Problem Solve and Pause

Thanks to Margaret Simon at Reflections on the Teche for encouraging us to share what we are thinking around the topic of Problem Solving for this Digilit Sunday!  I am happy to be heading into Summer with another school year in the rear view mirror.

I was thinking about the idea of problem solving and contemplating what it really looks like to be a problem solver when in full blown reading mode.  I wanted to share how the process of listening to a reader without taking snap corrective action to tell the right words actually helps them grow as the problem solving decision-maker.

I sat back watching, listening and deciding not to be pushy or pokey as Natalie read the story, "We Eat Dinner in the Bathtub" by Angela Shelf Medearis , Jacqueline Rogers.  She read and cross-checked the pictures, slowed down and figured things out when they didn't make sense.  She was afforded the opportunity of a pause at the point of error before someone jumped in to correct.  I am grateful for the pause--because it's helping her make sense of what she's read and problem solve on her own to fix it when it didn't look right, sound right or make sense.

Rather than tell her the word, she was prompted to go back and try again.  This encouraged her to do more work and figure out the part that didn't make sense and didn't add to the story in a meaningful way.  She problem-solved for meaning on her own.  As teachers and parents, we should encourage students to do this more often rather than just tell them the answer.  Volley through the thought process sending it back to their side of the court, helping them learn how to get it done.

Although Natalie is just a beginning reader, I clearly see how pausing and prompting for problem solving will help her to develop future skills as the books she reads become increasingly complex.  How do you encourage readers to work through problems?  How do you provide scaffolding without rescuing?