4 Ways to Teach Reading after 4th Grade
Key Takeaways:
Vocabulary is critical. Introduce vocabulary early. Students should hear the key vocabulary multiple times (and probably practice using it) before reading a piece. They should have a good understanding of what it means. This will help them understand the text better.
Students should know why they're going to read a piece. Set the purpose. This makes sense to me when working on shared stories. Do I make them set their purpose during personal reading time (SSR)? I guess it always makes sense to know why you are reading a specific text, but maybe I need to help direct that purpose so students are practicing specific skills.
Students should record and share their thinking about a text.I was thinking of having my students submit video book reviews for a class website this year. The article goes into having students explain what is confusing and how they reason things out. I feel like this would work really well for small group reads and whole class stories.
When students are researching a topic, they should use more than one resource. They can use the internet to find other articles, but THEN (and I like this) they have to explain how the supplemental articles supported them or strengthened their thinking. I can see doing this during a PBL or reading unit.
Photo by camerazn
