Sei's Chapter 6 Reflection
Retelling and Reading Discussions
Chapter 6 Reflection
In brief, chapter six is about Taberski introducing the concepts of using reading discussions and retelling as assessment tools for students’ reading comprehension.
As I began to read this chapter, the first thought that crossed my mind was, “how am I going to know if the student is ‘retelling’ accurately if I, myself, haven’t read the book?” Consistent with her countless tips and seemingly endless knowledge this far into the book, Taberski answered that question as I read further into the chapter. I now know that if I have not previously read the text that the student is retelling, there are numerous ways that I can familiarize myself with the story, thus knowing whether or not the student is “retelling” accurately. For one, I can read the summary on the back cover of the book or I can look through the text before the discussion or retelling. I can also “scan the table of contents and glance at the pictures to get an overview.”
There are other indicators that show whether or not the student has comprehended any given text. For example, I can make an inference that a child speaking confidently about the text has understood it well, where as, a student that looks through the pages for props to recall what he/she has read doesn't understand the text. I may also be able to tell how well a student has understood a text by the presence or lack of detail in the retelling.
Although, to a certain point, I agree with Taberski about confidence in a retelling being an indicator of reading comprehension, I’d have to say that I wouldn’t rely on that technique 100%. The reason for this is because I’ve sat down and read stories with my first graders when conducting running records and when asked, “what the story is about”, they will sit there and quite confidently retell the story…inaccurately. I’ve noticed that although they may get the characters names correct, they may not fully understand what the story is actually about (sequence of main events, plot, problem). Once, I read a story about a boy being taken to the aquarium by his father because it was a rainy day outside and the student’s retell was mostly about the fish although that was a minute part of the story. You see, the big point of the story was that it was a “drip drop day” and it was a good day for a trip to the aquarium. Maybe this is an indicator that the student is interested in fish or aqua life, but I do know that it’s a red sign indicating that the student didn’t comprehend the context 100%.
Taberski makes the reason behind reading discussions and retellings very clear. Although running records are a great assessment tool in trying to figure out which cueing system(s) is/are being used by a student, once the teacher has gained that knowledge, he/she must figure out if the student is comprehending what he/she is reading. This is where retelling comes into play. Retellings enable the teacher to figure out if the student is understanding the text and if not, what the reasons for that deficiency are, difficulty in word level or text level.
Chapter 6 Reflection
In brief, chapter six is about Taberski introducing the concepts of using reading discussions and retelling as assessment tools for students’ reading comprehension.
As I began to read this chapter, the first thought that crossed my mind was, “how am I going to know if the student is ‘retelling’ accurately if I, myself, haven’t read the book?” Consistent with her countless tips and seemingly endless knowledge this far into the book, Taberski answered that question as I read further into the chapter. I now know that if I have not previously read the text that the student is retelling, there are numerous ways that I can familiarize myself with the story, thus knowing whether or not the student is “retelling” accurately. For one, I can read the summary on the back cover of the book or I can look through the text before the discussion or retelling. I can also “scan the table of contents and glance at the pictures to get an overview.”
There are other indicators that show whether or not the student has comprehended any given text. For example, I can make an inference that a child speaking confidently about the text has understood it well, where as, a student that looks through the pages for props to recall what he/she has read doesn't understand the text. I may also be able to tell how well a student has understood a text by the presence or lack of detail in the retelling.
Although, to a certain point, I agree with Taberski about confidence in a retelling being an indicator of reading comprehension, I’d have to say that I wouldn’t rely on that technique 100%. The reason for this is because I’ve sat down and read stories with my first graders when conducting running records and when asked, “what the story is about”, they will sit there and quite confidently retell the story…inaccurately. I’ve noticed that although they may get the characters names correct, they may not fully understand what the story is actually about (sequence of main events, plot, problem). Once, I read a story about a boy being taken to the aquarium by his father because it was a rainy day outside and the student’s retell was mostly about the fish although that was a minute part of the story. You see, the big point of the story was that it was a “drip drop day” and it was a good day for a trip to the aquarium. Maybe this is an indicator that the student is interested in fish or aqua life, but I do know that it’s a red sign indicating that the student didn’t comprehend the context 100%.
Taberski makes the reason behind reading discussions and retellings very clear. Although running records are a great assessment tool in trying to figure out which cueing system(s) is/are being used by a student, once the teacher has gained that knowledge, he/she must figure out if the student is comprehending what he/she is reading. This is where retelling comes into play. Retellings enable the teacher to figure out if the student is understanding the text and if not, what the reasons for that deficiency are, difficulty in word level or text level.
posted by Sei | 1:08 AM
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