Comprehension and Fluency
A house without books is like a room without
windows.
-Horace Mann
Is Reading Still Important in the Video Age?
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The more you read, the more you know.
The more you know, the smarter you grow.
The smarter you are, the longer you stay in school.
The longer you stay in school, the more diplomas you earn and the
longer you are employed thus the more money you earn in a lifetime.
The more diplomas you earn, the higher your children’s grades will be
in school.
The more diplomas you earn, the longer you live.
The opposite would also be true:
 The less you read, the less you know.
 The less you know, the sooner you drop out of school.
 The sooner you drop out, the sooner and longer you are poor.
 The sooner you drop out, the greater your chances of going to jail.
Some ways to have good
conversations with your child:
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Encourage him to talk about what he is reading at school as well as at
home;
Also ask about the writing he is doing at school and/or at home;
Share stories about your childhood and stories about other family
members;
Play word games.
Talk with your child about the television programs he views;
Ask your child his opinion about a variety of public issues;
Encourage your child to make up stories to tell you;
After your child tells you a story, ask him how he would change
something in the story to make it different;
Talk with your child about how the day went for him.
The possibilities are endless!
Reading At Home
 Hear the flow of language;
 Hear words that may be new to them and thus help to
expand their vocabulary
 Get a chance to talk to you about the story that they
may not be able to read by themselves;
 Expand their knowledge of the world;
 Simply enjoy hearing you read.
Reading and Comprehension
 Reading refers to the ability to
comprehend or make meaning from
written text.
 What does it mean to comprehend?
Definition:
Reading comprehension is the
construction of the meaning of a
written communication through a
reciprocal, holistic interchange of
ideas between the interpreter and the
message.
Harris and Hodges
Why is background knowledge key?
Background Knowledge - What is it?
 Mike Piazza and Robin
Ventura singled to start
the eighth inning. After
a Braves pitching change
to bring in Mike
Remlinger, Melving
Mora-first of a series of
pinch hitters- came to
the plate for Benny
Agbaynani. Mora
bunted, moving Piazza
and Ventura over.
 Kallis and Rhodes put on
84 but, with the ball
turning, Mark Waugh
could not hit with
impunity and his eight
overs cost only 37. The
runs still had to be
scored at more than
seven an over, with
McGrath still to return
and Warne having two
overs left, when Rhodes
pulled Reiffel to Beven at
deep square leg.
Making Connections
 Text to Self
 Text to Text
 Text to World
Show Your Child Your Connections
Three-Level Taxonomy of Comprehension
 Literal Comprehension
 Lowest level
 Requires the reader to be able to retell of recall the
facts
 Inferential Comprehension
 Refers to the ability of a reader to take in information
that is implied within a text
 Requires the orchestration and manipulation of
information
 Critical Comprehension
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Highest level in the taxonomy
Involves making critical judgments about the information
presented in the text
Narrative Retelling
 Setting: When and where does the story
take place?
 Characters: Who are the people in the
story? Can you describe them?
 Plot: What is the story about?
 Events: What happened in the story?
First, next, after that… How and why?
 Problem: What was the problem in the
story?
 Solution: Was the problem solved? How?
 Theme: What do you think __ learned in
the story?
 Why do you think author wrote the story?
 Connections: Does this story remind you
of any other stories or a personal
experience?
Fluency Instruction
 Fluency is
the ability to read a text
accurately and quickly
 Fluency is important
because
it frees students to
understand what they
read
 Reading fluency can
be developed
by modeling fluent
reading
by having students
engage in repeated oral
reading
 More fluent readers: focus their attention on
making connections among the ideas in a text and
between these ideas and their background
knowledge. Therefore, they are able to focus on
comprehension.
 Less fluent readers: must focus their attention
primarily on decoding individual words. Therefore,
they have little attention left for comprehending the
text.
Independent level text
Relatively easy text for the reader, with no more than
approximately 1 in 20 words difficult for the reader (95 %)
Instructional level text
Challenging but manageable text for the reader, with no
more than approximately 1 in 10 words difficult for the
reader (90 % success)
Frustrated level text
Difficult text for the reader, with more than 1 in 10
words difficult for the reader (less than 90% success)
How can I help my child become
a more fluent reader?
To understand a line or phrase that is difficult
To get ready to talk about the book
To follow a thread throughout the book
To support a theory or prediction
To study the author’s craft
To think through an opinion about an issue in
the text
 To think about how a word relates to others in
the same genre
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par·ent·ing (pâr΄әn-tǐng) , n.
1. The most difficult and most
important job you will ever have.
2. And, potentially, the most
rewarding.
A Village
 We have to work together in order for
our children to grow and succeed so
that they may become college and
career ready.