Mosaic of Thought Workshop for Reading Comprehension

'Mosaic of Thought' Workshop for Reading Comprehension When was the last time you finished a book and you were asked to complete a worksheet about it? You probably havent had to do that since you were a student yourself, however, this is something that most of us ask our students to do on a daily basis. To me, this doesnt make much sense. Shouldnt we teach students to read and comprehend books in a manner that is consistent with how they will read and comprehend as adults? The book Mosaic of Thought by Ellin Oliver Keene and Susan Zimmermann, as well as the Readers Workshop method, moves away from worksheets with comprehension questions that use more real-world, student-driven instruction. Rather than depend solely on small reading groups, the Readers Workshop method blends whole group instruction, small needs-based groups, and individual conferring to guide students through the application of the seven basic comprehension strategies. What are the thinking strategies that all proficient readers use as they read? Determining What is Important - Identifying themes and diminishing focus on less important ideas or pieces of informationDrawing Inferences - Combining background knowledge and textual information to draw conclusions and interpret factsUsing Prior Knowledge - Building on previous knowledge and experiences to aid in comprehension of the textAsking Questions - Wondering and inquiring about the book before, during, and after readingMonitoring Comprehension and Meaning - Using an inner voice to think about if the text makes sense or notCreating Mental Images - Implementing the five senses to build images in the mind that enhance the experience of reading Believe it or not, many children may not even know that they are supposed to be thinking as they read! Ask your students if they know to think as they read - you may be shocked by what they tell you! Ask your students, Did you know that its OK not to understand everything you read? They will most likely look at you, surprised, and answer, It is? Talk a little bit about some of the ways that you can build your understanding when you are confused. As you know, even adult readers, are confused sometimes when they read. But, we bet it made them feel a little better to know that they dont have to fake understanding when they read; the best readers question, reread, look for context clues, and more in order to better understand and move through the text. To get started with the Mosaic of Thought reading strategies, choose one of the comprehension strategies to focus on for a full six to ten weeks. Even if you only get to a few of the strategies in a year, you will be doing a major educational service for your students. Here is a sample schedule for an hour-long session: 15-20 minutes - Present a mini-lesson that models how to use the given strategy for a certain book. Try to pick a book that really lends itself to this strategy. Think aloud and you demonstrate how good readers think as they read. At the end of the mini-lesson, give the kids an assignment for the day that they will do as they read the books of their own choosing. For example, Kids, today you will use sticky notes to mark the places where you could really visualize what was going on in your book. 15 minutes - Meet with small needs-based groups to meet the needs of students who need extra guidance and practice in this comprehension area. You can also build in time here to meet with 1 to 2 small guided reading groups, as you may be doing in your classroom now. 20 minutes - Use this time for one-on-one conferring with your students. Try to get to 4 to 5 students per day, if you can. As you meet, delve deep with each student and have him or her demonstrate to you exactly how they are using this strategy as they read. 5-10 minutes - Meet again as a whole group to review what everyone accomplished and learned for the day, in relation to the strategy. Of course, as with any instructional technique that you encounter, you can adapt this concept and this suggested schedule to fit your needs and your classroom situation. Source Oliver Keene, Ellin. Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction. Susan Zimmermann,  2nd Edition, Heinemann, May 2, 2007.