Reading comprehension is the ability to make sense of ideas expressed in text — the ability to negotiate the linguistic and conceptual barriers or affordances of a text. |
In order to make strides towards greater student achievement, teachers will need to shift their understanding of what reading comprehension looks like. As Tim Shanahan points out, reading comprehension isn't simple recall or answering a specific type of question. Instead, it is a method that allows students to make sense of the words that they are reading - interpreting the grammatical structure, organization, or any choice the author makes in their writing. It will take time and a commitment to allow students to struggle, rather than just providing them with the answer. With effort and patience, we will create strong readers who are prepared to independently navigate complex text.
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K-W-L
The purpose of the K-W-L procedures is to help students become good readers by learning to do the things that good readers do. Specifically it helps students learn to activate their background knowledge and to set purposes for reading.
KWL stands for determining What I Know, What I Want to Learn, and reviewing What I Have Learned. The following chart shows the steps in each part of the procedure (see right). |
As they confirm the information in the Know column of the chart, students relate new information gained from their reading to knowledge they already have. As they generate questions for the Want column, they learn to set their own purposes for reading. Further, because they are reading to answer their own questions, students are more likely actively to monitor their comprehension. By putting information in their own words for the Learnedcolumn, students better understand what they know and what they do not know. Proceeding through these steps reinforces students' learning from text, involves them in doing what good readers do, and teaches them about their own reading processes.
SQ3R (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review)
For those of us who need to read and then re-read a paragraph three times before the information sinks in, this is a great strategy! This will help our learners (and ourselves) think about the text while they are reading. Made up of five parts (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review), this technique requires learners to review their understanding throughout the reading process and not just after they finish the required passage. |
A Student's Perspective: Modeling Annotation
Often, students struggle with the metacognitive process of grappling with new reading material. A way for us to help is to MODEL the process of "thinking about thinking" as we do read-alouds with our learners. Watch this short annotation video as an example of how you can promote close reading strategies in your classroom.