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Grade: 3-5
Subject: 4 Blocks

#1249. guided reading -- listening/reading transfer "main idea"

4 Blocks, level: Elementary
Posted Sun Aug 15 14:05:46 PDT 1999 by deb ().
Coloma Elementary, South Haven, USA
Concepts Taught: reading, 4 blocks guided reading, this is from Patricia Cunningham's article listed in the lesson


> "Transferring comprehension from listening to reading" is an excellent
> article written by Patricia Cunningham
> The Reading Teacher volume 29 date 1975 pages 169-172

Another sample listening reading transfer lesson from the article:

Patricia Cunning writes, "Stating the main idea of a selection is very
difficult for most elementary school children. Often they do not understand
exactly what is being asked of them. Stating the task in several ways
(main idea,
most important idea,
what you would tell someone if they asked you about)
often clarifies the task."

Then Cunningham continues to explain how to go about this lesson:

1. Set the purpose for listening. "There are three sentences on the
board. All are about things that happen in the story I am about to read to
you. As you listen try to decide which sentence tells the main idea of this
story, the most important. Try to choose a sentence you would tell someone
if they asked you what this story was all about."
2. Read the selection
3. Have the children volunteer choices for main idea; have them explain why
that choice seems to tell what the story is mainly about and why the others
don't.
4. Give the children sheets with three sentences and a story. Tell them to
read to determine which of these sentences tells the main idea.
5. Children read and choose the main idea
6. Children share their choice and the explanation for that choice as a
whole class or in small groups.

Cunningham adds, "As in the sequence of events lesson, this lesson can and
should be varied. Many paragraphs have a topic sentence. Children may
select the topic sentence after reading and listening. The most difficult
main idea task is stating the main idea in one's own words.

WOW again! This was written in 1975...... sounds like guided reading to
me! Again the credit goes to Patricia Cunningham, the mistakes are mine! deb