Comprehension!

Meghan Nagle
Comprehension
Comprehension- creative, multifaceted process in which children
engage with and think about the text.
The main goal of reading instruction.
Readers must comprehend the text to learn from the experience.
Readers activate background knowledge and think about what they
are reading and then they apply cognitive and metacognitive
strategies to understand the text in comprehension.
Levels of Thinking
Readers use 4 levels of thinking when using comprehension.
Literal comprehension- readers pick out the big ideas, sequence details, notice
similarities and differences, and identify explicitly stated reasons.
Inferential comprehension- readers integrate their own knowledge with the
information presented in the text.
Critical comprehension- Readers analyze symbolic meanings, distinguish fact from
opinion, and draw conclusions.
Evaluative comprehension- Readers judge the quality of texts.
Reader Factors
Readers factors include the background knowledge children bring to
the reading process, the strategies they use while reading, and their
engagement in the reading experience.
Background knowledge- children activate their world and literary
knowledge to link what they know to what they are reading.
Vocabulary- children recognize the meaning of familiar words and
apply word-learning strategies to understand what they are reading.
Fluency- readers have cognitive resources available to understand
what they are reading.
Comprehension Strategies- children actively direct their reading,
monitor their understanding, and troubleshoot comprehension
problems when they occur.
Comprehension Skills- children automatically note details that support
big ideas, sequence events, and use other skills.
Engagement- children who meet the pre- requisites for
comprehension and apply comprehension strategies are more likely to
be engaged with the text.
Pre-Requisites for
Comprehension
Background Knowledge- Background knowledge is built when teachers
determine whether or not the child lacks world or literary knowledge and then
they provide experiences, visual representations, and talk to build the
concepts needed for a specific book.
Vocabulary- Childrens knowledge of words is important because it is difficult
to decode and comprehend texts.
Fluency- When children are fluent readers they recognize words quickly and
are able to focus on comprehending the text than figuring out what the words
mean.
Comprehension
Strategies
Activating Background Knowledge- Readers make connections between what they
already know and the information in the text
Connect- Readers make text to self, text to world, and text to text links
Determining Importance- Readers notice the big ideas in the text and the
relationships among them
Drawing Inferences- Readers use background knowledge and clues in the text to
read between the lines
Evaluating- Readers evaluate the text itself and their reading experience
Monitoring- Readers supervise their reading experience, checking that they are
understanding the text
Predicting- Readers make thoughtful guesses about what will happen and then read
to confirm their predictions
Questioning- Readers ask themselves literal and higher level questions about the text
Repairing- Readers identify a problem interfering with comprehension and then solve
it
Setting a purpose- Readers identify a broad focus to direct their reading through the
text
Summarizing- Readers paraphrase the big ideas to create a concise statement
Visualizing- Readers create mental images of what they are reading
Teaching About Reader
Factors
Involving children in authentic reading activities every day.
Providing children access to well-stocked classroom libraries.
Teaching children to use comprehension strategies.
Ensuring that children become fluent readers.
Providing opportunities for children to talk about the books they read.
Linking vocabulary instruction to underlying concepts.
Activities that Promote
Comprehension
K-W-L Charts
Read-alouds, Shared Reading, Read to self
Class Charts
Reading Conferences
Brainstorming
Reading Logs
Create visual summaries on charts using words, diagrams, and pictures
Create open-mind portraits
ELL Learners
When choosing books, teachers consider the three pre-requisites and the childs level of
English Language development.
Topic- Do children have adequate background knowledge about the topic?
Vocabulary- Do children know the meaning of most of the words related to the topic?
Linguistic Style- Are the books sequence patterns and language features familiar?
Page Layout- Does the book have an unusual or confusing format?
Reading Level- Is the books reading level appropriate?
Assessment
Comprehension Thinking Strategies Assessment
Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA2)
Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs)
Informal Assessments- Running Records, Story Re-
tellings, Think-Alouds
Text Factors
Genres- Informational books, non-fiction, and poetry.
Text Structures- Authors use structures of patterns and
emphasize the big ideas. Ex. sequence, comparison,
cause and effect
Text Features- Authors use text features to achieve a
particular effect in their writing. Ex. foreshadowing,
indexes, repetition
Impact of Text Factors
It is important for students to understand the many text factors because then
they will be able to correctly identify genres of texts, describe the overall
structure of stories and non-fiction texts, explain how the structure of a text
contributes to its meaning and style, and analyze how visual and multimedia
elements contribute to a text.
These are the reading standards for narrative and nonfiction texts that are
emphasized by the Common Core State Standards for English Language
Arts. If the students effectively understand these standards, then they will be
able to effectively move on to the next level of learning.
Elements of Story
Structure
Plot- sequence of events involving characters in conflict
situations
Characters- people or personified animals in the story
Setting- location, weather, time period, and time of the story
Point of View- the perspective of the story
Theme- underlying meaning of the story
Narrative Devices
Dialogue- written conversations in which characters speak to each other
Flashbacks- an interruption, often taking readers back to the beginning of the story
Foreshadowing- hints about events to come later in the story to build readers minds
Imagery- descriptive words and phrases used to create a picture in readers minds
Suspense- an excited uncertainty about the outcome of conflict in a story
Symbol- a person, place, or thing used to represent something else
Five Expository Text
Structures
Description- the author describes a topic by listing characteristics and examples. Cue Words: for
example, characteristics are
Sequence- the author lists items or events in numerical or chronological order. Cue Words: first,
second, third, next, then, and finally
Comparison- the author explains how two or more things are alike and how they are different. Cue
Words: in contrast, alike, same as, on the other hand, different
Cause and Effect- the author lists one or more causes and the resulting effect or effects. Cue
Words: reasons why, ifthen, as a result, therefore, and because
Problem and Solution- the author states a problem and lists one or more solutions. Cue Words:
problem is, dilemma is, puzzle is, solved, questionanswer
Poetic Devices
Alliteration- repetition of sounds in nearby words
Imagery- words and phrases that appeal to the
senses and evoke mental pictures
Metaphor- a comparison between two unlikely
things without using like or as
Onomatopoeia- words that imitate sounds
Repetition- words, phrases, or lines that are repeated
for special effect
Rhyme- words ending with similar sounds used at
the end of lines
Rhythm- the internal beat in a poem that is felt when
poetry is read aloud
Simile- a comparison incorporating the words like
or as
Teaching about Text
Factors
Mini Lessons
Comprehension Strategies
Reading and Writing Activities
Stories- Story boards, Hot Seat, Drawing and Diagrams, Story Retelling,
Open Mind Portraits
Non Fiction- Semantic Feature Analysis, Story Boards, Writing
Informational Books
Poetry- Interactive Read Alouds, Choral Reading, Poetry Picture Books,
Writing Poems
Assessment of Text
Factors
Reading and Writing projects created by the
Teacher
Cognitive Development
The key cognitive targets for comprehension are activating background
knowledge (recalling), predicting, evaluating, monitoring, and repairing. It is
important that children have all these skills when reading texts because then
they will be able to effectively comprehend what they are reading or learning.
Childrens brains develop at different times. What a third grader might not
understand, a fifth grader has mastered. It is important to understand what is
developmentally appropriate for each student.
When students activate their background knowledge, they are recalling past
information and making connections between what they have learned and what
they are learning now.
Cognitive Development
When students are predicting, they are making educated guesses as to what
will happen in the text they are reading.
When students are evaluating, they are reflecting on their experience, their
ease in reading the text, the texts quality, their use of comprehension
strategies, how they solved reading problems, their opinions about the author,
their interest in the text, and the knowledge they have gained from reading the
text.
When students are monitoring, they are regulating the reader and text factors
at the same time and asking themselves questions like, Whats my purpose for
reading? or How does the author use text structure?
Cognitive Development
When students are repairing, they are fixing problems that arise
while reading. Children use the monitoring strategies when they
are confused or bored, cant remember what they have just read,
or they are not asking questions. They go back and re-read the
text, skip ahead and read, check the meaning of an unfamiliar
word, examine the structure of a confusing sentence, use picture
clues, learn more about unfamiliar topics related to the text, or
ask for assistance.
Cognitive Development
Pre-Kindergarten- Children actively engage with literature as
teachers read aloud and respond through talk, drama and drawing.
They know that texts differ by genre and they can identify examples
of stories, informational books, and poems.
Kindergarten- Children use strategies including predicting and
connecting to comprehend books that teachers have read aloud.
They tell well-organized stories, identify big ideas in non-fiction
books, and notice poetic devices in poems.
Cognitive Development
First Grade- Children transfer listening strategies theyve learned
to reading and use repairing to solve reading problems. They
apply what theyve learned about text factors when crafting brief
stories, informational books, and poems.
Second Grade- Children learn additional comprehension strategies
including visualizing, summarizing, and repairing. They classify
books by sub-genre and pick out examples of text structures and
text features in books they are reading.
Cognitive Development
Third Grade- Children vary how they use comprehension strategies to
read and respond to stories, informational books, and poems. They draw
diagrams to highlight story elements and expository text structures, and
they identify poetic forms or devices.
Fourth Grade- Children become more adept at drawing inferences and
thinking critically to understand they books they are reading. They analyze
story elements, use expository text structures in writing, and apply poetic
forms in poem they are writing.
References
Tompkins, G. E. (2014). Chapter 8. Facilitating Children's
Comprehension: Text Factors.Literacy in the early grades: A
successful start for PreK-4 readers and writers (4th ed., ). Boston,
Mass.: Allyn and Bacon ;.
Tompkins, G. E. (2014). Chapter 9. Facilitating Children's
Comprehension: Text Factors.Literacy in the early grades: A
successful start for PreK-4 readers and writers (4th ed., ). Boston,
Mass.: Allyn and Bacon ;.