As we worked with our reading partners this week, we transitioned from each student reading their own book, to both students reading the same book together (I read, you read – the same book). The kids had to spend some time thinking about which books from their book box might be a good fit for their partner. Then they took turns reading two pages each until they finished the book. It was fun to watch the kids get introduced to some new books that they may not have tried on their own.
When we read with our first graders, there are four areas that we check throughout the year: comprehension, accuracy, fluency, and expanding vocabulary. This week, we introduced our first tool to aid students in strengthening their reading comprehension.
This tool guides students in retelling the events of a story in order. When we use this tool, we start by reading a story. When we finish reading, before moving on to another story, we see if we can remember the events. The kids practiced retelling the events across their fingers and then when they finished, they would take a picture walk through the book to see if they remembered them correctly.
We also used this retelling tool with our partners. After the students finished reading their book together, they would each take a turn remembering all the events in the story. One partner would hold the book and the other would hold the retelling tool. The student with the retelling tool would walk through the story, retelling one event at a time. The partner with the book would be the ‘checker’ and make sure that they were putting the events in the correct order. If a student forgot an event, the ‘checker’ gave hints. They would then switch jobs, so that each student spent time retelling their stories. The first graders got the biggest kick out of being the ‘checker!’
When you are reading at home with your first grader, ask him/her to retell the story. You can even take turns with your student telling the first event and then you sharing the next, going back and forth until the last event. This practice will help your students remember the key events in stories and will strengthen their reading comprehension.