Comprehension
Strategies for
Struggling
Students
South Todd Elementary 7/30/2012
Betsy Madison
[email protected]
Betsymadison.com
What is your definition of Reading
Comprehension?

“intentional thinking during which meaning is constructed
through interactions between text and reader” Durkin
(1993)

“the construction of the meaning of a written text through a
reciprocal interchange of ideas between the reader and the
message in a particular text” Harris & Hodges (1995)


What skills and knowledge
“reading
is thinking for
guidedreading
by print” Perfetti
are comprehension
most critical
(1995)
comprehension?
“the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing
meaning through interaction and involvement with written
language. It consists of three elements: the reader, the
text, and the activity or purpose for reading” Rand Reading
Study Group (2002)
Comprehension Continuum
Answering
Literal
Questions
Retelling
Merging
Thinking with
Content
Acquiring
Knowledge
Actively Using
Knowledge
Short term
recall
Can organize
thoughts and
put in own
words
Connecting,
inferring,
questioning,
determining
importance,
synthesizing,
reacting to
info
Reading to
acquire
knowledge and
insight
Actively use
knowledge and
apply what has
been learned
to experiences,
situations, and
circumstances
of daily life
Does not
demonstrate
understanding
Does not
necessarily
demonstrate
understanding
Demonstrates
understanding
Learn,
understand,
remember
Shows deeper
understanding
Expand
understanding
and take
action
Proficient comprehension of text is
influenced by:
Accurate and fluent word reading skills
 Oral language skills (vocabulary, linguistic
comprehension)
 Extent of conceptual and factual knowledge
 Knowledge and skill in the use of strategies to
improve comprehension or repair it when it
breaks down.
 Knowledge of text structure and genre
 Reasoning and inferential skills
 Motivation to understand
 Interest in the task and materials

Successful Readers
Struggling Readers
Continuously monitor their • Fail to use metareading to make sure they
cognitive strategies as
understand what they are
they read
reading
• Are often not aware when
their understanding
breaks down
Continuously make
connections between the
content of their reading
and their prior knowledge
(life experiences)
• Often lack subjectspecific prior knowledge
• Do not automatically
make connections
between what they are
reading/learning and
what they already know
Successful Readers
Struggling Readers
Automatically use a variety • Have limited knowledge
of effective reading
of strategies for gaining
strategies before, during,
information from text
and after reading.
• Do not automatically
use those strategies
Set a purpose for reading • Often do not enjoy
and adjust their rate and
reading
strategy use depending on • Lack understanding of
the text and content
the utility of reading
• Have little history of
success to build on
You should suspect comprehension
problems if a student…
 has
know difficulty with phonemic
awareness, phonics, and/or fluency
 seems
to have a weak vocabulary.
 is
not able to summarize a passage or a
book.
 might
be able to tell you what happened
in a story, but can't explain why events
went the way they did.
 can't
explain what a character's thoughts
or feelings might have been.
 doesn't
link events in a book to similar
events from another book or from real
life.
 seems
to focus on the "wrong" aspect of
a passage; for example, he concentrates
so much on the details that the main idea
is lost.
 can tell the outcome of a story, but
cannot explain why things turned out that
way.
 does not go behind what is presented in a
book to think about what might happen
next or why characters took the action
they did.
 brings up irrelevant information when
trying to relate a passage to something in
her own life.
 cannot
tell the clear, logical sequence of
events in a story.
 does
not pick out the key facts from
informational text.
 cannot
give you a "picture" of what's
going on in a written passage; for
example, what the characters look like or
details of where the story takes place.
Reasons for Comprehension Difficulties

Lack of appropriate prior knowledge.

Inability to relate content to prior knowledge.

Over-reliance on background knowledge.

Inability to read text fluently.

Difficulty with decoding words;

Inability to attend to meaning while reading.

Inability to apply comprehension strategies.

Difficulty with understanding meaning of
words.
Listening Comprehension is the first
step

Refers to children’s understanding of
stories and other texts that are read
aloud to them

Lays the foundation for children to later
be able to “understand what they read,
remember what they read, and
communicate with others about what
they read”
—National Institute for Literacy, 2001, p.
48
Listening Comprehension . . .
. . . is enhanced as children listen to
stories that are read aloud, participate
in discussions of stories, and engage
in other literacy-related activities.
Listening Comprehension
Instruction
•
•
When you
read aloud,
encourage
children to ...
•
•
•
•
Make predictions
Answer questions about
the book’s content
Read and talk along
Share their own interests
related to the book
content
Ask questions of you
and their peers
Reenact or retell the
story
Effective Read-Aloud Sessions
Schedule time for read-aloud sessions
Use a variety of grouping formats including
one-on-one, small groups, and whole class
Select different types of books
Activate and build background knowledge
Teach new words and concepts
Stop a few times for reactions,
comments, predictions, and
questions
Avoid long discussions
Don’t stop read-alouds when
students can read independently
It’s the talk that surrounds (before and after)
the reading aloud of books that is so important
for enhancing children’s oral language,
vocabulary development, and listening
comprehension.
Putting it all together
Step 1: Enhance content instruction
Step 2: Embedded strategy
instruction
Step 3: Intensive strategy
instruction for struggling students
Step 4: Intensive basic skill
instruction
Level 1: Enhance Content Instruction


Students with limited literacy skills typically
do not acquire enough content knowledge
to meet standards
“Give me a will
fish
you’re
Comprehension
notwhile
improve,
long term,
for
strugglingme
readers
content
teaching
howunless
to catch
myarea
background knowledge is improved
own. That way I won’t starve to
 When
students
limited literacy,
death
whilehave
I’m learning
to tie
teachers must compensate for their limited
skills in the waysflies.”
they present content

Rather than COVERING content, try
UNCOVERING content
Level 2: Embedded Strategy Instruction
Literacy/Thinking Strategies teach
students how to think about what they
read
 Connect
to Prior Knowledge
 Visualize/Graphically
Organize
 Question
 Determine
 Monitor
 Infer
Importance in Text
for Meaning
Level 3: Intensive strategy
instruction for struggling students

Tier 1 Small Group Intervention

Tier 2 or 3 Intervention

Mastery of specific strategies for
struggling students

Direct Instruction

Think Aloud

Modeling, Modeling, Modeling

Name the strategy and positive
outcome
Level 4: Intensive Basic Skill
Instruction

Phonemic Awareness

Phonics

Fluency

Vocabulary

Screening

Re-Teaching

Intervention
Gradual Release of Responsibility
I do it.
We do it.
Y’all do it.
You do it.
Comprehension
Strategies
Procedures for Teaching Reading
Comprehension Strategies
• Direct instruction begins with
teachers modeling one strategy at a
time (whole group instruction)
• I DO IT
• Teachers use think-alouds to
describe why, when, and how they
are using the strategy to make
meaning
• I DO IT
• Teachers guide whole group in
practicing the strategy
• WE DO IT
• Teachers guide small groups,
partners, or individual readers in
applying the strategy
• Y’ALL DO IT
• Phase out teacher direction until
readers apply strategies
independently
• YOU DO IT
• Readers reflect on the benefits and
challenges or using the strategy
• I DO IT, WE DO IT, Y’ALL DO IT,
YOU DO IT
Connect to Prior Knowledge
Intentionally Activating Schema
 Text-to-Self
 Students
Connections
compare what they are reading to
their own prior knowledge & experiences
 Students can better understand character,
setting, events, etc… of a story because
they’ve had a similar experience
 These connections can be made by young
students.
 Engaging: I like learning when it’s about
ME
 Text-to-Text
 Students
Connections
compare what they are reading
to something they’ve already read.
 Encourage connections across genres
(article to story, story to poem)
 Helps students understand the concept
of character, setting
 Helps students learn to make
predictions, anticipate problems and
solutions
 These connections can be made by
young students
 Text-to-World
 Students
Connections
compare what they are
reading to a Real World Event
 May require a little more teacher
direction with young students
 Helps students better understand
both the Real World Event and the
text
Prior Knowledge
Thinking/Discussion Stems
 That
reminds me of…
 I’m remembering…
 I have a connection to…
 I have schema for…
 I can relate to…
 I already know…
“The limits of my language are the limits
of my mind. All I know is what I have
words for.” Ludwig Wittgenstein
Vocabulary Tools for Activating Prior
Knowledge
 Word
Sorts
 Three
Way Tie
 Frayer
Model
 Most
Important Word
Visualizing/Organizing
Visualizing/Organizing

Good readers spontaneously create
mental images, anchored in their
background knowledge, as they read.

Good readers use these mental images to
give depth and dimension to their reading
experience. This engages them and
makes the text memorable.

Good readers use mental images to draw
conclusions and recall significant details
after the text is read.

Good readers modify their mental images
as others share their images.
Visualize
 Creating
 Making
a mental image
a picture in your head
 MODEL,
MODEL, MODEL
 Ask
students to draw the picture
they see in their head
 Ask
students to write about the
picture they see in their head
Visualizing Thinking Stems
 I’m
picturing…
I
can
imagine…
I
can feel…
I
can see…
I
can smell…
I
can taste…
I
can touch…
I
can hear…
 My
mental
images
include…
Organizing
 Read
with a pencil in hand
 Reading

must be accountable
Students will be responsible for
something as a result of the
reading
 Write
Time
Writing is an active vs. passive task
 Writing involves the whole body in
the process of thinking
 Writing clarifies perspective

Questioning
Questioning
 Students
ask questions, while reading,…
 If they are curious about something in
the text
 If they want to predict what will happen
 If they want to make something more
clear

Asking the right questions allows good
readers to focus on the most important
information in a text.
Questioning Thinking Stems
I
wonder…
 What
if…?
 Why…?
I
don’t understand…
 It
confused me
when…
 How
could…?
Questioning the Author

Helps students see text as “someone’s
ideas written down”

Deals with text through teacher-posed
questions such as “What is the author
trying to say?” or “What do you think the
author means by that?”

Encourages discussion in which students
are urged to think about constructing
meaning
Question the Author
Question the Author Prompts
What is the author trying to
tell you?
Why is the author telling you
that?
Does the author say it
clearly?
How could the author have
said things more clearly?
What would you say instead?
Student Responses
Question Writing Practice

What questions come to
mind when you see this
picture?

List your questions in your
reading journal.

At least one question must
be an open question.

At least one question must
come from the evaluating,
creating, hypothesizing
level on your Bloom’s
chart.
Question Writing Practice

What questions come to
mind when you see this
picture?

List your questions in your
reading journal.

At least one question must
be an open question.

At least one question must
come from the evaluating,
creating, hypothesizing
level on your Bloom’s
chart.
Determining Importance
Determining Importance

“…making sense of reading and moving
toward insight” (Goudvis & Harvey)
What are the most important ideas or
information in this reading?
What should I remember?
In determining importance,
readers identify important
ideas and facts, enabling
them to mentally organize and
thus more easily comprehend
the essence of what they are
reading.
Keep it or Junk it
 Who
 How
is “driving” this lesson?
does the teacher keep the
students focused on the
important information in the text?
Determining Importance
Thinking Stems
 What’s
important here….
 What matters to me…
 One thing that we should
notice…
 I want to remember…
 It’s interesting that…
Most
Word
Understanding is one of the most cherished
goals of education. Teaching for
understanding can bring knowledge to life
by requiring students to manipulate
knowledge in various ways. For instance,
understanding a historical event means
going beyond the facts to explain them,
explore the remote causes, discuss the
incident as different people might see it
from their own perspectives, and skeptically
critique what various sources say.
Monitor for Meaning
57
Monitor for Meaning
 Does
this make sense?
 Does
this look right?
 Does
this sound right?
Fix Up Strategies
1.
2.
Keep reading to see if things become
clearer.
Go back and read it again.
3.
Skip it to see if it's important and
come
back to it.
4.
Ask for help.
5.Use the strategies of questioning,
inferring, synthesizing, determining
importance, and activating background
knowledge when encountering problems
with the meanings of words, sentences,
and passages.
6. Use decoding and world analysis clues
from the context.
Writing to Learn
to Monitor Meaning
 Learning
Log/Journal
 Dialogue
Journal
 Double-Entry
 Reading
 Admit
Journal
Response Journal
or Exit Slips
 Notemaking
 Re-Write
(not notetaking)
in own words
Inference
Two core sources of information:
In the Book
(or video, photo,
text…)
The answer is there
In My Head
Background
knowledge comes into
play.
64
65
66
Author and You: Making
Inferences
Question
1. Read the
question.
It Says
2. Find
information
from the
text to help
you.
I Say
3. What do
you know
about it?
And So
4. Combine
what you
know with
what the
text says.
67
Tools for Inferring & Predicting
•
•
•
•
•
•
QAR (Questions/Answer/Relationships)
Skimming
Picture Walks
Analogies and Metaphors
Classification
Cornell Notes
Synthesis
The ability to
compile information
in a different way by
combining concepts
or parts in a new
pattern or
proposing
alternative
solutions
71
Synthesis Thinking Stems

Now I understand why…

What would happen if….?

I’m changing my mind about…

I used to think ____, but now I think ___.

My new thinking is….

I’m beginning to think…

How could you connect…..?
Talk Moves
Comprehension Screeners
 MAP
 Dibels
 IRI
Daze
(Individual Reading Inventory)
 Classroom
Formative Assessment
 Text-based
questions
Progress Monitoring
 Dibels
Daze
 Comprehension
Strategies
Monitoring Sheet
Intervention Strategies
 FCRR
Activities
 Comprehension
Instructional Menu
Implications for Older
Struggling Students
 It’s
usually a decoding problem
 Assume
 Use
they struggle with vocabulary
whatever it takes to teach content
Listening Comprehension
 Think Aloud
 Guiding Questions
 Small Group/Individual

Implications for Older
Struggling Students
•
Literacy Thinking Strategies
•
Teach content specific text structures
•
Use highly motivational reading
materials
Putting it all together
Step 1: Enhance content instruction
Step 2: Embedded strategy
instruction
Step 3: Intensive strategy
instruction for struggling students
Step 4: Intensive basic skill
instruction
Conclusions About
Comprehension Instruction
TEACH STRATEGIES
Do not just ask comprehension questions.
Eventually, show students how to combine these
strategies and use them concurrently.
How can I help you?