Ch.4 Explicit Instruction in Comprehension

 Beers brings up a good point when she states that teachers spend more time testing comprehension, then actually teaching comprehension strategies. This brings me back to my school years when I read a story silently and answered the questions at the end of the chapter. The only way I could tell if I comprehended the story is if there were no big red X’s on my homework.

Like Kate, my high school experience with comprehension was the teacher eventually telling the class what he or she wanted us to know; which is why Al’s response to the worksheet made perfect sense to me, “how do I know unless I already know?” Beers than defines the difference of instruction and instructions, as I teacher I will need to know how to instruct students rather than just giving instructions.

Beers also mentions how teachers must take time out of teaching content to teach strategies. After reading her response I felt that this was a small sacrifice for teaching kids comprehension; something they need to know to be successful in life.My initial thought after reading this section was teaching comprehension seems easier said then done; however, after reading the scripts from Kate’s lessons this task did not seem so difficult. It was amazing to see the progress the kids made when Kate “thought out loud.” The students also seemed more excited about the story and even made their own comparisons.

Seeing the difference in Kate’s first and second showed how sharing your thoughts with students and telling them how you got your answers rather than just telling them the answers made such a difference. It was great to see the changes in the Kate's students' test scores; clearly her lessons in comprehension made all the difference.