I need some advice from all you wonderful second grade teachers out there. I have been really giving serious thought to ordering the Primary Comprehension Toolkit to use in my classroom. However, I have read where some people say it is very comparable to Making Meaning. I already have access to Making Meaning through my district. I guess what I am asking if anyone knows whether one program is better than the other or if I should just use what I have available. Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
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Primary Comprehension Toolkit
afmom2boys
Full Member
I have this...
but haven't paid a bunch of attention to it. I believe it is about 25 lessons around nonfiction. So where the Making Meaning goes across the year, the Comprehensio ToolKit could easily be taught in a month or two. The lessons are very long and detailed- may be needing to be split up. They are good lessons, but are similar to Calkins suggested NF curricular plan as well as Reading with Meaning- Debbie Miller and Kathy Collin's Growing Readers- not a lot of difference in any of them.
but haven't paid a bunch of attention to it. I believe it is about 25 lessons around nonfiction. So where the Making Meaning goes across the year, the Comprehensio ToolKit could easily be taught in a month or two. The lessons are very long and detailed- may be needing to be split up. They are good lessons, but are similar to Calkins suggested NF curricular plan as well as Reading with Meaning- Debbie Miller and Kathy Collin's Growing Readers- not a lot of difference in any of them.
We just got the toolkit this year...
Since our district is requiring k-2 to implement common core this year, our literacy specialist purchased these kits to use with common core. The kit has been a very helpful tool when planning lessons. We use the CC curriculum maps as our lesson focus, and use the toolkit to provide instruction in comprehension strategies that correlate with the standards and the suggested activities in the CC curriculum maps. We love using the kits. I have found them to be user friendly and they also provide videos of actual lessons taught in the kit.
Since our district is requiring k-2 to implement common core this year, our literacy specialist purchased these kits to use with common core. The kit has been a very helpful tool when planning lessons. We use the CC curriculum maps as our lesson focus, and use the toolkit to provide instruction in comprehension strategies that correlate with the standards and the suggested activities in the CC curriculum maps. We love using the kits. I have found them to be user friendly and they also provide videos of actual lessons taught in the kit.
Been using Toolkit for about 3 years...
What I've found is that Toolkit is, basically, just good teaching skills. We already teach elements of nonfiction, this is another way to do it. It focuses on how to teach the students how to think. I saw an earlier poster who said that the kit could be taught in a month or two. That is not exactly accurate, as the skills must be reinforced throughout the year. Yes, the length of the lessons written out is very long, but that is because the authors wrote EVERYTHING out word for word. Albeit I am not a huge fan of the program, I use it because it is required. There are good things to it, but I can't tell you which is better because I have not heard of the other program. Hope this helps!
What I've found is that Toolkit is, basically, just good teaching skills. We already teach elements of nonfiction, this is another way to do it. It focuses on how to teach the students how to think. I saw an earlier poster who said that the kit could be taught in a month or two. That is not exactly accurate, as the skills must be reinforced throughout the year. Yes, the length of the lessons written out is very long, but that is because the authors wrote EVERYTHING out word for word. Albeit I am not a huge fan of the program, I use it because it is required. There are good things to it, but I can't tell you which is better because I have not heard of the other program. Hope this helps!
LinzRae
Senior Member
Love it
I used the Comprehension Toolkit in my last district and was able to acquire my own copy when I left. My current district uses Making Meaning. They are fairly similar, and I believe have the same authors or author. I personally like the Comprehension Toolkit better. I felt the lessons were too long to do in one sitting, but if I spread them out or used them as an additional resource to reinforce a strategy, they were perfect! I don't mind Making Meaning, and I'm still learning it so I may come to like it more, but if you are able to I'd say get the Toolkit as well.
I used the Comprehension Toolkit in my last district and was able to acquire my own copy when I left. My current district uses Making Meaning. They are fairly similar, and I believe have the same authors or author. I personally like the Comprehension Toolkit better. I felt the lessons were too long to do in one sitting, but if I spread them out or used them as an additional resource to reinforce a strategy, they were perfect! I don't mind Making Meaning, and I'm still learning it so I may come to like it more, but if you are able to I'd say get the Toolkit as well.
I really like PCTk
We got it last year to get familiar with and are required to use it this year. We really like it, the students respond to it very well. I've made mentor text changes for the lessons sometimes then use their suggested texts for a followup lesson to reinforce. I am not familiar with the one you currently have so can't answer your question about comparison.
We got it last year to get familiar with and are required to use it this year. We really like it, the students respond to it very well. I've made mentor text changes for the lessons sometimes then use their suggested texts for a followup lesson to reinforce. I am not familiar with the one you currently have so can't answer your question about comparison.