Coaxing Comprehension
By Susan Mandel Glazer

When asked questions about what they'd read, several of Ms. Presley's fourth graders provided only short synopses after reading stories or content materials. This frustrated the teacher because she knew that the children had a lot to say.

Prompting thought
Ms. Presley often overheard her students telling other children during play and lunch times about the things they've read and listened to. She decided to engage the youngsters in conversation using the prompt 'and,' to guide the children towards sharing their thoughts about the books they're reading. She also planned to utilize the prompts 'because,' to guide the children to justify their responses, and 'so,' indicating a conclusion was needed.

"Mrs. Katz and Tush"
Mrs. Presley selected Patricia Polacco's wonderful story Mrs. Katz and Tush (Dragonfly Books, 1994, ISBN: 0-440-40936-5). The story is about Larnel, a little boy who gets to know his neighbor, Mrs. Katz, when he asks her to adopt an abandoned kitten named Tush. She agrees, but on the condition that Larnel helps her take care of it. Larnel spends more and more time with Mrs. Katz, listening to her stories about coming to America and the good times she shared with her late husband. The two grow closer together as he learns about her sufferings and triumphs experienced as a Jew. Larnel also learns about similar instances in his African-American history. They begin to celebrate each other's holidays and family events. In time, they become like family to each other.

Talking it out
After reading the book to half of the class, Ms. Presley initiated the following dialogue. One young man, named Albert, began the conversation without prompting.

Albert: That's a good story.

Ms. Presley: That's a good story because …(changing her inflection to inform Albert he needs to explain why he feels that way, justifying his response.)

Albert: Because, uh, the boy, I forgot his name…

Ms. Presley: Larnel.

Albert: Yeah, Larnel didn't like Mrs. Katz very much.

Ms. Presley: And?

Mohammed: And he got friendly with her anyway.

Mrs. Presley: Larnel didn't like Mrs. Katz but got friendly with her anyway and…

Mohammed and several other children responded, talking about the text. Ms. Presley continued using the prompts to elicit critical thinking, guiding the children towards greater understanding.

Mohammed: She was lonely.

Rachel: She was by herself for Hanukkah and she missed her husband who died.

Ms. Presley: So… Larnel was Mrs. Katz's friend because…?

Robin: She was by herself and he didn't want her to be alone.

Explanation
The answers to the questions are supposed to indicate a child's comprehension. Often most of the questions request specific responses. Many children learn that if their response is unexpected it could be incorrect. In those instances, there is little room for creativity.

When questions are imposed that require specific responses to check comprehension they limit our capacities for knowing how much children are able to remember after reading or hearing a story. Oftentimes questions of this sort inhibit a child's thought processes.

This wonderful dialogue reported above and guided by the prompts "and," "because," and "so" pushed the children to guide them towards recalling the story. Children make connections from the text to events in their lives and making connections from a story to experiences in one's life fosters comprehension.

Susan Mandel Glazer is the Director of the Center for Reading and Writing at Rider University in Lawrence, NJ.