Module 6 Activity Guide

Building strong foundations: developing early literacy skills. Module 6: increasing reading comprehension

Option 1: Selecting Text to Support Comprehension Instruction

Description

In order to teach reading comprehension teachers must utilize multiple genres of text; choose high quality texts, choose texts with word recognition and comprehension difficulty appropriate for the students’ reading ability and the instructional activity; and use texts that support the purpose of instruction. This activity grounds teachers in the process of selecting texts to support comprehension instruction.

(Note: this lesson plan can be directly tied to classroom observations in the “implementation” section of the facilitator.)

Time: 1 hour
Group Size: 2-3 participants

Materials Needed

Copies of or electronic access to Selecting Text to Support Comprehension Instruction – Teacher Checklist
Multiple genres of texts with various degrees of quality, difficulty, and usability
Pens/paper

Young child reading on a tablet in a classroom setting

Activity:

Have teachers work in small grade level teams.
Hand out multiple genres of texts with various degrees of quality, difficulty, and usability. (include exemplar and non exemplar texts)
Hand out copies of (or provide electronic access to) the Selecting Text to Support Comprehension Instruction- Teacher Checklist.
Explain that this checklist is a text evaluation tool that will guide them through the process of evaluating texts to use for comprehension instruction.
Ask participants to review the texts utilizing the provided checklist.
Debrief: Groups will analyze and reflect on the text they identified as best suited for their grade level. Groups will reflect and discuss the following:
- What aspects of this text makes it high quality with richness and depth of ideas and information?
- Are informational texts accurate, well-written, and engaging? Are the texts I select rich in content (e.g., character development in literary or elaborate detail in informational text)?
- Are the complexity of the sentences and the text organization too difficult for students? Too simple? Are the content demands too difficult for students? Too simple?
- How will we implement this work into our text selection process to support comprehension instruction?

Option 2: Plan for Comprehension

Description

When selecting a text to use with students, choosing the right text, and then planning for comprehensive instruction, is key to maximizing students’ comprehension. This activity pulls together all of the important considerations one must consider when planning for rich, robust comprehension instruction with text selected for read-aloud or student learning.

(Note: this lesson plan can be directly tied to classroom observations in the “implementation” section of the facilitator guide for Module 6).

Time: 1 hour
Group size: individual or grade level groups

Materials Needed

A text selected for read-aloud or comprehension instruction
Copies of or electronic access Comprehension Lesson Template (DOCX)
Pens/paper

Activity:

Hand out copies of (or provide electronic access to) the Comprehension Lesson Template (linked above).
Explain that this template provides a “road map” for planning through each component of comprehension addressed in the training (participants can also be reminded that these elements are the strands of the Reading Rope as well).
Ask participants to use their selected text to review each of the guiding questions on the template to plan instruction with the text. This should take a good chunk of time as participants dig into the text to analyze each component and plan with their students in mind.
Debrief: If participants worked individually, ask them to get into groups of 4 (or grade level teams) to discuss their planning. Otherwise, groups can stay together to discuss the following:
- What parts of the planning process were more difficult than others? Did the process allow you to identify focus areas in the text you might otherwise have missed?
- What steps in this process were you already doing regularly? What parts were new or less frequently addressed in your planning?
- How do you feel about the quality of the planning you did during this time? Are there any areas you need more time to address or have questions about?

About the Review Activities' Guide:

The activities detailed in this guide were compiled to complement the training in scientifically and evidence-based reading instruction provided through the Colorado Department of Education by Public Consulting Group (PCG). Options for activities are intended to review content and strengthen learning from the modules in the training and are listed in the Facilitator Guide. Some activity options include links to resources needed for the individual activity. Each optional activity consists of a materials list, approximate time required and group size recommended, and steps to completing the activity with participants.

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