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The focus of this unit is on Reading Comprehension and the development of students’ comprehension skills by using two famed strategies,

DRTA and QTA. This unit was designed specifically to help students derive meaning from written text, foster critical thinking and enjoy

the pleasures of reading. If achieved, students will become skilled readers who can make accurate predictions, understand various text

structure and sequence and make connections to real life situations. By developing this unit, I have recognized that the value of reading

comprehension lies in the ability to understand meaningful messages from the author. Indeed, reading comprehension skills are integral to

every student.

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Unit of Instruction : Reading Comprehension

Introduction

According to the Secondary Education Modernization Programme (SEMP) syllabus for Forms 1-3, the intended learning outcomes of the

curriculum include to ‘use language to reflect and support creative and critical thinking’ as well as ‘to obtain, interpret, and analyse information

from different types of texts’ (SEMP curriculum Forms 1-3 pg. 24). The performance standards in the curriculum further state that students must

‘read with fluency and comprehension’ and ‘use, with facility, a variety of comprehension skills’ (SEMP curriculum Forms 1-3 pg.28). Hence,

the purpose of this unit is teaching reading comprehension using two specific strategies.

Reading comprehension, according to Ylvisaker et. al (2006) includes all of the processes related to deriving meaning from written

language and constructing meaning from written language. Thus reading comprehension is much more than the ability to read individual words

and know what those words mean. To comprehend what one reads is to understand the meaningful message sent by the author (Ylvisaker et. al

2006). The Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a comprehension strategy that guides students in asking questions about a text,

making predictions, and then reading to confirm or refute their predictions. Questioning the author (QTA) is a strategy that engages students

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actively with a text. Rather than reading and taking information from a text, the QTA strategy encourages students to ask questions of the author

and the text.

Rationale

The purpose of teaching this unit is to help students develop the knowledge, skills, and experiences they must have if they are to become

competent and enthusiastic readers. Helping students derive meaning from written text is a skill which will have a profound impact on their

lives. Teaching reading comprehension will enable students to develop skills which are essential to humanity, that is the ‘ability to think

creatively and critically; to speak, listen, read, and write; to establish satisfying interpersonal relationships; and to aspire to realize a vision of an

ideal human being and an ideal culture’ (SEMP curriculum Forms 1-3 pg.22). The teaching of reading comprehension should ideally equip

students with the ability ‘to read a variety of texts to understand and appreciate texts, themselves and others, and cultures of the world’ (SEMP

curriculum Forms 4-5 pg.35).

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UNIT GOALS & OBJECTIVES

This unit encompasses the teaching of Reading Comprehension using the DRTA and QTA strategies. The goal of this unit is to enhance

the reading comprehension skills of the leaners so that they are better able to derive meaning from text. The objectives in this unit

includes both lower and higher order objectives that will be achieved through tasks performed by the students.

This unit objectives are as follows:

1. Implement comprehension strategies (QTA, DRTA) when interpreting a comprehension text

2. Detect main idea through vocabulary and context clues used in comprehension

3. Recognize subjective language used in comprehension

4. Classify message of text through word selection and signal words

5. Identify relationship through signal words

6. Detect Point of View through emotive language used in comprehension text

7. Identify through parts-of –speech, the speakers in a text

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Instructional Needs

Students lack the development of sophisticated vocabulary knowledge, decoding skill and exposure to challenging text, and as such, they are

unable to decipher meaning in reading comprehension and make generalizations about new and unfamiliar context. Further, their inability to

recognize linkages and make connections about the meaning via different language elements hinder their comprehension of the text.

Prior Knowledge

Students are familiar with:

➢ Comprehension passages

➢ Identifying verbs and nouns in sentences

➢ Formulating questions using the 5 w,

➢ Identifying explanatory sentences

➢ Signal words

➢ Emotive Language

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Performance Tasks

THE PERFORMANCE TASK INCLUDED IN THIS UNIT WILL INCLUDE BOTH FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESMENTS.

LESSONS PERFORMANCE TASK RESOURCES

1. Inference

Students will work in pairs to complete graphic

organizer. The graphic organizer will assist students

infer meaning from text by highlighting verbs/nouns

that will give clues to the meaning.

Graphic organizer

2. Main Idea

Students may work in groups to complete table with the

5 w questions. These questions will guide students into

determining the main idea.

Writing paper

Graphic organizer

3. Context Clues

Students will work in pairs to select words in the

sentence that means the same or hint at the meaning of

an unfamiliar word. Students will use the context clues

to understand the text.

hand-outs

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4. Fact and Opinion

Using a graphic organizer with standard questions,

students will read the passage “Climbing Blindly” to

differentiate fact from opinion.

Comprehension passage, Graphic

organiser.

5. Cause and Effect

Students are given a passage “Global Warming” and a

graphic organiser sectioned of as: cause / my prediction

/ signal word/ effect/ textual evidence to support

prediction. Students are reminded to ask questions and

make predictions as they go along reading.

Graphic organiser, Comprehension

passage.

6. Point of View (POV) Students are placed in groups and given different

passages to work on. Their task entails using the QTA

strategy to deduce the author’s POV based on emotive

language used. They are to create an umbrella of words

and phrases under the passage’s topic that depict the

author’s POV. Additionally, they must include their

POV on the topic.

Comprehension passages, Graphic

organiser.

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Outline of Unit

Lesson 1- Inference

Lesson 2- Main Idea

Lesson 3- Context clues

Lesson 4- Fact and Opinion

Lesson 5- Cause and Effect

Lesson 6- Point of View

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Concept Map of Teaching Reading Comprehension

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Lesson Purpose Teaching point Objectives

Lesson Summary Strategy used

Inference

“Inferential thinking

occurs when text clues

merge with the reader’s

prior knowledge and

questions to point toward

a conclusion about an

underlying theme or idea

in the text.” (Harvey &

Goudvis, 2000)

To personally engage

students who can reflect

on information, make

judgments and draw

conclusions in response to

what they are reading,

resulting in enhanced

understanding and

increased learning

Using verb and

noun indicators to

formulate

questions to the

author while

reading

comprehension

passages teach

students to draw

inferences

➢ Students will

be able to

recognize that

word selection

(Verbs ,

Nouns)

provide clues

to meaning

Direct Explanation- The

teacher explains the QTA

strategy

Modelling- The teacher

reads one paragraph from

a comprehension passage

and halts at a points she

deems greater

understanding is needed.

She then thinks aloud

about the verbs and nouns

encountered. She models

how to identify and use

verbs and nouns to

formulate questions to the

author as a hint to making

inference about the

passage

Guided Practice- Students

Question the Author

(QTA)

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put into pairs and tasked to

make inferences about the

second paragraph. They

are aided with scaffolds

such as guiding prompts,

examples, graphic

organizers and handouts.

(observation by the teacher

occurs here)

Independent work- teacher

removes scaffolds and

assess students via

comprehension passages

with inferential questions.

Main Idea To improve the readers

recollection and

understanding of important

Asking questions

about who, when,

where, why and

➢ Students will

be able to

locate the main

Direct Explanation – The

teacher introduced the

DRTA strategy and the

Directed Reading

Thinking Activity

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information and the point

that the writer is

attempting to express

how while

reading

comprehension

passages can

encourage

students to make

predictions about

the main point

expressed by the

writer

idea in a

passage by

applying the

5w questions(

who, when,

where, why,

how)

benefits for its usage

Model and teach Strategy-

The teacher activates prior

knowledge by asking

students what they

understand by the title of

the comprehension

passage. Prompts are used

to elicit predictions about

the passage based on the

title. Students are engaged

with a short video to recap

the 5 w and to revive

students’ memory and

understanding. After, the

teacher begins to read

aloud halting at pre-

selected points. She thinks

aloud and question herself

about the predictions made

based on new information

read. These questions take

the who, where, when,

why, how form and

(DRTA)

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predictions are refined.

Based on the answers from

the 5 w questions and

refined prediction, main

idea is deduced

Guided instruction –

students are put into

groups of four and given a

comprehension passage to

deduce the main idea.

They are to use a 5 w table

to make predictions about

the passage. Main idea is

determined when the

questions have been

answered and aligned with

refined predictions

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Context Clues To expand the readers

vocabulary and aid their

understanding of the text.

Explanations in

the form of a

sentence/s

surrounding an

unknown word

can prompt the

reader to ask

questions in order

to deduce the

meaning of the

word in a

comprehension

passage

➢ Students will

be able to

deduce

meaning of

unknown

words by the

use of

explanations as

context clue in

the passage

Direct Explanation- The

teacher explains the QTA

strategy

Modelling – teacher reads

comprehension passage

and halts at unknown/

difficult words. With the

use of coloured pen, she

circles the unknown word

and loudly ask guiding

questions as to the

meaning of the word. She

re-reads sentences above,

below and next to the

unknown word to look for

any explanations that

might hint toward the

meaning of the word. She

analyses the explanations

carefully and determines

the meaning of the word.

She uses her mobile phone

with a dictionary

application to double

Question the Author

(QTA)

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check if the meaning

deduced from the

explanation is the

authentic meaning of the

word.

Guided Practice- students

are given another

comprehension passage

and are to work in pairs

and via the think-pair-

share techniques in

collaboration with the

QTA strategy they are to

use explanations from the

context to determine the

meaning of unfamiliar

words. Handouts showing

examples are provided as

scaffolds

Fact and Opinion To differentiate between

what is true and what is

the belief, someone has

about something.

Differentiating

fact from opinion

allows readers to

form their own

opinion about

➢ Students will

be able to

differentiate

fact from

opinion by

Direct Explanation- The

teacher explains the QTA

strategy.

Modelling- Teacher will

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something by first

understanding

what is true about

it from what

others perceive it

to be.

identifying

subjective

language in a

given text.

present students with a

passage and decide on

stopping points where

students need to stop,

think, and gain a deeper

understanding of the text.

At each stopping point,

questions will be asked to

open discussion and

broaden student’s

understanding of factual

and opinionated statements

from the text. The teacher

models these questions for

students and models how

they should be answered.

Questions will be geared

to identifying facts and

also identifying subjective

language which highlights

opinionated statements.

Guided instruction- Using

a graphic organizer with

standard questions,

students will read the

passage “Climbing

Blindly” to differentiate

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fact from opinion.

Cause and Effect To recognize cause and

effect relationships when

reading and how they

relate to the overall

message of the story.

Identifying cause

and effect

relationships

within a story

helps students

focus on two

important

elements of

comprehension:

what happens in

the story and why

it happened.

Identifying cause

and effect gives

students an

opportunity to

look carefully at

the consequences

of characters'

actions and to

think about how

different actions

might have

different effects.

➢ Students will

be able to

identify cause

and effect by

the use of

signalling

words.

Direct Explanation – The

teacher introduced the

DRTA strategy and the

benefits for its usage.

Model and teach Strategy-

The teacher activates prior

knowledge about chewing

gum in class by asking

open-ended questions to

direct students as they

make predictions about the

content of the text (e.g.,

"Given this title, what do

you think the passage will

be about?"). The teacher

then reads sections of the

passage and poses prompt

questions at crucial points.

Think aloud questions are

modelled for students that

point to signal words

(because, as a result,

caused, affected, since,

due to, effect). Eg. I don’t

allow students to chew

gum because it is a

distraction. A prompt

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question to extract the

signal word can be “Why

is chewing gum not

allowed?” From this,

students can identify the

cause and the effect based

on the signal word

because. After each

question, students can

modify their answers

based on their previous

predictions. Reflection on

predictions made after

reading the passage is

encouraged by the teacher.

Guided instruction-

Students are given a

passage “Global

Warming” and a graphic

organiser sectioned of as:

cause / my prediction /

signal word/ effect/ textual

evidence to support

prediction. Students are

reminded to ask questions

and make predictions as

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they go along reading.

Point of View (POV) To recognise that through

the use of emotive

language, a writer can

express his point of view /

his opinions / feelings

about a particular topic.

A writer’s point

of view can have

an impact on how

a story is told.

Identifying

emotive language

allows students to

gain a better

understanding of

the writer’s

intention and

view point about

a topic.

➢ Students will

be able to

deduce the

writer’s POV

based on

emotive

language in the

text.

Direct Explanation- The

teacher explains the QTA

strategy.

Modelling- Teacher will

present students with a

passage entitled “ Bored

pupils riot as staff walk

out “ As the teacher reads

the text, she will stop at

certain points and pose

questions that will illicit

responses related to

identifying emotive

language. Eg. What is the

author trying to tell us

here and what words

indicate this to us? The

teacher reads through the

passage and models how

they should read the

passage and think through

the queries. Emotive

words and phrases are

jotted down on a paper to

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highlight the author’s POV

on the topic. Students are

also asked to reflect on the

author’s POV and say if

they too feel the same

way. If not, how would

they express their thoughts

on the subject.

Guided instruction-

Students are placed in

groups and given different

passages to work on.

Their task entails using the

QTA strategy to deduce

the author’s POV based on

emotive language used.

They are to create an

umbrella of words and

phrases under the

passage’s topic that depict

the author’s POV.

Additionally, they must

include their POV on the

topic.

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Assessment Plan

Assessment Strategy Assessment Tools

Observe

Observations are ongoing and cumulative, and they signal patterns of

literacy growth as well as highlight “zones of proximal distance” or

areas for future student growth (Vygotsky, 1962, 1978).

Think – pair-share, Checklist

Encourage Student Self –Assessment

Students not only take responsibility for their learning but also develop

the capacity to be reflective thinkers by making their literacy

experiences the object of conscious thought (Vygotsky, 1962, 1978).

Reflective journals/ Exit tickets after each lesson to check for

understanding

Test Summative test- worksheets/ quizzes

Formative test- students work with a partner to complete graphic

organizers

Oral questioning

Monitor Rubrics, Correct homework,

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Reference

Ministry of Education. (2008). SEMP Secondary School Curriculum Forms 1-3. McBean,

Couva: Curriculum Planning and Development Division.

Pearson, P. D. & Gallagher, M. (1983). The Instruction of Reading Comprehension.

Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, pp. 317-344.

Ylvisaker, M. (2006). Reading Comprehension. Retrieved from

http://www.projectlearnet.org/tutorials/reading_comprehension.html