Comprehension [Grades K-12]: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading

by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, Nicole V. Law

Overview

Radically change the way students learn from texts, extending beyond comprehension to critical reasoning and problem solving.

Comprehension proposes a new, comprehensive model of reading instruction that goes beyond teaching skills to fostering engagement and motivation. Using a structured, three-pronged approach—skill, will, and thrill—students learn to experience reading as a purposeful act and embrace struggle as a natural part of the reading process. Instruction occurs in three phases:

· Skill. Holistically developing skills and strategies necessary for students to comprehend text.

· Will. Creating the mindsets, motivations, and habits necessary to engage fully with texts.

· Thrill. Fostering the thrill of comprehension and using the knowledge for something else.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071812839
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	09/29/2020
Series:	Corwin Literacy
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Douglas Fisher is professor and chair of educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. Previously, Doug was an early intervention teacher and elementary school educator. He is a credentialed English teacher and administrator in California. In 2022, he was inducted into the Reading Hall of Fame by the Literacy Research Association. He has published numerous articles on reading and literacy, leadership, and curriculum design, as well as books such as The Teacher Clarity Playbook (2nd ed.), Your Introduction to PLC+, The Illustrated Guide to Teacher Credibility, Instructional Strategies to Move Learning Forward: 50+ Tools That Support Gradual Release of Responsibility, and Welcome to Teaching!

Nancy Frey is a professor in educational leadership at San Diego State University and a teacher leader at Health Sciences High and Middle College. She is a credentialed special educator, reading specialist, and administrator in California. She is a member of the International Literacy Association’s Literacy Research Panel. Her published titles include 50 Strategies for Activating Your PLC+, The Illustrated Guide to Visible Learning, Welcome to Teaching Multilingual Learners, Teaching Foundational Skills to Adolescent Readers, and RIGOR Unveiled: A Video-Enhanced Flipbook to Promote Teacher Expertise in Relationship Building, Instruction, Goals, Organization, and Relevance.

Nicole Law, Ph D, author consultant presents in the areas of leadership, professional learning communities, culturally responsive pedagogy, educating multilingual learners, and multidimensional aspects for Visible Learning. In addition, she has served as a curriculum coordinator for English language learners, cultural responsivity, AVID (Advancement via Individual Determination), district equity, and mathematics and science instruction in the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indianapolis, Indiana. In this position, Nicole created multilayered and multifaceted professional learning for teachers and administrators covering all aspects of directed programs and curricular areas. In 2008, Nicole received the National Milken Award from the state of Indiana. Prior to her leadership role, Nicole was a science teacher, administrator, and a building principal. She has an MEd in elementary administration and supervision from Butler University and a Ph D from Indiana State University. Nicole is the coauthor of Collective Equity: A Movement for Creating Communities Where We Can All Breathe and
Comprehension: The Skill, Will, and Thrill of Reading. She is also the coauthor of The Reflective Leader: Implementing a Multidimensional
Leadership Performance System.

Table of Contents

List of Videos xi

Acknowledgments xiii

Chapter 1 The Point of Comprehension Is Not Comprehension 7

But What Is Reading? 10

Teaching Students to Comprehend 10

Skilled Readers or Strategic Readers 13

Constrained and Unconstrained Skills 15

Is Comprehension Enough? 17

Chapter 2 Skill in Reading Comprehension 21

Skill in Reading Comprehension 22

Background Knowledge in Reading 24

Knowledge Must Be Organized 25

Knowledge Must Be Conditionalized 26

Knowledge Must Be Transferred 29

The Sounds of Language 31

Sound-Level Instruction 33

Word-Level Instruction 34

Syllable-Level Instruction 35

Rhyme-Level Instruction 35

Phonics: Sound and Print 36

Phonics Instruction 37

Types of Phonics Instruction 38

Fluency in Reading 41

Reading Fluency Instruction 42

Measuring Fluency 44

Vocabulary in Reading 46

Direct and Intentional Vocabulary Instruction 49

Teaching Word Solving 50

Four Principles for Vocabulary Instruction 51

Comprehension Strategy Instruction 56

Inferring 57

Summarizing and Synthesizing 59

Monitoring 60

Conclusion 62

Chapter 3 Will in Reading Comprehension 63

Wilt in Reading Comprehension 66

Dispositions That Underpin Learning 68

Resilience: Emotional Strength 70

Resourcefulness: Cognitive Capacity 71

Reflection: Strategic Awareness 74

Relating: Social Sophistication 80

Creating the Classroom Conditions for Will to Flourish 89

Teaching Practices to Build Choice in Your Classroom 90

Teaching Practices to Build Relevance in Your Classroom 93

Conclusion 99

Chapter 4 Thrill in Reading Comprehension 101

Thrill in Reading Comprehension 102

The Right and the Responsibility of Criticism 105

Fostering Deep Comprehension With Critique 106

Reading Through a Critical Literacy Lens 108

Question the Commonplace in a Text 109

Consider the Role of the Author 114

Seek Alternative Perspectives 116

Goal Setting Through Student-Generated Questions 119

Fostering Creative Thinking 121

Think-Outside-the-Box Questions 121

Taking Action 125

Taking Accurate and Ethical Action 129

Conclusion 130

Chapter 5 Tools for Reading Comprehension Instruction 133

Texts as Tools for Fostering Comprehension 135

Text Readability and Text Complexity 136

Text Readability: The Quantitative Measures 136

Text Complexity 139

The Special Cast of Digital Texts 151

Texts in Primary Grades 154

Making Decisions About Text 156

Tasks as Tools for Fostering Comprehension 157

Direct and Dialogic Instruction 157

Direct Instruction 158

Dialogic Instruction 159

An Instructional Framework That Works 162

Focused Instruction 163

Guided Instruction 163

Collaborative Learning 164

Independent Learning 164

Conclusion 165

References 167

Index 177

Editorial Reviews

"Comprehension inspires me to take action! I want to be deliberate in my selection of texts for students, in my conversations with them, in my questioning, and in my listening to them. We all need to better understand what can make or break a student’s motivation: whether it’s the skill, will, or thrill! I want to make book lovers out of my students, and not just create answerers of uninspiring questions with me expecting the same verbiage year after year. Thank you for fueling the fire to go out and do better by students, especially in this era where often we speed through things for task completion."

Hilda Martinez

"Fisher, Frey, and Law take components of effective reading instruction—skills, engagement, relevance—and show teachers how to focus their work in a meaningful way. Plenty of rich, classroom examples from all grade levels illustrate that this work is for everyone!"

Lynn Angus Ramos

"Comprehension challenges the view of teachers as facilitators of literacy activities and begins to demonstrate how teachers can be knowledge builders who break the vicious cycle where students most in need of high-quality reading and writing opportunities end up getting the least. It is particularly relevant for teachers who are working with students that are reading to learn. It illuminates (psychological) variables that can promote a love of reading or contribute to reading avoidance and signals actions that teachers can take to foster a culture of deep reading.
This text contributes to the important debate about knowledge-rich curricula and the role that comprehension plays in an era dominated by smart devices and search engines. The authors elucidate the enduring importance of deep reading as an apprenticeship into ways of thinking and knowing that cultivates what Professor Maryanne Wolf calls cognitive patience: the gateway to contemplative thought, critical analysis, analogic reasoning, and empathy."

Peter Nielsen

"In their new book, Comprehension: The Skill, Will and Thrill of Reading, Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nicole Law challenge teachers to rethink the meaning of comprehension with its emphasis on “what and how” instead of offering students opportunities to think about the “when and why.” The authors explain the thrill of comprehension, showing how reading can shape our identities, how we think about ourselves and others, how we view the world, and ultimately why we take social action. Carefully, this groundbreaking book guides readers into rethinking and re-imagining strategy application, with an emphasis on quantitative measures of readability over the nuances that qualitative measures reveal. Our re-imagining journey continues as the authors discuss the skills young readers practice to develop fluency and automaticity and those such as vocabulary and background knowledge that continue to grow over a lifetime. Using examples from primary grades through high school, they discuss the teaching of comprehension and students’ reactions to the practice that emerges from instruction. They explain the importance of will—student agency—and its relationship to developing literate minds through thinking, questioning, discussing, and problem solving. This is a seminal book that you will read again and again no matter what grade you teach."

Laura Robb