Reading Comprehension Strategies for Success

Reading ComprehensionStrategies for Success

Developed by: Teri Crain-Pearce

Reading Comprehension

Today’s Outcomes…..Tomorrow’s

Lessons Learn the seven research based strategies

readers use to comprehend and analyze text

Enhance the strategies taught in Houghton

Mifflin with hands-on ideas for implementation and linking what you are already doing with new ways to deepen comprehension lessons.

Good Reader’s Checklist

Develop a broad background Know the structure of paragraphs Identify the type of reasoning cause/effect induction/deduction Anticipate and predict Look for organization: serial, chronologically, logically Create motivation and interest Highlight, summarize and review Build a good vocabulary Use systematic reading technique like SQR3 Monitor effectiveness

Purpose of Reading The purpose of reading is to connect ideas on the page

to what you already know. If you don’t know anything about a subject, then pouring words of text into your mind is like pouring water into your hand. You don’t retain much. For example, try reading these numbers:

7516324 This is hard to read and understand

751-6324 This easier to read because of chunking.

123-4567 This is easier yet to read because of prior knowledge and structure.

Hmmmmm….

“A single conversation across the table with a wise person is worth a month’s study of books.”

Table Talk

Discuss the following with your colleagues.

What do you do in your classrooms to INTENTIONALLY teach comprehension in:

Small groups A large group One-on-one Special Topics

Metacognitive Thinking

“Everything we felt was worth doing in the classroom, we first tested on ourselves through our own reading.”

Salvador, Late or Early

Read the excerpt and

jot down a word/phrase to jar your memory

List your thinking you used to gain meaning or understanding.

Thinking about reading

What do readers do to understand their reading?

What do readers do on “tricky” words?

Record your thoughts

Thinking About Reading

List reading behaviors students do to understand text.

Name what readers do on “tricky” words?

Reflection: Classroom Conversations with Kids

Are our conversations a safe and challenging place for kids to risk their thinking and observe our modeling?

Research Based Strategies

DetermineWhat’s Important

In Text

DetermineWhat’s Important

In Text

Fix-it Up/Monitor

Fix-it Up/Monitor

Ask questionsAsk questions

SynthesizeImportant

information

SynthesizeImportant

information

Increase Vocabularyknowledge


Use inferenceTo make critical

judgments

Use inferenceTo make critical

judgments

Create visual and sensory

images

Create visual and sensory

images

Access schemaBackground knowledge

Access schemaBackground knowledge

Good Comprehenders..


Research Based Strategies in Houghton-Mifflin

SummarizeSummarize

Fix-it Up/Monitor

Fix-it Up/Monitor

Ask questionsAsk questions

Phonics andDecoding

Phonics andDecoding



Predict and InferPredict

and Infer

EvaluateEvaluate

Access schemaBackground Knowledge

Get Set to Read

Access schemaBackground Knowledge

Get Set to Read



Kindergarten Standards2.0 Reading Comprehension Students identify the basic facts and ideas in what they have read, heard, or viewed. They use comprehension strategies (e.g., generating and responding to questions, comparing new information to what is already known).2.1 Locate the title, table of contents, name of author, and name of illustrator. Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 2.2 Use pictures and context to make predictions about story content. 2.3 Connect to life experiences the information and events in texts. 2.4 Retell familiar stories. 2.5 Ask and answer questions about essential elements of a text.

Kindergarten Standards Continue….

3.0 Literary Response and Analysis Students listen and respond to stories based on well-known characters, themes, plots, and settings. The selections in Recommended Literature, Kindergarten Through Grade Twelve illustrate the quality and complexity of the materials to be read by students. Narrative Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text 3.1 Distinguish fantasy from realistic text. 3.2 Identify types of everyday print materials (e.g., storybooks, poems, newspapers, signs, labels). 3.3 Identify characters, settings, and important events

Teaching Comprehension Strategies and Skills

For students to For students to construct meaning construct meaning from text, they must from text, they must independentlyindependently apply apply numerous strategies numerous strategies to synthesize the to synthesize the content information content information and to understand the and to understand the author’s intent.author’s intent.

WHY?

Comprehension Strategy Instruction in HMR

WHAT?

Predict/ InferPredict/ Infer

QuestionQuestion

Monitor/ ClarifyMonitor/ Clarify

EvaluateEvaluate

SummarizeSummarize

Phonics/DecodingPhonics/Decoding

When?Comprehension Strategy Instruction in HMRHMR has several

opportunities for comprehension instruction:

Day 1 and Day 2 : Teacher Read Aloud

Day 3,4,5:

Student Anthology

Reading Tool Kit/

Comprehension Section

Flip Charts: Social Studies

HOW? Strategy Instruction

Explicit instruction on strategies.

NAME IT! Teacher models and explains a strategy.

DEFINE IT!Teacher structures guided practice, giving students more responsibility for the task.

MODEL IT!Teacher provides independent practice

with feedback.

PRACTICE IT! Students apply the strategy in real

reading situations.

USE IT!

Gradual Release of Responsibility

Look at the handout in your appendix and go through the progression of stages of comprehension strategy instruction outline.

Modeling Think AloudModeling Think Aloud

Application

Direct Explanati

on

Teacher Modeling (“thinking

aloud”)

Guided Practice

Effective Comprehension strategy instruction is explicit, or direct. Research shows that explicit teaching techniques are particularly effective for comprehension strategy instruction. In explicit instruction, teachers tell readers why and when they should use strategies, what strategies to use, and how to apply them. The steps of explicit instruction typically include:

WHO?Comprehension Characteristics Confidence Risk-taking Self-corrections Vocabulary breadth and depth Ability to respond to questions Ability to elaborate answers Use of prior knowledge Self-monitoring Enjoyment of reading and expression

Connecting All the Pieces to Improve Comprehension

Fix-it Up

Fix-it Up Strategies/ Clarify and Monitor Diagnostic chart for Teachers as well

Cueing

System

Problem Solutions

Graph-o-phonic

Lexical

Syntactic

Semantic

Schematic

Pragmatic

Does this look right?Does it sound right?

Fix-it Up Strategies: The Dance Between Decoding and Meaning

Cueing System Problem Solutions

Graph-o-phonic

Student continues to miscue on text.

Do the letters/sounds match?

Lexical Difficulty reading a word in variety of text other than original text.

Find and frame ___

Word analysis: root word?

Syntactic Substitutes visually similar word

House/horse

Does this sound like__?

Prompt: Try that again.

Semantic Meaning can vary Reread/ synonym

Schematic Inadequate schema Visualize

Pragmatic Lack of purpose What do I need to know?

Does this look right?Does it sound right?


Fix-it UpSchema

SURPRISING FACT

What you do BEFORE you read a text is more important than after your read ,because it fosters students using comprehension strategies independently.

Strategy Focus: Schema

* Activate their knowledge before, during and after reading. * Use schema to make connections between the text and their lives, between the text and one another

the text and the world.

Connections To Text

Text-to-Self Connections

Text-to-Text Connections

Text-to-World Connections

Houghton-Mifflin uses Preparing to Read as a prompt for this kind of language in your reading .

Connections To Text

Author’s Style Connections

Text Structure

Inadequate personal schema

Houghton-Mifflin uses Preparing to Read as a prompt for this kind of language in your reading .

Text-to-Self

“This part of the story reminds me of when____________ and it helps me understand the story better because________________.”

Text-to-Text Connections

• Text-to-Text “This part of the story reminds me

another story _______and it helps me understand the story better because________________.”

Text-to-World

“This part of the story reminds me of ( other media sources)_____ and it helps me understand the story better because_____________.”

“Schema is what youknow; it’s your thinking

in your head.”

Schema

Readers use their schema to enhance

understanding.

Schema

Readers distinguish between meaningful and

relevant connections and those that aren’t.

Schema

Schema

Readers build, change and revise

their schema when they encounter new information in the text, engage in conversations with others and gain personal experience.

“It’s impossible to have the sameschema as someone else. Peopledo different things, go different

places and read different books ,so how could their schema

be the same?”

Schema

Soccer: Schema Examples

Ideas: Bud’s Day Out

• GET SET FOR A PET reader’s theater

• ELL group read a book on pet care and talked in small groups about pets.

• Partner talking: Have they ever lost a pet or couldn’t find them? How did they feel?

• Monitor and Clarify

• Sequence: Bud’s Map

A minute for yourself

Schema is :

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Ideas?

Chrysanthemum: Good story to introduce schema


Fix-it Up Schema Prior KnowledgePredicting/

Inferring

Strategy Focus: Predictions

Good readers make predictions about what they are going to read based on what they already know ( SCHEMA) and text clues such as titles and pictures. As they read get new information, they confirm or revise the old predictions and make new ones.

Good Readers: Using Predictionso Determine meanings from unknown words

by using their schema, paying attention to textual and picture clues while rereading and engaging in conversations with others.

o Use their prior knowledge and textual clues to draw conclusions and form unique interpretations of the text.

Prediction Prompts

• What does the title tell me?• Is this fiction or non-fiction?• How will the genre change how I read?• What do I know about…format? Text

structure? Author’s writing style?• Because of what has happened so far, I can

predict_______.• Should I revise my prediction? Is the author

going the direction I predicted?

Prediction Frames

In your packet, there are some frames to help prompt your instruction in actively teaching predictions.

Prediction Pyramid Title Clues

Predict-O-Gram Challenge

Think It Over Follow the Clues

Bucket of Words Anticipation Guide

A minute for yourselfon Predictions…

What do I want to do to revise my comprehensioninstruction based on whatI have heard so far…..

The Snowy Day: Good Prediction Story

Good Readers: Using Inferring

Inferring is the process of creating a personal meaning from the text. It involves a mental process of combining what is read with relevant prior knowledge. (schema) They create meaning not necessarily stated explicitly in the text.

Proficient Readers when they infer: Draw conclusions Make reasonable interpretations of text that are

adapted as they continue to read and after they read.

Use the combination of background knowledge and explicitly stated information from the text to answer questions they have as they read.

Make connections between conclusions they draw and other beliefs and knowledge.

Make analytical judgments about what they read.

Proficient Readers are more able to: Remember and reapply what they have read. Create new background knowledge for

themselves. Discriminate and critically analyze text and

authors. Engage in conversations about what they

have read. Defend inferences with a description of

relevant, prior knowledge and specific text.

Teachers need to….

Allow a wider range of interpretations for fiction text and grant greater latitude for inferences, as long as the students use the text to defend their point of view.

Help students to narrow the range of interpretations for non-fiction text.

Pause….Case in Point…

One morning an elementary school teacher asked her class how many points were on a compass. She was surprised when one little boy raised his hand and said, ”Five.” She asked him, “Five? What are they? “ He counted them off: “North, south, east, west and where I am.”

Story Clues

Experience Clues

Inference

++

=

Prompts for Inferring

• Can you predict what is about to happen?

• Why did you make that point?

• Can you point/name something from the book that helped you come to that thinking?

• What do you think the author meant by___? How did you come to that?

• What do you understand now that you didn’t before?


Fix-it UpSchema/

Prior Knowledge

Predicting/Inferring

AskingQuestions

Using questions as a strategy, good readers: Ask questions for many reasons. Determine whether their questions can be found

in the text or whether they will need to infer the answer from the text, their background knowledge and/or an outside source.

Understand that many of the most intriguing questions are not answered in the text, but left to the readers’ interpretation.

Understand that hearing others’ questions inspires new ones of their own, likewise, listening to their answers can inspire new thinking.

Good Readers:

Understand that the process of questioning is used in other areas of their lives, both personal and academic.

Understand that asking questions deepens their comprehension.

Einstein said…

“I have no special talents, I am only passionately curious.”

When you ask questions,

If makes you want to keep reading so

you can figure them out.

It keeps the book in your head.

Asking Questions

Readers purposefully

and spontaneously ask

questions before, during and after

reading.

Asking Questions

Thick or Thin Questions????

Think of a recent read aloud you have completed with your students. Did you ask thick or thin questions?

Thick: they would need a 3x3 post-it to answer the question…

Thin: a sticky flag would suffice!

Classroom Ideas and Samples

Coding System with post-its

When answers are found in a text use this code:

T= text I=infer OS = Outside source

Xerox covers of a variety of text and allow the students to write questions right on the cover next to the source of their idea.

Pass out post-its to individuals and have them record their questions/answers and place it in their anthologies or books.

Q.A.R.

Questions to support Fiction

Questions to support Non-Fiction

THIEVES

TEXT STRUCTURE

Deep thinkers

Question It!

Pre-reading Pondering

I Wonder

Reciprocal Teaching

Support Materials for your teaching kit


Fix-it UpSchema/

Prior KnowledgePredicting/

Inferring

SummarizingAskingQuestions

Summarizing: A definition

Good readers need to be able to extract information from reading. This information will

vary depending upon the text structure of the reading material. Some of it will include:

main idea supporting information text structure/ story structure identifying what ‘s important/what’s not author’s purpose

Summarizing/ Determining What’s Important in Text

Fiction Summaries Can be supported by modeling using genre and story structure. Genre Setting Characters Problem Events Solution

Non-Fiction Readers need to

identify text structure supports.

Author’s purpose: Chapter titles Headings Captions Text Structure

Classroom Practices to Foster Summarizing

1. THIEVES strategy for non-fiction

2. Graphic organizers to help categorize

3. Modeling through think aloud and how to arrive at a summary

4. V.I.P. strategy

Tips for Think Aloud

• Always remember to name

the strategy, define the

strategy, and use the

strategy.

• Use and model the strategy in

a natural, authentic way.

• Prompt and motivate

students to use other

strategies.

• Gradually turn the

responsibility over to

students.


Fix-it UpSchema/

Prior KnowledgePredicting/

Inferring

SummarizingAskingQuestions

Visualizing

Visualizing /Creating Mental Images Read Aloud can be a great source for putting

in this strategy. Don’t use the accompanying picture for the

first read through and allow the children to draw what they see in the “movie in their minds.” Discuss how making mental pictures is one of the powerful ways to help them understand a story.

Connecting Comprehension to Houghton Mifflin’s Pieces

Good Reader’s Checklist

Develop a broad background Know the structure of paragraphs Identify the type of reasoning cause/effect induction/deduction Anticipate and predict Look for organization: serial, chronologically, logically Create motivation and interest Highlight, summarize and review Build a good vocabulary Use systematic reading technique like SQR3 Monitor effectiveness

Comprehension Strategy 101

Strategies need a great

deal of modeling

and practice!

Strategies are recursive

and overlapping

Strategies are scaffoldedin Houghton-

Mifflin

Goal: Engaged and Motivated Readers!

What do you want to try this week

to engage your students in actively reading?

Documents

Reading Comprehension Strategies for Success