Erica,
a fifth grader, reads grade level passages at a rate of 177 words correct per
minute, or 30% faster than grade level norms. When asked to retell what she has
read, Erica struggles and is able to give little to no information from about
the text. Many other children in Erica's class also read well above grade level
expectations for fluency rate (or automaticity), but the teacher laments that
they struggle with comprehension and using appropriate expression and
intonation while they read. What is going on here? What advice can you offer
the teacher? Write a memo to the teacher from the viewpoint of the school's
Reading Specialist. Give the teacher and explanation for the phenomenon and
offer her advice on dealing with the situation. Please keep the memo to no more
than 400 words. Post it to your blog and name the posting "Module 3: Mock
Memo from a Reading Specialist."
Ms.
Teacher,
When observing Erica in your classroom
as well as when I pulled her out of class I am noticing that there is a
disconnect between what Erica is reading and her making meaning of the texts. Erica has a very fast reading rate and is
very fluent. I am however concerned that
she is not comprehending what she is reading.
A lot of times children who are reading too quickly are just trying to
fly through the paragraph/ story without taking time to reflect on what they
are reading. I do believe that Erica is
one of these children. Although her fluency
rate probably makes her feel confident in some areas of reading I would like to
pull her out of class twice a week to work with her. When I pull her out of class we will be
working on a variety of strategies. We
will use Weaver’s “Think Aloud Strategy” (p. 226) to help Erica stay on track
with her comprehension. We will work on
reading a paragraph, aloud and talking about what we just read. I will work with her like this when we spend
time together, making sure to lengthen how much she reads but still making sure
she pauses and is able to reflect and really think about what she has just
read.
Another great strategy that is often
used in reading workshop is using Post-Its.
I think using Post-Its is a great way for students to sum up what they
have just read and put it on a sticky note to help them remember. I encourage Erica to keep a packet of
Post-Its (also in your box) with her when she is reading. After she reads a page she needs to write
down the main idea from that page. Once
Erica begins to recall and comprehend more frequently she will be bale to do a
post-it ever few pages then soon one or two a chapter.
I am looking forward to working with
both you and Erica in the future. Please
let me know if there is any way I can help Erica while we are in or out of
class.
Laura
Jordan
Reading
Specialist
Grad
School
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