READ 3204

Fundamentals of Reading InstructionTuesday, February 16, 2010

Announcements• How is the LSS project with Voice Thread going?• Mary Lois Staton Conference: THIS AFTERNOON~ Feb. 16th

• Tar River Reading Council Meeting: Feb. 18th 4:30 @ St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church

• Scholastic Book Order – books are here. New brochures?• February 23rd – Group 1 LSS Due• February 25th – Second literature circle meeting (complete role sheet (add 2

discussion questions) AND response activity)• Practicum Placements are Available:

– By Thursday, March 4th, submit a “Practicum Interview Protocol and Plan,” including your assigned school and teacher, an interview protocol (at least 4 interview questions about his/her beliefs about reading, how s/he teaches reading in her classroom, and what materials s/he typically uses when providing reading instruction), and the date(s)/time(s) you have arranged to complete your practicum experience.

Review

Literature Circle Groups for Listen to the WindFeedback: Talking in the group strengthened

comprehension for most of you, group members brought out details and connections you did not have before you met, you think this will work in your future classrooms, some ran out of things to talk about

Wild About Books by Judy Sierra and Marc Brown

Literature Circles– Student choice in reading materials– Authentic student talk about text to achieve deeper comprehension– Move away from traditional classroom discourse (teacher initiates,

student responds, teacher evaluates)– Scaffold student talk (gradual release of responsibility to the learner – L.

Vygotsky)– Roles– “All learning is social at first, with an expert guiding the learning through

scaffolding. An expert teacher gradually turns over the responsibility of the task to the learner, moving back in to the dialogue as needed.”

– Strategies such as non-evaluative responses (hmmmm … ok…) tell students that they are to continue the dialogue

– Foster a classroom environment in which collaborative work and sharing of ideas is promoted.

Explicit vs. Implicit Comprehension Questions

• Explicit comprehension questions:– “answers are right there”– Answers are stated directly in the text– When you ask these, you assess whether the student can

understand and recall information stated directly by an author• Implicit comprehension questions:

– Readers use clues in the text and background knowledge to make inferences in order to answer

– When you ask these you assess reader’s inferring abilities– Requires critical thinking– Often invites discussion

For the next lit. circles meeting

February 25th

What should we do different? How can we make it better?

Add to your role sheet …• EACH PERSON IN THE GROUP MUST COME UP WITH 2

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS (open-ended critical thinking). Write them at the bottom or on the back of your role sheet. The discussion leader must come up with 5.

See handout.

Comprehension ….

• Thinking while reading, making meaning from print

“The ABCs of performing highly effective think alouds”

• What is this article about?• In groups, write 3 test questions related to the

content in this article.

Comprehension strategy instruction

• Goal: – Students who are equipped with strategies that

will help them navigate unfamiliar text they read on their own

• Teachers play a critical role in helping students develop comprehension strategies

1. Introduce the strategy

2. Model it

3. Gradually release responsibility

An example of Comprehension Strategy Instruction: Making Inferences

A Focus on InferringUse what you know to figure something out “Read between the lines” “Make a good guess”Use your background knowledge/schema and the text to construct

main idea, predict, hypothesize.

The baby is probably crying because something is wrong, he needs something, is uncomfortable, etc.

Kids make inferences all the time in their daily lives; we just need to bring it to their attention, name it, teach them how it works, and teach them how to apply it to their reading.

Prediction or Inference?!

• We predict outcomes, events, or actions that are confirmed or contradicted by the end of the story. Inferences are more open-ended and may remain unresolved at the end of the story.

Introduce the strategy: Bring inferential thinking to kids’ attention and name it

• Imagine that the principal walks in the classroom with a disgruntled look on his face, slowly shakes his head, lowers it, and walks up to your friend’s desk. What can you infer?– By reading his body language and his facial expressions you can make

an inference about his intentions even though he hasn’t said anything yet.

• Think about TV mysteries … from Scooby Doo to Law & Order– Viewers use clues to help guess the identity of the bad guy/girl and to

get to the bottom of the case. Inferences are based on evidence, evidence from the text (script) and the animation.

Examine the evidence in order to make inferences about my mystery neighbors. Remember that each inference you make must be directly supported by evidence!

Inferring Stems:My guess is …Maybe …Perhaps …It could be that …This could mean …I predict …I infer …

Comics

For Thursday …

Read “What every teacher needs to know about comprehension”