Book Review: Teaching Comprehension With Nonfiction Read Alouds
I am in the midst of a teaching unit on nonfiction and was thrilled to have this resource. If you're a regular reader of classroomtalk.com you have had the opportunity to benefit from Dawn Little's wealth of knowledge on literacy from her guest posts on this site.
The author does a fantastic job of breaking down lessons into easy to teach components by scaffolding instruction. The book written for teachers of grades 3-6 has lessons for using newspapers, magazines and other nonfiction texts to teach comprehension skills. It was my experience that some of the lessons can be simplified and used in grades 1 and 2.
The book utilizes standard ways to activate prior knowledge through graphic organizers like the use of K-W-L charts, but also introduces contemporary bridges to instruction like the "Word Splash." This step by step guide to teaching literacy will be helpful to teachers and home school families as well. Published by Scholastic, Teaching Comprehension With Nonfiction Read Alouds is available through Amazon.com. http://amzn.to/HIV2yb