Reading comprehension tends to be an area in need of improvement in many schools with high concentrations of English Language Learners, Standard English Learners, and even some “high performing” schools admit that students can read but they don’t know what they’re reading. We tend to teach the same way we’ve been taught. However, there are …
Category: Reading Comprehension
Reading Strategies V.2
I have recently redone the reading comprehension strategy cards and they’re available to download. For those unfamiliar with the reading strategies, they are: predicting, making connections, summarizing, asking questions, clarifying, and visualizing. The new cards are more visual and include definitions on the front and back as well as scaffolding (linguistic frames) for both …
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Energize Your Classroom: How Jim Cramer Made Me a Better Teacher of English Language Learners
I’ve become a better teacher of English Language Learners by watching one of my favorite TV Shows, Jim Cramer’s Mad Money. This is a show about buying stocks. If you’re not interested in stocks you might be turned off already, but Jim Cramer is an entertainer. He takes what could be boring and incomprehensible and …
In Defense of New Media
David Warlick comments on an article quoting from an National Endowment for the Arts study finding that Americans are reading less and reading less well. While I’m concerned with Americans’ decreased ability to read well, to say that Americans are reading books less often should be of no shock to anyone given the addition of …
Free Accelerated Reader Program
submitted by Ann Miani A FREE at home AR-like Reading Program, go to www.BookAdventure.com
Teaching Inference
One way to teach students to make inferences is to teach them that there are different kinds of questions. Questions where the answer is clearly in the text, questions when you must use your own head, and questions which ask you to connect to the text. Francie Kugelman has created these charts which students can …
Comprehension Passport Training: Stairway to Comprehension
LAUSD teachers, please join us on November 26th from 3:45-6:45 at Shenandoah Elementary in LAUSD, District 3 for our Comprehension Passport, Stairway to Comprehension. We will be focusing on unit openers, discussing the selection and recording new learning. I will be there presenting a piece of the training in the K-1 group. Please introduce yourself …
Vocabulary Strategy Flags
Crystal Edwards, a fantastic new teacher at my new school, Brentwood Science Magnet, has contributed vocabulary strategy flags to the web site. These are to be printed and attached to popsicle sticks which students keep in their pencil boxes. When examining the week’s vocabulary students hold up the strategy which they think is appropriate for …
Comprehension Strategy Songs
Here’s a fantastic idea for reinforcing the meaning of comprehension strategies using short songs/chants submitted by Reina A. Schaffer. Please find the Comprehension Strategy songs on the general resources page.
How to Be a Good Reading Teacher
This week, City Teacher from one of my favorite blogs, Teaching in the Inner City, reflects upon what it takes to be a good reading teacher and asks us to reflect upon our own experiences learning how to read. My response is here: I think teaching reading is really about teaching students to love reading. …