NYSEC 2025: Graffiti Our Dreams - Empowering Students
At NYSEC’s 2025 Conference!
Last week, I went to Albany, NY for the annual New York State English Council (NYSEC) conference. One of my former students and I have been talking so much about teaching comprehension to students lately, that we decided to put a conference presentation together. As it turns out, comprehension was a hot topic this year - with other sessions also focusing on how to support readers with understanding what they are reading and make sense of a text.
Why is Comprehension Such a Hot Topic Right Now?
Comprehension seems to be moving into the spotlight right now. Why? Based on recent research, kids are not reading as frequently in their spare time. Instead, they are spending their free time in other ways. This is an issue. If kids are not reading as frequently, they are going to have a harder time understanding texts - especially as texts become more complex. In the Book Case Podcast, the statistic that was shared is that only 30% of 8th graders in the US are reading at or above grade level.
If kids are struggling to understand what they are reading, it will be more challenging to get them to read. As one student told me, “why should I read if I don’t understand what I am reading?”
Books That Connect to Comprehension Skills
Books Matter
Kasey, my former student, who presented at the conference with me (and did a fabulous job putting together the PowerPoint) knows children’s books really well. She brought a number of books to the conference and showed the attendees how she matches skills with books. She explained that the books often lend themselves well to show kids particular skills. For example, the book Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller works really well to introduce the concept of main idea and supporting ideas to address the main idea. She gave the example of how she used the book with her first grade students to teach them the big idea or message in a book (in this case - kindness is important). And, through reading the book, the students were able to identify ways to be kind to others (the supporting ideas).
When we spoke with the attendees, we all discussed the importance of selecting books that kids can relate to when teaching specific skills and strategies that will address comprehension for the kids.
Empowering Students
As I was sitting on the train, riding back to New York City, I was thinking about how comprehension is a way to empower our students. If our students understand what they are reading, that is so powerful for them. And, teaching them how to make sense of a text that is more challenging is essential so that our students continue to read and to want to read.