Maybe having students think about some reading material they found truly
engaging, like, say for examples: an article from a TV guide on their
favorite drama, a passage from a romance novel, Dear Abbie, a letter from a
child.and remembering how their mind was working when they were deeply
engaged;  this comparison may be a stepping stone to self-monitoring of
other material.

 

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Susan McShane
Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2008 9:42 AM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 999]
Re:ComprehensionMonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

Certainly for instructional purposes informal assessments can be valuable,
so maybe the idea of using shorter passages is a good one. If oral language
processing is part of the problem, then shorter passages are probably worth
a try. I understand that this learner presents some "mysterious" questions.
You are to be congratulated for working so hard to understand her problems.

 

As to your other question, I do think that it makes sense to begin with one
of the comprehension-monitoring strategies. That's what it's all about for
many of our readers-paying attention to the meaning, so they notice when
it's confusing or when they don't understand the use of a word for instance.
I think some readers focus on "getting to the end of the page" instead of
understanding or learning. That may be why they don't notice when it doesn't
make sense. There's research to show that some students don't notice
inconsistencies in text they are reading. That means maybe their attention
has wandered, or maybe they just are not aware of what active reading for
meaning is all about. For them, reading is what they've been doing for
years, and that's running their eyes over the text, identifying the words,
or getting to the end of the page. Teaching one or two specific monitoring
strategies may be a great way to get started on improving comprehension with
this kind of reader. 

 

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Charlotte Learning
Center
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 3:50 PM
To: 'The Family Literacy Discussion List'
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 995]
Re:ComprehensionMonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

Oh, I see your point. The leveling was for instructional reasons and to show
gains. The WIB usually uses the TABE, but will accept any form of
assessment.  I do not use a standardized assessment because there has been
no reason to. 

 

Usually I can get a level on an individual fairly easily and chart out the
game plan. This one threw me off. 

 

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Susan McShane
Sent: Wednesday, February 06, 2008 1:26 PM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 992]
Re:ComprehensionMonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

I guess your concerns about defining her "level" raise another question for
me. Why do you need a level? Is this for accountability so you can measure
gains? If so, you certainly don't want to overestimate her level. Or is the
purpose to identify appropriate reading materials? It appears that you don't
have to use a standardized test, so I'm assuming you're more interested in
assessment for instructional purposes, but if the Board requested this
information, maybe there are other purposes. 

 

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Charlotte Learning
Center
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 7:18 PM
To: 'The Family Literacy Discussion List'
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 974]
Re:ComprehensionMonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

Susan,

Thanks very much for the attention you have given my case. I will pass on
the advice to her tutor.  I guess as far as leveling her, which I was asked
to do initially by the Workforce Investment Board, is it going to be trial
and error?  I thought the use of short passages at higher levels (3rd-4th)
may work out, with a few multiple choice or cloze sentences to check. That
suggestion was given to me by an LD teacher.

Regarding our discussion thread, is monitoring one's understanding one of
the first strategies, if not the first, to teach? 

 

Thanks,

Mora

 

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Susan McShane
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 3:31 PM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 971]
Re:ComprehensionMonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

This learner obviously presents many challenges, and I'm afraid I don't have
any simple answers for you. However, I would like to say I'm very glad
you're working with her. It's clear that she needs and deserves the help.
She's apparently just "calling words" as they used to say, and that's not an
indication of her comprehension of the passage. It also appears that both
oral communication skills and background knowledge may be limited. 

 

It might make sense to work on vocabulary-teaching a few new words every
week, with plenty of examples of how to use them, lots of practice, and
regular review. She might create a "personal dictionary" that includes all
the new words she learns, along with definitions and sample sentences. This
makes vocabulary development "concrete" and she'll be able to see her
growth.

 

Once again, I think we all appreciate your efforts. If anyone else has any
ideas, please pass them on.

 

 

Susan McShane

National Center for Family Literacy

502-584-1133, Ext. 175

smcshane at famlit.org

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Charlotte Learning
Center
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 2:14 PM
To: 'The Family Literacy Discussion List'
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 970]
Re:ComprehensionMonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

Hi all thanks for all of your replies. Here is more information on the
individual I spoke of yesterday:

The student is a 67-year-old African American female who quit a segregated
school in the 11th grade, and probably had a poor education up to that
point. She just got a job at a library recently through the Virginia Older
Workers program. She cannot alphabetize. She also cannot make pretty obvious
choices about leveling children's books. Her tutor (and new boss) has had to
rephrase directions quite often and says weak vocabulary and weak oral
communication skills are definitely part of her case.

 

What I mean by mainstream refers to what we expect of someone who has gone
to school and has the cultural literacy we would expect of a high school
graduate today; for example she may not know what a "main idea" is, but can
still learn and understand? How can she possibly be able to read at a 6th
grade level and not comprehend at a 1st grade level?

 

For those of you who want more info from the assessment:

 She is in the late within word stage of spelling (cluct for CLUTCH),
reading at 98% on her Word Recognition in Context 6th grade passage, 90% on
the untimed Word Recognition in isolation at the 6th grade list. She
demonstrated Independent and Instructional scores up to that point, except
in the Oral Comprehension where she bombs across the board. Her silent
reading comprehension also bombed. Her reading rates are around 100 wpm.
Yes, which come to think of it contradicts a fluency reader at the 6th
grade, but could be 3rd. Before she read the passages on the informal
reading inventory, I asked her some questions to assess her background
knowledge e.g.: Her answer to "What is soccer" Her answer: "Game played
outside by two people". Or, "What do flowers need to grow? "A yard."  

 

Mora

 

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Susan McShane
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 5:28 PM
To: The Family Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 961] Re:
ComprehensionMonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

Hi Mora,

 

I was actually referring to simplifying the task rather than the reading
level of the material, but you raise a good point. To introduce a
comprehension strategy you probably want to begin with material that isn't
too difficult to decode. The learner should be able to focus mainly on the
strategy, not on identifying the words. (After they've learned the strategy,
obviously they can use it with anything they need to read, and sometimes the
material will be difficult. That's when they need the strategy most!)

 

As to your other points, before responding we have a few clarifying
questions: 

 

1.	Has this student been successful in demonstrating her comprehension
when reading silently? Is oral reading as an assessment task intimidating
for her, so perhaps she is working hard not to make any mistakes and is
therefore not able to focus on meaning? 
2.	You suggest that her "mainstream" communication skills are limiting
her ability to answer questions/demonstrate understanding. I'm not quite
sure what you mean by this. I assume you've had other opportunities to
converse with her. Is there any reason to believe she is not a good oral
communicator? 
3.	Is it possible that the vocabulary is part of the problem? You used
the term "native" in describing her. Is she a native English speaker or do
you mean to say she is a Native American? Of course, even native English
speakers may have very limited vocabularies.
4.	We also find it baffling that she can read accurately at the
6th-grade level but doesn't appear to comprehend even at the 1st-grade
level. Do you have any other-perhaps less formal-assessment of her
understanding? Have you heard her participate in discussions about her
reading? Or, once again, have you given a silent reading test-perhaps
answering questions in some curriculum material she's using?

 

You've presented us with a very interesting-and intriguing-example. If you
can give us some more information, we might continue with this conversation.
Do others have anything to suggest with regards to this student?

 

Susan

  _____  

From: familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:familyliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of Charlotte Learning
Center
Sent: Monday, February 04, 2008 3:54 PM
To: 'The Family Literacy Discussion List'
Subject: [FamilyLiteracy 956] Re: Comprehension
MonitoringStrategiesDiscussionBegins Today

 

Susan, you said to have a student restate after a few sentences if
necessary. If a student has such low understanding of a text (that they are
able to read fluently) it does make sense to lower their instructional
reading level, to something, as you said, that isn't too complicated.

However,  I have a native, elderly adult student who can read fluently up to
a 6th grade level, but cannot correctly answer comprehension questions at
any level (1st-6th) on a QRI.   Deciding an instructional level given her
fluency rates is a little baffling. 

How does one assess a starting point for using these comprehension
strategies?

 

And also, how much of comprehension testing is also a test of oral
communication skills, and perhaps in this instance (in the QRI) "mainstream"
communication skills are required to demonstrate comprehension, e.g. give
the main idea.

Mora

  _____  

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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