• I have found that today's students are very electronic savvy ( iPods and cell phones) that they don’t read in traditional ways as much as I remember doing. They need help to engage them in reading, and it’s the teachers job to incorporate some of the new technology into their experiences with reading. That's why I am so excited about the technology the District is providing for our students.

    Below are some strategies that I have found useful in my classroom. For each strategy, a link is given that will lead you to more detailed information. I find that varying my strategies is useful. Not every strategy is appealing to every student, so helping them learn a variety of ways to improve reading comprehension is my goal.

    Think-Aloud

    http://readingcenter.buffalo.edu/center/research/think.html
    I take a  passage and read it out loud to the students. But as I go along, verbalize the thought processes that are going on in my head as I read. This might involve stating the questions that occur to me as I am reading. I might relate what I am reading to some life experiences that I have had. I stop and summarize what I have read so far. I make predictions about what I would expect to find in the next section of reading. I put the students in pairs or groups of threes and have them continue reading out loud to each other – following the think-aloud model that I have demonstrated. 

     I like to use a KWL chart with students. Before they read a text they put what they already know under “K,” and put what they want to know (or don’t know) under “W”. Then after they read, they put what they have learned under “L.” This strategy is simple but it helps them look ahead to what topics they will encounter in their reading and it helps them summarize what they already know about the topic. 
    http://ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr2kwl.ht 
     

    Activities for students to increase fluency

    There are somel ways that your students can practice orally rereading text, including student-adult reading and choral (or unison) reading.

    Student-parent reading

    In student-parent reading, the student reads one-on-one with a parent. The parent reads the text first, providing the students with a model of fluent reading. Then the student reads the same passage to the parentt with the parentt providing assistance and encouragement. The student rereads the passage until the reading is quite fluent. This  can take about three to four rereadings.

    Choral reading

    In choral, or unison, reading, students read along with the parent (or another fluent adult reader). Of course, to do so, students must be able to see the same text that you are reading. For choral reading, choose a book that is not too long and that you think is at the independent reading level of the student (see teacher for suggestions). Patterned or predictable books are particularly useful for choral reading, because their repetitious style invites students to join in. Begin by reading the book aloud as you model fluent reading.

    Then reread the book and invite students to join in as they recognize the words you are reading. Continue rereading the book, encouraging students to read along as they are able. Students should read the book with you three to five times total (though not necessarily on the same day). At this time, students should be able to read the text independently