For the past few months, I have been working with oldest kiddo's 2nd grade class. Mostly I read aloud to one little girl and help her through story maps and that sort of thing. I also work with some of the other students as they read stories and fill in worksheets about the stories. Story maps vary a lot, but one constant is a spot for the kids to fill in the setting of the story they've read. For the most part, the students are always able to identify characters, problems and solutions in the stories. However, they have difficulty identifying the setting. This got me to thinking.
I have read to my kiddos since they were babies. I always ask them questions about what we're reading. I'll ask them who the main character is or what the problem is in the story. I'll read a few pages and then stop to ask them what they think is going to happen. But I cannot remember having ever asked them questions about the setting of the stories we read. I think it's something that I just take for granted.
Part of the reason I'm working with the kiddos is as part of my internship for school this semester. So this issue with identifying setting is really perplexing me. I definitely want to figure out more about it as I prepare to write my final paper about what I've observed. Plus, as a future teacher, I just want to know more so I can better understand my students.
So here are my questions for you guys...
- Do you ask your kiddos questions about the stories you read with them?
- What sorts of questions do you ask them?
- Specifically, do you ever talk about setting of stories with your kiddos?
That's good to keep in mind.
ReplyDeleteI do not have kiddos (duh) and I don't remember my parents reading to me (err...) and come to think of it, I don't always remember settings a few months out unless I was really into the book. Like I know where Dear John and the book I'm reading now were, but I don't know where The Lovely Bones took place (that was like 2 years ago though...) Interesting :) I guess, if the story doesn't take place in Narnia, can't it happen anywhere?
ReplyDeletePS - to clarify, my parents didn't read me BOOKS...we read/recited my speech assignments - oh, and now I can say all my letters (it was pretty important since I couldn't say my name....!) And read, because speech taught me to read (the therapist used a Rebus style of writing me stories)