Comprehendit
Do you have students who can decode but fail to comprehend, or who comprehend at a surface level but do not make inferences or think critically? Comprehendit has been built to change that by immersing students in the thinking required for deep comprehension. The writing-about-your-reading component has the additional benefit of dramatically lifting students’ writing.
This is based on decodable books, but books appropriate for older students on sophisticated themes, including a wide selection of non-fiction titles. The books are now available digitally, but digital with a twist. As students read, they come to buttons. Press that button to hear the author speaking to the reader, guiding them through the thinking to comprehend, most especially building the skills to infer the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary and to make inferences within and beyond the text. This is followed for many titles by a heavily scaffolded writing assignment, requiring students to think about the text from another point of view. This is not a book review or summary. Students take on the role of a scientist making recommendations to government, write a legal submission, or a letter of complaint. They may be a cop writing an incident report, a reporter on the scene, or a lawyer presenting their client’s case to a judge. Trials have shown how much students respond to this.
