The Key Comprehension Routine: Primary Grades
Purpose:
To develop comprehension skills and strategies of students in grades 1-3.
Description:
The Key Comprehension Routine: Primary Grades is a professional development program for teaching comprehension to students in grades 1-3. The program uses existing content teaching materials (core reading programs, leveled readers and other reading material) to emphasize the integration of reading, writing and study strategies. It can be used during core reading instruction and content subject instruction.
Comprehension skills and strategies are taught and used by students in a routine that includes these activities:
- Categorizing items, pictures and words as the first step to learning main idea skills
- Identifying main ideas at the spoken and written paragraph level
- Using top-down topic webs to provide an overview of information to be used orally and in print
- Using two-column notes to capture main ideas and supporting details
- Generating and answering questions at different levels of thinking using Bloom's Taxonomy
- Creating oral and written summaries
- Initial two-day training for teachers. An onsite professional development workshop for all teachers participating in the training. As part of the workshop, teachers use their own classroom textbooks and reading material to develop lessons that incorporate the comprehension strategies introduced throughout the training.
- Training and consultation for building-based coach(es).Two-day training and annual one-day refresher sessions provide support for a building-based reading coach, curriculum coordinator, or other individuals who will take the lead in supporting the use of the reading comprehension program in the school.
- Follow-up support for teachers. Several types of follow-up are available to provide additional support to teachers: guided practice sessions, small-group follow-up meetings (approximately every 4-6 weeks), and classroom observation/modeling. Teachers share sample lessons and activities incorporating The Key Comprehension Routine that they have used in their classrooms.
- Follow-up support for teachers. Follow-up visits (approximately every four to six weeks) by the trainer with teachers in small groups. Teachers share sample lessons and activities incorporating the The Key Comprehension Routine that they have used in their classrooms.
- Administrators training. Half- and one-day sessions as well as program planning and support consultation provide suggestions for how to implement and support the program on a grade-level or school-wide basis.
Professional development for The Key Comprehension Routine: Primary Grades consists of several components:
Connection to Response to Intervention (RtI) Implementation
The Key Comprehension Routineis an evidenced-based program that is considered Tier 1 instruction when used by classroom teachers with all students, and Tier 2 instruction when used as supplemental instruction for struggling learners.