Module #3: Supporting Emergent Readers

Orlando is a seven-year old, 1st grader, who struggles with comprehension when reading independently.

Comprehension is the understanding of the text that is being read. As emergent readers begin to read, it is important for them to learn this skill that they can eventually use on their own. These skills improve when teachers model the process behind each strategy. Comprehension strategies include predicting (prior to reading, students can make predictions about the text based on the title and a picture walk through), summarizing (allows students to sum up what they read in 1-2 sentences), retelling (students retell the story after they have read it or it was read to them), rereading ("look back" strategy encourages students to go back into the story to find the answer), and questioning (students should be able to answer who, what, where, when, how questions). These strategies help proficient readers gain meaning from a text. Teachers should only teach 1 or 2 strategies at a time and not move on until the first strategy is mastered.

By students mastering the 5 comprehension strategies listed in the STAR SHEETS, it allows them to become great readers and allows them to understand the text. If students do not understand the text being read, they are reading just to read! These strategies need to be taught and mastered at a young age to avoid reading comprehension issues in later grades.

These different strategies will help Orlando improve his comprehension skills when reading

a text. Orlando will be able to gain more meaning from the text. With the teacher's assistance, he will be able to master predicting by looking through the pictures and predicting what the story might be about. After reading the text, Orlando and the teacher can summarize and retell what the story was about and the events that occurred. Answering the 5 questions: who, what, when, where, how, can be answered by looking back in the story. After several times of completing these strategies, Orlando will gain more confidence in being able to understand the text and eventually master these strategies on his own.

Graphic organizers are diagrams used to help students recall story elements from a story they have read or listened to. These organizers help learners to identify the story elements such as characters, setting, sequence of events in a story, and answer questions like who, what, where, when, why, and how. These organizers provide students with an organized format for reading the selected text.

Teaching and exposing students to identify the story elements in a text, using different graphic organizers, strengthens their comprehension skills. Readers begin to connect what they know to what they are reading and learning. Teachers expose students to graphic organizers because it acts as a tool in assisting learners to better understand the text that is being read. With teacher assistance, graphic organizers act as a tool, students can learn to use on their own.

Graphic organizers can assist Orlando in identifying the different story elements within a text. This tool can help Orlando with his comprehension skills in an organized way. The skills can be anything from identifying the story's main idea, setting of a story, characters in the story, problem and solution, and sequencing. This will allow for Orlando to map out the text he is reading or being read too.

Repeated reading is a strategy used to increase reading fluency. A fluent reader develops word recognition skills. Word recognition skills are being able to quickly identify and read sight words in a text.

"Pappas (1991) found that children asked more questions and engaged in more dialogues when they listened to repeated readings of the same story" (Doyle B.G., Bramwell W, 2006. p.555). Repeated readings assist students to become fluent readers and build on comprehension skills. When using repeated reading, students are able to develop vocabulary meaning. Students, who reread a story, are able to determine what comes next and it assists them in being able to retell the story (Doyle B.G., Bramwell W, 2006).

Repeated readings will help Orlando with better understanding the text. Exposing him to the text more than once will build upon his comprehension skills. Each time Orlando reads the story, the teacher and Orlando can focus on one strategy. For example, the first read can expose Orlando to the text. The second read can focus on the characters and setting. The third read can focus on the main idea of the story and so on, making sure that each reread focuses on one comprehension strategy. 

The children's book I chose for Orlando is Corduroy written by Don Freeman's. The graphic organizer below will assist Orlando in identifying the story's main components such as the characters, setting, problem, solution, and events that occur in the story.

References

Doyle, B. G., & Bramwell, W. (2006). Promoting Emergent Literacy and Social-Emotional Learning Through Dialogic Reading. The Reading Teacher, 59(6), 554-564.