Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading Presentation By: Christa Danner Professional Study Plan 2009

STRATEGIES Metacognition Using Schema Inferring Questioning Determining Importance Visualizing Synthesizing

Good readers read and think Metacognition Reading is Thinking Good readers read and think at the same time.

Metacognition I think I can think about thinking! Do you understand what I said? It’s all about metacognition – what’s going on in my head Lyrics from “Reading Strategy Songs” Miles and Tanny McGregor

Text + Thinking = Real Reading Metacognition p. 11 - 27 Wordless Books: The Red Book by Barbara Lehman Concrete Experience: The Reading Salad text thinking When Books and Brains Collide The Thought Bubble Thinking about my thinking (aka How to Get Inside Your Teacher’s Head) Color Cards (level of understanding) Text + Thinking = Real Reading

Thinking about our thinking Metacognition Thinking about our thinking THINKING STEMS I’m thinking… I’m noticing… I’m wondering… I’m seeing… I’m feeling…

Using Schema Good readers use what they already know to better understand and enjoy the story. Good readers preview a text and think about what they know about a topic before reading. Good readers activate, build and revise their schema while reading. Good readers make connections (text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world) while reading.

Schema Schema, schema What I know Watch it grow I can make Connections Meaningful connections Text to self Text to text Text to world Lyrics from “Reading Strategy Songs” Miles and Tanny McGregor

Circles of Connections Schema p. 28 - 45 Wordless Books by Mercer Mayer Concrete Experience: The Schema Roller Artist: Norman Rockwell: Enduring Connections Circles of Connections “Rachel Delevoryas,” Randy Stonehill “You’ve Got a Friend,” Randy Newman “Popular,” Kristin Chenoweth A Day in the Life of a Girl (1952) A Day in the Life of a Boy (1951) Surprise (1956)

Making connections using our prior knowledge Schema Making connections using our prior knowledge THINKING STEMS That reminds me of… I’m remembering… I have a connection to… I have schema for… I can relate to…

Inferring Good readers use their schema and the clues in the book to draw conclusions and make their own interpretations. Good readers make predictions about text and confirm or reject them as they read on. Good readers determine meanings of unknown words by using their schema, paying attention to the picture clues, re-reading and talking to others.

Inferring Do I infer? The answer’s “yes” I infer when I read text When I infer, it’s a smart guess my thinking is best I infer what happens next Lyrics from “Reading Strategy Songs” Miles and Tanny McGregor

Listen Between the Lines Inferring p. 46 - 59 Wordless Books by Istvan Banyai Concrete Experience: Shoe/Garbage Artist: Horace Pippin: Inferring from the Heart Listen Between the Lines “Cat’s in the Cradle,” Harry Chapin “Day Is Gone,” Peter, Paul, and Mary “The Best Gift,” Barbra Streisand Domino Players (1943) Christmas Morning, Breakfast (1945) The Wash (1942)

schema + evidence = inference Inferring schema + evidence = inference THINKING STEMS My guess is… Maybe… Perhaps… It could be that… This could mean… I predict… I infer…

Questioning Good readers ask questions before, during and after reading. Good readers ask questions to clarify meaning, wonder about text yet to be read, focus their attention, and locate specific answers. Good readers understand that many interesting questions may not be answered directly in the text. Good readers understand that asking questions helps deepen understanding.

Questioning Asking questions when I read before, during, and after. Lyrics from “Reading Strategy Songs” Miles and Tanny McGregor

Questioning p. 60 - 73 Concrete Experience: Questioning Rocks Wordless Books: By David Wiesner Concrete Experience: Questioning Rocks Sector 7 Who? Why? ? ? ? ? What? How? When? Where? Do? Tuesday Free Fall Q=24-7 Artist: Wonder-full Songs “Whose Garden Was This,” Tom Paxton “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Bob Dylan “Y,” by Mark McGuinn “The Living Years,” Mike and the Mechanics Jan Vermeer: Questions Beneath the Surface Chasing Vermeer (2005) A Girl Asleep (1657) Girl with a Pearl Earring (2001)

Generate Questions Before, During, and After Reading 24/7! Questioning Generate Questions Before, During, and After Reading 24/7! THINKING STEMS I wonder… What if… Why… I don’t understand… It confuses me… How could…

Determining Importance Good readers think about what information is important to remember. They skim and scan books prior to reading and think about what they know about a topic and what they might learn. They use clues the author gives them like headings, bold words, and captions to find important information. They notice when their inner voice says, “WOW” or “Look at this”, because it usually means they have learned something new. They look for signal words the author uses before important information like “most important” or “in conclusion”.

Determining Importance I can read it all But I can’t remember it all I choose what’s important and single it out Determine That’s what it’s about! Lyrics from “Reading Strategy Songs” Miles and Tanny McGregor

Determining Importance p. 74 - 87 Wordless Book: A Circle of Friends by Giora Carmi Concrete Experience: Purse/Just Add Water “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton Artist: Mary Cassatt: Make an Impression with Determining Importance Listening for Importance “Seasons of Love,” from Rent “Takes a Little Time,” Amy Grant “Secret o’Life,” James Taylor “Ebony and Ivory,” Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder Breakfast in Bed (1897) The Child’s Bath (1893) At the Opera (1877)

Determining Importance What matters most? THINKING STEMS What’s important here… What matters to me… One thing that we should notice… I want to remember… It’s interesting that…

Visualizing Good readers use what they already have stored in their memories to visualize a story. Images come from emotions and all five senses. Creating images makes the text come alive, makes the text personal or memorable to the reader. Helps a reader to better understand the text.

Visualizing Make a picture in your head Use your senses. Like a movie when you read A mental image. Lyrics from “Reading Strategy Songs” Miles and Tanny McGregor

Mental Images Through Music Visualizing p. 88 - 101 Wordless Books: Sidewalk Circus by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes Concrete Experience: Visualizing Tubes Carl the Dog series by Alexandra Day Artist: Mental Images Through Music “Old Friends/Bookends,” by Simon and Garfunkel Fantasia soundtrack Peter and the Wolf, Sergei Prokofiev “Grandma’s Featherbed,” by John Denver Dorothea Lange: True Vision “Alabama Farm” (1938) “New York City” (1952) “Migrant Mother” (1936) “Riverbank Gas Station” (1940)

Visualizing THINKING STEMS I’m picturing… I can imagine… Create mental images USE YOUR SENSES THINKING STEMS I’m picturing… I can imagine… I can feel…see…smell… taste…touch…hear My mental images include…

Synthesizing Good readers monitor the meaning and themes of a story, understanding that their thinking changes as the story unfolds. Good readers retell what they have read as one way to synthesize. Good readers recommend and criticize books they have read. Good readers synthesize to create their own interpretation.

queen of all strategies Just synthesize! Synthesizing Synthesize Take what You know And see it grow You put all your Thinking together, you see Your thinking is changing And that’s the key And this is the queen of all strategies Just synthesize! Lyrics from “Reading Strategy Songs” Miles and Tanny McGregor

Sing a Song of Synthesis Synthesizing p. 103 - 112 Wordless Books: Owly series by Andy Runton Concrete Experience: Nesting Dolls Artist: I.M. Pei: Structures of Synthesis Sing a Song of Synthesis “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” “The Green Grass Grows All Around” “The House That Jack Built” “Windmills of Your Mind” Louvre Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

changing your thinking along the way Synthesizing changing your thinking along the way THINKING STEMS Now I understand why… I’m changing my mind about… I used to think _____ but now I think… My new thinking is… I’m beginning to think…

Determining Importance Schema Synthesis Questioning Inferring Metacognition Visualizing