If by the end of the first page they have five fingers in the air, then that book is too difficult for them. If they have no fingers in the air by the end of the first page, that book may be too easy for them. Kindergarteners and first graders explain, at least for the first half of the year, their visualizations orally.
For the first ten minutes of the period, I model visualization with a free verse poem, "Tree Dancers," by Avis Harley. I stop at the end of the chapter and ask students to share their observations about what interrogative looks and sounds like. I read aloud the second chapter where the fearless Jigsaw first hears the story of the Marshmallow Monster.
Teaching Comprehension in the Primary Grades (2002) recounts the time she shared Chris Van Allsburg's The Stranger with her first grade class. Students must be taught how to use the tools of the researcher if they are to become successful knowledge seekers. Poor readers get lost in the details of a story or confuse supporting details with main ideas in nonfiction.
I stop after the first page and say, “I know that what happens at the beginning, middle, and end of the story is important in summarizing the story and thinking about it. I have to keep thinking about what it means to be different as I read the rest of the story. At the end of the book, I give them a little more (three to four minutes) to collaborate on their summary.
What’s the Big Idea?
It's like they think, "If it's not in the body of the text, then it can't be important." Good readers use text features before they even begin to read the text. Parker uses enumeration, so keep the most important information in the first or second sentence. All are used by experienced readers at different points in the meaning-making process.
Children can't deduce anything from the main idea or theme if they can't find it in the sea of surrounding, supporting details. Skilled readers make predictions and inferences as they read; then they both confirm or revise based on events in the text and their deepening understanding. One of my favorite books to introduce my preschoolers to inference and prediction is Deep in the Forest by Brinton Turkle.
I ask the children to draw conclusions or think about what is happening based on the clues in the picture. Students easily conclude that the boy is crying because he fell and hurt his knee and easily point to clues in the picture that support their reasoning. Prediction, like inference, involves thinking and interpreting based on clues in the text, but when you predict, you say what is likely to happen next.
Predict what you think will happen based on your experiences and the clues in the picture.” A child predicts that. I see three bowls and a jug on the table, three chairs and three beds in the next room. I can deduce that there are probably three people living in the hut, but they are not home at the moment.
In the next lesson, they will model their thinking for the rest of the class. By the end of the period, the children have not only created a synthesis, but also assembled it in a paper bag to use as a puppet in the sequels they already plan to write next week. In the coming weeks, we will talk about how writing is a type of synthesis and continue to improve our use of analyzing and synthesizing comprehension strategies.
They were also easily able to tentatively identify both trends in the bay's health and the need for more information. Our tables are purchased, but are the inexpensive screw-in-leg type that can be found at any major discount store for around $6; we covered them with tablecloths.
Connecting
The Good Luck Cat, Joy Harjo Tight Times, Barbara Shook Hazen Pinky in Rex and the Bully, James Howe, The Colours of Us, Karen Katz.
Visualizing
My Name is Maria Isabel, by Alma Flor Ada The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis Because of Winn-Dixie, by Kate DiCamillo Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, by Jack Gantos. Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold The Bird House, by Cynthia Rylant Night in the Country, by Cynthia Rylant. Pictures of Hollis Woods, by Patricia Reilly Giff The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame from the Dust, by Karen Hesse.
The Earth under Sky Bear's Feet: Native American Poems of the Land, deur Joseph Bruchac. Honey, I Love and Other Love Poems, deur Eloise Greenfield Fly with Poetry: An ABC of Poetry, deur Avis Harley.
Questioning
Before We Were Free, by Julia Alvarez The Summer of the Swans, by Betsy Byars White Socks Only, by Evelyn Coleman*.
Finding Answers
Determining Importance
Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George Sarah, Plain and Tall, by Patricia MacLachlan Martin Luther King, Jr.: Man of Peace. Rachel's Journal: The Story of a Pioneer Girl, by Marissa Moss Early Morning Earthquake (Magic Tree House #24).
Inferring and Predicting
Arthur's Valentine, by Marc Brown A River Ran Wild, by Lynne Cherry Frog and Toad Are Friends, by Arnold Lobel T Is for Terrible, by Peter McCarty. A Hat for Minerva Louise, by Janet Morgan Stoeke Deep in the Forest, by Brinton Turkle. The Sign of the Beaver, by Elizabeth George Speare The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq.
Analyzing and Synthesizing
Reading Checklist and Rating Scale
Instructional Strategies for Kindergarten and Elementary Grades and Predictors of Success and Failure in Reading. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Pronoun resolution in skilled and less skilled comprehension: Effects of memory load and inference complexity.
Policy and practice implications of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2000: Report of the International Reading Association PISA Task Force.
