Burns _ TP#11

Tonight was a breakthrough night with David.  He was beyond back to normal after some difficulties  last week. 

As always, we began with small talk. Tonight we talked about his position on the soccer team, his weekend and so far this week.  We also review some class work and he explained bits of Anasazi culture that he had learned through one classroom activity.  He asked if I had seen them and I told him of several visits to Anasazi sites in Colorado and Arizona.  We discussed how lack of rain and protection from the wind had preserved the sites.

I then placed on the table the four activities David needed to accomplish and asked him, "Which one do you want to do first?"  He selected his math homework and dispatched that work quickly and correctly.  We talked briefly about his success on a major math test last week.

Then David began to read and write a summary for each page.  This did not last long as David realized that such summaries were disjointed.  So then he read several more pages and wrote a solid summary.  Then he stopped, put his pencil in his mouth and looked at the ceiling with a pensive look.  I asked him, "What are you thinking about?"  "A prediction," he replied.  I asked him what he wanted to predict.  He answered, "What will happen next in the story."  He wrote his prediction and then read an extra four pages to test his prediction.

From our first session, that is the question I always asked to test his comprehension of what he had just read; and to provide a reason for him to keep reading.  Curiosity would pull him forward to test his prediction.  Tonight, he made a prediction without a prompt and explained his reasoning based on what he read.  Again, curiosity pulled him forward well beyond required reading to check if his prediction was close.  David pulled himself forward without a prompt and read with increasing interest to see how close his prediction came.

I looked him in his eyes and said, "You did a great job on your reading and writing tonight. Your curiosity replaced page count; and you did that all on your own.  That was fun to see and hear.   Now  that leaves those special vocabulary words." 

He really dislikes working with these particular words, but tonight he took up the paper and was ready to go to work.  As a variation from the normal drill, I would describe a circumstance and an action and ask him to tell me which vocabulary word fit that description.  He aced them all when given context.  Then I asked him to define each word, using his own words.  This time, he was successful with all but one - and it is always the same word.  Without context, David struggles with the word "acquaintance"

I believe the problem with that word is that 9 year old boys have no real experience with refering to peers as acquaintances.  Nine-year old boys have friends, people they like, people they do not like - but no "acquaintances".  That is a word used by older children, perhaps late middle school or high school.  So David may have to memorize this word for the test later this week.

As always, Mrs. Hong and I discussed the tutoring session, with focus on reading an increasing  number of pages read (an important goal for Mom) and comprehension (an equally important goal for Mom)  We then discussed his vocabulary work in terms of words he can handle in any circumstance, from context, to creating his own sentences and straight definition in his own words.  (His words must be on target.  He does not have to sound like a dictionary.)

We then discussed his ongoing difficulty with a definition for that pesky acquaintance.  He can handle it with matching, fill in the blank and other contextual testing methods.  If asked to define the word acquaintance, or create a sentence with that word, he struggles.  I suggested memorization of the definition would solve that problem.  We discussed ways to test that vocabulary at home for the approaching test.

Then we discussed continuing to  encourage David to continue making predictions every 4 to 6 pages and the basis for the prediction.  We discussed the dual advantage.  It takes comprehension in order to predict.  Curiosity regarding the accuracy of his own prediction draws David  deeper and deeper into the reading and he stops counting pages or looking for reasons to quit reading.  These "review and planning" sessions are, I believe, keeping David repeating this process at home.  David seems more comfortable with his practice at home.  I believe that this could be because that practice is moving away from simple bottom-up practice and toward encouraging David to create his own top-down through predictions that he makes.