Blog 5

Hello Bloggers,

             

   I watched several videos that explained and modeled how to build student’s comprehension with using several strategies and incorporating skills.  There’s one video called “Comprehension” that was posted on the Reading Rockets website.  These reading experts were sitting on a panel and giving out helpful information that any teacher could use in their room.  I loved how one of the experts gave an acronym that the educators at her school created to help them remember the strategies used for comprehension.  The acronym was “PICTURE” and it included several ways that you can help improve your students’ comprehension. 

P- Predict

I- Imagine (Visualize)

C- Clarify (make sense of the text)

T- Try to ask the 5W’s and H questions (who, what, when, where, why, and how)

U- Use what you know (Background Knowledge *schema*)

R- Review (summarize what you read)

E- Evaluate your text (try to make connections- self, text, or world)

  There was another video that I watched that had a teacher modeling how to use a program called Theme Scheme.  He used this program to help his students gain meaning from complicated stories.  I would love to learn more information about this program.  If anyone have heard about or used this program, I would love to learn more insights on how it is used.

   Reading chapter 7 and 8 had some creative ways you can help your students’ comprehension improve with fictional and informational texts.  Some of the strategies that I read about are already put in place inside of my classroom.  I would love to incorporate the ReQuest procedure in my class during whole group setting.  Having the students be able to ask me questions from our reading will definitely keep them engaged and excited.  There were several graphic organizers that was mentioned in both chapters.  I do use graphic organizers inside of my room.  But there’s one that I never used before with my students and it was the spider map.  I liked the set up for this graphic organizer on page 201 in our book.  Even though it was mentioned in the narrative chapter, I would love to incorporate it into my informational unit.  Last week, I started my informational unit with my class.  The students learned how they can tell the difference between a fiction and a non-fiction book.  This week we are going to learn all about pumpkins since Halloween is coming soon.  I am going to use the spider map this week as part of my reading lesson.

  I do want to mention what I’m working on for my inquiry project.  I want to learn more information on how I can improve my guided reading lessons to especially help my struggling readers.  I want to put into practice the research based strategies that I come across to help my students shine.  Also I want to gather viewpoints on why guided reading is so important to use inside of your classroom.  Being teachers our lives are definitely busy.  So I haven’t had much time to gather information for my project.  I am planning to get started this week on my project.  By the next time we blog again, I will have some tips that I can share with you.