One of the biggest transitions that takes place in my second
grade classroom is the move from learning to read to reading to learn.
Throughout the school year, we continue to work on our reading and phonics
skills. However, my goal for my students is that they leave the second grade
with the ability to comprehend so that they can read informational text.
Upper elementary students are required to read to obtain
information. Students have to be taught how to retrieve the information that
they are looking for. One of the best ways to do this is to model this skill.
This can be done as a whole class, small groups, or one on one.
Before you begin, make sure that your students have the
supplies that they need. My students LOVE using highlighters. Yes, when they
first start using them they tend to go a little overboard with the
highlighters. However, once they get used to having them they use them more
wisely.
Find a text that is meaningful! I would make the text
relevant to something that you are covering outside of your Reading/LA block. I
would use a text that relates to your current Social Studies or Science unit.
We start by reading the text together and discussing the
text before we move onto the questions. If you are doing this as a whole group
activity, I would definitely have the text enlarged on a projector. Once you
start the questions, read the first question aloud. Allow for time before
asking students where they found the answer in the text. I like to have
students come and point to the sentence in which they found the answer. Then
together, we all highlight the sentence that answers the question.
Then, we write down our answers. If students have more than
one color highlighter I would allow them to change colors when answering
different questions.
We work on this skill quite a bit in the spring as
preparation for the third grade. These skills enable my second graders to be
better prepared for third grade.
Looking for some FREE reading passages to use in your classroom? Check out these FREE Social Studies and Science reading passages!
