Simple Strategies to Assess Large Group Comprehension at a Classical School
Classical texts can be challenging for many students, especially in today's technology-soaked environment. Our students' attention spans are shorter than ever, their vocabularies are often limited and their stamina is sometimes only minutes long. Does this mean we water down the curriculum? Of course not! We just might need to pump the brakes and check for understanding more frequently, but challenging does not mean impossible! So, how does a classroom teacher assess if his students are understanding the class reading?
Index Cards
Whether you do read alouds or students are to read individually, pass out index cards at the end of each reading session and ask students to either summarize what they read or write down what they think the most important part of their reading was and why. They should keep this to a maximum of four sentences! This way you'll be able to see if they are understanding the reading in a quick and easy manner.
Mini Quizzes
There is something a little less intimidating than a quiz on a smaller sheet of paper. Think of 4-5 questions about the reading and print only one or two questions on each paper. Give nearby students different questions to prevent cheating and for you to truly know what your students comprehend.
Class Debate
Ask the large group what the most important part of the reading was and find two students with two different answers. Call them to the front of the class and have them defend their answers with one another. Finish the debate by having the rest of the class jot down who they think won the debate and why.
Discuss with Partner
Students are often more willing to discuss their reading with one other student than they are in front of the whole class. Ask students to discuss questions with one another and walk around listening to their answers.
A difficult text might have its challenges in teaching, but empowering your students to understand something that they used to think was impossible is such a gift! What comprehension strategies do you use? Are you accustomed to checking for understanding on a frequent basis? Shoot me an email at Brittany@HigdonSolutions.com and let me know!
