kindergarten comprehenders

It is interesting to write think about my students as comprehenders this week because I just taught my literacy lesson in field. The lesson was based on comprehension, and I was shocked at how well all of the students did. I read the book The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle. The book is based on the life cycle of a plant, and I thought that the fact that students had to understand a brand new science concept might stand in the way of their comprehension of the story. However, every student was called on to answer a comprehension question, and every student was able to retell a part of the story. To me, this was a great accomplishment. At the end, we had students talk about their own experiences with plants. The fact that they were able to share what happened in their own life, and then tell how it was like or unlike an event in the story showed that they were able to understand the meaning of the text. I also really liked that the book was about the life cycle, because it forced us to focus on the events in chronological order. The students able to tell me what happened in the beginning, middle, and end of the text. Most surprisingly, the students made accurate predictions of what would happen next if the story continued. They were able to say that the season would be fall again, and that the seeds from the plant would turn into new plants.
I noticed a few different profiles of comprehension among the students. The majority of the students fit into the minimalist category. That is, most of them gave brief answers and only elaborated if they were pushed to. Even then, they were happier giving simple and quick answers to our questions. Other students got excited to speak, especially during the portion that asked them to reflect on their home experiences. These students went on tangents, and it sparked excitement in other students. Some of these students that volunteered were left-fielders. They got so excited to raise their hand and talk about home that they often brought up unrelated ideas. When asked to relate their experience to the text, they got confused and brought up another unrelated topic.