Teachers (and Parents): What reading comprehension strategies have you found effective?
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Anonymous
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I teach 4th grade reading, and I'm interested in hearing what you've found to be the most effective way to teach reading comprehension. I have a great library in the classroom that the kids love and several students every year discover their passion for reading. We read several novels aloud each year, read lots of Scholastic News articles, and do guided reading groups. There are still a fair number of kids who don't read during independent reading time and for whom it is extremely difficult to find information independently in a text.
I guess I'm looking for any suggestions, tips, or teaching strategies that you have found particularly helpful in either getting kids to read independently and enjoy it (that's of course the most important goal) or, failing that, at least have the stamina necessary to read carefully and be able to answer questions in a text. Thoughts? Thanks! |
Anonymous
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You teach reading? Are you a reading specialist?
If you are not a reading specialist, but your job is to teach reading, your school needs to send you to PD to learn instructional strategies. In the meantime, check out books by Ellin Keeene, Cris Tovani, and Kylene Beers. They are some of the gurus of reading instruction. |
Anonymous
| Thanks! I'm a classroom teacher who teaches reading and writing (we rotate classes, so I don't teach math, social studies, or science). I have read Mosaic of Thought and both Notice & Note books, and implemented some of their strategies. I've found it difficult to merge Notice and Note with Lucy Calkins Units of Study, which is what I have tried to do in the past. I'd like to read 2018 research on reading comprehension to make sure I'm aware of the latest research-based practices, but don't have access to academic libraries. I will order the new Ellin Keene book and check out Cris Tovani. I also find it helpful to consult with other teachers (such as those on DCUM) who have their "boots on the ground" so to speak. That's why I'm reaching out here. |
Anonymous
| 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." |
Anonymous
| OP here. Thank you! That's exactly the kind of thing I'd like to explore this summer. |
Anonymous
| Usually kids don’t read because it is too hard for them. Find out what their problems are and work with them discreetly. Do they have problems with decoding? Fluency? Or do they just find reading a chore because over-teaching of comprehension skills is a problem. It makes some kids hate reading. Also, lack of background knowledge makes reading difficult. Lack of content teaching is another issue that doesn’t help these kids who have no frame of reference for what they are reading. I’m an introvert and most of the time I just wanted my teacher to stop talking so much so I could read. |
Anonymous
| OP here again. I agree that many kids don't read because it's too hard for them. I let them choose whatever book they want to read from my library, and I've found that many of the students are drawn to graphic novels because they are less intimidating that pages full of text. Which graphic novels do your students or children like? I'm making several trips to the Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. this summer to see what I can find. |
Anonymous
Best graphic novels and comic novels: 1. Amulet 2. Bone 3. 13 story treehouse series 4. The Creature from my Closet series 5. Wimpy Kid series 6. Straight comics like Peanuts, Calvin & Hobbes, etc. just have to make sure they are content appropriate (Calvin & Hobbes can be little mature) 7. Kids seem to like Zombie Goldfish 8. Smile, Sisters, etc. (she wrote a few that are very good) |
Anonymous
| You also might want to make sure you have popular series like Magic Treehouse that are slightly below grade level. That way, they are an easy read. |
Anonymous
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As a parent, the thing that has helped is modeling for my kids. As we read stories aloud, we ask questions.. sometimes to the kids, but sometimes we answer them ourselves. If we are predicting, we all make a prediction. If we are comparing/contrasting, we all take a turn. Sometimes our kids give really great answers... and sometimes they don't. We tend to model more solid answers after they have been given a chance. They don't even realize we are "teaching" when we just keep things conversational and casual.
We also work really hard at building background knowledge. I am not sure how Teachers can translate these two things... the first has been built over time and is part of our daily routine. The second is also just a part of our family culture. Perhaps planning some sort of Workshop for parents/caregivers to help teach ways to support reading development in the home? As far as graphic novels go, DogMan has been huge in our house. |
Anonymous
agree with this, especially if it is 4th grade. The kids who are behind could be dyslexic, ADD, need speech therapy, etc. in addition to having never memorized the letters, the phonics, the exceptions. |
Anonymous
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I'm an ESOL teacher. You asked for the most effective ways to improve reading comprehension. In my experience there have been two reading programs out there that have been the most effective for helping advance my ESOL students who are reading below level rapidly.
One is for decoding improvement -- it is a systematic, sequential program called Abecedarian. This program works best as an individual intervention or in very small groups of 2 to no more than 4. Typically with my 4th graders who have the basics of decoding down but are working with multisyllabic words, they'd be working in Workbook D -- words with Latin and Greek roots. Those who are further behind in 4th grade might still be working in Book C, beginnings of multisyllable words. If I had a 4th grader who still needed Workbook A or B, I'd move heaven and earth to work with that child one on one. I have been successful working with 4 students at a time in workbook D. The other program that has really sped up reading gains is a discontinued series called QuickReads. This is great for ESOL students who are capable decoders but need to improve reading fluency. It also is fantastic for building background knowledge in Science and Social Studies. Again I work with students in very small groups, so as they read a passage (the passages are thematically based with 6 short passages on one topic) I just ask them a ton of questions and when they reveal lack of knowledge on a subject, we just pull out the map, the globe, the Youtube video or whatever is needed and go over it right then and there. My students have a shocking lack of background knowledge and this program just gives us a structure for being sure to cover the basics of elementary school content knowledge -- what makes day and night, the reason for the seasons, basic history of exploration; basics about ancient civilizations, animal classification, animal defenses etc etc etc. Quickreads Level A corresponds to a low first grade reading level, Level D would be remedial 4th grade reading Level etc. By the time my end of the year fourth grade students have worked through Abecedarian Workbook D and Quickreads Level E1 (remedial fifth grade level IMO) books, they are typically solidly reading at grade level and can participate easily with their mainstream class. The do not stumble or hesitate when they hit unfamiliar multisyllabic and they have a sense of the meaning of the words or can figure out in context. Their reading stamina is strong and they don't hesitate to pick up books to read for pleasure. I only see my students every other day so I am always looking for the most efficient types of intervention and after 15 years of teaching these are the two I have found to be the most useful. I use them in my own tutoring practice as well. Online the best resource I have found so far is Reading A to Z. It has some flaws, but overall the kids do develop reading stamina, and at the higher levels the comprehension questions are decent. |
Anonymous
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Engagement is the first hurdle to overcome. You have to be there when they’re picking books. Are they interested? Do the characters look like them? Talk to them about their interests and then find books that match those interests. Read with them. Talk about the book and showed you’re excited. Don’t give up on trying to hook these kids into independent reading. Be doggedly persistent. Make it your mission to be that 4th grade teacher that gets every kid hooked on independent reading.
Get Jen Sarravello’s book Reading Strategies. I’ve been in FCPS for over 25 years teaching upper elementary. She’s one of the best. http://www.jenniferserravallo.com And Donalynn Miller’s “Book Whisperer” is all about getting kids hooked on reading. |
Anonymous
| Wow! OP here. These responses are beyond wonderful. Thank you, everyone, who’s taken the time to write such thoughtful, encouraging responses! DCUM community, you rock! |
Anonymous
PP again -- I said the series was discontinued but I think it has been adapated -- I use the older books that I can buy online individually. Here's an example of QuickReads Level B book 1 - don't know if this link will work -- http://pearsoneducation.scene7.com/s7viewers/html5/eCatalogViewer.html?emailurl=http://pearsoneducation.scene7.com/s7/emailFriend&serverUrl=http://pearsoneducation.scene7.com/is/image/&config=PearsonEducation/Universal_HTML5_eCatalog_no_share&contenturl=http://pearsoneducation.scene7.com/skins/&config2=companypreset&asset=PearsonEducation/Quick-reads-SE |