1. + September 13, 2011 Dr. Julie Coiro Chafee 615 EDC 423: Teaching Comprehension and Response in Elementary School

2. + Consider Anna… (p. 18-20) What do you notice about Anna? What else would you like to know?

3. + Consider Anna: What might help meet her needs? PROBLEMS 1. 2. 3. POSSIBILITIES 1. 2. 3.

4. + Where do comprehension difficulties come from? What can you change? 1. Learner characteristics (p. 18) 2. Text characteristics 3. Task (How is comprehension defined?) 4. Teacher/Teaching Practices 5. Context (where, when, with whom text is used)

5. + Definitions Matter Literacy Reading Big Ideas Literacy: ability to communicate through comprehension (understanding) and composition (expression) – with print AND digital texts (verbal and non-verbal texts) Reading: taking meaning and making meaning Comprehension: an inquiry-based problem solving process of constructing meaning by deriving and generating big ideas PROCESS and PRODUCT (oral, writing, digital, art) Big Ideas: core truths about people & the world Concepts (seeds) >> Big Idea Statements Loneliness >> You can be lonely even in a crowd. Greed >> Greed is a sign of fear of loss

6. + Defining Comprehension: Classroom Snapshot (p. 3 and p. 21) Teacher A: answer questions after reading independently and collect for grade Teacher B: reading guide and sticky notes completed individually and handed in for grade Teacher C: Read and retell short story using story grammar; collect for grade Teacher D: Multiple choice worksheet with main ideas and details; graded randomly as a group Reading comprehension is….

7. + Defining Comprehension: Classroom Snapshot (p. 3 and p. 21) Teacher A: answer questions after reading independently (Reading is answering low-level questions after the fact with no purpose setting) Teacher B: reading guide and sticky notes completed individually and handed in for grade (Reading is reflecting on the right answer with no social interaction) Teacher C: Read and retell short story using story grammar; collect for grade (Reading is recalling facts rather than constructing big ideas) Teacher D: Multiple choice worksheet with main ideas and details; graded randomly as a group (Reading is picking right answer rather than problem solving to construct/compose meaning)

8. + YOUR TURN: Reading is… It is best taught by… It is best measured by…

9. + Claudia Cornett’s perspective (informed by research) is… Comprehension First Inquiry Into Big Ideas Using Important Questions The Comprehension Problem Solving Process (CPS)

10. + Why Comprehension First? No Child Left Behind – Five Components (Reading First) Phonemic Awareness Phonics Fluency Vocabulary READING COMPREHENSION Means to comprehension – NOT means to a curricular end which was the downfall of Reading First

11. + Why Aren’t the Reading Components Equal? COMPREHENSION PHONEMICAWAREPHONEMICAWARE PHONICSPHONICS VOCABULARYVOCABULARY FLUENCYFLUENCY PHONEMICAWAREPHONEMICAWARE PHONICSPHONICS VOCABULARYVOCABULARY FLUENCYFLUENCY COMPREHENSIONCOMPREHENSION

12. + A broader interpretation of core components of comprehension is needed to address the problem COMPREHENSION PHONEMICAWAREPHONEMICAWARE PHONICSPHONICS VOCABULARYVOCABULARY FLUENCYFLUENCY WRITINGWRITING MOTIVATIONMOTIVATION

13. + What Prompts Big Ideas? Why Big Ideas? (Cornett, 2010) Asking Important Questions (Before, During, and After) Which is better? Open or closed questions? Personally R ________________ C _______ -- I ________ -- Self-Qu__________ Personal Inquiry => Engagement & Motivation Questions > Big Ideas > More Questions!

14. + Research: Reading Comprehension Achievement in the U.S. (page 13) Reality: Reading comprehension scores are inadequate and flat Putting five pieces together does not make a whole We might be “winning the battle but not the war” How do Americans rank internationally? Patterns among differing groups? Relationship btw. poverty & achievement? The “mother factor” (Guthrie, 2004) Which reading factors can educators address and how?

15. + Five Factors of Comprehension > Opportunities to DIFFERENTIATE 1. Learner characteristics (p. 18) 2. Text characteristics 3. Task (How is comprehension defined?) 4. Teacher/Teaching Practices 5. Context (where, when, with whom text is used)

16. + Upcoming big ideas about best practices… CPS and Before/During/After framework BEFORE: Set a purpose, activate background knowledge DURING: Big ideas, infer, connect, visualize, question/wonder, analyze, synthesize AFTER: Organize, shape, reflect, revise, publish Think-aloud and modeling thinking strategies (define, show, give examples, when/why use) Gradual Release of Responsibility (I do > We do > You do)

17. + Homework: Noticing Good Teaching Reflection #2 Classroom Snapshot: Comprehension Problem Solving (page 29-32) Handout: What Do You Notice T-Chart Instructional Practices (e.g., “Echo me”) Focus on reading strategies (e.g., define the strategy) Three questions at end, page 32 (type your responses) Come prepared to share and discuss next class