Kim BrattainFounder/ CEO, Kim Brattain Media · Award-winning Corporate and Documentary Film Producer

The Fletcher School - Reading Comprehension

16 Jul 2019 · 2 min

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1:59

In this classroom excerpt, the teacher leads a reading‑comprehension block that emphasizes both fiction and nonfiction texts. The discussion outlines the purpose of reading for fluency, vocabulary, and ultimate comprehension. Key instructional strategies include using a hands‑on manipulative called the “nonfiction retell rope” to help students physically organize story elements, employing repetition and rereading to build fluency, pairing students for collaborative reading to foster confidence, and incorporating visual supports for vocabulary. The teacher highlights how these methods make reading automatic, freeing cognitive resources for deeper understanding, and notes the positive impact on student confidence and peer interaction.

Chapters

Alligator eats cookies. Do alligators eat cookies? No. So where are you going to put that?
Fiction.
Under fiction. That's pretend. Who has card number 2? In our reading comprehension block, they read texts to work on their fluency, to work on their vocabulary, and then to ultimately comprehend what the text says. For nonfiction, they're going back and talking about What about the number 3?
What do we need to remember to do? You need to remember to keep up to say the third fact.
Another fact. I think one of the things that makes it work is that they have a manipulative, so that would be our nonfiction retell rope, something that they can touch. Then their brain sort of says, oh yeah, this is, and it reminds them of all of the parts. So having that hands-on manipulative really helps them. And then with the vocabulary, I always try maybe to do a picture with it. Repetition, the rereading works on their fluency, so the more automatic they are, the more they can use their brainpower for comprehension. They don't have to think about the words.
And you can do— Sit-ups.
Sit-ups to keep fit. All right, read them with me. Ready? Swim, jump rope. I find that they get better ideas from their partner sometimes than they do me. It builds that relationship between the two. Success builds success. I mean, that confidence just grows in them. They can do it, and they know that they do have the strategies. They can do it.