Reading Comprehension Strategies

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Reading Comprehension Strategies
Arising Questions for the Professional Learning
Community of Rex Rennert Elementary
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As I read, I consciously and subconsciously
synthesize. I question, I infer, I create vivid
sensory images. I relate the piece to my own
experience. I tease out what I think is most
important. I draw conclusions about what I think
the key points of the passage are. Sometimes I
use the strategies purposefully, other times they
surface randomly. They are tools I use,
sometimes effortlessly, sometimes purposefully to
construct meaning. They intertwine and merge and
I switch quickly among them, frequently using
them simultaneously. They are the instruments
which, as I become more familiar with them, give
me the ability to read more quickly. They are
the means to an end. For proficient readers,
they are second nature. Keene and Zimmerman,
1997
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Agenda 1. Definitions of reading comprehension
2. Evidence for instruction of reading
comprehension strategies 3. Report from National
Reading Panel 4. Reading comprehension
strategies 5. Elements for successful reading
strategies 6. Reading strategy instruction 7.
Questions 8. Further references
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Definitions of Reading Comprehension
Definitions of Reading Comprehension
intentional thinking during which meaning is
constructed through interactions between text and
reader. Durkin (1993)
the construction of the meaning of a written
text through a reciprocal interchange of ideas
between the reader and the message in a
particular text. Harris Hodges (1995)
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comprehension is an active process that requires
an intentional and thoughtful interaction between
the reader and the text. NICHD (2000)
Said concisely
reading comprehension is thinking guided by
print Perfetti (1995)
http//www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/nrp/findings
.cfm
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Said not so concisely but more completely
the process of simultaneously extracting and
constructing meaning through interaction and
involvement with written language. It consists of
three elements the reader, the text, and the
activity or purpose for reading Rand Reading
Study Group (2002)
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Evidence for instruction in comprehension
strategies comes from three sources
1. Proficient readers monitor their comprehension
more actively and effectively than less
proficient readers
2. Proficient readers are more likely to use a
variety of active cognitive strategies to enhance
their comprehension and repair it when it breaks
down
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3. Explicit instruction along with supported,
scaffolded practice in the use of comprehension
strategies produces improvements in reading
comprehension in both younger and older students
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From the Report of the National Reading Panel
The idea behind explicit instruction of text
comprehension is that comprehension can be
improved by teaching students to use specific
cognitive strategies or to reason strategically
when they encounter barriers to comprehension
when reading. NRP (2000)
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Reading instruction is effective in stimulating
student comprehension abilities to the extent
that it stimulates students to process texts as
good readers do. Pressley (2000)
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What are reading comprehension strategies?
"mental operations involved when readers
purposefully approach a text to make sense of
what they read." Barnett (1989)
(they) are not skills that can be taught by
drill they are plans for constructing meaning.
NRP (2000)
Comprehension strategies are specific procedures
children can use to help them
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1) become aware of how well they are
comprehending text as the read
2) improve their understanding and learning
from text

• Generating questions

• Using background knowledge to make predictions

• Constructing visual representations

• Summarizing

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Reading comprehension strategies from the
perspective of the successful reader
Go to this link
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Desirable elements in the classroom for
successful reading comprehension strategies

1. Lots of time spent actually reading

2. Experience reading real text for real reasons
have a purpose for the reading
3. Experience reading the range of genres that we
wish students to comprehend
4. An environment rich in vocabulary and concept
development through reading, experience, and,
above all, discussion of words and their meanings
5. Lots of time spent writing texts for others to
comprehend
6. An environment rich in high-quality talk about
text
Duke Pearson (2002)
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Reading strategy instruction the big ideas
1. Effective long-term instruction will most
likely involve teaching students to flexibly use
multiple strategies to improve their
comprehension of text
2. Effective instruction requires many
opportunities for students to discuss and
interpret text using the application of
strategies as a way of structuring the discussion
3. The focus of strategy instruction should
always be on constructing the meaning of the text.
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4. Effective strategy instruction always involves
explicit description and modeling of strategies
by the teacher.
5. Effective strategy instruction always involves
extended discussions of text in which the teacher
scaffolds student strategy use.
6. Always keep in mind that the purpose of
strategy instruction is to stimulate students
thinking about the meaning of text (by providing
guided opportunities for them to actually think
about, and interpret text) ultimately, their
attention needs to be on the text and not on the
strategies.
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Some personal questions that arise
1. How can we implement the teaching of reading
comprehension strategies in our actual
multi-level and multi-cultural classrooms?
2. What reading comprehension strategies will
most benefit a struggler reader?
3. Which strategies are most effective for a
specific age group?
4. Are these strategies suitable for all kinds of
literary genres?
5. What is the teacher profile required for a
successful instruction of reading comprehension?
6. What are some reading strategies expressed
most in the L1 while reading in the L2 for ELL?
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References
Duke, N. K., Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective
practices for developing reading comprehension.
In A. E. Farstrup S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What
research has to say about reading instruction
(3rd edition) (pp. 205-242). Newark, DE
International Reading Association. Durkin, D.
(1993). Teaching them to read (6th Ed.). Boston
Allyn Bacon. Harris, T. L., Hodges, R. E.
(1995). The literacy dictionary. Newark,
DEInternational Reading Association. National
Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read
An evidence-based assessment of the scientific
research literature on reading and its
implications for reading instruction. National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development,
Washington, D.C.
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Perfetti, C. A. (1985). Reading Ability. New
York Oxford University Press. Pressley, M.
(2000). What should comprehension instruction be
the instruction of? In M.L. Kamil, P.B.
Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, R. Barr (Eds.),
Handbook of reading research (Vol. III, pp.
545561). Mahwah, NJ Erlbaum. RAND Reading
Study Group. (2002). Reading for understanding
Toward an R D program in reading comprehension.
Santa Monica, CA RAND Corporation. (available
online at www.rand.org/publications/MR/MR1465/)

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References suitable for use in Professional
Learning Communities (K-1) Beck, I.L., McKeown,
M.G. (2001). Text talk Capturing the benefits
of read aloud experiences for young children. The
Reading Teacher, 55, 10-35. (2-3) Beck, I.L.
McKeown, M.G. (2006). Improving comprehension
with questioning the author A fresh and expanded
view of a powerful approach. New York
Guilford. (2-3) Block, C.C., Rodgers, L.L,
Johnson, R.B. (2004). Comprehension Process
Instruction Creating Reading Success in Grades
K-3. New York The Guilford Press. (2-3) Duke,
N. K., Pearson, P. D. (2002). Effective
practices for developing reading comprehension.
In A. E. Farstrup S. J. Samuels (Eds.), What
research has to say about reading instruction
(3rd edition) (pp. 205-242). Newark, DE
International Reading Association.
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(2-3) Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A.,
Perencevich, K. C. (2004). Scaffolding for
motivation and engagement in reading. In J. T.
Guthrie, A. Wigfield, K. C. Perencevich (Eds.).
Motivating reading comprehension
Concept-oriented reading instruction. Mahwah, NJ
Erlbaum. (K-3) Lehr, F. Osborne, J. (2006).
Focus on Comprehension. Pacific Regional
Educational Laboratory. Available at
http//www.prel.org/programs/rel/comprehensionforu
m.asp (1-3) Palincsar, A.S., Duke, N.K.
(2004). The role of text and text-reader
interactions in young childrens reading
development and achievement. The Elementary
School Journal, 105, 183-196. (K-3) Pressley, M.
(2000). What should comprehension instruction be
the instruction of? In M.L. Kamil, P.B.
Mosenthal, P.D. Pearson, R. Barr (Eds.),
Handbook of reading research (Vol. III, pp.
545561). Mahwah, NJ Erlbaum.