MOSAIC OF THOUGHT

           Making Connections  

Every time we read we connect known to new.  The knowledge we bring to any new situation is called prior knowledge.  Prior knowledge consists of what we have experienced, what we have read, and what we have been exposed to in our world.  Proficient readers build upon this knowledge as they read new material.  Helping children become aware of what they already know enhances comprehension and ensures retention by encouraging them to build onto and fill in gaps in their prior knowledge.  You can help your child use their prior knowledge by stopping them occasionally during reading and asking them if what they have read so far reminds them of anything.  You can take this one step further by asking, ‘How did knowing this help you understand what you are reading?’

Spending time discussing reading experiences is an enjoyable and educational experience for you and your child.  Capture these moments.

Asking Questions

        The questioning process is used in all areas of our lives, academic and personal.  Questions deepen our understanding and keep us focused on what is important.  As we read we spontaneously generate questions.  These questions help us find out more about the author’s intent, style, content, or format.  Questions help us locate specific answers.  The questioning that goes on in our minds is cyclic.   It inspires deeper questions that enable us to clarify meaning thus enhancing comprehension.  As you read to or with your child, voice your questions and encourage your child to do the same.  Speculate on the answers and read on or reread to find and confirm hypotheses.   Remember that all answers may not be found in what we are reading and we must merely speculate or search elsewhere.

          Listening to and answering your child’s questions as they read is a great way to maintain an open line of communication. 

Inferring Meaning

          Inferences are defined as “the conclusions drawn after considering what is read in relation to our beliefs, knowledge, and experiences.”   Inference moves us beyond the literal and helps us weave our own sense into the words.  When we infer we pick up clues that prompt us to predict and imaginatively expand the story in our minds.  As you read to or with your child, voice and explain your predictions or tell them what the text means to you.  Be sure to point out the clues that prompted your predictions or connections.  Encourage your child to do the same.

          It is amazing how well founded their predictions are.  Listen and enjoy this sneak peek into their reasoning.

 Determining Importance

          As we read we filter out and disregard what is not important to our understanding of the author’s key concept.  This ability to determine what is important is another strategy used by proficient readers.  As they read proficient readers identify the key idea(s) and the supporting details in a passage and ignore the fluff and glitter. You can help your child develop this strategy by asking them to identify the key idea(s) and supporting details in a reading assignment.  If they are confused as to whether or not an idea is an important supporting detail, ask them if this detail is important to understanding the theme or main idea(s).  If it is not, then it is merely fluff or glitter. 

 Spending time discussing reading experiences is an enjoyable and educational experience for you and your child.  Capture these moments.

           Forming Sensory Images

          Have you ever gone to a movie based on your favorite books only to be disappointed?  Have you ever had the feeling of being lost  in a book?  Imaging is another strategy we use while reading.  As we read we use mental images to immerse ourselves in the details of the text.  Images come from our senses and emotions.  They extend and enhance what we are reading and are continually revised as we read.  Often the images we create in our minds are so good that when we compare them to the movie we discover that our mind's movie was much better than the film director's was.  When reading with your child, share your images.  Think aloud about how the images help you understand what you are reading.  Remember that although some images may be interesting, they may not be critical to understanding the text as a whole.  Point this out to your child. 

          Having your child share their mental images as they read is enlightening and informative. 

Synthesizing

          Synthesizing is the most complex of comprehension strategies.  It is the process of ordering, recalling, retelling and recreating what we do and/or read.  When your child shares the events of their day with you, she/he is synthesizing.  They have sorted out the unimportant and created their own interpretation of their day.  Help your child synthesize by asking them to read aloud to you.  Stop them periodically and have them tell you what the piece is about at that point.  Encourage them to add their opinion, interpretation, and prediction.  Occasionally ask them to defend their inclusions and exclusions from the passages they have read.

          This strategy begs for your child’s opinion.  It is amazing how well founded their opinions are.  Listen and enjoy this sneak preview into their reasoning.