Here's the second part of my little book study on Tanny McGregor's Comprehension Connections. To see part 1 - go here.
Chapter 5 - Questioning
The older students get the more fearful they are to ask questions. They're afraid because they don't want to seem silly or wrong. I've seen this firsthand as I'm sure many of us have. Asking questions is important. It gets kids thinking. Gives them a chance to challenge themselves and dig deeper. As teachers we need to support this and provide time for kids to take chances with asking questions.
The older students get the more fearful they are to ask questions. They're afraid because they don't want to seem silly or wrong. I've seen this firsthand as I'm sure many of us have. Asking questions is important. It gets kids thinking. Gives them a chance to challenge themselves and dig deeper. As teachers we need to support this and provide time for kids to take chances with asking questions.
Tanny suggests adding machine tape to show how questions go on and on. For me, that seems like a management issue but would be a good concrete way to show it early on. After demonstrating with it, I'm thinking of my kids having a questioning section in their reading notebook where kids can write down questions as they think of them.
Questioning Thinking Stems
I wonder...
What if...
Why...
I don't understand...
It confused me...
How could...
Love the concrete lesson with object that's special to you. It gets passed around the class and kids ask questions about the object. Great way to introduce it.
Questioning is important to do before, during, and after.
Chapter 6 - Determining Importance
Kids need to learn how to determine what's important in reading. They need to "know how to filter out the fluff and focus on the facts." (page 76). Tanny suggests starting with everyday life. Kids can decide what's important to them so starting with the own life is a great way to introduce it.
Determining Importance Thinking Stems
What's important here...
What matters to me..
One thing we should notice...
I want to remember...
It's interesting that...
I've used the concrete purse lesson and the kids loved it. They were so engaged and thought it was so cool to see inside their teachers purse. What helped was that they were familiar with the items so they were able to discuss and determine which items were important for a walk and which were not.
Chapter 7 - Visualizing
Visualizing is another important strategy for readers. Every reader visualizes differently. Some are able to draw out their image while others have a better image in their head.
Visualizing tubes are a great introduction. Basically you take toilet paper or paper towel tubes and have kids use them when looking at objects. They then visualize where the object might be and their image gets more descriptive.
Many times I've read books aloud to my kids and had them sketch their mental images at different points in the book. I got this from Debbie Miller's Reading with Meaning and Tanny suggests it too.
Visualizing Thinking Stems
I'm picturing...
I can imagine...
I can feel (see, smell, taste, touch, hear)...
My mental images include...
Chapter 8 - Synthesizing
Synthesizing is difficult to teach so concrete lessons are a must. Tanny explains it as "changing your thinking along the way." (page 106) Nesting dolls are a great way to start. One of her students said it well - "Big ideas are made up of little ideas." (page 105)
A spiral is another way to show synthesizing. New thinking gets added and the ideas and thoughts get bigger as you go.
Synthesizing Thinking Stems
Now I understand why...
I'm changing my mind about...
I used to think _________, but now I think...
My new thinking is...
I'm beginning to think...
Now, that I've finished re-reading Comprehension Connections I feel like I have some new ideas and ways to teach reading strategies for this upcoming school year. Especially since these kids are working a year ahead I want to make sure to keep challenging them and the lesson ideas Tanny provides will be a great way to do so.
Next week, I'll be sharing thoughts and ideas on another Tanny McGregor book - Genre Connections. I like her style of writing so I'm excited to check out her next book.
Follow me on...
No comments:
Post a Comment