Schema Stuff

I'm always on the look out for new ways to introduce & reinforce the comprehension strategies to my students. (I'm a big fan of Tanny McGregor's book, "Comprehension Connections"). If you'd like to see some of her great ideas, check out ReadingResource.net!

This summer I found my old Mr. Potato Head I had when I was a kid. (Luckily, he wasn't missing any body parts!) Mr. Potato Head keeps all of his belongings inside of his head, in much the same way we all have different schema inside of our own heads! My Super-Smart 1st Graders made a pretty brilliant connection today; sometimes Mr. P might need his glasses, but some days he might not. He can put them back in his head and keep them safe until he needs them again! (Seriously? They just summed up 'metacognition' in a nut shell! Proud teacher).

I purchased a Rolodex to show them how it can file important information in special places (A-Z). I haven't shared this with the class yet...I'm just waiting for a kid to ask me what it is! 

And then I have a kid who tells me that he'd really like it if he could see the inside of a brain. Since our SmartBoards haven't been installed yet, I do the most logical thing I could think of...I hop on eBay and purchase a brain model. It's a little bit smaller than I'd hoped it'd be, but know we have a visual reference when we refer to our brain [thinking].


If you have any other comprehension tips, please send them my way!