[MOSAIC] End of Year Reflection

[CNJPALMER at aol.com]

The end of the year is a great time to reflect back on how the year went  and 
to think about what comes next! In very few professions do we have the  
opportunity to start fresh each year...what a blessing that is, when you think  
about it.
 
As a reading specialist, I had taught the strategies before in grades  1-5...
This was the year where my new challenge was teaching comprehension  
strategies with Kindergarten students. This year was a great opportunity to play  
around with this since we went from a half day program to a full day program  with 
no new curriculum added...so the teachers had some time to try out some new  
things without being rushed. I had read Starting With Comprehension last 
summer  and shared it with the K team who were very excited and tried lots of it  
out.   I was thrilled to walk into a classroom last week to hear a 5  year old 
tell the teacher that she couldn't do the math problem because she  didn't 
have enough 'schema' for it! ;-) 
 
As for my own personal lessons, I had done a series of lessons on  
questioning with one K class. I used the book Grandfather Twilight to  introduce "I 
wonders". I had them use large sheets of butcher paper to web their  "I wonders" 
and was thrilled to hear the conversation and sharing that went on  as they 
wrote and drew their questions. It reinforced for me the importance of  
student-to-student conversation as they learn the strategies. The questions led  to 
such great inferences as well...I was unsure of what was developmentally  
appropriate and was pleasantly surprised to see many deep thinkers at this age  
level. The kids often don't have the vocabulary to explain what they are  thinking, 
yet the thinking seems to be there. The methodology of having the kids  act 
out their thinking really seems to help them demonstrate thinking in a  
developmentally appropriate way. 
 
I will be interested in following these K kids through the grades since  this 
is the first time K has really done anything beyond learning letters and  
sounds...really the only comprehension work done in the curriculum is  
predicting...
 
I will also be sitting with the K team over the summer and we are going to  
do strategy units to go along with the established curriculum. I am thinking,  
now, that with the littlest learners, the idea of teaching one strategy  
thoroughly before introducing another is the way to go. Older learners, I am  
thinking, need to start to see how the strategies work together in an integrated  
whole... this is an issue I have been struggling with over the years but I 
think  I may be coming to grips with it personally. I think the less experience  
students have with strategies, the more they need the strategy introduced in an 
 isolated way. 
 
My other goal for next year is to implement a study group of the Seven Keys  
to Comprehension with parents. My PTA bought me 20 copies of the book and I  
think we'll do a book group of it! I need to do some more thinking about how to 
 implement it...any ideas out there?
 
Looking forward to seeing other's reflections...
Jennifer
Maryland



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