Last Friday, I was fortunate enough to attend a literacy seminar by an eminent professor, Dr Sharon Vaughn.
Right off the bat, she distinguished the difference between language and literacy. A student may know how to read a word, but if he doesn’t understand it, he won’t be able to comprehend a reading passage.
It was a realisation that some colleagues and I had arrived at earlier this year.
As such, teachers will do well to buttress their charges’ background knowledge. One way is to get them to ponder about the Big Idea before introducing an unfamiliar topic.
Another strategy is to explicitly teach the high-utility words that students will frequently encounter across domains and disciplines. Teachers will do well to anticipate words that students find unfamiliar and think about how to teach them.
Select judiciously!
In explicit vocabulary instruction, it would be great to adopt a multi sensory approach. Images are particularly helpful for visual learners. Additionally, learners tend to examine images for a longer time than they do with the written word - this aids in memory retention.
Asking students a Comprehension Purpose Question will also frame their minds in regard to why they should read and feel for a particular piece of writing.
Teachers should employ a multi-pronged approach to help students understand an unfamiliar word deeply and in a plethora of contexts.
I tend to gravitate towards suffixes. I think suffixes lend themselves to enrich the English language. This slide serves as a good reminder for me not to neglect various key prefixes.
To enhance students’ reading comprehension, teachers should equip students with the skills to deduce the meaning of foreign words from contextual clues. As an ex-Science teacher, my ears perked up when she mentioned how many Science articles come with an explanation of the scientific jargon.
Next up, guiding students to ask questions while reading and facilitating their responses by prompting for the answer types seem suspiciously similar to what my colleague, Ms Bubble Tea, had earlier enlightened us during a personal development session.
Last but not least, a new idea that I picked up was providing students with cue cards to aid in their asking of questions.
I know this is a long report, but I’m sure that you found it beneficial. This is Sensei signing out.