Discussion #1 Digging Deeper

Discussion #1:  “Digging Deeper”

1.        How can we help children understand more deeply?

2.       How can we know when they comprehend deeply?

This past week I focused on reading Chapter One in Comprehension Going Forward (Keene, E., et. al., 2011). 

So this is what my fifth grade classroom looks like in regards to reading and reading instruction:  a major intersection of diverging streets and paths.  I have 24 students with reading levels ranging from second to twelfth grade.  This year we are implementing a new reading series, complete with lots of bells and whistles.  On top of that my team is trying to use novels to teach reading (something I am a huge fan of and quite enjoy).  At the moment we are reading My Brother Sam is Dead.  In addition, I feel the overwhelming cloud of Common Core looming overhead and don’t feel quite sure about how to instruct in this method of “teaching”.  To add to all of this, I am desperately trying to find my groove amidst all this:  how to structure my lessons, how to effectively utilize centers, and how to improve comprehension.

So, this is what my classroom has looked like in the past:  whole group reading of main passages and teacher modeling of think alouds, whole group vocabulary instruction and daily review, whole group grammar instruction and center practice, centers focused around specific skill instruction (main idea, author’s purpose, cause and effect, etc.), computer practice, worksheets, etc.

So, this is what I want my classroom to look like: students participating in authentic reading experiences that improve their comprehension skills.  I don’t necessarily want to teach students on a skill-by-skill basis (meaning teaching to find the author’s purpose with this passage, and teaching how to compare and contrast with that passage, etc).  I’ve taught that way for years and don’t feel like I’ve created successful students who can dig deeper and really understand what they’re reading.  I also want to be a teacher who truly knows how to build successful readers, lifelong readers who can utilize strategies to help them in life, not just to pass a test.  To be honest, I don’t feel like I honestly know how to do and I certainly don’t want to be reliant on a reading series to build readers.  I want to know what works!  How can I get students to dig deeper. 

This chapter, “Comprehension Instruction Grows Up” was a good place to start.  It documented the experience of a middle school teacher conversing with fellow peers about how to help students dig deeper beyond the “making connections” strategy.  The teacher desired for her students to come into the world of people who read because what they read actually changes them (2011).  She wanted them to “read with a different outlook—not trying to make a connection, but exploring how your connections really help you understand more effectively” (2011, p. 15). 

Her plan:

1.        Read a short piece to her students

2.       Ask them to reread the piece and take notes on how they understand the text: 
-Think about what they think about as they read

-Think about what they DO to help themselves understand

       3.  Share/Discuss what they wrote down with a partner

      4.  Share with group what partner wrote

**Key question she asked students as they were sharing:  “How did these connections/actions help you understand more deeply?” (2011, 19). 

 

So, I took this idea and really tried to implement and make it my own this week and this is what happened:

Day 1, I told the students that my job was to help them understand texts more deeply, not just to pass a test, but to equip them with strategies to make them lifelong, successful readers.  I told them to think about what they were thinking about (metacognition) as I read a chapter from My Brother Sam is Dead.  When I was done, I asked them to write on a sticky note one thing they thought about as I read.  I asked them to place their sticky notes on the board under the title “In My Mind”.  As I read through their responses, I noticed some patterns among their notes and I started to put them into categories.  Some made: 

                Predictions about what might eventually happen in the book
              Connections to something in their own life, another book they read, or a movie they had seen
              Empathy for the characters as to how they were feeling
              Visions of what it would have looked like.  I called this “Movie in my Mind”
              Wonder or questions about certain events or ideas

I continued this exercise in small groups through the week and added some elements.  For example, in my center I chose to read a difficult text with my students, “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere” by Henry Woodsworth Longfellow.  I prefaced it with an exercise I learned previously.  I wrote down small phrases from the text on index card and gave each member of the small group a card and asked them to think about what the phrase meant to them.  Then we traded cards until each person had read all 5-6 cards.  We then shared our thoughts about what the phrases might mean, or what we thought about as we read them.  I then read part of the poem about Paul Revere to the students and asked them to write down what happened in their minds.  Some students wrote feverishly (I was transfixed by this!).  Others didn’t know what to write and I had to coax and encourage them.  I heard some students exclaim, “Oh!” like a lightbulb had gone off (this was music to my ears).  After talking about what we wrote (I shared first), I had some students make more connections as I was sharing (I excitedly told them this is something they could write down!).  We eventually wrote down on our notes “What I do” meaning, what did the students actually do to help them understand as they were reading.  We came up with:  took notes, reread, discussed.  All of these things helped them develop a deeper understanding of what they read. 

So, I continue this exercise with my students, but am not sure about the outcomes yet.  By this I mean, will this enable them and equip them with strategies to help them to gain more meaningful reading experiences?  Will this help them eventually cross over to help them perform better on a test? 

I honestly want to get to the bottom of what actually works to help develop successful readers.  I have a lot to work with and tall order to fill.  Currently, I am spending 30 minutes solely with a group of students who scored 1s and 2s on last year’s FCAT.  For the most part, they are low readers.  But what motivates me at this time is thinking that this is my chance to truly make a difference.  Will it mean higher test scores?  Maybe, maybe not.  But what I do hope to accomplish with this group, is equipping them with strategies and an increased brain ability to more fully comprehend what they read.  I do plan to extensively try out these newfound strategies with them. 

What I definitely don’t want to be doing this year is the same things I’ve done before.  I want to find strategies that work and I only feel like I have scratched the surface, but I’m going to keep on digging!

 

Resources:

Keene, E. O., Zimmerman, S., Miller, D., Bennett, S., Blauman, L., Hutchins, C., .… McGregor, T.,
           (2011). Comprehension going forward: Where we are and what's next. Portsmouth, NH:
           Heinemann.