| Reading Comprehension Strategies:
1)Making Connections
When we read for meaning, we make connections to other texts, to ourselves,
and to our world. A text-to-self connection helps you build understanding
and make meaning from the story. We come to reading with many experiences
and memories that help us make connections and bring meaning to what we
read. These experiences are called “schema.” Text-to-text connections are
connections to meaningful story elements in another book. Text-to-world
connections are connections to things happening in our world. Meaningful
connections help us understand important story elements (character, setting,
problem, solution). Connections should be related to what’s important in
the book.
2)Visualizing
When readers combine their personal knowledge and experience with the
author’s words and ideas to make mental images, they are visualizing. The
author’s words “paint a picture in our minds.” When the words help us make
a picture in our mind that helps us understand a story element (character,
setting, problem, solution), this is a meaningful visualization. The words
should help us use our five senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing).
The words must be important to the meaning of the story. Words, phrases and
short passages can give us visualizations. Everyone’s visualizations are
different because we are using the author’s words and our own experiences,
our schema, to make a picture in our mind.
3)Predicting
Prediction helps set the stage for reading for meaning. As we read, we use
our past experiences and knowledge, or schema, to make “thinking guesses”
about what will happen next in the story. We also use prediction to figure
out the meanings of individual words or phrases. We begin by looking at the
cover illustration and title. Have we read other books by this author?
Does the illustration or title give any clues about the story? All
predictions that use our schema are important and valuable.
We check to see if our predictions are “confirmed” or “not confirmed.” As
we read, if our predictions are not confirmed we use the new information we
have to make new predictions.
4)Retelling
Good readers can tell all the important things that happened in a story in
their own words. Retellings of a story should include important story
elements (character, setting, problem, solution). Several different story
maps, webs and frames can be used to help organize important information for
retelling a story. When doing a written retelling, students should not copy
dialogue (what characters say) or sentences from the story.
5)What’s Important?
In nonfiction, we are reading to find out facts and important ideas. Some
special features of nonfiction can help us such as italics, bold print,
headings and subheadings. There are also graphic aids such as charts,
labels, tables, maps, captions, table of contents, index and glossaries to
help us make meaning. In fiction, thinking about the setting, plot,
characters, problem and solution can lead us to the theme or main idea of
the story. What is the author telling us? We can think about this for each
paragraph or page of text that we read. What is important here? What does
the author want me to know?
6)Inferring
When readers infer, they use their prior knowledge and clues from the story
to draw conclusions and form unique interpretations. “The story does not
say, but we can decide. . .”
• Readers can determine the meanings of unknown words by using their
schema, paying attention to clues in the story and pictures, rereading and
discussing with others.
• Making predictions and being able to explain your thinking behind
that prediction is a part of inferring. Good readers make predictions and
confirm or change their predictions as they read on.
• Poetry is excellent for practicing making inferences. Often you
need to use your background knowledge and clues from the words to draw
conclusions and understand what a poem is about.
• Good readers know to infer when the answers to their questions are
not stated in the story. You have to “Read between the lines.”
• Good readers create their own interpretations to enrich and deepen
their experience with a story. Often authors want to leave their readers
with something to think about and remember. Books can help you to think
about important things in a new way. “What does the author want you to
think about and remember?”
7)Questioning
Good readers purposefully and spontaneously ask questions before, during,
and after reading.
• We ask questions to clarify meaning, think and wonder about what we
are about to read, focus our attention, and find answers.
• Readers determine whether the answers to 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.
• Good readers understand that many of the most intriguing questions
are not answered directly in the book, but are left to the reader’s
interpretation.
• Readers understand that hearing others’ questions inspires new ones
of their own; likewise, listening to others’ answers can also inspire new
thinking.
• We understand that questioning is used in many areas of our lives.
• Good readers know that questioning deepens their comprehension.
How to Answer Questions:
*Circle key words in questions
*Reread
*Underline (or place a sticky note) on the sentence that helps you answer
the question
*Use words from the question to form your answer:
When does the story begin?
The story begins on the first day of school.
What is Richard’s nickname?
Richard’s nickname is Beast.
*Rate your answer
1. I have NO idea
2. I’m not really sure
3. I might be right
4. I’m pretty sure I’m right
5. I’m POSITIVE I’m right
Accelerated Reader:
This is a computer program. Warnsdorfer has a large library of reading
comprehension tests on the computer. Books that have a test on the computer
are marked with special stickers in the Warnsdorfer library as well as my
classroom library. The program keeps track of all the tests that a student
takes, the book level, and scores. At the end of each marking period, I
will send home your child’s Accelerated Reader progress report. Students
have ample opportunity to take tests on the computer during Reader’s
Workshop. Students may takes tests on books read in class independently,
books read aloud for Shared Reading, and books read at home. Students are
cautioned to read carefully before taking a test. They must have a
conference with me if they receive 60% or lower on a test.
Power Reading Sessions:
Read aloud to your child for five minutes. Be sure that the book is on your
child's reading level. Model good reading for them by pronouncing words
carefully and clearly, and by making appropriate pauses for periods and
commas.
Next, listen to your child read aloud from the same book for another five
minutes. Your child should begin at the point where you stopped reading.
Remind your child to take it slowly and read so that the words make sense.
This is why your oral reading is so important. It's setting an example for
your child.
Finally, ask questions about what was read. Check how well your child was
listening and reading by asking general questions about what was read. Talk
about the story.
Power reading is an excellent way to improve reading skills and demonstrate
the importance you place on reading. start a book that your child is
interested in and continue using the same book for Power Reading sessions
until it is completed.
Guided Reading Practice:
Second grade students need time to "practice" reading each day so that they
may gain fluency. Students need to read with speed and accuracy so that
they can concentrate on meaning rather than decoding words. Read to your
child and let your child hear the way a good reader sounds. Let your child
reread favorite stories and books often.
Coaching During Reading:
When your child does not know a word you can say:
1. Put your finger on the word and say all the letters.
2. Use the letters and picture clues.
3. Try to pronounce the word by looking to see if it has a spelling pattern
or rhyme that you know.
4. Keep your finger on the word and read the other words in the sentence to
see if it makes sense.
5. If it doesn't make sense, go back to the word and think about what would
make sense and have these parts.
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