Our team of teachers decided that a focus on developing comprehension skills in literacy, would be really beneficial for our little learners. Our students spend so much effort on trying to decode their Readers, that they're not actually taking in what they're reading. They often struggle to participate in discussion about the story, retell the main events of the story, or answer questions about what they have just read.
Why might our students struggle in comprehension?
* For many of our learners, English is their second language, and therefore they may have a limited vocabulary, and neither hear, nor understand, the nuances of English.
*They lack the confidence to answer questions, fearing they might be wrong, and waiting for someone else to answer. Or, in fact, the confidence to ask a question to clarify thoughts they may have about what they're reading.
* Some have underdeveloped listening skills or hearing issues, and this makes it difficult to keep up with the conversation.
* They might just be shy, and we are not fully aware of their strengths and/or weaknesses.
Whatever the reason, comprehension (or lack of) is an issue that we need to address with our learners.
The question for me then is:
How can I support my students to develop their comprehension when reading their BSLA Readers?
I will be focussing on a group of four students - all girls. They all began the year with similar skills in reading - some letter sound knowledge, and a few basic high frequecy words up their sleeves. In Term One they are each making steady progress in BSLA. Their letter sound knowledge is growing each week.
I will be using Vosaic to record some Reading Lessons so that I can observe their interactions, and the role I play in supporting (or perhaps even heeding) their comprehension. Time will tell how that goes. I will also need to do some research around ways to increase comprehension, and will no doubt talk with my colleagues to see what they're doing in their classes.
