Margin Notes

We love the practice of introducing texts, topics, authors, and genres to students by reading the first chapter aloud. First Chapter Fridays are a wonderful opportunity to end the week with reading joy. It’s also a strategy that, when planned with intention, can support most aspects of the curriculum. This post is part of a series that will introduce ideas for leveling up your First Chapter Fridays without diminishing its central purpose of engaging readers. Read the previous posts on Supporting Fluency, Vocabulary, and Word Study and Incorporating Graphic Texts.

Comprehension is “making meaning of what is viewed, read, or heard. Comprehension includes understanding what is expressed outright or implied as well as interpreting what is viewed, read, or heard by drawing on one’s knowledge and experiences. Comprehension may also involve application and critical examination of the message in terms of intent, rhetorical choices, and credibility.” (International Literacy Association)

Here are some suggestions for supporting reading comprehension with First Chapter Fridays:

• While reading, stop and model your use of comprehension strategies.
• Think aloud to make your metacognition visible.
• Revisit portions of the text in a targeted comprehension mini-lesson. Possible areas of focus include summarizing key information orally or in writing, using questions to construct meaning, and identifying personal experiences and prior knowledge to make personal connections.
• Explore the connection between background knowledge and comprehension by asking students to discuss in pairs or small groups what the author assumes they know.
• Practice identifying relevant textual details by select a short passage and offer invitations to respond in discussion with partners.
• Copy a section of the text for modelling and practicing annotation.
• Introduce a related poem, song, image, video, etc. and discuss connections between the two texts.
• Make and discuss predictions for how the plot will develop beyond chapter one.