Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension is one of the most important aspects of Literacy in the classroom today. Being able to comprehend a text enables a student to fully understand the meaning of the text. It enables students to be good and better readers and also to be better learners thus allowing students to fulfil their full learning potential at school in all subjects. It thus provides a platform for the students to go forward and do well at higher and further education and in their lives.
Learning to understand and how to master Reading Comprehension techniques and strategies in the middle years of rimary !chool is very important. "uring the early years of schooling students learn to master word decoding and recognition and to increase their vocabulary which are essential elements to the learning and mastering of Reading Comprehension. In the middle years of rimary !chool the text starts to become more sophisticated# and there are increased demands on the students to learn and understand the new text# which will allow them to maintain or increase their reading and learning capabilities in new and ever increasing complicated topics and subjects. In order for the students to master Reading Comprehension then there are several $heoretical Ideas and !trategies and ractical Ideas which can be used and explicitly taught to students in the classroom. $he students can learn to master these ideas and strategies and use autonomously when reading a text.
In the following Sections there are listed several Theoretical and Practical ideas on Reading Comprehension and also ways in which they can be best used in the classroom to assist teachers to explicitly teach students on how to learn and to master Reading Comprehension. Some authors ( inch et al !"#"$ believe that it is best to learn and master a few strategies which can be taught and practised together with students when reading a text. It is generally accepted that only learning one isolated strategy may improve comprehension capabilities but it will have limited effect on the the ability of the student to understand or fully develop their comprehension% therefore the teaching and practising of a few strategies together is regarded as the best method in teaching Reading Comprehension. To get students to master Reading Comprehension then it is recommended that students be explicitly taught and practice some of the following Reading Comprehension Ideas and Strategies and also to utilise some of the practical ideas also. Some authors%notably Pearson (!""&$ % advise that teaching multiple strategies to young readers every day over period of a month can significantly increase Comprehension 'bility.
(a)ing Predictions
%uess what will happen before it happens. It is something you thin& will happen in the future.
%et students to loo& at $itle#author#pictures#captions# then as& student what it ma&es them thin& of. Loo& at photographs# headings and comments on the bac& page and as& what they are thin&ing. (s& children to write what they thin& is most li&ely to happen. %uess what will happen next. $his exercise can be done in small or large groups at the start of each lesson
rediction questions as& what will probably or most li&ely happen next. $he answers are not always in the passage. 'se clues in passage to ma&e a guess
*sing Prior +nowledge
$his is using what students already &now or have experienced. (ctivating prior &nowledge helps students ma&e connections to the new information they will be learning. $eachers can assist students to learn by using or tapping into what the students already &now.
(s& students what they already &now or have previously learned about the subject they are about to read or learn further. %et students to ma&e connections with the subject before lesson commences. %ives confidence to students as it reinforces what they already &now about the topic.
,uestioning
%ood readers as& questions before# during and after they read. (llows readers to Clarify )eaning# )a&e redictions# and Identify what is important. (llows readers to conduct ongoing dialogue with each page they read# they are thin&ing and interacting with the words *uestioning leads students deeper into the text and sets up a dialogue with the author.
%et students to loo& at the text title# author# pictures# comments and photographs etc. to start students to as& questions such as#+ what does it ma&e them thin& of ,or , what will the boo& be about+. (s& students in large or small groups to thin& about what type of questions they may have about the text#such as# ,-hat do you or do not understand+# ,-hat does not ma&e sense+# ,$his part was confusing or difficult to understand+.
-inding the (ain Idea
$he main idea of a reading passage is a sentence that tells us what the passage is mostly about. (s& questions to find what the passage is mostly or mainly about.
$o find the main idea of a text we can get students to as& questions # . -hat is the passage mostly about/ (nd then choose an answer. . -hat is the most important thing about the text/ . -hat is the main issue or problem in the text/ . -hat do I need to understand most about the text/
.isualising and Sensing
"raw a mental picture of the people# places and events in the text. 0isualising allows readers to see relationships within a text. $o get the full intent of the text then the students must see the 1movie1 in their mind. 'se all of our five senses to get a full sensory image and deepen the comprehension of the text.
(s& students when they are reading or listening to a text to thin& of the following# . -hat pictures do you see/ . -hat sounds do you hear/ . Can they smell or taste anything/ . -hat do the text and the pictures ma&e you feel or feel li&e/
Recalling -acts and /etails
2very reading passage contains facts and details. 3acts and details tell the reader more about the main idea. *uestions about facts and details as& you things that were stated in the main passage. $o answer questions on facts and details then you will have to loo& through the passage or text to find the answer.
$eachers can get students to practice recalling 3acts and details by# . %etting students to list facts in the text. . !tudents to explain in detail what text is about. . (s& students to use the text to find a detail about a fact. . Listing what they need to understand most in a text.
Identifying 'uthor0s Purpose
*uestions about the (uthor1s purpose as& you why the author wrote the passage. )ost author1s write for one of the following reasons. . $o ersuade4ma&e someone want to do something5. . $o give Information . $o "escribe or . $o 2ntertain 4 .I.".2. 5
-hen teaching this strategy encourage the students to thin& of the following questions . -ho did the author write this for / . -hy did the author write this piece/ . -hich part of the .I.".2. 3ormula does the text fit into / (nd . -ho is the audience of this text /
-inding
ord (eaning in Context
!ometimes when you read you find a word you do not &now what it means. !ometimes you can tell the meaning of the word by the way it is used in the sentence# this is called understanding word meaning in context. 6ou are as&ed to find the meaning of a word not familiar to you. If you are unsure of a word meaning then select your answer and put it into the sentence to see if it ma&es sense.
In the classroom teachers can instruct their students to use and practice the following questions when they come across an unfamiliar word. . 7ow is the word used in the sentence / . (re there any words around the word that you &now that can help you ma&e more meaning / . (re there parts of the word which you have seen in other words / . -hat &ind of word is it / ( verb# noun# an adjective /
/etermining Importance
$his deciding what are the most important parts of the text. $his what %ood Readers do when reading a text. Based on reader1s purpose#prior &nowledge and sense of what is interesting. !tudents need to learn to identify &ey ideas and themes. !tudents ma&e predictions about the text organisation and content.
$eacher can help their students to# . Read strategically and set a purpose for reading. . $his provides guidelines for students to select what is important in the text. . (s& themselves questions such as# . Is this essential to understand the text/ . -hat do we already &now about this / . -hat are the main repeating ideas and themes / . In this text I mostly need to understand...
*nderstanding Se1uence
$his is putting the text in order from start to end. !ome passages are told in order or sequence "ifferent things can happen at the start# middle and end of a passage and you can be as&ed to put events in order. !equence questions often contain &ey words such as# first# then# last# after or before.
In the classroom teachers can instruct whole class or small groups when they have read a passage to thin& of the following. . -hat was the first thing that happened / . -hat was the last thing that happened / . $ry and explain to the teacher or the group in order what happened in the text.
Comparing and Contrasting
$his is as&ing if two things are ali&e or different. Called also 3inding Li&enesses and "ifferences. Compare and Contrast questions often contain the following &ey words# most li&e# different# ali&e or similar.
$eachers can encourage their students to thin& about and as&# . 7ow is this the same /# 7ow is it different / . $his most li&e...#and . $his is different because...
/istinguishing between -act and 2pinion
"etermine which statements are 3acts and which are 8pinion. ( 3act is something that is true. (n 8pinion advises how a person feels about something. 3acts can be proven#8pinions cannot. 8pinion statements often contain the following &ey words# . most# best# nicest and greatest.
$eachers can teach this strategy by getting students to thin& about the following when reading. . 7ow does this person feel about the subject / . -hat facts support the 8pinion / . (re there provable 3acts / . -hat language is used by writer to ma&e and support their opinion / . ractice determining what are facts and what are opinions when reading a passage and to discuss with the group.
Interpreting -igurative 3anguage
-or&ing out what $itle is saying or what words really mean. !ometimes writers use words in such ways that their meaning is different to their usual meaning. (n example would be ,...i spilled the beans...+ # which means I told the secret and not literally that you have dropped some beans..
$his can be difficult for teachers to teach and students to learn#however teachers can get students to practice the following questions and ideas . -hat does this mean / # -hat does the saying mean / . $hese words do not actually mean...#they mean... . Loo& at the surrounding words for ideas. . $his part is really saying...
(a)ing Connections
$his is about ma&ing connections between the text and your life# the rest of the world and other texts. %ood readers ma&e personal connections with what they are reading and develop a deeper understanding of the characters. $hree types of connections# . $ext to !elf 9 -hen students are reminded of something that happened in their own life. . $ext to $ext 9 Reminds student of something they have read elsewhere. . $ext to -orld 9 -hen students connect text to something happening in the world.
In the classroom students can be encouraged to thin& about# ,...this reminds me of...+# ,..this part is li&e or this character is li&e because...+ #+...this is similar to or this setting reminds me of...+ #+...this made me thin& of or this text or character reminded me of...+
Recognising Cause and 4ffect
Recognising what happened and why it happened. ( Cause is something that happens. (n 2ffect is something that happens because of the cause. (n example would be ,I forgot to set my alarm#so I was late.+ $he cause for being late was not setting the alarm. Cause and 2ffect questions usually begin with &ey words such as# why# what happened or because
$he teacher in the class can advise the students to as& the following questions# . -hy did this happen / . -hat was the cause of this / . -hat happened because of this/ . -hat was the result of something happening /
Summarising the Text
$his explains what the text was about. -hen as&ed to summarise a passage then you are as&ed about the main points. -hen summarising as&# ,-hat is the main idea of the passage.+ ( good summary would be closer to the main idea than any single detail.
!ummarising of a text is very important and teachers can teach students this s&ill by getting them to answer questions similar to# . -hat is the main idea of text / . -hat is the most important thing that happened / . -hat does the author want us to thin& about the most. / . Is there anything in the text being repeated in different ways /
/rawing Conclusions and (a)ing Inferences
'sing the clues in the text to wor& out what text really means. -hen you read the author does not tell you everything and you must figure it out on your own. (n example would be , $he bright sun cast a shadows over the lawn+. 3rom this we can infer that it is daytime and probably warm. *uestions about drawing conclusions often contain &ey words such as# you can tell or probably.
$eachers can help students with this strategy by getting them to as&# . -hat are the clues in the text that tells us.../ . (t first I thought...#but now I thin&...#because . $his part is really saying or $his character feels or wants to...
2ther Practical Ideas
Children to read more#more and richer variety of texts. $his helps with 0ocabulary and word recognition. ractice vocabulary lessons by reading more#loo&ing at pictures and images with text. Read in class groups or paired:shared reading with teacher for assessment. Learn from teacher and more competent students. 'se of comprehension wor& and practice sheets with images and questions. !tudents 2dit their own wor&. %et students to tal& and discuss text in groups#all students to have a meaningful input. $each children some strategies to master for their autonomous use when reading.
-urther Reading and References
(merican sychologist 4;<=<5. Reading Comprehension. Issue> 0olume ??4@5#p ;AB 9 ;C;.7all#-illiam s Canadian sychology 4@DD=5. Reading Comprehension.0ol. ?<4@5#p ;@A 9 ;E@.Fohnston (mber )#Barnes )arcia a# "esrochers (lain 3arstrap (lan# 2 and !ammuel# ! F 4@DD@5. -hat Research 7as $o !ay (bout Reading Instruction Lu&e (# "ooley &# -oods ( 4@D;;5. lanning Literacy in Low !ocio 2conomic and Culturally "iverse !chools. Little and Bartlett4@D;D5 Gew !outh -ales %overnment 9 2ducation and Communities.G!- Centre for 2ffective Reading.)iddle 6ears. $ragesen and Licht4;<=E5."enton C#Bryin " et al 4@DDB5. $he Fournal of (dolescent and (dult Literacy4!ept.@D;;[Link] Comprehension 7abits for 2very Classroom.0ol AA4;5#p CB4@5 $he (ustralian Fournal of Learning "ifficulties4@DD=5.$he (ssessment of Reading Comprehension "ifficulties for Reading Intervention.%ary -ooley.0olume ;E#issue ;."8I>;D.;D=D:;<?D?;AD=D@D<EB@<.%ough and $urner 4;<=C5 -inch %# Fohnston R R# )arch # Ljungdal L# 7olliday ) 4@D;[Link]# Reading# -riting and ChildrenHs Literature. 3ourth 2dition