Comprehension in the Classroom When students aren’t learning it’s because the demonstrations they are seeing are not adequate, meaningful or necessary to them. Goldfields Network Breakfast Professional Learning June, 2010

Placemat Work in groups of 4. Respond individually to the question. Share your responses with members of your group. Write a summary of your group’s ideas in the centre circle. Share with whole group.

Placemat 1.What is comprehension? (What do effective readers do to make sense of the texts they read?) 2. How do we teach comprehension? (How do we organise the learning for our students?) 3. How do we assess comprehension? (How do we know they understand what they are reading?)

What is comprehension? When reading is viewed as constructing meaning from text rather than just decoding words, most children become capable readers. If the focus of reading is discussion and personal response, most children can participate on a high level. Reading becomes accessible to all. (Regie Routman, Invitations)

From: (NZ Ed Dept website)

What is the learning intention of the lesson? What is the teacher doing to support student understanding? What are the students doing to enhance their understanding of the text? Think Pair Share – Video Observation Work with a partner. Partner A is to observe the teacher, and Partner B is to observe the students. Record your observations and share with the group.

A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman Rosa Parks Sharks Think Pair Share – Video Observation Work with a partner. Partner A is to observe the teacher, and Partner B is to observe the students. Record your observations and share with the group.

Where does the teaching of comprehension fit in our reading workshop? When and how do we teach students to understand the texts they read?

Whole classIndependent or groupWhole class Mini lesson Modelling a strategy Independent reading Individual conference Response to reading Small group focussed teaching:  Oral language  Read aloud  Shared reading  Guided reading  Reciprocal reading  Literature circles  Book clubs Reflection on learning 20%60%20% Reading Workshop Effective lesson structure

How do we know what to teach our students? Observation Reading journals Reading responses Rubrics Sticky notes Listening to them talk about books.....shared, interactive read aloud, guided, book talks, conferring, reflecting