What have you learned about your buddy’s needs, abilities and interests?
My 6th grade buddy is an ELL student. He likes to read about dragons. He chose a book to read that is beyond his ability. He needs help selecting a just right book to read and he needs to be taught some comprehension strategies. His spelling and word-reading ability are both at grade level.
As a result of this knowledge, what learning objectives and materials are you considering using for your lesson?
For my lesson, I plan to use Tovani's book (chap. 4) as a guide. I plan to ask my student these questions:
How do you know when you are confused?
What do you do when you are confused?
Looking at his text, we'll read a passage together and then I will ask him to retell the passage and what it means. If he is unable to, then I will ask him to go back and identify where he starts to become confused. I will then provide several pages of text and ask him to highlight what he does and does not understand.
It sounds like you have a good handle on your student’s needs at this time. I would recommend the same teaching for him as you have suggested. I was looking over one of the handouts Nancy gave us in class, partial list of comprehension strategies and skills. Are you thinking of working on fix-up strategies such as rereading, thinking aloud, getting help etc.? Additionally, will you use a text that he brings or will you use one that you provide? Do you think you will begin a conversation about selecting books that are at level for him, giving him tips? Just some things to consider, we can talk more in class next week.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteIn my main placement school my master teacher is teaching the second graders how to select a just right book. Her strategy is based on the number of words they can (or cannot) identify on a page of a book. If they count more than three words they don’t know, it’s not a just right book for them. It’s also based on the kids AR level which is assessed about every six weeks (their AR scores go up and down and back up again depending on the day, and she even lets the kids retest if she thinks their scores are too low). I wonder how other teachers are working with students to select just right books.
It sounds like you have accurately identified that your buddy needs a lesson in comprehension strategies. It would also help if he was reading a book at his reading level. You seem to have a handle on what you are going to do for your lesson, and I think that Tovani offers valuable guidance for working with kids on comprehension. We can talk more in class as a group about our specific passages.
-Tristen
Kristen,
ReplyDeleteYour understanding of your buddy is very clear, and your lesson framework easily understood. I wondered if you had given any thought to having him highlight during his first reading of the text? The reason I ask is because when he reads again for the second time, he may identify areas where he previously didn't understand. Would you miss this during the first round? This might help you address the other "part" of what to do when you bump into confusing places that minimize the child's understanding.