Theoretical Discussion #3

Stahl mentioned in her article that comprehension strategies could be important to a reader because they have the potential to provide access to knowledge that is removed from personal experience.  She also said that the unstated premise is that children who actively engage in particular cognitive strategies are likely to understand and recall more of what they read.  Tina, Tracy and I discussed the importance of activating background knowledge in order to build comprehension among a group of students.  I particularly liked the part that said effective instruction uses a gradual release of responsibility.  As a kindergarten teacher I realize the importance of explicit instruction, guided practice and modeling behaviors.  Over time, my students can begin to put comprehension strategies they have been explicitly taught into practice.  Tina pointed out the importance of teacher questioning that was discussed on p. 601.  Questions that teachers ask can act as a springboard and a model for critical thinking.

Pardo states that comprehension occurs in the transaction between the reader and the text.  Meaning emerges from the engagement of the reader with the text at that particular moment.  This article brings out strategies that our school has currently put into place as we have implemented Guided Reading, shared reading, interactive read alouds and The Daily 5.  Pardo mentions the importance of decoding skills in order to comprehend.  A portion of my guided reading instruction is focused on decoding skills, phonemic awareness and sight word reading.  Next, she mentions the importance of building fluent readers.  Fluency is also a component we teach in guided reading.  I also model fluency through interactive read alouds.  The article also states the importance of activating prior knowledge.  Pardo says that background knowledge can be a key factor in creating meaning for students.  I use shared reading and interactive read alouds as a way to activate background knowledge.  I allow my students several opportunities to ‘turn and talk’ with a partner as a way of expressing their knowledge and peaking there interest in a story.  After explicit teaching on ‘how to pick a just right book’ my students are more motivated to read books they have selected themselves.  We work on building stamina during daily ‘read to self’ time.  Tina, Tracy and myself discussed how our school has implemented many of the ideas listed in this article.

While discussing the Neufeld article we talked about how far our school has come. Neufeld suggest that there is strong evidence that comprehension does not occur in many classrooms.  Several years ago at my school we were teaching our students to be ‘word callers.’  We placed a lot of emphasis on the dibbles assessment.  We were essentially teaching to a test that is word calling and does not assess comprehension.  We have recently been provided with very effective professional development opportunities that have encouraged the teachers at our school to teach and practice comprehension strategies.   Tina, Tracy and I found the tables listed throughout the article to be helpful.  As a kindergarten teacher I have noticed that students do not monitor for meaning while reading.  This is a strategy that must be explicitly taught.  Neufeld suggest that some readers, particularly younger and poor readers, are not able to effectively monitor and control their efforts to comprehend while reading.  

Tina, Tracy and I all agreed that our school is moving in the right direction.  Our instruction is now geared toward reading for meaning and comprehension.  Our daily schedule is designed so that we teach in small groups.