Comprehension defined

1. Comprehension defined • _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (Smith) • The process of building a connection between what we know and what we do not know, or the new and the old (Searfoss & Readence) • Constructive, interactive process involving the reader, the text, and the context in which the text is read (all these vary) *Readers—amount & type of PK/BK, strategies they use, attitudes toward reading, work habits *Texts—genre, theme/ topic, style, difficulty level, appeal *Context—when, where, why a text is being read

2. Factors that Impede Comprehension • Too many difficult & unfamiliar words (word ID and vocabulary knowledge; poor decoding skills; automaticity) • Lack of prior knowledge about topic of text (schemata) • Lack of interest in topic (motivation) • Poor metacognitive awareness & lack of fix-up strategies; lack of text structure knowledge • Reader’s perception of his/her reading ability as poor (self-concept) • Lack of direction or unsure about purpose for reading (stance)

3. Text & Reader Problems that Impede Comprehension • Unknown word(s) used in unfamiliar way to reader • Concepts are unknown to reader • Reader misreads punctuation • Words/phrases given incorrect emphasis • Paragraph organization difficult to follow • Pronoun & antecedent relationships confused; relationships among ideas unclear • Relationships among paragraphs & sections not established • Reader becomes lost in details; key ideas misinterpreted • Reader has inadequate PK (BK) or a conflict exists between his PK & the text

4. Metacognition—monitoring strategies • Takes place during reading- an abstract ability—being conscious of one’s mental processes and reading behaviors and taking action to solve one’s reading problems when they arise while reading • Four major aspects of metacognition 1. knowing oneself as a reader (what reader knows, likes/dislikes, reading abilities, what’s easy & hard, etc. 2. regulating- reader guides his reading processes-knows what to read, how to read it, can put that knowledge to use 3. checking- reader evaluates own performance, aware when comprehension breaks down due to confusing word or sentence; also noting whether focus is on important info & engages in self-questioning to determine if goals are achieved 4. repairing- reader takes corrective action, uses fix-up strategies to correct problems in comprehension

5. Some Fix-up Strategies for Active Reading • Reread sentence or paragraph to clear up confusing point or provide context for difficult word • Reading to end of part or section to provide clarification • Reread section if fail to determine gist of it • Skim back through material if reader can’t remember special details • Slow down & adjust reading rate if text content is difficult, requiring closer reading • Look up any maps, diagrams, photos, charts, illustrations to provide clarification • Use glossary or dictionary to provide meaning for unknown words • Consult encyclopedia or other reference material to provide clarification of confusing concept

6. Three Levels of Comprehension #1 Literal Comprehension The reader reads the lines. Simile: like a warehouse – put raw material into the warehouse and take raw material out #2 Interpretive Comprehension The reader reads between the lines. Simile: like a factory – you turn the raw material into a new product #3 Critical Comprehension (Applied/ Evaluative) The reader reads beyond the lines. Simile: a customer or inventor – new uses or ideas are developed for the manufactured product

7. Skills of Literal Comprehension (#1) • Recall details – who, what, when, where-(organizational) • Follow written directions-(organizational) • Recall sequence of events-(organizational) • Identify stated cause-effect relationship-(organizational) • Contrast and compare information-organizational • Paraphrase – restate information in different words but mean the same as the author’s words-(organizational) • Identify stated main idea-(organizational)

8. Skills of Literal Comprehension (#1) continued • Identify character traits and actions-(organizational) • Understand symbols, abbreviations, and acronyms – translate abbreviated forms of words into meaningful units-(organizational) • Read for a stated purpose – determine information to be learned from the reading, formulate this information into questions, read to answer the question-(preparational)

9. Skills of Interpretive Comprehension (#2) • Predict outcomes- relate elements within a passage to each other in order to determine the result-(preparational) • Determine implied main idea –unstated main topic, idea, theme or message-(organizational) • Select implied cause-effect relationships –interpret from stated information the implied relationships in an event-(organizational) • Identify an implied sequence of events – infer from given information the order of ideas or information-(organizational) • Interpret figurative language-(elaboration) • Making inferences (schema-based-depends on BK; text-based-putting together 2+ bits of info from text)-(elaboration)

10. Skills of Interpretive Comprehension (#2) continued • Understand mood and emotional reactions –respond to imagery or feeling conveyed by the author-(elaboration) • Summarize information –condense the information read-(organizational) • Make generalizations –apply reasoning to given facts in order to make a decision-(elaboration) • Perceive relationships –identify similarities among ideas in a passage and relate or classify the ideas-(elaboration) • Draw conclusions –evaluate & judge given facts-(elaboration) • Make connections- Text to Text; Text to Self; Text to World-(elaboration)

11. Skills of Critical Comprehension (#3) • Differentiate between facts and opinions-(elaboration) • Interpret propaganda techniques –identify ideas or doctrines promoted by a special group-(elaboration) • Use problem-solving techniques-(elaboration) • Recognize fallacies in reasoning –recognize words used to create an illusion, causing illogical or unsound ideas to be relayed-(elaboration) • Identify relevant and irrelevant information-(elaboration)

12. Skills of Critical Comprehension (#3) continued • Determine reliability of the author-(elaboration) • Evaluate ideas and concepts across texts-(elaboration) • Apply what has been learned to the reader’s own purposes –see the relationship to what is read to one’s own situation and determine possible application, apply-(elaboration) • Evaluate character’s actions; judge or evaluate information based on theories, etc.; make moral decisions, judgments-(elaboration) • Place self in character’s shoes and evaluate, i.e. “If you were Brian, would you have …..? Why or why not?” or “If you were General Lee, or given what you know about R.E.L., would you have chosen to fight for the South or the North? Why or why not?”-(elaboration)

13. Activating Reader’s Prior Knowledge • General background knowledge from personal experience and specific topic or theme knowledge influences a student’s comprehension • Schema Theory – reader matches existing knowledge with what they are reading – file it , amend existing brain files! --Students may have an internal understanding of story structure or story grammar (schema for stories), thus narratives are easier to read and understand. • Situation Model Theory— working model (constructs present events of a story) and passage model (constructs awareness of whole story by building links between events/cause-effect, time connections) • Some Instructional Strategies to Activate/ Build Prior Knowledge *Anticipation Guide (Extended Anticipation Guide) *Concept Attainment *KWL (KWL Plus) *Picture Walk or Talking Drawing-(Previewing; Making Predictions) *Brainstorming

14. Zone of Proximal Development Lev Vygotsky – “zone of proximal development” Distance between actual development and potential development Social Constructivist nature of comprehension Independent functioning is a result of information already learned The “zone of proximal development” is what the child is capable of achieving with the assistance of a knowledgeable adult or capable peers as guides Guided Reading operates in this zone (instructional level) Literature Circles operates at the independent reading level, where the child can function on his own without the assistance of the adult or teacher

15. Instructional StrategiesDR-TA- and DL-TA • DR-TA (Directed Reading-Thinking Activity) **See Snyder textbook • Students read several pages, confirm or adjust predictions, predict again—Remember the three main question sequence… 1. ”What do you think?” or “What do you think will happen next?” 2. “Why do you think so?” or “What part of the story/text gave you a clue?” and 3. “Can you prove it?” or “What else might happen?”

16. Another Instructional StrategyReciprocal Teaching (RT) • Four Steps (Sequence) used in RT (also coincide with Comprehension Strategies)—Done in groups; each group member serves as a leader who follows this 4-step process with a section of the text; After leading group through the 4 steps with a section, then another group member becomes leader and he/she goes through process with the next section of text, etc. (See Snyder text) • Prediction: Activate prior knowledge and set purpose for reading. • Questioning: Focus on main ideas and check for understanding. • Seeking clarification: Ensure that readers are actively engaged and check for understanding. • Summarization: Require students to pay attention to critical content.

17. Another Instructional StrategyReQuest (Reciprocal Questioning)Helps foster good questioning/comprehension • Teacher assigns short section of text for students (and teacher) to read silently; students turn book over; teacher asks questions about that portion of text that was just read; students answer questions • Teacher assigns another short section of text for students to read silently; teacher turns book over; students ask teacher questions about that portion of text that was just read; teacher answers questions • Teacher assigns another short section of text for all to read silently; students turn text over; teacher asks questions; students answer • Teacher assigns another short section; teacher turns text over; students ask questions; teacher answers • Etc. **See Snyder Text)

18. Another Instructional StrategyQTA Questioning the Author • Strategy used during and after reading to help students connect their personal understanding to their perceived understanding of the author’s message and perspective • Involves using various queries depending on the goal or purpose of the reader • Students can learn these queries & how to apply them individually or in groups as they read and discuss books (narrative & expository) after teacher instruction & modeling— See QTA in Snyder text

19. Six QtA Moves used by teacher to structure discussions • Marking—Ter highlights a ST’s comment/idea that’s important to meaning being built • Turning Back—Ter turns STs attn back to text to get more info, fix up a misreading, clarify their thinking • Revoicing—Ter helps STs clearly express what they are trying to say • Modeling—Ter shows how she may go about creating meaning, how she clarifies difficult passage, draws a conclusion, visualizes a complex process, uses context to determine word meaning • Annotating—Ter fills in missing info from discussion but is important to understanding key ideas; may be info author left out (inferencing) • Recapping—Ter highlights key points & summarizes