Coaching

      If you think about how children learn it is very important to help them along the way and to give them cues about what comes next.  Like we learned last week prompting early reading students is part of the process.  Coaching is just that.  It is instructional cues that allow students to apply their knowledge and skills that they already have in order to complete the task at hand.  Students that are just learning to read and are trying to become more comfortable with it really like having the cues there to help them become more confident.  I think that with these interactions with teachers or "coaches" that it really can change a child's learning process and help them become more fluent in their reading.  

     The article talked about two types of prompting that can be used to help a child.  The first type was the general prompting to help promote thought.  These can be asked using these types of statements and questions: 

The next type of prompting is a focused prompt to help the child with a specific action.  These are asked with these types of statements: 

Both of these types of prompting can be the little push that a child needs in order to understand a topic or be helpful when they are trying to read a sentence and comprehend it.  These simple questions and prompts can also help a child's confidence because they will be able to ask themselves these questions and be able to get it before having to ask a teacher.  

    When I help with my nephew and his reading I am constantly giving cues and prompting and it helps him  understand where the story is going and how the reading is going.  It can also lead to other questions that you ask later on about his comprehension.  He know asks himself those questions to help him prompt the harder words.  He states them out loud and shows you the process that he is using and it shows you just how helpful the coaching process is.  It also helps with his comprehension because if he knows where it is going then he is much more able to follow along better.  

Thing to Ponder:

1. Do you think that you were taught to read and comprehend on a coaching method or a hands off method? 

2. Which do you find to be more beneficial to the child in the long run?