Module 1 - Activity 2

1.   What is corandic?

A corandic is an emuriet grof with many fribs

2.   What does corandic grank from?

A corandic granks from corite.

3.   How do garkers excarp the tarances from the corite?

Garkers excarp by glarcking the corite and starping it in tranker-clarped strobs.

4.   What does the slorp finally frast?

The slorp finally frasting a pragety, blinkant crankle: coranda.

5.   What is coranda?

A coranda is a cargurt, grinkling corandic and borigen.

6.   How is the corandic nacerated from the borigen?

The corandic is nacerated from the borigen by means of loracity.

7.   What do the garkers finally thrap?

The garkers finally thrap a glick, bracht, glupous grapant, corandic, which granks in many starps.

How is it that you are able to answer such questions?

During this exercise, I felt as if I was trying to understand a different language especially since Microsoft Word informed me that most of the above words were spelled incorrectly.  I wondered if this was how struggling readers feel.  However, I was able to answer these questions by looking for the same wording within the passage.  I do not understand the meaning behind these “nonsense” words, which is why I had to put all of my answers in direct quotations from the passage.  But even though I was confused, I believe I was successful because I merely had to find the answers within the passage.   

What does this experience suggest about the kinds of "comprehension" questions found in workbooks and on standarized tests? 

This experience suggests that you do not truly have to “comprehend” the passage to find the correct answers.  I feel very confident with my answers since I was able to go back in the passage and find a sentence stating the specific questions.  I see similarities between this passage and the workbooks and standardized tests we use in upper grades.  This activity was asking the reader to “find the answers in the passage” instead of reading the passage for full comprehension/meaning.  I believe that a lot of my students (4^th graders) tend to look at the questions first and then just find the answers without fully reading and comprehending a passage.  They also rely heavily on the multiple choice answers.  However, and unfortunately, finding an answer in any text does not show true comprehension skills.

 

Weaver, C. (2002). Reading process and practice (3^rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.