The Super Six Comprehension Strategies: A 2 week plan for developing reading in year 6
"Proficient readers spontaneously and purposely create mental images while and after they read. The images emerge from all five senses as well as the emotions and are anchored in a reader's prior knowledge". - Keene and Zimmerman, Mosaic of Thought
The super six comprehension strategies are six metacognitive thinking strategies used to assist students to actively process ideas whilst reading. The six skills involve connecting, predicting, questioning, monitoring, summarising, and visualising. Using these six skills together allow for a repertoire to be formed in which student actively process texts, creating meaning from them. Students can improve their reading comprehension and inferential reading skills.
Improving children's comprehension skills allows for students to have an improvement in their reading in fluency, enhancing their understanding across their learning. For comprehension to be true it must extend students beyond their literal understanding, allowing for readers to interact with the text.
This particular unit of work focuses on Visualising. Teaching students to visualise creates a mental image from a text that is either read, viewed or heard. Using the strategy of visualising allows the text to be brought to life, engages children's imaginations, and allows for all senses to be used. Visualising brings joy to reading, allowing pictures to be created in our minds that belong to us and no one else.
Using multilodal literacy skills students will be able to develop their fluency, comprehension skills as well as reading and writing.
References Keene, E., & Zimmermann, S. (2007). Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement (2nd ed.). Stenhouse , Pembroke.