November - Teaching Comprehension - September H Bennett

Essentially, this chapter discusses the importance of comprehension. Yes, students need to be able to read the words within the story. But how important are the words if students can’t take it beyond the syllables on the page? Comprehension is key for students to be able to completely understand, infer, summarize and thoroughly discuss a text, character, etc. This chapter was a reminder that I need to emphasize this from the start. Without comprehension, students are not participating in REAL reading. Routman says that this should begin in preschool or kindergarten.

Teaching the suggested strategies is one thing. Allowing time for students to apply the strategies taught seems to be where I may be falling short. I find myself sounding very much like the example in the book: My students can regurgitate the various strategies and explain what they are. However, they don’t use the strategies they have learned. Many times, I find that I leave little time for application before moving on to the next strategy. It feels there is so much to get in throughout the year, but I’m finding that I have to be sure to slow down and give students time to truly use what they are taught. The 20% to 80% rule aids in this effort.

I think the biggest take away that I got from this was the importance of self-monitoring for understanding. Getting my students to slow down, think about what they’re reading, asking themselves the 3 key questions are crucial (Does this make sense? Does this sound like language? Do I know what is happening?). I don’t think I have stressed this enough up to this point. Because of this realization, future lessons will be focused around this core skill.