Joan Green on Discussing a Story

Greetings tutors, from Joan Green, JCL Reading Specialist!

(from the Fall 2008 JCL newsletter)

In this article I'll focus on an important aspect of comprehension-discussion and asking questions about a story.

Talking about the story is as important in its own way as reading it. In the reading process children get to listen and produce-they hear and pronounce words and sentences, they recognize different voices and emotions and reproduce them, based on the model you-the tutor-provide. And after the story is finished, children get to explore another level of meaning and understanding by discussing and expanding upon the circumstances of the story.

That's where another significant aspect of your contribution emerges. You can structure the way in which a child thinks and reacts to the story. You can provide the basis for serious thought and excitement about learning. You may remember me saying before that Reading is a Thinking Act-it's not sounding out or pronouncing, but rather absorbing ideas and understanding situations. (Often children don't know that the reading is supposed to mean something-to them it's just a mechanical activity they do because they are told to!) It's crucial that you help children get meaning from what they read.

How? By asking the right kinds of questions and letting the answers lead you both into good discussions, by getting the children to flex their mental muscles and become excited about the value of their own thinking.

The easiest kind of questions to ask are about facts-who, what, where etc. You know the answers. They are right in the text and the child can find them too. The information is plainly stated. So please, be wary! If the children are well enough versed in English structure/word order, they can figure out an answer to a fact question and still not have the slightest idea what it all means-especially if vocabulary is lacking. It's important, then, not to use fact questions as the primary measure of what the child understands.

What else can you use? Well, there are a few other question types that will verify and even generate understanding.

I call them "authentic" questions because you don't know the answer ahead of time. Answers come from the child's experience, emotions and prior knowledge. And from yours too as you exchange questions. Authentic questions can include inferences, values opinions and personal reflections, such as:

Inference-reading between the lines-for example:

Tutor: How did you know that the boy liked dogs? (when the text never stated it)

Student: -Because he played with the dog right away...

-Because he let the dog lick his face...

(The answer is inferred from pictures or situations described, not stated )

Values-good/bad, right/wrong, fair/unfair-for example: (Answers will vary)

Tutor: Is it good to let a dog lick your face? Is it right to go up to a dog before you know he's friendly?

(Even kindergarteners have opinions about values questions.)

Personal Reflections-You questions-for example: (Answers will vary)

Tutor: Would you let a dog lick your face? or Have you ever let a dog...? Do you have a dog? Do you like dogs? etc.

(These are the easiest questions to ask and create very fruitful discussions)

Any one of these question types can spark a lively discussion about the child's world and yours and the world of the story. It's valuable to compare events of the story with the child's life and the outside world. By doing this, you expand the child's horizons and show that reading has meaning both on and beyond the printed page. You also confirm that children's thoughts are worth listening to. Ultimately, they begin to feel the benefit of thinking as part of reading. And then another group of young minds is ready for learning!

I don't know how many times tutors have said, "My students read 'fluently', but when I ask questions about the story, they don't understand a thing!" Asking authentic questions makes that less likely to happen, especially if the reading or questioning time is augmented by vocabulary building and other language enhancement activities-which we can explore next time.

For now, I want to thank you all for a job well done and look forward to wecoming you back refreshed and ready for another good year in the Fall.

All best,
Joan