Here are some ideas that I found in my search. Skills are automatic procedures that do not require thought, interpretation, or choice. Skills are product-oriented, observable behaviors such as answers to questions, answers on tests, skills lists, and taxonomies. Skills instruction stresses repeated practice in applying skills until they become habitual responses to particular tasks. http://curriculum.meridianschools.org/dmdocuments/language_arts_grade_3_hr-s kills_strategies.doc
A strategy is a conscious plan under the control of the reader, who must make decisions about what strategies to use and when to use them. Strategies are process-oriented, cognitive operations the reader engages in, generally thought to be unobservable. Strategy instruction stresses the reasoning process readers go through as they interact with and comprehend text: how the strategies one uses change when one reads different texts or reads for different purposes. Strategy instruction teachers what to do with a skill, how and why to use it, and why it is important. Strategy instruction focuses on ways to help students understand what they read. Also, in reference to postings that referred to inferring or predicting as strategies, while main idea was a skill: I'm thinking that Ellin's framework of deep structures clarifies this for me. She, I think, puts things like literary elements in the framework of schematic deep structure. The cognitive strategies help you access these structures. If anyone can clarify this further, it would be great!! The other thing in the discussion that stood out for me was I felt like a verb was missing-and I wanted to say "recognizing main idea" which then made me think that the action the reader took to access it fell under determining importance. Including a main idea is good writing, recognizing it means that as a reader I have determined its importance.. I guess I think of skills as those smaller discrete habits and knowledge bits that are used without much thought (stopping at a period, using knowledge of prefixes to understand words) whereas strategies (especially the metacognitive ones) can be chosen more flexibly and need to be orchestrated with more thought and purpose. Sue -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Kerry McDonald Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 8:38 PM To: Mosaic: A Reading Comprehension Strategies Listserv Subject: [MOSAIC] Reading skills vs strategies- HELP! Hi there: I am looking for a list of Reading strategies and reading skills. I am thinking the strategies are the big 7 (making connections, asking questions etc.) and skills could include fluency, decoding, marking the text etc. Does anyone have a "completed" list like this? I know this could open up a bit of a debate and the difference between a skill and a strategy but I would appreciate the help and support. thanks, Kerry _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
