1. Kindergarten Quilt Connections  Grade Level: Kindergarten  Subject Area: Language Arts

2. Making Connections  In their book, Strategies That Work, Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis (1999) say that making connections helps readers “make meaning” from text.  It is a strategy used by proficient readers to enhance reading comprehension.

3. Making Connections  “Meaning is constructed in that realm where readers meet the words in the text and consider the ideas in terms of their own experience and knowledge.” (Goudvis and Harvey, 1999)  “The Reader writes the story.” Pulitzer prize winning novelist Annie Proulx (Goudvis and Harvey, 1999)

4. Making Connections  This lesson’s objective is for children to begin a lifelong habit of making connections with text.

5. The method….  In this lesson, the teacher models making connections with the text she chose.

6. Showing vs Telling  Harvey and Goudvis (1999) encourage teachers to “show kids how” instead of just “telling kids what to do”.  They talk about the “gradual release of responsibility” approach.

7.  The first step of this approach calls for the teacher to:  explain a new strategy  demonstrate how to apply the strategy  think out loud to model the mental processes used when reading. Gradual Release of Responsibility (Goudvis and Harvey, 1999)

8.  The next steps:  Guided practice Gradual Release of Responsibility (Goudvis and Harvey, 1999)

9.  The next steps:  Guided practice  Independent practice Gradual Release of Responsibility (Goudvis and Harvey, 1999)

10.  The next steps:  Guided practice  Independent practice  Application in real reading situations Gradual Release of Responsibility (Goudvis and Harvey, 1999)

11.  Goudvis and Harvey (1999, p.47) say: “We have found that we can begin teaching comprehension in preschool and kindergarten even though we recognize that young children are mostly nonreaders at this age. But teaching reading comprehension is mostly about teaching thinking.” For the Kindergarteners

12. This lesson…  Centers around a teacher’s interest in quilting  Could be modified for another teacher’s interest  Requires a teacher to feel a genuine connection to the subject of the text and to the props

13.  Props  Interesting Quilt squares to see and touch  Stuffed animals covered with a quilt  Objects that are very similar to those in the book illustrations  Procedure  Teacher models making connections  Teacher invites children to make their own connections  Participation  Children enjoy talking about their connections  Closure  Children talk about what they learned in the lesson This lesson involves:

14.  Credits: This lesson was based on Strategies that Work: Teaching Comprehension to Enhance Understanding by Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis, Stenhouse Publishers, Portland, ME, 1999.