Reasons for Lack of Comprehension

1. Five reasons for lack of reading comprehension are listed below (the first four are from Twining, 1991). • Failure to understand a word • Failure to understand a sentence • Failure to understand how sentences relate to one another • Failure to understand how the information fits together in a meaningful way (organization) • Lack of interest or concentration Reasons for Lack of Comprehension http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/general/reading.html#BGMenu Dr E. Lugo Morales

2. Students with good versus poor reading skills demonstrate distinct cognitive behaviors before, during, and after reading an assignment. The following chart from Cook (1989) summarizes these behaviors. Metacognitive Behaviors of Good and Poor Readers Dr E. Lugo Morales

3. Students with good versus poor reading skills demonstrate distinct cognitive behaviors before, during, and after reading an assignment. The following chart from Cook (1989) summarizes these behaviors. Metacognitive Behaviors of Good and Poor Readers Dr E. Lugo Morales

4. Cook (1989: 69) states “The mind stimulated by key words or phrases in the text or by the context activates a knowledge schema.” This view clarifies that schemata are activated in one of two ways: 1. New information from the outside world can be cognitively received and related to already known information stored in memory through retrieval or remembering. In this case, new concepts are assimilated into existing schemata which can be altered or expanded; 2. New information can be represented by new mental structures. In this case, in absence of already existing schemata, new knowledge builds up new schemata. Why is Schema important in Reading Comprehension? Dr E. Lugo Morales http://www.readingmatrix.com/articles/ajideh/article.pdf

5. Essential Words • Focus on key words in the text. Emphasize verbs and nouns only. • Review and Summarize • Identify the main idea of each paragraph. Develop your own summary of the chapter and compare it to the summary presented in the book. • Make Reading More Active • Stimulate the auditory sense by reading aloud or listening to tape recordings of the text . • Take notes during or after reading difficult material . • Make Reading Interactive • Work with another student. Read to each other, and take turns summarizing sections or chapters of text. • Relate the material to personal experiences. Tips To Help Improve Comprehension Dr E. Lugo Morales

6. Review Questions • Evaluate understanding of the material by answering the review questions at the end of the chapter and workbooks. • Make up your own by converting the section headings into questions. • Words and Definitions • Look up the definitions of all unfamiliar words. • Compile a written list of unfamiliar words and definitions. • Record the words and definitions on audio tapes and listen to them for review. pages • Place a colored paper clip on the glossary for quick access. Tips To Help Improve Comprehension Dr E. Lugo Morales

7. LISTthe parts you need to know. • Identify a term you need to know. • Analyze the definition of the vocabulary word. • Identify the most important parts of the definition. • List the key parts of the definition you need to remember on a study card. • IMAGINEa picture. • Create a picture in your mind of the term's meaning. • Describe the image using real words. • NOTE a reminding "sound-alike" word. • Think of a familiar word that sounds like the new term or part of the new term. • CONNECT the terms in a story. • Make up a short story about the meaning of the term that uses the sound-alike word. • Create an image of the story in your mind. • SELF-test. LINCS is a task-specific strategy student use to learn vocabulary. The strategy is useful in improving reading comprehension in those cases when vocabulary words are used repeatedly in the readings. LINCS STRATEGY Dr E. Lugo Morales