Question, Research, Experiment, and Write

I often wonder if, like me, other people have trouble comprehending something they just read.  Whether your stressed out, thinking about a million other things or just not enjoying the text and can’t stay engaged.  Too often I remember my classmates in high school whispering to one another before a quiz, “Did you read the chapters?”

“Yea I read them but I have no idea what they were about.”

“I tried to read it too but it was boring so I ended playing Nintendo.”

I even found myself raking my own brain before quizzes on whether I really understood the material or just read it.  I believe there is a fine line between reading and reading comprehension and I think students need to be taught that difference and strategies they can use to help their comprehension after and during reading.

I can recall my high school English teacher asking students to count of by 5’s and separating into groups according to their numbers.  She would then hand out a piece of paper with 5 questions on it and a space below each question for us to write our answers along with the chapter we found it in and the page number.  I question this technique because firstly it isn’t quizzing students on their comprehension of the material but rather their ability to quickly identify where the answer is in the text.  Secondly, students can easily divide the questions up among group members and copy the rest of the answers from one another, which hinders their learning even more.  Thirdly, students don’t have to talk, they don’t even have to ask one another questions, all they have to do is read the paper and answer the question accordingly, in other words this technique allows for little interaction amongst their peers.  Obviously there has to be another way to go about group work within an English classroom.

Thankfully, I came across an article in which I found extremely helpful and beneficial to all students struggling with reading comprehension.  Liana Mahoney, author of Lit’s in the Cards created a game in which students use a deck of cards to remember a literary text.  In this game the hearts are used to remember major characters and main settings, Spades are used to remember plot, Clubs theme, and Diamonds literary techniques.  To play she advises you place the deck of cards minus the jokers, face cards and 4-9’s face down in a pile.  Students then draw a card one at a time and place it face up in front of them.  If the card for instance is a 2 of hearts then that student must come up with 2 main settings or characters to share with the other students.  If however a student picks up an Ace then they are allowed to skip their turn and the next student is required to pick up a card and continue.  After all four aces have been drawn the game is then over.

Mahoney’s idea I think is perfect for high school students, not only to use on their own time but even for teachers to use in their classrooms.  Lit’s in the Cards is perfect for any student trying to comprehend a piece of literature and test themselves.  At the same time it is also perfect for group work within the classroom because at last a technique tests a student’s comprehension or their ability to remember key ideas and points.  Secondly, it forces all students to play, interact and challenge one another as they play in groups.  Thirdly, students are forced to talk, in order to provide a correct answer they must deliver their ideas orally.  It’s important that students have time to talk to one another about key points or ideas they were struggling with and what better way to jog their memories about such things than playing a game that tests their comprehension.

Sponsored Article:

Mahoney, Linda.  Lit.’s in the Cards! Education.com:  High school Reading.  Sept. 9, 2008