Category: Reading Comprehension

But What If No One Talks? | Part 1 of 2

by Skylar DeVos on February 21, 2017 in About Inquiry by Design, Classroom Discussions, Reading Comprehension with Comments Off on But What If No One Talks? | Part 1 of 2

The great thing about a light bulb that isn’t working is that there’s just about only one possible thing that could have gone wrong: The light has burned out. Barring an unusual wiring problem, power outage, or blown breaker, you always know how to fix it right away.

Classroom discussions are…not at all like a light bulb. There may be 20 to 30 people in the room, all at various reading levels, all with different interests and motivation, and each of […]

Camping in the First Round of Comprehension

by Skylar DeVos on February 7, 2017 in Classroom Discussions, Interpretation, Reading Comprehension, Shared Reading with Comments Off on Camping in the First Round of Comprehension

“Hold on a second, though – what do you think he means by that?”

Twenty pairs of eyes in the room began to shift. A few students squint back down at their books; others squint at some point on the wall just to the side of my head.

“I just don’t think we’ve quite gotten there yet – I think there’s something more going on here. Maybe look back at the closing section.”

A student or two absently leaf through the reader, looking […]