Assistance in Literacy

Chapter four was very helpful in understanding how to generate higher level questioning while assisting students in reading. Although I have learned about the DRTA, I appreciate the detail the chapter goes into on the subject.  It is clear that this is something every teacher must take advantage of because of the higher level thinking students can focus on due to the smaller segments of reading. One thing I do not want to neglect is higher level questioning as a teacher. Not only do I want to include higher level thinking in reflections of readings, but I want to be able to include it before and while reading. I love the “higher level questioning bookmark” in activity 4.4 on page 90. This is a great tool to use for trying to think of higher level questions for students.

The Guided Reading Procedure is something that I have always felt I would incorporate into my classroom. I think this is something readers of all ages can benefit from. Even at my age, I find myself reading some things twice and paying attention more the second time and understanding key concepts a lot more. I love how the text gives recommended passage lengths on page 92. I have wondered how to know how much reading to assign for these types of activities.

I love the different comprehension strategies the text offers. I particularly like the jot chart. It is very visual and something that does not take a lot of time. I can see this being used in maybe watching a video or clip of something for science or math and using it to follow along. It can then also be used as a quick reference guide for studying. Has anyone seen or used any of these comprehension strategies and if so, which one? Was it successful?

I also love the idea of marginal glosses in readings. I personally love it when textbooks have these. They help me to understand the concepts written. I think this would be very beneficial for students who may need just a little more guidance with the original text. The chapter also gives great directions on how to make these marginal glosses on books or pages using a copier.

This whole chapter is definitely a go to tool for my future lesson planning and teaching!