READING
COMPREHENSION USING A
PODCAST
DIANA L. WHITAKER
Live Action Project
• To create a pod cast to teach
reading comprehension
• Focus is on high school and post
high school students
• Test group – my 1102, 1101,
and 99 students from the college
I teach at
Material Used
• 2 works of fiction
– “The Pedestrian” by
Ray Bradbury
– “Sonnet 29” by William
Shakespeare
• 2 works of non-fiction
– News article “The
Misuse of Cell
Phones” by Saba
Anwar Islambad
– Essay “Why We Crave
Horror Movies” by
Stephen King
What is reading?
• Two part answer
• 1. calling words – ability to recognize word
structures
• 2. understand words – ability to understand the
meaning within the context of the words
**One does not exist without the
other. For effective reading to occur,
one must be able to call words and
understand their meaning.
Five Basic Steps to Reading
Comprehension
•
•
•
•
•
1. Previewing
2. Reading and Comprehending
3. Skimming
4. Scanning
5. Following Up
Previewing
• Previewing is the manner by which one uses
previous knowledge, prior learning, predictions,
art, limited information, etc. to grasp the
intended reader’s attention. Essentially, it is what
attracts one to read the desired material
Reading and Comprehending
• Reading and comprehending is the
conscious effort of one to call words and
understand the intended meaning whether
it be by reading aloud, using
the punctuation, answering
questions while reading,
underlining key words, etc.
The two must work together
for effective reading.
Skimming
• Skimming occurs when the
reader intentionally looks over
the material searching for
details pertaining to the plot or
the purpose of the selection.
These details are necessary to
understand the overall gist of the selected reading.
Scanning
• Scanning is the more depth work done to
better understand the material. This can be
anything from learning new vocabulary to
completing exercise
worksheets. Although a
certain amount of
scanning is done
mentally, often this is
done more in a school or
business setting.
Following Up
• Following up is the extra mile one takes to
make sure he understand the text he has
read. In a leisure setting this might be
done by explaining the text to
someone else. In school or
business, it might be writing a
paper or doing a project based
on the material.
Questions to Ask
• The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury
• “Sonnet 29” by William Shakespeare
• News article “The Misuse of Cell Phones”
by Saba Anwar Islambad
• Essay “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by
Stephen King
The Pedestrian
by Ray Bradbury
• Previewing
– What is a Pedestrian?
– What else has
Bradbury written?
– What kinds of books
does Bradbury write
about?
• Reading and
Comprehending
– Is the story futuristic?
– Does the story seem
to be open ended?
– Did any information in
the previewing help to
set the stage for the
story?
The Pedestrian
by Ray Bradbury
• Scanning
– Who are the
characters?
– What is the setting?
– What is the conflict?
– What are some key
points of the story?
• Skimming
– Why is Mr. Mead
being arrested?
– How is he different
than the other people?
– Why does the car say
he has regressive
tendencies?
– What is the underlying
theme?
The Pedestrian
by Ray Bradbury
• Following Up
– Are Bradbury’s fears founded or unfounded?
– Is technology taking over humanity?
– Are we losing ourselves to the progression of
technology?
**None of these are simply yes or no questions. These
are thought provoking questions that should encourage
people to truly consider the role technology has taken
in our lives.
“Sonnet 29”
by William Shakespeare
• Previewing
- What is a sonnet?
- How do you read
poetry?
- How are sonnets
arranged?
- What types of
sonnets is
Shakespeare known
for writing?
• Reading and
Comprehending
– What terms stand out?
– Are those terms
positive or negative?
– What terms can be
either positive or
negative depending on
the usage?
“Sonnet 29”
by William Shakespeare
• Scanning
– What does Fortune mean in these lines?
– What is the attitude of the speaker in the first
quatrain?
– What is the main point of the first quatrain?
– What does the speaker desire in the second
quatrain?
– Why is the speaker discontent?
– What is the gist of the second quatrain?
– What is the moment of awakening?
– Why do things seem better?
– What is the gist of the third quatrain?
– What does the speaker realize in the turn?
“Sonnet 29”
by William Shakespeare
• Skimming
– Why does the speaker
have a change in
attitude?
– What are the
similarities in the
quatrains?
– Why does the couplet
or the turn have a
change of heart?
• Following Up
– What might be a
lesson to be learned
from such a poem?
– How can one
summarize the
meaning of this poem?
The Misuse of Cell Phones”
by Saba Anwar Islambad
• Previewing
– Are cell phones
misused?
– Who is abusing cell
phones?
– How are they abusing
cell phones?
• Reading and
Comprehending
– Who is misusing the
cell phones?
– Where are they
misusing the cell
phones?
– What abuses were
mentioned in the
article?
The Misuse of Cell Phones”
by Saba Anwar Islambad
• Scanning
– What are some
advantages to having
cell phones?
– What are some
disadvantages?
• Skimming
– Why does the article
only focus on two
problems when there
are clearly more?
– Who is the primary
target for the article?
– What is the emphasis
of the article?
The Misuse of Cell Phones”
by Saba Anwar Islambad
• Following Up
• What suggestions does the author give as a
possible solution to the cell phone problem
talked about in the article?
• Is the suggestion viable?
• What are pros and cons to the suggestion?
Essay “Why We Crave Horror
Movies” by Stephen King
• Previewing
– What do we know
about the author?
– What types of stories
does King write?
– Do we really crave
horror movies?
• Reading and
Comprehending
– Does the first line of the
essay capture your
attention?
– What is the difference
between normal and
crazy?
– What kinds of crazy
things do we do
everyday?
– What kinds of
unfounded fears do we
have?
Essay “Why We Crave Horror
Movies” by Stephen King
• Scanning
– Why do we watch
things that scare us?
– Why are horror films
so popular?
– How are horror films
simple?
• Skimming
– Do we have a dark
side hidden deep
within each of us?
– Why are we drawn to
evil?
– What about the dark
side is so exciting?
Essay “Why We Crave Horror
Movies” by Stephen King
• Following Up
–
–
–
–
–
What of the dark side excites us?
What characters of evil do we relate to?
What beast do we hide within?
What entices and grabs us about horror?
**Notice that sometimes questions and ideas do
overlap because there is not always a clear cut
beginning and end to examining works.
Reading Comprehension Survey
Questions
Number of Responses
1. Who are you?
English 1102 - 8
English 1101 - 11
Other – 5
2. How would you
Great - 6
normally feel about
Not So Great - 2
reading
A Bit Anxious - 11
comprehension tests?
Anxious - 2
Very Anxious - 3
Reading Comprehension Survey
continued…
3. Did the reading
comprehension help
your understanding?
4. Did you find the
reading
comprehension
segment enjoyable?
Very Much - 14
Some – 5
Don’t Know - 2
Not much - 1
Not at all - 2
Very Much - 12
Some - 9
Don’t Know - 0
Not much - 2
Not at all - 1
Reading Comprehension Survey
continued…
5. Were the handouts
helpful?
Very Much - 15
Some - 6
Don’t Know - 1
Not much - 2
Not at all - 0
6. Were the reading
selections enjoyable?
Very Much - 11
Some - 10
Don’t Know - 0
Not much - 2
Not at all - 1
Reading Comprehension Survey
continued
Positive Comments
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I loved it! I especially like the idea that I
can listen to a pod cast to make up work
when I am absent.
Ms. Whitaker is hilarious! She made
comments that were funny which made it
enjoyable to listen to.
I like how Mrs. Whitaker used a variety of
texts. This shows that the steps work with
any reading material.
Hey Ms. Whit, Can you do a pod cast for
every class? That way I don’t have to be in
class at 8:00 A.M.
Mrs. Whitaker is very personable. She
makes you feel as though you are in the
classroom with her.
I like how Ms. Whitaker uses her own
personal examples like Twilight and Nancy
Drew. That way we can all relate.
Negative Comments
- The pod cast was too
long.
- There was too much
material at one time.
- I didn’t understand
how you came up
with all the questions.
Survey Explanation
The majority of the students liked the
podcast. A few complained about the
length and the amount of material
covered. For the most part, I received
positive comments although I will tell the
one student the pod cast does NOT
replace class
What I Have Learned
• I am not sure how I ever lived without
technology. Pod casting opens up a whole to
area in which I could teach. The more I think
about it, I think it is certainly a viable alternative
to homebound or homeschooled students. I
would love to eventually put together an entire
unit or even class of pod and webcasts for such
use. The recording was relatively easy. The
writing I simply spoke out loud as if I were
teaching a class and then corrected errors. The
pod cast also made me look at my own
grammatical skills while speaking which I am
proud to say were pretty good.
Conclusion
Pod casting is something that I am certainly
going to continue doing. I really enjoy it,
and I see it as beneficial to my students.
This replaces the old days of tape
recording class lectures. My intent is to
begin with my 1101 class, and begin
recording the to post onto my webpage
through my college. I am also hoping that
this will spark an interest with my boss to
see knew possibilities that can be used
with pod casting.
Quote
Force yourself to reflect on what
you read, paragraph by
paragraph.
– Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Bibliography
• Kamil, M. (2003). Adolescents and literacy: Reading for the 21st
century.Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
http://www.all4ed.org/publications/AdolescentsAndLiteracy.pdf.
• Krashen, S. (2003). The Power of Reading. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
http://www.sdkrashen.com/articles/singapore/singapore.pdf
• Maas, Klaus. (2007). “Steps Towards the Skills of Using Reading
Comprehending Strategies.” www.kfmaas.de/read_step.html.
• Meltzer, J., Smith, N. C., & Clark, H. (2001). Adolescent literacy
resources: Linking research and practice. Providence, RI: Education
Alliance at Brown University.
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/topics/literacy.shtml
• Mike, D.G. (1996). Internet in the Schools: A literacy perspective.
Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 40, 4-13.
http://www.jstor.org/pss/27542244
Bibliography cont.
• Pearson, P.D., & Johnson, D.W. (1983). The Instruction of Reading
Comprehension. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 8, 317344. http://rer.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/61/2/239
• 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. 3, pp. 545–451).
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
http://rse.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/29/4/222
• Snow, Catherine. (2002). Rand Reading Study Group. Reading for
understanding: Toward an R & D program in reading compression.
Santa Monica, CA: Science and Technology Policy Institute, Rand
Education. http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1465/
• Walker, C. H., & Meyer, B. J. F. (1980). Integrating different types of
information in text. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior,
19, 263–275. http://www.ed.psu.edu/educ/faculty-cvs/bjm8.pdf