"Children are eager to find out what's in the world and how it works. Kids are ready to work hard, not because we 'motivate' them, but because they want to know stuff. As teachers we can draw on all the curiosity, energy, and comprehending experience that kids bring to school, and we systematically link it to the skills and strategies that more experienced learners use. People too often underestimate what primary kids can do. But in The Primary Comprehension Toolkit, we start high and go higher." -Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis Learn how to teach nonfiction strategies to primary readers and how Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis help students monitor their understanding as they respond to the words, pictures, and ideas in a text. Through 2 foundational books-The Primary Comprehension Toolkit Teacher's Guide and Monitor Comprehension-and seven online video clips, Steph and Anne provide the lesson plans, teaching language, and tools you'll need to teach students how to use nonfiction reading strategies flexibly across a variety of texts, topics, and subject areas. In the Teacher's Guide, Steph and Anne explain the research and thinking behind The Primary Comprehension Toolkit. They include an overview of the Toolkit's instructional design as well as guidelines for integrating the Toolkit into your literacy curriculum. In addition to describing how to foster an active literacy classroom, the Teacher's Guide shows how to choose texts and apply the strategies in science and social studies. Monitor Comprehension models ways to help students keep track of their thinking as they read, listen, and view. They learn to notice when the text makes sense or when it doesn't. Primary grade kids are always thinking about what they hear, see, and (if they can) read. They are noticing, wondering, making connections, and making judgments all the time. Readers, however, need to go beyond retelling and merge their thinking with the text to come up with big ideas and underlying themes. We focus on teaching young readers not just to retell, but to think about the words, the pictures, the features, and the ideas that spring from the text. The seven accompanying video clips include a video conversation with Dr. P. David Pearson; live from-the-classroom video footage; and slideshows of an active literacy classroom and strategy instruction in science and social studies. (Video clips are free for 6 months upon registration. You must register within 6 months of purchase.) Learn more about these resources and the Toolkit series at www.comprehensiontoolkit.com. This pack is part of firsthand's Getting Started series. Bridging the gap between educational theory and practice, firsthand classroom materials model the carefully crafted techniques and language of master teachers in ways that help teachers refine their practice and reinvent their own teaching. The most comprehensive of these resources span more than a year of instruction. Firsthand's Getting Started Packs were created for teachers in training and professional book study groups who want a compact, affordable way to study and tryout these transformative classroom materials. Each Getting Started Pack includes an overview book, a complete unit of study, online video clips provided free of charge for 6 months, and an accompanying study guide. Getting Started packs include: Launch a Primary Writing Workshop, Grades K-2; Launch an Intermediate Writing Workshop, Grades 3-5; Launch an Intermediate Reading Workshop, Grades 3-5; Introduce the Qualities of Writing, Grades 3-6; Monitor Comprehension with Primary Students, Grades K-2; Monitor Comprehension with Intermediate Students, Grades 3-6; Investigate the Number System, Grades K-3; Investigate Multiplication, Grades 3-5; Investigate Fractions, Grades 4-6.