Amy Benjamin
www.amybenjamin.com
Today:
1.Reading Comprehension for Academic Success: Summary of the Research
2.About Reading Comprehension Questions
3. Text Complexity in various subject areas
4. Teaching Procedures: Before, During, After: 3C’s
5. Free Voluntary Reading
6. Vocabulary Development to Improve Reading Comprehension
Improving Reading Comprehension for Academic Success
Summary of the Research [1]
[1]
National Council of Teachers of English, 2008
International Reading Association, 2008
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008
Identify two interesting and/or questionable points for discussion.
pelaprg
grapple
Bryan
Arlen
Remembering the reading material
Kinds of unfamiliar vocabulary
Kinds of context clues
More multisyllabic words
More words that are related to each other
More words having Y, X, CH (pronounced K), PH
More words ending in …osis, …ology, …ity, …ism, …cious
Reasons for rereading
Pace
“Anyway, the fascinating thing was that I read in National Geographic that there are
more people alive now than have died in all of human history. In other words, if
everyone wanted to play Hamlet at once, they couldn’t, because there aren’t
enough skulls!”
Extremely Loud, Incredibly Close
. Jonathan Foer.
Quantitative/Measurable:
Sentence length
Word length
What determines text complexity?
Qualitative: Not Measurable:
Subtle qualities of text
Underlying themes
Symbolism
Obscurity (rareness) of vocabulary
Pre-20C writing style
Figurative language
Intentional ambiguity; intentionally
misleading information
Allusions: Literary, Biblical, etc.
Long paragraphs
Small print; lack of visuals in text
Mixing of time frames
Having multiple narrators
Background knowledge of reader; Task to be done with the reading
Text Complexity Guideline
Features:
Levels of Meaning
Most Challenging :
Multiple layers of
meaning; purposeful
ambiguity; multiple
interpretations possible
Figurative
language
Metaphor, irony,
allusion, symbolism play
a significant part in
comprehension
Purpose
Deliberately withheld from
the reader; reader has to
use interpretative skills to
identify it
Genre/ Sub-genre
(ex: sci fi)
Unfamiliar to the reader;
has specific hallmarks
that reader does
not recognize
Organization
Narration
Vocabulary and
Language style
Goes back and
forth in time; withholds
chronological information
multiple narrators & settings
Unreliable first person
and/or multiple narrators;
reader is expected to question
the narrator’s credibility
Multiple rare words on every
page; pre-20C language
style and unfamiliar nouns;
long, complicated syntax
Source: Adapted from
Text Complexity: Raising Rigor in Reading. Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and
Diane Lapp. International Reading Association.
Moderately Challenging: :
Single but complex or
abstract meaning; reader
expected to infer from
implications to some extent
Figurative language used to
some extent; symbols are
obvious and/or explained by
the author (ex: blackness for
death or despair)
Least Challenging :
Single and literal meaning;
meaning is explicitly stated
and signalled (headings, etc.)
Language is straightfoward;
negligible amount of figurative language
Implied but fairly easily identified Stated and repeated explicitly
based on the title or context
Somewhat unfamiliar
to the reader, or easily
accessible anyway
May be non-linear
or have two narrators or
multiple settings, but
these are cleary signalled
Third person narration
reader given substantial
information about
the narrator’s point of view
Not an overwhelming number of
rare words; modern style, familiar
nouns; straightforward syntax
Familiar to the reader and
consistent with reader expectations
Linear, chronological, limited
settings; single narrator
Third person omniscient or
authoritative, credible source
of the information
Almost entirely common
words, simple or easily comprehensible
sentences
Elements of Text Complexity
Science
History
•subtle meanings
•underlying, multiple themes
•pre-20C language
•charts, graphs, tables
•words having more than 4 syllables
•long sentences
Literature
•obscure/rare words used
only once in text
•figurative language
•allusions
•small print, lack of visuals
•long paragraphs
•mixing of time frames
Math
•multiple narration
•high degree of background
knowledge assumed
•intentional ambiguity
• intentionally misleading
information
•Symbols (as in math/sci)
3 Types of Reading Problems:
I.
Lack of cognitive abilities: comprehension, vocabulary,
word recognition, fluency
II. Negative attitudes toward reading
III. Lack of flexibility to read different kinds of text; read all texts
with the same strategies: pacing, focus, sequence
Teaching students to comprehend complex text:
Top Step: Test prep: Developing
familiarity with the kinds of text
and questions
Step 3: Specific practice in
identifying features of text
complexity: metaphor, tone,
subtleties, allusion, rare vocab,
figurative language, pre 20C,
long sentences, long paragraphs
Step 2: Vocabulary instruction:
implicit (immersion)
explicit (analytical)
Step 1: Lots of free reading time
Text Exemplar (Grade 8)
Douglass, Frederick, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass as an American
Slave, Written by Himself (1845)