Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

Grades K-3Module #6

p. 152

Goals for Module 6

Teachers will:• Deepen their understanding of the Language

Comprehension domain of the Simple View of Reading.

• Deepen their appreciation for how to teach close reading of informational text.

Decoding(Word recognition)

LanguageComprehensionx

Phonological & Phonemic Awareness

PhonicsPrint concepts / letter

name knowledge

Fluency

Vocabulary

Text Comprehension

5 components

2 domains

Reading Comp=

The Simple View of Reading

The Simple View of Reading on Its Side

• What will go in this space when we turn the Simple View of Reading onto its side?

• When we dig deeper, what will we find to help us understand language comprehension?

• What have you learned about decoding? What are you going to teach to strengthen this skill?

Many Strands Are Woven Into Skilled Reading

(Used with permission of Hollis Scarborough, 2002)

Language ComprehensionLanguage comprehension is the underpinning for reading comprehension.• What do we need to know about language

comprehension in order to understand the Reading Standards for Informational Text?

• What do we need to know in order to build language comprehension?

• What aspects of language help us to comprehend?

First Strand: Background Knowledge Think of this strand as the repository of learned concepts, facts, and experiences a person brings to reading.• What is the student’s level of

knowledge about a topic?• What is his or her experience level

with the topic?

American Revolution Velvet Revolution

Experiment with Knowledge• Why did we have the revolution? • What happened during the revolution?• Were there any outstanding individuals who contributed to

the revolution?

Experiment with Knowledge (cont)

Velvet Revolution NotesThe Velvet Revolution (or Gentle Revolution) was a non-

violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 to December 29, 1989. On November 17, riot police suppressed a peaceful student demonstration in Prague. That event sparked a series of popular demonstrations that lasted a month. A two-hour general strike involving all citizens of Czechoslovakia was held on November 27. The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia announced on November 28 that it would relinquish power and dismantle the single-party state. The country subsequently converted to a parliamentary republic.

First, Second, Third Strands: Background Knowledge, Vocabulary, Verbal Reasoning• Knowledge is acquired both verbally and nonverbally. • Words (vocabulary) enable thought and

communication.• Verbal reasoning includes logic, insight, abstraction,

classification, and association.

Knowledge (Vocabulary) + Verbal Reasoning = Ability to Infer

Fourth Strand: Language StructuresWhen we understand how words go together to convey meaning—syntax—we are better equipped to comprehend.

Fifth Strand: Knowledge of Text Structure and Genre (Literacy Knowledge)

Informational and narrative texts are two examples of genre, each employing a different text structure.Directions: Turn and Talk to a partner as you answer the following points and questions.• Compare the major features of narrative and informational

text. • Consider how the structures of narratives and informational

text are the same and different. How can knowledge of these two different text structures assist with reading comprehension?

Word Recognition• Phonological awareness

• Decoding and spelling

• Sight recognition

Word recognition develops along a continuum.

We should teach with explicit and systematic tenacity to take our students to consolidated levels of word recognition. With lots of practice, our students will become increasingly automatic.

The Reading Rope Summary• The strands of Language Comprehension

complement and influence one another as fluent reading is acquired. They complement each other along the developmental road to becoming a strategic reader.

• The strands of Word Recognition develop separately and, with practice, become increasingly automatic so that attention can be directed to meaning.

What Is Close Reading?Close reading means methodical reading to reveal layers of meaning that lead to deeper comprehension. Close reading requires us to go below the surface.

The Standards will guide us.

Let’s Read Closely“Close, analytic reading stresses engaging with a text of sufficient complexity directly and examining its meaning thoroughly and methodically, encouraging students to read and reread deliberately…. It also enables students to reflect on the meanings of individual words and sentences; the order in which sentences unfold; and the development of ideas over the course of the text, which ultimately leads students to arrive at an understanding of the text as a whole.”

—Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers

Close Reading in K and 1?• Close reading needs to find a home during the

early years.• Don’t wait to begin engaging students in close

reading and analysis of text.• Plant the seeds and they will grow.

Comprehension in K-3How do we teach reading comprehension?• Explicit instruction of skills and strategies.• Use of worthwhile, appropriately challenging texts.• Guided oral reading practice with skillful questioning.• Incentives for independent reading.• Through lots of purposeful, directed dialogue while

reading to students.• Lots of prompting and support when our students

read!

Summary

• Scarborough’s Reading Rope: Both decoding ability and language comprehension are necessary for reading comprehension. Many strands are woven into skilled reading.

• Close reading has a place in the early grades that plants the seeds for future reading comprehension.