Readings for February 24

After reading the Applegate and Carlisle articles, as well as chapters 2 and 7 in “Literacy for the 21st Century,” I have a new understanding of my own comprehension especially. I love to read for fun, but not always necessarily for school. I do feel that some of this is because of the factors that contribute to comprehension. When I choose books out to read for fun, I obviously pick those that appeal to me and my interests. I believe part of this is because of the background knowledge I have on the particular subjects, or I possibly know I will be still be able to enjoy the book even if I don’t know everything about it. I also find myself comprehending novels better because of something I never noticed until now. I tend to predict what I think is going to happen next in the book which keeps my interest. It is said that, “As they make predictions, students often become more interested in reading because it gives them a purpose for reading” (Tompkins, 228). I can often make connections with my own life or my interests with a lot of the books I read for fun as well. With books I am reading for school, I often do not hold the prior knowledge necessary to comprehend as well. I also find myself not always being able to connect to my own life or experiences making it more difficult to understand.
In terms of teaching better comprehension to our students, I feel that teachers can easily influence the student’s ability by providing the right tools. I really like the examples of the inferences charts found on pages 234 and 235 of “Literacy for the 21st Century.” I feel that this not only guides the students, but it gives them purpose and motivation in reading the material, allowing them to look for important factors and comprehending the material better. I do also agree that it is important to show that there is an expectation of comprehension while reading. On page 240, there is a list of ways a teacher can do this. The ones that personally stand out to me as possibly being a bit more useful are, “Provide opportunities for students to talk about the books they read and the compositions they write” and “Involve students in authentic reading and writing activities every day” (Tompkins, 240). Without these two factors, it will prove more difficult for the students to excel. I also think it is important to note Figure 7-5 “Factors Affecting Students’ Motivation” on page 236 of Tompkins. I personally believe that motivation may be the most difficult part with teaching students reading and writing. If the child does not want to succeed, they won’t. I like this chart because it tells us different suggestions for what we can do in order to enhance their motivation.