Rationale: Comprehension is an ultimate
goal of
reading. Comprehension is the ability to
understand
the meaning or importance of something read. In this lesson, students
will use
comprehension strategies so that they can understand and retain the
information
they are reading. Students will learn to ask questions about story
structure in
order to better understand the text prior to reading, while reading,
and after
reading as well as examine key components such as main characters,
conflict,
and resolution.
Materials:
Procedures:
1.
Teacher introduces lesson by assessing how familiar students are
with
asking questions while reading. Teacher
asks: "How many of ask yourself
questions as you read a book? Good
readers ask themselves questions as they read to better understand what
is
going on in the book. Some questions a
reader might ask are ‘Who are the characters in the story?
What does the title tell me? What
is the problem in the story? How are the
characters going resolve the
problem?’ You might find that when you
ask a question and find the answer, you have to ask a new question to
learn
more about the story. By continually
asking questions, the reader becomes a detective. Today,
we are going to practice being reading
detectives. We will do this by asking
ourselves questions before we read, while we are reading, and after we
read. Let’s get started!
2.
Teacher models for students the process of self-questioning
while
reading Cindy Ellen. Teacher
will read Cindy Ellen aloud to class.
Prior to reading, introduce the book by showing the front cover
and
stating the full title (Cindy Ellen: A
Wild Western Cinderella). Tell
students: "Now that I know the title of
the book
and can see the illustrations, I would ask myself ‘What do I think this
story
is about? What is the title telling
me? Do the pictures tell me the same
thing?’ To answer my questions: I think to myself, Because of the title, I
think this story might be similar to Cinderella, but is set in the West. The picture on the front shows a cowgirl with
a horse, so that seems to help my prediction.
But I still have a few questions, like:
Will there be stepsisters and a stepmother?
Is Cindy Ellen the character that’s similar
to Cinderella? Where does the horse come
into play? I’m going to have to read to
find out."
3.
Teacher will then read a couple of pages to establish a good
character
base. Teacher will then model by saying
"I’ve
found out a couple of answers to my questions.
I now know who the main characters we have met so far. Have we found any differences between Cindy
Ellen and Cinderella? Maybe a few, like
Cindy Ellen’s father is still in the picture.
One of my previous questions was what does the horse have to do
with
it? We haven’t found that out quite yet."
4.
Teacher will continue reading until after the problem is
introduced. Teacher then says: "Now that we have found out the problem,
we need to ask ourselves a couple more questions. What
is the problem Cindy Ellen is
facing? How do you think she will deal
with it? Is this problem similar to
Cinderella’s problem? We have to keep
reading to find out."
5.
Teacher reads to the end of the book then asks:
"Now that we have finished the book, we
need to answer our questions. How did
Cindy Ellen solve her problem? What did
the horse have to do with the story? Is
the story of Cindy Ellen similar to Cinderella?
By asking these questions, we have been reading detectives and
have used
clues from the story to help us answer our questions.
When we ask ourselves these questions, we
help ourselves understand what is happening."
6.
Teacher passes out copies of The
True Story of the Three Little Pigs.
Teacher will instruct students to read silently after giving a
book
talk. "Alexander T. Wolf was just a
wolf that wanted to make a cake for his sick grandmother.
When he goes to make his cake though, he
finds that he is out of sugar. To remedy
his problem, he goes to visit his neighbor, the pig.
Problem is, Alexander T. Wolf has a
cold. So while trying to get some sugar
for his grandmother’s cake, he accidentally sneezed and blew the pig’s
house
down. What happens when the wolf goes to
the next pig’s house? Will he ever get the
sugar for his cake? Let’s read to find
out!" Teacher and students will use
a 3-column chart on the board with the categories Before, During, and
After. These stand for the questions and
predictions we form before we read, during reading, and after we read. Before students begin to read, the teacher
will ask students to pose questions or make observations based on the
title and
front cover of the book. Teacher will
record on the Before column of the chart.
Allow students to begin reading, stopping frequently to allow
students
to record their questions on the During column.
Students will then fill in the answers as they find them. Teacher should remind students that they
should
ask themselves questions and then become a detective to search for the
answers.
7.
After reading, the class will discuss the chart.
During this time, students will answer
questions about story structure (questions about characters, conflict,
resolution). Teacher will ask
students: "Was it easier to find
some answers than others? How did you
find your answers? Did you have to read
or could you look to the pictures as well?
What do you think about the Wolf after reading the story?
8.
Assessment: Students will pick a
book from the class library to read individually. Each
student will then complete a 3-column
Before/During/After chart on their book, asking themselves questions
and
answering their questions as they read.
Teacher will walk around the room to make sure students are
filling in
their charts as they read.
Resources:
Cummings,
Amanda. "Detectives ask WHY!"
2007. http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/odysseys/cummingsrl.html