Originally I was just glossing over this thread, because I am no longer
teaching in a regular classroom and my interest in reading
comprehension issues ebbs and flows, but this post made me think of
something.
It seems that this "determining importance" piece is the foundation for
learning to read with a critical mind (not a "criticism" mind, but the
ability to make decisions about what's true, what's valid, what's
logical, etc.). I am not one who likes to break reading strategies into
discrete parts, necessarily, but I think attention here is of prime
importance.
When I began teaching back in 1998, we used a math program (possibly
Houghton-Mifflin) which addressed the whole "what's important" issue
with story problems. I remember distinctly how there would be random
"information" in story problems that had nothing to do with the
underlying math needed to solve, and how this specifically was pointed
out in the teachers' manual. I remember distinctly asking my students:
"Do we care if this person is at home or somewhere else?" or "Does it
make any difference what color her dress is?" to hone in on what we
needed to know to make problem-solving decisions.
For those who are interested in determining importance, and the
structure of texts, I highly recommend Textmapping.
(www.textmapping.org)
Renee
On Jul 21, 2010, at 11:43 AM, [email protected] wrote:
Recently I had a conversation with some colleagues about determing
importance and finding the main idea. Many struggling kids give equal
weight to all info contained in text no matter what genre. If kids
can't find what important, how can they solve a math word problem,
take notes, maintain a focus idea in their writing, or even study for
a test? Many can't so they struggle in every content area. I'm not
saying this is the only reason they might struggle but it can answer a
lot of questions.
Sue
"The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in
a thing makes it happen."
~ Frank Lloyd Wright
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