Lesson Learned

One of the comprehension skills that we focus on at the elementary school is identifying the theme of the story.  It is a skill that several of the grade levels are currently working on. Theme is the message or moral of the story.



One of the best strategies that we have found for instructing students on this skill is teaching students to identify the "small picture" vs. the "big world idea". 

Here's an example of "small picture" vs. "big world idea".

In the story "The Ugly Duckling", the duckling was not happy because he was called ugly.  He didn't look like the others, and he ended up being a swan in the end.  That's the small picture because it only applies to that particular story.  The "big world idea", which is the theme, may be "We are all special in our own way" or "Don't judge someone based on how they look".  These are big world ideas because that advice can apply to everyone.  Our small picture SUPPORTS the big world idea.

If asked what the theme of this story is, an exemplar answer would be:

The theme of this story is don't judge someone based on what they look like.  I know this because everyone called the duckling ugly because he looked different, but he ended up being a swan.  Just because they criticized how he looked doesn't mean he was bad or weird, he was just a swan.

Provided below is a link to a PowerPoint.  This PowerPoint explains some simple ways to reinforce theme for your student.  It includes some sample stories that you can read with your student and discuss with them.


https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dTMTAabBS4e1zYtU3VDnuqSs2zlf-huvMdHkBebEY9o/edit#slide=id.p13


Happy reading!

Visualizing

Visualizing is a great way to help your students understand what they are reading.  Children are encouraged to paint pictures in their mind of what an author is telling them.  This creates a "movie in their mind".



Sometimes it can be difficult to motivate children to read at home, but for students who love to draw and color, visualizing is a perfect activity outside of school.  Read for a few minutes with your child and then have them draw a picture about what they read in the story.  Have a discussion with them about their artwork when they are done. You may be able to learn a lot about what your child thinks about the characters, setting, and events of the story.

Visualizing can be a fun comprehension strategy to practice at home, and it helps your student to deeply understand what is happening in a text.

Making Predictions

The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension.  In other words, it is important to make sure your child truly understands what he or she is reading at home.  One comprehension strategy that you can use to improve your child's comprehension is the strategy of making predictions.

A prediction is a guess that one makes using clues from the text or pictures.  The best predictions are supported by evidence.  "I think ______ because _________" is a basic way that students can respond in a clear way.

Before reading, take a picture walk.  Look through the pictures and think about the title.  Then, have your child predict what he/she will read about.

During reading, stop and think every few pages and have your child predict what will happen next.  It is very common for students to stop and adjust their prediction along the way as they learn new information in the story.

After reading, always make sure you reflect on the prediction with your child.  See if your child was right in his or her prediction and talk about it!

If you find that your child is having trouble making predictions while they read, try out the skill while watching their favorite TV show.  Predict what may happen, and then adjust the predictions during commercial breaks.  Then, when the show is done you can have a conversation with your child about how their prediction changed throughout the show.  After your child has made predictions with TV shows, it may be easier to generalize the skill into their reading.

Here's a link to a list of several great books used often by teachers to teach how to make predictions: http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/good-to-teach-prediction

Happy reading :) As always, we are here to help so contact us with any questions you have!

Making Connections while Reading

In order for students to gain a deep understanding of something they are reading, it is important for them to make connections.  Making connections is a skill that improves a child's comprehension of what they are reading and helps them to appreciate the text.

Teachers and parents can help a student comprehend by stopping after a few pages or paragraphs and asking questions that guide students to making a connection.

There are three basic types of connections:

1. Text-to-self connections: Making a connection between the text and themselves or their own life/experiences
2. Text-to-text connections: Making a connection between the text they are reading and another text that they have read
3. Text-to-world connections: Making a connection between the text and the world that they know around them

To help your child make connections, there are several questions you can ask them such as:

• That character seems to be feeling scared.  What was a time you felt scared before?
• The ending of that book surprised me.  Remember that other book we read where the ending was such a surprise? What was the name of that book?
• It looks like this book is talking about recycling.  A lot of towns recycle in different ways...what are some ways we recycle in Newington?

Making connections with a text is a great way to improve your child's comprehension, and it is also a wonderful way to have a discussion with your youngster!

For more information and tips, visit the following link:

http://www.scholastic.com/parents/blogs/scholastic-parents-raise-reader/help-your-kids-connect-to-books-they-read

We hope this helps!