I like the "Big Chunk / Little Chunk" philosophy presented in chapter 4 of readicide. Having students read through a text first gives them the opportunity to get a general knowledge and understanding of the text and what it is about and it also allows them to form their own opinions and think about what they'd like to know more about. Then by rereading specific excerpts that the teacher thinks are important is good because it allows them to dive in and get a better understanding of something with help and guidance.
Although I can read and I can understand what I am reading, I am the world's worst at actually understanding what the teacher wants me to understand. I can read something and tell you the basic story line but I don't actually pick out all the details. I guess I lack in my comprehension skills. I found this especially true in our book clubs because I read the book but when we discussed the book as a group, the others in my group brought out things in the book that I remembered reading but I didn't think about it like they did and at the time didn't find it as important but when they discussed it, it had obvious value. It left me thinking, "how come I didn't get that when I read the book?" I guess that holds true to most of our students as well because although they can read something and know what they are reading, are they really getting out of the book or text what we want them to? That is why I like the "Big Chunk / Little Chunk" philosophy because it seems to have a good balance and it also holds the students responsible for the reading but then holds both the teacher and the student responsible for getting out of the reading something far deeper.
I also teach math so this is especially important because we deal with a lot of tasks (which are massive word problems) and the students have to be able to read it and figure out what we are actually asking them to do with the information. I think this is a good way to work through the tasks because the students can read the opening of it and then as a class we can discuss the "nitty gritty" pieces of it and if they aren't getting out of it what I want them to, then I can guide them in that direction.
I was reading this chapter also thinking: man, I'm no good at comprehending based on his standards... glad I'm not the only one!
ReplyDeleteThe big chuck/little chunk would work well in a science class also! Not only would it help with the comprehension, it's moving the students closer to reading like a scientist, where you have to read and reread on a regular basis. I'm sure it's similar in math, from the way I've always worked word problems!
I like that you are applying 'Big chunk/Little Chunk' to math. I am one of those students who (in english at least) is pretty good at noticing all the little details and symbolisms, but math is often a subject where I feel like my brain becomes a "little chunk" as soon as I see a word problem. I hope this strategy works well for you.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think of this application of "big chunk/little chunk" when I read chapter 4, but I think you're right about using it for tasks. If our students knew that their job overnight was to get the big idea and that we'd help them find the details in class, maybe they would be more willing to read the introduction to a task. I thought it was cool to read that Meredith thinks it would apply to science as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you about missing the details in a text. In my diversity class two weeks ago, the English teachers were talking about the implied meaning of a text, and I simply didn't see it. Maybe we math/science folks have learned to watch the details so much that we have "missed the forest for the trees"?
I totally understand how you feel when it comes to reading text and forming your own opinions and comprehending. There have been several occasions in our classroom where others have went into deep detail of what they got out of the reading and I pretty much just sat back and listened. One of the reasons I sat and listened was because I wondered if I had read the same text they had because my opinion or what I had gotten out of the book would seem so simple and almost makes me ashame to share. However, over the time i have learned that everyone's opinion will always be different. Also, rereading text is a very good way of understanding. I for one am one who has to read everything more than once so that I know for a fact that I understood the text. Rereading for some also gives the reader a deeper insight of what they read the first time. For example, it's like watching a movie, you always get more out of the movie and or you notice something new the 2nd and 3rd time you watch it.
ReplyDeleteI have been struggling to make connections on how to utilize the ideas/programs in Readicide. Thank you so much for sharing how you are using these ideas in a math class.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have only been in placement since August, I can already tell that the kids are having a tough time slowing down to read word problems. I think if we were spend the time analyzing the problem instead of just jumping in our students would get so much more out of word problems.
I agree with everyone else commenting here as well about the importance of rereading any kind of text (math, science, English, social studies). I can not speak enough about how much rereading is necessary in math. I have caught myself numerous times answering the WRONG question because I did not slow down while working on math assignments!