Comprehension: Part II - LiteracyBlock - home II... · – Detecting author’s purpose (inform, entertain, persuade, ... • Critical Reading – Recognition of propaganda techniques

Comprehension: Part II

Dr. Kristen Pennycuff Trent

Types of Comprehension

• Two types of comprehension used to understand what is read: – Literal comprehension—acquiring

information directly stated, most basic

– Higher-order comprehension—interpretive, critical, and creative reading

Literal Comprehension:

– Important and a prerequisite of higher-level comprehension

• Locating details through questioning: – Who—asking for name or identification of a person or

animal – What—asking for a thing or an event – Where—asking for a place – When—asking for time

– How—asking for the way something is or was accomplished

– Why—asking for the reason for something

Literal Comprehension

• Sequence—order in which events occur in a passage or paragraph

– Time-order words

» Now

» Before

» When

» While

» Yet

» After

– How implemented in the classroom

» Model process of finding time-order in a passage

» Student-led activities individual or collaborative

Literal Comprehension

– Follow Directions • Prerequisite for all successful schoolwork—

understanding details and sequence – Cause and Effect

• A literal skill when specifically stated: “Bill stayed out because he was sick.”

• An interpretive skill if the relationship is implied: “Bill was nauseated and missed work.”

Higher Order Comprehension

– Higher-order thinking based on the following processes: interpretation, analysis, and synthesis of information

– Knowledge is needed for higher-order thinking

• Students do not always use the knowledge they have or

• Knowledge known causes misconceptions

– Semantic mapping pools knowledge for all students benefit


• Prediction when combined with why

– Refuting information found in different places

– Predictions with text clues aids students in the usefulness of text and encourages inference

– Predictions with no text clues encourage creative thinking

– Model strategy with a variety of materials


• Open-ended reading responses:

– Literary letters to the teacher

– Reading response questions

– Two-column responses: quotes written in one column, personal responses to the quotations in the other column

– Letters to an author with questions about the development of a book

– Hexagonal essays: students respond to a book from the perspective of Bloom’s Taxonomy

– Buddy journals: students who have read the same book write in journals, exchange them and respond

– Character journals: student writes a first-person diary entry as a main character in the book

Higher Order Comprehension – Interpretive Reading: reading between the lines or

making inferences

• Process of deriving ideas that are implied, not directly stated

• Types:

– Making inferences about main ideas of passages

– Cause-and-effect relationships not directly stated

– Referents of pronouns

– Referents of adverbs

– Omitted words

– Detecting mood of a passage

– Detecting the author’s purpose in writing a selection

– Drawing conclusions

– Interpreting figurative language


• Interpretive Reading: reading between the lines or making inferences

– How inferences implemented in the classroom:

• Activating background knowledge – Comparing events in students lives with events of story

– Having students listen to others predictions, experiences with the story and writing down

– Providing practice in answering inferential questions

• Make inferences based only on information located close together in the text

– Provide supporting questions when information in not close together

• Inferences based on locations, time, actions, etc. (p.211)

– Relate important vocabulary in the reading material to their background

Higher Order Comprehension • Interpretive Reading: reading between the lines or making

inferences • How inferences implemented in the classroom continued:

– Passages with multiple meaning words

– Stories written from an unusual viewpoint

– Gordon and Pearson inference skill procedure:

1. Ask the inference question

2. Answer it

3. Find clues in the text supporting inference

4. Tell how to get from the clues to the answer ‘line of reasoning’

» Model all steps

» Model steps 1 and 2, students complete steps 3 and 4

» Model steps 1 and 3, students complete steps 2 and 4

» Ask question step 1, students answer with other steps


• Interpreting Anaphora • Use of one word or phrase to replace another word or phrase • Examples:

– Using pronouns in place of nouns (he for a noun such as Bill) – Using adverbs for nouns or noun phrases (here for a phrase

such as in the kitchen) – Letting adjectives stand for the nouns that would have

followed them (several for several people) – Using a superordinate term to stand for a subordinate one

(reptile for rattlesnake) – Letting referents in another sentence or clause represent

deleted items (I will too, following Mom will bake brownies for the sale. Bake brownies for the sale is “understood”)

Higher Order Comprehension • Interpreting Anaphora

– Modeling by teacher through think alouds – ELL: difficulty identifying noun to which a

pronoun refers, need practice • Pronoun referents Caution: Students recall structures in which the referent is

a noun or noun phrase more easily after reading than structures in which the referent is a clause or a sentence

Ex. Mark wanted an ice cream cone but did not have enough money for it. (noun phrase)

Mike plays the guitar for fun, but he does not do it often. (sentence referent)

Higher Order Comprehension • Interpreting Anaphora

– Pronoun referents Caution: Students find it easier to remember structures in which

the pronoun follows its referent than ones in which the pronoun comes first

Ex. Because it was pretty, Marcia wanted the blouse. Marcia wanted the blouse because it was pretty. – Adverb referents Ex. I’ll stay at home, and you come here after you finish.

(The adverb here refers to home.) I enjoy the swimming pool, even if you do not like to go

there. (The adverb there refers to swimming pool.)

• Omitted Words – Omitted words are “understood”—ellipsis

• Ex. Are you going to the library? Yes, I am. (In the second sentence, the words going to the library are understood.)

Higher Order Comprehension • Interpretive Reading: Inferences

– Main Ideas • Central thought around which the whole paragraph is organized • Usually expressed in a topic sentence: identifies the subject

matter • Facts About Topic sentences:

– They often state the main idea of the paragraph – Often the first sentence in the paragraph; sometimes at the

end or middle – Not all sentences have topic sentences – Main idea is supported by details in a well-written paragraph – When main idea is not directly stated, readers can

determine it by discovering the topic to which all the stated details are related

– Main idea of a whole selection may be determined by examining the main ideas of the individual paragraphs and deciding what topic they are all related.

• Implement through modeling then practice


– Cause and effect – Detecting mood

• Happy mood: – Lilting, sparkling, and laughing

• Scary mood: – Ghostly, haunted, and howling

• How implemented: – Model the process of locating mood words in a paragraph – Give copies of passages with underlined words that set

mood and let them decide the mood – Give a passage and have students identify words and then

tell mood – Detecting author’s purpose (inform, entertain, persuade,

accomplish something) • How implemented: • First show stories and explain reasons for being written • Then have students identify purposes in other stories


– Drawing conclusions: reader puts together information gathered from several sources or places within the same source

– Implemented by: • Studying pictures and drawing conclusions from them • Answering questions:

1. What is taking place here? 2. What happened just before this picture was taken? 3. What are the people in the picture preparing to do?

– Use cartoons – Riddles – Ask questions about sentences that imply certain information – Consider events from viewpoints of different characters

– Interpreting figurative language—idioms – Use reading materials instead of oral activities (Amelia Bedelia) – Rewriting sentences to include new idioms – Illustrating idioms – Think alouds (p. 223)

Higher Order Comprehension • Critical Reading

– Evaluating the written material—comparing the ideas discovered in the material with know standards and drawing conclusions about their accuracy, appropriateness, and timeliness

– Involves the reader being active, questioning, searching for facts, and suspending judgment until he or she has considered all the material

– Dependent on literal and interpretive comprehension – Begun at an early age by:

• Questioning techniques about books using (Do you think the story is real or make-believe? Why do you think so?)

• Critical reading of pictures with inaccuracies • Group thinking conferences (read out loud and get feedback

from members of group, revise later) – Middle school:

• Short written dialogues between two people with different positions on an issue

• Encourage students to read with a questioning attitude (p. 225)

Critical Reading • Questions for Nonfiction

– Why did the author write this material? – Does the author know what he or she is writing about?

Is he or she likely to be biased? Why or why not? – Is the information in the material current? – Does the information make sense when my background

knowledge is considered? – Is the author approaching the material logically or

emotionally? What emotional words does he use? – Is the author employing any undesirable propaganda

techniques? If so, which ones? How does he use them?

Critical Reading • Questions for Fiction

– Could this story have really happened? – Are the characters believable with the setting furnished

by the story? Are they consistent in their actions? – Is the dialogue realistic? – Did the plot hold your interest? What was it that kept

your interest? – Was the ending reasonable or believable? Why or why

not? – Was the title well chosen? Why or why not?

Critical Reading • Both Fiction and Non-fiction

– Whose story is this?

– Who benefits from this story?

– Whose voices are not heard?

Critical Reading • Group discussion

– Small groups of students meet to discuss reading material

• Prepared by reading the same text or text sets on commons themes or authors

– Taking notes – Marking important passages with post-its – Offering ideas and responding to the comments of

other members • Analysis is meaningful to students

– They choose what is significant to them and how it relates to their lives


– Critical reading of literature

• Questioning by teacher to extend limited and stereotyped depictions of people in reading materials

• Encourage children to relate reading to personal experiences

• Interpreting humor

• Discussion of themes

• Literature analysis (Chicken Little)

• Analyze characterization in literature selections (p. 227)

• Compare versions of folk tales with Venn diagrams and comparison charts(p. 229)

• Comparison of film versions of stories with the text version



• Dialogical-Thinking Reading Lessons (D-TRL)

– Encourage students to:

a. Return to the text to verify or clarify information

b. Consider multiple interpretations

c. Identify reasons to support interpretations

d. Evaluate the acceptability and relevance of competing or alternative interpretations

– Procedure:

» Use story that has an issue that could be considered using more than one perspective

» Reading phase: independent or guided

» Discussion phase: central question introduced along with two hypothetical conclusions about the answer



• Dialogical-Thinking Reading Lessons (D-TRL) Continued

– Procedure continued:

» Students take one of the positions or declare undecided

» Students search for information to support conclusion

» Teacher lists suggestions on the board

» Students evaluate each one using the following criteria:

Is the reason based on verifiable information?

Is the reason relevant to the conclusion?

» Students draw final conclusions from the entire discussion

– Evaluating factors related to the author

• Krieger procedure: making students aware of the material authors use and devices they use (p. 232)

• Questioning the Author (p. 232)



• Four categories when considering authors:

1. Author’s purpose: to inform, entertain, persuade, etc

2. Author’s point of view: belonged to certain group, where lived

3. Author’s style and tone: use of vocabulary—figurative language

4. Author’s competence: reliability of written material

– Evaluating the material

• Timeliness: date published

• Accuracy and adequacy:

• Appropriateness:

– Inquiry charts (I Charts) p. 232

• Differentiation of fact from opinion

– Awareness of opinion signal words: believe, think, seems, may,


– Recognition of propaganda techniques • 7 undesirable techniques

1. Name calling: use of derogatory labels to create negative reactions (troublemaker)

2. Glittering generalities: use of vague phrases influencing point of view

3. Transfer technique: associating a respected symbol or organization with a person, idea, or product

4. Plain-folks talk: relating a person to the common people 5. Testimonial technique:endorsements by popular or

respected people 6. Bandwagon technique: giving the impression that everyone

is participating 7. Card stacking: telling only one side of a story

– Making valuable judgments • Fictional and real-life characters are reasonable or

unreasonable

Higher Order Comprehension • Creative reading

– Going beyond the material the author presents

– Requires thinking while reading and using your imagination

– Skilled in the following areas:

• Predicting outcomes

• Visualization • Guided imagery: difficult for young children

• Procedure:

1. Teachers should lead students to visualize concrete objects after they have seen and closely examined them in the classroom

2. Ask children to visualize objects or experiences outside the classroom

3. Teachers read high-imagery stories to children letting them share their mental images

4. Encourage students to visualize as they read independently

• Open-ended questioning can aid in development of imagery


– Solving problems • Relate things they read to their own personal problems • Use books in which different types of problems are solved

(Encyclopedia Brown, Nate the Great • ask the following questions:

– What problem did the character/s in the story face? – How was the problem handled? – Was the solution a good one? – what other possible solutions can you think of? – Would you prefer the solution in the book or one of the

others? • IDEAL (P. 239)

– Identifying the problem – Defining the problem more clearly – Exploration of the problem – Acting on ideas – Looking for the effects


– Producing new creations

• Use of art, drama, dance to elaborate what students read (p. 240)

• Effective Questioning

– Preparing questions

• Questions based on comprehension factors

– Main idea questions

» To identify the central theme or idea of the selection

– Detail questions

» Identify directly stated facts

– Vocabulary questions

» Define words to fit the context of the selection

– Sequence questions

» Identify order of events in selection

– Inference questions

» Infer information implied by the author

Higher Order Comprehension • Effective Questioning

– Questions based on comprehension factors continued

• Evaluation questions

– Judge ideas presented, based on a standard

• Creative response

– Go beyond the material and create new ideas based on the material read

– Questions based on source of answers

• Textually explicit

– Answers directly stated in the text

• Textually implicit

– Answers implied by the text that require inferences on the past of the reader

• Scriptually implicit

– Answers come from the reader’s background knowledge

Higher Order Comprehension • Effective Questioning continued

– Questions based on story grammar • Setting—when and where story took place and who was

involved • Initiating event—event that started story sequence • Reaction—main character’s reaction to the initiating

event • Action—main character’s actions caused by the initiating

event and subsequent events • Consequence—result of main character’s actions

Guidelines for preparation of questions 1. To determine overall comprehension skills ask a variety of

questions designed to reflect different types of comprehension

2. Don’t ask questions on the obscure or insignificant portions of the selection

3. Avoid ambiguous or tricky questions 4. Questions that a person who has not read the material

can answer correctly offer you no valuable information about comprehension

5. Don’t ask questions in language more difficult that the language of the selection

6. Make sure answers to sequence questions require knowledge of the order of events

7. Don’t ask unsupported opinions when you are testing for comprehension

8. Don’t ask opinions if you want facts 9. Avoid questions that give away information 10. Use precise terms in phrasing questions related to

questioning

Higher Order Comprehension • Helping students answer questions

– Expose students to the question-answer-feedback sequence

– Question-Answer Relationships (QAR) (p. 246)

• Helping Students Question

– “Does this make sense?”

– Student-generated questions

Struggling Readers • Often lack prior knowledge needed for

comprehension. • Others have inaccurate information or

don’t use prior knowledge that they possess.

• Must be taught a variety of comprehension strategies, especially higher order skills, to be successful.

Documents

Comprehension: Part II - LiteracyBlock - home II... · – Detecting author’s purpose (inform, entertain, persuade, ... • Critical Reading – Recognition of propaganda techniques