Last
year, I sat down at my guided reading table to work with
a group of very good readers. I usually have 4-6 readers at
my table. This particular group was 6 readers that could read at a level
L. As I opened the book up for discussion, there were great comprehension responses
to the texts that "wowed" me as a teacher.
However,
there was one student that remained fairly quiet. I dismissed
the other readers back to their seats and turned to the quiet student. I
asked him a simple comprehension question. He couldn't reply with an answer. I got that "deer
in the headlight" look. So, I decided I needed to zero in a little
closer with him to see if there was an issue with comprehension.
I listened to him read a portion of the text again and then
asked a few simple questions. He couldn't give me an answer although he
could read extremely fluently.
This
story replays often every year with fluent readers. They can
read anything you set in front of them, but cannot answer basic comprehension
questions. They have mastered the reading, but aren't
thinking about the story or comprehending what they
are reading.
To
be a good reader, students need to think about
what they are reading. This actually takes a skill that
sometimes has to be taught. Students know they need to string
letters together to make words, but sometimes they don't realize or
understand that these words together have meaning. It seems
simple enough to children when this comes naturally, but a few strategies
of reading comprehension will help those that this does not
come naturally.
Comprehension is thinking about
what you are reading.
There are several comprehension strategies
that can be used to help students or young children begin to think about what
they are reading. When introducing these strategies, I start with an
anchor chart. This is the big paper that can be made into large posters to hang
while you are studying a concept. I place
all of these on a comprehension wall that we refer back to over the course of
the school year. At the end of the year, students often beg to take them home as
souvenirs.
The strategies are taught for 2-3
weeks.
- Connections
Connections are when
you as the reader connect what you are reading to something else in your
life. Sometimes this is another book, text to text.
Sometimes, this is an event in your life, text to self. Sometimes this
is a connection to something in your world, text to world. Examples of
text to world are holidays, public events, or articles related to the book. When I taught 3rd grade, I taught each
of these connections for a week. Now
that I teach first grade, I usually linger on a strategy for 2-3 weeks.
- Background Knowledge also
known as Schema
Background knowledge is just simply what
your readers already know about a subject. Students may read a book about
a birthday party and understand the context because they have had a
birthday party or have been to a birthday party. Similarly, if they read
about a dog and have a dog, they will have schema or background knowledge
about dogs, the subject they are reading.
If students read about a wobbegong
and have never seen a wobbegong, they wouldn’t have a clue about
what they are reading, nor would I. I
had to look it up. No, seriously. I had to look it up.
In addition, I can’t
pick up a neurosurgery book and understand what I am reading. I would lose
interest pretty quickly because I don’t have the background knowledge for these
areas.
- Visualization
I teach this to young
students as 'a movie in your head.' We pop popcorn and drink
mini sodas. I set up a mini movie theater background and put it behind
me while I read a book. I don’t show them the pictures. I ask them what they are visualizing. I also give them a piece of blank paper and
have them draw what they are seeing in their head. I repeat the term visualizing
repeatedly to help them remember. I
might say, “What are you visualizing?” as they draw their pictures on clip
boards.
After the students
have completed their drawing, I show them the illustrations to compare.
Sometimes students have very similar ideas about what they are visualizing as
the illustrator. They love to compare
their drawing to one another as well.
- Inferencing
This skill is when
you know something about the book that isn't written in words.
For example, "My
sister hit me really hard. I turned and looked at her with a grimacing
face. My mom knew how I felt."
The text never says
she is mad or hurt, but you can inference this because
of the choice of words the author used. As adults you inference
when you read mystery novels or “who done it” books.
- Questioning
This strategy can be
taught by teaching students to ask questions about what they are reading.
Many times, we ask the questions and expect them to answer. We forget to have students ponder, or wonder
about their reading. Ask them what they wonder or if they have questions
about their reading. Give them time to think about their questions. Even if they come up with outlandish
questions or far-reaching questions, it is leading them in the direction of
thinking about what they are reading.
For more help or information to teach the strategies, click here!
👉 Reading Comprehension Strategies Bundle
Comprehending reading will open
new worlds of fun reading to your child or students.
For more information
or companions and printables that will help you teach these comprehension strategies,
visit at Robin Wilson First Grade Love on Teachers Pay
Teachers.com.
You can teach this with books that you read with your students or with your child. If you are interested, I have already created many book companions that follow this plan listed above.
Click on the pictures of these book companions that will help you teach comprehension strategies to save time.
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