Blog #6- Jenna Galatro

Harvey & Goudvis Chapter 4: Tools for Active Literacy: The Nuts and Bolts of Comprehension Instruction

In this chapter they focus on important tools teachers can use to make the literacy process more interactive. No child likes to sit for long periods of time listening to the teacher read information. They have to get involved! This chapter reinforces the importance of modeling our ‘thought process’ and important functions of text structure when moving throughout a book. Additionally, it provides strategies to promote active literacy.

The consistent pattern in this chapter was sharing. When sharing our thoughts, and how we arrive at our conclusion students learn multiple perspectives at looking at things. Our best teachers are the ones who can relate the information in a way that is relative to our lives. Often our best helpers are our students. Teachers can clarify unknown vocabulary however; the students should be making the connections.

The chapter mentions “piggybacking” which allows students to respond to one another’s comments and create an active discussion. When reflecting on this and my own experience with elementary school children, most often they make connections to the text with random examples of their experience not response of their peers. How teachers could foster more critical thinking is teaching students the method of “piggybacking”. For instance, if one student says, “I understand why Frog is angry with Toad, it reminds me of the time my friend did…” Another response from a student could be, “I understand what Jessica is saying because I had that same problem when my friend did… and it made me so angry I had a hard time being happy again”. In this example the two students are building on one another’s ideas while creating a mutual respect for their opinions. Rather than sharing random thoughts, they are feeding off of one another’s. Again, this is something that must be explicitly taught from the teacher and is not something that is mastered through one experience. The more opportunities we can provide for our students to challenge themselves into deeper thought, the more they will comprehend the text and foster a love for reading and sharing.