Talk About Understanding

Discipline: Professional Resources

Copyright: 2012

Grade(s): K - 8

Delivery Method: Print

Imprint: Heinemann

Author(s): Ellin Oliver Keene

Talk About Understanding: Rethinking Classroom Talk to Enhance Comprehension

Reading education pioneer Ellin Oliver Keene demystifies comprehension instruction by describing what it can look like when readers comprehend deeply and what it can look like when teachers aim for deep comprehension. This ground-breaking book is illustrated with video footage of Ellin modeling the reading instruction she describes. You will be able to watch Ellin use language and teaching moves that help students go beyond superficial reading comprehension to lasting understanding.

Talk About Understanding offers:

  • “Outcomes of Understanding” Markers—descriptions of the behaviours present when children understand a text deeply including ways to assess with and teach toward these outcomes.
  • “Talk About Understanding” Principles—suggestions to modify teaching language and teaching interactions to deepen children’s ability to comprehend.
  • “From the Inside” Video Segments—classroom footage of Ellin teaching lessons that illustrate the use of the “Outcomes of Understanding” markers and “Talk About Understanding” principles from the book.

Do your students understand their reading as deeply as they need to? Talk About Understanding has the guiding principles, the teaching suggestions, the carefully described outcomes, and the video support to help you teach your students how to comprehend, thoroughly and eagerly, the varied and complicated texts in the world around us.