The first thing I have learned from the article is that teachers should pay attention to three aspects in order to build comprehension while reading aloud to children. Identifying text structure helps students to retail stories and find general ideas; text-based discussions make children not just listen but think about major figures and motifs, and vocabulary in context helps to learn new words easier.
The second item is related to book selection, which should take into account students’ age, potential connections with other texts and choose topics that are also interested to children.
Thirdly, while selecting vocabulary from the text to discuss, the teacher must consider whether the words functional, crucial for the story’s comprehension, and varied.
One item I want to learn more about is questioning during a reading with regard to what additional information might the teacher give to make it easier for students to answer; the second one is about making text-to-life connections.
Concerning the reading, I have one question: what other methods can be used to explain the target vocabulary from the text to children in an interesting way?
Firstly, from the reading, I learned that running records during reading helps not only readers but also teachers, who can understand what the student attended to and what he overlooked. In other words, children’s records allow teachers to support and challenge them.
Secondly, the teacher should select average readers and avoid practicing on higher- or lower-progress students because it does not make it clear how the method works for most students.
Thirdly, while analyzing children’s errors in the records, the teacher has to understand what factors led to mistakes, for example, if the student put a different meaning in the author’s words.
One aspect I want to research more is the assessment of Running Records, especially with regard to repeated errors and self-corrections; another thing is related to understanding the reading progress.
Regarding the article, I have a question: what might be the reason for taking Running Records with older readers?