Ch. 4-6

Chapter 4 discusses how to instruct for the purposes of comprehension. The main idea that it presented was to use explicit instruction, and the biggest example the text gave was modeling for the students. I like how specific the text is in presenting questions ... the main one that I probably would have asked myself is " Does Teaching Strategies Mean I Have Less Time to Teach Content?". Beers' answer to this was yes, but she stresses the importance of teaching this way so that students can really improve in their reading abilities. I also thought it was interesting that she said you could still have the workshop structure in a classroom, but use direct instruction through mini lessons, and a very effective way to that is think alouds from the teacher.Using this format means you need to be even more specific in your instruction.

Chapter 5 talks about helping students make inferences in the texts they read. I think the most interesting part of this chapter was that she lists very specific types of inferences the students can make, and posts them up on the wall in her classroom. I think this illustrates just how in need struggling readers are of specificity. I was definitely guilty of this -- teachers can easily overlook the specifics and assume that the students know exactly what they are talking about. This chapter basically states that choosing to be vague and general in teaching sets you up to fail in the end. Teaching is modeling and guiding, and if we cannot do that, we are not doing our jobs as educators. I also like the idea of students making notes and marking all over the text as they search for inferences; it turns it into a hands-on type of learning.

Chapter 6 describes a few pre-reading strategies in depth. My favorite strategy described was Tea Party. I actually went to an ESL breakout session at the reading conference last spring, and Dr. Wilfong included this as one of the strategies to use with ESL students. I think this strategy is great, because it allows students to make inferences, compare and contrast, practice sequencing, and draw on their own prior experiences. I also like it because they can get up and move around the classroom. Having the students discuss the possible story also allows them to think about the elements of a story - plot, characters, setting, etc. I think pre-reading strategies are a great way to have students prepare themselves for the text at hand, and if there is a fun and interesting way to do that, I think it makes all the difference.