READING WEEKLY FOCUS
This week will focus on the strategy of using context clues and the skill of author's purpose.
During our day, we will experience opportunities to use context clues.
Using context clues means using the context, or the words around a word, to determine the meaning of an unknown word.
We will also evaluate author's purpose which is the reason's why an author writes a selection or includes various details. The main purposes that an author will write is to: Give directions, Persuade, Inform, or Entertain (G-PIE).
Here are some interesting statistics to support extended independent reading among children. This table outlines the number of minutes a child reads per day and how it relates to their ranking in school and the number of words read per year:
|
Percentile Rank |
Minutes per day |
Words Read per Year |
||
|
|
Books |
Text |
Books |
Text |
|
98 |
65.0 |
76.3 |
4,358,000 |
4,733,000 |
|
90 |
21.2 |
33.4 |
1,823,000 |
2,357,000 |
|
80 |
14.2 |
24.6 |
1,146,000 |
1,697,000 |
|
70 |
9.6 |
16.9 |
622,000 |
1,168,000 |
|
60 |
6.5 |
13.1 |
432,000 |
722,000 |
|
50 |
4.6 |
9.2 |
282,000 |
601,000 |
|
40 |
3.2 |
6.2 |
200,000 |
421,000 |
|
30 |
1.8 |
4.3 |
106,000 |
251,000 |
|
20 |
0.7 |
2.4 |
21,000 |
134,000 |
|
10 |
0.1 |
1.0 |
8,000 |
51,000 |
|
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
8,000 |
Comprehension
This is an area of reading that you have most definitely heard about. On top of this, you are probably fully aware that comprehension is "understanding what is read." Easier said than done, right?
Within the category of reading there are several sub-categories that readers need to master. The first two sub-categories are strategies and skills. Strategies are the "thinking" that readers use to make sure they are comprehending the text. Skills are items that are taught to students that can be identified before, during, or after text is read.
Strategies
Strategies include:
decoding: sounding out unknown words
Summarizing: rewording what was read
Visualizing: creating pictures in one's mind of what is being read
Monitoring: Asking one's self, "Do I understand?"
Connecting: Recalling things that are similar to what one is reading
Questioning: Asking questions about what is being read
Predicting: Making educated guesses about what a selection will be about or what will happen next
Skills
Skills include:Main Idea: What is the entire selection about
Details: More information about the Main Idea
Plot Development: The problem and resolution of a story
Story Mapping: Characters, Setting, and Plot
Sequence of Events: The order in which events occur
Author's Purpose or View-Point: Why an author writes a selection
Inferences: Using clues to connect with what the reader already knows
Text Structure: How a reading material is set up
Genres: the characteristics of different types of reading
Compare and Contrast: Deciding how elements are similar or different
Cause and Effect: Notice the relationships of how an action can cause another action to occur
FUN READING WEBSITES
VOCABULARY
Vocabulary is understanding the meaning of words spoken in conversations and read in books. The majority of words a child learns are learned accidentally. Due to this, there is a strong relationship between the amount of time reading and/or discussing with the number of words a student understands. A student who reads 20 minutes per day is exposed to approximately 1,820,000 words per year. "Talk (and reading) is cheap" and it REALLY works.
Along with spending time on independent reading, here are several websites for practicing vocabulary:
FLUENCY
Which do you prefer to listen to: reading that is halted, with-out expression, and boring or reading that is exciting, with feeling, smooth, fluid, and energetic? If you are like most people it would be the energetic reading. Not only do we as listeners find it more pleasing to the ear but the readers are also more likely to understand what they are reading about. Fluency is made of two parts: the speed and smoothness of the reading and the expression that is read with. Both characteristics are present in a reader that truly understands what they are reading. The follow chart shows how fluently a child should be reading by grade-level (reading from on-grade-level text):
