COMPREHENSIOCOMPREHENSIONN

Phyllis Ferguson

Reflection Activity

What is your current understanding about comprehension instruction in the classroom?

Desired Outcomes

• Know the process of “think alouds” to intentionally model and habituate the use of comprehension strategies.

• Identify and practice strategies that tenable students to comprehend text before, during and after the reading.

• Recognize and practice different ways to scaffold instruction

What Research says about Comprehension

Comprehension is the single most important factor in high achievement Explicit comprehension instruction K-12 across all curricular areas is essentialSkills and thinking processes modeled by the teacher to encourage intentional thinkingCollaboration and discussion of text with peers—strengthen comprehension

Most beneficial student strategies: Comprehension monitoring

Cooperative learningUse of graphic and semantic organizers

Question answering with immediate feedback

Question generation (self-questioning) Story structureSummarizingVisualization

What Research says about Comprehension

No one disagrees that the goal of proficient reading is to

comprehend text.Moats 2002

The goal of developing comprehension should go hand in hand with the goal of developing sound-letter knowledge…

…even for the youngest readers.Duke and Pearson, 2002

Essential Components of Comprehension

•Decoding skills•Development of sight words•Fluency•Vocabulary•Extensive Reading•Relating to prior knowledge

Pressley, 2000

So, how can we teach students to better comprehend text?

By understanding how we comprehend as we read…

…and by explicitly teaching students how to comprehend as

they read.

How do we comprehend

when we read?

What is a Think Aloud?

What can you Think Aloud About?

• Predictions• Connections• Questions• Mental Picture• Background knowledge• Inferences

• Important Ideas• Summaries• Monitoring• Fixups

– Meaning level– Word level

Gratitude

The street lights were a warm welcome from the oncoming chill of darkness. The park bench’s curvature felt familiar under his tired old spine. The wool blanket from the Salvation Army was comfortable around his shoulders and the pair of shoes he’d found in the dumpster today fit perfectly. God, he thought, isn’t life grand.

Andre Hunt

Think-alouds can provide immeasurable

help. They make us slow down and take a look at our own reading processes.

Wilhelm. 2001

ACTIVITY: Think Aloud

• Pair up• Partner # 1 reads text• Think aloud before, during and after the

reading..• Partner #2 writes reader’s thinking

My ThinkingBefore Reading During Reading After Reading

My ThinkingBefore Reading During Reading After Reading

ACTIVITY: Think Aloud

• Switch roles• Partner # 2 reads text• Think aloud before, during and after the

reading..• Partner #1 writes reader’s thinking

My ThinkingBefore Reading During Reading After Reading

My ThinkingBefore Reading During Reading After Reading

Tips on Using a Think Aloud

•Keep practicing and the process will become easier for you over time.

•Prepare your think aloud in advance. Put your thoughts on post-its and keep these near the text.

•Use only one or two strategies first.

•Can be done during read aloud, shared reading, or small group instruction.

For Reluctant Readers• Have a copy of think aloud text on

overhead so that students can see the point you are “thinking about.”

• Use highlighters, pointers, etc. to demonstrate points of thought.

• Make clear connections between concepts the students understand

• Don’t overdo thinking. Give a few clear examples.

Reflection Activity

Revisiting Think Alouds

Now that you have thought about your reading…

…how do you use that understanding?

BEFORE, DURING &

AFTER

READING

A newspaper is better than a magazine, and a seashore is a better place than a street. At first, it is better to run than walk. In addition, you may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it’s easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get close. One needs lots of room. Rain soaks in very fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose from it, however, you willnot get a second chance.

How Can Comprehension Strategies Be Taught?

• I Tell (Explanation)

• I Do (Modeling)

• We Do (Guided Practice)

• You Do (Application)

• You Show (Application)(Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001)

Effective Comprehension strategy instruction is explicit, but not segmented or artificial.

Teach Comprehension Before Reading To build student background knowledge by…• Previewing

Picture walk

Minimal Cues

Cloze

What already know – Web/KWL• Subject• Structure• Author

• Setting a purpose

– to respond

– to explore ideas

– to get information

– to clarify thinking

– to extend thinking

to enjoy and appreciate

• Asking questions about information or ideas related to the text

• Predicting

• Introduce needed vocabulary

Picture Walk

• Imbeds vocabulary• Establishes purpose• Encourages prediction• Assesses prior knowledge

Minimal Cues

• “Wheel of Fortune”• All text as blanks or start with some cues• Focuses attention on the blending of the

use phonics, syntax as connected to meaning

• Introduces test and entices the readers

Cloze• Blanks for key words

– Focus on making meaning– Forces the integration of the cueing systems

• Assisted – blanks with initial sounds – Meaningful use of phonics– Focus on making meaning– Forces the integration of the cueing systems

Modified Cloze

I______ as ______ as Grandma _______ me; I ______ going to ______because of that darn _______ in the ___________.

Assisted Cloze

I’d l_______ in the soft s_____ in my b____ l___________ to his b____________.

L______ and f_______, l________ and f________.

Webbing Ideas

What animals liveOn a farm?

Horse Pig

Chicken

Cow

Lamb

Goat

ACTIVITY: Before Reading

• Look at the text provided• Suggest “Before Reading” activities

Preview

Set a purpose

Ask questions

Predict

Introduce needed vocabulary

Teach Comprehension During Reading

• So that students can monitor their understanding by…– Knowing when they understand– Knowing when they don’t understand– Knowing how they know– Knowing what to do about – Knowing the rate at which to read – making

adjustments

STRATEGIES – During Reading

To gain, regain, or clarify meaning

• Pictures what is read --Visualization– Read the text– Picture the information in your brain– Plan on how to draw it on paper– Draw and label the picture on paper.

ACTIVITY: VisualizationRead the text, visualize and create the granod.

A granod is an animal. It has a long oval-shaped body. The granod has a long neck and tail. The top of the neck, back, and tail are covered by a row of triangular-shaped plates. The granod’s head is shaped lie a long triangle. It has big eyes, and eyebrows that stick out. It also has big nostrils. Its body is covered with scales. The granod has four short leg. At the end of each leg is a foot with five long toes. Each toe has a sharp claw at its end. The granod has two wings attached to its body. These are located behind the front legs towards the top of its back. Granods may be many different colors, but usually, they are green and yellow, or red and yellow.

STRATEGIES – During Reading• Confirm or conflict with predictions

– DLTA – DRTA

Connects emotionally and intellectually to the text

Allows continuous construction of meaning

Movement – increases brain compatibility

• Asking questions about text– “RIGHT THERE QUESTIONS” to locate

specific information – show proof • Who• What• Where• When• Why

Create 5 RIGHT THERE questions for: Penny Pencil was long, thin, and yellow.

She was a number 2 pencil. Ahe lived in

and orange pencil box on a child’s desk. She liked to draw pictures, but she didn’t like to do school work. Her favorite time of day was when the child she belonged towent home. When she was alone in her pencil box, she slept and dreamt of writing beautiful poems that would make her

famous.

• Asking questions– “”PUT IT TOGETHER” QUESTIONS:’

• Use information from more than one sentence• Combines answers from different parts of text• Gives students a chance to connect

– Text to text – Text to self– Author to text

Use of Context Clues words that say “stop don’t look in the dictionary”

• If the context clue is: is, are was, were, or, such as, or means, the definition will be found AFTER the word and the context clue.

• If the context clue is: are known as, is known as, is called, or are called, the definition will be in front of the word you need to know the meaning of.

Try it!• _____________is water that falls to the earth as

rain or snow.• Water that falls to the earth is called

____________.• __________ are a light snow which falls for a

short time.• A light snow that falls for a short time is known

as ___________.• _____________ means to pile up.

• In a blizzard. Snow ___________, or piles up.

• Connecting new information to prior knowledge

• Classifying information

• Categorizing

Integrating New Concepts

Utilizing and Creating Graphic Organizers

• To create scaffolds for learning and retaining

• Organize learning• Connect text to:

– Information – prior, current, essential– Life– Author’s purpose – Text

Teach Comprehension After Reading

So that students can bring closure by…• Remembering information• Organizing information• Summarizing• Evaluating ideas• Making applications• Responding

• Look at text provided

• Suggest “during reading”activites– Monitoring– Visualization– Confirming or conflicting’– Ask questions– Integrate information– Graphic Organizers

ACTIVITY: During Reading

STRATEGIES – After Reading

Remembering Information• Use notes to understand the text• Answer questions posed before and during

reading• Draw conclusions based on valitdity • Interpret and reflect

STRATEGIES – After Reading

Organizing Information• Create outline of key words

– Look think speak• Sort and classify• Compare and contrast• Make connections within and among

texts

Comparing Words• like• same as• more• Similar• likewise• and, as well as• also, too• just as, as do, as did, as

does

• both

Contrasting Words• unlike• in contrast to• different from• less• whereas• however• but• as opposed to…

• on the other hand

Words to Use C/C

Summarizing

• Main ideas

• Sections of the text

STRATEGIES – After Reading

•Take succinct but complete notes – key words

•Pull out main ideas

•Focus on key details

•Break out the larger ideas

•Look, think, speak

•Write only enough to convey the gist

Summarizing

STRATEGIES – After Reading

Evaluate ideas• Evaluate learning in terms of original purpose

for reading• Evaluate texts according to criteria

– Author's life– Author’s slant/bias– Timelines/time period– Sources

STRATEGIES – After Reading

Making Application• Use information• Create • Demonstrate understanding, drama, art, charts, diagrams, reader’s theater

Respond

• Interpret and reflect on the text

• Personal response

• Reformulation

STRATEGIES – After Reading

• Look at the text provided

• Suggest “After Reading” activities– Remembering information– Organizing information– Summarizing– Evaluation– Application– Respond

ACTIVITY: After Reading

…there is little reading comprehension instruction in schools. In fact, comprehension is often tested, but rarely taught.

Durkin, 1978, Pressley and Wharton-McDonald, 1998