Chapter 6 Using E-tools to Scaffold comprehension of E-Literature

              Most of the lesson plans, specifically the IRT lesson plans in this book, follow a systematic structure. These IRT lesson plans consist of three phases, the teacher modeling phase, teacher and student demonstrations phase and the independent practice phrase. Lesson plans for younger and older students is provided for comprehension strategies for reading digital texts. In the beginning stages of both lesson plans, modeling is a key step. Modeling allows students to see how they will go about to finish the task. Thinking aloud is also used in the lesson plan for younger students. This strategy is based on listening skills, I think thinking aloud is effective especially with younger children. In the lesson plan geared towards younger children, it mentions to make connections with traditional text and digital text. I like this approach because it makes connections with prior knowledge on print books and compares them to digital text. One difference between digital and traditional print is that digital text has access to search for specific words. In the lesson plan for younger children, children partner up and in the second phase. They have to think aloud with a partner and determine how the illustrations in the e-story extend their understanding of the story. In the last phase, students try to engage in a online storybook independently. I like this approach because it scaffolds a child's learning. The approach gradually leads to independent work. First, the work is modeled, then students work with others and at the end they work by themselves. This approach is similar for older students. 
          Follow-up activities are not necessary, but I think that they serve as an evaluation. Follow-up activities allows the teachers to see if students understood the lesson. Minilessons are great ways to follow-up on student learning. A minilesson could focus on navigation skills. An example of a navigation skill could be selecting search strategies that best accomplish a particular task. This saves time for the student and improves productivity. I think that follow-up activities are beneficial to students because it further commits what they've learned to long-term memory.