[MOSAIC] critical concern

[Kukonis at aol.com]

Although literal responses are generalized as "the easier" responses...  
because the kids need only to refer to the text to formulate an answer,  consider  
"The Power of Retelling." This text examines these literal  questions and 
shows the reader how the structure of the text is inherent to  formulating 
appropriate answers. It talks about backward thinking,  pre-telling, text structure 
and the like. It makes the important point of  contrasting verbal responses to 
written responses, and independent thinking to  collaborative work. 
I think literal questioning or retelling should be a separate and equal  
comprehension strategy and deserves a place among the big 7...... The assumption  
in considering retelling as "only literal" is that teachers assume kids can do 
 it..... this strategy also needs to be modeled, guided, and used a great 
deal  before kids take a stab at it on their own ... just like we do with 
connecting,  mental images and the like.
 
 
In a message dated 5/6/2008 10:39:30 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
ljackson at gwtc.net writes:

the kids sometimes DON"T GET the literal questions.  They  want to over think 
them and miss to opportunity to simply draw straight from  the text.  
Sometimes that is also a necessary skill.  It is ironic,  because in the written 
sections of the DRA2, these questions are clearly  labeled: LITERAL.  So I am 
asking teachers to make sure we get that term  introduced and nailed down early.   

Lori







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