Comprehension Literacy Log 1

Shanahan, T., Callison, K., Carriere, C., Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D., Schatschneider, C., & Torgesen, J. (2010). Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide (NCEE 2010-4038). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from whatworks.ed.gov/publications/practiceguides from Texas Women's University BlackBoard.

Miller, D. (2002). Reading with meaning: Teaching comprehension in the primary grades. Portland,ME: Stenhouse Publishers. ISBN 1571103074

Selecting Texts Purposefully

I agree with the reading comprehension recommendations in  Improving reading comprehension in kindergarten through 3rd grade: A practice guide.  I believe I am already doing most of it in my classroom right now and I felt proud of myself as I read through them.  I have been thinking about the relationships between the reader, the text, and the task as I've been reading about comprehension and the importance of the text has stood out for me.  Many of the recommendations in the practice guide state the need to choose an appropriate text for a lesson or task.  Familiar texts should be chosen when teaching a new genre, concept or strategy; familiar ideas or topics should be chosen when teaching about informational texts;  "Teachers should select texts that are compelling enough to spark a discussion," (Shanahan et al., 2010, p. 23); "look for high-quality literature that is likely to prompt thinking and discussion...quality really is better than quantity," (Miller, 2002, p. 47). I am working on building my library of books that I love to teach with but I haven't been making and keeping discussion guides to go with them.  I love this idea! 

Classroom Communities

Another idea that keeps popping up as I read about comprehension and every other subject for that matter is the idea of building a classroom community that fosters discussion.  This has been a goal of my school district at least since I began working there 3 years ago.  The big push for building a classroom community is mostly directed towards math teaching in my district at the moment, but the idea of creating a classroom of students who "construct meaning by spontaneously engaging in thoughtful conversation about books and ideas, ask questions that matter to them and explore their solutions, and respond independently to a variety of text in meaningful ways" is beneficial to all subject areas.  Creating  a thoughtful discussion with young readers requires a lot of planning on the teacher's part.  She must think carefully about the goals of the discussion, an appropriate text to use, the ability level of the readers, discussion questions that require students to think deeply about the text, when to ask each question, follow-up questions, when to engage in the conversation, when to moderate, and when to sit back.  It can seem overwhelming in the beginning, but I think the key is careful planning and being able to roll with the punches when your plans don't work out how imagined. 

I will continue to think about creating a classroom community, selecting quality texts, and the gradual release of responsibility as I continue reading about comprehension.