Reading Comprehension

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READING

COMPREHENSION

Guidelines to Improve Reading Comprehension

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Winston Churchill Winston Churchill

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Reading Comprehension

“The level of understanding of a

“The level of understanding of a text.”

text.”



Understanding comes from the interaction

between the words that are written and how

they trigger knowledge outside the text.

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7 Keys to Comprehension

1. Motion picture of the mind: sensory images

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 Good readers create a wide range of visual,Good readers create a wide range of visual,

auditory, and other sensory images as they read, auditory, and other sensory images as they read, and they become emotionally involved with what and they become emotionally involved with what they read.

they read.

2. Making connections: background knowledge

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 Good readers use their relevant prior knowledgeGood readers use their relevant prior knowledge

before, during and after reading to enhance their before, during and after reading to enhance their understanding of what

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7 Keys to Comprehension

3. 3. Why

Why,

, what,

what, where, who

where, who and

and how:

how: questio

questioning

ning

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 Questions indicate engagementQuestions indicate engagement

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 Questions are fundamental to being a human beingQuestions are fundamental to being a human being

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 Questions are a key ingredient in building Questions are a key ingredient in building superbsuperb

readers readers

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7 Keys to Comprehension

4. 4. Weaving

Weaving sense

sense into

into words:

words: drawing

drawing inferences

inferences

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 Inferring involves forming a best guess about what theInferring involves forming a best guess about what the „evidence‟

„evidence‟ (words, sentences, and paragraphs) means;(words, sentences, and paragraphs) means; speculating about

speculating about what‟swhat‟s to come; and then drawingto come; and then drawing conclusions about what was read to deepen the conclusions about what was read to deepen the meaning of the literal words on the page.

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By using i

By using inference you:

nference you:

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Elaborate upon what you read

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Draw conclusions

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Make predictions

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Find connecting points

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Ask questions

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Personalize what you read to build a deeper

meaning

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7 Keys to Comprehension

5&6.

5&6. What‟s

What‟s important

important and

and why:

why:

determining

importance and synthesizing

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 An important aspect of comprehension is beingAn important aspect of comprehension is being

able to distinguish between the nonessential able to distinguish between the nonessential information and the essential information. information and the essential information.

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 Determining importance has to do with knowingDetermining importance has to do with knowing why you‟re reading and

why you‟re reading and then making decisionsthen making decisions

about which information or ideas are most criti

about which information or ideas are most critical tocal to understanding the overall meaning of the piece

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7 Keys to Comprehension

7. 7. Cultivating

Cultivating Awareness:

Awareness: Fix-up st

Fix-up strategies

rategies

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 Go back Go back and reread. and reread. Sometimes Sometimes that that is is enoughenough

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 Read ahead to clarify meaningRead ahead to clarify meaning

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 Identify what it is you don‟t understand: wordIdentify what it is you don‟t understand: word

sentence or concept sentence or concept

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 If it is a word, read beyond and use context clues If it is a word, read beyond and use context clues toto

help you understand. help you understand.

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 If it is a sentence in a picture book, look at theIf it is a sentence in a picture book, look at the

pictures. pictures.

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7.Cultivating

7.Cultivating Awareness: Fix-up

Awareness: Fix-up strategies

strategies

(Cont‟)

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If it is a concept, try to summarize the

story up to the confusing spot. If that

doesn‟t clear it up, maybe you need to

build more background knowledge

..

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The Problem with Reading Comprehension

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Reading is a collection of linguistic and

cognitive skills

cognitive skills that are embedded and

that are embedded and

hierarchical in nature.

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Is it

a reading comprehension problem

?

Or is it

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Is it

a reading comprehension problem

?

Or is it

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Is it

a reading comprehension problem

?

Or is it

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Is it

a reading comprehension problem

?

Is it a “thinkin

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Challenges for the

Students

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 Time to work on readingTime to work on reading

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 Insufficient vocabulary or poor dictionary skillsInsufficient vocabulary or poor dictionary skills

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 Tendency to translate the whole textTendency to translate the whole text

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 Difficulty reading beyond the textDifficulty reading beyond the text

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 Difficulty retainingDifficulty retaining

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 Difficulty connectingDifficulty connecting

with other work with other work 

 Lack of knowledgeLack of knowledge

of world history of world history

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Reading Comprehension Skills

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 Cause and effectCause and effect 

 Classify and categorizeClassify and categorize 

 Compare and contrastCompare and contrast 

 Draw conclusionsDraw conclusions 

 Fact and opinionFact and opinion 

 Main ideaMain idea 

 Important detailsImportant details 

 InferencesInferences 

 SequenceSequence 

 Bias and propagandaBias and propaganda

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 Problem and solutionProblem and solution 

 Identify themeIdentify theme 

 Literal recallLiteral recall 

 ToneTone 

 MoodMood 

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Reading Comprehension Strategies

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 SummarizingSummarizing

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 QuestioningQuestioning

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 Story mappingStory mapping

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 MonitoringMonitoring

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 Question answeringQuestion answering

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 Graphic organizersGraphic organizers

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 Mental imageryMental imagery

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 Prior knowledgePrior knowledge

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Meld skills and strategies;

to improve reading comprehension

So

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Benefits of Reading Comprehension

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Attention

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Auditory analysis

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Sound blending

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Sound segmenting

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Memory

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Processing speed

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