Readers Theater and Ch. 6 Graphic Organizers

Readers Theater

I will definitely use Readers Theater in my classroom. The activity we did in class helped my understanding of our story. I believe Readers Theater is a really fun activity that will keep my students involved and excited, while helping them comprehend and retain a large amount of the text. While participating in Readers Theater, students are required to do many different things. As far as comprehension goes, they have to read the text and be able to understand it on a deep enough level that they can create their own interpretation of the original text. This is by far my favorite literature strategy. I also feel that when students are asked to present in front of their peers, they are more pressured to do well. In order to do well, they must focus on the read, comprehend the material, be creative, and deliver it in an entertaining fashion. Once this is accomplished, the story will be burned in the minds of everyone participating in and watching the activity. For some reason, when things are acted out in class, they are never forgotten. I know I will never forget the origami comprehension invention that brought us “dust and rain remix”.   

Ch. 6 Graphic Organizers

“The strength of any instructional tool is not only its use, but in its timing” (Fisher &Frey, 104). Graphic organizers can be very helpful when used correctly by teachers. Many times when students are able to see visual representation of something, it can help them a tremendous amount. I could relate to this part of the text, because I’m a fan of concept maps and the idea of using them before a lesson to help with background knowledge. It is also helpful to use them during closure to show the students what they have learned. Graphic organizers can also be used for assessment purposes through all content areas. This can take much more thinking from the student than many other forms of assessment. In order for the student to create a graphic organizer, they must be able to see relationships between ideas, organize their thoughts, and come up with a plan. Creating organizers is a very good way to help students preserve information.

Other than outlines, what type of graphic organizers could be beneficial to help linear thinkers rather than abstract?

Chapter 4 and Text Talk

Text talks are very helpful in student comprehension and retention of the material. I can’t imagine doing a read aloud and not doing a text talk. They really get the students’ minds working, which gets background knowledge popping up in their heads. If a student can make connections to the text it can help a great deal with comprehension. When you ask the student questions about the read, you are able to keep them engaged and attentive while, at the same time, gauging their comprehension of the material. Text talk also helps students form thoughts in their minds and express them orally with the rest of the students. This can help other students or the instructor form a connection in their mind. Text talks helps students begin to infer meaning and predict what could happen next. I have also read in the article where the pictures in the book can deter student learning. I believe the positives outweigh the negatives. Pictures are extremely helpful in getting students excited and interested in the read. I believe if you can get students truly interested in something you have won half of the battle. Although pictures can sometimes get students sidetracked, books without illustrations would be very boring for primary students. It’s really not that complicated to show the picture beforehand if it represents something that can be inferred or predicted. Otherwise, save the picture until after the passage is read. I believe text talk and read alouds should be used in all grades and subject areas.

Knipper and Duggan’s article and chapter 8

Knipper and Duggan’s article and chapter 8 in the book both deal with different writing to learn strategies. I really enjoyed reading these because they contain some very interesting writing strategies and how to incorporate them into my classroom. The article describes how writing enhances comprehension and how we need to have more knowledge on a topic in order to be able to write about it. How are we supposed to write about something that we do not fully comprehend? Writing on a particular subject requires a much deeper knowledge than some other forms of assessment. Writing is a great way for teachers to gauge a student’s knowledge and it can help comprehension in many different ways. Many people rarely concentrate on what they are reading unless they are going to be tested on the material. I have noticed that I, myself, am much more careful when reading before having to write an essay or learning log on a particular topic. Before writing this blog, I am very careful when reading the material. I go through the reading carefully taking down notes and highlighting because I know I will be asked to comprehend the material on a higher level. Do you think most people would concentrate more on the material, and try their best to fully comprehend it if they were going to have to write about it?  If I was not asked to blog on these articles, I may be inclined to not pay as much attention to the reading; therefore, I would not comprehend it as well. The Knipper and Duggan article described many different strategies from structured note taking to learning logs. I love the idea of learning logs. I think it is a wonderful idea to have students read and then reflect on what they have read. Writing is an excercise that enhances students thinking and learning, while increasing their understanding. Chapter 8 had some really good ideas on how to incorporate writing into content areas. Writing is very important in student learning and should always be incorporated into every content area.