You know what's interesting about this? My son is now 15 and in high school. It has hit me this week like a 2x4 that he doesn't know how to think when he reads. He is a GT student who has always done well in school, but this year, for the first, time, he is in classes that expect him to analyze his thinking about text (non-fiction textbook text) as he reads it. He hasn't a clue. So, Jennifer, what you said is SO true...we need to set our kids up for their future as much as their present.
jepi ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2006 8:19 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] reflections-grading > > 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. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
