According to Webster's Dictionary, comprehension is "the capacity for understanding fully; the act or action of grasping with the intellect, and to understand the meaning of written or printed matter.” In short, reading is comprehension i.e. understanding written text. Essentially, it is thought guided by print.
Richard Anderson of the Commission on Reading of the IRA (2008) defines reading as the process of constructing meaning from written texts; he further articulates skilled reading as:
•“constructive: reasoning about written material using knowledge from everyday life and disciplines;
•fluent: demonstrating automaticity i.e. mastering of basic reading processes so that attention is freed for the analysis of meaning;
•strategic: controlling one’s reading in relation to one’s purpose, the nature of the material and whether one is comprehending”.
Identifying words on a page does not make someone a successful reader. When the words are understood and transcend the pages to become thoughts and ideas then [one can be said to be] truly reading. Comprehension, therefore, is the capacity for understanding those thoughts and ideas”
Thursday, August 5, 2010
According to the National Language Arts Curriculum Guide, Language Arts incorporates a number of skills. These should not be developed in isolation. The recommendad approach is to integrate. To what extent have our teachers been using this approach in their reading instruction?
According to the document, "the skills do not operate independently of each other and therefore must be developed simultaneously in the classroom. The neglect of one skill can lead to reduced facility in the other".
The following position outlined in the Curriculum Plicy document is a useful guide to teachers across content areas:
Reading provides the vocabulary, expressions, ideas and stylistic devices, which the student can transfer to writing and speaking. Through the skill of listening, the student can also gain information, which can filter into his/her speech and writing. Media and visual literacy facilitates and is facilitated by reading and writing and provides another medium through which students can communicate.
All the skills are informed by thinking and consequently, additional skills are gained by the students. They learn to think critically, analyse problems and draw conclusions.
Thus, they become critical, discerning individuals who are aware of what is taking place in their society and who are able to respond to it. It becomes important, therefore, for the teacher to develop all these skills in the language classroom:
LISTENING
SPEAKING
LITERATURE
READING
WRITING
MEDIA AND VISUAL LITERACY
According to the document, "the skills do not operate independently of each other and therefore must be developed simultaneously in the classroom. The neglect of one skill can lead to reduced facility in the other".
The following position outlined in the Curriculum Plicy document is a useful guide to teachers across content areas:
Reading provides the vocabulary, expressions, ideas and stylistic devices, which the student can transfer to writing and speaking. Through the skill of listening, the student can also gain information, which can filter into his/her speech and writing. Media and visual literacy facilitates and is facilitated by reading and writing and provides another medium through which students can communicate.
All the skills are informed by thinking and consequently, additional skills are gained by the students. They learn to think critically, analyse problems and draw conclusions.
Thus, they become critical, discerning individuals who are aware of what is taking place in their society and who are able to respond to it. It becomes important, therefore, for the teacher to develop all these skills in the language classroom:
LISTENING
SPEAKING
LITERATURE
READING
WRITING
MEDIA AND VISUAL LITERACY
While doing some general reading to inform my use of instructional strategies to develop reading competence, I encountered some intersting concepts pertaining to the process of decoding and reading instruction in general. This brought some much needed clarity; reading, truly, is a complex enterprise involving prior knowlwdge, phonemic awareness and phonological awareness which would best be taught in context and promoting oracy can definitely support enhance language skills mastery.
The process of decoding involves a recognition of letter-sound correspondences, the ability to blend letters together to make words, being able to use chunks of letters (e.g. –ick, ill, and etc.) and comparing words (e.g. strike with like)-- McKenna (2009).
“Phonological awareness refers to a sensitivity to any size unit of sound.…Users of an alphabetic written system record the smallest unit of sound of their spoken language in print” Yopp (2002): Putting the National Reading Panel Report into Practice: Articles from the IRA.
Speaking as Process: “...the speaker has to choose elements of language that are temporal and sequenced. [Oral] language is [a] most effective form…because it also forces speakers to select an ordered sequence of items that occur in rule-governed patterns” Wilkinson (1965).
“Background knowledge and prior experience are critical to the reading process….Language development has been found to correlate with reading success….It is important to provide students with daily positive experiences involving stories and other literature, such as reading and telling stories through literal, interpretive and critical discussions” (Braunger and Lewis (NCTE, 2006).
The process of decoding involves a recognition of letter-sound correspondences, the ability to blend letters together to make words, being able to use chunks of letters (e.g. –ick, ill, and etc.) and comparing words (e.g. strike with like)-- McKenna (2009).
“Phonological awareness refers to a sensitivity to any size unit of sound.…Users of an alphabetic written system record the smallest unit of sound of their spoken language in print” Yopp (2002): Putting the National Reading Panel Report into Practice: Articles from the IRA.
Speaking as Process: “...the speaker has to choose elements of language that are temporal and sequenced. [Oral] language is [a] most effective form…because it also forces speakers to select an ordered sequence of items that occur in rule-governed patterns” Wilkinson (1965).
“Background knowledge and prior experience are critical to the reading process….Language development has been found to correlate with reading success….It is important to provide students with daily positive experiences involving stories and other literature, such as reading and telling stories through literal, interpretive and critical discussions” (Braunger and Lewis (NCTE, 2006).
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Blogs are the on-line equivalent of hard-copy journals or diaries. As such, they allow for personal expression in writing as well as for reflection. What is more, blogs allow students to collaborate by sharing and responding to ideas--this has the potential to enhance their verbal literacy since they are reading and writing in response to their peers. The teacher can use blogs in the classroom to enhance learning--specifically reading and writing.
Publishing of students' writing is easily facilitated--no specialised technical knowledge is required and this is the final stage of the writing process. This can aid the building of student's self-esteem and motivation to write. Moreover, the writing process can be engaged to develop a piece of writing and stylistically enhance and refine it with the aim to publish.
Moreover, blogs can be used to promote narrative writing as students share out of their own life experiences and this can be used as a launchpad for reading online published narratives and responding in writing by blogging with the class community.
Blogs are also multi-disciplinary in that students can express their perceptions about a range of topics across content areas in addition to being able to critique each others' writing on-line. This in turn equips them to edit their own writing with a greater level of proficiency while improving their critical and strategic reading skills.
Publishing of students' writing is easily facilitated--no specialised technical knowledge is required and this is the final stage of the writing process. This can aid the building of student's self-esteem and motivation to write. Moreover, the writing process can be engaged to develop a piece of writing and stylistically enhance and refine it with the aim to publish.
Moreover, blogs can be used to promote narrative writing as students share out of their own life experiences and this can be used as a launchpad for reading online published narratives and responding in writing by blogging with the class community.
Blogs are also multi-disciplinary in that students can express their perceptions about a range of topics across content areas in addition to being able to critique each others' writing on-line. This in turn equips them to edit their own writing with a greater level of proficiency while improving their critical and strategic reading skills.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Becoming au courant with ICT can be very time-consuming but as an educator, the time invested is worthwhile: Students and colleagues alike can enter a virtual world of exploring new concepts, new ways of doing but above all, new ways of learning. This is indeed an imperative in today's world of fast-paced technological advance. To not be a meaningful part of it is to be sidelined into the quagmire of obsolescence. A challenge, yes, but quite an interesting one at that.
Juliet
Juliet
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