Reflection #6: Reading Comprehension Strategies

    

    I really agree with a statement from the Daniels and Zemelman chapter, that “if a student can’t read the material, he can’t get anything out of it or get any better at comprehending it” (p. 240).  There are so many reading strategies offered throughout this book, but I believe that this is the most important point.  If a student is struggling to read or comprehend a text, something must change.  The student needs a new opportunity to succeed at reading.  It is important to find the right reading strategy to use with this student, as well as to encourage them to keep making the effort to read or comprehend texts.  Students generally do not all like the same style of literature, so providing students with options of what they want to read can add some self-motivation for students when reading.

 I really enjoyed this week's readings because they offered comprehensive reading strategies that can be applied to any subject area, including mathematics.  The Bean, Baldwin, and Readence chapter mentioned several of these strategies.  I particularly enjoyed the polar opposite strategy because there is no right or wrong answer, as long as students justify their answer.  This seems to fit very well into the new common core state standards, which encourage students to justify their answers.  Although there are usually right and wrong answers in mathematics, I believe that by supporting the reasoning of their solution, students will determine the right answer to a problem.  We are always stressing for our students to be able to explain how they got their solutions.