Tagged: comprehension

A Tool to Help Students Navigate Difficult Text

Students who struggle with academic reading can benefit from “a compass of sorts” to help them navigate texts. To accomplish this, educator Ron Klemp developed a four-step quickwrite protocol that’s been “extremely effective” in boosting their engagement and understanding.

Boosting Comprehension Across Subject Areas

Comprehension is a concern in every content area. If a student cannot comprehend the material, whether it’s words or images, they cannot meet learning goals. Teaching coach Barbara R. Blackburn offers some simple strategies that can help you scaffold comprehension for your students.

An Enhanced Edition of ‘When Kids Can’t Read’

Literacy coach Pam Hamilton finds lots to like in Kylene Beers’ latest version of When Kids Can’t Read – What Teachers Can Do. The second edition keeps some of her favorite features from the original and adds many new kid-tested ideas to help teachers reach all their students.

Embed These 7 Skills to Assure Comprehension

While most middle schoolers can decode text, the crux of any worthwhile lesson is assuring they understand what they’re reading and how it might impact them or the world around them. Peg Grafwallner shares strategies to help embed these literacy skills across the content areas.

How Reimagining Book Clubs Deepens Learning

If you’ve found class book clubs frustrating, it’s time to read Sara Kugler’s Better Book Clubs. She guides teachers through each step in developing clubs that will help students want to read and talk about books. Literacy leader Sarah Valter highly recommends this resource.

Revamp Book Clubs to Deepen Comprehension

Sara Kugler’s Better Book Clubs offers teachers a valuable resource that supports authenticity and independence in book clubs, helping students deepen comprehension and elevate their conversation. Anne Anderson outlines the book’s take on scaffolding, grouping, and more.

Using Guided Practice with Hesitant Readers

Literacy experts Robb and Harrison draw directly from their current middle grades teaching practice to identify the causes of reading hesitancy. Their tested lessons focus on improving student reading and vocabulary using videos and high-interest texts included in the book.

Help Students Make the Most of Interviews

Similar to reading, listening to what we hear during an interview requires comprehension and the active construction of meaning. Elizabeth Hagan, Lisa Friesen and Sunday Cummins share action research on ways to prepare students to conduct interviews they’ll enjoy and learn from.

How We Get Kids to Read Hard Nonfiction

Learning to read hard nonfiction is a life skill, says principal Rita Platt. It allows students to dive deep into content, enriches vocabulary, and can be a jumping-off point for developing lifelong pursuits. Platt shares strategies her school uses to spark interest.

The CAFE Book Returns with Fresh Strategies

Based on the first edition’s core concepts for improving daily literacy learning and assessment, The CAFÉ Book has added teacher feedback, hands-on work with students and teachers, and research to strengthen the original practice, writes teacher educator Linda Biondi.