Kate, This is the danger of losing sight of balance, and it seems that government programs are pushing us to do just that. May I use your email with my first year teachers?
Lori Jackson District Literacy Coach and Mentor Todd County School District Box 87 Mission SD 5755 ----- Original message ----- From: K L <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Date: Friday, April 10, 2009 3:46 PM Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Reading Comprehension (Toni) > Toni, > > I am finding the same problem with my 3rd graders (and 2nd graders too). I > have found over the last few years that the students are coming to third > grade as good decoders, due to the intense focus on phonics in the lower > grades. For the most part, they are proficient with the basic sight words > which is another focus. > > This year I picked up second grade as well (I am the only Reading Specialist > this year due to budget cuts in Title I funds). In addition, we decided to > assess all of the second graders using DIBELS at the beginning of the year, > mid-year, and at the end of the year. Normally, we only use DIBELS for > students that have been identified as below grade level by the classroom > teacher. I made an alarming discovery at the beginning of the year. The > "proficient" readers which were "more fluent" according to DIBELS (in the > green area) were not pausing when they missed a word or rereading if it > didn't make sense. There is no way some of them were comprehending what they > were reading. I brought this point up at grade level and we brainstormed > some possible ideas. My intervention program doesn't provide anything but > phonics, decoding strategies, and basic sight words. There isn't enough > material in the little books to work on comprehension strategies. The > second grade teachers commented that the program was successful with the > students in the past and that some of the students needed the decoding and > sight word recognition but they were addressing that in literacy centers. I > showed them the comprehension strategies that I had started two years ago > with my third grade students based on Mosaic of Thought and Stategies that > Work. In conclusion, I persauded the principal to purchase The Primary > Comprehension Toolkit and started using that as my intervention program after > Christmas with my second graders. So they had decoding/sight word > intervention for the first half of the year and comprehension strategies > interevention the second half of the year. > > My experience with third graders in the past few years has been that > visualization is difficult for them to grasp at first. They don't understand > that when you read a book, it should be like watching a movie in your head. > I wonder if that has anything to do with the focus on phonics, decoding > skills, and sight words in the lower grades. I don't think that students see > reading as a form of entertainment much like watching a movie or TV show. I > know from experience with my own child, who is in 2nd grade, that is true. > She chose to read "picture books" over chapter books for at least the first > half of this year. She said that chapter books were boring because they were > too long and didn't have enough pictures. Many a night we would have a > little discussion about how there are more words (= longer text) and fewer > pictures because the author uses the words to help her paint the pictures in > her head. And this is my creative child with the great > imagination. My older child was a bookworm from the beginning and was > reading chapter books by the end of kindergarten because she chose them. My > girls are five years apart and the National Reading Panel's report came after > my oldest was in second grade and the focus in instruction changed after that > report. Coincidence or not??? I don't know for sure, it could just be a > difference between my children. The interesting thing is that I see the same > thing with my students. > > Kate > > > > > ________________________________ > > Subject: Re: [MOSAIC] Reading Comprehension > > > I am currently in the my fifth year of teaching and I have seen the same > > thing. Our districts focus the last few years has been on Reading > > fluency. This year I have had 3rd graders coming into my classroom, who are > > trying to read so fast that they don't even realize when the decoding breaks > > down and what they are saying doesn't make sense. I encourage my students to > > stop reading periodically and think about what they just read about and > > visualize "the movie in their head". If they can't, then they should go > > back and reread. Also, have students draw a picture of what they read > > about helps them with this. We spend the first few weeks of school > > focusing on visualiztion. I would like to read that article, it sounds > > interesting. > > Where did you find it? > > > > Have a nice day! > > Tomi Dodson > > > > _______________________________________________ > 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.
