Here's something that I've tried with some success. In this activity, learners have lots of time to read and practice, and I can float, monitor, and guide.

After my students have had time with summarizing, I like to focus on questioning. One activity I use, I picked up from one of Janet Allen's workshops. The students read a passage silently and note the questions they have. Then they pair and share 2 questions with another student. >From those 4 questions, they choose 2 to exchange with a small group (or come up with 2 new ones), trying to answer each other's questions along the way. From there, the students choose one question for the whole group to discuss.

I think the students like seeing that others have some of the same questions and the teacher doesn't have all of the answers. I've found that learners are highly motivated and engaged and our class discussions are very rich. 

What are some other ideas?

Lora Zangari
LLIU13 Adult & Family Literacy Program
1020 New Holland Ave.
Lancaster, PA 17601



-----Original Message-----
From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Gail Price
Sent: Mon 2/4/2008 1:56 PM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 954] Re: Comprehension MonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today
 
Thanks Susan. That certainly makes sense. I know I have asked my
students to read a passage and highlight words they don't know or aren't
sure of. I have also asked them to write question marks if there is a
statement that doesn't make sense to them. The students have never
objected to this or acted unwilling-perhaps this is a pretty
non-threatening way to admit to not knowing something.

 

What are some things others have tried? What do you do to help your
students when their comprehension breaks down?

 

 

Gail J. Price

Multimedia Specialist

National Center for Family Literacy

325 W. Main Street, Suite 300

Louisville, KY 40202

gprice at famlit.org

502 584-1133, ext. 112

 

 

Join us for the 17th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy!
"Literacy Grows Families and Communities"
March 30, 31, & April 1, 2008-Louisville, KY
Register online at www.famlit.org/conference

 

________________________________

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Susan McShane
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 11:44 AM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 953] Re: Comprehension Monitoring
StrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

Hello Everybody! Since there are so many possibilities in the broad
category of comprehension monitoring, Donna and I think that it's
probably best to start with something that makes sense to the learner
and isn't  too complicated. 

 

One possibility is restating-that is putting what they've read into
their own words. You can explain that it's a good way to stay focused on
the meaning and to "test" their understanding.  Ask them to stop after
the first section or paragraph (or even the first couple of sentences)
and try to put what the writer said in their own words. If they can't do
it, that's a clue that they may need to re-read and think about it more
carefully.

 

Another possibility is a variation on the "coding text" strategy. The
book includes an example that has several different kinds of marks to
indicate questions, mark important facts, and make other responses to
the text. You might start with something much simpler that introduces
the idea of marking the text. Maybe they could just underline any words
they don't understand or put a check mark by any important or
interesting facts or bits of information. If they begin with just one or
maybe two kinds of "codes" it may be less intimidating. 

 

Starting with one of these simple approaches also makes it easier for
you/the teacher to demonstrate and model the strategy.

 

Does this sound reasonable? Has anyone done anything like this or used
any other comprehension-monitoring strategies?

 

________________________________

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Gail Price
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 11:19 AM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 952] Comprehension Monitoring Strategies
DiscussionBegins Today

 

Good morning, List members,

 

I am very pleased to welcome Susan McShane, Reading Initiative
Specialist at the National Center for Family Literacy, and Donna Elder,
Reading Specialist at the National Center for Family Literacy, to our
List. They will be leading the discussion on comprehension monitoring
strategies for adult readers. I know many of you have been looking
forward to this discussion and I hope you are prepared to join in with
your questions, comments and experiences. 

 

I would like to get us started by asking Susan and Donna how they
introduce the comprehension monitoring strategies on pages 80- 82 of
Applying Research in Reading Instruction for Adults: First Steps for
Teachers, to students. Is there a particular strategy that you introduce
before the others? How might you present the strategy to maximize
learner buy-in? 

 

 

 

 

Gail J. Price

Multimedia Specialist

National Center for Family Literacy

325 W. Main Street, Suite 300

Louisville, KY 40202

gprice at famlit.org

502 584-1133, ext. 112

 

 

Join us for the 17th Annual National Conference on Family Literacy!
"Literacy Grows Families and Communities"
March 30, 31, & April 1, 2008-Louisville, KY
Register online at www.famlit.org/conference

 


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