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Anybody have a great source for Newbery reader's guides based on Bloom's taxonomy? I want to work with my child to strengthen his synthesis and evaluation skills during our reading discussions. Thanks!
I've found that the non-fiction genre in a topic that is of interest to your child can help with that transition. Then you can have discussions with your child to support comprehension of the material read.
It's exciting to see parents interested in supporting reading comprehension! Good for you.
I agree with you. In order for a child to improve his or her reading, the child needs to first read. The child needs to practice, practice, and practice until it becomes permanent. Non-fiction will be most of the reading a child will have to do after they leave elementary school anyway. So the best way a child can practice reading non-fiction is by exposing the child to it. Read the newspaper in front of them, have them read it with you, find a good child friendly magazine that the child will be interested in reading. Have the child read restaurant menus, and teach them how to order from it. That's what I did with my sons.
For my boys, it was simply finding a genre that they liked. My oldest son latched onto the "Goosebumps" series, and then it was "Animorphs". Horrible books as far as I was concerned, but I counted it as reading. Finally, he discovered regular Science Fiction like books by Isaac Asimov. But as a youngster, he was reading at least 3 goosebumps/animorphs books a week. My youngest son went from reading Magic Tree House books to Harry Potter overnight. This happened in third grade with both of them.
My oldest daughter struggled a bit with comprehension. Her comprehension of fiction books seems fine, but I was a bit surprised to see how she struggled with nonfiction. In fourth grade, the nonfiction content in science and social studies did take off, and she had trouble understanding it. I did not quite understand how she could follow the content of stories fine, but she would be lost reading some nonfiction.
A teacher suggested I buy her one of the context comprehension workbooks. I did that, but in all honesty we are so busy with regular schoolwork and other activities, we didn't really get anywhere with the book. These books though do have some great suggestions for looking for context clues etc.
What really has helped is increased exposure to nonfiction material in school. I also signed my daughter up for a summer note-taking class that emphasized the ability to pick out important details. This also helped. Things really started to improve though in fifth grade when my daughter had a teacher that graded notebooks. It seemed like busy work at first, but I saw how her processes really encouraged the kids to learn how to organize nonfiction content. This teacher also did pre-tests before the actual tests for subjects like science. This reinforced in the kids' minds what was important. The final test would have the questions phrased differently and may have touched on another detail on an important concept. This helped my daughter see concepts explained with different terminology and over time this helped her as well. Before she experienced this, she would be lost if a test used different words than the book.
Please, please teachers - give kids challenging reading assignments! Have them look up words that they don't know in the dictionary. Ask them pointed questions about the material - vocabulary, nuances. Vary the genre. Talk about story elements: plot, setting, characters, theme, etc.
Reading only becomes fun, easy and enjoyable with lots and lots of practice. Reading levels only improve with challenge!
Anybody have a great source for Newbery reader's guides based on Bloom's taxonomy? I want to work with my child to strengthen his synthesis and evaluation skills during our reading discussions. Thanks!
There are Sparknotes on some of the Newbery books. They might be helpful in framing such a discussion of the material.
That's a good idea. I'll look into it. One of the issues with Newbery books is that many are a bit advanced for a typical fourth-grade boy, but his teacher really emphasizes them. I'm struggling to find those that will appeal to my son. So far, our stack of winning authors includes Sachar, Peck, Cleary, Clements, Wilder, and Gantos.
That's a good idea. I'll look into it. One of the issues with Newbery books is that many are a bit advanced for a typical fourth-grade boy, but his teacher really emphasizes them. I'm struggling to find those that will appeal to my son. So far, our stack of winning authors includes Sachar, Peck, Cleary, Clements, Wilder, and Gantos.
I know that there is a Sparknotes on Holes by Sachar.
Not sure about Clements - but those are great reads for most 4th graders. They might be a bit of a struggle at first, but I've found that my boys can really relate to the characters in those books and the text really isn't all that difficult. The books are just a little longer than what they might be used to.
I love them, and we've read a few as a family with great enjoyment, but the list is HUGE. One that really seemed to capture all of us was Long Way from Chicago. I think every kid should have a relative like Grandma Dowdel! We might try Surviving the Applewhites next. I remember reading that one to my daughter when she was in third grade, and I think my son might enjoy it, too. Any other suggestions for a kid who prefers light realistic fiction (e.g., Cleary, not O'dell)?
Last edited by formercalifornian; 09-12-2011 at 03:06 PM..
Keep up with reading aloud and with the discussions. I do not know of any specific guides based on Bloom's, but if you are reading aloud or reading along, it would be fairly easy to create your own Bloom's-leveled questions on the spot. Also look into Costa's levels of questioning - similar idea, but with fewer levels. Between the two of them, you should be able to create a bank of question stems you can use for any book. You may also try having him come up with his own question (give him some of the Bloom's or Costa's verbs) and then answer it.
You mentioned he might prefer graphic novels but also mentioned the need to include expository reading. I apologize for not knowing a specific author or publisher, but I know our school library does have some non-fiction books in a graphic novel format (I believe most of them are about historical figures, but am not 100% sure). You might ask your school librarian or children's librarian at the public library if similar books are included in their collection.
The Read Write Think website may have some activity ideas to try at home. I included the link to the parent page for grades 3 and 4, but they also have a multitude of activities in the teacher section.
Also, Scholastic Teacher Express has some downloadable books for $1 right now - think it ends Monday or Tuesday. Sometimes they have literature guides, so it's possible there might be a guide to a Newbery winner or two.
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