Comprehension Instruction in the Classroom

When I think about the students in my CT's classroom as comprehenders in relation to the classifications provided by Applegate in the article, Profiles in Comprehension, I would say that I see mostly 'Left-Fielders'. As is often in the first grade, many of these students provide seemingly unrelated or incoherent answers to comprehension questions. It can seem as if none of the students are paying attention to the story because of their tendency to be so off topic. It also seems as though students raise their hands to share and provide input for the sake of simply talking and being the center of attention. To address this need for attention, Applegate suggests some "small group discussion activit[ies]" (53) that would allow students to share their thoughts and feel like a valued member of the classroom community. The one I liked the most was Induced Imagery. I think the students in my CT's classroom would respond very well to this activity because one of the strategies that I see my CT already implementing as she reads a story is to think aloud or pause to ask her students questions about the text as she is reading instead of afterwards when they may have already lost some of the information. Induced Imagery incorporates this think aloud/modeling strategy with making text-to-self connections. I think these connections are extremely important for easily distracted readers who may disregard seemingly irrelevant information. Induced Imagery also allows for students to share aloud, getting the attention they need. In this strategy, "teachers first model the use of mental imagery in response to descriptive text. Afterward, they ask their students to generate their own images and share and discuss them with others."(53)

Although I would consider many of the students in my CT's classroom to be 'Left-Fielders', there are a few that stick out in my mind that I would classify as 'Minimalist Quiz Contestants'. This is a combination of two of Applegate's profiles. The quiz contestant is a student who may "respond to questions about text by searching their memory banks for an explanation that will serve as a plausible response."(53) I have facilitated a few Read Alouds in this classroom and I have noticed about three students who continually make intertextual connections when I ask questions during or post-reading. This is so impressive to me, but I have difficulty getting these students to elaborate on their responses. This is why I chose to include 'Minimalist' in describing these students as comprehenders. These students are "usually reluctant to elucidate their responses or explain their thinking." (55) Of the two types of Minimalists, I would consider these three students to be type b - the ones who have a fear of failure. I think their lack of confidence falls more in line with social concerns than academic abilities. For this reason, I really liked the idea of having students keep journals. Applegate suggests that "student journals can often draw out of Minimalists what we will never hear from their lips." (56) Journals would encourage these students to elaborate on their responses in a way that they feel safe and comfortable to explain their reasoning.