In the process of inferring we have to take the time to really slow down our thinking and retrace the path we went through in our minds automatically that allowed us to infer. Identifying this process and the schema involved can be a challenging one. As one person stated in class after our work with the wordless picture books, it is almost like we can infer and then have to think back to what the schema was that led us to this inference.
How does this fit in with your thinking about emerging readers? What about all of the other strategies and processes you engaged in with a wordless picture book where there were no words to decode or pronounce? How much of reading is deeper level thinking versus the surface work of decoding etc.? What does this make you think about in terms of our instruction?
15 comments:
Good evening,
Although I am not a football fan, I hope everyone is having an enjoyable time. I am wondering how the "box" winners will all be spending their money! Congratulations!
I think wordless picture books are a fabulous way to work on ALL the comprehension strategies. Talk about thinking about your thinking! Some of the books we looked at (The Other Side) were really far out there....I recall my group using connections, questioning, predicting, and "rereading"---as we flipped back and forth! Wordless picture books not only take away the boundaries that decoding can put up, but they also give challenges...at times I felt myself at a loss for words, as my partners seemed to be coming up with more than I could to say about a particular part...Yes, I would say this genre leads to deep thinking, using many strategies, and also acceptance of others' points of view. The "almost wordless" (one line text) of the Harris Burdick book was used for a Parrill's Prompt.....it was great to hear all the different ideas about what was going on in the picture....what was under the rug. I love the fact that wordless picture books makes one take the time to build the story...it's not all there in black-and-white. (text). Also, there are no limits as to grade level or reading level....it's all about the thinking.
While my group was reading our wordless picture book,I found it most interesting the different schema people bring to their inferences. The wordless books open a window in everyone's mind and it is fun to get to see others thought processes. Allowing kids to experience this "opened mind reading" gets kids talking and sharing which is a really necessary part of learning, reading and thinking in general. This is the risk free classrooms we want where there is a easy exchange of ideas. It was fun to let my mind figure out the connections between the pictures while using picture evidence and schema to make my meaning. But I really enjoyed listening to what Amy and Jackie had to say as we worked together. The collaborative nature of working through the wordless books without being restricted by words allowed everyone's thinking to shine through. That's what happened to me and that's what I want for my students.
With the decoding piece removed, we are able to slow down our thinking and spend more time "thinking about our thinking." For the Fisk school reading incentive program, my fifth grade daughter had to write about one connection she made after completing her first 3 hour reading slip. She is currently reading the 4th book in the "Twilight" series. She told me she didn't have any connections because she doesn't have experience with Vampires, etc. When I asked her to think more about the book and what it is about she said, "Oh, I know. When I read about Edward's family and how they all stick together and support each other, it reminds me of how my family is like that too." She is so caught up in this series and is tearing through the books (she's ahead of her 15 year old sister) that she really had to think hard about the connections she is making while reading. The wordless books are a great jumping off point for inferring, reflecting on our schema, etc. They lend themselves to making thoughtful observations.
I also enjoyed the wordless picture book experience. It was nice to be free of decoding and jump into the deep illustrations. I read Tuesday to my class. I guess I really didn't read it!! I showed it. We asked questions while viewing the pictures. Students paired up to ask questions for Free Fall. I would have liked to see more discussion happening in the groups. They all had so much to say when it was whole group but some of my students get shy talking to their classmate. I need help promoting peer conversation. I would love to see my class deep in discussions like we experienced on Thursday.
In general, I also enjoy working with my students with wordless picture books. Because there is no text, the reader is allowed to interpret the story without the fear of stumbling over word meanings and pronunciation, or missing the point of the text. Conversely, my group discussed the book The Other Side, it was very strange to me, I alsmost felt like I wanted to have some text to feel more comfortable and to feel like I was on track with the story. This type of book certainly lends itself to thinking it through, using your schema, making inferences, and voicing your own opinions or questions to others... all benefits of using these types of books in class.
I thought the wordless books were wonderful and allowed for a fun discussion. Our group read The Red Book. It was really neat to experience how we used our individual schema to come up with connections, questions and inferences. Our predictions were varied as well. I have used pictures and photos for group discussions. My students are very willing to share their schema; make connections; develop questions; and make inferences. They all get involved with the discussion. I really like the idea of using the wordless book as a means of letting the students who have decoding issues to think deeply about what they are seeing. Unlike a single picture, they can start to develop a story based on their schema and thoughts using comprehension strategies. What a great way to discuss point of view! Students can begin to see that despite the fact that they are all looking at the same picture, each of them will use their own schema and strategies to come up with their own thoughts, ideas and opinions. I look forward to using a wordless book with my group very soon,
HI there friends,
At Soule, Cherie has set aside a shelf on the cart near non-fiction books on which she has put some of the wordless books from our lib. Also, I bought The Red Book if anyone wants to borrow it.
fj
I find that the Emerging Readers are much more comfortable with wordless books than the more fluent readers. The pressure to decode is eliminated and this is where they can shine. Actually it's what they do when there is text - they rely on the pictures and tell the story in their own words.
We read Free Fall this week as a whole group. I started with my schema and observations, they took over quickly and were practically jumping out of their skins to point out details and ideas to tell the story. They had great schema and evidence at first but stating these things kind of got in the way after a while. That automatic inferencing was very obvious!
The difference I noticed between the reading ability levels was that the more sophisticated reader attacks the book like a puzzle or riddle, trying to figure out if or how one illustration effects another - we did this as adults too. The emerging reader noticed lots of details, but kept telling the story.When they (E.Reader) reached the end, a light came on and they saw how everything connected. They didn't try to "overthink" it.
I learned a lesson from this Free Fall activity. I finally gave up on the schema, evidence,etc. during this first viewing and took the book back out the next day, slowed them down and focused on stating the inference at this time - what a difference!
Hello,
I have to agree with what everyone has already said. I have not had a lot of experience with wordless books with my third graders. I have always used them with younger kids and really never thought about doing it with my third graders. After doing it in class Thur. I realized I need to do this with my class because so much goes on while looking at the book. Great conversation happens with all the comprehension strategies. I have not had a chance to do one with my class this past week. I am going to do one this week with them. I will let you know how it goes. Have a great week friends.
I had a wonderful time searching through the wordless book with Karen and Amy. What I found interesting is that a person's personality and way that he/she looks at life is reflected in their inferring. A positive person puts a wonderful spin in making connections, not only looking at the details, but projecting goodness. This was how I felt with the 2 very positive teachers that Karen and Amy are.
Wordless books seem to take away all the risks. As an adult, it challenged my schema. Perhaps age and the schema it brings is helpful but it's clear that having lots of schema does not always come with age, but with experiences. Because wordless books don't require reading skills, my whole class enjoys them. Their impulsive nature often leads to quick thoughts with little attention to detail. It's when my emergent readers shine because they heavily rely on checking the pictures....of course, a strategy good readers use. What they seem to find more difficult is when you have to infer with the spoken word. Some of my emergent readers are not necessarily my best listeners, though they all seem to love story time. What is a stumbling block with some childen is not understanding the language or coming to the class with experiences that most children have by the time they enter school. I no longer make assumptions about what is known, rather I let them contribute to allow me to understand them more.
Hello all:
"I no longer make assumptions about what is known, rather I let them contribute to allow me to understand them more"
Jacqueline M. Buck
May I just say, that quote deserves to be in the forward of the next Reader's Workshop publication!!! Go Jackie! I think your words are right on----not only in regard to wordless picture books, but in the total world of learning and teaching!
I would have to agree with what many have said in their previous posts. I recently went to a school in Portsmouth for an observation and was fortunate enough to see a kindergarten classroom during their reader's workshop time. In this classroom there were a variety of readers and decoding ability levels, but what they all had in common was their ability to think about the books that they were reading...whether they had some text or wordless picture books. This allowed all the students to be taking part and involved in the more thinking aspects of reading, and made all the students feel successful and encouraged in their learning. That day the students were looking for small words inside big words, and the teacher had stated that she purposefully partnered students up together to reflect a range of ability level within each group. As I walked around the room I saw students not only looking through their own books finding these smaller words inside bigger words, but I also saw students helping their partners do the same (even if they had to do it in a text that was not their own). There was such a sense of community, scaffolding (both the teacher and the students), excitement and encouragement. Then once they were finished looking for the smaller words inside the bigger words they would discuss and retell the stories with their partners...as well as talking about what they wondered about and what they could connect to (the language of thinking was very evident even in these early readers). It was such an incredible experience to be able to see a variety of students all at different reading levels all be and feel successful in their reading...reading is more than just decoding the words on the page and it really showed in that classroom!
I have to apologize for being so late with blogging, as my computer at home has been down for a couple weeks. Many of you know that I have had my ceilings replaced…darn ice dams…..
Now back to topic, I agree with many of the above posts. One of the things that I love and find difficult with inferring is the varied schema that students bring to the reading. Since it is abstract in some ways, it takes a lot of practice to understand that my schema and your schema can be different. Additionally, deciding if the schema you have can HELP you with a book. I find that students often have boatloads full of schema on a topic but they can struggle with using that schema in order to help them understand the story, rather they get fixated on what they already know. First graders are proud of their schema and connections, sometimes they often go off on tangents about their prior knowledge, often it does not help with the story. I often need to bring them back by saying, is this helping us, or help us understand the story?
As adults, we have more experiences and therefore often more schema to help understand a picture of text. Young children, on the other hand, have a difficult time recognizing that they have tools (I call them reading clues) to help them infer.
I love to take pictures (illustrations and photographs) not only text to help my students see that pictures are an important piece of a book and they do indeed tell a story. One of my favorites is Norman Rockwell. I tried this with my class and I was impressed with their understandings of the pictures. When students inferred something, they needed to think of the reading clue that helped them understand/infer that particular idea. This helped them sort through their prior knowledge and determine if it helps us understand the story better. By slowing down, and taking the time to really think about the book (all parts), I find that my students better understand their thinking, my thinking, and the text itself.
It was wonderful to be able to share wordless picture books. For years I have purchased wordless picture books for our school libraries. I was surprised when some of our teachers didn't think we had any available to our students. I was able to give them a list of all the books we have (more than 40).
I have always included wordless picture books as a library lesson for 1st graders. I loved how they used their imaginations to create the story, and how different classes could go in different directions. I never really thought about the process they were going through in their thinking. I'd love to try the same lesson we shared with some of our older students. It's something I'd like to work on with our library assistants. They've never really been able to accept our purchasing wordless picture books since it doesn't appear that students are reading - and that's their focus - to get kids to read. The lesson was so much fun I think I might try it with them first and then have them try it with their students. I think they'll be able to see how using inferring and schema are so valuable to reading.
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