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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:However the reality is that many public schools, not all, are instituting a lot of independent reading time with little to no check on what is being read.

If there is no independent reading time, there will be worksheets. Teachers can't win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:However the reality is that many public schools, not all, are instituting a lot of independent reading time with little to no check on what is being read.

. This is a fine strategy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:However the reality is that many public schools, not all, are instituting a lot of independent reading time with little to no check on what is being read.

. This is a fine strategy.

Disagree strongly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well I think you have a lot of teachers disagreeing with you. They've mentioned comic books, star wars, etc. to get kids hooked on reading. My original point was that 3-4 days a week just having independent reading is a much different reading program than the program kids are getting in private schools where they are required to read higher content and higher thinking books with limited choices and also required to respond after reading verbally or in writing.

I dunno. My kids just in a plain ol' public school in a poor part of the county but in 4th and 5th grade grade their class read Tuck Everlasting, the Secret Garden, Bud not Buddy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Maniac McGee, Because of Winn Dixie, and Where the Red Fern Grows. They had to do a lot of responding to the text....What are kids in private schools reading?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I think you have a lot of teachers disagreeing with you. They've mentioned comic books, star wars, etc. to get kids hooked on reading. My original point was that 3-4 days a week just having independent reading is a much different reading program than the program kids are getting in private schools where they are required to read higher content and higher thinking books with limited choices and also required to respond after reading verbally or in writing.

I dunno. My kids just in a plain ol' public school in a poor part of the county but in 4th and 5th grade grade their class read Tuck Everlasting, the Secret Garden, Bud not Buddy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Maniac McGee, Because of Winn Dixie, and Where the Red Fern Grows. They had to do a lot of responding to the text....What are kids in private schools reading?

Gifted or regular ed? What school district?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I think you have a lot of teachers disagreeing with you. They've mentioned comic books, star wars, etc. to get kids hooked on reading. My original point was that 3-4 days a week just having independent reading is a much different reading program than the program kids are getting in private schools where they are required to read higher content and higher thinking books with limited choices and also required to respond after reading verbally or in writing.

I dunno. My kids just in a plain ol' public school in a poor part of the county but in 4th and 5th grade grade their class read Tuck Everlasting, the Secret Garden, Bud not Buddy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Maniac McGee, Because of Winn Dixie, and Where the Red Fern Grows. They had to do a lot of responding to the text....What are kids in private schools reading?

Gifted or regular ed? What school district?

Actually it doesn't matter. The issue in public school is that there are no standards for what children read so next year another teacher and principal could come in with an entirely different program at your school. It doesn't sound like your school uses computers for children to read books on or the Daily Five which is a program that either is too juvenile for most kids or teachers are implementing incorrectly.

[Anonymous]

This blog series on problems within public schools on reading related to the Daily 5 program are very insightful.

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/daily-5-and-common-core#sthash.DXj2M10q.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize-daily-instruction-part-i#sthash.6ywVjuhv.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize-daily-instruction-part-ii#sthash.e7W9X1dp.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize-daily-literacy-instruction-part-iii#sthash.s7PF2HWk.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize-daily-literacy-instruction-part-iv#sthash.gRckg1BX.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/why-standards-based-teaching-has-failed-to-raise-reading-achievement#sthash.O32JkXwH.dpbs

http://www.cdl.org/articles/how-to-organize-daily-literacy-instruction/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I think you have a lot of teachers disagreeing with you. They've mentioned comic books, star wars, etc. to get kids hooked on reading. My original point was that 3-4 days a week just having independent reading is a much different reading program than the program kids are getting in private schools where they are required to read higher content and higher thinking books with limited choices and also required to respond after reading verbally or in writing.

I dunno. My kids just in a plain ol' public school in a poor part of the county but in 4th and 5th grade grade their class read Tuck Everlasting, the Secret Garden, Bud not Buddy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Maniac McGee, Because of Winn Dixie, and Where the Red Fern Grows. They had to do a lot of responding to the text....What are kids in private schools reading?

This sounds like they may have been participating in book clubs, which I know is introduced in at least FCPS' 2nd grade pacing.

[Anonymous]

This blog series on problems within public schools on reading related to the Daily 5 program are very insightful.

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/daily-5-and-common-core#sthash.DXj2M10q.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize...on-part-i#sthash.6ywVjuhv.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize...n-part-ii#sthash.e7W9X1dp.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize...-part-iii#sthash.s7PF2HWk.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/how-to-organize...n-part-iv#sthash.gRckg1BX.dpbs

http://shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/why-standards-b...hievement#sthash.O32JkXwH.dpbs

http://www.cdl.org/articles/how-to-organize-daily-literacy-instruction/

OP here. I was very interested in reading this blog series, although no teachers I know use the Daily Five approach now. I kept waiting for Shanahan to clearly lay out what techniques he believes are most effective to reach the goals he sets forth. If a teacher posted this, could you let me know how you organize your literacy period according to Shanahan's goals?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I think you have a lot of teachers disagreeing with you. They've mentioned comic books, star wars, etc. to get kids hooked on reading. My original point was that 3-4 days a week just having independent reading is a much different reading program than the program kids are getting in private schools where they are required to read higher content and higher thinking books with limited choices and also required to respond after reading verbally or in writing.

I dunno. My kids just in a plain ol' public school in a poor part of the county but in 4th and 5th grade grade their class read Tuck Everlasting, the Secret Garden, Bud not Buddy, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Maniac McGee, Because of Winn Dixie, and Where the Red Fern Grows. They had to do a lot of responding to the text....What are kids in private schools reading?

Gifted or regular ed? What school district?

PGCPS TAG program -- but our TAG program isn't nearly as selective as a place like Fairfax or MCPS; and the FARMS rate at my kids' elementary school was over 60%. Great School Rating was a whopping 5/10. But my kids read good books and did interesting projects and wrote essays about the books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here. I was very interested in reading this blog series, although no teachers I know use the Daily Five approach now. I kept waiting for Shanahan to clearly lay out what techniques he believes are most effective to reach the goals he sets forth. If a teacher posted this, could you let me know how you organize your literacy period according to Shanahan's goals?

OP, I think many teachers are drawn to the Daily 5 because it gives them a way to manage student activity during what we used to call "seat work time". When one group is having small group instruction with the teacher, the other 4 groups need to be working independently. We used to do worksheets and workbooks, then learning centers; Daily 5 is just a different way of presenting activities for students to do independently that has the benefit of not being a center (requiring teacher prep time) and not being a worksheet (the horror!!)

Seems like Shanahan thinks you should focus on learning goals, not activities, even if the way you reach those learning goals involves using a program or a basal reader or workbook. I'm the ESOL teacher who mentioned earlier two [rpgrams I found that work well -- this is basically how I organize my classes, so I agree with him, although I need to admit I do it on the down-low as no one in my school district wants to see someone just basically teacging from a workbook (no matter how effective it may be!!)

What are these goals? My reading of the research says that students need to learn words and word parts (to read them, to interpret them), they need to be able to read text fluently (with sufficient accuracy, speed, and prosody), they need to be able to understand and interpret the ideas in text, and they need to convey their own ideas through text (writing). These are all critically important goals, and each of them has many sub goals.

I would argue teachers should provide students with explicit instruction and lots of practice time in each of these four learning areas on a daily basis. Rather than focusing on four or five activities that kids should be engaged in everyday, I’d rather have teachers thinking about what activities they should encourage based on the learning goals in each of these areas. Thus, it would be very reasonable to spend 30 minutes on words, 30 minutes on fluency, 30 minutes on reading comprehension, and 30 minutes on writing everyday (on average)—even though the actual activities would vary.

A daily organizing plan that is focused on these outcomes makes greater sense than one based on activities such as read to self or read to someone.

And such a plan makes sense even when using “core reading programs” or “basal readers” because they help teachers to choose among the many options such programs provide.

[Anonymous]

My teacher colleagues and I got together this week for drinks. It was really fun. One of the best parts was when I opened up my phone to show them this whole thread and we were laughing so hard. The whole idea of including parents as people qualified to answer this question is hilarious. Thank you for the hardest laugh I've had in forever!

[Anonymous]

Wow, I’m really sorry you feel that way. I see parents as some of my best partners in educating children. They know what books they like, can reinforce what I teach at home, and can alert me to issues at home that might affect a student’s ability to learn or focus on a particular day. I’d urge you to see your parents in that light.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My teacher colleagues and I got together this week for drinks. It was really fun. One of the best parts was when I opened up my phone to show them this whole thread and we were laughing so hard. The whole idea of including parents as people qualified to answer this question is hilarious. Thank you for the hardest laugh I've had in forever!

Laughs on you. Parents pay your salary and give money to the school and teachers specifically. 22:09 will be getting a good recommendation, however her salary will suffer because of teachers like you. If need be, we'll go private. And teachers wonder why much of America now doesn't trust public schools.

[Anonymous]

And private school teachers are somehow better? Many of them are not certified. I have 2 friends who teach in private schools and they constantly talk about the crazy parents there. My colleagues and I talk about the non-existent parents at our school. I'd love to find a place with a happy medium. Parents who care and are willing to help in whatever ways they can without being in your face telling you how to do your job.