Tip #101 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley & Trombly) - mind monitoring

 

Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.

#101

Mind Monitoring

 

You may have tangible wealth untold.
Caskets of jewels and coffers of gold.

Richer than I you can never be –
 I had a mother who read to me.

— Strickland Gillilan

 

            The last several ideas gave you information about the system for better comprehension called SQ3R. During reading, it is important for your child to be thinking about several different things. Teachers often call this “having a conversation with the text.” Try this out yourself: pick up something and read it. Pay attention to what you are thinking while you are reading. Are you connecting the words to anything you already know? Agreeing? Questioning? Predicting what might be written next? Good readers do this, often without even realizing it. Kids are very focused, especially at first, on sounding like a good reader and are most often praised for that. However, it is entirely possible for a child to read fluently and even expressively and yet have no idea what she read!

            One terrific way to help your child get into the habit of thinking while reading is to read with her, out loud, perhaps taking turns. For instance, if you are reading a short children’s book, you might read one page and then let her read one page. Before the next person’s turn, though, stop for a few seconds and do some Mind Monitoring. In other words, talk to each other about what is going on in your mind. It is good for you to do this, too. For one, it gives her some suggestions for what she can say herself. It also shows her that you are thinking while you are reading, too, and that she should as well.

Part 3 also discusses Mind Monitoring with narrative text. Here are some suggestions to get you started talking about what you are thinking while reading informational text:

*I am picturing…

* I think the author wrote that part first because…

*I never knew that.

*That is interesting...

*I think I’ve read about something like that before  

*I think this is the part where ________ is going to happen…                        

*I wonder if/why…                

*I think this is where the author is summarizing everything.

*That word is in bold probably because it is important for me to know.

*I don’t really understand that part. Let me read it again.

*I think _______ will happen next.   

*That still didn't make sense. I am going to mark that so I remember to ask about it.

*I remember reading about this last year in class.

*That’s cool! I want to mark that!       

*That’s the answer to one of the questions! I will write that down/ mark it.

*In my head I am picturing...

*What does this graph show? Can it help me?

*Oh, look at that picture. It is helping me understand what the author is talking about.

 

Young kids, or kids who are having trouble with comprehension, should stop after every sentence and Mind Monitor. Older kids can stop after every paragraph and eventually move up to every page. Soon, with enough practice reading out loud, she will begin to do this all the time on her own, internally. To help her do this on her own, you could jot some of the previous examples of things to say (and therefore think) on a notecard that she can keep with her at school or keep wherever she typically reads.

 

* See also Idea #67 for more on Mind Monitoring

            

   

     Cindy McKinley Alder                                            Patti Trombly

 

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