Schema

Schema is the next comprehension strategy our elementary students are learning.  Most readers and teachers know schema as "background knowledge".  Schema is everything in our brains that we have experienced.  All the things I've done, all the places I've been and all the books I've read.  Good readers always use their schema before reading, during reading and after reading.

At South Side we want our readers to know how to use their schema and how to make meaningful connections.  Connections may be text-to-self, text-to-text and text-to-world.  With a read aloud, teachers will model how to use schema and make meaningful connections while reading.  Next readers will work with their teacher to make connections and finally they will practice making connections during their independent reading time with their "just right" books.

Some of my favorite text to use for modeling connections are from the author Kevin Henkes.  His stories have characters that children relate to easily and the text is full of rich and engaging vocabulary.  To share a few of his characters..... Chrysanthemum is teased about her long flower name, Lilly is quite a unique individual and takes her purse to school and learns a valuable lesson when she gets in trouble, Wendell is a wild child that "wears" most of his friends out and Chester is best friends with Wilson.  They are "two peas in a pod" doing everything together until Lily moves into the neighborhood.

These books can be read over and over pulling many valuable lessons, rich vocabulary and meaningful connections that help our readers become successful with using comprehension strategies independently.

Reading should always be meaningful and engaging.  Our elementary students (1-5 grades) will hopefully tell you, "making connections and using our schema helps us to better understand the story" !
Happy Reading- Mrs. Speake