Comprehension Strategy Instruction

N O R A V I N E SR E 4 0 3 0

COMPREHENSION STRATEGY INSTRUCTION

TODAY’S AGENDA

• Blue Read Aloud• Shared Reading• Reciprocal Teaching• To do

WHAT DO WE TEACH TO IMPROVE COMPREHENSION?*

• Accurate decoding

• Reading Fluency

• Self monitoring of decoding (metacognition)

*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: Volume III (pp. 545-561). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

BUT….

• Teaching decoding, fluency, vocabulary, etc. is not enough.

BALANCED COMPREHENSION INSTRUCTION…

• Comprehension instruction should be balanced:• Explicit instruction in specific comprehension strategiesAND• A great deal of time and opportunity for actual reading,

writing, and discussion of text

Duke, N.K. & Pearson, P.D. (2002)

HOW DO WE TEACH COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES?

1. Explicit instruction2. Modeling3. Scaffolded practice4. Independent opportunities to practice

SHARED READING

• POP QUIZ• On a piece of notebook paper jot down your own

definition (based on the reading. I need you to demonstrate that you actually read.) of Shared Reading.

SHARED READING

• Modeling

• Access to the text for all students

• Active listening/observing

COMPREHENSION

• Why did the teachers focus on multiple comprehension strategies?

VOCABULARY

• Anything sound familiar?

• What are some of the ways teachers modeled “solving words”?

• Were these strategies consistent with what we have read and discussed?

VOCABULARY

• “Can you imagine me giving permission to my struggling readers to just skip it? I’d rather make sure that they were reading books they can read so that they can periodically solve unknown words like I do. If they are spending too much time solving unknown words, the book is too hard and they need to get a new one.”

TEXT STRUCTURE

• The way(s) authors organize information

Compare/Contrast Problem Solution Cause/Effect Sequence Descriptive Plot, Setting, Character, Conflict (Story Grammar)

• What does the organization of a text communicate to the reader?

TEXT FEATURES

• Why do we need to model and explicitly teach how to use…?

HeadingsCaptions IllustrationsBold wordsGraphsDiagramsGlossaries Indexes

EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION (OF STRATEGIES)

Before reading, provide • Declarative Knowledge: What strategy is to be

learned and used• Procedural Knowledge: How is that strategy

actually employed• Conditional Knowledge: When and why that

strategy should be used

RECIPROCAL TEACHING

• Important Concepts• Graphic organizers• Basal series• Gradual release of responsibility• Zone of proximal development• Constructivism

STRATEGIES, STRATEGIES AND MORE STRATEGIES

• So the goal is to help our students develop a full ‘toolbox.’ But, they can’t just learn about the tools, they have to learn

how to use them, when they need to use them and which tools are most appropriate at a given time dependent on text structure, purpose and the level of difficulty.

COMPREHENSION UNDER CONSTRUCTION

• Roles of participants: Foreman: Teacher, in charge of background

knowledge and introducing roles Architect: Draws up blueprints of the building through

prediction Job-inspector: “Get-it goggles” help the inspector

clarify by attending to words and ideas Electrician: Questions to keep the group “wired” Bricklayer: cements understanding by summarizing

and connecting main ideas

RECIPROCAL TEACHING (RT)

• Introduction of the Four Comprehension Strategies

↓• Teacher-Led Stage

↓• Collaborative Stage

↓• Reciprocal Stage

↓• Metacognition Stage

STAGES

1. Teacher-Led Stage: During this stage the teacher models the strategies

2. Collaborative Stage: Guided practice. 3. Reciprocal Stage: Independent within groups.

Roles are rotated on a lesson-to-lesson basis with attention to which strategies were implemented during reading group and/or self-selected reading.

4. Metacognition: Moving toward independent use of strategies and attention paid to which strategies were most effective.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

• Each group will be assigned a role:1. Architect (Predict)2. Job-inspector (Clarify)3. Electrician (Question)4. Bricklayer (Summarize)• As I read ch. 1 of Blue aloud, make notes of

predictions, vocabulary or ideas which may need clarification, questions you may have that would spark discussion, and main ideas to help you summarize the chapter.

• Share with the group and feedback.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

• Everyone will have a job in their small reading group.• As you read pages 19-27 in your small groups,

play your part to construct meaning. Make notes as you work together and evaluate which strategies you think are most effective for comprehending Blue.

TO DO…

• 2/7 Read:• Blue pages 27-85• Kucan Discussion article

• 2/7 Activities: • Double Entry Journal for Blue reading• Make notes of Tier 2 words as you read• Free write from an image in your notebook