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Ask the Superintendent -
January 9, 2008
Several weeks ago, Jane Unhjem, our Assistant
Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, wrote
an update about new methods and materials that are
being used in our elementary and middle school
classrooms to teach reading. The article spoke about
improvements in the teaching of phonics and
spelling, and how each student is assessed
individually so that instruction can be matched to a
student’s reading level. In today’s column, I asked
Jane to complete that update with one more area of
reading instruction that has had a very positive
impact on our students.
Comprehension strategies and the importance of
independent reading: Because of the current research
on how children learn to read, there is a new
emphasis on teaching students a variety of reading
comprehension strategies so they can actually help
themselves become better readers. When Roy and I
were in elementary school, our teachers most likely
asked us to answer questions or fill in blanks to
check for understanding, but what did the teacher do
if we did not comprehend what we were reading? In
those days, teachers did not have the benefit of the
current research in reading comprehension and I’m
sure they felt stumped about how to proceed. Today,
Goshen students in kindergarten through 6th grade
participate in daily whole-group lessons that focus
on comprehension “strategies” – actions that can be
taken by the students as they are reading to help
themselves understand the text. Our youngsters learn
a variety of strategies that competent readers use,
such as visualizing, making inferences, or
wondering/questioning.
In a simplified example, our teachers introduce one
of these comprehension strategies to students
through the use of high-quality children’s
literature, reading the story to the class and
occasionally pausing to model the comprehension
strategy by “thinking out loud.” Students have
opportunities to discuss the strategy with a partner
(“Do we already use this strategy when we read? Is
this an easy strategy for us to use?”), and the
lesson is followed by a block of time for students
to read silently from a book of their choice so they
can “practice” the featured comprehension strategy.
During this silent reading time, teachers conduct
individual conferences with students to see if they
are reading books that follow the “Goldilocks rule”
– not too hard, not too easy, but ju-u-ust right! –
and to check on the use of the comprehension
strategy.
This independent reading time has become an
important part of daily reading instruction,
providing students with the opportunity to choose
from and read a wide variety of books that, these
days, are available right in the classrooms. Because
of improved consistency from grade to grade in the
instruction of comprehension strategies and daily
time to practice them during a period for
independent reading, teachers are reporting that our
students are developing into confident, competent
readers. To the delight of our teachers and
librarians, our kids are reading lots and lots and
lots of books! – many, many more than Roy and I can
ever remember as elementary students long ago!
All of the improvements in the teaching of phonics,
spelling, and reading comprehension, as well as the
increased amount of independent reading, are
providing a much more individualized learning
experience for our youngsters. These changes are
helping us reach the goal of developing ALL of our
students into confident, fluent readers.
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