Unlocking the Secrets of Comprehension: Transforming Your Student’s Ideas About What It Means to Read! (K–5)

Comprehension, comprehension, comprehension! but do our students know what it is, why it matters, and how important it is for success in life? In this session we will experience and deepen our understanding of levels of comprehension and how they support our learners. We’ll explore ways to apply this knowledge to our planning and instruction that will deepen student thinking, instill a love of reading, and engage students with the world around them.

Learners “should know that all literacy acts involve comprehension” (Clay, 1998). Many teachers equate comprehension with questions asked after reading.
Comprehension is seen as an “after reading” task, rather than coming to understandings of the ideas in a text, building on what is brought to a text and incorporating both the thinking that occurs while processing the print and the thinking that continues after the physical act of reading ends. In other words, comprehending is a process, not answers to questions.

To truly engage in reading, thinking, and talking about the ideas brought forth by the Okapi materials, a teacher must have a definition of comprehending as a process. (1.5 to 3 hours). 

Materials that may be emphasized:
Flying Start to Literacy™, WorldWise™, Exploration®, Lift Off to Literacy™