In order to make students active participants in comprehension we
must provide many opportunities for them to work with strategies. This week we
will continue the discussion about the importance of explicitly teaching
students how to achieve mastery in the seven areas of comprehension.
This is the third blog post of a series on strategies to help
students comprehend within all the areas of comprehension. This post will
cover; “determining theme,” “Synthesize Information,” and “Fix-Up Strategies”
(See previous blog posts to review the seven areas of comprehension and the
first two strategies.)
Area
of Comprehension: Determine the most important
ideas or themes- Proficient
readers understand the most significant events in fiction, and the main ideas
in nonfiction.
Strategy: Chart
To determine importance, you consciously prioritize
information to make decisions about what’s essential and what is less
essential. In
order to make this process more visible for students, model for the students
using a gradual release.
Start by reading an article or short story to the class. While reading highlight the details you feel may be important and make notes in the margin about why you think it is important. Use a chart with three columns (main idea, details, and response: lingering thoughts questions, and connections) to sort the important information. Read through the highlighted section and the notes to sort the first half of the article. Have the students work together to complete the chart. Help students to understand they are not searching for a right answer, but trying to understand their reading deeper. Once the chart is done, model summarizing the information. Then release students to try the rest of the article on their own.
Start by reading an article or short story to the class. While reading highlight the details you feel may be important and make notes in the margin about why you think it is important. Use a chart with three columns (main idea, details, and response: lingering thoughts questions, and connections) to sort the important information. Read through the highlighted section and the notes to sort the first half of the article. Have the students work together to complete the chart. Help students to understand they are not searching for a right answer, but trying to understand their reading deeper. Once the chart is done, model summarizing the information. Then release students to try the rest of the article on their own.
Area
of Comprehension: Synthesize information- Proficient readers can
figure out how parts of a text fit together, and understand cause/effect.
Strategy: Somebody
Wanted But So
Somebody
wanted but so is intended to help students think about the text and pull out
the most critical pieces of information. This strategy can be used with both
fiction and nonfiction. It is different than a retell, because a retell
recounts the text in the correct order while a summary provides the essence of
the text.
Area of Comprehension: Use "fix-up" strategies
(monitor for meaning)- Proficient readers monitor their own understanding, fix
confusion as it arises, and understand new vocabulary.
Strategy: Syntax
Surgery
The
strategy syntax surgery is a good fit to help students clarify confusions that
might occur while reading. To use this strategy students must be able to write
and draw on the text. Students will be looking for how one word, phrase,
sentence, or figure connects to other parts by drawing lines and arrows
connecting the parts.
To see some strategies in action,
watch this video.
(You will see a combination of a signpost, sketch to stretch, and syntax
surgery. The video is about 12 minutes.)
Strategies
from: Reading Nonfiction: Notice&Note Stances, Signposts, and
Strategies and Notice and Note: Strategies for Close
Reading by Kylene Beers and Robert E. Probst
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