Why ??
Rationale: In order for students to be able to learn while
reading they must comprehend or understand what they read. When
students
are actively participating in what they are reading it has been proven
to improve comprehension. As students become fluent readers and
enter
upper grades such as fourth and beyond they are expected to read and
comprehend
expository texts such as history and science books. One method
that
seems to help students retain important information in text is the
generation
of certain kinds of questions. The type of questions that seem to
help most are inferential questions. These are not one answer
trivia
questions, but higher level questions that help students determine
cause
and effect relationships. Most of these questions begin with
"Why?"
Materials: Alabama: It's History and Geography, paper, pencils
Procedures:
1) This year you all have been given text books to read. You
have
been assigned to read chapters and then answer questions that help me
know
if you understood what you read. Today I want to teach you a
strategy
that will help you remember the information you read better. We
are
going to learn to ask questions as we read. These questions are
not
just any questions; they are questions that help you remember the main
ideas of what you read. Remember last week we learned to find the
topic sentences in our text sections. This week we are going to
learn
to ask questions that usually begin with "why" and determine the
reasons
events took place in our text.
2) Everyone read the first section of our chapter about the Civil War
on page 207. We will read silently. Remember that when we
read
silently we do not talk out loud or move our mouths.
After we read, we will come up with some questions to help us better
understand
our text.
Text: "The North and South had many sectional differences which
caused them to go to war. The North had a much larger population
who worked mostly in industry. Most of the South's people lived
on
farms. Over one third of Southerners were black. Slavery
was
one very important difference. Alabama seceded from the union and
joined the Confederate States of America. Not all Alabamians
wanted
to leave the Union. They were called unionists. Jefferson
Davis
was sworn in as President of the Confederacy on the front porch of the
Alabama state capital. The Civil War began on April 12,
1861.
A large number o Alabamians fought and a larger number died.
Almost
everyone worked in one way or another for the war effort" (Dodd, 207).
3) One example of a good question to ask yourself while
you are reading is "Why did the Civil War begin? Or "Why did the North
and South disagree?" Try to avoid questions that you can answer
with
one word such as "What year did the Civil War begin?" This
question
is too narrow and will not help you comprehend what you are reading.
4) Now that we are done let's generate some good questions. Have the
students share and discuss different questions and talk about if the
questions
would be helpful or not. Discuss how asking ourselves questions
while
reading helps us understand and remember what we have read than if we
just
read through it.
5) For Assessment: I will have the students read the following
section of their text on the outcome of the Civil War on page 207.
Text: "There were 78 battles fought in Alabama. Large
numbers
of Union troops marched through the state destroying farms, homes,
animals,
and industries. The only Alabama battle was in Mobile Bay.
Admiral Farragut was the Union Commander and Admiral Buchanan was the
Confederate
commander. After 17 Union ships sank 4 Confederate ships they
moved
to attack Mobile. Union General Wilson moved 13,500 men through
central
Alabama to capture Montgomery. On April 9, 1865 General Robert E.
Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in Virginia" (Dodd, 207)
After they read I will have them come up with a good 'Why'
question
and try to answer it. I will remind them to avoid questions that
have one word answers. I will take up this assignment and give
them
feedback on their question and answer. This will help me know if the
students
understand this strategy or if we need to spend more time in practice.
In order to assess their question and answer I will check for:
1. That the student can ask a question that begins with why or a
question
that does not have a one word answer.
2. I will make sure the student can answer the question because they
comprehended what they read.
Resources:
Dodd, Dr. Donald B. (1993). Alabama: Its History and Geography. Clairmont Press, Montgomery, AL. p207.
Pressley, Micheal, Johnson, Carla J., Symons, Sonya, McGoldrick, Jacqueline A., Kurita, Janice A.(1989). Strategies That Improve Children's Memory and Comprehension of Text. The Elementary School Journal, vol 90, number 1.
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