Better comprehension

[Diane Lockwood]

I have five reading groups: two in second grade and three in third grade. I am finding that my running records are good but the comprehension tests are not so good. We discuss the material a lot, and in class they seem to have a handle on things, but not when it comes to taking the tests. Can anyone out there help me?
Thanks.:confused:

[Unregistered]

Are you asking comprehension-level questions during lessons?

I would suggest letting them know the questions before you do the reading, then stopping periodically to ask them. "What is taking place so far? Why is she mad? Etc."

[Unregistered]

Blooms Taxonomy is great for planning the questions you'll ask in class, but more importantly, read the book Strategies that Work, published by Heinemann. You can get it for cheap on Amazon and it will change your life and your lessons for good.

Shaina

[robertanke1]

For my kids who have trouble on comprehension tests, I reinforce the following strategies in test taking (I model it whole-class first and then individually as necessary, then one short, take-home practice a week from then on):

1. read the text
2. read the question
3. read the options for answers (if it's written response skip this)
4. read the question again
5. ask yourself if it's a "find it" question (explicit/in the text), or a "clues and thinking" question (inferred from textual clues)
6. put FI or C&T next to the question (this is to internalize that there are two types of comprehension questions on all the major tests).
7. if it's FI go find the answer and point to it, then mark the correct answer. If it's C&T go find and point to the clue(s) that prove your answer is correct.

and that's it.

'Course you need to spend a little time talking about inferences before they can see that they're actually using clues from the text (coupled with their own experience) to find answers, but that's done easily enough by modelling your own thinking as a reader when you read out loud to them on a regular basis.

All this is related to an AWESOME school of thought that began with a book called Mosaic of Thought. What an incredible book.

good luck!

[Unregistered]

Mosaic of Thought
and
Reading with Meaning by D. Miller

[Unregistered]

I have five reading groups: two in second grade and three in third grade. I am finding that my running records are good but the comprehension tests are not so good. We discuss the material a lot, and in class they seem to have a handle on things, but not when it comes to taking the tests. Can anyone out there help me?
Thanks.:confused:







When you ability group it is more effective to group students based on the objective/skill that you are teaching. If your goal is to increase their fluency then it makes sense to group them by fluency level. This practice works well for K-2 classrooms. If your learning objectives focus on comprehension then group your students based on the comprehension skills they need to learn. For example, put kids who have difficulty analyzing characters in one group and put kids who have difficulty determining main idea into another group. Then, instead of discussing the specific story, teach them those skills.

Discussing a story in class is a crutch that allows students to comprehend that particular story (using your insights). By contrast, increasing their reading comp. skills will allow them to use those skills on any story they read without your help.

[minerva.688]

How about simulating comprehension tests before?

Many students just have problems in a test situation. They feel uncomfortable and are very nervous. If you simulate the test situations, they get used to it and will perform better.

[Unregistered]

How about simulating comprehension tests before?

Many students just have problems in a test situation. They feel uncomfortable and are very nervous. If you simulate the test situations, they get used to it and will perform better.




Really? You think kids can pass a test without having the underlying skills? That may work for gifted kids, but the rest of the population needs skill specific instruction. Most kids can't determine the main idea of paragraphs unless someone teaches them how to do it. Ditto for the rest of the reading comprehension skills.