Supporting Comprehension

By: Edica Liebl

Reading and Literacy Growth (Read – 6707)

Walden University

Victoria Spera

Supporting Comprehension

• The primary goal of reading is to understand what we read. Comprehension is not just word recognition. Instead, comprehension is a multifaceted process that involves active and intended cognitive effort on the part of the reader, during reading. Meaning is formed by the reader in relationship to the text with purposeful reading (Hollenbeck & Saternus, 2013, p. 559). It is imperative that students receive meaningful experiences with a variety of texts. Teachers must provide explicit instruction in cognitive strategies that students need to use to understand the text, and the essential elements necessary for effective comprehension instruction (p. 559). This presentation will offer instructional strategies teachers use to support students on the road to becoming competent readers and research-based strategies students use to assist in comprehension.

Supporting Comprehension Cont.

• There are factors that influence reading comprehension,

in addition to cognitive aspects such as fluency. Crucial

features of comprehension strategies are the affective

aspects including metacognition, motivation and

engagement, epistemic belief, and self-efficacy (Afflerbach,

Cho, Kim, Crassas, & Doyle, 2013, p.441). These features

must be considered within instructional plans for reading

comprehension. How can each feature inform instruction?

Metacognition

• Thinking about thinking. Metacognition influences students’ reading achievement. As students proactively set goals, select and use strategies, and self-monitor they take control over their act of reading (Afflerbach, Cho, Kim, Crassas, & Doyle, 2013, p.441-442). Teachers guide students in developing thinking that is more deliberate by assisting them to realize how they are processing material. Readers can analyze their thinking process using techniques such as visualizing, questioning, and by synthesizing material. When teachers scaffold instruction and guide students through practice, these skills lead students to text understanding.

Motivation and Engagement

• Students are more motivated to read when teachers

create meaningful and engaging instruction that supports

student’s confidence. Teachers help students build

confidence in their ability to comprehend by providing a

learning environment that promotes students'

independence and instruction on how reading strategies

can be useful. Motivated readers choose to invest time and

effort in the reading process—for information gathering,

knowledge building, or personal enjoyment (Afflerbach,

Cho, Kim, Crassas, & Doyle, 2013, p.443).

Motivation and Engagement

Epistemic Belief

A Students level of knowledge about a topic is often related to prior knowledge. Prior knowledge provides the schema and a framework for comprehension. By making literacy experiences more relevant to students' interests and everyday life, teachers are building reading comprehension. Instruction that allows students to study the knowledge they bring to reading and the knowledge they gained from reading builds comprehension and critical thinking (Afflerbach, Cho, Kim, Crassas, & Doyle, 2013, p.445). Instruction should involve student epistemic beliefs to encouraging interest and comprehension.

Self-Efficacy

• Self-efficacy relates to students’ judgments of their

ability to perform at particular levels of achievement

(Afflerbach, Cho, Kim, Crassas, & Doyle, 2013, p.445). If

teachers emphasize student improvement and set realistic

goals, students may feel more confident as readers.

The Teacher

• To ensure every child becomes fully literate, teacher address the needs of all learner whether struggling or advanced learners (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016). Effective teachers have the ability to adjust their instruction to meet the needs of the learners. Although comprehension strategies may focus on the same skills, knowledgeable teachers understand that instructional plans support students at their instructional level and is delivered in a way to motivate students to engage in learning. Dynamic teachers know their students, are aware of their differences and provide the supports needed for all students to be successful.

Instructional Strategies/Methods

• “The persistent challenge in using standards as a tool for educational reform is that standards alone do not yield change in instructional practice” (Hollenbeck & Saternus, 2013)

• Instructional strategies are the methods teachers use to guide students’ learning. Models of research-based instructional activities feature graphic organizers, questioning, teacher modeling of “thinking aloud” and story maps. Teacher modeling is an essential element for student understanding of strategies they use as independent readers (Hallenbeck & Saternus, 2013).

Think Aloud

• “Think Aloud,” the first phase of a gradual release of

responsibility, is a research-based instructional strategy that

is critical to explicit comprehension instruction (Hollenbeck

& Saternus, 2013). The teacher models how to use a

particular strategy in a flexible and dynamic way to problem

solve while reading, using language that assist students in

hearing the inner language one has while reading (2013).

Graphic Organizers

• Graphic organizers provide a visual demonstration of the

teacher's thinking (Hollenbeck & Saternus, 2013). Graphic

organizers can be adapted for many strategies. They may

be used to build comprehension skills before, during, and

after reading. Using graphic organizers is a powerful

routine for teachers to use during guided practice within

the gradual release model (Reutzel & Cooter, 2016). Graphic

organizers are useful tool to organize information from non-

fiction text or to summarize a fictional text.

Instructional Strategies/Methods cont.

• Teachers must provide explicit teaching with clear and

concise instructional methods. Using a carefully structured

approach to introducing new skills, modeling new skills and

allowing ample practice for students to demonstrate

mastery of new learning. Comprehension instruction is

scaffolded with a gradual release of responsibility allowing

students time to build specific literacy concepts and skills

(Reutzel & Cooter, 2016).

•

Instructional Strategies/Methods cont.

•

Informing Instruction

• When designing comprehension instruction it is vital to

consider student reading levels, as well as the affective

aspects. Appropriate instructional strategies lead the

learner in discovering meaning while reading. Considering

the affective behaviors, engage students and allow them to

see their capabilities in using the strategies to comprehend

progressively difficult text.

Comprehension Strategies

• For Students to become confident, strategic readers, they need to understand the advantages of comprehension strategies (Hollenbeck & Saternus, 2013, p. 563). Comprehension strategies support the reader in making sense of what they have read. Teachers use Instructional strategies, explicit instruction, and guided practice to teach the reader how to use comprehension strategies, providing opportunities for students to adopt these strategies in the reading process. The Common Core State Standard indicates summarizing and inferring as comprehension strategies used in grade four through grade six (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012).

Comprehension Strategies cont.

Infer

• While reading, students use textual information as well as prior knowledge to aid them in understanding the text. A research-based practice that supports inferring is the Reading Response Journal (SDEL, 3013). This practice encourages the use of inferring strategies while reading and allows students to express their thoughts during the reading process. A Reader Response Journal will provide evidence of student use of the strategy based on individual prior knowledge and connections made with text. The Reading Response Journal affords students a chance to self-monitor their comprehension during reading, a critical skill for students (Laureate Education, 2014).

Infer

Summarize

• Summarizing is a key comprehension strategy that becomes

more critical and more difficult in the intermediate grades (SDEL,

2013). In the intermediate grades text become progressively

more challenging and reading purpose shifts to reading for

knowledge, in the content area. Reading in the content areas

demands solid reading comprehension skills. Vast amounts of

information to remember and process makes summarizing a

valued comprehension skill. A variety of tools can assist in

summarizing. The SEDL suggested using graphic organizers and

jigsaw strategies in collaborative groups (2013) The National

Reading Panel recommends collaborative group activities to

increases comprehension, motivation and engage students in

learning (Laureate Education, 2014).

• One size does not fit all! Teachers work with children

from diverse backgrounds, with a range of learning needs.

Differentiated instruction, an accommodating specific

approach to instruction is critical to student success. When

a teacher alters her teaching to design the best possible

learning experience for her students, she is differentiating

instruction.

Differentiated Instruction

• Both comprehension and instructional strategies are

easily modified for every unique learner’s needs. With

additional support for struggling learners and

differentiating text levels, all students will benefit. Students

have different needs, and teachers need to adjust

instruction to meet those needs.

Differentiated Instruction cont.

Differentiated Instruction

• Collaborative Strategic Reading (IRA, 2014a) is an instructional model where students, practice using comprehension tools in cooperative learning groups. The strategies used are: preview (predict), click and clunk (identify challenges and apply fix-up strategies), get the gist (find the main ideas), and wrap up (review new learning). Within the instructional structure, each process or strategy is taught explicitly, with teacher modeling and scaffoldedinstruction. Teachers guide the students through practice using the comprehension tools before using the combined approaches in independent student application.

Lesson Overview

• There are many factors that are vital in supporting learners in developing a toolbox of comprehension strategies. These factors focus on the purpose for reading using appropriate activities and explicit, scafolddedinstruction to teach comprehension. The consideration of instructional methods that keep critical components in mind will benefit the student’s abilities to enhance comprehension.

Conclusion

• Afflerbach, P., Cho, B.-Y., Kim, J.-Y., Crassas, M. E., & Doyle, B. (2013). Reading: What else matters besides strategies and skills?

The Reading Teacher, 66 (6), 440–448.

• Common Core State Standards Initiative. (2012b). English language arts standards: Reading: Foundational skills:

Kindergarten. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/RF/K

• Hollenbeck, A. F., & Saternus, K. (2013). Mind the comprehension iceberg: Avoiding titanic mistakes with the CCSS. The Reading

Teacher, 66(7), 558–568.

• International Reading Association (IRA) and National Council of Teachers of English. (2014a). ReadWriteThink. Retrieved from

http://www.readwritethink.org/search/?grade=13&resource_type=6&learning_objective=8

• Laureate Education (Producer). (2014). Conversations with Ray Reutzel: Supporting comprehension

[Audio file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

• SEDL. (2013). Cognitive elements of reading. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/reading/framework/elements.html

References