Reading Comprehension Tools by Desiree Evans, Tutor Coordinator Sponsored by the Hostos Writing and Literacy Program Professor Matt Moses, Director The objective of this Power Point Presentation is to assist students with the basics of reading comprehension. For more information, you can refer to the text Reading for Understanding: How Reading Apprenticeship Improves Disciplinary Learning in Secondary and College Classrooms located in the Writing Center Library.

Main Subjects: Contents -definition of reading -reading strategies list -“think aloud”- a conversation about reading -“talk to the text”-how to annotate

Explanation of Reading “Reading is not just a basic skill… Reading is not a straightforward process of lifting the words off the page. It is a complex process of problem solving in which the reader works to make sense of a text not just from the words and sentences on the page but also from the ideas, memories, and knowledge evoked by those words and sentences” (Schoenbach, Greenleaf, & Murphy 17,19). Think for a moment about the description above. What does it mean? What is your personal definition of reading? How do you read a written text? Discuss with your tutor.

How do you read a text? Discuss your reading process with your tutor using the following questions: What actions do you perform when you have difficulty understanding the meaning of a passage? What do you do when you get confused by a word, phrase, or sentence? While reading a text, what active reading strategies do you apply (i.e. underlining or annotation)?

Tool #1: Reading Strategies List With your Tutor, create a reading strategies list that you can refer to when you face a challenging reading. Some example procedures are the following: 1. Imagine myself “in the reading.” 2. Reread or read more slowly and deliberately. 3. Skip to a point in the reading where comprehension is better. 4. Get meaning from context first; use dictionary later as a check on understanding. 5. Take a deep breath to quiet the mind. 6. Go online to do research. 7. Discuss challenging passages with peers. 8. Ask questions about the author’s point of view Taken from “Classroom Close-up 4.2” in Reading for Understanding

Let’s try it! Reading Activity: Choose a section or paragraph from your reading that is challenging for you to understand. Apply your reading strategies list to make sense of the text.

Writing Activity Make a list of the main ideas, words, and other relevant details you learned while using your reading strategies list. Discuss these basic ideas with your tutor. What do you think the author wanted to communicate?

Tool #2: Think Aloud Thinking aloud as you read means “verbalizing [the] process of trying to make sense of texts.” It is an “important…routine to help students learn how to focus on their thinking process when they read…” (Schoenbach, Greenleaf, & Murphy 82). Think Aloud Phrases: I predict This reminds me of In the next part I think I got confused when I picture I’m not sure of A question I have is I’ll read on and check back I wonder about The big idea is Could this mean I think the point is Taken from Reading for Understanding page 106

Let’s try it! Reading Activity: Model the Think Aloud phrases using your article or book and give examples of ideas you imagine related to the text. Describe the process to your tutor.

Conversations With The Text “Talking to the Text is a silent, written from of Think Aloud. Students annotate as they read it, documenting in writing the interactions they are having with the text: what’s confusing, what seems important, what’s connected to what, what questions are coming up…” (Schoenbach, Greenleaf, and Murphy 108).

Let’s Try It! Read your text silently and annotate one paragraph with your questions, connection, or comments. Discussion with Tutor: What did you mark in the text? How did it help your understanding?

Additional Resources Discuss more online reading resources with your tutor to practice at home!