2/20 Comprehension

Comprehension is a thinking process. It is a creative process that varies among individuals. When people read the same text they may not walk away with the same outlook or information. Because every individual does not have the same background knowledge, are reading for different purposes, have different fluency levels, are at different reading levels and responded differently to text, people comprehensions are different. Different comprehension strategies help people who comprehend differently.

There are eight different comprehensions strategies. The strategies that I use the most are visualizing, identifying the big ideas and monitoring. I believe that I visualize the text because I am a visual learner. Like Tompkins states, I place myself in the story. As a result one of my favorite genres to read is realistic fiction. This is because it is easier for me to place myself in a story that could really happen.

As a child and still to this day, I consider myself not a very strong reader. Due to this fact, it has always been important for me to underdertand the big ideas so that I do not get lost within the text. I find it hard to remember everything within a text. This creates a problem because I am very good at summarizing what I read however I am not as good when it comes to making connections or looking into deeper meanings.

Because I do not always comprehend what I read, I often have to monitor what I am reading. Ways that I most commonly monitor myself is by asking or researching background knowledge. If a story does not make sense from the beginning, it is difficult for me to become interested in it. I also try to make note of what the story reminds me of, in regards to my life and my experiences. By having this personal connection I am able to remember and comprehend more. Last because of my lower reading level I will often ask myself if I understand the words I am reading. This is most commonly the problem with me comprehending what I am reading.

Learning about the different factors that influence comprehension and strategies that people use to comprehend, helped me learn a lot about myself. Knowing the factors that I lack in, also show me what I need to focus on as a learner. Also it reminded me that as a teacher, not everyone is going to comprehend material the say way that I do. Overall this chapter was helpful.

2/20 readings-comprehension

Although I have previously read Tompkins last year in TE, it was interesting for me to re-read chapter 7 and make note of things I do and don’t remember. One thing I do remember that I think is important is that comprehension doesn’t just begin when students are reading. Comprehension begins before the students read (pre-reading) as they activate their background knowledge that relates to the text. It is interesting to look at this and realize that because comprehension depends on both the reader AND the text, different people will often “comprehend” the same text in a different manner. I don’t think I considered this fact when I was planning my lesson plan to read a picture book about “Duke Ellington” to my students, but I was thoughtful in picking this book because the students previously read a book “Bud, not Buddy” that has many connections to Jazz, they are learning about Black History Month, and they are also learning about the Harlem Renaissance in class. I am interested to see which students use this knowledge to make connections with “Duke Ellington” and which students do not.
One important thing I didn’t remember as much about was how teachers must play a part in activating student’s background knowledge, because sufficient background knowledge is a prerequisite for comprehending a text. Teachers can’t just expect the students to activate their prior knowledge on their own, and if students do not have adequate prior knowledge the teacher must decide if it is world knowledge or literacy knowledge that they need and then provide experiences and information to develop that knowledge. This interests me most because I wonder how it will be to learn about each one of your students and consider their previous knowledge and whether or not it needs to be accommodated before reading a text.

2/20 Blog -- Comprehension

As adults we don't often think about comprehension as a strategy, we just do it. Whether reading the daily paper or plugging through our favorite textbook… we don't often think about the strategies we use on a regular basis to understand the material presented. Many of us were taught specific skills at an early age like those presented in Tompkins. These skills are mainly based on the reader as an individual such as engaging prior knowledge of the subject, looking for the purpose within the text, and using skills to decipher difficult words.

Through comprehension, we as readers, make predictions about the text, summarize meaning, connect one reading to another, question the text, etc. I realized throughout the Tompkins chapter, I often connect texts to one another. For me, this strategy is effective in not only increasing my understanding of the materials, but also in helping me recall the information. I also noticed that I focus a lot on the purpose of the reading. School readings I am often more critical and monitor my comprehension more; this is very different than when I read for entertainment purposes. I look for different outcomes from the text when I am reading for a purpose (assignment, research, etc.) than when I am reading for fun.

Applegate, Quinn and Applegate present a series of reader profiles when it comes to comprehension. I think that as a college student, I sometimes read text as a “politician” that is I look for details I think my instructor wants me to find. I’m sure that this strategy has pluses and minuses as I may mislead myself into thinking one subject area is more important than it is (according to the instructor) or I may not connect on a personal level with the text as much because I am too busy focusing on what I think is going to be assessed.

2/20 Post- COMPREHENSION

Carrie Podrasky- After completing the readings for today's class, I feel like I have a better understanding about my own skills involving comprehension. I got a lot of information out of Tompkins chapter 7. In particular figure 7-1 on page 225. Prior to this reading I do not think I realized all of these factors play a huge role in the reader's ability to comprend. I knew factors like content and structure along with motivation played a role but I did not realize inferences and strategies like visualizing and questioning were componets of comprehension. This figure made me think back to experiences I have had as a reader. I can think about times I have read books for lesiure and gotten so much more out of them than I typically do from a text book on something I do not care about. This observation can usually be made by anyone but I never realized all of the reasons why this is true. My own mind makes a purpose out of the reading even if I do not do it consciously. I know if I am reading for a class I enjoy and can get a lot out of I will be more likely to comprehend and understand the content. If I am doing a reading that seems pointless I probably won't comprehend 50% of the information. I also like the figure 7-2 on page 229. This is an excellent tool for teachers. For me, as a student this highlights areas that I am skillful in as well as areas that I need some work in. I realized I do a lot of visualizing and summarizing. However, I do very little predicting. I tend to do more predicting when it is a picture book but that is about it. I think that after reading all of the articles especially the one about special education on angel (Carlisle) I need to work on buliding all of my skills involving comprehension. I need to be able to teach my future students all of the straegies to help them not just the ones I am best at. They will benefit if I become skilled in all areas. Tompkins also talks alot about explicit instruction to develop and encourage comprehension skills across subject areas. It is true that comprehension skills developed in literacy activities will help students to succeed in all areas of school. Also writing tends to get left out of "comprehension" exercises. All of the tools taught for reading with comprehension can be applied to writing with comprehension. Concepts/vocabulary learned from reading will be applied to the writer's work along with learning what it means to have purpose with words. Overall, it is important that teachers to foster all types of comprehension skills. I learned that I was not aware of many skills that help students to become skillful in comprehension and this reading has helped me to become a better reader and hopefully a better teacher.

Hi, all. It looks like your blog is really taking off! Don't be afraid to pose questions to each other and push your peers to really examine their thinking. If you have a question posed to you, think of it as an invitation to think critically about your beliefs/teaching/understandings, etc. The beauty of these blogs is that you can just throw out food for thought, without the pressure of whoever gets the question necessarily having to answer to the rest of the group.

Choral Reading Response

Our group read Dr. Seuss’ “Foot Book” together as a group. Each person was responsible for reading a page, or small passage from the book. Although, we were each responsible for reading a page on our own, there were distinct similarities between our readings. As a group, we actively discussed reasons for what words would be stressed, how fast or slow we would read the text and were we would pause. We noticed that many of our decisions were based on skills we collectively gathered over the years. We instinctively made choices about what words would be stressed and where we would pause, etc. In accordance to the Michigan GLCEs, our group constructed rules for the way we would read and present the text.

Reading response

It is very interesting to see these different theories in practice, and now that I have more knowledge about the theories it will be fun to put them into practice for myself. In my placement, my CT uses Response-Centered talks in the classroom a lot. Although, as with most things, it is not used exactly as described in the text, but the overall concept is the same. The children respond in similar ways discussing the text looking at different themes like being responsible. What does that mean? How do we show we are responsible? Etc. The children investigate these different ideas through a variety of selected texts. It appears my CT takes great care in selecting the stories he reads to the class, and in the types of probbing questions he will ask the students to get them more engaged in the discussion, or simple to spark deeper thinking about the messages presented in the text.

It appears that the students not only enjoy discussing different themes within the text. They get excited when they feel they have something important to say or want to offer up a new insight to the group. I believe this type of discussion and emersion in the text will be beneficial to the students. Delving into complex issues will help the students learn from what they are reading. McGee would suggest students are better able to construct new knowledge from both reading and discussing together.

In order for this type of discussion to go well, students need proper instruction, prompting and skills to effectively participate in such discussions. Students may have a difficult time jumping into this new type of communication. Many students are used to just reciting simple facts about the stories they have read, not really enaging in the story and different ideas from the stories they read. Many students will need explicit instruction into ways (and for some maybe given the permission too) disect the story. There are a few students within the classroom that need more scaffolding than others. They need the extra push to expand their thinking about the stories. And with a little prompting they begin to come further and further out of their shells.

02/06 Blog

~Bridget Daugherty- 2-6-08 blog~I am a digital immigrant. The term emergent applies to my own digital literacy because I consider myself to still be developing in this area. Although I was not familiar with all of the words in the quiz, I did know several of them. The ones that I was familiar with, such as blogs and wikis, I feel comfortable using in a teaching format. After taking a technology class, I learned several resourceful ways to use these tools. For example teachers can use blogs for parent newsletters, leaving parents the option to leave comments or questions. Wikis are a great resource for collaborative work with the students. I know I have a lot to learn, and am excited about learning it. I feel digital literacy can be very resourceful in education with the rising of resources and students interest. Digital literacy and emergent literacy are clearly connected. An aspect of emergent literacy is children learning to read and write early in life. Digital literacy can compliment this idea through the use of the internet and CD programs. There are many programs that are available, even at the preschool level, where students can learn to read and write at a young age. With the high appeal that these programs have, children are drawn to explore more then with other sources.

Am I a Digital Native or Immigrant?

I would consider myself a digital native given my familiarity with the terms on the quiz and the fact that I use technology in every facet of my day, from my morning alarm (I typically use my cell phone for this) to my computer (which I couldn’t live without it). Most everything I do is with digital technology or including digital media. I find computer work essential to both my studies and my professional work; without the computer, internet and my cell phone, I am absolutely convinced I would be lost.

The new digital age can be tied to the idea of emergent literacy presented in Tompkins’ text. The term applies to young children employing different skills such as listening, story telling, letter recognition and others when learning to read. The most important element of the emergent reader is that literacy development occurs at a very early age. This terminology can also be applied to the digital age of today. Today’s emergent techie is exposed to digital media at an extremely early age, from interactive television shows (such as Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues) to text messaging (something my nine year old niece is all over) the emergent techie is fully immersed in the digital age. This total emersion does have a significant impact on the types of activities these children will participate in and the methods of communication we as new teachers will need to employ to reach these children.

Digital Native

After taking the quiz I believe I am a digital native. Although I am not very familiar with wikis and modding, I was very familiar with the rest of the terms. The article says digital natives have appetites for technology and new media, which I definitely have. I also believe myself to be a digital native because I use technology to study, work, play, relax and communicate.
I enjoy using technology for multi tasking or “parallel processing” as the article calls it. I like to listen to music, talk on the phone and/or watch television while I do homework. I also agree that my forms of communication rely much less on the phone and more on email, text messages, chatrooms…etc. Lastly I believe I am a digital native because the article described digital natives as being more interested in fantasy elements whether past or future. I am a big fan of fantasy elements and would like to implement these in my classroom to make it more exciting for them encouraging participation and increasing learning. The article makes a point about technology in the classroom that educators need to identify learning strategies of digital natives learning how they process information and developing ways to maximize these students’ potentials. Although I am familiar with technology I want to learn more about how to use it to maximize my students’ learning potentials.

2/6 Digital Native/Immigrant Quiz

Carrie Podrasky: I am a digital immigrant. The term emergent applies to my own digital literacy in several ways. I am familiar with most of the words in the quiz but not all. I am still developing in my knowledge about new kinds of technology. I still have a lot to learn. There are several connections to be made between this information of digital natives and Tompkins ideas about emergent literacy. The more a student is exposed to the information or ideas the chances are higher that they will develop quicker. For example, in the digital natives quiz, if I was more exposed to different types of digital media I would be a native instead of an immigrant. Children can be compared in a similar way. Children can develop into a developing reader with practice, activities, scaffolding of concepts, and so on. It matters how much time and what kind of time it put into learning and developing. Tompkins writes a lot about adding variety to experience. This relates to the quiz because all of the digital terms in the quiz are for different activities and uses. Exposure matters as well. Mainly, the responsibility of exposing students to various form of literature to help them develop falls on the teacher. It is also important that children have a range of experiences during their emergent literacy stage of development.