seems like an obvious statement, but it is important to consider. It is also important to understand that the more background knowledge a reader has that connects with the text being read, the more likely the reader will be able to make sense of what is being read. This background knowledge is called the schema, and simply means what you already know. Schema theory involves the storage of various kinds of information in long-term memory. When a student reads, the information needed goes to the short term memory, which shifts information, by keeping what is immediately pertinent and allowing less pertinent information to slip back into the long term memory. There are so many factors that effect a readers ability to comprehend a text, including the readers skills, knowledge, cognitive development, culture, and purpose. While it is hard for a teacher to control these things, teachers can control the motivation, which can influence the interest, purpose, emotion, or persistence with which a reader engages with the text.
       In order to become a successful comprehension teacher, there are several things to focus on. As a teacher you must teach decoding skills, providing students with phonemic awareness instruction at all times, help students build fluency by engaging in repeated readings, read out loud daily, build and activate prior knowledge before reading so that information connected with concepts in the text are more easily accessible, teach vocabulary words, that are necessary for making meaning with the text, engage students in personal responses to text through writing and during student-led discussions. Teachers have to provide the framework for the text, including the genre, vocabulary, language, and even the specific word choices are all important to students comprehension success. Teachers must also understand that readers interact with a text in ways that are unique to the place, situation, and purpose for reading. Because all of the information for teaching student comprehension is very complex, the Comprehension Matrix, can help teachers to apply their knowledge of the various factors that effect comprehension to design pre-reading, during-reading, and post-reading activities to help students comprehend and learn to use a variety of comprehension strategies. There are some theories that are important for a teacher to understand, including the transactional theory that says because each reader brings different experiences to a reading, each reader will take away a different meaning. A constructivist theory of learning suggests that learners actively construct their own knowledge. It suggests that readers construct meaning by making connections between the text and their prior knowledge.
      All of this information is significant to teachers understanding of how to teach comprehension, but it is also important to have an understanding of how to relate to children what they are being taught. The Velcro Theory is a way to explain to young elementary school children the process of making connections. As a teacher you would say, it is easier to remember something if we can stick it onto something else that is already in our heads; making this connection helps us to understand what we are reading. Another suggestion to explaining and relating visualization is “mind movies” where you encourage students to explain, draw, and think about what is in their heads when they are read something. This is an important strategy for students as they move from picture books to chapter books, and encourages imagination and a realization of that. The “I wonders” is also great, it allows students to participate by asking questions, before, during and after. Expert readers ask questions at all three stages, and this helps students to develop this skill. Many teachers right down the questions as they come, to display them to the children. Then at the end they go back and answer them, if they cannot answer them based of the knowledge of the text, they must use inference skills. This activity is great because it works on two parts of comprehension at once. Comprehension is such a vital part of reading, and developing good readers in the classroom. It is a complex topic, and one that can be very overwhelming to teachers, these articles provide a breakdown of the topic, and the Comprehension Matrix allows you, as the teacher, to take the process step by step, just as you will have your students do.