Monitoring Comprehension Julie Trone, Krista Wayne, Melody Ratigan

Reading Define Reading to your partner Reading: “Getting the meaning of something written by using the eyes to interpret its characters.” Webster’s New World Dictionary (1991)

Comprehension Goal- CONSTRUCT MEANING Teachers are too often assessing rather than teaching our students to better comprehend what they read. Comprehension strategies are to help students construct meaning from text.

How do you construct meaning from text? Monitor Understanding Enhance Understanding Acquire and Actively Use Knowledge Develop Insight

Strategies to use to Construct Meaning from text Connections- prior knowledge and new information Ask Questions Draw Inferences during and after reading Separate important from less important ideas in text Combine information within and across texts and reading experiences Monitor the adequacy of their understanding and repair faulty comprehension

Purpose for Reading There is always one purpose for sure and that is understanding Teach kids to think about their purpose for reading WHY? Proficient readers adapt strategies for their purpose for reading You need metacognitive knowledge to match the strategies to your purpose for reading

Reciprocal Teaching A teacher student dialogue where teacher models and gradually relinquishes control to the student. Based on Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development. Teacher provides “instructional scaffold” This sentence by sentence guidance is more appropriate for readers with severe reading and language problems.

Reciprocal Teaching Why It Works: 1. By having the teacher engage explicitly in comprehension monitoring, it provides a model for the novice reader of what expert readers do when they try to learn from texts. 2. It obligates even the quietest of students to respond openly, thus allowing teachers to assess student’s current level and provide appropriate feedback.

Metacognitive Knowledge An awareness and understanding of how one thinks and uses strategies during reading. Four aspects of metacognitive knowledge- These help understand how learners adapt strategies to their purposes.

Four Aspects of Metacognitive Knowledge Tacit Learners/Readers- lack an awareness of how they think while reading Aware Learners/Readers- Realize when meaning breaks down, but do not know enough fix-up strategies Strategic Learners/ Readers- Use their thinking and comprehension as tools, but are unable to monitor and repair meaning with it is disrupted. Reflective Learners/ Readers- Stratgic thinkers, apply strategies flexibly based off goals and purpose, and monitor thinking and understanding. Also reflect, ponder and revise their use of strategies.

Monitoring Questioning Connencting Reacting Inferring Inferring

The Inner Conversation “The voice you hear when you read silently is not silent, it is a speaking out-loud voice in your head.” –Thomas Lux Voice in head while reading that allows to construct meaning You have to have an inner conversation to know when you stray from it Awareness= quicker repair when meaning breaks down Teach readers to stay on top of their reading Readers move toward independence when they can monitor their comprehension

Inner Conversation Cont. We teach readers to… Become aware of their thinking during reading Monitor understanding and keep track of meaning Listen to the voice in their head to construct meaning Notice when they stray from thinking about text Notice when meaning breaks down Detect obstacles and confustions that detail understanding Understand how numerous strategies can help repair meaning Know when, why, and how to apply certain strategies to keep and continue understanding

Krista Following the inner conversation Purpose: Listen to the inner voice and leave tracks of thinking (Sticky Notes) Interactive Reading aloud- reading aloud for the purpose of instruction Steps Activate background knowledge Model Guided practice Sharing thinking

Krista Noticing When we stray from the Inner Conversation Purpose: Monitoring the inner voice to focus thinking and “fix- up” comprehension

Melody Noticing and exploring thinking Purpose: Listening to the inner voice and responding to the text Steps: Talk about my own personal connection to story. Read book all the way through without stopping. Ask students to write down their inner conversation on a large sticky note. Share with a partner. Collect sticky notes and put them on anchor chart.

Melody Knowing when you know and knowing when you don’t know Purpose: Monitoring comprehension to clarify confusion or answer questions about the text Materials: Sticky notes coded Huh? for confused and with a light bulb for reader’s illumination.

Julie Read, Write, and Talk Purpose: Teaching readers to stop, think, and react to informational text

Monitoring Comprehension Review Engagement Teach our students to be ACTIVE readers not PASSIVE