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

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
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
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 will not get a second chance.

27. How Can Comprehension Strategies Be Taught?
Effective Comprehension strategy instruction is explicit, but not segmented 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

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. Webbing Ideas Cow 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: Visualization Read 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, or are 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

51. STRATEGIES – After Reading
Organizing Information
Create outline of key words
Look think speak
Sort and classify
Compare and contrast
Make connections within and among texts

52. Words to Use C/C Contrasting Words Comparing Words unlike like
in contrast to
different from
less
whereas
however
but
as opposed to…
on the other hand
Comparing Words
like
same as
more
Similar
likewise
and, as well as
also, too
just as, as do, as did, as does
both

53. STRATEGIES – After Reading
Summarizing
Main ideas
Sections of the text

54. Summarizing Take succinct but complete notes – key words
Pull out main ideas
Focus on key details
Break out the larger ideas
Look, think, speak
Write only enough to convey the gist

55. STRATEGIES – After Reading
Evaluate ideas
Evaluate learning in terms of original purpose for reading
Evaluate texts according to criteria
Author's life
Author’s slant/bias
Timelines/time period
Sources

56. STRATEGIES – After Reading
Making Application
Use information
Create
Demonstrate understanding, drama, art,
charts, diagrams, reader’s theater

57. STRATEGIES – After Reading
Respond
Interpret and reflect on the text
Personal response
Reformulation

58. ACTIVITY: After Reading
Look at the text provided
Suggest “After Reading” activities
Remembering information
Organizing information
Summarizing
Evaluation
Application
Respond

59. …there is little reading comprehension instruction in schools
…there is little reading comprehension instruction in schools. In fact, comprehension is often tested, but rarely taught.
Durkin, 1978, Pressley and Wharton-McDonald, 1998