Okay Susan and others...help me understand something. I can't see basing a reading grade on comprehension of a story. Aren't we teaching a process here???We really aren't teaching the story here right? We are teaching students how to read...so in the end, isn't what matters most the strategy knowledge the child takes away from your class? Why grade comprehension of a story when it doesn't matter 5 years from now whether or not the child knows the problem and solution of a particular story. There are some children who could read a story and fill in the answers to a comprehension test without our instruction...so how do we know what they have learned without looking at how they have come to comprehend or the processes?? Problematic as it is, I wonder if the grade has to be on the processes...not the end results which is the comprehension of the story. A child might not have learned a thing from your lessons if they are good readers and already just "know" or intuit the themes and are not metacognitively aware of what strategies they have used. How are we moving them forward as readers if we don't hold them accountable for knowing how and when to use a strategy? I worry about these bright kids who seem to "get it" so easily. Some day, they will be faced with a difficult text that they need to make meaning from. We as teachers have to know whether or not we have prepared them to face those difficult reading tasks. I have come to firmly believe that the metacognitive part is crucial to all readers in order for them to have flexibility and deep understanding of strategy use. I know I thought I was a good reader until I started becoming more aware of strategies and how they are used. As I became metacognitively aware of what I was doing to comprehend, not only did I understand the strategies better, I understood and enjoyed my own reading much more. I agree with you Susan that comprehension is the goal, but how do we know that our students are really learning how to comprehend unless we evaluate where they are in their strategies? I have such respect for all of you struggling with this thorny issue and grading really comes down to our own personal philosophies of what reading is and what needs to be taught. Please understand that my post here is an attempt to clarify my own thinking as I struggle with this issue for grades 1-5 at my school. It is not an attempt to put down other's grading policies or promote my own views. Jennifer Maryland a message dated 9/16/2006 8:38:11 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
>Last....Do all students need to do all strategies well? I thought about this one quite a bit during my teaching years. I concluded that the simple answer is no. It's more complex, but that's the simple answer. I looked at the strategies I use in reading, and have used from early years. I rely on some heavily and others just occasionally/lightly. I use some in all kinds of reading, and others only in technical reading, as an example. My goal would be to have all students understand all the strategies. However, they, too, are going to have strategies on which they rely more than others. They don't need the same level of excellence in all. The goal of our comprehension instruction is always just that - comprehension. The strategies outlined by Keene and Zimmerman are the best summary of what needs to be known that I came across. There's always more work to be done in this area, of course, and I know they are continuing to do it. However, we have to remember that while teaching the strategies is important, understanding the strategies is important, comprehension is still the goal. I've had students who seemed to "intuit" meaning. I'm sure that on some level they were using the strategies, or some form of them. They couldn't explain how they knew some things, but they were adamant about knowing them, and they were almost always on target. I didn't get caught up in worrying about whether they understood the strategies, or how well they understood them. I focused on how well they comprehended a given text, instead. That would rule out grading the use of strategies, definitely. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
