Does inquiry-based learning fit into the Science of Reading (SoR)?
A widely accepted SoR model called Scarboroughโs Reading Rope illustrates the interconnected nature of the skills required for reading comprehension. These skills comprise two separate strands that are woven together in the act of reading. The upper strand is language comprehension (LC), while the lower is word recognition (WR). The upper strand (LC) includes in its components a smaller strand called verbal reasoning.
What does that look like in the classroom?
โSpend a bit of time with young children and youโll almost certainly hear questions like this: Why? Why not? How come? They are curious about the world around them. Their questions help them to locate a logic in what they experience and see. Thatโs verbal reasoning at work.โ
โFisher et al. (2022). Teaching Reading: A Playbook for Developing Skilled Readers Through Word Recognition and Language Comprehension.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning involves asking questions. And helping kids feed their natural curiosity through student inquiry creates a classroom environment of engaged learners. Listen to Dannette Greuser, a veteran Kindergarten teacher in Florida, share a story about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and talk about how using AskMeno helped create a classroom culture of question-asking.
Audio Transcript:
โOne of my parents read a story in a small group for Martin Luther King, Jr. day. At the end of the story, they were just having a conversation about what they had heard and what the story was about. And this parent volunteer came back to me afterwards, and she said, โOh my gosh, you won't believe the questions these kids were asking me.โ I said, โWell, what do you mean?โ She said, โAt the end of the story, they said, well, who shot Martin Luther King? Why didn't they tell us that? Well, where is he now? Is Martin Luther King still alive? Where is he buried? What does it look like there? Do you think he went to heaven? What does it look like in heaven? I wonder if I could take my dog to heaven.โ And she said, โThey just kept asking more and more and more questions and just went all over the place.โ And she was just like, โI couldn't believe all of the questions that they were asking and how they were extending and accurately building on each other. It wasn't one child who was asking all of these questions. They were all listening and building off of each other to ask more and more questions.โ So we've absolutely seen this skill transitioning into other areas of our classroom, and we can't say enough good things about it [AskMeno].โ
Article link:
https://corwin-connect.com/2022/09/a-neglected-strand-of-the-reading-rope-is-verbal-reasoning/
About AskMeno
AskMeno is dedicated to helping early childhood leaders build the foundational oral language and social skills necessary for their young scholarsโ reading comprehension and emotional wellbeing. AskMeno provides a play-based, teacher-facilitated supplemental curriculum that systematically and explicitly develops oral language and social skills through scaffolded, fun, and engaging learning activities.
