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Activating
Comprehension: Non-Fiction in the Classroom
by Carol Einstein, author of Who, What, and Where and Claims
to Fame |
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Comprehension is the reason for reading. According to Put
Reading First: The Research Blocks for Teaching Children to
Read, good readers are purposeful and active, but it is
often difficult to earn and maintain a studentês interest in
a text. One of the best ways to engage students in reading
and learning is through nonfiction. Much research has been
done on why and how students can best comprehend
a text, but less has been said about what kinds of
texts can best aid the development of comprehension skills.
Besides the usual trade book, basal reader, or magazine article,
there are many other texts on many interesting topics, an endless
variety of people, places, and things to read about. Nonfiction
can help students learn to read purposefully and actively,
to develop strategies, to interact directly with a textãwhile
exploring new people and places, investigating new ideas about
the world around them.
Luckily,
I had parents who were always telling me interesting stories
about people, places, and historical events. Unfortunately,
in our hectic world parents donêt always have time to tell stories.
As teachers, we can make these stories of positive role models
and significant events a dynamic part of the curriculum. When
I started teaching reading comprehension, many of my students
said they wished there were more books about women who had lived
long ago. Then my students told me that they would like some
stories about men, too, and about people living right now who
had made a difference in the world.
When I first
started planning my biography series, I thought all my subjects
would be deceased. After all itês easier for
the author; no one will pop up and question you, and there will
be no unpleasant surprises. But after talking to a number of
children I decided that half the subjects in my books should
be living. To a second, third, or even fourth grader, fifty years
might as well be several hundred. And when asked, most children
will tell you that they much prefer reading about something that
is happening now, not something that happened long ago. I also
found that once students become interested in reading about living
people, they are more willing to read about an important person
of the past. I feel the same way about places and events. Get
your students interested in current events or neighborhood or
city issues, and then you will see that historical places and
events gain new significance, a new life.
So
how can you use nonfiction to develop comprehension skills?
The vitally
important first step is for you to show and share
your enthusiasm not only for the person, place, or event youêre
going to read about, but also for the activity of reading itself.
Research shows that motivated teachers motivate children. Modeling
enthusiasm and appreciation for reading is ever important in
teaching children to enjoy reading and developing studentsê literacy
horizons. You need to be a cheerleader for your subject.
The
next step is pre-reading. Before your students begin reading
a text, introduce any challenging vocabulary in advance. The
National
Reading Panel (2000) reports that the complex process of reading
comprehension can not be understood without –a clear description
of the role that vocabulary development and vocabulary instruction
play in the understanding of what has been read.” We all know
from our own experience that sometimes one can understand the
meaning
of a word through its context, but often one cannot, especially
if it is a content-area word in a content area with which one
is not familiar. Before your class reads a story about women
workers
of World War II, you should pre-read the text and record the
challenging words: discrimination, distract, welding, riveter,
and foundry. Write them on the board and pronounce them
clearly. Then ask if anyone knows what they mean. If no one does,
write the definition. In the Claims to Fame and Einsteinês
Who, What, and Where series, vocabulary words and definitions
follow the passage. It is helpful to model these words in a sentence
or have students create sentences using the new words. The larger
the readerês vocabulary, the easier it is to fully understand
a text (NRP, 2000).
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