Introduction
Comprehension is an active and complex cognitive process in which
students construct meaning through reading, writing, listening, and
speaking. Comprehension is integral to all learning as students
interact with a variety of challenging and rigorous information sources
and experiences.
The West Irondequoit Central School District Comprehension Outcomes,
which organize comprehension as: Information and Understanding,
Literary Response and Expression, and Critical Analysis and Evaluation,
apply to the continuum of instruction from kindergarten through grade
twelve. In every curricular area students are expected to develop
critical thinking skills including analysis, synthesis, application,
evaluation, and reflection on both the information and their learning
processes.
Speaking and writing assume a primary role in development of
comprehension, along with reading and listening. Discourse among
students is fundamental in the development of understanding and is
embedded in each outcome area. As with discourse, writing is utilized
to construct, clarify, and extend meaning, rather than used only as a
means to assess understanding. Reflection is a critical component of
each area, deepening students' understanding.
A comprehension companion document accompanies the outcomes, identifying dynamic processes
for accessing information and extending understanding. These recursive
and interactive processes provide a common thread of student
strategies, instructional techniques, and formative assessments
applicable to all three outcome areas.
Instructional techniques engage students in learning experiences that
result in the development of critical thinking skills, as well as
comprehension strategies. Formative assessments provide teachers and
students with information regarding acquisition of these skills and
strategies. Throughout this process, the teacher's role is consistently
that of facilitator in a student-centered classroom.
Through the use of comprehension strategies, students develop
life-long thinking skills necessary to achieve the expectations of the
outcomes. Strategies are selected and used recursively throughout the
learning process - before, during, and after each learning experience.
These strategies, however, are not limited to a single phase of the
process, but are used cyclically throughout learning. When students are
engaged in these processes, fluency results. Fluency is a bridge to
comprehension.
Aligned with the New York State English Language Arts Standards and Indicators,
the West Irondequoit Central School District Comprehension Outcomes are
both an integral part of our English Language Arts Curriculum and all
curricular areas. Teaching and celebrating literacy in all its forms is
the charge of every educator, and becoming a literate citizen is the right
of every student. These outcomes and companion document are a path to
that goal.
| Outcome
1: Information and Understanding |
Outcome
2: Literary Response and Expression |
Outcome
3: Critical Analysis and Evaluation |
| As listeners, speakers, readers and writers,
students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships and
concepts; make generalizations by using knowledge generated from oral,
written and electronic sources.
Sources may include,
but are not limited to: informational texts, audio, media, oral
presentations, professional journals, newspapers, magazines; charts, graphs
and diagrams; as well as other expository and imaginative sources.
|
As listeners, speakers, readers and
writers, students will comprehend, interpret and critique imaginative texts
in every medium, making connections to relevant personal experiences and
knowledge to understand the text, while recognizing its social, cultural,
and/or historical features.
Sources may include, but are not limited to:
imaginative texts such as novels, short stories, poetry, historical fiction,
memoir, fables and folktales, satire, plays, biographies, and
auto-biographies.
|
As listeners, speakers, readers and
writers, students will analyze and evaluate experiences, ideas, information
and issues using evaluative criteria from a variety of perspectives and
recognize the difference in evaluations based on varied sets of criteria.
Sources for ideas, information, issues, and experiences
may include, but are not limited to: literature; informational texts
and textbooks; public documents and political speeches; advertisements;
book/movie reviews, critiques, and editorials; technical manuals and
professional journals.
|
| Students will:
Sample
- Gather, interpret, and analyze extensive, authentic,
complex, and diverse sources/genres to develop and extend understanding of
the information and ideas.
- Construct meaningful and well-developed connections to
relevant prior knowledge and experiences that facilitate the development
of further insights.
|
Students will:
Sample
- Evaluate literary merit based on understanding of
genre, literary elements and techniques, literary tradition, and/or
historical period.
- Synthesize personal thoughts with the perspectives,
ideas, and questions voiced by others in order to construct meaning and
extend knowledge and understanding by engaging in discourse.
|
Students will:
Sample
- Assess the quality and dependability of texts and other
sources using criteria related to genre, subject area, purpose, and
critical perspectives specific to an area of study.
- Interpret the author/authors' perspective and purpose
to evaluate the validity of the arguments presented.
|