To comprehend means “to grasp.” What does it mean for students to connect with and respond to texts in memorable and meaningful ways that will serve them for a lifetime? The Common Principles provide an effective framework for addressing this question. They provide a foundation for approaches to differentiating, personalizing, and supporting students as they master and share their work with texts. Using and combining a rich array of multiliteracies and a range of texts, this workshop will demonstrate many ways to apply the principles and to create a lively and engaged teaching and learning environment that emphasizes comprehension of content and concepts. We will present and share approaches that help students work with specific texts in depth with focus and insight. Additional approaches will emphasize breadth, or ways to combine texts across topics, content and genre. Participants will leave with materials they can apply in elementary, middle and secondary classrooms as well as access to a website that provides further models and exemplars.
