Renee says: "Of course they go together, but I just don't feel that it's
important for students to be identifying their strategies, certainly
not as important as just using them."
I find this thread fascinating...especially now that the holidays are over
and I can concentrate on it! While I basically agree with you, Renee, one of
the things I am learning as I teach strategies is that for kids to become
independent, they seem to need a deep understanding of a strategy. They need to
know when to use it, why it is important and how it will help them. If they
don't have this deep understanding then when they are really challenged with a
difficult text they don't know what to do! I wonder if a certain level of
conscious, metacognitive understanding must be reached before the strategies
become unconscious and automatic...a part of the student's toolbox.
Perhaps the answer to this is that the kids don't need to identify the
strategy anymore once they become proficient and independent with it in all
types
of texts. I always have trouble with the idea that if students are
comprehending a particular text, then they don't need to understand how they
got
there. Just because a student can comprehend this particular text, it doesn't
mean
they "get" how to comprehend other texts. I still think we need to assess
strategy usage, not just comprehension of a text.
In our struggle between finding a balance, and as we try to keep
comprehension the end result of strategies, we can't lose sight of the fact
that
reading is a process and we can not assume that because a student can read and
comprehend a grade level text that the student will be know what to do when
eventually they run into a text that is a challenge.
Just my own two cents as I struggle with this issue.
Jennifer
Maryland
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