“ Eventually, each boy will be asked to document his own thinking in response to the reading, and it is through these repeated sessions that boys’ reading comprehension will grow in our reading classrooms.”
of the selection they just read. After that, students jump into their guided reading time and are busy making predictions about the next few chapters that they then record in their notes and will return to in later chapters to see if their predictions were accurate. In each activity, the teacher is busy asking,“ Why?” or“ What happens in the text to make you think that?” She also models her own thinking as a reader when she asks,“ Do you know what ____ is? No? Let’ s keep reading to see if we can figure out what that means ….” In a gradual release of responsibility, the teacher is working alongside the students, discussing her thinking out loud as the class reads together and pulls apart the meaning of the text. Eventually, each boy will be asked to document his own thinking in response to the reading, and it is through these repeated sessions that boys’ reading comprehension will grow in our reading classrooms.
Reading is an incredibly complicated process, one that requires the human brain to take in information at several different levels simultaneously, decoding the text and making meaning from the sound-symbol relationship written across the page. At the same time, we are also busy creating a movie in our mind in terms of what is happening in the story and then holding on to what’ s important to remember in another part of the brain. By taking the time to explicitly teach all the components that make up this challenging process, we are giving boys the tools they need to access new ideas and succeed in this information age. M
Karen Davis is English Curriculum Chair and Director of Supervision and Evaluation at Saint David’ s School.
Works Cited 1.“ On Reading, Learning to Read, and Effective Reading Instruction: An Overview of What We Know and How We Know It.” NCTE, 25 Oct. 2017, www2. ncte. org / statement / onreading /. 2.“ Why Phonological Awareness Is Important for Reading and Spelling.” Reading Rockets, 7 Nov. 2013, www. readingrockets. org / article / whyphonological-awareness-important-reading-and-spelling. 3.“ PAF Program.” A Multisensory Orton-Gillingham Based Reading Program, www. pafprogram. com / about /. 4.“ High-Frequency Words.” Reading A-Z, www. readinga-z. com / highfrequency-words /. 5.“ Seven Strategies to Teach Students Text Comprehension.” Reading Rockets, 23 Aug. 2017, www. readingrockets. org / article / seven-strategiesteach-students-text-comprehension.
In the First Grade reading program, boys engage in guided reading. They read aloud in succession, practicing their oral fluency. Periodically the teacher will pause the process to pose comprehension questions.
24 • Saint David’ s Magazine