Assignments

Lesson Template for Teaching Comprehension Strategies

Steps

Teacher Script

1.) Provide direct instruction regarding the cognitive strategy

a. Define and explain the strategy.

Readers connect in three ways between the text and their background knowledge: text-to-self, text-to-world, and text-to-text connections. In text-to-self, readers connect ideas to their own lives. In text-to-world, readers connect what they are reading to their own "world" and in text-to-text, the reader connects text to what they have read or seen before, like a movie or TV show.

b. Explain the purpose the strategy serves during reading

Connecting allows the reader to personalize their reading by associating what they are reading with their background knowledge. This helps the students make meaning of what they are reading and helps them to retain information while engaging in their reading.

c. Describe the critical attributes of the strategy.

Connecting has the following characteristics:

● Connecting can be deep, complex, and insightful.

● Can be meaningful and effective.

● May enhance their understanding of what the students are reading.

● Readers can expand their thinking.

d. Provide concrete examples/non-examples of the strategy.

Examples of connecting would be as follows: Text-to-self: After reading a story, the reader states that the story reminded her of a trip she took to the mountains just like the character. Text-to-text: The reader states that they read another book about snakes, and they are learning about poisonous snakes in the world. Text-to-world: The reader states that he saw a documentary about how plastics harm marine life, and he is learning about how plastic can kill marine animals. Connecting can be difficult if the student has limited experience. The student may struggle to make connections or be limited to vague and/or general connections.

2. Model the strategy by thinking aloud.

Think aloud is used by teachers and students to verbalize their thoughts while reading or writing. Some prompts to use while making oral connections are:

● What does this remind me of?

● How is this like my life?

● How is this different from my life?

3. Facilitate guided practice with students.

Students will use simple visuals, such as a bookmark, to remind them to make connections while they read. Students will record their connections in reading logs using words or pictures while reading. Students will orally share their connections with others or interview other students that pretend to be characters in the text.

Lesson Example - Summarizing

Steps

Teacher Script

1. Provide direct instruction regarding the cognitive strategy

a. Define and explain the strategy.

Summarizing is restating in your own words the meaning of what you have read-- using different words from those used in the original text--either in written form or a graphic representation (picture of graphic organizer).

b. Explain the purpose the strategy serves during reading

Summarizing enables a reader to determine what is most important to remember once the reading is completed. Many things we read have only one or two bid ideas, and it's important to identify them and restate them for purposed of retention.

c. Describe the critical attributes of the strategy.

A summary has the following characteristics. It

Is short

Is to the point, containing the big idea of the text

Omits trivial information and collapses lists into a word or phrase Is not a retelling or a "photocopy" of the text

d. Provide concrete examples/nonexamples of the strategy.

Examples of good summaries might include the one-sentence book summaries from The New York Times Bestsellers List, an obituary of a famous person, or a report of a basketball or football game that captures the highlights.

The mistakes that students commonly make when writing summaries can be more readily avoided by showing students excellent nonexamples (e.g., a paragraph that is too long, has far too many details, or is a complete retelling of the text rather than a statement of the main idea.

2. Model the strategy by thinking aloud.

Thinking aloud is a metacognitive activity in which teachers reflect on their behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes regarding what they have read and then speak their thoughts aloud for students. Directions: Choose a section of relatively easy text from your discipline and think aloud how you would apply the summarizing strategy as you read. Include a short script.

3. Facilitate guided practice with students.

Using easy-to-read content text, read aloud and generate a summary together with the whole class.

Using easy-to-read content text, ask students to read with partners and create a summary together.

Once students are writing good summaries as partners, assign text and expect students to read and generate summaries independently.