Hello-
I'm one of the Humboldt group. Currently I work for the NNRPDP, so I don't have a classroom of students all my own. I started this adventure thinking I would just facilitate the group here and then felt like I should really try this out. Yikes!! Way more work than I ever thought! I have so much respect for people who carry out this work.
A 6th grade teacher is letting me come in and do model lessons with her low readers. I go in on average twice a week and have done so for the last two months. I had the students write to me about their reading and what makes it hard or just tell me anything about them as readers. Well, that was a bust. They didn't really seem to know what makes reading hard for them.
I've used concrete objects with each lesson (thinking that struggling readers need concrete things to help them bridge to abstract) and my question is:
Will using concrete objects with struggling readers make a difference in their comprehension?
or something like that.
Today I asked the kids to write again about their understanding of comprehension. Did any of the concrete object lessons help you? How did it help you? Once again, the answers were very vague and they didn't seem to understand how to answer.
I feel I must be asking them the wrong questions or I"m not making myself clear. I just don't know how to collect data, other than to see if test scores go up, which could show on MAP data, who knows?
Thanks for listening. Any ideas are welcome.
Jessie
Journal: 1
Jessie,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I appreciate your comments about how hard teacher-researchers work. So true! But.... all that hard work is so worth it! As for your question - "Will using concrete objects with struggling readers make a difference in their comprehension?" I think that you've already come to some conclusions about their ability to think metacognatively. If they struggle to think about their own thinking then I'm sure they struggle to think about what they are thinking as they read (a skill needed for comprehension.) Maybe you need to look up some lesson about teacher metacognative thinking skills. Keep in mind that this part of the research journey is usually quite frustrating and messy. Hang in there!
Hang in there Jessie, it will all turn out in the end. What textbooks are used with your readers at French Ford? Forgive me if you told us last time. I may have blanked it out.
ReplyDeleteJessie good luck, it sounds like you are having a heck of a time.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the relationship between you and the students? Since you aren't always in there, maybe spending time team building community would be well worth it. Then transition that into a conversation about comprehension, rather than the writing.
Good luck!