Comprehension Rising

Blog #8 Comprehension Rising

I had an opportunity recently to view a lesson using the book Esperanza Rising with intermediate and advanced English language learners at a middle school. The central goal of the lesson was to develop inference skills. The teacher defined inferences as good guesses based upon context clues and the background knowledge a reader brings to the text. I thought it was amazing how this instructor packed so many strategies into one lesson. Her intent was to shelter the reading so that comprehension would increase.

One strategy that I thought was effective was the use of pictures to help students visualize vocabulary. For instance, one word was “bouquet.” Even before showing that word, she passed out pictures to trigger some images and words in the students’ minds. Then, when she came to actually reading and defining the vocabulary, the students had something to make reference to. She could have just held up the picture of flowers and said, “This is a bouquet.” I think previewing the pictures first created some anticipation and a desire to figure out what they could be associated with. They were a “hook” in the lesson.

Another technique that I found helpful was actually projecting words from the text onto a screen for all to see as she read. Then, she would underline key phrases or words and use questioning strategies to think aloud about inferences. This made it explicit where the phrase was in the text. It also slowed down the reading to pause and reflect. It provided an opportunity for the students to participate in the formation of inferences by guessing, relating to their own experiences while still using the context cues of the text.

I really liked the idea of a “Diary Board” that this instructor employed. On her white board, she had categories such as:
Visualizing / Inferring/ Summary of learning / Questions / I’m confused (?) / Background Knowledge(I imagine…) (I wonder…) (I didn’t get…) (This reminds me of…)
Then, the students were encouraged to note these types of comments about what they were reading as they read. These observations were noted on Post-it notes and stuck to the “Diary Board.” The class will have an opportunity to hear the thoughts of others as they interact with their reading through this board. This seems like a powerful collaborative tool for students to model for each other their comprehension strategies. It also gives them a framework to practice reading comprehension strategies.