| Teaching Comprehension
The teaching of reading is of the utmost importance in the primary
grades. Not only do students need to be able to decode words and develop
fluency, but it is even more important that they are understanding what they
read. It has been my goal this year to teach my students strategies to help
them comprehend what they are reading.
We will focus on 4 main strategies this year:
Making Connections,Asking Questions,Visualizing,Making Predictions/Inferring
Making Connections
Making text-to-self connections and text-to-text connections while reading
helps students to internalize the story and relate to the characters or the
problem. Students are encouraged to use sticky notes to make sure that they
are consciously making connections as they read.
Types of Connections
Text-to-Self
This story reminds me of...
I felt the way the character did in this story when......
Text-to-Text
The main character in this story reminds me of the main character
in__________.
The problem in this story reminds me of the problem in __________ because...
The solution in this story reminds me of the solution in ___________
because...
The lesson in this story reminds me of the lesson in __________ because...
The illustrations in this story remind me of the illustrations in __________
because...
The way this story is written reminds me of __________ because...
Text-to-World
This story makes me think of...
Asking Questions
Good Readers constantly ask questions before, during, and after reading.
Questioning provides a purpose for reading and keeps the reader engaged in
the text. It propels the reader forward to search for answers to their
questions. Questions are answered many different ways: in the text, from
prior knowledge, inferences, and further research. There are also some
questions that are not answered.
Before
I wonder.......?
What do I think is going to happen?
What am I going to learn?
Why did the author choose this title?
Why did the author write this?
When did the story take place?
Who is the story about?
Who is telling the story?
During
What do I think will happen next?
How does the character feel?
Why did __________ happen?
I wonder why __________?
What would I do?
How is the problem going to be solved?
Do you think ____ should have _______?
Am I paying attention to the message?
Would I be friends with _______?
What might happen if __________?
What do I still need to find out?
Why is this information important?
Do I understand what the author is saying?
After
How did I feel when.....?
What was my opinion of.....?
When the author said __, I wondered....?
Why do you think the author.....?
What was the main idea.....?
Do I know someone like...?
What would have happened if......?
Do I agree with what the author said?
Would I be friends with _______?
What might happen if __________?
What do I still need to find out?
Why is this information important?
Do I understand what the author is saying?
Visualizing
When we visualize while reading, we create pictures in our minds.
Visualizing helps us to relate to the characters in a text. We imagine what
they look like and how they act. When children hear a well-written text,
they can mix the author's words with their own ideas to create a visual
image. The child adds his/her own experiences to the words above to create
a picture of the event. Children can describe these visual images or draw a
picture to illustrate the images.
When we first began practicing the strategy, students drew a picture about
what they were visualizing when I was reading. We call our
visualizations "Mental Pictures."
Making Predictions/Inferring
Readers who inferĄ
*Draw conclusions about their reading by connecting the text with
their background knowledge
*Synthesize new ideas and information
*Create unique understandings of the text they are reading
*Make predictions about the text, confirm or disconfirm those
predictions based on textual information, and text their developing
comprehension of the text as they read
*Extend their comprehension beyond literal understandings of the
printed page
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