Comprehension Curriculum Prior to Re-Design Best Practices for Teaching Comprehension

1. Redesign of Teaching Comprehension to 1st Graders Andrea (Gillis) IzzoMichigan State UniversityTE 842

2. Comprehension Curriculum Prior to Re-Design Best Practices for Teaching Comprehension • Small-Group Guided Reading • Prescribed Program- Rigby Literacy by Design • Think alouds • Think alongs • Modeling strategies with whole class comprehension charts which have a version used to describe and illustrate how the strategy is employed using an anchor text from the program and a version to fill in during a whole group lesson while applying the comprehension strategy to a big book. Strategies include: make connections, ask questions, visualize/create mental images, determine importance, synthesize/retell, infer, monitor understanding, and use fix-up strategies • Interactive reading of personal copies of the big book with partners • Daily 5 Literacy Centers to independently practice skills • Read to a Buddy • Comprehension organizers

3. Students’ Experiences with Comprehension • Whole group lessons focusing on different areas of comprehension • Small-group differentiated reading instruction • Pack-and-Read bags in which students take independent reading level books home in to read with parents, siblings, and other listeners • Most of my students have many “worldly” experiences to give them schema and background knowledge to put many topics into a context when we discuss important concepts across subjects and literature

4. Differentiation Options • Interactive read-alouds • Modeling • Shared reading of big book • Paired reading • Guided practice • Application of practice • Small-group differentiated reading Morrow, L. & Gambrell, L. (2011) Best Practices in Literacy Instruction. (pp.418-419). New York: Guilford Press.

5. Student Abilities • In 1st Grade, students are usually able to… • Make text-to-self connections very well as a whole • Make predictions • Use comprehension strategies whole group with scaffolded instruction • Describe strategies they have used when prompted • In 1st Grade, students usually are not able to… • Describe what comprehension means, in some cases • Use or access strategies for comprehension when they do not understand what they are reading • Remember the comprehension strategies • Individually describe which comprehension skill they may use

6. Redesign of Current Approaches Rationale for Change In my four years of experience in teaching, I have improved my instruction every year. However, as I was learning to navigate and employ teaching methods in these early years of teaching, I’ve realized that I have fallen into the pitfalls of relying too heavily on the instruction within prescribed program. Gaining access to more information about best practices has helped me transform my thinking about teaching comprehension and has given me insight into how improve upon how I teach comprehension. “Comprehension is not about answering those literal questions at the end of a story, chapter, or textbook section. Comprehension is not about spitting out facts and filling in blanks. Comprehension is about understanding. And reading is not merely about word calling. Reading is about thinking.” --Harvey, S. & Daniels, H. (2009). Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action. (p. 27).

7. Redesigned Curriculum Standards Addressed Narrative Text • R.NT.01.02 identify and describe the basic form and purpose of a variety of narrative genre including realistic fiction, fantasy, and folktales. • R.NT.01.03 identify problem/solution, sequence of events, and sense of story (beginning, middle, and end). • R.NT.01.05 respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make connections, take a position, and/or show understanding. Informational Text • R.IT.01.04 respond to individual and multiple texts by finding evidence, discussing, illustrating, and/or writing to reflect, make connections, take a position, and/or show understanding.

8. Redesigned Curriculum Standards Addressed Continued… Comprehension • R.CM.01.01 make text-to-self and text-to-text connections and comparisons by activating prior knowledge and connecting personal knowledge and experience to ideas in text through oral and written responses. • R.CM.01.02 retell in sequence up to three important ideas and details of familiar simple oral and written text. • R.CM.01.03 compare and contrast relationships among characters, events, and key ideas within and across texts to create a deeper understanding by mapping story elements, graphically representing key ideas and details, and asking questions as they read. • R.CM.01.04 apply significant knowledge from grade-level science, social studies, and mathematics texts. Metacognition • R.MT.01.01 self-monitor comprehension by recognizing when meaning is breaking down and use simple fix-up strategies including making credible predictions based on a preview of the book cover and pictures to increase comprehension when reading or listening to text. • R.MT.01.02 self-monitor comprehension by using strategies including asking questions before, during, and after reading and discussing the most important ideas and themes in a text. • R.MT.01.03 plan, monitor, regulate, and evaluate skills, strategies, and processes to construct and convey meaning and discuss which comprehension strategies worked and did not work. • R.MT.01.04 self-monitor comprehension by using a graphic organizer to sequence events, sort and order information, or identify author’s perspective.

9. Concepts and Themes • Comprehension is the ultimate goal of reading • Comprehension is using “thinking strategies” collaboratively and independently • There are multiple strategies to use to interpret information in texts and discussions We have been revisiting and building on the comprehension strategies that I have previously taught this year through using our core reading program, Rigby Literacy by Design. To help students build on their understanding of and effective usage of the comprehension strategies, I have re-introduced the strategies by pairing them with a Beanie Baby to serve as an “anchor” for how to remember and use the strategies.

10. Spinner the Spider:Make Connections • Questioning Owl: Ask Questions • Rocky Raccoon:Create Mental Images/ Visualize • Digger the Dog:Determine Importance • Jabber the Reteller:Retell and Synthesize • Iggy the Inferring Iguana:Infer • Fix-Up/Repair Bear:Monitor Understanding and Fix-Up Strategies • Picture below is a sample of comprehension strategy Beanie Babies paired with posters. My posters are slightly different looking, but I use the comprehension “anchor chart” backed in yellow construction paper at the top of this picture found at the url: http://teacherweb.com/TX/Copperfield/MrsCrowder/apt28.aspx Re-teaching Comprehension Strategies anchored with Beanie Babies

11. Samples of Materials Used for Redesign Beanie Baby Comprehension Posters

12. Beanie Baby Comprehension Anchor Cards (for students to use and prompt their thinking while buddy reading)

13. Comprehension BookmarkDouble Sided

14. Student Samples of Comprehension Mini Booklets -used with high interest, quality literature-discussed as a whole group and in partnerships; personal examples are then recorded in booklets and used as evidence of learning/assessment

15. Objectives • Throughout the second and third marking period, students will work collaboratively with partners or small groups during whole group lessons and guided reading groups to discuss and explain examples of each specific comprehension strategy throughout the two weeks a specific strategy is covered. • At the end of the two weeks of revisiting each specific comprehension strategy, students will individually record at least one personal example of the given strategy in a comprehension mini booklet. • Throughout the second and third marking period, students will recall and describe the function of at least three comprehension strategies byconnecting them to specific Beanie Baby

16. Skills and Specific Knowledge Students will… • Apply comprehension strategies with scaffolded support • Whole group • Small groups • Tracking comprehension in journals • Discussing how students are using comprehension strategies during guided reading • Partners • Whole group discussions • Read to a Buddy in Daily 5 • Individually • Responses in comprehension mini booklets • Referencing comprehension bookmarks while independently reading from book box

17. Performance Standards and Rubric to Assess Students’ Learning

18. Instructional Strategies Best Practices and Differentiation- Revised • Small-Group Guided Reading • Prescribed Program- Rigby Literacy by Design • Think alouds • Think alongs • Modeling strategies with whole class comprehension charts which have a version used to describe and illustrate how the strategy is employed using an anchor text from the program and a version to fill in during a whole group lesson while applying the comprehension strategy to a big book. Strategies include: make connections, ask questions, visualize/create mental images, determine importance, synthesize/retell, infer, monitor understanding, and use fix-up strategies • Interactive reading of personal copies of the big book with partners • Daily 5 Literacy Centers to independently practice skill • Read to a Buddy • Comprehension organizers mini booklets and journals • Strategies discussed in Collaboration and Comprehension: Inquiry Circles in Action • More frequent open-ended questions and student inquiry acknowledged/explored • More responsibility for comprehension placed back on the students: whole group, small group, partners, and individually • Application of and more fluid use of strategies in guided reading and groups and throughout all subjects

19. Resources • Harvey, S. & Daniels, H. (2009). Comprehension and Collaboration: Inquiry Circles in Action. New Hampshire: Heinemann. • Morrow, L. & Gambrell, L. (2011) Best Practices in Literacy Instruction. New York: Guilford Press. • Colleagues Materials • Beanie Babies • Authentic, Quality Literature • Comprehension mini booklets • Comprehension bookmarks • Comprehension posters • Comprehension journals • Comprehension Beanie Baby anchor cards (to use with buddies) Technology • Colleague-created power point and handout summarizing how to use comprehension strategies with Beanie Babies • Video clips for students to view and practice employing comprehension strategies • Website to access strategy posters: http://www.realclassroomideas.com/194.html

21. Parent-Teacher Partnership Opportunities Parents can better support their students with comprehension to provide an extension to what students have learned in class. I have provided parents with the following to support them in these efforts: • A colleague-created slide show and handout explaining and summarizing the comprehension strategies to serve as a quick reference • Additional handouts explaining and summarizing the Beanie Babies and strategies they accompany (http://www.realclassroomideas.com/resources/Reading-BB+Comprehension+Posters.pdf) • Copy of comprehension bookmarks to keep and use at home • Communication about strategies is updated in newsletters