Modeling Comprehension, Vocabulary, Text Structures and Text Features
September 29, 2009I must admit I had a hard time with understanding the beginning of the assigned reading article. However, when you get into the depth of it there are some great modeling tools that will teach students how to comprehend what they are reading. I especially liked when it discussed talking children through the process of using context clues to figure out what a word means. In the classroom that I am currently interning, part of what I do is listen to students read out loud for practice. I have been paying attention to how they decide what a certain word is. I remember one girl read a sentence with a word she did not know. She stopped at that word and looked through to the end of the sentence (at this point I could see her working it out in her mind) then she looked at the word again and read it correctly. She used the knowledge of what word would fit into the sentence to figure out the word she did not know.
Another thing that impressed me about this article is that in it the teacher models that she did not know the definition of the word “atmosphere”. Since she did not have a glossary to look it up in she told the students she would ask another teacher. I think sometimes in life we get a little stubborn and don’t ask for help when we should. What we must understand is that these students are watching what we do. Therefore, if we do not know the answer it is best to admit it; not try to pretend we know. They will be able to tell. Then we can let them watch us through the process of obtaining the desired information. Also, when they see that even we need help, they will feel more confident in looking for help themselves when it is needed.
Another important aspect of modeling is teaching the children to take the time to observe the text structures in their readings. I know that there are many times when as a student I have just wanted to get things read to be finished. So I skipped tables, charts, captions and other things that were placed there to help me comprehend what I was reading. When I finished I often did not understand what it was I had just read. I think it is very important to model for students how to use this added information to help them understand what they are reading. Often times people will make sense of things more from a diagram than they will from a paragraph. So it is important for us to teach children to pay special attention to the text structures that are provided for them.
I agree with everything you have said. I think it is important for a teacher to be able to admit when he/she does not know the answer. It is important for students to see how a teacher finds out the answer. This is another opportunity for teachers to model for their students.
I, too, loved all the different types of skills that they modeled. It seems so easy when you read about it, but I don’t know if I would have thought of these things intuitively on my own. I am a little hesitant about being able to incorporate these strategies well, but am hopeful!
I see we’re representing our writer’s circle! Very nice, ladies!
Ifer, you really understood and grasped way more than i did. You’re going to have to teach me this stuff before class! I”m really horrible at comprehending complex thoughts from reading articles…I never get any better at it!