Hallstrom1

Hallstrom,Delaney
Period:2
CP3English
20,February2015
HowtoTeachYoungStudentstoReadandComprehendaStory

Learningtounderstandwhatyouarereadingstartswhenyouareyoung.Beingableto
teachelementarystudentshowtolovetoreadandunderstandwhattheyarereadingwillhelp
themthroughouttheirlives.Followthesefewstepsandyouwillhaveyourstudentsgoinghome
andtellingtheirparentsallaboutthestorytheyreadthatdayinclass!
Firstthingtodoistocatchthestudentsattention.Allteachershavetheirownmethodsof
gettingtheirclasstopayattentiontothem.Onecommonwaysometeachersdotogettheir
studentsattentioniswithclappingorrhyming.Averycommonmethodistohavethestudents
giveyoufive(alltheirfingers)andraisingtheirhandsandsaying(1)Eyeslook,(2)Ears
listen,(3)Mouthclosed(4)Handsstill,(5)Feetquit(Davies).Afteracoupletimesof
repeatingthisandusingitfrequently,thestudentswillsoonbesayingontheirown.Whenyou
holdupfivetotheclass,theywillallsettledown.Anothercommonwaytohookthestudentsis
toSay,inanormaltoneofvoice,"Claponceifyoucanhearme."Thoselisteningwillquiet
downandclaponetime.Thensay,"Claptwiceifyoucanhearme."Morechildrenrespondwith
twoclaps.Finallysay,"Clapthreetimesifyoucanhearme."Bythistimeyoushouldhavethe
attentionofyourstudents(Davies).Clappingwilldefinitelygettheattentionofyourstudent,
especiallyiftheyareallclappingalong.

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Onceyouhaveallthestudentsattentionyouneedtostatetoobjectiveofthelesson.
Whileallofthefirstgradersaresittingattheirdeskquietly,youwilltellallthestudentsthatthey
willbereadingastory,asking,answeringquestions,andcreatingastoryboardtocheckthe
understandingofthestory.
Next,beforebeginningtoreadthestoryyouneedtointroducethenewvocabularythat
thestorycontains.Thereareplentyofwaystoteachyouthfulstudentsvocab.itisverydifficult
totellyoungkidstomemorizevocabwordsonthespot.Littlekidsloveplayinggamesthere
aremanyenjoyablegamesthatwillincreaseyourclasssvocabulary.BeforeplayingVocabulary
Bingo,studentscanwritealltheirvocabularywordsonabingosheet.Whentheyareallfinished
youcalloutthedefinitions,allowingthekidstosearchforthewordbelongingtothedefinition.
Thestudentwithfourvocabularywordsinarowfirstwin(Vocabulary).Thiswillforcethekids
tolearnthedefinitionsquicklybecausetheywillbesearchingforthewordontheirbingosheet
thatmatchesthedefinitionwantingtogetfourinarowfirst.Thenextoptiontohavethestudents
learnthestorysvocabquicklyistoputthevocabularywordsontheboardinarandomfashion
writtenaround,notnecessarilyinrows.Twostudentswillhaveaflyswatter.Thentheteacher
willreadadefinitionofavocabularywordandthefirststudentto"swat"thewordgetsapoint
fortheirteam.Theclasswillcontinuetoplayuntilallthewordsaredone(Vocabulary).Ifyou
feelthatyourstudentsneedtoreallyadvancetheirvocabularyyoucanconductavocabularytest
whenthereadingisfinished.
Nowitisfinallytimetobeginthestory.Dependingonhowadvancedyourclassisin
readingyoucanhavedifferenttechniquestoreadastory.Ifyouhaveaclassofalladvanced
readeryoucanhavetheclassplaypopcorn.Thisgamerequiresthestudentstoswitchreaders

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aftereveryparagraphorinstructedbytheteacher.ForPopcornallstudentcanremainsittingin
theirseatsandspeakloudlywhenreading,sothewholeclasscanhear.Startonwithastudentof
choice,thenwhenheorshefinishtheirparagraphthestudentgetstopickachildoftheopposite
sextoreadthenextparagraph(Arsenault).Ifyourclasshasmultiplestudentsthathavea
strugglereading,thenyoucanpullachairuptothefrontandreadclearlyforthewholeclassto
followalongwiththestory.Nomatterhowyoudecidetoreadtoyourclass,youshouldalways
pausethroughoutthestoryandasktheclassquestionstomakesuretheyarefollowingalong.
Also,throughoutthereadingyoucanpauseeverytimeyouspotavocabularywordandaskthe
classforthedefinition.
Aftertheclassisfinishedreadingthestory,allowallthestudentstothinkontheirown,
calledThinkTimeforaboutaminuteorsotocomeupwithaquestionaboutthestory
(Arsenault).Forexampletheycouldaskquestionslike,whowerethemaincharactersinthe
story?andWhatmadeJackleaveMattshouse?.Thesetypesofquestionsthatthestudents
thoughtofduringThinkTimewillreallygetthestudentstocomprehendwhatwasgoingonin
thestory.
Oncethecoupleminutesareup,thestudentwilldiscusswhattheycameupwith.Have
thestudentsturntotheirpartnerandaskthemtheirquestion.Afterthestudentanswersit,itisthe
otherstudentsturntoasktheirquestion(Arsenault).Hopefullythestudentscameupwith
questionsthattheirpartnercananswerwithcompletesentence.Ifthestudentsfailtocreatea
questionintheminute,itisokbecausetheyshouldhaveatleastbeendiscussingthestorywith
theirneighbor.

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Afterwards,therewillbeadiscussionwiththeclass.Usepopsiclesticksthathaveeach
studentsnameonthemtocallontworandomstudentstocomeuptothefrontoftheclassroom
(Haynes).Thiswayitisonthespotandthestudentswillhavetobereadynomatterwhogets
calledon.Youcouldalsoaskfortwoorthreevolunteerstocomeuptothefrontoftheclass
(Arsenault).Lettingthestudentsthatarereadytosharetheirquestionwiththeclasswill
probablygivetheclassachallenge.Thiswayyouarecheckingforcomprehensiononthespot
(Arsenault).Ifthestudentthatvolunteeredoryoucalledonishavingtroublethinkingofa
question,theclasscouldhelpthemandthiscouldleadtoasmallclassdiscussionaboutthebook.
Theclasswilltalkaboutthequestionaltogether.Raisingtheirhandssotheteachercouldcallon
hisorherwiththerightanswer.
Afterthequestionandanswertime,sendthestudentsbacktotheirassigneddesksand
havethestudentspaycloseattentiontoyouasyougivethemthedirectionsonhowto
demonstratetheirunderstandingofthestory.AverycommonwayofdoingsoisusingaFlow
Maptosequenceaneventofwhathappenedinthestory(Arsenault).Thisismadewithasquare
thatleadsonthenextsquareusingaarrow.Thestoryboard
couldeitherbecreatedonapieceofpaperoraprintedout
outlineofastoryboardgivenoutbytheteacher.Commonly
lookinglikethepictureontheright.Itcanbegradedonif
thestoryboardportraysasceneinthestoryclearlyandthe
amountofeffortgivenonit.Anothercommonlyused
diagramtohelpastudentcomprehendastoryisaFiveCircleDiagram.Putthemainideaofthe
storyinthemiddleandallitseventsinthecirclesaroundit(5circle).Thediagramontheleft

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demonstrateswhatoneofthesemapsshouldlooklike.Makingthiskindofa
mapwillforcethestudentstolookforeventsthatleduptotheclimax.For
example,whenmakingthismapthestudentscouldputacharacterinthemiddle
andthinkaboutallofthecharacteristicsofhimorherandputhemsurrounding
thecircle.
Aftertheseeightstepsthestudentswillbegoinghometotelltheirparentsallaboutthe
storytheyreadthatinclass!

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WorkCited

"5CircleDiagramPrintout:GraphicOrganizers."
EnchantedLearning.com
.N.p.,2003.Web.05
Jan.2015.
Arsenault,AmyInterviewedwithDelaneyHallstrom.15,Dec.2014
Davies,Leah."25WaystoObtainChildren'sAttentioninaSchoolSetting."
M.Ed.
N.p.,Apr.
2005.Web.05Jan.2015.
Haynes,Kim`."Top12WaystoIncreaseStudentParticipation."
TeachHUB
.Top12Waysto
IncreaseStudentParticipation,2014.Web.05Jan.2015.
"VocabularyLessonIdeasIdeasforTeaching,ResourcesforLessonPlans,andActivitiesfor
UnitPlanning."
TeacherBoard
.12Feb.2008.Web.05Jan.2015.