Fourth and Fritcher: April 2021

There are oodles of strategies teachers use to help their students comprehend text. Some educators have a particular list of strategies they use and present them in a sequencial order. Others use a mix and work their way in, out, and around various strategies. Oftentimes the skill set required for each approach can criss-cross to create a woven tapestry of understanding for our students.

In this post I will be describing two comprehension strategies that are suitable for any student and have a wide variety of applications.

Evidence Charts

Evidence charts are one of my favorite comprehension checks. They are a way for students to demonstrate their comprehension of the text without being limited to one correct response. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Evidence charts give students an opportunity to demonstrate some of the deepest and broadest thinking possible.

Students are presented with a statement. They are then tasked with finding evidence from the text that either supports the statement or refutes it. Depending on the statement, students can oftentimes find evidence for both.

The following are statements for Chapters 1-2 from my Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing Literature Study resource:

Fudge makes good decisions.
Peter is polite.
It was Fudge's fault Mr. Hatcher lost the Juicy-O account.

One way to keep the statements generic and open to interpretation is to use statements that are opinions. As we read Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, the students did a great job finding evidence and applying it to the correct side of the chart. Finding and sharing evidence that can be used for both sides of the chart always leads to rich discussion and a deeper understanding of the text.

Along with the text evidence, I also expect students to cite the page numbers. If evidence charts are done in a small group (or independently) and shared later, we have a reference point to use if we need to go back into the text.

Digital Evidence Chart from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Much more rigorous than a multiple choice question, and oftentimes requiring inferring or synthesizing, evidence charts truly demonstrate if a student understands the text. Students cannot guess at the answer, nor can they fill in with "fluff". Plus, the page number citation keeps their answers concise.

The first few times we use evidence charts can be difficult if the student has never completed one. There is a learning curve. As with anything new, I model the first couple charts so the students have a clear understanding of the expectations.

A positive byproduct of evidence charts is the practice students get with using quotation marks. We discuss the situations in which we should use quotation marks and how to punctuation them; we have even gone so far as to discuss the proper use of ellipses!

Summary Sheets

Summary sheets are a classic. Yet, the ability to summarize still eludes so many students. Regardless of how many times we teach or model summarizing, there remains confusion, over-simplification, or a plethora of unnecessary details. It's quite a challenge to get it "just right".

I have one summary sheet that I use the whole year. I use it every time I ask students to summarize. The only thing that might change is the clipart or borders. The response prompts stay the same.

Chapter/Summary Sheets (Printable on L, Digital on R)

I sometimes ask students to summarize a single chapter (Chapter Summary). Other times I combine more than one chapter and call it a Section Summary. I do not have students fill one out every time we read a chapter. I use summary sheets during those times when I don't have a specific activity or response in mind or if I feel a need to check the students' understanding of the text.

My summary sheets are comprised of four sections:

Section/Chapter
What Happened
My Thoughts
My Prediction

The Section/Chapter is the easy section, right? So, minimally, students can complete one part of the response. When they move to the "What Happened" section I encourage them to write one event that happened at the beginning, one event from the middle, and one event from the end. This basic framework gives students a starting point for this section of the sheet. Over time, as they become more comfrotable with the format, they add more information and broaden their responses.

"My Thoughts" and "My Prediction" give me insight to what the students think about the events in the text. Although these sections are opinions and independent thoughts, students must be able to articulate their ideas, why they have them, and communicate the details in the text that led them to their ideas. These two sections usually offer some of the best discussion when they are shared in group settings.

For a more in-depth look at using summarizing strategies such as "5 Finger Method" and "SAAC" click HERE.

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Evidence Charts and Summary Sheets are flexible enough to be used with either fiction or nonfiction. Students reading a science article or about a historical event can respond to statements (opinions) using the facts presented in the text.

For example:

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch will always exist.

Benedict Arnold was smart.

There are so many ways we can check students' understanding. Multiple choice responses are a quick way to do so. But if you are looking for tasks that have a more rigorous approach and give you greater insight into a student's comprehension, Evidence Charts and Summary Sheets are the better choice.

You can read about other strategies to use during your ELA instruction by clicking a link below:

Best Vocabulary Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom

Best Character Analysis Strategies for Your Elementary Classroom

Grab your own set of editable comprehension activities (along with other reading responses) to use with your students from my TpT store here: Reading Response Worksheets or by clicking the image below.

Your download will include:

Google Slides

• Cover Slide

• 3 Vocabulary Slides

• 5 Comprehension and Character Study Slides

• 5 Author's Craft, Summary/Sequence Slides

• 3 Theme Written Response Slides

PDF Printables

• Pre-Reading Activities

• Vocabulary

• Literary Devices

• Comprehension

• Character Analysis

• In-depth Analysis

• Summary & Sequence of Event Responses

• Theme Written Response

• Organizers & Rubrics

Vocabulary Strategies Elementary Classroom

Vocabulary can be so tricky. It can make or break a student's understanding of text; this is especially true when working with content-specific vocabulary. There are many ways to introduce, develop, and master vocabulary.

In this post I will share with you 2 student-specific strategies, which work for any subject you teach, that will help your students master vocabulary.

Knowledge Rating

Knowledge ratings are a simple way to introduce words that students will encounter in upcoming lessons or text. Knowledge ratings can be used for any subject and with any number of terms you may need.

Students are presented with a given list of terms. For each term, the student will rank themselves on a 4-point scale. A score of 1 means the student has never seen or heard the word. A score of 4 means the student has mastered the word and can teach it to someone else.

Knowledge Rating Vocabulary Strategy

Once students have completed the individual scoring of each term, they add up the individual numbers and have their rating. When using a knowledge rating for a unit of study (social studies, science, math) have them keep the rating. At the end of the unit, ask them to rate themselves again. The goal will be for students to increase their rating. If using a knowledge rating for a novel study, break the terms up by chapter or section. Once students have completed the section, go back to the rating and rate once again.

Knowledge Ratings are a great way for students to consider their own level of understanding and mastery of upcoming vocabulary. Using a rating allows students to consider where they currently are with particular terms and gives them a focus for improvement throughout the upcoming lessons.

Vocabulary Card

Vocabulary Cards are basically 4-Square Organizers that give students a space to write words they find interesting. They are organized by part of speech. (I also arrange my Word Wall by Part of Speech.) As students read a novel or work through a unit of study, they can add words to the appropriate spot and refer back to them later on.

Vocabulary Card Strategy

When meeting in a small group, I will ask students to share words they have added to their cards. Where did they find them (page number)? What do they think the word means? What might be a synonym for the word?

Allocating 10-15 minutes to this discussion gives students an opportunity to steer the lesson in a direction they find interesting.

Different from a glossary, in which particular words are given to the students, vocabulary cards give students the opportunity to create a collection of words they find interesting. It is very student-specific and helps keep students engaged in what might otherwise be a very bland topic of conversation.

For other ideas to develop vocabulary click a link below:

4 Steps to Building Vocabulary

Teaching Vocabulary with Mentor Texts

Developing Vocabulary in Social Studies

No matter what the subject is, vocabulary can be a tough obstacle to overcome. With a few student-driven vocabulary strategies, you can keep your students engaged and on their way to mastering vocabulary!