Hurtin' My Brain

I'm happily joining Kimberley from First in Maine today with more thoughts about Catching Readers Before They Fall.  Click on the graphic to see what she's got to say.  Her thoughts are always worth reading.

Chapter 8:  Comprehension 

What got me thinking...

"There is a danger in focusing too narrowly on each strategy for six to eight weeks with the entire class."

"Itemizing strategy instruction can be just as ineffective as teaching phonics in isolation." 

"The teacher needs to begin with a desire to make meaning of a particular text, always keeping the focus on meaning, and then present the strategy as something that contributes to his or her understanding of the piece."

Reading this chapter hurt my brain a little, and I'm not sure one reading allowed me to completely take it all in or make it my own.  The authors got me thinking though about how I incorporate comprehension strategies into my instruction.  I'm not sure how to articulate the crux of the chapter, but that last quote is pivotal.  Does my comprehension instruction start with a strategy ("Today kiddos, we're going to learn about...") or does it start with a text and my desire to make sense of it?  I suppose there's a fine line between the two and one that some might find hardly worth mentioning, but I consider it important to ponder.  

Chapter 9:  Spotlight on Inferring and Summarizing

What got me thinking...

"Inferring is the heartbeat of comprehension.  It is fused together with almost every other strategy.  Children need to learn that readers think as they read - and that thinking can go far beyond what the words on the page actually say."

This chapter helped me realize that inferring is more important than I'd ever realized.  It's pivotal to the way early readers comprehend and something worth thinking out loud about from day one.  If it's the heartbeat, I need to treat it as such.  

P.S.  I also need to reread these chapters once school starts.