Reading Comprehensionthe ability to make meaning out of text.

Students must:• Be able to make personal connections with the text

• Understand meaning of vocabulary used

• Understand text structure

• Understand purpose for reading

Reading Comprehension SkillsDecoding

• Ability to use letter-sound relationships to decipher words

Fluency• Automaticity, appropriate reading rate

Vocabulary knowledge• Breadth, and depth, of vocabulary knowledge is

important, i.e., not just the number of words students know, but the depth of their understanding

Background knowledge• A conceptual framework, or context, into which students

can fit new ideas

Knowledge of comprehension strategies

Teaching Comprehension to ELLsIssue:

Limited vocabulary

Different background knowledge

Lack of effective strategies for comprehension

Solution:

Explicit teaching of vocabulary

Preview unfamiliar concepts/ideas before reading. Create connections to familiar concepts

Teach comprehension strategies through modeling

Modeling Reading

Model effective reading strategies, such as

re-reading.

This part didn’t make sense.

I think I’ll re-read to see if I get it the second time.

Teaching VocabularyFocus lesson on key words

Teach vocabulary intentionally• Explicit definitions

• Use cognates when possible

• Use “student-friendly” definitions

• Writing activities• Classroom discussions

Use context to teach words with multiple meanings

Vocabulary Strategy: Index CardsInclude:

• Cognates• Synonyms/Antonyms• Picture• Other concepts that help them relate to the word

Help students “own” words• Interacting with the vocabulary helps students

understand that words aren’t just something they need to study

• By creating their own meaningful definitions, students are empowered to analyze new English vocabulary, and draw on their own knowledge as a resource

Preparing for Reading

Establish goals for reading• Anticipation guides• Focus questions• Making predictions• “Gist” statements

• These are “golden nugget” statements: concise ideas about what might happen based on provided information from the text (such as key vocabulary).

Focus on vocabulary concepts• Preview key words & other vocabulary

Explore/activate background knowledge• Provide bridges between new concepts and what

children already know

Becoming Bilingual: Two Languages at Once

Webster Elementary, Long Beach, CA

Video

Role of Native Language

Strong literacy skills in native language transfer to second language

• The level of reading skills in native language is an important predictor of successful second language reading acquisition

“The effects of primary language instruction

are modest, but they are real and reliable.”

— Claude Goldenberg

Transferable Literacy SkillsUnderstanding symbolic relationships

• Print awareness• Phonological awareness• Decoding skills

Comprehension strategies

Concepts• Cause and effect• Sequencing

Comprehension Strategies for ELLs

Questioning• Ask and answer questions about readings

Summarizing

Using graphic organizers

Monitoring comprehension as students read

Using text characteristics to aid comprehension • headings, bold type, etc.

Note taking

Strategies to use while reading

CognatesA word that is closely related to

another word in another language.

Remember• If students are using cognates it is important to make

the process obvious: highlight the strategy.

• Help students realize that using cognates is a tool for comprehension.

Using Cognate Word WallsWord walls are created by the teacher,

and the class, as a way to display vocabulary that they are using.

• A classroom might have large posters with different letters of the alphabet at the top. 

• The posters have cognates written on them in alphabetical order. 

• Students can add cognates as they discover them and refer to the lists when they are reading to see if they can get the meaning that way.

Making PredictionsYounger children

• Based on pictures

Older children• Graphs• Illustrations

Language FunctionsNarrative text

• Vocabulary for description• Adjectives

• Comparative language

Re-telling• Vocabulary for order & sequencing

• First, next, afterwards

Helping ELLs Achieve Academic Proficiency

Finding important information in text

Labeling

Working with information in alternative ways• Help make concepts concrete

• Using play dough to create a cell in biology class enables students to use academic vocabulary during the process.

Social vs. Academic ProficiencySocial proficiency

• Language used in day-to-day interactions

• Variety of cues facilitate comprehension

• Environment, gestures, facial expressions, etc.

Academic proficiency

• Language used in textbooks

• More abstract

• Higher order skills

Strategies for Effective ReadingRelate vocabulary to cognates

Use cues from illustrations

Re-read• Excellent strategy for building fluency and reading

rate.

Read aloud• Practice comprehension skills through listening to oral

reading.

Keep reading logs

Language Strategies for MasteringAcademic English

Using description• Characteristics• Locations• Dimensions

Asking and answering questions

• What• When• Where• Who• Why

Signal words• Sequence

• After, before, finally, now, then, while, etc.

• Restatement or synonym• Also, for example, just

as, too, etc.

• Contrast and compare• Like, similar to, etc.• But, unlike, yet, etc.

Facilitating ComprehensionTeacher should preview text for:

• Words highlighted in text book• Words that ELL’s might have difficulty with• Definitions provided within text

• Important to point out to ELLs how to find these.

Give ELLs vocabulary needed for asking for help, or further explanation of text• “I don’t understand. Can you explain it another way?”

Becoming Bilingual: Beyond Survival English

Heritage Elementary School, Woodburn, OR

Video

Strategy: FrontloadingThe process of inputting as much

information as possible about a reading before the students read on their own

in order to increase comprehension. 

Examples:• Highlighting new vocabulary words• Making direct connections to students’ background

knowledge• Previewing the pictures to make predictions (no

reading) • Previewing the text to make predictions

“Tea Party”

A pre-reading activity to help students anticipate what is next in a text

• Teachers write down phrases directly from text onto index cards, repeating them at least twice (you want multiple cards of same phrases).

• Students each get a card and walk around reading as many of their classmate’s cards as they can in 5 minutes (or so).

• Students group to discuss the information they’ve read, and, as a group, write a statement about what they think the story will be about, based on the information from the cards.

Tools for Helping ELLsGrasp the Full Picture

Graphic Organizers• A way to visually organize or represent concepts

Examples: • timelines• semantic maps• story maps• Venn diagrams• cause-effect charts

More Tools: Thinking MapsHelp break down reading and concepts into manageable parts so students interact more effectively with the text.

• Set up structure in “bubbles” or “double bubbles” or other configuration that makes it easy for ELL students to see the relationship between vocabulary and concepts.

• Allows teachers to do a comprehension check in a meaningful way and encourage students to support each other in their learning.

Additional Tool: Sentence StartersHelp students with limited English language skills “get started” on a response.

Teacher models appropriate academic language structure by starting a sentence that students will finish.

• I think the elephant ran away because ___________ • When I read about _____________ it reminded me of

_____________ because ______________

• According to _____________ , _________________

Scaffolding InformationThe process of breaking down a

concept into smaller, manageable parts that can then be introduced with

support from the teacher. 

Example of scaffolding for responding to a story: • For very beginning students the teacher may want

them to “say” what they think while the teacher writes it down.  Then the students copy the dictation.

• Higher level students may be given starter statements by the teacher and asked to complete them in their own words, “After Goldilocks went to sleep?.”

• And finally, students who are very proficient are expected to respond in writing on their own.

The How-to of Explicit Instruction1. Determine the specific strategy to be taught.

2. Make sure your text facilitates the practice of that strategy.

3. Use a direct statement to tell your students exactly what strategy they will be learning.

4. Model the strategy for students out-loud (a think-aloud).

5. Give students multiple ways to practice the strategy.

6. Deconstruct why this strategy is useful. Identify contexts for using this strategy.

7. Repeat these steps when you change genres but use the same strategy.

8. Allow students to become independent users of the strategy.

Continually Monitor ComprehensionStrategy: Think, Pair, Share

• Why do you think … ?• Pair-up and share what you think with your partner,

talk about differences• Share with the rest of the group

Don’t ask “yes” or “no” questions• Make sure students have to elaborate on their answer

Cross-check

Reading for Meaning: Practicing Good Strategies

Frank Love Elementary School, Bothell, WA

Video

Engaging Students in ReadingHelp students understand that we read for

information

Ask students questions• Find answers while reading

Have students ask questions• Make predictions• Compare predictions to what actually happens in the

story

Interacting with TextStruggling readers are often unaware that reading is an active process and they are engaging with the author about the text continually.

This interaction happens through predicting, recognizing causality, questioning, clarifying, and responding to what is read.

Help students interact with text• Write notes or reactions to text

Analyze words• Teach word families

Strategy: SWBSSomebody

• Character in the story

Wants• What’s the issue?

But• What is the problem?

So• Resolution

Story GrammarStructure of a text:

• Characters• Settings• Problem/Issue• Solution/Outcome

Explicit instruction in story grammar is useful for ELLs.

Cultural Differences Affecting Comprehension

Story grammar• Varies by culture

• In Western cultures story grammar is linear – cause & effect

• In Spanish, the subject is often inferred from the verb, rather than stated explicitly

Background knowledge• i.e. Family reunion

• Mixed ages

• i.e. Holidays and celebrations

TipsTry strategies such as Think, Pair, Share

Get your students to use second language

Check comprehension constantly

Try to link academic information to ELLs personal lives

Teach comprehension in all content areas.

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