Erica, a fifth grader, reads grade
level passages at a rate of 177 words correct per minute, or 30% faster
than grade level norms. When asked to retell what she has read, Erica
struggles and is able to give little to no information from about the
text. Many other children in Erica's class also read well above grade
level expectations for fluency rate (or automaticity), but the teacher
laments that they struggle with comprehension and using appropriate
expression and intonation while they read. What is going on here? What
advice can you offer the teacher? Write a memo to the teacher from the
viewpoint of the school's Reading Specialist. Give the teacher and
explanation for the phenomenon and offer her advice on dealing with the
situation. Please keep the memo to no more than 400 words. Post it to
your blog and name the posting "Module 3: Mock Memo from a Reading
Specialist."
To whom it may concern:
Erika is obviously focusing on the individual letters and sounds of a text rather than trying to construct meaning. The speed at which your students are reading doesn't really mean anything unless they are able to comprehend what they are reading. To help your students begin to comprehend their reading, I would suggest beginning with reading aloud. Stop during your reading and ask students basic comprehension questions. Their reading practices will reflect yous, so help them start good reading habits. Fill out story maps together as a class to start practicing pulling out key details from the text.
Proficient readers often make miscues, so encourage your students to focus on the meaning of what they are reading. If they make a mistake, it is fine as long as they are still understanding what they are reading.
Allow students to keep sticky notes nearby when they are reading. If they have questions, find something interesting, or make a connection while they are reading, they can make note of it on the sticky note. They can then trade with a partner to see what their partner gained from the text to gain new insight.
I hope these suggestions help Erika become a more proficient reader.
Hi Sharla,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that doing read aloud is an effective way start to helping the student comprehension of the text.When I do read aloud, I would begin by giving them a brief summary of the book and ask them to make prediction. Giving them a summary of the book helps activate their prior knowledge. Also, I would do a picture walk with the students and keeping the ending a mystery for them to make prediction, this helps grasp their interest. In your letter, you suggested that the teacher use story maps together with the class to get the main ideas from the text. I forgot to include in my letter about using graphic organizer as a way to help the students with comprehension. I like your idea of using sticky notes to write down connections and questions.