chapter 4: Diagnostic Teaching

p.60: "Effective diagnostic teaching results in a balance of contextual Reading with strategy and skill instruction."
Students need guidance while they read. Mini lessons that include points or new strategies that enhance comprehension are necessary for students to benefit fully from instruction. Having them talk throughout heir comprehension or actively modeling how the teacher comprehends text is beneficial.

p. 61: "Like singing a favorite song over and over again, this procedure engages the readers in active reading and sets a supportive tone for the entire lesson."
This also builds confidence. students find comfort in something that is familiar. If each reading session is too challenging for the students they will learn to dislike the act itself. Also, each time the students reads a familiar and well-liked text they may find new things about it that they may not have seen the first time through.

p. 64: "The diagnostic teacher thinks about the kind of instruction needed before, during and after the student reads the selected story or chapter."
Sometimes instruction is needed before the student reads a text and sometimes it isn't. If the teacher wants to check comprehension or word identification they may have the student read the text without any prior explanation. When students are string a new unit or story it is probably necessary to discuss new vocabulary and new concepts to enhance comprehension and understanding.

p. 67: "This evaluation encouraged her to discuss how the strategies she was acquiring were influencing he reading fluency."
Students are able to see the fact that different strategies work to help them become better readers. By filling out a self-evaluation students become more accountable for their learning. They are also able to actively think about the degree of improvement, as well as what strategies they practiced to achieve that success.

p. 69: "Writing and reading influence each other, and both develop from children's desire to communicate."
I like the idea of predicting. Students can do one prediction before they read based on the title, inside and back cover and illustrations on a book. The teacher may then have students do predictions during reading to check comprehension and understanding. This process may also deepen understanding because the student has to reflect on what was already read to be able to predict what will happen next. At the end of a text the teacher could have the student write about how close their predictions were and if they were surprised by the events in the book.