Significant to the development of comprehension is being able to make personal meaning from what we read. When our little learners finish a story, we often help them to pause and think about what they have read.
Help your readers to reflect, retell, summarize and respond to the various elements within the text they have read. Model this for them, guide and scaffold them and encourage them to do it independently. You may talk about the events, settings, characters and most importantly their thoughts and feelings about the story. How does it connect to their life? How does it connect to something else they have read? What have they learnt by reading it?
Sam and I recently read The Unhappy Goldfish and I helped him to respond to the story after we read it.
There are so many ways to respond to text and this seemingly simple process will contribute significantly to the development of comprehension skills. Our learners will capture their thoughts and feelings, recording something of their interpretation of the story.
Perhaps they could:
- draw a story map
- label an illustration of a setting
- draw a portrait of a character
- write a diary of the main character
- draw a comic strip retell of the story
- answer some interview questions as they imagine themselves as one of the characters
The Unhappy Goldfish by Paul Dallimore was on our bookshelf and Sam was captivated by the front cover illustration.
The story opens with a clear, simple setting
Once, in a small town not far away...The unhappy goldfish is sad and trapped in a tiny goldfish bowl. He missed his big pond. A dog moves in and suggests they play.
Here you can have a chat with your students about growth mindset as the fish sadly laments that he can't go anywhere without legs. Dog quickly offers to be his legs and off they set! At the end of the day our fish friend has experienced a great deal of adventure and has a much different expression on his face.
We found this story detailed enough to be interesting for Sam but simple enough to give him the opportunity to respond very clearly and thoughtfully about the events, character development and themes.
Sam could describe how the changing settings helped change the fish's mood as I scaffolded some talk about character development through the text. He was able to compare the dog and fish and their mindsets. He was able to make personal connection to the story by talking about a time when he felt like fish, when he was stuck and needed help.
I made a poster and worksheet that would go perfectly with this story, or another story that has animal characters. Students will imagine they are one of the animals and give answers to respond to their understanding of what they have read.
Find it in Google Drive: Responding to a story
