CH 6 & 7 in WK

BOOK
"Probable Passage is a brief summary of a text from which key words have been omitted....after discussing what the words mean, students arrange the in categories according to their probable functions in the story..." (CH 6, pg. 87)

"...comprehension begins prior to reading and extends into discussions they have after they've finished reading." (CH 6, pg. 101)

"Dependent readers fail to see reading as an active process....what do you mean active? You sit. You stare. You turn pages. What's active about that?" (CH 7, pg 102)

"Say Something is a very simple strategy that interrupts a student's reading of a text, giving her a chance to think about what she read." (CH 7, pg 105)

RESPONSE
After reading this chapter I thought all of the strategies used would be great to use in the classroom. The anticipation guide and k-w-l both had its positives. However what I liked reading about most was Probable Passage and seeing an example in the book. I really like this strategy which is used for predicting activating prior knowledge, making inferences, etc. I liked reading about what the students were thinking while they placed the words in the correct category. I think this is a great strategy to use to help with predicting and getting the students' minds actively thinking. "It forces them to think about the characters, setting, problem...before they read the story."

This is something I have never really thought about. After I read this I realized how true that statement was. I think when most people think about comprehension they think about answering questions after reading a text, but comprehension beings before you even start reading.

I thought this was interesting because dependent readers really do think like that. It is hard to explain or teach to them that reading is an active process. I enjoyed reading Lavern's response to Ama and Karen. She was so amazed at what they did while they read.

The Say Something strategy reminded me of literature circles but smaller and quieter. I would want to use this strategy in my classroom and use this by grouping the students into groups of two. I think it would have the benefits of literature circles but in a smaller, individualized way.

CH. 4 & 5 in WK

BOOK
Chapter 4 as a whole

Chapter 5 as a whole & " He put down $10.oo at the window. The woman behind the window gave $4.00. The person next to him gave him $3.00, but he gave it back to her. So, when they went inside, she bought him a large bag of popcorn." (Ch 5. pg 62/63)
RESPONSE
After reading this chapter there wasn't specific things I connected to. What I enjoyed most about this chapter was watching, or reading, Kate teach two classes about a comprehension lesson using the book Eleven by Sandra Cisneros. I thought it was very interesting seeing how well she progressed from the first class to the last. I would agree with Kate that teaching things like comprehension to children can be very difficult. It can be a real challenge however I think Kate did a really good job teaching the lesson the second time. After reading this chapter I also thought of how beneficial it is to talk, discuss, and critique yourself with more experienced teachers. People learn from their mistakes but they also learn from others and the knowledge that they can bring.

Chapter five was another interesting chapter. When I think about teaching I don't think about how to teach comprehension, or think about inference. An inference would be hard to teach students if you don't have the appropriate knowledge of how to teach it. As you get older you tend to forget about the things you were taught because it is so natural in your world today. I really liked the paragraph used to get the students to "infer". Before I read on in the chapter I read this paragraph and tried to make inferences. As I read the two classes' response and what they came up with, I thought they had good imaginations. I think reading short paragraphs like these in the classroom everyday or once a week would be great to do. I think students would learn a lot about inferencing and as time passes it will become so natural for them.