Comprehension
What is Comprehension?
Comprehension is defined as the process of using prior knowledge and writer's cues from text to infer the author's intended meaning.
There are three factors that influence comprehension:
1) The reader
2) The text
3) The context
These three factors directly influence comprehension among students when reading a piece of text. For example, when students have prior knowledge on the content, students are able to bring that to the text and build their schema and build meaning from the text. The text itself can affect a student's comprehension if the vocabulary is difficult or there is a lack in visual aids. The context in what the text is about and why a student is reading it can affect comprehension. Motivation is need among students in order to gain full positive impact on comprehension.
There are three factors that influence comprehension:
1) The reader
2) The text
3) The context
These three factors directly influence comprehension among students when reading a piece of text. For example, when students have prior knowledge on the content, students are able to bring that to the text and build their schema and build meaning from the text. The text itself can affect a student's comprehension if the vocabulary is difficult or there is a lack in visual aids. The context in what the text is about and why a student is reading it can affect comprehension. Motivation is need among students in order to gain full positive impact on comprehension.
Goals of Comprehension Instruction
Research shows that there are many ways and reasons to develop comprehension instruction. Here is a list of the goals of instruction that are outlined in the book Literacy in Context, by Mimi Miller and Nancy Veatch. Activate and Build Background Knowledge Use Graphic Organizers Summarize Ask and Answer Questions Monitor Comprehension Use Multiple Reading Strategies Through out this website you will find different strategies that are beneficial in the classroom to help meet these goals of instruction. It is important to note that these strategies can be used within all content areas. |
Why is Comprehension so Important?
Comprehension is very important for students to become successful and fluent at. Reading is one of the core skills that is necessary to be successful outside of high school. Our goal as educators is to make sure all students become college and career ready. Reading is a very important factor to success in other skills, like writing, and in comprehension of content areas as well. Research shows that we need to make sure that students are at grade level around grade three because from there it become more independent reading and a lot of comprehension takes place. There, unfortunately, are students who will be struggling readers when they enter middle school. It is vvery important to address these concerns right away and work towards helping students become fluent readers and learn how to comprehend. The strategies laid out in this website will help scaffold students towards grade level reading and help with comprehension of text. Not only are you helping students learn comprehension skills, but this will in turn improve much more than that, including writing skills. Each student learns differently, so being able to provide several varieties of comprehension strategies, students will be able to pick ones that suite them best.
Common Core and Comprehension Strategies
It is important to think about the Common Core and how each strategy we use will help our students meet the standards. The strategies found in this website will help with a lot of different Common Core State Standards. Not only will these strategies help with comprehension, but they will also help with writing skills. To get an idea, the following 6th grade standards could be met or developed in students through the strategies found on this website (this is just an example, there are many more standards that would be met):
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3
Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.1
Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.WHST.6-8.2
Write informative/explanatory texts, including the narration of historical events, scientific procedures/ experiments, or technical processes.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.1
Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, in the grades 6-8 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.5
Analyze how a particular sentence, paragraph, chapter, or section fits into the overall structure of a text and contributes to the development of the ideas.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.6.7
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.2
Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.3
Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g., how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
Comprehensive Assessments
Below is a video that lays out the fundamentals and ideas behind comprehensive assessments. This video talks about the advantages of formative assessments and how those can aid in student comprehension. When students receive formative feedback that they can apply to a paper or project again is most beneficial. It also talks about how project-based assessments are very beneficial in seeing the comprehension that students have. By steering towards the project-based approach, teachers and students are able to see how they can apply their knowledge and comprehension into the world outside of school.
References for this page
Edutopia. (2015, March 16). Five Keys to Comprehensive Asssment. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=287&v=HFimMJL3Wz0
Miller, M., & Veatch, N. (2011). Literacy in context (LinC): Choosing instructional strategies to teach reading in content areas for students grades 5-12. Boston: Pearson.
The Importance of 4th Grade Reading Comprehension. (2012, October 5). Retrieved June 10, 2015, from http://www.thereadingclinic.com/the-importance-of-4th-grade-reading-comprehension/
Edutopia. (2015, March 16). Five Keys to Comprehensive Asssment. Retrieved June 10, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=287&v=HFimMJL3Wz0
Miller, M., & Veatch, N. (2011). Literacy in context (LinC): Choosing instructional strategies to teach reading in content areas for students grades 5-12. Boston: Pearson.
The Importance of 4th Grade Reading Comprehension. (2012, October 5). Retrieved June 10, 2015, from http://www.thereadingclinic.com/the-importance-of-4th-grade-reading-comprehension/