Classroom Strategies Used in the Comprehensive Approach

The comprehensive approach integrates skills with literature based reading and process writing instruction. Some classroom strategies that use the comprehensive approach are:

·         Buddy Reading: older students read to younger students

·         Collaborative Projects

·         DEAR (Drop Everything And Read): All students in school read books of their choice for 15 to 30 minutes.

·         E-Pals: Not only does this integrate technology in the classroom but it’s a great way for students to use writing and form new friends from around the world.

·         Guided Reading: Teachers work with homogenous groups to teach reading skills such as phonics, word analysis, and vocabulary. Students read at their instructional level.

·         Journal Writing: Students express themselves personally and write for authentic purposes.

·         Puppet Show/ Readers Theater: In small groups, students perform for an audience. This enhances their expression and fluency.

·         Word Walls: Teachers display words in categories to help students with word atomicity and to increase vocabulary.

·         Shared Reading: Teachers share quality literature that is at a higher reading level. This exposes students to advanced vocabulary and also gives an opportunity for students to discuss the stories elements and information in passages.