In my 2nd grade classroom, my teacher does an amazing job of monitoring and implementing comprehensive skills within each lesson, regardless of what topic is being taught. She constantly asks them questions and repeats information in order to emphasize and test what the kids are understanding. Whether lessons are being taught about sharks, where visuals are used so the students can name the different fin types, to geometry where cards and wood shapes are manipulated, the kids are constantly demonstrating their knowledge and comprehension to my CT. I feel the students greatly benefit from the visual extremes and questions asked by my CT in order to further their understanding. My teacher does an amazing job of keep her kids interested and testing their knowledge in a way that does not put them on a spot. I can definitely see myself implementing teaching strategies for comprehension similar to what I see in my placement.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Comprehension
After last week's class, it struck me how comprehension is so important to students, yet at the same time occurs without even knowing it. As we listened to the story read to us and made predictions about what might happen next, every single person in our class was comprehending and taking in information from the text. For us, it seems to happen almost automatically, but for students, they need guidance and it is clear how this can shape how they learn and take in information.
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I'm very happy to hear that you get to see so many comprehension techniques used by your CT! I think you bring up a good point about comprehension that we did not necessarily talk about in class in depth. Effective comprehension strategies should serve multiple purposes for different subjects. A good comprehension technique should have the flexibility to be used in language arts, science, math, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is also a good reminder that we should be using a variety of strategies to monitor understanding in every subject. It reminds me of the different approaches we used to target different learners in class today (i.e. Fuzzie Thinkers, Politicians). Every student conceptualizes information differently, so as teachers we need to have a full toolbox of strategies at our disposal to reach every student.
I agree with Lindsey about how wonderful it is to have an experience where you see good comprehension strategies being taught. 2nd grade is an excellent time to introduce those strategies and help students understand the readings. I also agree with you both about how the strategies don't have to be used only in literacy experiences but must be utilized across the curriculum. We read all the time and must understand what we are reading in various contents.
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