Strategies for teaching Comprehension READING ALOUD Informational Texts at the primary level

1. Strategies for teaching ComprehensionREADING ALOUD Informational Texts at the primary level CI 561 Ann Carlson, Ann Fehrenbach, Janet Thomson, Eri Russo, Patty Veitenheimer

2. INTRODUCTION “Research has shown that many children who read at the third grade level in grade 3 will not automatically become proficient comprehenders in later grades. Therefore, teachers must teach comprehension explicitly, beginning in the primary grades and continuing through high school.” RAND Reading Study Group, 2002

3. Teaching Comprehension Explicit teaching should include information about what the strategy is, when it is used, how it is used, and why it is worth using. “The Case for Informational Text”

4. What to consider? • Knowledge about the text content • Knowledge about the text structure • Pragmatic knowledge • Knowledge about the social/situational context

5. Explicit Instruction Think Alouds Readers use strategies • Modeling and thinking aloud is one of the best ways to teach any comprehension strategy. Strategies That Work Stephanie Harvey and Ann Goudvis • Before the reading • During the reading • After the reading

6. Before Reading “When we start any new book we want to identify our purpose for reading, so there is an important question we always want to ask before we start….” “Is this an information book or a story book?” Santoro, Chard, Howard and Baker Choose appropriate text Set purpose for reading Activate prior knowledge Preview text Identify vocabulary

7. Reader Strategies • Predicting and inferring • Purpose setting • Retelling • Questioning • Monitoring • Visualizing • Connecting • Evaluating (Comprehension: Stategic Instruction for K-3 Students Gretchen Owocki)

8. During Reading “Proficient listeners and readers are always generating questions as they read…Questioning is an important strategy because it helps children Move deeply into text Think more about what they read Organize their thinking Frame the pursuit of new understandings Locate specific information Think about unstated ideas (themes, goals, intents, meanings) (Owocki)

9. Reader Strategies • Predicting and inferring • Purpose setting • Retelling • Questioning • Monitoring • Visualizing • Connecting • Evaluating (Comprehension: Stategic Instruction for K-3 Students Gretchen Owocki

10. After Reading The goal of after reading strategies is multi-faceted; to develop and clarify interpretations of text, to help students recall what they have read, and to connect old and new information. Additionally, following up on before and during strategies is crucial to cement comprehension. (NRP Report)

11. Reader Strategies • Predicting and inferring • Purpose setting • Retelling • Questioning • Monitoring • Visualizing • Connecting • Evaluating (Comprehension: Stategic Instruction for K-3 Students Gretchen Owocki)

12. CONCLUSION “Much of our responsibility when teaching reading is to make what is implicit, explicit. Explicit instruction means that we show learners how we think when we read…. We explicitly teach reading comprehension strategies so that readers can use them to construct meaning.” (Strategies That Work Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis)

13. Keys to teaching comprehension • Know your readers • Know your text • Know the reading process

14. “Probably the most important characteristic of effective readers is that they are active….Readers bring their understandings and ideas to the text to create meaning.” (Owocki and Pardo)

15. Resources • Bibliography • Penny A. Bishop, C. R. (2006). Read Smarter, not harder: Global reading Comprehension strategies. The Reading Teacher , 66-75. • The Comprehension Committee at the Center for the Improvement of Early Reading Achievement. (2004). 10 Research-Based Principles of Comprehension Instruction. • Duke, N. K. (2004). What research says about reading. Educational Leadership , 40-44. • Guiding Readers and Writers: Teaching Comprehension, G. a. (2001). Irene Fountas, Gay Su Pinnell. Portsmouth: Reed Elseviser Inc. • Goudvis, S. H. (2007). Strategies that Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement. Portland: Pembroke Publishers Lts.

16. Goudvis, S. H. (2007). Strategies that Work: Teaching Comprehension for Understanding and Engagement. Portland: Pembroke Publishers Lts. Denise D. Nessel, J. M. (2000). Thinking Strategies for Student Achievement: Improving Learning Across the Curriculum. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press. Owocki, G. (2003). Comprehension: Strategic Instruction for K-3 Students. Portsmouth: Heinemann. Pardo, L. S. (2004). What every teacher needs to know about comprehension. The Reading Teacher , 272-280. Lana Edwards Santoro, D. J. (2008). Making the Very Most of Classroom Read-Alouds to Promote Comprehension and Vocabulary. The Reading Teacher , 396-408 Catherine Snow, P. G. (2005). Knowledge to Support the Teaching of Reading. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel. Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

17. Websites • http://www.readingrockets.org/article/3479 • http://www.readwritethink.org • http://www.readingrockets.org/article/16287 • http://www.readingrockets.org/article/21454 • http://www.readingrockets.org/article/343 • http://www.ciera.org/library/instresrc/compprinciples/index.html