Teachers (and Parents): What reading comprehension strategies have you found effective?

[Anonymous]

OP here. ESOL teacher, how long are your sessions with your students every day? I work in co-taught classes with an ESOL teacher. Our classes are 55 minutes long. I'd love to include the ESOL students in the mini-lesson (which usually lasts 10-15 minutes) and then let them work with either me or the ESOL teacher doing either QuickReads or Abcedarian. Would this work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. ESOL teacher, how long are your sessions with your students every day? I work in co-taught classes with an ESOL teacher. Our classes are 55 minutes long. I'd love to include the ESOL students in the mini-lesson (which usually lasts 10-15 minutes) and then let them work with either me or the ESOL teacher doing either QuickReads or Abcedarian. Would this work?

I am in my schools 2 or 3 days a week (5 days in 2 weeks), because my schools don't have a lot of ESOL students. So I see small group sizes, but not daily.

If I just have one student at a time I can see progress with 20 minutes, 5 times in 10 days. If I have two students, I plan for 30 minutes. If I have three or four students, and they are all about the same level, and not very far below grade level, I still aim for 30 minute sessions. If they are far below grade level I either try for 45 minutes with them, or split them into groups of 2.

If the students are **very** far below grade level I might try to work with them individually for 30 minutes, twice a day when I am there. I take advantage of any down time that happens due to assemblies, field trips, testing, or other students being absent, to pull my kids for an extra session. Once they have caught up to be able to work with the lowest reading group in a teacher's class I move back to once a day (for the days I am there).

[Anonymous]

None. Simply lots of reading books that are on their grade level.

[Anonymous]

I completely agree with having lots of books available to kids. I’ve got LOTS of books in my classroom library (thousands).but there are still some kids that need help in understanding what they read.

[Anonymous]

I feel like this is one of the large areas that separate public schools from private schools. Public schools seem obsessed with getting kids hooked on reading and decoding. Private schools conquer decoding early and then spend the rest of the time reading for content and understanding. Public schools don't seem to care which books kids read while private schools are very careful with the books children read because they spend a large amount of time discussing and writing about the books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son's school used an online program called Whooos Reading? The class would answer questions about books that they are reading independently- other students would provide supportive comments (on the comments) and the teacher would rate the answers (other students couldn't see the ratings). If the answer got below a 3 out of 4 it meant "try again." My son loved it because it had some bells and whistles with the feedback and he could read other students' comments. He liked getting the "4s." (highest rating) and quickly learned that he had to dig deep for those "4s."

What school system is this? Is this program approved by FCPS?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is one of the large areas that separate public schools from private schools. Public schools seem obsessed with getting kids hooked on reading and decoding. Private schools conquer decoding early and then spend the rest of the time reading for content and understanding.

To be fair, many private schools have entrance requirements and will decline to admit a child who appears likely to have reading difficulty or who is reading below grade level. It's not so much that private schools "conquer decoding early" as it is that they decline to admit, or "counsel out", students who experience difficulty!

I personally have known three families who experienced this in private schools. In one family, the 2nd grader new to the area applied to private school but was told her reading wasn't good enough for admission. In one school, a child was urged to leave his Montessori school end of third grade because his reading wasn't progressing and they had no idea what to do with him. In the third school, the child was reading below grade level when she entered the Catholic school in 5th grade and the parents were told it was no problem, but after one year they said the student had to leave because she failed to make sufficient progress (or parents could hire a tutor etc.)

I'm a public school teacher, and I do sometimes wonder how different my classes would be, if I were allowed to simply deny admission or counsel out students who failed to progress in my classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is one of the large areas that separate public schools from private schools. Public schools seem obsessed with getting kids hooked on reading and decoding. Private schools conquer decoding early and then spend the rest of the time reading for content and understanding.

To be fair, many private schools have entrance requirements and will decline to admit a child who appears likely to have reading difficulty or who is reading below grade level. It's not so much that private schools "conquer decoding early" as it is that they decline to admit, or "counsel out", students who experience difficulty!

I personally have known three families who experienced this in private schools. In one family, the 2nd grader new to the area applied to private school but was told her reading wasn't good enough for admission. In one school, a child was urged to leave his Montessori school end of third grade because his reading wasn't progressing and they had no idea what to do with him. In the third school, the child was reading below grade level when she entered the Catholic school in 5th grade and the parents were told it was no problem, but after one year they said the student had to leave because she failed to make sufficient progress (or parents could hire a tutor etc.)

I'm a public school teacher, and I do sometimes wonder how different my classes would be, if I were allowed to simply deny admission or counsel out students who failed to progress in my classes.

True, but there are many public schools where there are only a few children with any difficulty and they go to see a specialist. No reason why in 4th grade the majority of kids in public should be reading comic books just to get hooked on reading while private schools are busy actually learning content and understanding relationships. Reading is thinking and learning. It's a form of communication. You wouldn't have children watch just any TV show or listen to any conversation just to get hooked on talking. You'd want the communication to be meaningful.

[Anonymous]

Teacher & parent here-

VennDiagram compare/contrast 2 books, or 2 characters from the same book.

Child pretends they are the author, and someone else "interviews" him about the book

I have more ideas if you like these...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is one of the large areas that separate public schools from private schools. Public schools seem obsessed with getting kids hooked on reading and decoding. Private schools conquer decoding early and then spend the rest of the time reading for content and understanding.

To be fair, many private schools have entrance requirements and will decline to admit a child who appears likely to have reading difficulty or who is reading below grade level. It's not so much that private schools "conquer decoding early" as it is that they decline to admit, or "counsel out", students who experience difficulty!

I personally have known three families who experienced this in private schools. In one family, the 2nd grader new to the area applied to private school but was told her reading wasn't good enough for admission. In one school, a child was urged to leave his Montessori school end of third grade because his reading wasn't progressing and they had no idea what to do with him. In the third school, the child was reading below grade level when she entered the Catholic school in 5th grade and the parents were told it was no problem, but after one year they said the student had to leave because she failed to make sufficient progress (or parents could hire a tutor etc.)

I'm a public school teacher, and I do sometimes wonder how different my classes would be, if I were allowed to simply deny admission or counsel out students who failed to progress in my classes.

True, but there are many public schools where there are only a few children with any difficulty and they go to see a specialist. No reason why in 4th grade the majority of kids in public should be reading comic books just to get hooked on reading while private schools are busy actually learning content and understanding relationships. Reading is thinking and learning. It's a form of communication. You wouldn't have children watch just any TV show or listen to any conversation just to get hooked on talking. You'd want the communication to be meaningful.

I teach in a Title One school and the vast majority of my students don't read at home at all. That means they won't read a thing for nearly 3 months of summer break. I ask them about this and they say that nobody reads at home. Reading is something you do at school. So imagine if you have a class full of students who are behind from Day One AND are reluctant readers. Why are many of them reluctant? The curriculum is heavy on teaching reading strategies so reading becomes like a chore. Who wants to do chores in their free time? When I talk to parents about making sure their child reads at home, they shrug their shoulders and say, "He/she doesn't like to read." So to get them to read at school, teachers have to find books/magazines that the kids will read like what posters are mentioning in this thread. Can you imagine how hard it would be for your child's teacher to get him/her to read good literature when he/she doesn't read anything at all outside of school? It would be like pulling teeth so many teachers use interesting books that kids like just to get them to read at all. It's similar to why poor children tend to be more obese than higher SES children. It's easier for parents to give their kid what they want. So many of my conferences are about this very issue. "Larla doesn't like to ___________ (go to bed, wake up early, do her homework, etc)."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this is one of the large areas that separate public schools from private schools. Public schools seem obsessed with getting kids hooked on reading and decoding. Private schools conquer decoding early and then spend the rest of the time reading for content and understanding.

To be fair, many private schools have entrance requirements and will decline to admit a child who appears likely to have reading difficulty or who is reading below grade level. It's not so much that private schools "conquer decoding early" as it is that they decline to admit, or "counsel out", students who experience difficulty!

I personally have known three families who experienced this in private schools. In one family, the 2nd grader new to the area applied to private school but was told her reading wasn't good enough for admission. In one school, a child was urged to leave his Montessori school end of third grade because his reading wasn't progressing and they had no idea what to do with him. In the third school, the child was reading below grade level when she entered the Catholic school in 5th grade and the parents were told it was no problem, but after one year they said the student had to leave because she failed to make sufficient progress (or parents could hire a tutor etc.)

I'm a public school teacher, and I do sometimes wonder how different my classes would be, if I were allowed to simply deny admission or counsel out students who failed to progress in my classes.

True, but there are many public schools where there are only a few children with any difficulty and they go to see a specialist. No reason why in 4th grade the majority of kids in public should be reading comic books just to get hooked on reading while private schools are busy actually learning content and understanding relationships. Reading is thinking and learning. It's a form of communication. You wouldn't have children watch just any TV show or listen to any conversation just to get hooked on talking. You'd want the communication to be meaningful.

I teach in a Title One school and the vast majority of my students don't read at home at all. That means they won't read a thing for nearly 3 months of summer break. I ask them about this and they say that nobody reads at home. Reading is something you do at school. So imagine if you have a class full of students who are behind from Day One AND are reluctant readers. Why are many of them reluctant? The curriculum is heavy on teaching reading strategies so reading becomes like a chore. Who wants to do chores in their free time? When I talk to parents about making sure their child reads at home, they shrug their shoulders and say, "He/she doesn't like to read." So to get them to read at school, teachers have to find books/magazines that the kids will read like what posters are mentioning in this thread. Can you imagine how hard it would be for your child's teacher to get him/her to read good literature when he/she doesn't read anything at all outside of school? It would be like pulling teeth so many teachers use interesting books that kids like just to get them to read at all. It's similar to why poor children tend to be more obese than higher SES children. It's easier for parents to give their kid what they want. So many of my conferences are about this very issue. "Larla doesn't like to ___________ (go to bed, wake up early, do her homework, etc)."

Ok, but not all schools are Title 1 and I assume those children get extra assistance. How about the kids who aren't poor? Why are they still on the same strategy of getting hooked on reading at 4th grade in public.
Also, books are often given to the Title I children to read over the summer and/or packets made for them. Plus summer school.

[Anonymous]

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The difference is that these students don't have parents who will make them do anything academic outside of school. We give out summer packets and summer reading and offer pretty cool reading incentives like gift cards, trips to Chuck E Cheese, etc. Only one or two kids per class might do these. Parents think that all learning happens at school. So extra help in school does improve students' achievement but then they go home and there is nothing. If nobody makes them do homework or read over the summer, most of them don't do it. Playing on tablets and Xbox is more appealing than reading. So that's what they do for nearly 3 straight months. You can imagine how long it takes to get them back into school in the fall. It's like a yearly yo-yo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." The difference is that these students don't have parents who will make them do anything academic outside of school. We give out summer packets and summer reading and offer pretty cool reading incentives like gift cards, trips to Chuck E Cheese, etc. Only one or two kids per class might do these. Parents think that all learning happens at school. So extra help in school does improve students' achievement but then they go home and there is nothing. If nobody makes them do homework or read over the summer, most of them don't do it. Playing on tablets and Xbox is more appealing than reading. So that's what they do for nearly 3 straight months. You can imagine how long it takes to get them back into school in the fall. It's like a yearly yo-yo.

Fine, then it is a strategy for title 1 students, but other students shouldn't have to put up with the same curriculum in public just because of lazy parents. And you are painting quite a broad brush of title 1 students as well.

[Anonymous]

This is why parents leave for private schools. These are my observations and those of my teacher friends in similar schools in our district. I think DCUM readers have trouble understand what the problem is in schools. If you don't like the expectations of the school(s) you child(ren) attend, go elsewhere. I did even though it is a financial stretch for me. My child got all As in her public ES. I couldn't really understand why since she never really worked that hard to deserve them. I switched her to a private MS and now she understands what it takes to earn an A. I had to pay money for her to learn this though.

[Anonymous]

Public schools give an A for any basic effort and provide no feedback to help students improve. And then when the kids fail after graduation they complain they have too little money. Rinse Repeat.