Monitor Comprehension
"Monitoring comprehension is the ability of a reader to be aware, while reading, whether a text is making sense or not" (Maryland Public Television, 2003). Proficient reads will track their understanding while reading. When they struggle to comprehened the material, they will use "fix-it" strategies (like rereading) to increase their understanding. On the other hand, poor readers, who do not monitor their comprehension, do not realize that they are struggling to understand and therefore, do not know when the use the additional strategies to understand (Maryland Public Television, 2003). Monitoring comprehension is a step students must take in order to become proficient readers. Proficient readers are "self-regulated, meta-cognitive thinkers who are able to reflect on their own thought processes" (Miller & Veatch, 2001, p. 87).
Interactive Think Aloud
In the Interactive Think Aloud strategy, the teacher actually thinks aloud to model how they are monitoring their comprehension. By doing this, the students can see how proficient reads think, and then they can practice this on their own with the guidance of the teacher. While doing Interactive Think Alouds, the teacher and students read a passage together, stopping when necessary for the teacher to model their thinking.
Using this strategy in the classroom: 1. Identify an appropriate piece of text that identifies the concepts being addressed 2. Before teaching, read the passage, paying specific attention to your thinking process. 3. Begin the lesson by introducing the text and activating background knowledge. 4. Begin by reading aloud, having the students following along on their own copy. 5. When needed, demonstrate your thought process by stopping and sharing your thoughts on comprehending the text. Be sure model how to address the structure of the passage and new vocabulary, highlighting when needed, re-reading as needed, and questions you asked yourself to monitor your understanding. 6. As students become more proficient, allow them to do think alouds while reading in pairs. How writing is tied to this strategy: While the majority of this strategy is verbal, you could incorporate writing by having students record the big ideas of what was discussed during the think aloud. You could also have students complete a reflection on the think aloud process or wrap up the activity with them writing a summary about the passage. |
Lori Oczkus on Interactice Think-Aloud Lessons
Lori Oczuk, the author of the book "Interactive Think-Aloud Lessons," discusses the benefits of using the interactive think aloud strategies in the classroom. In particular, she focuses on the added skills that students gain when using think alouds. |
(TheKimMoShow, 2012)
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(Ihkenned, 2012)
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Examples of Think-Alouds
In this video, the teacher models using the think aloud strategy to solve a problem in math. Then, she has the students practice using the same strategy to solve similar problems in small groups. |