During small group readings I have been focusing on comprehension questions at the end. I have noticed that a lot of my students like to read the stories, but they only focus on the part that they are reading. While it is important to be able to read your part, it is also important to get the bigger meaning of the text. There are comprehension questions at the end, but I found it more engaging to ask questions of my own.
I started asking my own questions, and found that it was more successful. Students knew that I was going to call on them randomly, so they had to pay attention to the whole story. I also found that if we just had a free conversation about it after, I could see what the students comprehended and then ask questions going off of what they couldn't remember.
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Jen! Coming up with your own questions to get the students genuinely involved in reading and comprehending is such a great idea; I love that it gives you a chance to connect personally with your students in a way that simply having them answer predetermined questions would not. I also really like that you're randomly calling on students to keep them on their toes; I'm not a huge fan on waiting for volunteers, who turn out to be the same students time and time again. It also diminishes the tendency to free-ride for the other, less-talkative students.
ReplyDeleteHere's a challenge for you, though: It sounds like a lot of what you're doing is in a recitation format. I'd suggest trying to make more open-ended questions and have the students interact with one another. I think you'd be surprised at the content of the conversation - I know I was!