Comprehensio

nStrategic Instruction for K-3

Students

By: Caitlin Miller, Jamie Whalen, Kaitlyn Dalton, and Karen Graver

Chapter 1Making Meaning from Text

Making Meaning from Text

Reader are active Mature readers absorb the authors message and transact with it.Mature readers use background knowledge and experiences when they approach text.

Readers use knowledge about content

The more content the readers know, the deeper the meaning construction becomes.

Content knowledge is important to consider when evaluating children’s comprehension, and

when providing instruction.

Familiar content will be easier to read, discuss, re-tell, and remember.

Readers Use Knowledge About Structure

If a child recognizes the type of

text they are viewing it

will be easier for them to

understand.

Having a schema for

text structure provides a

framework for rethinking,

and reviewing what has

been read.

Readers Use Pragmatic Knowledge

Pragmatic knowledge (also known as sociocultural knowledge) has an influence on what a child interprets while reading.Pragmatic knowledge includes– Personal background– Linguistic background– Social background– Religious background– Cultural background– Economic background– Political background

Readers “Read” the Social/Situational Context

A reader’s goals shape the meaning that is constructed.

The goals determine the stance, or approach you take towards reading.

The expectations and kinds of pressures you place on children influence the

kinds of readers they become.

Readers Are Human

A child’s mood often effects what they learn from reading.

______________________________Self perceptions attitudes, and

interests also play a part in being a reader.

Chapter 2

Strategies for Comprehension

Strategies for Comprehension

What are strategies?

Predicting and Inferring

Purpose Setting

Retelling

Questioning

Deciding What’s Important

Monitoring

Visualizing

ConnectingEvaluating

Predicting and Inferring

In order to predict, readers must activate their prior knowledge and use it to think about what they are about to read.Inferring is an assumption where background knowledge is used to supply information not explicitly stated in the text.

Purpose Setting

Reading serves for many purposes– Reading for pleasure– Reading to find information– Reading to learn how to do something– Reading to satisfy curiosity

At an early age children should learn to set their own purposes for reading.

Retelling

Children must decide what are important parts to retell.They must create in their heads a logical sequence of events.Retelling involves children carefully thinking about what has been read.

Questioning

Proficient listeners and readers are always generating questions as they read.Children need to learn that questioning is an important part of reading, and that the answers to different kinds of questions are found in different places.

Monitoring

Effective readers are constantly considering the meaning of what they are reading.To teach monitoring, a teacher can read aloud to children, and think aloud on what the meaning of the text could be.

Visualizing Visualizing is a strategy that children use to transport themselves into the worlds of texts.They create sights, sounds, smells, tastes, physical emotions, and emotions.

ConnectingPersonal connections happen when a reader links their own knowledge and experiences to what they read.Connections between texts occur when children make associations between two written texts and use this to build a schem for the world.

Deciding What’s Important

Goals and Purposes

Text Structure

And text features all help to decide what is important.

EvaluatingInvolves all kinds of cognitive activities including:– Critiquing– Establishing opinions– Considering author intents and

viewpoints– Preparing to use and apply new

information gained from reading.

Chapter 3

A Framework For Comprehension Instruction

A FRAMEWORK FOR

COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION

Goals: Make sure that students engage, reflect and learn from what they read.

In order for students to comprehend the text, it is important that the text is

interesting and worth talking about to grasp the students attention.

Engaging Text

There are a variety of different texts that you could choose from to engage your students in the

classroom. Story books

Informational books

Newspapers

MagazinesThe selection of texts above offer a wide range of genres and enable students to connect, visualize

and question their reading in order to comprehend.

School and Family Home Literacies

Students may be familiar with literacies outside of school. They may be exposed

to reading materials at home that are not necessarily text books.

Recipe books, cereal boxes, religious material, e-mails and word documents are all examples of at home literacies.

To incorporate this in the classroom, teachers may ask the students to bring

these resources in for reading comprehension activities that the can

relate to.

Teacher Modeling

If you want your students to be successful readers, it is important that teachers demonstrate

appropriate skills needed.

Effective teachers support and facilitate students to develop a disposition for

comprehension.

Using different types of strategies can help the students better comprehend

what they are reading.

Ex: Turning the reading into a project.

Providing Time for Reading

It is extremely important to allow time throughout the day to let students read on their own. They can read independently or with

partners. Three questions you should consider as a

teacher:

1. What percentage of the day do my students actually spend reading?

2. What percentage of time in the literacy block do they actually spend time

reading?

3. What does my classroom library look like?

Providing Time for Reading

“In classrooms that have libraries, children read 50% more books than children without libraries”

(Getchen Owocki, pg 33)

Giving children a variety of books to read that are not always easy is a way to challenge their comprehension.

Scaffolding

“What children can do with guidance today, they are able to do on their own tomorrow” (Owocki, 35).

Here are five areas where scaffolding could be effective: •Joint problem solving

•Intersubjectivity

•Warmth and responsiveness

•Challenging but achievable tasks

•Promotion of self-regulation

Scaffolding

Joint problem solving

Intersubjectivity

A teacher and child interact to comprehend a book together.

The child and the teacher make meaning of what one another are trying to say.

Scaffolding

Warmth and responsiveness

Challenging but achievable tasks

Teacher observes what the student is capable of doing. Teacher will give support to pull deeper thinking from the student.

Tasks are challenging but with the help and support of the teacher, students are able to achieve them.

Scaffolding

Promotion of self-regulation

The teacher allows the student to control and discuss as much of the reading as he/she desires.

Literature Responses

Visual

Written

Dramatic

Oral

Taking a deeper look into the text

Literature Responses

Visual: Before writing, students can express what they know through art.

Examples: drawing, painting, modeling, sculpting

Written: Instead of starting to write a paper right away, using different types of written responses can enhance students’ to develop ideas.

Examples: personal connections, creating maps, questions and critiques.

Literature Responses

Dramatic: Presenting what students’ have read to an audience through different types of dramatic acts.

Examples: puppet shows, replaying a sceneOral: Students have the opportunity to express and clarify what they know about the text orally and can demonstrate a strong understanding of the text out loud.

Examples: any type of talk about the text

Observing, Documenting & Evaluating

It is important as a teacher to make sure you document the

progress each student is making. If you do not observe, document and evaluate each student, you will not be able to keep track and know the

strengths and weakness that students experience in reading

comprehension.

Ways to keep track

Drawings, questions, critiques, paintings.

Journal entries, story retellings, small group discussions.

Reading logsTo stay organized, you can keep track of each students progress by creating a binder with

enough room for each student and their work. This will serve as a strong purpose for planning instruction based off the students evaluations.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ways to Support Predicting and Inferring

Inference DiscussionsWritten Predictions and

InferencesActivating Prior Knowledge

Text Walks

Ways to Support Purpose Setting and Purpose

Meeting

Using Informational Text FeaturesReading for Pleasure

Charting Questions and AnswersGathering Information with a

Specific Purpose in Mind

Ways to Support Retelling

Oral RetellingsStory Maps

Informational Text OrganizersVisual Retellings

Retelling with Character and Personality Props

Reenactments

Ways to Support Questioning

Noticing QuestionsUnderstanding Question-

Answer RelationshipsGenerating Questions and

AnswersQuestioning the Author

Ways to Support Monitoring

Stopping to ThinkCoding

Repairing MeaningMaking Sense of New

Vocabulary

Ways to Support Visualizing

Visualization Discussions

Drawing

Exchanging Drawings

Story Theatre

Ways to Support Connecting

Personal Connections

Story Connections

Character and Personality Connections

Knowledge Connections

Connection Between Texts

Graffiti Boards

Ways to Support Children in Deciding What’s

ImportantDiscussions About What is ImportantIdeas and Details ChartTime LinesSequencingResearch ChartsFeature Analysis Charts

Genre StudiesAlphabet BooksAutobiographiesBiographiesNumber BooksStorybooksRecipe Books

Ways to Support Evaluating

Evaluation Discussions and Written Responses

AdvertisementsBook Reviews

PollsBook Talks

Evaluation Forms

Chapter 5Organizing and Implementing Literature

Circles

Literature Circles

Students read or write independently, respond independently, then come together

in small groups to discuss their thoughts.

Choosing the Literature

Choose a book that will open discussions with the students.

Choose books that relate to the students. (setting and characters)

Look for books that will connect to students’ prior knowledge, and

curriculum.

Reading the Books

Establish a purpose- Did you like the book

and why?

Focus on a goal- The teacher or child

should set this goal before reading.

This will help students look for

specific ideas when they are reading.

This will help them comprehend better

as they involve themselves in discussions.

Responding Individually

After the students have read their book, they will construct a visual or written response on what

they have read and share it with the circle.

Before the students’ share their response, the teacher will begin

discussion to lead them in the right direction.

Supporting the Circles

When a constructed response is complete, students will meet in

their circles. A group leader will be chosen.

Being a group leader includes:-starting the discussion

-collecting materials-making sure all students have shared their ideas

-recording information-sharing information with the class

Responding Collaboratively

After the students’ have met in groups they will come up with a response as a whole.

This does not need to be done every time they meet in their literature circles.

Responding collaboratively may be more effective sharing with the teacher than the whole class. This is because the class does not have the same knowledge of the book

as the teacher does.

Self-Evaluation

Students’ may use a chart to help them understand what they are learning.

Tell one important thing you learned today.

Tell one important question you asked or comment you made.

Tell what you did to be a good listener.

Tell what you could do to make your group run more smoothly. ( Owocki, 105)

Chapter 6Organizing and Implementing Partner

Reading

Partner ReadingTwo students reading a book together and understanding content through writing and talking.

Done once or twice a week

Promotes comprehension strategies

Promotes reading in a non-threatening context, and helps the students learn from each other.

Establishing the Environment

Put students in a safe environment so they feel comfortable to take risks and

try new techniques.

Partner reading allows the students to work together and brainstorm ways they can

work together.

Teachers need to create comfortable places for the children to work in.

Choosing the Literature

The students should read books they are interested in, that they have picked out at

the library, or they have brought in from home.

Teaming up the Students

All different kinds of combinations work in partner reading.Strong readers vs. weak readers, similar skill levels, talkative children vs. non-talkative childrenAll students who have English as a second language can discuss the literature in their native language because they better understand the content.

Reading FormatsAllow the students to choose their format, or

the teacher needs to assign them a specific way to do it.

-Take turns reading the same book

-Reading in unison with each other

-Read silently and then discuss

Observing There are many different ways to observe

the student’s progress.

Teachers need to document the

student’s literature competencies.

(One on one interviews)

Whole class observations

Chapter 7

Recommended Literature

Predicting

The more the student knows on a subject the more likely they will be able to predict.