I am continuing to read, Catching Young Readers Before They Fall. I gathered a lot of information from chapters 9 and 10. Chapter 9 focused on inferring and summarizing. The chapter states, "Some teachers may think inferring is predicting, but we believe it includes more than just predicting." Fountas and Pinnell says, "Readers who infer go beyond the literal meaning of a text to derive what is not there but is implied." There are many opportunities to infer when reading. These opportunities can derive from the setting, thoughts on characters personalities, a poems meaning, looking at the author's perspective, discovering the theme, determining a problem, discovering the meaning of new vocabulary, and when looking at figurative language. As teachers, we should stop during shared reading or read aloud books to ask questions and see what the students can infer about these different scenarios. They are using their thinking skills and what they already know so far about a book to infer what is happening. Inferring also helps build a readers comprehension skills. (Johnson and Keier 2010)
Chapter 10 focuses on assessment and looking closely at readers. The chapter says, "In order to know how our readers are progressing, we must be careful observers, constantly making decisions about how to use the information we gather to inform our instruction." The authors of this book believe that assessment must be authentic, ongoing, and informative in order for it to effectively be used by teachers. The chapter lists several different assessment tools including conferencing, anecdotal note taking, running records, developmental reading assessment, and beginner reading assessments. I think it is important to use a variety of assessment tools because if a student does not assess well one way, the teacher may be surprised if they use a different assessment tool. Students respond better to different tools so I think it is important to look at their reading abilities from more than one angle. (Johnson and Keier 2010)
The author suggests using read alouds to practice making inferences. Read alouds are what I miss the most about teaching and I have to say that I think read alouds are what I did best! ;) I got so much teaching done during read alouds but in light of what I have read during this course, I probably should have spent less time on read alouds and more time allowing students to read on their own.
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that the author recommends using a variety of assessments. I have had students that I knew were capable but did not test well on one assessment or another. These assessments inform us (the teachers) how the student is doing - how do we translate these assessments for parents?
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great post for Catching Readers Before They Fall. I also found that chapters nine and ten were very informative. Before reading the chapters, I also thought inferring was very similar to predicting. Students technically already know how to infer when they are reading, but it takes us, the teacher asking them asking and driving their thinking skills to build their comprehension skills. I also believe that several teaching strategies must be used in order for every child to benefit from learning in the classroom. Great post!
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteNice post! I like that you included the quote about inferring. At first, I mainly viewed it as predicting at but it is definitely more than just that. I think it's up to us to guide the students to infer as much as they can, so that eventually they are able to do it independently. It seems like a good idea for teachers to ask questions while reading in order to get an idea of how students are inferring because both the teacher and students benefit!
Hi Kristen,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your thoughts on chapters 9 and 10 on inferring and assessment. I agree with the authors that it is important during read alouds and shared reading that we stop and ask questions and model through a think aloud our process of making meaning through inferring and questioning. In your summary of chapter 10 you shared the importance of having a variety of assessment tools. Which of these tools do you think you will use with students? Why?
Thanks,
Dawn and Melissa
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ReplyDeleteMy thoughts on reading skills is to supply books on the student's instructional level. Daily reading practices performed at the library allows me the time to ask questions to get a better understanding from the student of what he/she understood in his reading.
ReplyDelete