READING IS THINKING!
While we read, we are constantly thinking about what we are reading, but with kids, we have to teach them to think about the reading. Through explicit teaching, they learn how to make connections, infer, question, synthesize, determine importance, and visualize. In the next 6 months, I will be teaching you how to support your child as they learn how to use these comprehension strategies at school and home.
Making Connections
Children make personal connections with the text by using their schema. Schema is their background knowledge.
There are three main types of connections we can make during reading:
- Text-to-Self: Refers to connections made between the text and the reader's personal experience.
- Text-to-Text: Refers to connections made between a text being read to a text that was previously read.
- Text-to-World: Refers to connections made between a text being read and something that occurs in the world.
Inferring
Authors do not always provide descriptions about a topic, setting, character, or event. However, they often provide clues that readers can use to “read between the lines”—by making inferences that combine information in the text with their schema.
Questioning
This strategy involves readers asking themselves questions throughout the reading of text.
Synthesizing
Synthesizing is creating something new by gathering together information from the text.
Determining Importance
Determining importance has to do with knowing why you’re reading and then making decisions about what information or ideas are most critical to understanding the overall meaning of the piece.
Visualizing
Visualizing is creating pictures in your head while you read using the text as a support.
"The more you read, the more things you will know. The more you learn, the more places you'll go." –Dr. Seuss
“Research consistently shows that struggling readers fall even further behind over the summer months. Each year a wider gap is created between the higher achieving or more proficient and less proficient students, sometimes producing up to a two to three year reading gap. There are several things that we as educators and parents can do to close this reading gap” stated by Charity Kinner.
As a mother of two, I have one who LOVES to read and one who will avoid it at all costs, and having a teacher as their mother does not make their lives any easier. I can’t seem to get away from the “teacher talk” even at home. Throughout the next year, my hope is to give you ideas and strategies which will empower you at home with some “teacher talk” of your own.
Below are some things you can do to prevent the summer reading lag.
Summer Reading Tips:
1. Remember reading does not have to consist of only books. Magazines and newspapers are also great resources for students to read. Non-fiction text promotes a high level of vocabulary development. The public library has a wide variety of magazines available for check out.
2. Books on tape or CD are fantastic. Put a book in the car CD player, and you can all listen to it.
3. Read a book with your child. I like to read chapter books aloud to mine, and then we can have conversations about the events or ask each other questions.
4. Cook together. Reading practical texts, such as recipes, correlates their reading with math application, as well.
5. Reading comic books are great for the reluctant reader.
6. Stay tuned for more information on an exciting new program coming NEXT summer….our mobile library.
Happy Reading!
Mrs. H.
