Schema

The Gold Rush philosophy on reading instruction is centered around Thinking Strategies (not the best website, but one that is a quick snapshot of the strategies).  This is a way of thinking in all areas of curriculum, but gone into depth in the area of reading that authors such as Stephanie Harvey, Ellin Keene, and Anne Goudvis have written extensively on over the last decade.

We began the year talking about "metacognition."  The students can tell you that as readers, they think about their thinking as they read, not merely make it through the book.  This is the basis for all other strategies, as they are specific ways to think about their reading.

Our first area of focus is Schema.  Schema, put simply, is background knowledge.  As students read they recognize information that they already knew from their experiences and add to their knowledge base of information.  (Ask your kiddo to tell you about the metaphor of a little man running around in their head finding files.)  As a fifth grade learner, we take this a step further by asking not only what schema did they already have and what is new schema, but by adding "how was your schema modified as you read?"  This can mean clarifying information that they may have been wrong about or by forming knew opinions and thoughts on what is being presented.

We have spent the last two weeks on this strategy mostly with our non-fiction science reading and with our Scholastic News magazines.