Reading for Micro Teaching

I gathered from this article that when students are presented with informational text, it is harder for them to comprehend because it seems to be so cut and dry. Subjects such as history and science might be harder to understand because of the text structure. There are some other approaches that can be used such as brief lectures, films, role play, etc. These techniques have received positive feedback. Although these are good techniques, students still need to higher level reading skills to read informational texts. If students use prior knowledge, think about the text before they begin to read, use the text to support their ideas, etc it will help them become better at comprehending. Students are also encouraged to rely on each other for trying to comprehend text instead of constantly relying on the teacher so they do not become passive learners. Another beneficial technique can be having peer led discussions, which allow for a more “natural” feel when discussing. The teacher can observe this for assessing how well the students are grasping the material. When doing this, the teacher can also have them quote and site text as another way to verify comprehension. In any of these approaches, it is important to make sure that you are modeling the technique so the students know what is expected and are aware of what to look for. Keep in mind that this will not happen overnight and you need to take baby steps to form good comprehension.