reading comprehension
In my personal experience, reading comprehension exercises often focus too much on memorization and not enough on actual comprehension of a text. Comprehension is about more than regurgitating material from the story that to find the answer, the student only has to look back at the text to find the answer. Instead, I believe, true comprehension occurs as the student explores, takes-apart and finds a personal connection to the text. It is through these aspects that true comprehension and enjoyment of a text can take place.
ReadWriteThink provides a "Five Senses Checklist" whereby the student makes a personal connection with the author and the text they're reading. As a beginning teacher, I would use this if I wanted to push the student to delve into a deeper understanding of the text and provides the student with an alternative angle rather than what is obvious, superficial, or apparent.
ReadWriteThink provides a "Five Senses Checklist" whereby the student makes a personal connection with the author and the text they're reading. As a beginning teacher, I would use this if I wanted to push the student to delve into a deeper understanding of the text and provides the student with an alternative angle rather than what is obvious, superficial, or apparent.
We have heard time and time again that time and resources are limited in Alberta's classrooms. Aldridge (2010) suggests in his essay the best way for teachers to differentiate their reading instruction: to instruct based on the students' learning styles. For example, there are two main types of readers: Top-Down "global" readers (those who move from whole to part) and Bottom-Up "analytical" readers (those who move from part to whole) (p. 194). "As far as comprehension is concerned, the top-down view is that students build their understanding through discussions of high-quality literature or informational texts. There is generally no direct, explicit instruction of comprehension strategies" (Pearson, n.d., p. 7). On the other hand, "as far as comprehension is concerned, the top-down view is that students build their understanding through discussions of high-quality literature or informational texts. There is generally no direct, explicit instruction of comprehension strategies" (Pearson, n.d., p.7). A Happy Medium: In order to appeal to both top-down and bottom-up learners, interactionism provides a balance so that instruction can be easily differentiated. Interactionists are teachers that include both top-down and bottom-up reading instruction into their practice. They "teach skills directly and systematically - especially in the beginning but they avoid overdoing it, as they do not want to fragment the process. they also provide plenty of opportunities for students to experience the holistic nature of reading and writing by having them read whole books and write for real purposes" (Pearson, n.d., p. 7). As a beginning teacher, it is important to keep these perspectives and ways of teaching in mind for students who may not be catching on to a specific topic.
references
ReadWriteThink International Reading Association. (2014). Five Senses Checklist. Retrieved from: http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/30582_checklist.pdf
Pearson Higher Education. (n.d.). Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students. Retrieved from: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0132685795.pdf
Pearson Higher Education. (n.d.). Creating Literacy Instruction for All Students. Retrieved from: http://www.pearsonhighered.com/assets/hip/us/hip_us_pearsonhighered/samplechapter/0132685795.pdf