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Read Problem to an Adult to Help Your Understanding

Tags

Social-Emotional Learning ^21st Century Skills K-8 Strategy

Skills

Flexible Thinking Attention Verbal Reasoning Abstract Reasoning

Read Problem to an Adult to Help Your Understanding

When you have trouble understanding an assignment, a question or what a paragraph means, try reading it aloud to a parent, teacher or classmate so you have the support to figure it out.

How To Apply It!

  1. Approach this with the mindset that you will figure out the question or problem with help, and not that you are going to have the adult explain it to you or lead you to the answer.
  2. Read the question or problem slowly aloud to someone. Just hearing it might help you figure it out.
  3. Are there specific phrases or words you do not understand? Ask the person to help you with those specific words or phrases, rather than just explain the whole thing to you.
  4. With that help, re-state your new understanding of the material or problem. Ask if you are correct and let the adult explain further if you need it. If you can re-state the problem in your own words after that, you can be sure you understand.
  5. In the classroom. Find a classmate to read aloud to if you do not understand the material or problem, though be sure you are not interrupting and it is okay with the teacher. Try to figure it out together. If after working with a classmate you are both uncertain, ask your teacher.

Why It Works (the Science Of Learning)!

Reading aloud forces the mind to process every word without skipping or wandering. In addition, the child will usually hear if the confusion was caused by misread or misunderstood words. It also ensures that adults are not telling a student answers, but enabling the student to figure it out themselves with any necessary support.