Modeling Reading Strategies

From the desk of Carol C…

This week I’ve been fascinated by the Theory of Inflation as related to the creation of our universe.  Articles are all over the newspapers and the web about this discovery.  As I read the first of many pieces about it, I realized I had lost the meaning of what I was reading.  I read the words but had no clue what they meant.  Part of the reason for this was lack of background knowledge, and the other part was my lack of rereading for meaning.  So, I did go back and reread numerous times the parts of the article that confused me.  Reading these challenging parts of this piece gave me an “ah ha” moment.  What better way to model an authentic lesson on how to read for understanding !  Here’s what I would do:

First, I would decide what it was I needed to teach.  I would think about how many, if any, of these strategies my students had mastered and what the Common Core objectives were for my grade level.

Second,  Let’s say I decided on teaching the class what to do after rereading for meaning and still not understanding what they read.  My next step would be to get my students excited about the topic by asking them what they had heard about this new space discovery.  After letting them tell a partner, they would share a few with the whole class.  At this point I would introduce the article and model what I did to make meaning.

I could review briefly how to reread for understanding (since my students were well versed in this)…break a sentence down into small parts and try to visualize each part.  Then put the parts together.  Example:

A potential hitch in the presumed course of cosmic evolution   could have infused space itself with a special energy that exerted a repulsive force, causing the universe to swell faster than the speed of light for a prodigiously violent instant. (NYT)

Since I had already decided what to teach in the lesson, I would go from there.  I could choose one of the following strategies:

READ ON-see if the information helps you with the part that had confused you.

DETERMINE IMPORTANCE-After I had read on I realized some of the words which confused me were not important to making meaning of what I had just read.

ASK QUESTIONS-I did this continually while I was reading.  I didn’t write a whole sentence down but enough key words or phrases to jog my memory later on.  Examples from beginning students:  “How did scientists know it was cosmic energy?”  “What will other scientists do to confirm this theory?”

LOOK FOR DIAGRAMS OR PICTURES IN THE ARTICLE-these may aid with comprehension.

There are more comprehension strategies to teach such as inferring and synthesizing.  Almost always only one strategy at a time should be taught unless you are reviewing.

The more often you use real life examples the more importance students will place on what you are teaching.  Also, real world examples demonstrate how what you are teaching are applied in the real world!