Gifted Bulletin Board

Welcome to the Gifted Issues Discussion Forum.

We invite you to share your experiences and to post information about advocacy, research and other gifted education issues on this free public discussion forum.
CLICK HERE to Log In. Click here for the Board Rules.

Links


Learn about Davidson Academy Online - for profoundly gifted students living anywhere in the U.S. & Canada.

The Davidson Institute is a national nonprofit dedicated to supporting profoundly gifted students through the following programs:

  • Fellows Scholarship
  • Young Scholars
  • Davidson Academy
  • THINK Summer Institute

  • Subscribe to the Davidson Institute's eNews-Update Newsletter >

    Free Gifted Resources & Guides >

    Who's Online Now
    0 members (), 210 guests, and 14 robots.
    Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
    Newest Members
    streble, DeliciousPizza, prominentdigitiz, parentologyco, Smartlady60
    11,413 Registered Users
    March
    S M T W T F S
    1 2
    3 4 5 6 7 8 9
    10 11 12 13 14 15 16
    17 18 19 20 21 22 23
    24 25 26 27 28 29 30
    31
    Previous Thread
    Next Thread
    Print Thread
    Page 2 of 2 1 2
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 337
    I
    Ivy Offline
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    I
    Joined: Feb 2014
    Posts: 337
    Seems like when schools discuss comprehension, they are talking about three things:

    * The ability to articulate an emotional or connective understanding of the text (how does it make you feel? how it is similar to your life? do you know anyone like that character?).

    * The ability to articulate a functional understanding of the text (what happened? who did what? what is the climax? what viewpoint is it in?)

    * The ability to articulate a thematic understanding of the text (what are the themes and subtexts? what is the author trying to tell us about politics/human nature/relationships/etc.? what are the prominent symbols? how to we relate to the text through the lens of ...?)

    Each of these is really a different skill set. Note too that the key is the articulation of the information. You can comprehend it, but what schools are looking at is whether you can explain or discuss what you understand. This is the way you get graded of course, but there's no way for schools to measure a very deep or personally philosophical understanding.

    As a former English Major myself, I can summarize plots easily and go on all day about a feminist or deconstructionist or postmodern reading of the text. But I'll be less able to clearly articulate my emotional response to the text.

    My daughter will respond to any question about what happened in a book with "I don't know!" (book reports are the bane of her existence) but if you start a conversation about the roles of boys and girls in the book or historical context or plot devices that the author used and whether or not it worked for her and so on, she can articulate that quite well.

    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posts: 669
    S
    Member
    Offline
    Member
    S
    Joined: Jun 2011
    Posts: 669
    Originally Posted by KTPie
    I just love this group. Thank you all for the ideas. A lot of great food for thought here.

    Sweetie-- I love the idea of a dinner book club. My husband works long hours and is not always home for dinner so, to this point, I've been reading aloud to the kids (6, 4, 2.5) during dinner but I can see this turning into a book club. Great idea.

    Blackcat & Irena- Thank you for the sites. I will look into ...

    Half the time they were so excited that I was finished with their (new) favorite book they couldn't wait to start firing questions at me!!! I would answer and then say that's how I interpreted it, what did you think? Letting them take the lead was the key. I didn't start out calling it book club but after the hundredth dinner time book discussion we were laughing about how we had our own book club.

    When the first grade teacher gave me the line about my younger son being able to read but not comprehend I wanted to record one of our book club dinners and ask her what part of comprehending did he lack.


    ...reading is pleasure, not just something teachers make you do in school.~B. Cleary
    Joined: Mar 2014
    Posts: 253
    K
    KTPie Offline OP
    Member
    OP Offline
    Member
    K
    Joined: Mar 2014
    Posts: 253
    Thank you, Ivy! Great food for thought re: how to start different conversations about a given book. I'm certain I can rope him in after some of the ideas you've all provided me with today smile

    Sweetie-- such a great family memory. And the line about comprehension from the teacher bugs me a bit, too. My son is soooo busy but he'll sit and read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for hours. Now, I know he's understood it because he gushed about it after and he didn't miss a beat. But, even if he hadn't shared it all with me, who sits and reads for hours if they aren't understanding what they are reading? Especially if they are so busy?

    Page 2 of 2 1 2

    Moderated by  M-Moderator 

    Link Copied to Clipboard
    Recent Posts
    Testing with accommodations
    by aeh - 03/27/24 01:58 PM
    Quotations that resonate with gifted people
    by indigo - 03/27/24 12:38 PM
    New, and you'd think I'd have a clue...
    by astronomama - 03/24/24 06:01 AM
    For those interested in astronomy, eclipses...
    by indigo - 03/23/24 06:11 PM
    Son 2e, wide discrepancy between CogAT-Terranova
    by astronomama - 03/23/24 07:21 AM
    Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5