I've been thinking about the beginning of the year. We don't start until
Aug. 27 with the kids, but my mind is swirling.......
I went back and found an old email I sent in several years ago that I want
to share again. I continue to believe that until our students KNOW they
have an inner voice and HEAR it, we can't move into more specific strategy
work. So below are my ramblings about starting the year with metacognition.
I have changed is the "finger 1/finger 2" part. The need for a reader to
recognize when he/she is confused is HUGE and needs to be taught, but I
don't do the finger 1/finger 2 thing. Once they KNOW and HEAR their inner
thinking voice I teach them to LISTEN for it to tell them they are
lost/confused/drifting, etc.
I also wrote a "study" that goes step by step a few years ago that I will
send through. It's long but I think it's worth sending in. It's not
original work by any means as it is pulled from all the "expert" authors in
my life at the time.
I know many more of us do something with metacognition at the beginning of
the year.
Let's all share what we do. So we can all learn more.
Ginger W.
Mosaic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If my students have never had explicit instruction on "thinking about their
thinking" (metacognition) then I spend even more time doing this.
----------------------------------------------
I tend to be very methodical about my teaching since I am still finding my
way in this. The first year I read Mosaic I jumped right in with
connections.
After rereading it I realized that I needed to go way back and explicitly
teach METACOGNITION. I spent a couple weeks having them get in touch with
their "little them" who sits on their shoulder and "catches" them being
metacognitive. Always LISTENING for their discussion they should be having
in their heads as they read. I modeled my thinking aloud with everything I
read. I even started modeling my thinking aloud when doing math. We defined
metacognition as "thinking about your thinking" and they reported back to me
in various way (post its, reflective written pieces, conferences, etc.)
their
use of it as a reader. Eventually I sent them off to read independently and
their purpose was to sit their "little them" on their shoulder, shake hands,
and REALLY be metacognitive as they read. They shared their experiences
back whole group, then small group, then partners. I continued to model and
name myself being metacognitive when I was. I'd often stop my reading aloud
and talk to myself about what I was reading. Then I would set down the
book, look out at them and say, "See how I talk to myself as I read. I
don't just read word after word after word without pausing to think and have
a discussion with myself. I am doing it out loud so you can hear what my
discussions sound like inside my brain. I am being metacognitive."
I realized also that my students were not always AWARE of if they were
confused or not. That became my second study
focus. I did the finger one and finger two idea talked about in MOT.
Before I actually taught it to my students I started doing it myself as I
was reading aloud to them. I would hold up one finger just next to the
book. When I got to a part that was confusing or where I found my mind
wandering or that didn't make sense I switched my finger to two fingers out.
Without saying anything I would talk out loud like, "Oh, that doesn't make
any sense. I need to go back and reread that part." I would reread it and
if that helped me understand that part I put back up just one finger. If
not, I would say, "Well, that didn't help. Now I am going to read on a bit
and see if that helps me out." I would read on a bit and if that helped me
I would put back up one finger. If that didn't help me, (so I was still
holding up 2 fingers) I would say, "Well, rereading didn't help me, reading
on didn't help me, so now I am going to have to find someone to ask because
I can't go on if I don't understand this part." I would then ask my
assistant and she would explain that part to me. **This is NOT used when
coming across tricky words. Words I could not READ. Just for passages I
was not understanding. I did this naturally for a few days. Then one day I
asked if anyone had noticed me doing anything unusual with my fingers as I
was reading these past few days. Of course they had. I had them tell me
what they SAW me doing and what they HEARD me saying. We refined what it
was I was doing and saying so we all had a common understanding of it. We
talked about WHY I was doing it: because readers need to understand what
they are reading to fully enjoy or learn from the words. That a book will
be more rewarding if it makes sense to the reader. That that is what GOOD
READERS DO!!! They don't just keep reading or put the book down when they
don't understand it. (Of course we did talk about exceptions!!! :) ) From
that point on they were to hold out one finger when I was reading aloud and
switch it to two fingers when they were confused. I stopped during those
times and reread, read on, and then explained it to them if need be. Then
they all practiced this on a whole group text and then independently using
post its to mark when they used the HELP strategy as we called it. They
would write HELP at the top of the post it. Under it they would write in a
list: reread, read on, ask. If they found themselves being confused or
distracted they placed the post it note at that point and crossed off what
they tried in that order and circled where they got back their clarity.
Who knows if this was worth the time, but I do know that at least they were
talking the talk about how important it is to be aware (metacognitive) if
they are confused or not. And that books are supposed to
make sense and are not just words on a page to be read one after the other
for no reason.
--------------------
I found I had to really tell my kids that any one can read the words in a
story. But that that does not make them a good reader. You should have
seen their eyes!!! I have very strong word readers. I told them that
unless they stop and THINK AS THEY ARE READING and have a discussion with
the story in their heads, they really are not a good reader. Only a few
kids said that they do that already. So when I am reading aloud
I am stopping a lot and saying things like, "I'm thinking the
author means that ......." or "I bet that means...." or "Hmmmmmm, I am
confused here. I need to reread that part." I even tell them that since
they can't look inside my head and hear my thinking, I will be saying it all
out loud. I read a bit, then put the book down and then say, "Now I'm
thinking that....." "See how I talk to myself as I am reading and I don't
just read word by word by word and keep going?" "That's what good readers
do. They stop and take time to "catch" the thinking in their heads and they
MAKE SURE they think ALONG THE WAY. That's called being metacognitive"
"Maybe you guys could try that when
you are reading at home and at school. See if you can "catch" your thinking
AS you are reading. But you'll have to stop every once in a while so your
thinking can come out."
I know it interrupts the flow of the reading but my focus and TOTAL POINT
right now is for them to SEE and HEAR me thinking aloud. So I may only get
through about 4-5 pages in the book each day but the groundwork I am laying
is VERY IMPORTANT for the rest of the strategy work we will be doing.
----------------
When I started to change my teaching I just jumped into the schema study and
taught the three connections (remember that schema has four parts: text
connections, schema for authors, schema for text types, and
building/revising/developing schema when it is missing) it seemed
that my kids were missing the point. I hadn't done the work prior to the
schema study with them about even HEARING their voice inside. And they
didn't know when they were understanding or not understanding what they were
reading.
The part of "Is this making sense to me or not?" or "Am I confused?" or "Do
I get what the author is trying to tell me?"
So the second year I DID take
a few steps back and spend a couple weeks on introducing
metacognition (they LOVE using the real words!) and doing a LOT of modeling
MYSELF in front of them about MY OWN thinking that I now hear as I read. It
is the thinking out loud piece that is often so awkward at first (for us)
but the MOST crucial piece for their understanding.
So for example, I might
read them a picture book and just pause naturally and think out loud as my
thoughts bubble up. At THAT point I do NO teaching of text connections.
Nor do I say, "I have a text to self connection............" I just
casually share my thinking OUT LOUD for them as I am reading. I read to
them just for the sake of enjoying the story but I add in my thinking.
After a few days of that, I literally tell them that today is MY day to do
the work. Their job is to sit and watch what I do and listen to what I am
saying. I tell them that I will be asking them to share what they saw me
doing and what they heard me saying. I also tell them how they will know
when I am reading the words in the book, and when I am sharing my thinking.
("I will hold the book up for you all to see as I am reading. But when I
set the book on my lap, that is the clue that I am about to share my
thinking with you out loud. The thinking I am doing in my head that no one
else can hear. But I want you to listen in on MY thinking because that is
what good readers do. They think about what they are reading. That is
called
being METACOGNITIVE") It's VERY
important that they can tell the difference, especially at the primary
grades. So they don't think your thinking aloud is really just you reading
more text to them.
After I read the story I ask them to tell me what they saw me
doing. (example: "You stopped reading and told us what you were thinking
after the part where...." or "You asked a question after reading ......."
or "You didn't just read the words and put the book down." "You thought
about what you were reading.") If they don't come up with those type of
responses, I restate what it was I was modeling for them. So I read and
think out loud for them. This is when you can remember to pull in books you
can reread later for t-s and t-t.)
So after a few days of ME just doing the
work, I ask them to share their thinking as I read TO THEM. Just whatever
was bubbling up in their minds (or what their "little them" caught them
saying
inside their head)
-------------------
Once kids can hear the voice in their head thinking as they are reading they
will be better able to do the strategy work because they will be
metacognitive from this point forward. It becomes natural and that is how
they integrate the use of all the strategies- letting questions come up as
they have them, experiencing the sensory images in their texts, inferring
deeper meanings, connecting to their own schema, synthesizing understanding
as they read with stamina, and determining the authors message/getting what
is important. All of it is metacognition.
At our curriculum night my teaching partner and I asked parents to support
what we are doing at school by thinking out loud at stopping points when
reading to their children.
Whatever comes to their minds. We modeled it for them on
the spot. I was the parent and she was the child. The parents appreciated
the demonstration.
Thinking aloud is one of the MOST POWERFUL gifts we can give our students.
-----------------
I hope this explains how I see a metacognitive study. Using ALL of the
strategies IS being metacognitive.
But it's this explicit teaching that I skipped right over my first year.
And after adding that in,
I can always remind them as they are reading to listen to their little voice
inside/be metacognitive and they KNOW what I mean.
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