November – Blog Post #4
Routman (2003), Ch. 8: Teach
Comprehension
After
completing the chapter, “Teach Comprehension”, I realized my reading
instruction was slightly misguided. In my Reading Workshop, I found that I
taught comprehension strategies much like the other teachers mentioned in the
chapter – I teach strategies independent of each other and I focus on just that
strategy for a length of time. Unlike my model of teaching, the chapter
suggests teaching reading strategies with a more authentic approach. As the
chapter stated, when you read, it’s almost impossible make meaning from a text
by simply using one strategy. When you read, you use multiple strategies to try
and construct meaning.
I
learned from the reading that I needed to pay more attention to how I develop meaning as I read. From
there, I can develop mini-lessons and think aloud these strategies to my students
during a read-aloud. I don’t just have to focus on one strategy, but instead,
let teaching be natural and voice strategies as I come to them. It’s important
as developed readers, to take notice of these strategies and employ them while
we read. They (strategies) are tools we can use that help create understanding.
We also need to teach students how to identify when there is a break down in
understanding. Sometimes, students don’t know that they didn’t understand what
they read and focus primarily on “reading” the words.
After
reading this chapter, I really had to think hard about how to structure my
reading workshop. In all honesty, I was a bit confused when I read it because I
feel like I need to see it in action. My take on it is that I need to read a
text aloud, a text that students are interested in, and pause when I come to a
strategy that I use as a reader and demonstrate my thought process to the class.
Students are then supposed to practice this strategy and strategies discussed
prior to the lesson in their own reading. During this time, I conference with
students or pull small groups and coach students to become strong, independent
readers, who can monitor their own understanding.
Overall,
I found this chapter to be really helpful. I felt this chapter really opened my
eyes to the flaws in my reading lessons and it gives me an opportunity to grow
as an educator. I really hope to focus on this area and access more resources
to help me better meet the needs of my students.
That's a very good point--we do use many strategies at the same time as we work to comprehend what we read. I like how you decided to focus on yourself as a reader--since I've gotten into literacy research/theories, I have learned more about myself as a reader than I ever did in school, even through college. I find myself practicing more metacognition about my reading process, and even collecting examples of ways I have applied strategies in real life in my reading. I wonder if Routman is encouraging us not to spend 2 weeks on one strategy and then checking it off the list, but rather approaching it from a more organic/cyclical style that might be more realistic?
ReplyDeleteHi Michaela,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you choosing to focus this month's reading on comprehension. I agree with Routman that it is important that we teach strategies in the context of application and work to keep the process of reading authentic instead of prescriptive such as assigning one strategy at a time. The metacognitive modeling that Routman describes is extremely helpful in showing students how we apply strategies during reading. Thanks, Dawn