Kids are curious and books are chock-full of fascinating stories and information. But reading instruction is often focused on strategies like “finding the main idea” instead of digging in and critically thinking about the text at hand. While students may have mastered reading fundamentals, too many are having trouble putting it all together and comprehending what they read.
In our premiere episodes of Season 2 of the Knowledge Matters Podcast, hosts David and Meredith Liben talk with guests Margaret McKeown and Rachel Stack about why centering the text is the cornerstone to comprehension. In the second episode, the Libens are joined by three innovative teachers to discuss how to build student vocabulary to fast-track comprehension, including through intentional pre-reading activities and connecting content by topic and across subjects.
I hope you will check out the first two episodes of “Know Better, Do Better: Comprehension” and join the conversation on Instagram and Facebook. Together, we can create more learning experiences that support students to read deeply and comprehend what they read.