reading

BOOK REVIEW

 Teaching and Learning Reading" Making Inferences and Prediction"

There are several books that I have read in the last few weeks. In these books, the topics that catch my attention more are teaching students to infer, predict and interpret fiction and nonfiction, reading comprehension strategy four making predictions and inferences, and reading between the lines: finding implied main idea. Here, I will give my analysis about the relation of each books and my opinion about it. The first book is arranged by Judi Moreillon with the title is Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact. She is a teacher educator. The goal of Collaborative Strategies for Teaching Reading Comprehension: Maximizing Your Impact is to help educators develop coteaching strategies to ensure student achievement. This book is about teaching reading comprehension strategies. The chapters describe the strategies and provide resources for teaching them. When I read this book, I found a statement from the author. She said “Two Heads Are Better Than One”. So, there is collaborative process in teaching reading. Working together, teacher-librarians, classroom teachers, administrators, and families can create dynamic learning communities in which what is best for student learning is at the heart of every decision. In these communities everyone is invested in everyone else’s success.

Yet, the chapter that I focus on is Reading Comprehension Strategy Four Making Predictions and Inferences. There are several strategies in making inferences and predictions that are provide in this chapter. The author explains clearly for each the strategies. First, teaching inference and prediction by using illustrations. Teachers give illustration that related to the author’s text and then students can draw the conclusion or infer based on that illustration. Second, teaching inference by providing evidence from the illustration. Here, teachers lead and ask students to find the evidence from the illustration. After they find it, they can use the evidence to make inference. Last, teaching inference and prediction using cartoons. Here, the author provides some pictures and then based on that picture ask students to think and infer. Through collaboration, educators can effectively design, implement, and assess lessons that demonstrate the use of prediction and inference. By lowering the student-to-teacher ratio at the point of instruction, educators can better monitor the students’ thinking processes as well as their successful participation in cooperative learning strategies. These sophisticated strategies can best be practiced.

However, the strategies that provide by this author can not implement in low level. I think it just can implement in junior high school, senior high school, and college students who have able to think fast. Whereas the inference material is important to be teach in all level even in the kindergarten and the elementary school because it is difficult to learn. When students can not infer something, they will face difficult thing in find the meaning from author’s written that not stated clearly in the text.

The next book offers other strategies. The authors are Cathy Collins Block, PhD, Lori L. Rodgers, MS, and Rebecca B. Johnson, MS. Cathy Collins Block, PhD, is a Professor of Educational Texas Christian University and a member of the board of directors of the International Reading Association. She has also served on the board of directors for the National Reading Conference, IBM’s Educational Division, Nobel Learning Communities, India’s International Learning Society, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities, as well as on the editorial boards for Reading Research Quarterly, Reading Teacher, the Journal of Educational Psychology, and the Phi Delta Kappan. Dr. Block is listed in Who’s Who in the World, in Who’s Who among American Teachers, and as one of the 2,000most outstanding scholars for the 21^st century in Who’s Who in America, and has received numerous teaching and writing awards. She also received the Paul A. Witty Outstanding Service Award from the International Reading Association, Outstanding Teaching Award from Texas Christian University, Outstanding Research and Creative Activity Award from Texas Christian University, and Outstanding Teaching Award from the University of Notre Dame. Lori L. Rodgers, MS, has taught kindergarten for 9 years. Her master’s degree in education and curriculum is from Texas Christian University. She has presented at numerous national association conferences. Ms. Rodgers is an active member of the Texas State Reading Association, the International Reading Association, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and has served on several of their committees. Rebecca B. Johnson, MS, completed her master’s degree at Texas Christian University.

In this book, Comprehension Process Instruction, the author provides some strands in teaching reading. They are strand1, strand 2, and strand 3. In my opinion this strategies are an addition to make the previous book strategies perfect because this book explain about teaching inference or prediction in kindergarten students. In all strategies provide by instruction from the teachers so that students can more easily in make inference and prediction. The author also explains each strategy clearly with simple language that easy to understand.

Strand 1 lessons are teacher directed and provide rich, engaging demonstrations of comprehension processes in action. Here, teachers explain all the process then give direct practice about the process in making inference and prediction. The teachers model it and repeated until three times. It can implement in kindergarten students. Strand 2 provides opportunities for students to receive personalized, direct instruction through mini interventions as they read. Such one-on-one instruction occurs in shared readings, paired literacy activities, independent silent reading periods, guided practice sessions, and in small-group settings. Here, the teachers just give half direct practice then teachers ask students to practice it with their friends. Strand3 Students choose what they want to learn after they experience a point of need in a Strand 2 lesson. In this strand lesson, students learn individualize. They use the strategy dealing with how to make inference that the teachers give and then practice it. Here, teachers monitoring the students in learning process. When they face difficult things they discuss with their teachers. In addition, this book also provides CPMs (comprehension process motions). We can find some motion picture in making inference.

Making inferences are really needed or important to learn to find meaning of implied main idea. When students read a book sometimes they find a text or paragraph that the main idea is not stated directly in the text by the author. So, to find the meaning or the main idea that appropriate with the author’s expected students can use inference to find the meaning of the text. If students can not infer they will not find the author’s point or idea or message. To be good reader students must understand about what they read. If they can not find the idea or message of the author it means that they are not a good reader. So, making inference is really important in teaching and learning reading. I suggest the students of English department to read this book because it will give more information in making good inference or prediction. Moreover, there are other topics that student can learn in this book.