This weeks reading were about comprehension. Chapter one lists ways good readers comprehend books.

• search for connections between known info and new info
• ask questions as they read about what they learn and where the info is coming from
• draw inferences before and after reading
• figure out what is important and not
• to create info from cross texts and other reading experiences
• monitor their understanding and repair faulty comprehension
• visualize images to better understand text

Chapter two is about ways teachers can teach and monitor comprehension. A way for students to gain comprehension skills is to think metacognitively. What this means is have students think about how they are reading and ways that might make it easier to understand what they are reading. the example from the book is about a girl who purposely creates images in her head to be in the book and understand it better. the chapter describes four types of readers.

• Tacic- readers who lack awareness of how they think when they read. 
• aware- readers who realize when meaning had broken down or confusion has set in but who may not have sufficient strategies for fixing the problem.
• strategic- readers who use the thinking and comprehension strategies we describe as tools fro enhancing understanding and acquiring knowledge. they are able to monitor and repair meaning when it is disrupted.
• reflective- these are the readers who are strategic about their thinking and are able to apply strategies flexibly depending on their goals for reading. they reflect on their thinking and ponder and revise their use of strategies. 

comprehension is best achieved when we use prior knowledge to introduce new knowledge. by doing this students will be better able to acquire the new knowledge because the teachers set them up for success. 

Chapter three is about effective comprehension instruction. comprehension is most effective when teachers:

• teach with the end in mind
• plan instruction that is responsive to the individual needs of students
• model their own use of comprehension strategies over time
• remind students that the purpose for using a strategy is to construct meaning and engage in the text
• articulate how thinking helps readers better understand what they read
• view strategies as a means to an end with the goal of building a repertoire of thinking strategies
• model their oral, written, and artistic responses to the text
• gradually release responsibility to the students, moving them toward independent reading and thinking
• provide opportunities for independent reading
• show students how comprehension strategies apply in a verity of texts, genres, and contexts
• make sure the students have the opportunity to talk about their readings
• observe and confer directly with the students to keep records of those observations and conferences to assess progress and instruction
• use student work and talk to assess past instruction, guide future instruction, and assess and evaluate student performance.

chapter three also gives a lot of ways to assess students. too many to list here but it narrows them all down into three categories: current work, past work, and future work.

Chapter four has two parts. part one is about ways to explicitly teach reading:

• think reads
• read alouds
• interactive read alouds
• lifting text 
• guided reading
• anchor lessons and charts
•  rereading for deeper meaning
• sharing your own literacy by modeling with adult literature

part two is about ways to respond to reading:

• turn and talk
• paired reading
• jigsaw discussions
• book clubs and lit. circles
• study groups
• small-group shares

individual ways to keep track of understanding

• margin notes
• sticky notes
• think sheets
• response journals