After reading Chapter 7 from Tompkins about 8 comprehension strategies, I believe that teaching students to use all 8 strategies when reading a text is a key element when instructing students to be critical thinkers in relation to literacy. Tompkins makes a valid point when she said, “comprehension is an invisible mental process (that) makes it difficult to teach; however through explicit instruction, teachers make comprehension more visible.” (p. 241) Comprehension is an abstract concept that students, especially those in the younger grades, may have difficulty grasping. However, by incorporating comprehension strategies into everyday classroom activities in conjuncture with explicit instruction on what the strategy does (declarative knowledge), how to use the strategy (procedural knowledge), and when to use the strategy (conditional knowledge), students can become more fluent in using these comprehension strategies.
Prior to reading this chapter, I had never thought about visualizing as a comprehension strategy. However, I now see that visualizing can be a very useful comprehension strategy by helping “readers use the mental images to make the text more memorable.” (p. 229) I think this particular strategy could be a useful strategy to focus on while reading my book club book Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers. Visualizing while reading this particular book could be especially effective because the main character, Jamal, faces many challenges and is placed in particularly dangerous and difficult situations. Through visualizing either Jamal in these situations or by visualizing you, the reader, in these situations, I think that the text could become even more powerful.
Another comprehension strategy that I believe could work very well for Scorpions is connecting. Connecting helps “readers personalize their reading by relating what they are reading to their background knowledge.” (p. 229) In a typical suburban classroom, many of the ideas and situations in Scorpions could be very atypical, causing difficulty relating the situations Jamal faces to situations the children in the class might face. If the students in this hypothetical suburban classroom were to take time and specifically think of connections, I think the book could become more relatable and more memorable. While all 8 of the comprehension strategies in chapter 7 of Tompkins could be incredibly powerful in helping students comprehend Scorpions, I think that visualizing and connecting are two influential ways to help students comprehend this book in particular.
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I agree with a lot of points you made. I think comprehension should be taught not only explicilty, but also through applying the strategies to the everyday activities of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I like what you had to say about applying some of the strategies to the book Scorpions. I am also reading that book and I think visualizing would be an excellent technique to use for this story. I know that gang activity and violence wasn't an issue I had to deal with when I was Jamal's age, or ever for that matter, so for students who don't know what that lifestyle is like, they can put themselves in Jamal's shoes. By visualizing what Jamal's situation would be like when applied to their lives, it is likely to help the students remember and understand what they are reading.
I was also thinking about visualizing for the book I'm reading for the book club, "Number the Stars." The book takes place in Copenhaggen and then the setting moves to the countryside (the characters take a train). In both settings, there are important events that occur. Drawing a map and then mapping out the important events could be helpful for students to remember the events that occur in the book. Writing down the main events is another way of comprehension, but for this book, I think visualizing is much more effective. What kind of comprehension strategy you use in the class depends on what kind of readings you use, too.
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