Comprehension

I really enjoyed reading Gill's article regarding comprehension and the the different strategies that we as teachers can use to enhance student understanding of what we read. I find this particularly interesting in light of my own reading habits and the necessary process of reading efficiently and for understanding. As is true for all content areas that are covered in school, pre-reading activities in which students are able to activate prior knowledge and connect the upcoming read with what they already know, the likelihood of comprehension is much more greater.

I struggle at times with my mind drifting to and fro the reading material and other thoughts. I think the primary reason for this is that I like purpose in why I am reading. As teacher it is our job to make sure that our students understand the purpose behind us assigning reading. We do not want to simply create busy work for the sake of work; we want each reading to have sound reasoning and will help the student get to the goal--which is comprehension.

When I think back to my days as a student in middle and high school, I remember having to answer repetitious questions that were simply content related questions. I got to the point where I would simply look at the post questions first and then just search the text for the answer to that particular question. One of my favorite suggestions from this ready was for the post reading activities. It suggested that activities for post reading should be aimed at enhancing student deeper understanding of text through reflection.

Lastly, I think as teachers we have to get back to the point where reading can be fun. Where students can find a book series or topic that they are interested in and what to pursue. I have done this in my life and I am now an avid reader when I have the opportunity.

This is a photo that I took at one of schools I worked in Uganda and a question that we should be constantly asking ourselves as teachers: