Whitney, your thoughts of setting up the story are so important. When you set up the story (activate schema) and give them the basis of what they'll be reading, add to it brainstorming/categorizing possible vocabulary words as well. You are then allowing the student to be successful with their reading and eventually comprehension. It would also help to do some think alouds with her too, show her what happens in a "thinking reader's" head. I would work with some metacognitive thinking as well. Stop after a page and talk about what she just read, after modeling it with a think aloud first. It's slow going but she's not thinking about what she's reading right now. She'll benefit from lots of consistent practice with one or two strategies. Good luck! Kelly AB
On 5/27/09 11:54 AM, "Hamilton, Whitney" <[email protected]> wrote: Testing her comprehension in her native language is a great idea. I also would agree with the recommendation to read the book Strategies That Work. I'm wondering . . . Have you tried setting her up for success prior to reading by providing significant background knowledge and information about who the characters are, what they are like, and what will happen in the story? I used to think doing so was a terrible idea because then I would just be doing the work for the student. However, I have learned that struggling readers need that support initially so that they can begin to monitor their thinking/understanding as they read. By knowing a little bit or even a great deal about what the book is about, the student is actually able to connect and make meaning from the text. Eventually, this strategy, in conjunction with learning and applying the comprehension strategies, will lead to successful comprehension ... hopefully! :) Good luck! Whitney Hamilton 3rd Grade Teacher Kit Carson Elementary NOTICE OF CONFIDENTIALITY: The information contained and transmitted within this e-mail is confidential. It is intended only for the individual or entity designated in the recipient line. You are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, copying, use of, or reliance upon, the information contained and transmitted within this e-mail, by or to anyone, other than the designated recipient, is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify a representative of Madison County School District. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Emily Welch Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 10:07 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [MOSAIC] How to teach comprehension to fluent reader I am a third grade teacher with a class made up largely of English language learners . I have one student who has continuously challenged me this year. She is a fluent reader (latest assessment on a grade level text was 97% accuracy and 106 wcpm), but her comprehension is terrible. Even when I allow her to use a book to retell/answer questions/etc, she still struggles with even the most basic of comprehension skills. I have tried a variety of things throughout the year that my other students seem to benefit from, but I just haven't found what works for this particular student. Please let me know of any strategies you have found that work to help an already fluent reader comprehend what she is reading. Thank you!!! Emily Welch Third Grade Russell Jones Elementary _______________________________________________ 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. _______________________________________________ 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.
