Students in the Academic Literacy program in California were next taught the strategy of clarifying when reading difficult texts. A definition of clarifying was given followed by 6 methods students could use to clarify a text if they got stuck.
Clarify – to make the meaning of a text clear or easier to understand by using different comprehension strategies.
1) Ignore and read on if you understand enough to keep going
2) keep reading to see if the meaning gets clearer
3) reread what is unclear
4) reread the section right before what was unclear
5) connect what you are reading to things you already know or have read before
6) get outside help.
Students kept a journal with them as they read. They had four columns to use as they clarified.
Text Question or confusion strategy I will use clarification I discovered
Now that the four strategies had been taught, the teachers of this class wanted to try their students on a text of medium difficulty. Unfortunately, the students quickly became bogged down and were unable to even come up with questions for the first strategy.
Chunking
Teachers realized that complex sentences and expository style writing were “getting in the way.” And so,they introduced yet another strategy to the class: chunking a text. The purpose of chunking is to give students practice making sense out of a text by breaking it into understandable chunks. Students were shown how to pause mid-sentence, even if no comma was present, to think about what had been said to that point. Teachers related the idea of chunking to Pizza – a favorite with most teens. Even if you are starving, you can't eat the hole thing at once, you have to eat it one slice at a time. Students found this strategy very helpful and many said that it was the strategy they would use the most.
As the time for our class draws close to an end, I realize that we are only in chapter 5 of this study. I would highly recommend that if you are the teacher of a middle or high school classroom that you check this book out from the library and read it. Through reading it myself, I have discovered many very applicable materials, which I plan to put to use in my history class.
Reading for Understanding: A Guide for Improving Reading in Middle and High School Classrooms
by Schoenbach, Greenleaf, Cziko, and Hurwitz ISBN 0787950459
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Penny! This book has great exercises to try with your middle school and high school classes. They are clear and well explained.
ReplyDeleteThank you for recommending this book. It sounds like it has useful information. I would like to try and use the strategy "chunking." Great idea! Your writing is clear! Nice Job!
ReplyDeleteInteresting stuff, Penny! Several times in this class I've heard about making a "reading comprehension" journal to aid with student comprehension. This is such helpful (and great) information!Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI think many students get bogged down and DECIDE they cannot read a text, when they know that the text is a bit more difficult than what they are used to. I wonder if the students are actually trying their best, or just assuming they do not have the appropriate skills to conquer a higher level of difficulty.
ReplyDeletePenny, you have done an excellent job of breaking down your book into manageable bits that we have been able to gleen from. Lokks like you have the "Chucking" stratgy down pat. Great Job, and Good Luck implementing these skills into your history class. Melissa
ReplyDeleteI want to try the reading comprehension journal, it sounds like a very resourcful tool! Great blog.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of chunking. I had never heard of the that before. I can see it as a very useful tool. Lots of good information.
ReplyDeleteellie
I like the comparison to pizza, which is something that I think so many students can relate to. My students always seem to fumble and give up when it comes to reading things like Shakespeare. This could be a different way that I could explain to them how to read it.
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