Teaching for Understanding:
Comprehension Strategies for Elementary Readers
Teaching for understanding goes far beyond imparting the “basic skills.” When I work with students I am often reminded that they sometimes have no idea why they are doing what they are doing. I recently visited a classroom and the students were busy making a story map in small groups. When I asked why they were doing the activity, their answers were: “So we’ll make a good grade.” “So we’ll do good on the TAKS test.” I’m sure their teacher had an objective in mind and told it to them. I also am sure she wants them to do well on the TAKS test. She wants her students to have a better understanding of how stories work so they can read and write stories with more understandings of the plot and sequencing of the story. However, because the students did not know this, it never transfers to reading and writing and becomes a useless waste of time.
Teachers in this workshop will get practical ideas and strategies for building comprehension in reading for elementary readers. Some of the following components will be included:
- Teaching skills as a part of a relevant and meaningful literacy experience
- Informal reading conferences
- Conversation, Collaboration, and Learning through Others: Book Clubs, Literature Circles, etc.
- Promoting fluency through repeated readings, modeled reading, retellings, guided practice
- Text solving strategies
- Self monitoring strategies
- Reciprocal Teaching
- Guided Reading: Grouping, What to Teach, Framework for a Guided Reading Lesson
