serendipitous journey Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Just wondering what y'all think about these. A. detests WWE: we are in WWE2; he likes the passages, but hates narration and the questions. He gets narration anyhow via our AO readings (pretty much daily); I'm tempted to drop WWE or at least just the comprehension question bits. But it occurs to me this might be one of those things that turns out, down the road, to have been incredibly useful. Thoughts? Do y'all think the questions are central to WWE-ish goals? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matrips Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I don't know the answer since we are still in it, but we do the questions. It gives me a gauge of whether they can listen to someone and retain both details and main points. Its a different skill than than reading it yourself (I don't let my kids see my book) And now that we are more than 1/2 way through WWE 2, some of the questions are 'why do you think...' type, which let's me see if they can actually think and have some kind of opinion about what they've heard. We also do the narrations, but we don't do any other narrations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhomemaker Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 We do them, but I don't get bent out of shape if ds doesn't know the answers. If the question pertains to an important part of the story, I go back over that paragraph so he can pick out the answer. I was tempted to drop the questions in the beginning, but we stuck with it. I've noticed that ds is much better at them now, and he usually gets them all right. His ability to remember details from the reading has definitely improved. I also like the way that answering the questions in complete sentences gets him ready to give a narration in complete sentences without a bunch of rambling or "um"s or other fillers. His narrations are smoother due to answering the questions in complete sentences beforehand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 We do them, but I don't get bent out of shape if ds doesn't know the answers. If the question pertains to an important part of the story, I go back over that paragraph so he can pick out the answer. I was tempted to drop the questions in the beginning, but we stuck with it. I've noticed that ds is much better at them now, and he usually gets them all right. His ability to remember details from the reading has definitely improved. I also like the way that answering the questions in complete sentences gets him ready to give a narration in complete sentences without a bunch of rambling or "um"s or other fillers. His narrations are smoother due to answering the questions in complete sentences beforehand. I thought I remembered that sort of improvement happening when we did WWE1 ... hmmm, I suppose it is worth keeping this as part of our routine. It also forces A. to deal with analyzing and understanding excerpts -- as opposed to sections from a longer work he's familiar with -- which is also a particular skill ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boscopup Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 They helped build listening skills in my son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I found with my boys that when it came to creating narrations in the summary style that the comprehension questions were important. I take both types of narrations: A CM retelling kind, and a WWE-style summary kind. For both types I tend to write the questions on the board, or at least take the answers on the board and demonstrate the difference. They both have their uses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehogs4 Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I think they are important, mainly because I noticed that my kids got so many of them wrong. It shows that they are not fully listening, and the questions help them to tune in and focus. Sometimes I will read the questions over and tell dd, "make sure you pay attention to..." then I start reading. It helps her to gather more of the information. We are in WWE 2 now and she seldom misses the answers now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I think the main benefit of the questions is to ensure the child is 'attending' during the reading. We've recently (mid-WWE3) switched to having my daughter read-aloud the passage and then I ask the questions, trying to answer them myself before glancing at the answers or before she responds. It occasionally challenges me too. I think a PP correctly assessed that the questions require that the student capture details, while the summary style narration requires that she understand and remember the big picture/main points. Both are valuable skills, thus we'll continue doing the questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking-Iris Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 They are extremely important to our use of WWE. My oldest ds is on the spectrum and has at times a very hard time putting his thoughts into a coherent order. I started using WWE3 and then quickly backed up to WWE2. The dictations are easy for him and we don't really need WWE for grammar or spelling help. But those questions and narrations are gold. They help him with listening and reading comprehension. They have helped him learn to get his thoughts together and tell a summary and have it make sense. I've noticed a big improvement in his ability to answer the questions as we've progressed. I don't use the questions to gauge if he *knows* answers about the story we just read, although that's one part of it. Honestly they've helped him learn how to communicate. It's trickled into his writing as well of course. But those questions are it for me as regards WWE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 DD the Younger is doing WWE2. I think they're important insofar as they show an understanding of the passage and give the child an practice in thoughtful response, but it's not a big deal if the child needs help with details like people or place names. I'll usually go through the questions once, and make a note for any missed fiddly details -- Yay! She pulled all the important threads out of the passage. I'll then read the passage in its entirety again, with the instruction to listen for the fiddly details (usually names). If, after the second time through, DD misses one or more, I'll write the names down for her so she can reference them during her narration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I think they are the point of the narrations in WWE. They help train the children to listen for the parts that are useful for creating a summary of the passage. If your goal is CM style narrations, they are less important. If your goal is summary, they are crucial. No matter what your goal, if they can't answer the questions, I think you need to do them to help their oral comprehension skills. Maybe back up and use easier material first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmos Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 I found with my boys that when it came to creating narrations in the summary style that the comprehension questions were important. I take both types of narrations: A CM retelling kind, and a WWE-style summary kind. For both types I tend to write the questions on the board, or at least take the answers on the board and demonstrate the difference. They both have their uses. Yes, similar experience here. I started my ds on WWE when he was 9. At that point he had been doing CM style narrations for several years but did not have any practice in *summarizing*. The comprehension questions in WWE were a HUGE help in focusing his attention on the main points in order to be able to create a summary. Or at least the questions that led to summarizing. Are there other comprehension questions besides those? I can't remember anymore. We never did any of Level 1, in case that's relevant. We did most of Level 2, and the pieces of Levels 3 and 4 that are in the textbook to develop his summarizing skills. I don't know how Level 1 differs from the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zenjenn Posted March 31, 2013 Share Posted March 31, 2013 Comprehension questions are pivotal part of education, whether you use WWE or not. Does he dislike comprehension questions or just the reading selections and style/tone of the WWE "script"? If the former, I'd say it's probably because he finds it challenging, and all the MORE reason he needs them. If the latter, consider finding something else, or use your own reading selections/questions, but it is absolutely imperative, IMO, that he be able to answer comprehension questions. What I like about the WWE script is that it's mixed up. Sometimes the questions focus on key plot points, other times on remembering details, etc. It's an exercise in memory, listening, verbal summary, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 I found with my boys that when it came to creating narrations in the summary style that the comprehension questions were important. I take both types of narrations: A CM retelling kind, and a WWE-style summary kind. For both types I tend to write the questions on the board, or at least take the answers on the board and demonstrate the difference. They both have their uses. Can you tell me more about you do this? I agree that both kinds are important, and am trying to teach both but don't really have a strategy down pat yet. Do you do both types for the same material -- ie, read, then take one type, take the other, compare? or do them at different times? and does your strategy change much as the children get older/ become more capable? any details you have about implementing this would be much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 DD the Younger is doing WWE2. I think they're important insofar as they show an understanding of the passage and give the child an practice in thoughtful response, but it's not a big deal if the child needs help with details like people or place names. I'll usually go through the questions once, and make a note for any missed fiddly details -- Yay! She pulled all the important threads out of the passage. I'll then read the passage in its entirety again, with the instruction to listen for the fiddly details (usually names). If, after the second time through, DD misses one or more, I'll write the names down for her so she can reference them during her narration. thanks, nmoira -- I think your approach to the missed "fiddly details" would be useful here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted March 31, 2013 Author Share Posted March 31, 2013 Comprehension questions are pivotal part of education, whether you use WWE or not. Does he dislike comprehension questions or just the reading selections and style/tone of the WWE "script"? If the former, I'd say it's probably because he finds it challenging, and all the MORE reason he needs them. If the latter, consider finding something else, or use your own reading selections/questions, but it is absolutely imperative, IMO, that he be able to answer comprehension questions. What I like about the WWE script is that it's mixed up. Sometimes the questions focus on key plot points, other times on remembering details, etc. It's an exercise in memory, listening, verbal summary, etc. Actually, on reflection it is the narration he doesn't like -- he hasn't actually complained post hoc about the questions, though he never is happy about them when we do them. What I noticed is that when we regularly did CM-style narrations, then moved to doing the SOTW questions, he answered them very easily. At that time we were not using WWE, though. Then when I moved to summary-style narrations his ability to answer SOTW questions plummeted. Now I am dabbling in WWE (mostly to introduce new literature and get him hooked on possible read-alouds, also just for general WTM-ishness) but we are not using SOTW, and his CM-style narrations are almost back up to where they were when I switched to summary. I must say that I don't think I'm quite as spacey and inconsistent as that may make me seem -- A. is very bright, intense, and idiosyncratic, and I've spent much of the year honing on on a strategy that works for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.