Comprehension

Chapter 7 in the textbook gives a clear understanding of what it means to really read something and comprehend it.  A great example was the sentence: He blocked the piffle with a gid daft.  "You can read all the 'words' correctly, and you can even read with expression, but you get no meaning" (Cunningham/Allington 118).  This example really makes you think of how children feel when they read something, but don't comprehend it.  The book emphasizes the importance of making sure children are thinking as they read and that they have the proper background knowledge before reading.  Asking open-ended questions before, during, and after reading is also a great strategy for comprehension instruction.  Actually, that's one thing that stuck out to me in all of the readings this week - the words before, during, and after.  Comprehending what you read is not something that just happens as you read the words on the page.  Teachers should assist the child in every step of the way. 

In Gregory and Cahill's article, "Kindergarteners Can Do It, Too!", many different strategies are presented before, during, and after reading to promote comprehension.  In Mrs. Hope's classroom, before reading a story, she let students ask "I wonder" questions, and wrote them on the board.  During the story, she stopped frequently as the students came up with more questions.  After the story, students asked even more questions.  When the story was over, the class as a whole answered all of the questions.  Some of the answers were written directly in the text, and some had to be thought out a little harder by the children.  Whenever they needed to think more critically, they were making an inference.  This is a great strategy to instill in students - especially at that young of an age.

Gill's article "The Comprehension Matrix: A Tool for Designing Comprehension Instruction" was very informative.  It really breaks down what comprehension is, and all of the different aspects such as the reader, the text, and the situation.  Again, this article discusses the importance of background knowledge of the topic, and interest level as well.  We are more likely to comprehend things that we are interested in, and that we are familiar with.  Pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading are also discussed in detail in this article.  Questions, drawings, and K-W-L charts are highly encouraged.  Different activities and modeling techniques are given throughout the article.  I really enjoyed the actual comprehension matrix shown in this article!  It breaks it down into a really neat chart that helps you consider every aspect.

Laura Pardo's article "What every teacher needs to know about comprehension" illustrates the same concepts as the previous articles.  The importance of prior knowledge is highlighted, and connecting information through schemas.  This article also reminds us as teachers that "Readers vary in the skills, knowledge, cognitive development, culture, and purpose they bring to a text" (Pardo 273).  Like any other instruction in the classroom, we have to remember that our individual students background knowledge and skill level will vary when reading texts in the classroom.  I think comprehension can and should be done in whole group instruction, but I also think it is very important to spend time on comprehension in small groups and guided reading.

I really enjoyed the readings this week.  Before reading the articles, I knew what comprehension meant, but didn't really know any strategies for instructing comprehension with my students.  I feel like the readings were a little repetitive, but now I feel so much more prepared going into my teaching career.  Now, the first thing that will probably come to my mind when my students are reading is "are they understanding this?"  I will definitely be using the pre-reading, during reading, and post-reading strategies in my classroom to make sure that my students are comprehending what they read.  I now know too, how important prior knowledge is before reading a text.  I absolutely loved Mrs. Hope's strategy in Gregory and Cahill's article.  I think I will definitely introduce and explain the schema concept by drawing a picture of a human head with many ideas swirling around it on the board, and explaining the connections a good reader makes as he or she reads.  I also really liked the "Velcro Theory" and "mind movies" that were used in that classroom.  Overall, the readings were very helpful, and I definitely feel a lot more prepared about comprehension as I begin my teaching journey.