| In
1997 the National Reading Panel (NRP) was formed at the request of
Congress to assess the status of research-based knowledge, including
the effectiveness of various approaches to teaching children to read.
They used and expanded on the NRC’s (National Research Council)
work on Preventing Reading difficulties in Young Children. In April
of 2000 they reported their findings.
In the area of Comprehension they state:
“
Comprehension is critically important to the development of children’s
reading skills and the ability to obtain an education...It is the
essence of reading (Durkin, 1993). Essential not only to academic
learning in all subject areas but to lifelong learning as well.
Three dominant themes were addressed in the research and findings
of reading comprehension skills and all are addressed in The Book
Club Game and The Book Club Game Extension Activity Booklet:
- The
Importance of Vocabulary Development and Instruction:
The Book Club Game Extension Activity Booklet adds vocabulary
cards to the game where multiple teaching strategies are described,
both
direct and indirect, to enable students to build vocabulary skills
as prescribed by the NRP
- Comprehension Must be Viewed as an Active
Process Requiring Intentional and Thoughtful Interaction Between
Reader and Text:
The Book Club Game is a tool that empowers students to be aware
of their ability to grasp many levels of comprehension of what
they are reading by internalizing generic and self-generated
questions that guide the game’s Grand Conversation. It
is an active process of intentional and thoughtful interaction
of reader and
text.
- Preparation of Teachers to Better Equip Students to Develop
and Apply Reading Comprehension Strategies to Enhance Understanding
is Ultimately Linked to Students Achievement in this Area:
The Book Club Game is a highly effective tool that actually allows
teachers to become aware of the many levels of comprehension
needed to develop strong readers. The cards of the game are
labeled for
meta-cognition purposes for teachers, students and parents.
The Book Club Game Extension Booklet explains the questioning
strategies
in detail with examples of the story elements and levels of
comprehension. It also has a “How to” section on
generating your own questions to build comprehension and a grid
for making questions
to add to the game.
For more information on the complete study by the NRP please
visit their website and read their report at: http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/findings.htm
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