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Good reading comprehension opens the door to acquiring new knowledge. Better reading comprehension has a positive impact on a child’s academic performance in all subjects where reading is the main source of information – including mathematics. e.g. When solving word problems, students are required to read and comprehend the text of the problem, identify the question that needs to be answered, and finally create and solve a numerical equation, therefore word problems in mathematics often pose a challenge to struggling readers and improved reading comprehension is a prerequisite for solving this kind of math problems.
Reading is thinking, comprehension is key. Without comprehension, reading is word calling. Comprehension strategies include:
Activating schema- Before reading, we can think about what we already know about the topic , we can also think about the vocabulary the author might be using in the book.
Making connections-When we read, we make connections between text we are reading and our own personal experience, other books read before and the world.
Predicting-When we read, we can predict what is going to happen next based on the clues in the text and our background knowledge, we can also verify if our prediction is correct or not in the read-on text.
Inferring-We also infer according to the clues in the text and our background knowledge, but we can not verify our inferences in the read-on text. The text does not tell us the answer directly.
Visualizing-Making mental images when we read.
Asking questions-We ask questions before reading, during reading and after reading.
Determining importance-We use text structure and text feature to help us determine important information in the text.
Summarizing-Summarizing is similar to retelling, but it is typically shorter because it only includes the most relevant information from the text. We use question words to help us summarize.
Synthesizing-We put pieces together and see them in a new way. Synthesizing is the process through which readers bring together their background knowledge and their evolving understanding of the book to create a complete and original understanding of the text.
The strategies listed above are never used in isolation, instead they are often intertwined with each other. (e.g. we use background knowledge when making connections/predictions; we can not predict/infer without asking questions.) Good readers actively and consciously coordinate these skills and strategies before, during, and after reading a text. On the other hand, struggling readers do not read strategically. Nor do they have sufficient metacognitive awareness to develop, select, and apply strategies that can enhance their comprehension of text.
Our reading workshops come to the rescue. Comprehension strategies are taught explicitly in our tutoring sessions, high quality picture books make the perfect venue for doing this because they help students focus on the specific comprehension strategy they are learning, even with older readers. The graphic organizers and Post-it notes are used in teacher's modeling as well as students' guided practicing. They help record our thinking while reading. By doing so, your children will not only have increased pleasure, motivation, curiosity, and engagement while reading, but will also develop stronger confidence in their own abilities as readers.
Here are some examples of graphic organizers:
Books for teaching activating schema
<The snowy day> by Ezra Jack Keas
<The seashore book> by Charlotte Zolotow
Books for teaching making connections
<You are special> by Max Lucado (Text-to-Self)
<Lily's purple plastic purse> by Kevin Henkes (Text-to-Self)
<Fly away home> by Eve Bunting (Text-to-World)
<The great Kapok tree> by Lynne Cherry (Text-to-World)
<The snowy day> by Ezra Jack Keas and <A poem for Peter> by Andrea Davis Pinkney (Text-to-Text)
Books for teaching predicting
<I went walking> by Sue Williams
<What do you do with a tail like this?> by Steve Jerkins
Books for teaching making inferences
<Elephant and Piggie Books> By Mo Willems
<This is not my hat> by Jan Klassen
Books for teaching visualizing
<White snow, bright snow> by Alvin Tresselt
<Owl Moon> by Jane Yolen
Books for teaching asking questions:
<The lotus seed> by Tatsuro Kiuchi
<Dr De Soto> by William Steig
Books for teaching determining importance-Fiction
<Knuffle Bunny> by Mo Willems
<Enemy Pie> by Derek Munson
Books for teaching synthesizing
<My lucky day> by keiko Kasza
<Enemy Pie> by Derek Munson
Summarizing is similar to retelling, but it is typically shorter because it only includes the most relevant information from the text. We use question words to help us summarize.
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