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.