Dear Erica,
Your students reading rate is fantastic. It shows that they are a strong class, however, their struggle with comprehension is a large issue in their ability to become fluent readers. When students read so quickly, they tend to focus on word count or time and completely forget the text they are reading. One thing I would encourage you to do in your class is teaching the children how to focus on meaning, and encourage them that reading more slowly is okay! They could do different fill-in-the-blank activities or you could do more group reading where everyone reads a paragraph, and as a class, you stop and reflect on that paragraph. Taking the reading step by step, and paragraph by paragraph will be extremely helpful in making sure the students understand before moving onward. They could also partner talk and write down the key points of the section they just read, include new vocabulary words or incorporate writing summaries; these are good formative assessments for you to see their progress as well.
Sincerely, Reading Specialist
Lizzie,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you gave specific suggestions for the teacher to implement in class. I know that I, like every other teacher, really appreciate receiving specific, useful feedback instead of just the theory behind the students' struggles. I did mention the Retrospective Miscue Analysis as a strategy, but that is much less effective as an everyday classroom strategy than the ones you provided.