CSR: A Reading Comprehension Strategy
Wrap Up
A reading approach developed to help students beyond third grade to improve their reading comprehension, CSR consists of four comprehension strategies that students apply as they read expository text in small cooperative learning groups.
Watch the movie below for a more detailed summary of CSR (time: 2:21).
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Transcript: Wrap Up
Narrator: Collaborative Strategic Reading, or CSR, combines two instructional practices that many teachers already implement in their fourth-grade classrooms: comprehension strategy instruction and cooperative learning.
Mr. Shaw: We’ve been working on a lot of pieces to a puzzle. The puzzle is CSR. Who can tell me what CSR stands for? JD?
Student #1: Collaborative Strategic Reading.
Mr. Shaw: Excellent.
Narrator: Teacher Tim Shaw shows how CSR brings together four effective comprehension strategies: Previewing, Click and Clunk, Get the Gist, and Wrap Up.
Dr. Vaughn: One of the types of comprehension strategies that’s associated with improved outcomes for students are those strategies that are called multi-component strategies. And what that really means is that the strategy has more than one element to it. With respect to Collaborative Strategic Reading, or CSR, it really means that there is a family of strategies; some that occur before reading, some that occur during reading, and some that occur after reading. Students who learn this family of strategies can take them to text and use them in a very systematic way.
Narrator: Mr. Shaw teaches his fourth graders how to work in cooperative groups.
Mr. Shaw: Let’s go over the different things that we wanna to make a cooperative group successful. The first thing is we need to share our thoughts. What is important about sharing thoughts in a collaborative group? Sabrina?
Sabrina: To speak respectfully and just share your thoughts.
Mr. Shaw: I really like the way Sabrina said respectfully. ‘Cause it’s very important that everybody’s ideas in the group are respected.
Narrator: Within cooperative groups, each student performs a designated role. Roles are an important aspect of CSR. Mr. Shaw models and explains the roles so students understand their responsibilities during CSR.
Mr. Shaw: Now, don’t get upset if you don’t get a role you want, because every time we do this, we’re gonna rotate those different roles. So each of you will get a chance to be the Leader. Each of you will get a chance to be the Gist Expert. Each of you will get a chance to be the Clunk Expert or the Encourager or the Announcer.
Revisiting Initial Thoughts
Think back to your responses to the Initial Thoughts questions at the beginning of this module. After working through the Perspectives & Resources, do you still agree with those responses? If not, what aspects about them would you change?
What are some reasons to teach reading comprehension strategies in content-area classes?
What can teachers do to improve their students’ reading comprehension?
How can reading comprehension strategies be implemented in content-area classes?
When you are ready, proceed to the Assessment section.
