COMPREHENSION

1. COMPREHENSION Phyllis Ferguson

2. Reflection Activity What is your current understanding about comprehension instruction in the classroom?

4. Desired Outcomes • Know the process of “think alouds” to intentionally model and habituate the use of comprehension strategies. • Identify and practice strategies that tenable students to comprehend text before, during and after the reading. • Recognize and practice different ways to scaffold instruction

5. What Research says about Comprehension • Comprehension is the single most important factor in high achievement • Explicit comprehension instruction K-12 across all curricular areas is essential • Skills and thinking processes modeled by the teacher to encourage intentional thinking • Collaboration and discussion of text with peers—strengthen comprehension

6. What Research says about Comprehension • Most beneficial student strategies: Comprehension monitoring Cooperative learning Use of graphic and semantic organizers Question answering with immediate feedback Question generation (self-questioning) Story structure Summarizing Visualization

7. No one disagrees that the goal of proficient reading is to comprehend text.Moats 2002

8. The goal of developing comprehension should go hand in hand with the goal of developing sound-letter knowledge… …even for the youngest readers. Duke and Pearson, 2002

9. Essential Components of Comprehension • Decoding skills • Development of sight words • Fluency • Vocabulary • Extensive Reading • Relating to prior knowledge • Pressley, 2000

10. So, how can we teach students to better comprehend text? By understanding how we comprehend as we read… …and by explicitly teaching students how to comprehend as they read.

11. How do we comprehend when we read?

12. Think Aloud

13. What is a Think Aloud?

14. Predictions Connections Questions Mental Picture Background knowledge Inferences Important Ideas Summaries Monitoring Fixups Meaning level Word level What can you Think Aloud About?

15. Gratitude The street lights were a warm welcome from the oncoming chill of darkness. The park bench’s curvature felt familiar under his tired old spine. The wool blanket from the Salvation Army was comfortable around his shoulders and the pair of shoes he’d found in the dumpster today fit perfectly. God, he thought, isn’t life grand. Andre Hunt

16. Think-alouds can provide immeasurable help. They make us slow down and take a look at our own reading processes. Wilhelm. 2001

17. ACTIVITY: Think Aloud • Pair up • Partner # 1 reads text • Think aloud before, during and after the reading.. • Partner #2 writes reader’s thinking

18. My Thinking My Thinking Before Reading Before Reading During Reading During Reading After Reading After Reading

19. ACTIVITY: Think Aloud • Switch roles • Partner # 2 reads text • Think aloud before, during and after the reading.. • Partner #1 writes reader’s thinking

20. My Thinking My Thinking Before Reading Before Reading During Reading During Reading After Reading After Reading

21. Tips on Using a Think Aloud • Keep practicing and the process will become easier for you over time. • Prepare your think aloud in advance. Put your thoughts on post-its and keep these near the text. • Use only one or two strategies first. • Can be done during read aloud, shared reading, or small group instruction.

22. For Reluctant Readers • Have a copy of think aloud text on overhead so that students can see the point you are “thinking about.” • Use highlighters, pointers, etc. to demonstrate points of thought. • Make clear connections between concepts the students understand • Don’t overdo thinking. Give a few clear examples.

23. Reflection Activity Revisiting Think Alouds

24. Now that you have thought about your reading… …how do you use that understanding?

25. BEFORE, DURING & AFTER READING

26. A newspaper is better than a magazine, and a seashore is a better place than a street. At first, it is better to run than walk. In addition, you may have to try several times. It takes some skill, but it’s easy to learn. Even young children can enjoy it. Once successful, complications are minimal. Birds seldom get close. One needs lots of room. Rain soaks in very fast. Too many people doing the same thing can also cause problems. If there are no complications, it can be very peaceful. A rock will serve as an anchor. If things break loose from it, however, you willnot get a second chance.

27. How Can Comprehension Strategies Be Taught? Effective Comprehension strategy instruction is explicit,butnotsegmented or artificial. • I Tell (Explanation) • I Do (Modeling) • We Do (Guided Practice) • You Do (Application) • You Show (Application) (Armbruster, Lehr, & Osborn, 2001)

28. Teach Comprehension Before Reading To build student background knowledge by… • Previewing Picture walk Minimal Cues Cloze What already know – Web/KWL • Subject • Structure • Author

29. Setting a purpose • to respond • to explore ideas • to get information • to clarify thinking • to extend thinking to enjoy and appreciate • Asking questions about information or ideas related to the text • Predicting • Introduce needed vocabulary

30. Picture Walk • Imbeds vocabulary • Establishes purpose • Encourages prediction • Assesses prior knowledge

31. Minimal Cues • “Wheel of Fortune” • All text as blanks or start with some cues • Focuses attention on the blending of the use phonics, syntax as connected to meaning • Introduces test and entices the readers

32. Cloze • Blanks for key words • Focus on making meaning • Forces the integration of the cueing systems • Assisted – blanks with initial sounds • Meaningful use of phonics • Focus on making meaning • Forces the integration of the cueing systems

33. Modified Cloze I______ as ______ as Grandma _______ me; I ______ going to ______because of that darn _______ in the ___________.

34. Assisted Cloze I’d l_______ in the soft s_____ in my b____ l___________ to his b____________. L______ and f_______, l________ and f________.

35. Cow Webbing Ideas Lamb Chicken What animals live On a farm? Pig Horse Goat

36. ACTIVITY: Before Reading • Look at the text provided • Suggest “Before Reading” activities Preview Set a purpose Ask questions Predict Introduce needed vocabulary

37. Teach Comprehension During Reading • So that students can monitor their understanding by… • Knowing when they understand • Knowing when they don’t understand • Knowing how they know • Knowing what to do about • Knowing the rate at which to read – making adjustments

38. STRATEGIES – During Reading To gain, regain, or clarify meaning • Pictures what is read --Visualization • Read the text • Picture the information in your brain • Plan on how to draw it on paper • Draw and label the picture on paper.

39. ACTIVITY: VisualizationRead the text, visualize and create the granod. A granod is an animal. It has a long oval-shaped body. The granod has a long neck and tail. The top of the neck, back, and tail are covered by a row of triangular-shaped plates. The granod’s head is shaped lie a long triangle. It has big eyes, and eyebrows that stick out. It also has big nostrils. Its body is covered with scales. The granod has four short leg. At the end of each leg is a foot with five long toes. Each toe has a sharp claw at its end. The granod has two wings attached to its body. These are located behind the front legs towards the top of its back. Granods may be many different colors, but usually, they are green and yellow, or red and yellow.

40. STRATEGIES – During Reading • Confirm or conflict with predictions • DLTA • DRTA Connects emotionally and intellectually to the text Allows continuous construction of meaning Movement – increases brain compatibility

41. Asking questions about text • “RIGHT THERE QUESTIONS” to locate specific information – show proof • Who • What • Where • When • Why

42. Create 5 RIGHT THERE questions for: Penny Pencil was long, thin, and yellow. She was a number 2 pencil. Ahe lived in and orange pencil box on a child’s desk. She liked to draw pictures, but she didn’t like to do school work. Her favorite time of day was when the child she belonged towent home. When she was alone in her pencil box, she slept and dreamt of writing beautiful poems that would make her famous.

43. Asking questions • “”PUT IT TOGETHER” QUESTIONS:’ • Use information from more than one sentence • Combines answers from different parts of text • Gives students a chance to connect • Text to text • Text to self • Author to text

44. Use of Context Clues words that say “stop don’t look in the dictionary” • If the context clue is: is, are was, were, or, such as, or means, the definition will be found AFTER the word and the context clue. • If the context clue is: are known as, is known as, is called, orare called, the definition will be in front of the word you need to know the meaning of.

45. Try it! • _____________is water that falls to the earth as rain or snow. • Water that falls to the earth is called ____________. • __________ are a light snow which falls for a short time. • A light snow that falls for a short time is known as ___________. • _____________ means to pile up. • In a blizzard. Snow ___________, or piles up.

46. Integrating New Concepts • Connecting new information to prior knowledge • Classifying information • Categorizing

47. Utilizing and Creating Graphic Organizers • To create scaffolds for learning and retaining • Organize learning • Connect text to: • Information – prior, current, essential • Life • Author’s purpose • Text

48. Teach Comprehension After Reading So that students can bring closure by… • Remembering information • Organizing information • Summarizing • Evaluating ideas • Making applications • Responding

49. ACTIVITY: During Reading • Look at text provided • Suggest “during reading”activites • Monitoring • Visualization • Confirming or conflicting’ • Ask questions • Integrate information • Graphic Organizers

50. STRATEGIES – After Reading Remembering Information • Use notes to understand the text • Answer questions posed before and during reading • Draw conclusions based on valitdity • Interpret and reflect