Improving Content Area Comprehension through Questioning Strategies

1
Improving Content Area Comprehension through
Questioning Strategies

• Vivian Bernstein
• Author Vocabulary Advantage Six Books for
  Social Studies and Science, American history and
  world geography books, Steck-Vaughn Company A
  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Imprint
• Amazing Americans Biography Series, Wright Group,
  McGraw-Hill
• viv31448_at_aol.com, 516-763-2567

2
Reading Comprehension Research

• Teaching comprehension strategies improves
  success. (National Reading Panel, 2000).
• Background knowledge is essential for
  comprehension.
• Vocabulary is the major factor in text
  readability. (Chall and Dale, 1995)
• Vocabulary knowledge in kindergarten is a
  predictor of reading comprehension in teenagers.
  (Stahl and Stahl, 2004).
• Good readers ask questions and make predictions.
  (National Reading Panel, 2000).

3
Students with Excellent Comprehension

• Use background knowledge
• Make and verify predictions
• Ask themselves questions while reading
• Constantly self-monitor comprehension
• Create mental images
• Make connections
• Summarize
• Have large vocabularies

4
Strategy 1. Build Recall Skills

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• How?
• Why?

5
Recall Activity Who Said It?

• Jesse Owens Harry Truman
• Albert Einstein Franklin D. Roosevelt

• I decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
• I embarrassed Hitler by winning four gold medals
  at the 1936 Olympics.
• I asked Congress to declare war against Germany
  and Japan.
• My science theories helped develop the atomic
  bomb.

6
Strategy 2. Always Build and Activate Background
Knowledge Before ReadingActivity Use Background
Knowledge to Interpret Photo (www.loc.gov)
7
Metacognition What do I Know about the Great
Depression?
8
Strategy 3. Encourage Inquiry and Discussion
through Higher Level Questions

• Examples of Essential Questions
• Did the Constitution create a fair government?
• How are people affecting the earth?
• Why can cactus plants survive in the desert?
• Could the Iraq War have been avoided?

9
Three Steps for Learning with Essential Questions

• Identify the big question.
• Decide on a final project.
• Use instruction to help students learn so they
  can complete their project.

10

• Applying Blooms Taxonomy Comparing Magellan and
  Columbus
• Knowledge List 3 facts.
• Comprehension Draw a map of his route.
• Application Sequence seven events in Magellans
  life. Analysis Compare and contrast the voyages
  of Magellan and Columbus.
• Synthesis Propose a different route that might
  have been safer.
• Evaluation Write arguments to persuade the
  Portuguese king to finance Magellans exploration

11
Strategy 4. Teach Students to Read Expository
Texts

• How to Read an Information Text
• Survey the text
• Learn new vocabulary
• Identify text structure and signal words
• Predict main ideas
• Read the selection
• Ask questions
• Verify predictions answer questions

12
Expository Texts

• Kinds of Text Structures
• Sequence
• Description
• Cause and effect
• Enumeration
• Comparisons
• Problem-solutions

13
Pearl HarborCause and Effect Text Structure

• On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked
  American planes, ships, and soldiers at Pearl
  HarborThe Japanese killed more than 2,000
  American soldiers.The next day, the United
  States declared war on Japan.
• Americas Story, Steck-Vaughn Company, p. 231

14
Cause and Effect Pearl Harbor
Effect 1
More than 2,000 Americans were killed.
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
Cause
Effect 2
The United States declared war against Japan on
December 8, 1941.
15
Strategy 5. Apply Questioning Strategies to the
Three Stages of Reading

• Questions for Before, During and After Reading
• Before
• What do you already know about this topic?
• What do you think you will learn?
• During and After Reading
• What was this selection about?
• What would happen if___?
• What is an example of ___?

16
Strategy 6. Teach Question-Answer Relationships

• Right ThereFind correct answer in the
  passage.How manyWho? Where? What? According to
  the passage?
• 2. Think and SearchSearch the entire
  passage. Find information to answer the
  question.The main idea of the passageWhat
  caused?Compare and contrast

17
Question Answer Relationships, cont.

• 3. Author and YouUse information in the text
  and your background knowledge.The author
  implies_____The passage suggests _____The
  speaker's attitude is _____
• 4. On My OwnAnswer qustions using background
  knowledge. You may not have to read the
  passage.In your opinion ____Based on your
  experience ____Think about what you know ____

18
Strategy 7. Generate Questions for Reading Social
Studies, Science, and Math

• Social Studies Questions
• What does the primary source tell you about____?
• What was the main cause and effect of ____?
• Did the people of ancient Rome create a good
  government? (Essential Question)
• Science Questions
• In what ways do ___ differ?
• What do you observe about ___?
• What makes a good habitat? (Essential Question)

19
Math Questions Mt. Everest Temperatures
(www.everestquest.com)

• May 28, 1999
• 10,000 ft 54 degrees F
• 18,000 ft 27 degrees
• 24,000 ft. 10 degrees F
• 30,000 ft. -17 degrees F
• Questions
• Make a line graph. What does the graph show about
  temperature change and altitude?
• Predict what the temperature would be at 5000 ft.
  

20
Strategy 8. Question the Author (Beck and
McKeown)

• Before Reading
• Why do you think the author wrote the book or
  selection?
• What do you think is the authors purpose?
• During and After Reading
• What is the authors point of view?
• What is the authors tone?
• Do you agree with the authors point of view?
  Why?

21
Strategy 9. Promote Test Taking Skills

• Writers Check List
• _____ 1. Do you have a beginning, middle
• and end?
• _____ 2. Did you use interesting
• vocabulary?
• _____ 3. Do your paragraphs have topic
• sentences?
• _____ 4. Do facts support the main ideas?
• _____ 5. Do you have good organization?

22
Strategy for Reading Challenging Texts

• Reread
• Slow down!
• Read aloud
• Link to background knowledge

23
Testing Language

• Which statement best explains _____?
• Based on the graph, what is _____?
• What does _____ (word or phrase) mean?
• What is the difference between ____?
• What is the best title _____?
• According to the passage (chart, map, selection)
  _____?
• What conclusion can be drawn ____?

24
Strategy 10 Build Vocabulary Select 10
Vocabulary Words for Each Unit World War I

• assassination
• armistice
• ethnic groups
• imperialism
• isolationism
• torpedoes

• militarism
• self-determinism
• nationalism
• neutral
• mobilize
• propaganda

25
Vocabulary Practice Would You Rather?

• Would you rather live under imperialism or
  isolationism?
• Would you rather your nation build torpedoes or
  war planes?
• Would you rather see a nation allow
  self-determination or become a colony?

26
Conclusion

• Build background knowledge
• Build vocabulary
• Ask many kinds of questions
• Encourage students to ask questions
• Teach different kinds of expository text
  structure
• Use graphic organizers
• Teach test taking skills
• Stress big idea questions for inquiry education
• Encourage content area writing

27
Steck-Vaughn Books by Vivian Bernstein

• (An Imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
• Americas Story (3rd grade reading level)
• Americas History Land of Liberty (5th 6th
  grade reading level)
• Vocabulary Advantage (3 social studies books, 3
  science books)
• World Geography and You
• American Government Freedom, Rights,
  Responsibilities

28
Wright Group/McGraw Hill Books by Vivian
BernsteinAmazing Americans Biography Series

• 6. Thomas Jefferson
• 7. Jackie Robinson
• Sojourner Truth
• Levi Strauss
• George Washington Carver

• Pocahontas
• George Washington
• Ben Franklin
• Abigail Adams
• Martin Luther King, Jr.

29
Bibliography

• Beck, I. and McKeown, and Kucan. (2002)
  Bringing Words to Life Robust Vocabulary
  Instruction. New York Guilford.
• Beck, I. and McKeown, M.G. (2006) Improving
  Comprehension with Questioning the Author.
  Scholastic.
• Klinger, J.K., Vaughn, S., and Boardman, A.
  (2007) Teaching Reading Comprehension to Students
  with Learning Difficulties. New York Guilford
  Press.
• Rasinski, T.V., and Padak, N. (2008).
  Evidence-Based Instruction in Reading A
  Professional Development Guide to Comprehension.
  Boston Pearson.
• Wilhelm, J.D. (2007). Engaging Readers and
  Writers with Inquiry. New York Scholastic.

30
Bibliography, continued

• http//www.reading.org/downloads/resourc
  es/nrp_summary/pdf
• http//www.busyteacherscafe.com/teacher_resources
  /literacy_pages/comprehension_strategies.htm
• http//www.eduref.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Vi
  rtual/Lessons/Language_Arts/Whole_Language/WLG0007
  .html

31
Bibliography, continued

• http//www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.
  asp?id95
• www.everestquest.com
• http//www.readingquest.org/strat/
• http//www.colorincolorado.org/educators/content/c
  omprehension
• http//www.msularc.org/docu/5-page_comprehension.p
  df