I sometimes joke with my class that I wish their noses would light up like Rudolph when they are struggling with a passage! We all laugh, but I sort of mean it.... The problem with reading comprehension is that we often do not realize that a child hasn't understood what he/she has read until we are grading the tests or asking questions after we've finished a story. We are left wondering- when and where did the comprehension break down and was the child even aware that they weren't comprehending the text?
Awareness and recognition of a problem is the first step to solving it. With reading comprehension, getting kids to see that they aren't thinking about their reading is key. I usually spend the first few months of school helping to get kids to that point. Once they realize that reading is thinking, they are on their way!
Here are some strategies and tricks that I use to help make reading comprehension more visible to the child and the teacher:
1. Real and Fake Reading Charts: These are charts that we make at the start of the school year. We list the visible behaviors that are indicators that someone is really reading. The students help brainstorm this list with the teacher. Behaviors may include: reading at a reasonable pace, being able to tell someone what you've read, liking or not liking a story for real reasons, being focused on the text, etc. Fake reading also has behavioral clues. These include: reading too fast, reading too slow, looking around while reading, not being able to summarize the story, not liking reading, being unable to answer questions about reading. I hang these charts in the reading center and refer to them all year. My students are very familiar with my question..."Are you "fake reading" or "real reading". That phrase has help them to understand that reading is thinking!
1. Click and Clunk Cards- These are simple red and green cue cards that kids use to signal their understanding or confusion about the text they are reading. The goal is to help students to self monitor their comprehension ..... to think about their thinking. Depending on the comprehension level of the student, he/she might need to stop and check comprehension after each page, paragraph or maybe after every sentence. I use these simple cards with whole group instruction while they are reading silently, I walk around looking for students that are displaying their red card. I will quietly sit next to them to help clarify the confusion until they are back on track...clicking away! This is a great strategy for small groups, as well. Also helpful is this Reader's Check Sheet to help students identify why they are clunking.
This CheckSheet is from www.intervention.org. I have used it with students as young as second grade. We keep these in our Reading Notebooks and refer to them every time we read.
Check out this resource from the expert on making reading comprehension more visible!
bit.ly/2PElK79 Click and Clunk Strategy